R33 Gtr Reliabilty

[NZM.031]

hey all..

ive been toying with the idea of actually buying a GTR for a while now... ive always wanted one, but deemed it too expensive, too troublesome or myself too irresponsible to actually own one.

im tossing up between an r32 and r33 gtr..

ive found a completly stock r33 gtr, 120000kms, stock exhaust, stock stereo, stock gearknob etc. no wear on steering wheel, knob, leather boots, seats, etc. completly immaculate inside, outside and under the bonnet, all standard components, airbox, bovs etc... all standard... paint on covers and plenum is as good as the exterior paint.

its the same price as an R32 gtr + stock (not performance) engine rebuild.

i dont want it for monster power, i do want to add some simple bolt on mods though, which the r33 will respond to better than the r32.. i like the subtleness of the interior of the 33 and find its a much roomier place to be than the 32.. and the whole r33 seems to be much better finish quality than the 32, which appeals to me aswell, it still feels new and not dated... ive not been in an r32 that has that same feel.

the car will sit in the garage alot... but be used for weekends away, holidays etc, and occasional squirts and maybe a track day here or there..

but the 32 is the original gtr.. well.. apart from the hakosuka. i

given that this gtr has not been powered up or modded in anyway... one can only assume its had a fairly easy life.. easier than one thats had some mods anyway..

so the question is... will it break on me driving it home?? thats my biggest worry. and seems to be a common story among gtr's and a cause for a high powered all out rebuild. how many sob storys are there about well looked after r33s??

if it is gonna break.. ill just get an evo 9

cheers

Linton

Edited April 7, 2009 by NZM.031

[Weapon]

I stepped up into GTR ownership and i haven't looked back. Mine was a 1997 series III GTR and its superb

I would go the 33 as it does have a couple advantages like the bigger/stronger oil pump drive and also the dump pipes are a little better flowing.

Plus as you said you'll be driving it on long trips away on the weekend and the extra space does come in handy

I added a power fc, full 3.5in exhaust and 12psi and its running 235awkw and its very punchy around town. Also as they are a little heavier they ride a little softer than the others so its not to bad at all

I would spend the same money and get a newer car imo

Happy hunting

[God_speed]

I bought my 1995 Series 1 R33 GT-R back in October 2005 with 45,000km on the odometer. I bought it privately from someone in south Sydney and it was exactly what I was looking for (and it sounds similar to yours); it was completely stock with stock exhaust, suspension, engine bay, etc.

I've now had the car 3.5 years and it has 95,000km, a mixture of city driving (including start-stop traffic) and highway cruising. I still love the look of the car; you can easily bring it bang up-to-date by just getting some quality aftermarket suspension (dropping about 1") and some lower offset (less positive offset) wheels, and by keeping the paint in good nick.

I've not yet touched the engine but plan to do a few things to it yet like a Power FC. The only mods to the car so far have been TEIN coilovers, Midori high-flow cat and Fujitsubo exhaust, and an oil catch can. I also bought some Series 3 Xenon headlights and some Volk RE30s for the car not long ago. If you're looking at upgrading tyres I'd recommend the Bridgestone RE001s I've got as they are a good performance/price compromise; about $1350 fitted for a set of 4 265/35 18s.

In terms of reliability, the car has only ever had one issue since I took it to Oran Park one day for a training session, it was going fine all day until the afternoon when power and RPM was cut severely and it was blowing black smoke. After quite a few weeks in the workshop and a few thousand dollars in diagnosis, parts and labour, it has been fixed. A number of things needed to be replaced, including a blocked fuel return valve, fuel filter and fuel pump, a crank angle sensor and a throttle position sensor.

All in all though, the car has been incredibly reliable given the km I have done and the performance it offers even as a stock vehicle. I make sure I change the oil + filters every 5,000km. At the recent Envy Dyno Day it achieved ~188kW at all four wheels, a healthy figure for a stock-ish 13.5 year old GTR.

It's also noticeably roomier in the back than the R34 GTR in our family.

[GTR-N1]

Don't let the number of neglected R33 GTSTs running around stop you from getting a superb R33 GT-R like above.

Improved brakes; improved oil pump; faster times around the 'Ring will give you the confidence of buying a road car such as the R33 GT-R

Drive it! You'll see!

[some_cs_student]

Its a GTR, I've been lucky so far in that I've had few issues....clutch and transfer case in the past 9months of ownership of light-moderate modified GTR, but when you do have an issue you need to know costs.

Blow the transfer case (unlikely but it happened to mine), $400 second hand.

New clutch, between 1 - 2K

Blow the stock turbo or engine rebuild and expect some serious $$$

I'm not saying the EVO6 is going to be much cheaper, I'm just saying that even if you get a nice GTR for <28K you need to know the costs if something is wrong, if looked after properly they usually do quiet well

[NISMO]

Don't be put off by all the rebuild stories.

You'd be hard pressed to find a GTR thats let go without being abused. I'm sure if you sit there doing 7000rpm launches in your EVO then sooner or later it too will go.

At the end of the day a GTR is just like any other car, in that if it has been looked after by the previous owner and you look after it and not hammer the crap out of it, there is no reason why it should break.

There is nothing in the design of the GTR that causes them to just break out of nowhere.

My 32 has under 60k's with logbooks, and it feel newer than the 2004 V35 i sold before i bought it.

Get it checked out before you commit. There's a whole heap of threads on what you should look out for. Get a compression test, leak down test done and if all is ok, grab it and get ready for some sore cheeks, cause is takes a hell of a long time to loose the smile once it's in your garage

[GT-R32]

GTRs are beautifully reliable cars. You won't look back. Even if it needs a couple of things if it has been neglected a little, once addressed they really are great. They don't get enough credit for how reliable they are, there is far too much fear around them on that.

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

this gtr has not been powered up or modded in anyway... one can only assume its had a fairly easy life..

lol... do not think that is the case... it could have been doing 7k sidesteps every day for 10 years..... its a GTR they are all bought to be driven...

get the thing properly checked out and make your descision from there

[GTR-N1]

lol... do not think that is the case... it could have been doing 7k sidesteps every day for 10 years..... its a GTR they are all bought to be driven...

get the thing properly checked out and make your descision from there

^^^True!

You must follow basic rules (like any other car)...

Take a mechanic with you and then you both have lists to check

i) chassis rails for rust or damage

ii) the boot well for damage

iii) panel bolts around the front end Re: damage

iv) leaks/seepage

v) oil filler cap for sludge and grit

vi) dip stick for burnt smell or milkiness

vii) coolant reservoir for oil (that shouldn't be there) and clarity

viii) tyres for uneven wear

ix) all electrics working (windows/lights/cig lighter/wipers/washers)

x) warning lights and fault codes

xi) compression test on cylinders

xii) uneven panel fit

xiii) service history

xiv) air filters clean or dirty

xv) air cond working

xvi) heater working

xvii) paint damage from the top compared to the sides

xviii) upholstery damage

xix) wheel bearing play

xx) bushings

...and this is before you turn the engine over.

[N1GTR]

I know of one that sounds exactly like the one you're describing Linton. Check for previous crash repairs very closely

Stock cars take a pounding before any trouble, dont worry about breaking it by just driving to a holiday house on the weekends

[GT-R32]

I know of one that sounds exactly like the one you're describing Linton. Check for previous crash repairs very closely

Stock cars take a pounding before any trouble, dont worry about breaking it by just driving to a holiday house on the weekends

A lot of GTRs have been crashed, even the owners probably don't know it! The cars are getting old, and have a few kms under their belt, so minor accidents do happen and they are certainly nothing to be worried about if they have been repaired correctly. Often panels that are resprayed for various reasons are passed off as accident repairs by overly anal buyers. Unless the damage was very serious, I wouldn't stress at all about properly repaired minor damage.