Going From R32 Gtst To C34 Stagea

[xRHETTx]

Hey all,

After having my Skyline for over 4 years now, I am seriouly looking into getting a (manual) Series 2 Stagea. I'm sick of having to borrow my parents wagon or going in someone else's car whenever I go surfing/camping/snowboarding/want more than 4 people. And the capability to have a tow bar would be great too. Plus I'm sick of the whole "oh you drive a skyline" mentality of some people.

But I am concerned that I'll miss the nimble, "chuckable" feel of my r32 gtst.

Has anyone (i imagine many have) gone from a 32 or 33 gtst to a stagea? Any opinions would be great. How are they as spirited driving cars? I'm not talking about drifting and street racing, rather just fun drives in the mountains and stuff.

Is the stock suspension reasonable? Or would I be looking at upgrading for any serious driving duties?

Thanks for any replies,

Rhett

[petrolfix]

Hey all,

After having my Skyline for over 4 years now, I am seriouly looking into getting a (manual) Series 2 Stagea. I'm sick of having to borrow my parents wagon or going in someone else's car whenever I go surfing/camping/snowboarding/want more than 4 people. And the capability to have a tow bar would be great too. Plus I'm sick of the whole "oh you drive a skyline" mentality of some people.

But I am concerned that I'll miss the nimble, "chuckable" feel of my r32 gtst.

Has anyone (i imagine many have) gone from a 32 or 33 gtst to a stagea? Any opinions would be great. How are they as spirited driving cars? I'm not talking about drifting and street racing, rather just fun drives in the mountains and stuff.

Is the stock suspension reasonable? Or would I be looking at upgrading for any serious driving duties?

Thanks for any replies,

Rhett

i have gone from a s13 silvia to a serries 2 manual stag. allthough i hav'nt ownrd the stag long it is awsome. every bodylikes it young your old every body looks at it and the room is more then ample (oh the convenice) will be fitting a towbar and cruise control soon. my s13 was very nimble have coilovers sporty tyres and upt the boost. the stagea isn't nimble by anysport's cars standars but for a family wagon/ people mover or even sedan it is pretty agile. you get used to the extra weight and i say for the trade off the room and convenice relibilty is well worth it.

y don't you just keep your 32 as well as buy a wagon then you get the best of both worlds

oh did i mention the compfort soo much more compfortable

Edited August 13, 2007 by petrolfix

[wolverine]

i have both an R33 and a manual stagea (RS4S).

the R33 is certainly more nimble than the stagea. although the stagea feels a size down from the VT SS commodore it replaced.

an R32 will feel much lighter again.

i love driving the stagea on short or long trips. if the R33 was totalled tomorrow i would buy another RS4S or 260RS.

you have most of the performance and hardly any compromise on space. there isn't much you will miss IMO.

[Duncan]

biggest thing I noticed was how much more refined it was than 33 gtst....just sooo quiet and luxrious inside its like a different car.

Handling is what you would expect from a 1700kg, 10 year old car. Crap. Sydneykid's suspension sorted that right out now its firm but not uncomfortable.

And finally, its a fair bit slower than a gtst. Needs to be boosted

[wolverine]

hi duncan,

the RS4S has larger sway bars and few other bits and pieces, so from standard they are more refined (exactly as you say) but have much less body roll than the autos.

with the SK kit (standard springs) there isn't much to bitch about although it was pretty good before.

[JVP]

Hey all,

After having my Skyline for over 4 years now, I am seriouly looking into getting a (manual) Series 2 Stagea. I'm sick of having to borrow my parents wagon or going in someone else's car whenever I go surfing/camping/snowboarding/want more than 4 people. And the capability to have a tow bar would be great too. Plus I'm sick of the whole "oh you drive a skyline" mentality of some people.

But I am concerned that I'll miss the nimble, "chuckable" feel of my r32 gtst.

Has anyone (i imagine many have) gone from a 32 or 33 gtst to a stagea? Any opinions would be great. How are they as spirited driving cars? I'm not talking about drifting and street racing, rather just fun drives in the mountains and stuff.

Is the stock suspension reasonable? Or would I be looking at upgrading for any serious driving duties?

Thanks for any replies,

Rhett

Hey mate.

i went from a manual r32 gtst into an auto S1 stagea, and i love it. like you, i was sick of the whole "skyline" scene, and didnt want to get any unwanted attention anymore.

i love the fact that i can put anything and everything in the back of the stag, and not have to worry. as for spirited driving, they are fairly quick considering the weight they have to lug around, around bends such as the GOR it felt pretty good for stock suspension, not as good as my 32, but good in terms of how heavy n shit it actually is. if u wanted to get it handling better, speak to SydneyKid on these forums. he can get you whiteline products which most of the stagea guys use and they seem pretty happy with it.

the stagea is heaps more quiter on the road, and is heaps more luxurious than the 32. i got mine with the leather and electric seat package, and twin sunroofs. i love it and wont go back, unless i can afford an r32 gtr as well as the stagea lol.

hope that helps

jarryd.

[Mr_RS4]

Now don't eveyone flame me here (just and observation ) but I saw my fist Legnum on the road the other day. Previoulsy I had just seen pics and didn't really like what I saw. But this looked pretty tidy and sounded great. They could be a bit of competition. No where near as hard to find in a manual, same sort of luxury features (can be found in leather too), lighter and still AWD just to name a few. I think the front looks mean but not sold on the rear. A lot of imports seem to stuff it up at the back imo.

[JVP]

i saw a legnum at a dealership here in melb, and it looked fugly.

[jasevr4]

Every car has it's merits...

[joe26f]

when i was looking for a stagea there was a legnum for sale in sydney. dude wanted 36000 for it, 15000 more then my stagea

[jasevr4]

when i was looking for a stagea there was a legnum for sale in sydney. dude wanted 36000 for it, 15000 more then my stagea

probably before they had import approval.. there were about 4 of them as personal imports in the country

[petrolfix]

probably before they had import approval.. there were about 4 of them as personal imports in the country

i think theres more than that. I know of 2 regested in newcastle, and was in at the jap import wreakers. They had one there about to be complied. Had a look at it nothing special inside, looks like a lancer inside with tacky woodgrain (yuck) the engine bay is so cramed it makes a 300zx bay look spacios.

(for those of you not on the now the legnum has the fto v6 twin turboed backed up to the east west [beefed up] evo 4 wheel drive gearbox.) it must be so front heavy it's not funny.

Can't wait to race one.

Edited August 15, 2007 by petrolfix

[JAV360]

My misses has a 32gtst with all the gear and is fun to drive, but the stagea is just as good (apart from the whole sideways action), everyone assumes its just a family wagon till ya blow em off at the lights, and yeah the whole room in the back is awsome, how many imports can fit 3 mountain bikes in the back.

[jasevr4]

i think theres more than that. I know of 2 regested in newcastle, and was in at the jap import wreakers. They had one there about to be complied.

they've had import approval for a while now

hence why i said.........

[stageaman]

Ive had mine for 3 months now and i like it alot.Very practical wagon with all the jap mod cons.The reason i bought one was it had alot to offer for the money but being a ford XR6T boy,it had a turbo donk in it.Only bum side is that power increases are not as easy as the XR6T,so no 11 sec wagon for me.LOL but all in all im very happy with the car.

[Terminal]

I had an R33 for a year, I've now had the Stagea for 3 years and never looked back. I don't need a super fast car, but I do need the room of a wagon, even more so now that I have a 2 month old son.

Saying that, I've probably spent close to the amount I paid for the car again on it in mods. It's so much fun!

[xRHETTx]

Thanks for your replies, definately will start looking for one to import in the next few months...

Pity the yen went from 105 yen per $ to 87 yen in the last week, everything just got 15% more expensive!! I guess I'll wait a few months and hopefully the Aussie dollar will go back up again.

[jasevr4]

Rhett it's a holiday week in Japan this week.. Check the exchange rate next week.