Pulsar Gti-r Worth It?

[HKS_SSQ_BOV]

Ok, his the thing, my brother will soon be getting a 20 grand loan, and was looking a sporty hatch backs. namely the pulsar gti-r. Are they any good in terms of performance as well as a every day car? Are performance mods are easy to find such as Fmic and aftermarket ecu's + pricing? what about the fuel consumption? and lastly what do you guys think? should he just abondon the idea and go for the other hatchs.

[Absent]

They are mini GTRs with huge potential

Has the best SR20 with quad throttle bodies with minor mods can run 12 sec

My mate has the motor in a SSS pulsar running 200rwkw says it has s**t fuel economy even at low boost

but stock for stock in terms of performance they can beat a gtst no worries

[lastlineofdefence]

jump onto to pulsar.org.au

[Big Rizza]

Yes, they're worth it.

Edited November 22, 2006 by Big Rizza

[LTHLRB]

a mate of mine has one, on 7psi and just exhaust and pod filter. IT HAMMERS!!

[WazR32GTSt]

if you need a 20grand loan for a car, then i'd suggest your probably not in the finantial situation to get a car with the intentions of modifying it...

i know its not what you want to hear, but its the truth and needs to be said at some stage..

considered an R31? you could even wach in a VLT engine and that thing would hammer for less than 5k all up

[insu]

I can't believe no-one's said this yet: I was looking at GTIR's for a while before I got the R33. What turned me off was everyone talking about how fragile the gearboxes are, and how much of a shit they are to change if they die.

[black_gtst]

Ok, his the thing, my brother will soon be getting a 20 grand loan, and was looking a sporty hatch backs. namely the pulsar gti-r. Are they any good in terms of performance as well as a every day car? Are performance mods are easy to find such as Fmic and aftermarket ecu's + pricing? what about the fuel consumption? and lastly what do you guys think? should he just abondon the idea and go for the other hatchs.

gay lookin standars interior but nice little pocket rocket of a car!

[LTHLRB]

insu: my mate blew his box in his aswell... Those things arnt the best on boxs i must say.

[moonus]

hey bud, ye u gotta luv the baby gtr's aye. 4WD, sr20, light as shit = awesome performance, but on the same note, it comes down to personal preference. are you after the sleek, sporty look of a skyline or a little boxy thing? Mind you ive been in both and although a stock gti-r would beat a stock skyline purely on power to weight, i wudnt say it wud leave it for dead.

Edited November 22, 2006 by moonus

[xolent]

140kg is the weight of the gearbox IIRC

ask people about how fun it is changing the clutch

[drewr33]

I know a few ppl that have blown their gearboxes and being 4wd, its not cheap to fix. But they a quick little car.

[Topaz]

My brother owns a 1990 model, interior is drab to the max and also bare. Drive position is weird compared to my GTR. He bought it last year and is now selling it because he is poor

Its pretty standard with a new Exedy clutch and massive FMIC. He wants about $16k for it I think....

[HKS_SSQ_BOV]

Another thing i heard was that replacing the clutch was a bummer, having to take the whole engine out, right as its more based on Fwd engine layout ,is it true, and if so than might as well spend a decent amount cash, as the clutch has to last atleast 2yrs of punishment.

I also ask you, aboout how you would approach this situation on blown gear boxes, should he just upgrade gears once power levels are up around 180kwaw or wait till about 220kw mark, than rahter to find out the hard way.

Thanks guys for your replies

[ob1]

i had a gtir for 3 years before selling it 6 months ago to finance my r34....

Ok, his the thing, my brother will soon be getting a 20 grand loan, and was looking a sporty hatch backs. namely the pulsar gti-r. Are they any good in terms of performance as well as a every day car? Are performance mods are easy to find such as Fmic and aftermarket ecu's + pricing? what about the fuel consumption? and lastly what do you guys think? should he just abondon the idea and go for the other hatchs.

GTIR is a great choice for a hatch. 20k seems a little generous....you'd be getting a farily well modified one for that money. think more like 10-15k for a basic one with wheels/exhaust/boost.

Performance wise, it'll beat a stock skyline (non gtr) hand down. Mods are just as easy to find as the skyline e.g. FMICs, ECUs, split dumps, clutches etc.

Fuel consumption is SHIT. The stock ECU is tuned a little rich and will really chew through the juice if you hammer around.

IMHO it'd be my first choice for a performance car under 15k...you have to get over the styling though

jump onto to pulsar.org.au

actually go to http://www.gtiroz.net/ then the discussion wont be muddled by talk on the aussie delivered models you get on pulsar.org

There's a lot of very knowledgable guys on there, as well as a good for sale section.

a mate of mine has one, on 7psi and just exhaust and pod filter. IT HAMMERS!!

well actually it'd be ~10PSI, as this was stock boost. Its a tough SR20 in these things. Different internals than the SRs delivered on the silvias etc. of the time. Many/most run ~14psi day in day out with no issues.

I can't believe no-one's said this yet: I was looking at GTIR's for a while before I got the R33. What turned me off was everyone talking about how fragile the gearboxes are, and how much of a shit they are to change if they die.

The gearbox is the weak point, but i'm confidant they dont break without "active" driver participation. Mine stripped 6 teeth off 2nd gear after a day at Wakefield. Most of the enthusiastic drivers on gtiroz.net have busted a GB. Regular 2nd hand box runs about $1k. "Unbreakable" PAR gearset replacement runs about $4-5k for the serious.

140kg is the weight of the gearbox IIRC

ask people about how fun it is changing the clutch

must be lighter than that, cause i carried one up 3 flights of stairs! Still heavy though.

GB can be removed and clutch changed WITHOUT taking the engine out ONLY IF the mechanic has done it before and knows the trick. Most shops will just drop the whole engine/GB together. Last cluthc i had installed was about $1200 labour for this reason.

I only changed cars because i have the money now for a newer car with low KMs. I would have driven the GTIR for another 3 years if a decent R34 had not come up.

Watch out for ancillary parts that have worn out i.e. water pump (common problem at ~150kms), alternator, starter motor, CV joints. Also watch out for cooling issues i.e. head gasket, radiator probs etc. which could lead to catastophe.

[scathing]

My mate has the motor in a SSS pulsar running 200rwkw says it has s**t fuel economy even at low boost

Which is pretty impressive since its a FWD car.

[billabong-john]

although the GtiR was a bit of a failure on the rally scene they still make a great car out on the open road and the traction they get off the line is unbelievable.

If you are looking at raising the power you realy need to budget for a decent break upgrade as the factory setup is'nt to good.

The only downside to these cars are the looks. you either love it or hate it

[scathing]

although the GtiR was a bit of a failure on the rally scene they still make a great car out on the open road

Their biggest issue was the alloy engines, which just couldn't handle the heat of rallying.

From what I've heard (and I can't even remember the GTiRs these days) the cars were bloody quick for the first few days, but the engines just couldn't make it to the finish line.

Cast iron FTW, huh?

[niZmO_Man]

its possible to change the clutch without taking out engine/gearbox

a relo of mine done it, he had heaps of fun

i heard they understeered cos of weight distribution

anyways i rekon they're a good buy considering you can get a good one for ~$12k-$15k

[Rezz]

Their biggest issue was the alloy engines, which just couldn't handle the heat of rallying.

From what I've heard (and I can't even remember the GTiRs these days) the cars were bloody quick for the first few days, but the engines just couldn't make it to the finish line.

Cast iron FTW, huh?

Thats right (kinda!), the engines themselves were fine, but being cramped in a small engine bay led to overheating and subsequent withdrawal from rallying. Their handling was not so good either as the drivers couldn't get a decent suspension setup the compete with the leading cars, weight bias to the front of the car causing understeer... along those lines. The quick withdrawal from rallying pretty much made the car a failure in the publics eye, which is why it was never very well supported in the aftermarket in Japan.