Trip In My Skyline From Sydney To Melbourne And Back

[benro2]

About a month ago I decided to give my auto R33 GTS-T SII a nice long cruise, just to see how it handled it, and before I sold it. I still haven't sold it, but it will be up for sale soon as I've recently bought a Supra (95 RZ 6-sp TT) and it's getting a bit tight supporting 2 cars when I pretty much don't even need one

Anyway, I bought the car in Aug 2005 from Japlink Motorsports with 49000 km's on the clock. Since then it's been independently checked out twice and both places said the km's seem genuine. It had about 90000 on it at the start of the trip to Melbourne and now has about 93500. I'm actually quite impressed with Japlink, as it was my first car and the first place I visited. I had, however, done a lot of research on the forums and looked for hours on the net to find what I wanted, and I was more than pleased with my purchase. I haven't had any troubles with the car whatsoever (touch wood!) so far and after seeing the inside of a Supra, it makes the Skyline look a whole lot more practical!

I tried to source a genuine cruise control but had no luck there, so I went for a cheapo aftermarket AP60 Command dealie (~$180), fitted professionally. I'd heard that the mechanical type CC's were a bit dodgy in that they can get a bit out of whack after a while because the magnets on the driveshaft move, but I figured that I was selling it very soon, so it didn't matter. However, the guy who fitted it (went to JK Car Air in Penrith, also another excellent trustworthy guy) dumped the magnets and hooked it up to the speedo anyway, and I think that pretty much is the only difference between it and a full-on "electronic" type (which are $200-odd more)... unless someone can correct me on this? I got the CC fitted specially for the trip, basically because my right heel/foot can get pretty sore even after half an hour of driving due to me not being able to find the perfect compromise with the driving position, so I only touched the accelerator for maybe 20 minutes during the whole 9 hr 15 min (with 4-5 stops) trip!

The two things I really wanted to emphasise with the Skyline were these: comfort and fuel economy. Two things you'd never expect to hear in the same sentence as "Skyline"! I was more than pleased with both of these aspects and can only describe them as excellent, way above my expectations. Although I've had the car for over 2 years, I've never really been able to test out the comfort of the seats over a journey longer than say 1.5 hrs. I did tend to make a stop every 1.5-2 hrs (did a 2.5-3 hr stint right at the end! Not recommended though...) and didn't really get sore anywhere during any leg of the trip. Those seats are so comfortable - commendations Nissan for making a hard-wearing, supportive seat that also manages to be comfortable at the same time!

Fuel economy - I've always put Vortex 98 in my car and have found it to be great. Haven't really filled up with anything else so can't compare it with anything. Still, I planned a fuel stop about halfway at a station that had Vortex 98 so it wasn't a problem to find. I've always gotten in the vicinity of 11.5 - 13.5 L/100km depending on the type of driving I'm doing, with my average being around 12.7L/100 km (mostly city-style driving in Penrith I think). So I was quite surprised to see a best full tank fuel consumption figure of 9.3L/100km and an overall for the trip of 9.8 (included city driving in Melbourne)! That's excellent for an 11 year old car with as much power as a Holden of a few years ago that would drink more like 15L/100km! I just wish I had a 5th gear so the revs would drop to just over 2,000 rpm @ 110km/h which would probably take it down to mid-8's and maybe reduce the engine noise slightly (my exhaust is stock). The engine's certainly got the torque to get up hills at those revs - I never once went out of top gear, even up the steepest and longest hills. BTW, those fuel economy figures include a few lengthy "floorings" to get past multiple cars in one go too

Well, that's about it from me. I'll be sad to see my car go, but I'm afraid it has to as I can't support both for much longer. I'm hoping to keep the Supra for about 2 years as well and hopefully move back to a Skyline, but this time in the form of an R34 GTR

I'll advertise the car in these forums when the time comes (waiting to get everything "just right" with the Supra before I do), as I'd prefer it to go to someone who will take car of it like it deserves. The car's looked after me well so I think it deserves the same back!

Oh, I forgot to mention that I absolutely *loved* the drive there and back, so if anyone's thinking about doing it, DO IT!!! My friend recently moved to Melbourne (that's why I was visiting) and he drove a nice luxurious Toyota Celsior (top of the range type C-F) and he was bloody complaining! So if you're not into "driving" (so why would you be on these forums or driving a Skyline??? ) then don't bother, but if you are, it's well worth it. I'm planning on going on a slightly longer trip soon, maybe to QLD - about 11 hrs I think? Can't wait for that! Although I think I'll be doing it in the Supra...

Edited October 20, 2007 by benro2

[jake33]

long....drive/post. find any problems or issues after the treck?

oh hows the change from the 33 to the TT soup?? if im still here ill be looking to go this path as ive allway wanted a mildly moded soup. ie. handling? driveability?, power difference?

cheers

[benro2]

long....drive/post. find any problems or issues after the treck?

oh hows the change from the 33 to the TT soup?? if im still here ill be looking to go this path as ive allway wanted a mildly moded soup. ie. handling? driveability?, power difference?

cheers

Hehe I know it was a long post, I was actually intending it to be sort of more like a review type thing but it didn't come across that way...oh well I've been meaning to start a proper thread, review comparo style between the Skyline and Supra, so may as well do it here!

Any problems with the Skyline? Nope! Still just as good as when I first bought it 2 years ago! Touchwood...

Anyway, the change from the Skyline to the TT Supra? It'll be sad to see the Skyline go, that's for sure I *just* managed to get the Supra registered today so that means I'll be putting the Skyline up for sale very soon. Here's my opinion on the differences between the two cars:

1. Engine. Both have excellent engines, although I've found the Supra's to be slightly smoother and quieter. I have a Top Secret fibreglass bonnet on the Supra with a heap of vents in it and I can't hear any ticking noises or anything coming from it - it's very quiet. The previous owner put the engine in "TTC" mode (ie: non-sequential TT), meaning that I don't get any boost pretty much until 3,000 rpm, with full boost on by maybe 3500-4000 (very sudden, but I like it like that). However, the 0.5L capacity increase is more than enough to get it up most steep hills, even in the reasonably tall top gear, on no boost to maybe 1-2 psi at most. It weighs about 100kg more but the 0.5L extra size more than compensates for that.

2. Power difference. The GTS-T is supposed to make about 120rwkw stock, and on the last (crappy) tune my Supra made around 235rwkw @ 16psi, so having close to double the power at the wheels is obviously noticeable! I'm going to wind it out to 18psi (stock turbos!) and get a full retune - I've been told that a good 250rwkw shouldn't be out of the question. I think I'll maybe even get a bit more than that due to the other mods I've already got.

3. Handling. My GTS-T had stock suspension and the Supra RZ has stock Bilsteins and Apexi (or HKS?) springs. The ride is quite good in both, but the Supra will out-handle the Skyline easily. I'd say the ride is actually better in the Supra, and I'm quite impressed with it. Smaller bumps seem to be soaked up a bit better, and big dips in the road feel more controlled, but big sudden bumps like road joins, etc. seem to crash through more, probably because I'm running 255/35ZR18s and 285/30ZR18s - the Skyline is running the factory optional 225/50R16's f + r so their profile is quite a bit higher. Really, it's a bit of an unfair comparison because I'm comparing stock to modified. If you are trying to decide which model Supra to get, try and get an RZ as they have stock Bilsteins that are *very* hard to better for anything under a few grand. I'm not sure if my sway bars have been modded or not - it certainly feels like it anyway because the car feels like it's being "sucked" around corners, whereas I think the Skyline leans a bit too much for my liking. Still, it's mostly a lot better than the average cars around today!

4. Driveability. Not too good for the Supra, for me at least. It came with the most hardcore, racing-oriented combo of HKS twin-plate clutch and lightened flywheel, and I'd never driven a manual (ever!) before, so as you can imagine, it's taken me a month or two to be able to drive it half decently. I've still got a way to go, but that's partially due to the fact that the clutch isn't adjusted properly. I did have a very short drive of another Supra forum member's car that still had the seqential setup, with aftermarket twin-plate but less hardcore clutch, and I think that would probably suit everyday driving a lot more, although the clutch pedal was a lot heavier. My clutch pedal is incredibly light and I only have to push it in maybe 5cm to change gears, and the takeup length from fully disengaged to engaged is probably about 1cm, so maybe now you'll have an idea of why I don't like it too much! It's also incredibly *loud*, especially on hotter days with the A/C on, when idling - much louder than the car itself - but this can mostly be fixed by increasing the idling speed to around 1100rpm. Also under load, under 2000 rpm it rattles much louder than the car too, so be aware of aftermarket clutches when choosing a new car. It's unlikely to need one of these if you're just going for a "mildly modified" one though. Oh yeah, I'd also keep the sequential mode for everyday driving too, as it's much more like the Skyline in terms of the torque curve, actually probably even more beefy under 2000 rpm. Bottom line: I really like the Skyline's stock turbo setup - it's a nice grunty engine and is easy to live with every day. The Supra is the same, but once you start going much over stock boost it's recommended to go to TTC mode (to save the 2nd turbo from damage as it's hit with a lot of boost very suddenly), which means you have almost no boost until 3000 rpm and then it comes on *hard* (or as hard as you want it to with a good EBC), which some people actually prefer as it makes the car feel faster.

5. Interior comfort. Tricky one here. Another point to note is that I drove my dad to and from the airport today in his VZ Calais, about a 2hr round trip, so that gave me a chance to compare it to my recent Skyline trip. I can honestly say that the Skyline's seats *are* better for long trips! I had sore thighs and feet after about an hour of driving the Calais, but that may have been because I've spent less time getting the right pedal/seat/wheel setup than I have in the Skyline. The Supra's seats are very good too. The RZ got Recaro's from 96 onwards, which I have tried, and IMHO they are a bit too tight for my liking, especially for longer trips. They'll be very good for track work, but that's not something I'll be doing any time soon. I really like the RZ's seats in the pre-96 models (mine's a 95) - much the same as the GTS-T's actually, but with maybe a bit more support. I have to spend more time adjusting the seat but I can see that it will be as good as the Skyline's on a long trip. Oh, and road noise: the Skyline seems to have less sound deadening than the Supra. I can hear the Skyline's exhaust quite prominently (remember mine's stock) with all the windows up, whereas the Supra is a lot louder outside that the Skyline (it's running a 3.75" Apexi cat-back with a 3" dump and stock mid-pipe!) but when you wind up the windows a lot of the sound disappears. It has more road noise, but I think that's probably due to the width of the tyres

6. Practicality. I didn't realise just how impractical Supras are until I actually had one! Even compared to a GTS-T, they are a *very* impractical car if you ever want to take more than one passenger or carry a decent amount of luggage. The hatch depth is maybe half a foot, meaning that any decent sub box will either take up half the floor area (and I doubt a decent sub would be less than half a foot deep anyway!), or you'll have to take out the spare wheel, etc. Back seats? Don't even bother. They should have just made it a two seater and used the back seat space for something better. I did have 3 people in the Supra a couple of times but they were pretty uncomfortable, whereas I've carried 5 reasonably sized people in the Skyline before and they weren't complaining. You really do need a second car if you need to carry passengers or luggage with a Supra.

7. Brakes. If you're going for a pre-96/97 model RZ, don't expect much from the brakes. They are only 2-pot fronts and the feel is a bit spongy. For road use they're fine but you can forget about track use. I think the GTS-T's have better feel and feel like they're more up to the task for (light) track use. However, apparently the post 97 RZ's brakes were 4-pot fronts, 2-pot rears and have better feel and don't fade nearly as much on the track. I did drive one with these brakes but it was only for a couple of minutes so I didn't really get much of an idea. The Skyline's brakes are definitely better here. I'm going to have to get some performance pads for the Supra to try and improve the pedal feel, but it's not *that* urgent - but it's something I'd like to get done at some point.

8. Looks. The Supra is pretty easy on the eyes, even after all these years. I think it's one of those "classic" shapes that will last forever. The Skyline is nearly the same, but it just doesn't look as intimidating in your rear view mirrors as a tastily-modded Supra does. Actually, you might be able to access the For Sale thread of my actual car, have a look for yourself: http://www.supraforums.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=31734

Again, I'm comparing a stock car to a modded car, but IMHO, the Supra stands out more. I like both shapes, though.

9. Fuel consumption. Don't ask about the Supra. The first tank of fuel I went through on the Supra averaged over 20L/100km! Admittedly, the entire tank was used by me going up to the uni to practise stop/start driving and a few WOT runs. The 2nd tank was a bit better, I think in the 16L/100km range. And that's all I've got to go on, never filled it more than twice! Although also, for both those tanks, it was running an extremely rich, extremely dodgy tune (not my tune!) and it should be considerably better than that now. As I mentioned before, my overall average for the Skyline is about 12.7L/100km but that's mostly city driving. As you could see, mid-9's is pretty good for a highway cruise, and people have reported similar (even lower) figures on the Supra forums for their TT 6-speeds. I'd say they'd be pretty much the same - obviously the biggest determining factor is how hard you drive it!

OK, hope that gave you some idea of what to expect from your Supra! Basically, I'd have to describe it as more of a performance car that's less practical for everyday driving, but is capable of crazy engine outputs if that's your thing. If you buy one that still runs TTC mode and maybe 15 psi of boost, you'll have a car that will beat just about anything else on the road, will be very driveable and won't use too much fuel (if you're easy with your right foot ). Which would I choose if I hadn't owned either but knew this info beforehand? That's a hard question. Probably the Skyline, as it better suits my everyday needs. I would have liked to try an R33 GTR but it was too close to what I already had and I wanted a change. Plus I just *had* to own a Supra once in my life!

I think it's worth trying a Supra for a while. Obviously don't bother with the non-turbo model, or the auto's. Get a nice, clean RZ (not RZ-S or GZ) that's got a few tasteful mods (avoid those dodgy looking bodykits!), such as suspension, EBC, wheels, exhaust, intercooler, etc. and you can't go wrong Oh, and a word of advice - *do not* buy a modified car interstate! It's just too much stuffing around to get it registered! Or at least buy one with mods that are easily removable...I'm talking from experience

[Dragonforce]

Nice write up man, was a very interesting read

Good luck with the supra in the future and hope you get a good price for the skyline.

-Dragonforce

[benro2]

Nice write up man, was a very interesting read

Good luck with the supra in the future and hope you get a good price for the skyline.

-Dragonforce

Thanks mate.

Got the Supra's clutch adjusted at Penrith Brake and Clutch (excellent guys, didn't charge me anything and took about 2 minutes!) and now it's *slightly* easier to drive since the clutch no longer pumps itself up the end of the pedal travel. I'm down to stalling it maybe once or twice a day now!

Note to self: *don't* drive the Supra much until you've gotten a full PowerFC tune... as the latest 21.9L/100km fuel economy is less than desirable...