The Things I Dislike About My Skyline

[Vazard]

Hi guys,

I currently own a 1993 R32 GTS-T Skyline and i love it but theres a few things that over the past year have just started to get to me.

First here is the specs of it:

Colour: White

Bodykit: GTR Front Bar/GTR Wing/Stock Skirts

Engine: RB20DET

Engine Mods: Apexi Pod, Z32 AFM, Greddy BOV, GTR FMIC, Apexi PowerFC ECU, Tomei fuel pump, Turbo timer

Power: Not sure havnt got it dynoed yet, my guess is around 150rwkw

Exhaust: 3"

Gearbox: Stock

Diff: 1.5 Way

Brakes: Cross-drilled and slotted discs

Suspension: Tomei Adjustable Coilovers + Front and rear Strut braces

Wheels: 17" LMGT Nismo

Interior: GTR Front and Rear Seats, Momo steering wheel

Other Mods: 3 electronic guages (boost, oil temp, exhaust temp) with holder. EL dash, gear knob, undercar neons (lol), and more stuff that i cant rememeber

Well I will list the 2 main things that are getting on my nerves:

1. Suspension - My roads around my area arnt very good so most of my drive feels like a mosh pit...well im over exagurrating but its just uncomfortable.

Now i expected this going from a VS S Pack commodore, but its just annoying now. Its just really rough and so stiff. I know this is because of the coilovers but I dont know how much different stock suspension actually is or if there might be something wrong.

Any bump you wouldnt feel in the VS you certainly feel it in the skyline, sometimes i wonder if theres even air in my tires (ive checked).

2. Low down power - Its so dead off the line, i hate having such a gutless car before boost. When its on boost its fine but when driving in general traffic i feel like i have to floor it for it to take off decently. Considering majority of my driving is on/off like that and usually at lower speeds (as its a daily driver more than anything else) it just doesnt seem to suit me.

And the cop attraction is pretty bad but that is also to be expected especially when I'm on my P's still for a few months.

Ive had a few fun ones like being told i cant drive my car because its a turbo (i live in victoria) and numerous (random license checks)

Now I know all the points are obvious and expected when I bought the car but I was seeing if other people don't seem to have these issues as bad as I do.

Ive considered even selling it and buying something like an Xr6 Turbo (a bit more practical) or if still wanted a skyline then a r32 gtr for the low down power problem.

Any advice?

[djr81]

Well first thing to do is check to see what kind of suspension you have. Are they aftermarket coilovers by any chance?

Secondly no RB20 ever had any bottom end. You can't fix this.

[Betz]

r32 GTR wont help your low down power woes (sure it makes ok power down low, but it still feels sluggish compared to when on boost)

they are also horribly uncomfortable for long periods on coarse roads if you have coilovers (I hate my coilovers on long trips)

and the cops... well they just love to hastle anything that looks potentially fast (usually because if it looks fast, chances are that it is)

we are all in the same boat

[95SKY]

You could adjust the suspension to suit as ive had the same problem.

Why dont you sell up and buy something more suitable if its getting to you that much?

[Vazard]

Sorry should have made it a bit more bold in my first post.

My suspension is: Tomei Adjustable Coilovers + Front and rear Strut braces

How much different is coilovers to stock suspension? Is it massive or just noticeable.

I drive 1 hour+ too and from work in traffic which is probably the worst part.

[Zilch*]

Mate how stiff have you got your suspension set?

You say they are adjustables, adjust them? make them not so hard if the roads are no good

[Vazard]

I've never adjusted them - sounds like I should though.

I always figured it mainly affected ride height and didnt affect stiffness that much.

[WogsRus]

No skyline is easy to live with, they have their ups and down, issues and problems.

At the end of the day, i got one because it is what i have always wanted. It's big, it's heavy, it's not the easies car to drive round town, it dosn't have a boot, it's loud, next to no torque, my clutch is to hard (my fault) it's hard to see out all the windows, blah blah balh.

BUT

all these probelms are overcome with a liberal use of the Right Foot, then it's all smiles.

[Lunatikk]

they are also horribly uncomfortable for long periods on coarse roads if you have coilovers (I hate my coilovers on long trips)

WHY is is that so many people on here continue to spout soooo much mis-information & try to pass it off as FACT???

IF your Skyline is "uncomfortable for long periods on coarse roads" you have a bad choice of suspension fitted to the car (ALL modern Skyline's run "coilovers") or you drive it like an idiot

IF your Skyline is heavy on fuel, you have a bad tune or you drive it like an idiot

If your Skyline constantly breaks or it spends more time off the road than on, you probably bought a dog or you drive it like an idiot

If you are constantly getting hassled by the law, you're either "unlucky" or you drive it like an idiot

Can anyone see a pattern here??.......

My point is, whilst the car usually takes the blame, it is more often than not a scapegoat for the real cause of the problems

To answer the orig Q's, the right suspension will totally transform the way the car "feels" & you CAN remove the harshness whilst keeping fantastic handling characteristics. Same goes for the power delivery- the RB20 will probably never be a Torque-Monster down low but again a LOT can be found in the right components & set-up of said components.

Getting the car to do what you want is the easy bit, the hard part is finding the people with the RIGHT information & ignoring all the other "EXPERTS" out there

Try Sydneykid (Gary) for suspension advice

&

3lit3 32 (Dan) for advice on the RB20

Good Luck & hang in there, the end-results will be worth it!!

[predator]

Install bilsteins & whitelines.. this is why they are recommended so often.. as quite a good track/handling combo, which is also good for day-to-day driving. This is what I have and it's fine. Maybe the teins are fine for a lot of track work, but the Jap versions suck on the street.

[tek_01]

i have stock suspension in my 33, and it is unbelievably comfortable for me and everyone else. People who get in for the first time always comment how smooth and comfy my car is. Coilovers are terrible on bumpy roads, as others have said speak to someone in the know about suspension issues

also fuel economy is no more the 350km's per 60L for me regardless of how i drive. This is before and after i modded it and it is running pretty much perfect 12 afr's when checked on a dyno.

even on an rb25det low down feels soooooo gutless worse than an NA car but thats all fixed once the revs rise but as you said its not too nice to drive on low revs as it seems like u have to floor it to move sometimes

[dilmah]

Wow! Is that the average sort of fuel consumption for turbo skylines? And yours is not a gt-r either. Thats less than 6km/L! Sure, my car is only 3 years old, but I get about 10km/L no matter how I drive

But seriously, is this what other people get on average too?

[Baconer]

Yea im on around 300-400km a tank (60L) in a completly stock S2 33 and thats mostly highway driving... Need to get my bike license

[scathing]

Engine: RB20DET

2. Low down power - Its so dead off the line, i hate having such a gutless car before boost.

The former explains the latter. Either get more cubes, or if you've got an attraction to 2.0L engines get an SR.

[scathing]

WHY is is that so many people on here continue to spout soooo much mis-information & try to pass it off as FACT???

For the same reason why religion does so well.

Its a lot easier to believe than it is to know, and a lot of people can't be arsed actually thinking things through and seeing if they make sense when they hear / read about it.

[noisia]

ill swap u my stock suspesnion for ur coilovers and ill give u cash

[noisia]

ill swap u my stock suspesnion for ur coilovers and ill give u cash

[Kinks]

as people have said coilovers are crap if you want comfort. my car is standard everything (probably original shocks too, 49000km bought it with 34000km). the ride quality is f**king sensational - when i drove it it felt like i had just sat in an 8 year old brand new car. handling is sporty but forgiving.

if i was doing any sort of significant track work it needs wider tyres, some sway bars and probably slightly stiffer shocks. but for daily duties it's beautiful.

coilovers are great if you're on the track but on sydney roads... fark that.

[Vazard]

Thanks for the reply guys.

I think it might be time to give the coilovers the flick.

I don't know if I want to go all the way back to stock, but I would like a happy medium.

That bilsteins & whitelines combo sounds interesting, I will look into it.

[scarface]

i love the stock suspension on my r33, handles so good and is still so comfortable