Are Imports Such As Skyline/supra's Unreliable?

[PhilKenSebben]

sorry fat magz for straying from the topic, I'll back out of this never ending battle of the wits.

No, imports are not unreliable. And they go fast. Get one

[bozodos]

eeiko321, you lost the game on that one

I read the same article, I recall seeing the scans on the net ages ago when the Street Commodores forum was having a collective boner over GTS-R's for some unknown reason. I was also merely stating that it was the 'full house' 215kw 355 motor in that particular VR + 6 speed gearbox versing the WRX and the EVO.

I can't find the scans of the original article despite extensive googling, but they are out there somewhere.

I also had to laugh at this quote from HSV's marketing pitch "HSV expects most buyers to go for the optimised engine blueprinting package which costs an extra $10,000 or so, but worth at least another 10kW to take performance into another dimension."

Purpleisafruit : what sort of problems did you have with the 7MGTE? Is that the 3 litre?

[fuzzy_scuz]

More fuel for the fire.

Wheels magazine isn't an award when you own the magazine? Go Holden buy the awards you need because the cars are shit.

I have owned a commodore and here is the list of things fixed before I sent it packing

Drove 30000k

6 harmonic balancers

2 centre diff bearings

1 Transmission bolt (Joins to diff)

3 radiators

1 Head

1 throttle body

Mind you when I brought the car it had 97000k on the clock

Compared to my GTR

Nothing!

Stick that in you pie hole and smoke it.

[GTR-N1]

This one's reliable...

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/po...pr2009st104.pdf

[PhilKenSebben]

A $10k option adding 10kw? To a heavy sedan? Must've taken that performance to roughly the same dimension as a Jim Beam sticker on the back would have. Gold.

The old 7MGTE was superseded quickly by Toyota, because in the real world, people DO make mistakes, yes, even Toyota, and they do have a reputation for reliability to uphold. My opinion is based solely on 2 friends having numerous problems with both of theirs, but let's be honest. They were both old imports, have probably lived a harsh life and unknown service history, so don't spit on me just yet. The most documented problem was blowing head gaskets, it was apparently quite common, and not exactly a $20 repair. Of course a metal replacement item solved this qualm.

I have NOT owned a 7M, I am NOT an expert, this is purely HERESAY. But look at either side of the V8 vs import fence. Throwing around stories of "mates" that may or may not have existed is rife, and the bullshitters will always outnumber those with actual experiences with both. Live with it.

I chose Jap and have never been disappointed, others will choose 'aussie' and have nothing but fond memories. But suggesting both points of view can be valid on either forum and expect backlash

[eeiko321]

Yeah ok you got me a camry forum exists, hell there's probably a forum for old men who love to have sex with 8 year olds but that doesn't mean society should accept either of them. And finding it was as purile as the whole pointing out grammatical errors point.

so your saying Society should not accept Camrys because its Older men who drive it and you think they are Phedophiles?

if you seriously think that way...you should seek help dude.

The camry has been the BEST selling car for 9 out of 10 years starting in 1997 in USA.

It also has sold really well in Australia, Canada and no# of asian countries. So just because 1 bogan thinks in a twisted way, doesnt change the cars status.

BY the way regarding the Grammar, if you bothered to read... it wasnt me whom bought up the spelling.

You still didn't accept that you completely misread my post, and chose something else to argue about, despite then stating that this is a forum and others opinions may differ from your own?

maybe i did, but bagging out the camry the way you did was pretty twisted.

all cars are different and are...designed for each purpose...

even the Hyundai Getz for e.g isnt that Boring as bat shit?!?!?! but no matter what you say... its a good small car for an individual to drive to and from work, saving fuel and very affordable. it should have its credit for accomplishing that. (breaking down prematurely is a different story)

And while I DISLIKE the Holden Gts-r (you don't seem to have gotten that yet) and would much rather a WRX (well actually the Evo is nicer in my opinion)

comparing them is odd. It would be like comparing a Camry to a Ferrari then stating the Ferrari is the superior car. Or if price is what it was based on, it would be like comparing a Toyota Aurion to a Holden Rodeo. Seems like a strange combo wouldn't you say?

well i think it was a good comparision. its a clash between 2 different titans... like MOTOR magazine had an article few years back ...putting 15 exotic cars to the test with acceleration and Top speed. from Lambos, Aston martins, ferraris, Jaguars, all the way to a HSV Bathurst V8 supercar. But they were suppose to add a Ferrari of some sort but fell short with thier request. However the Ferrari was replaced by a Highly modified R33 GT-R V-spec. This thing ripped everything including Top speed and acceleration.

The Lamborghini Diablo i think it was was 2nd place and V8 Supercar being in 3rd.

Being different makes things interesting. An aurion and Rodeo are different, they are not built for performance, where the GTS-R and WRX are..... and people want to know how fast they can go. Kinda like Bathurst racing, Ford Vs holdens all the time.... it would be nice if they threw godzilla back or 4cyl turbos in there competing.

Or better yet, "ignore" my stupid bogan point of view by replying with a "yo momma" joke. It's all good

lol

well Yo mama so ugly when she joined an ugly contest, they said "Sorry, no professionals."

[PhilKenSebben]

Dude, I refuse to argue this any longer. Done. Your point is taken.

And for the record your yo momma joke did get a smile out of me. An oldie but a classic

[PhilKenSebben]

Oh and don't start me on what sells well in Yanksville. They are the largest consumers of the worlds best selling car, the F series. And it truly is a silly vehicle that blurs the lines between "I want to be a truck driver" and "I need to be able to out-accelerate a Porsche"

*WARNING - QUOTES MAY BE HARMFUL WHEN TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT

[eeiko321]

Dude, I refuse to argue this any longer. Done. Your point is taken.

And for the record your yo momma joke did get a smile out of me. An oldie but a classic

you should cheer up you miserable redneck

lol

Oh and don't start me on what sells well in Yanksville. They are the largest consumers of the worlds best selling car, the F series. And it truly is a silly vehicle that blurs the lines between "I want to be a truck driver" and "I need to be able to out-accelerate a Porsche"

*WARNING - QUOTES MAY BE HARMFUL WHEN TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT

i didnt just mention USA ......

i said Australia, Canada and other asian countries..........................................

maybe you should read properly

taken out of context?

its a friggin forum you knob

write a letter to the admin to delete the "Quote" button since you ... a boganator wont accept it.

lol

[GTR-32U]

Oh and maybe you missed the tongue-in-cheek of my last phrase, but I sort of had a go at the reliability of muscle cars there.

And the Barina was not a Holden. It was *horror* a jap car first. a Suzuki. And they're still going strong. Then they were Opels, a Euro that was still quite good. Then they became Daewoo's and suddenly things got bad.

Oh and a comparison between the gts-r and a WRX is just plain stupid, what motoring mag did that one?

Oh and i re-read your posts and you're still a knob

Yes I do remember reading that Magazine years ago about that comparison.

However an even weirder one was a comparison ( Wheels or Motor- Not sure but I do still have the Mag somewhere ) between the VN Group A SS Commodore and the Subaru liberty wagon RS

Guess that 215kw of twin throttle body V8 just wasnt good enough to match the Suby as it certainly layed waste to it

[PhilKenSebben]

AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!! EEIKO you are killing me!

Are you going for a point or just arguing for the sake of it!?

here:

I love jap cars

every jap car is brilliant and 100% reliable

anything non jap is complete rubbish

the camry is a great car and not only reliable but it has its own forum

suzuki swifts are great but if you re-badge it holden it is unreliable and shite

The holden apollo is possibly the worst car ever made

anyone who buys a commodore or falcon should be hung

toyota never sold a car called a lexcen

eeiko has a gtr34 and commands respect

he is well informed and his opinions are the only correct ones and he is cool whereas I enjoy a good bumming from the occasional bloke.

[bozodos]

Yeah I have that Motor mag where they did the top speed comparison, the Monaro managed 270km/h bog stock lol.

And it was hardly an even playing ground when it was a highly modified R33 V-Spec, compared to the other cars which were stock. Still 308km/h is no mean feat! IMO Motor magazine isn't really the best authority on motoring matters anyway.

BTW I don't recall anyone saying that Camry's were pedo cars. And the older ones at least were boring as f**king batshit. An auto 2000 model Camry is the one and only car I've seen that could not actually accomplish a burnout in any form. This thread is about jap vs Aussie car reliability in general, and now it's degenerated into 2 pages of people carrying on about Camrys! geez.

[eeiko321]

AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!! EEIKO you are killing me!

Are you going for a point or just arguing for the sake of it!?

here:

I love jap cars

every jap car is brilliant and 100% reliable

anything non jap is complete rubbish

the camry is a great car and not only reliable but it has its own forum

suzuki swifts are great but if you re-badge it holden it is unreliable and shite

The holden apollo is possibly the worst car ever made

anyone who buys a commodore or falcon should be hung

toyota never sold a car called a lexcen

eeiko has a gtr34 and commands respect

he is well informed and his opinions are the only correct ones and he is cool whereas I enjoy a good bumming from the occasional bloke.

you "refuse to argue" and then you type all this spiteful bullshit....

gee looks like inbreeding goes a long way for some people.

arguing for the sake of it?

well i was just proving a point that some people such as your self is just a spiteful inbred that is just thick as 2 bricks.

[eeiko321]

Yeah I have that Motor mag where they did the top speed comparison, the Monaro managed 270km/h bog stock lol.

And it was hardly an even playing ground when it was a highly modified R33 V-Spec, compared to the other cars which were stock. Still 308km/h is no mean feat! IMO Motor magazine isn't really the best authority on motoring matters anyway.

BTW I don't recall anyone saying that Camry's were pedo cars.

read up and you can see what the bogan wrote...

and what year/month was that magazine again?.

yes exotics are really hard to beat but with a highly modified car...its definately got the upper hand.

but it was just an interesting comparison with a very popular car that came first

[ACTIVE-LSD]

"alot of people saying on that forum, if ur getting somthing thats an import turbo its hard to maintain and they fall apart."

thats if you get a lemon. theres no such thing as jap cars are unreliable and hard to maintain. that goes for holdens and fords as well. as many members here have mentioned. take care of the car and it'll care care of you. simple as that regardless of which make and model.

as for the falling apart. it shouldn't fall apart as long as theres minimal mods. heavy mods = puting stress on different components thus "falling apart".

Got my Silvia S15 imported last year. I tried my best to find a low mileage and completely stock car. finally found it. it had one owner. when the car came from japan. i full serviced it myself. changed the engine oil, gearbox and diff. flushed the radiator coolant also did a fuel injection service. the car has been well eversince. only problem was the alternator shit itself. i got that fixed myself DIY. part costed $100.

Edited April 22, 2009 by Mingy

[sneakey pete]

why is it dull as a dishwasher when its a reliable family car?!

Hehe.

Just think about that statement for a while, the answer might come to you.

Oh, and stop talking shit mate. Read everything that people are saying and think about it for a while, it might stop you making these silly rants where you misinterpret entire posts and make yourself look pretty silly. (eg, the whole, person a saying: "oh, that particular Toyota motor wasn't to good," then you saying: "Waaah, stop dissin toyota you bogan")

[Johnny]

I also had to laugh at this quote from HSV's marketing pitch "HSV expects most buyers to go for the optimised engine blueprinting package which costs an extra $10,000 or so, but worth at least another 10kW to take performance into another dimension."

giggle giggle

which dimension are they talking here

[TALBO]

"another dimension" = drive like old people f**k and you can still watch your fuel gauge go down

[bozodos]

Well I have actually been for a ride in a HSV with the blueprinted (!) 355, it was a VT Senator Signature 10th Anniversary special with the 6 speed, well the ol VN with just a lil cam was still faster, so I'm guessing its the dimension of just looking fast.

[R33_Dude]

There have been several points raised in this thread and I intend to address them all. Firstly the unfair comparison of local cars to imports, secondly the dismissal of local performance, and thirdly the punches being thrown at the classic car community i.e. that carburetted lot. Finally there is the issue of reliability. 

I have never truly understood the hatred that a lot of import owners have for locally produced cars. Essentially every overseas test of australian cars (for instance in a Jeremy Clarkson DVD he got his hands on an early HSV Clubsport) results in praise of a) handling and b) an incredibly cheap price for the package you receive.

It has always been my belief that you can't compare locally produced cars to many imports. For instance in 1998 a VT clubsport cost $55,000. A toyota soarer with a 1UZ-FE and leather interior cost at the same time well into $150,000 (and remember now the V8 auto models are the least sought after).

Now they are both similarly priced. Are they comparable? Well not really - I would have the Soarer over the clubbie. It is a far better car. Why? I think the original price tag has something to do with it. A similar story goes for any other import you care to name.

There are exceptions in terms of value for money with new cars though a period WRX or Evo outguns the clubsport easily and I believe (the WRX at least) was cheaper.

Likewise there are those of the import fraternity that dismiss the performance of local cars. I give a personal guarantee that if we were given an equal budget to build an equally priced performance car there would be very little difference between the performance extracted from an import or from a local. Whether the agreed challenge be circuit, drift, drag or purely streetability. 

Now there is the challenge by some that classic cars are overpriced due to nostalgia. Well yes, that is called demand. The same demand that makes an R32 be worth more than an R33. However the price of older cars is also due to rarity. How many (and these are common by old car standards) XB GT four doors have you personally seen driving on the public roads near your house (disclaimer without a car show being in town anyway, or owning one yourself)? Not bloody often I would imagine. GT-HO's fetch up to the $1 million mark. Monaros (HK's in particular) are reaching $60,000 and every time one is smashed up the owners of the remaining ones smile and rack another couple of thousand onto the prices. You pay for saffron because its rare - if it was as easy to grow as potatoes it would be cheap.

Again classic car performance is easy. The V8 in my XB GT produced 527 HP on the engine dyno and a ridiculous amount of torque from a stroker 351. I have the dyno graph somewhere but no scanner so your just going to have to trust me on that one.

Now onto reliability. Time is neither kind or forgiving to automotive engineering and a lot of reliability depends on maintenence. Japanese cars are well engineered. Australian built cars are less well engineered. The cars most often compared to Australian cars cost far more (i.e. skyline versus clubsport/XR6 etc). Who has a bigger budget and what product is more expensive? Better engineering equals higher price. True innovation is better engineering at a lower price.

That said I prefer to work on imports - traditionally it is much easier for to get better numbers from a turbocharged engine (exhaust, intake, boost).

One more thing, it has been said that holdens for instance are not australian i.e. parts manufactured over 50% of the world. Every car manufacturer nowadays and I mean EVERY car manufacturer from alfa romeo to (I don't know, what begins with a Z... ummm) Zagato (yes!) build their cars from parts manufactured all around the world. Carbon fibre from the Isle of Wight, engines from Germany, steel and aluminium from china and performance parts from the USA make a Pagani Zonda - I don't see any of you picking on Pagani and I wouldn't if I was you. The exact location of a cars parts does not make the nationality of the car.

This is all a bollocks argument anyway - Ford Australia is owned by Ford (American) and Holden is owned by GM (American), no major car company in Australia is Australian owned.  

The true enthusiast likes all cars. I like imports, muscle, turbos, superchargers, hot rods, top speed runs, 0-100 acelleration, drag racing, circuit, drift and pure engineering. Hell I even like hyundai excels - their not a good car but thrashing the tits off one is so satisfying. To hate a particuular segment of automotive culture is just to admit your limited in your focus. Sure say you prefer Ford over Holden, or prefer Imports over Domestics but there is still a lot to be appreciated on  both sides. 

I could continue but i believe it would be mostly rant and minimum content. Essentially this can all be boiled down to: don't be a dick and get on with it the other guy is probably just as right as you are. Engineering isn't right and wrong - theres more than one way to make a 500 horsepower streeter and run over a cat with it. Or something like that.