Galois

Some dealers will have a look at it, esp in Sydney and probably even newcastle, you'll get bent over on the trade in price though

My dad had similar issues to those on his au. I was looking at them a while ago. The basic 5.0 L engine isn't much more powerful (13kW) or torquey (32Nm) than the xr6 at the time. And, worst of all, made at about the same rpm. It certainly felt pretty slow and heavy, despite extractors and twin 3" exhausts (well, felt and WAS slow and heavy). Getting out of the r34 and straight into it didn't help though. (Source: http://www.trueblueford.com/AU_XR_Specifications.html ) When I was looking at them the problem that kept coming up was a whining diff, which needed some pin replaced, can't remember how much it was. Certainly wasn't cheap. I also found the pedals sticky and numb, not smooth like in almost every japanese car I've driven. All that said though, it's a lot of car for the dough and the noise was fantastic!!! Also cheap to fix and your average mechanic is capable of working on it.

OP maybe divert the argument to his wrap-around dash? Why do people think that there is a set percentage or a set number being lost through transmission and diff? There's a reason the equations to predict mechanical loss are so complicated: the system is complicated. As said above, it's not linear (ie: no set percentage loss applies through the rpm and different throttle positions).

Ooh, another thing, in terms of safety you're better off having done a few track days and learned some very important driving skills then run out of talent on the road, where there are kids on bikes and telegraph poles

Do you ever truly know when a workshop puts them in? If they've been running for 20k they sound like the right ones mate

Oh and btw there's a "things to look for when buying a skyline" thread round here somewhere. Good luck mate, ps: you can always post any cars you're looking at up on here for scrutiny

Hey mate, I totally understand where you're coming from. I've always wanted to do track days, and this thread sure isn't going to stop me. It has made me think though, maybe it's worth buying a cheap old mx5 or something and making it a track car, rather than driving my pride and joy around. I say that though, then think that this is the first time it's ever happened, so the odds are stacked way in the favour of being safe. What is much much much much MUCH more likely to happen is some form of mechanical failure. Think of the millions of things that can go wrong, track is waiting to bring them to the surface. In terms of probability, that doesn't compare to the few people around you on the track. If you're really worried, buy a dedicated, no waste racing machine. I seem to remember hearing of a kart for sale... (sorry sau, couldn't help it)

Best of luck, hope it works out! Misfires are so devastating...

General rule is run as bit as you can. Bigger gap means a more aggressive spark directly igniting more fuel. You might need to experiment, though someone on here might have better advice. Note though, the more boost you run the harder it is to cross the spark plug gap.

I got a $700 quote for labour, though the mechanic didn't know what he was doing, it's easy to get ripped. That was when I terrifyingly realised I had no proof the 100k service was done, and was going to get it redone just in case. Luckily I found the sticker hidden away under the engine bay just in time to cancel the ordered parts.

My understanding is that it's the basic advice for most cars. Have a gander at the spark plugs thread, it's pretty long but there are a lot of testimonials. As I said, everyone's experience seems to vary. But most seem to think that coppers are the way to go and though they may last longer changing them every 5000km is safe. Just doing it with an oil change. It's not hard to do with a bit of practice, gives you some regular feedback as to how the car is running and how each cylinder compares to the others. Most importantly, if you use coppers and change every 5000km the ignition system works, and does so at it's best. So even though some people get hundreds of thousands of kms out of some cheap platinums, and some people get only a few thou km out of high priced iridiums, coppers every 5000km works. What plugs are you using george?

Wow, that's awesome, good catch. You're luckier than most

800 for parts and labour? That's pretty amazing. Point on mechanics is, plenty will say they can do the job, and have done the job, when that plainly isnt the case. There have been a lot of bad experiences documented on here

A mechanic may be able to give some insight just from hearing it clearly, might be worth getting one to have a quick look?

Does the battery have charge? You can check it with a multimeter, like $13 at an auto or electrical shop.

Storing it is dangerous in that it's money sitting there waiting to be stolen or burnt. And I hate to be the downer, but the longer forward we look the less likely it is that we'll be running on standard petrol (as peak oil approaches *over-dramatic scary music*). Hopefully, from an engineering perspective, it'll be a simple transition to more/full ethanol, but that's not exactly easy/close. How much would it sell for now? It looks fkn amazing mate, really nice. How ever did the engine bay get white though?

Terry's the man, advanced drivers course is the way to go. And yes you may be an amazing driver, for all we know you might have the genes to be the fastest racing driver in the world. But you have to wonder how many young males wish theyd learned some advanced driving while looking at the tattered remains of their pride and joy. I wish I'd done one, I still might. I sure as hell was glad I'd hit the tarmac karting for a year the first time it rained driving my r34 gtt.

Check for aftermarket coilpacks and upgraded clutch, they were the two major problems with mine and it took a while to save the coin to fix them. The clutch is a particular pain because nissan no longer make them, so you have to upgrade the whole kit, which is expensive. The other thing is that r34s have pull type clutches, like the gtr's, but unlike every other skyline model, which means it's even more expensive

kudos motorsport sells 100k service kits. I'd give them a call, andrew sullivan was a world of help for me. ONLY GO TO A PERFORMANCE MECHANIC. And only one who has been recommended to you, or has a couple of gtr's sitting out front. Any old mechanic will say they can do the job, but you want it done right and you don't want to pay for them to learn.

Lost my first fkn post argh If you have to take out a loan for the 5k you'll be in rough shape when things start going wrong, and they will, fast. The car is cheap because it's in bad nic, I'd be wanting another 5k in the bank to throw at it. Say your clutch goes in a month, you'll go to replace it and find you have to upgrade, 700 for the kit, and 500-700 for labour, even more if the mechanic doesnt know what he's doing, which is likely with imports. I didnt read all because my battery is about to die, but if its still got the original coilpacks they'll be, in all probability, due for an upgrade soon, thats 400-600 if you install them yourself. Then consider servicing. Most owners service every 5000km, maybe a little longer if they use good oil. That includes $40 for park plugs, $60-120 for oil and $20 for a filter. You're also probably buying a car in need of some tlc, so you'll want to replace the gearbox and diff oil ($50-70 each), and maybe the coolant (lets say $40 for a couple of bottles of nulon llc). That's all assuming you do it yourself, if not add 200 on for the service and another 200-400 for the fluid changes. See how it's starting to get into big numbers. I went the loan road for the last 6k of my old r34 gtt (this was when they were worth 18k not 14k), I neglected to remember that insurance cost me 1900, to replace all tyres with shitty nankangs was 800 (spend more than that mate). I also neglected to remember that the following year I'd be working a different job (I'm finishing off uni) and was earning $400 a fortnight less. Now I have sold the skyline and have a run-around magna. Still paying off the personal loan though, and that stings everytime they take a payment. Not that I'm dissing the magna, in fact I strongly recommend one if you're just looking for a decent, well equipped car for $3k (3.0L auto's with 160k km and in pretty good shape, manuals again are even better). If you immediately go into loan it's likely be a world of financial hurt, sorry to say mate. But i wish you the best with whichever road you go. I cannot wait to buy another fun car.

I love this thread. I was actually briefly looking at aussie v8s for my next car. Found a 98 xr8 with extractors and twin 3" exhaust felt, and was, quite slow after getting out of the gtt. But it was almost worth that sacrifice given the beautiful sound. What really pissed me off was how often I'd hear "it's a common problem on these" about different components. I guess that's why as mad said to me once "as long as most of the cylinders are firing it's all good". I never drove an ss, but not for lack of wanting. On the euro comparison, it's not really a comparison. Every commadore and falcon I've been in has had a far from lovely interior (and I'm no expert, just to clarify), but every eurobox I've been in has been holding up well. The fact is you can pick up an xr8 in decent nic for 6k, and that is quite a bit of car for the cash. I love the sound of a pushrod v8, despite the fact the cheaper ones (non hsv and fpv) make a lot more sound than they do go. But they're still a quicker car than that dumbass in his kia sh!tbox with a 3" cannon (plenty of them where I've been living lately), has aircon, cruise control, and comfort. Comparing top of the line aussie v8s to an m5 is a bit of a farce. You're buying an m5 because it's been in the top echelon of family car motoring for decades, and because there are thousands of things you can customise, and because clarkson reckons it's handling in "m mode" is as good as a ferrari 430. The newer aussie v8s, like the r8, are simpler and hence cheaper. And here in aus they're cheaper cos they're local compared to markups on imported euro-beasts.

How new are the iridiums? I have a mate with a tt soarer who went to great and expensive lengths to solve a misfire problem, only to find it was his 3000km old iridiums. That's why so many people on here run coppers, only a few are lucky enough to have iridiums last any decent length of time

Still here and still negotiable

Sorry to hear that mate, things will look up eventually though, they can't keep looking worse . I wonder if that structural stressing a built in safety feature? Modern cars have insane amounts of effort put into their design so that as little damage as possible is done to the driver, at the expense of the car. Slight bright side might be that if creases like that hadn't formed you and Reece may be a lot worse off.

That is so awesome, I hope I can make it!!!! +1 for pics and vids