R33 Gtr Apollo Bay Drive!

[glaze]

Hey Guys,

Just took my GTR for a drive up to Apollo Bay to give it a good run. I have the had the car for about 5 months and it has been an absolute joy to drive since ownership and has led me to think aboiut some mods in the near future.

It has pod filters, boost controller, tein suspension and nice 18" BBS Gold mesh rims with Pirelli P6 rubber. Car makes approx 210KW on 12psi in fairly standard form but for the 3 hr trip up and back, the car didnt skip a beat. Oil and Eng temp was perfect the whole way:)

What a great road to test your cars abilities and I must say, the GTR was ridiculously good.

On the way home I got to thinking about modding it and I have chosen to keep the car stock as I am probably going to be upgrading to an M3 within the next 6-12 months, so any money spent on it most likely will not be seen again.

I have had an itch for an M3 for about 2 years now but the prices have been out of my league, but with the E46s now between $40-$50K if I can achieve some personal goals in 2010 then I will be doing the same trip next year in a smick modified M3:)

Saying that, I couldnt have been more impressed with my GTR and when the time comes (approx 6-9 mths) there will be a sweet, reliable GTR up for grabs unless I decide to turn it into a weapon, but I have already been there and done that with my last GTR and pretty keen to do something different in the future.

But I would highly recommend taking a trip down the Great Ocean rd if you have a nice performance car and a smart brain as it is one of the best trips you can do, as Im sure a lot of you can attest too.

Cheers

[Phatboy]

At the insanely low interest rates 5 months ago, why didn't you just get a fixed loan and buy the E46 M3 then? Would've saved on stamp duty and defect tax.

I have my doubts about the E46 being a more capable car.

[JAGR33]

Great to hear you had a good time fanging your car down the Great Ocean Rd, it is a very nice road although these days is too slow with traffic and can be dangerous at times.

Upgrading to a E46 M3? More like a downgrade when taking into consideration 'spirited' runs down some twisty roads.

I'd say its an upgrade in comfort and that's it...

Your car should out handle and be quicker than an M3....

Just my 2c

[ARTZ]

love that road, was coming back from Adelaide bout this time last year,decided to take the long way, went past the apostles, drive for a bit, just as the sun had set i see a sign

windy roads next 146km...lets just say i enjoyed everyone of those bends

[glaze]

Yeh I actually agree with you guys about possible down grade, epsecially as far as performance goes, but I think I am looking forward to the superior comfort and prestige. I have just passed my mid 30's and GTRs have done very well by me for the past 10 years so I think im ready to move on, unless an upgrade is into a mint R34 GTR??

No doubt will keep you posted of what Im up to and thanks for your 2 cents

[rs73]

V35s cheaper these days - superior comfort, great handling/balance, get a 6sp w/brembo, chuck in HKS s/c or tt kit and still leave you a lot of change from an ageing E46...

seriously consider it...

[_Ryan_]

V35s cheaper these days - superior comfort, great handling/balance, get a 6sp w/brembo, chuck in HKS s/c or tt kit and still leave you a lot of change from an ageing E46...

seriously consider it...

I have thought about a boring 4door 350gt to replace both my cars, but the power window motors scare me

[rs73]

well my R33 power window died too... at least you got better chance with V35 as they are newer car.

even if they failed, go to your local nissan dealer or browse the ebay for a 350z power window motor replacement.

seriously they are not that bad of a problem... cheaper if you can take it to auto elec and usually they can fix it for you for a fraction of a cost.

that's what they did with my R33 power window motor. $70 'clean' from auto elec and it works again. saved me a few hundreds.

if power window motor scares you, don't buy/own any Nissan. fullstop. it's a common plague across the whole brand of Nissan, unfortunately,

new or old.

[iseekool]

GOR is the best road IMO. Love driving there. I don't mind the slow drivers - as long as they pull over and let you pass, it is the ones that refuse to let you pass that really piss me off or the ones that speed up when you try to overtake.....

[glaze]

Apparently the back way through Colac is the best. Through the Mountains and a lot less traffic, I will be going that way next time

[RBPOWA-(TJ)]

just spooted something r33 ? or r32 ?

[eightsixboy]

I went to Apollo Bay last month, fantastic drive, to bad it was raining when i went. Atleast you had great weather .

When i went there must have being a chaser/vip cruise or something. I spotted like 10 in a row plus a few random cars like a wrx and a r34 GTR tagging along. Man did the GTR look hot though, it was red with a carbon bonnet and i think it had gold wheels.

[Phatboy]

Yeh I actually agree with you guys about possible down grade, epsecially as far as performance goes, but I think I am looking forward to the superior comfort and prestige. I have just passed my mid 30's and GTRs have done very well by me for the past 10 years so I think im ready to move on, unless an upgrade is into a mint R34 GTR??

No doubt will keep you posted of what Im up to and thanks for your 2 cents

Just get an M-Spec R34 GTR - performance with leather

[sloutch]

I have had an itch for an M3 for about 2 years now but the prices have been out of my league, but with the E46s now between $40-$50K if I can achieve some personal goals in 2010 then I will be doing the same trip next year in a smick modified M3:)

Cheers

No point of you spending $40-$50k to buy an M3 with 100,000kms+ and it's 8 years or older. These are the M3s that will cause you more headaches down the road. I wouldn't buy an M3 if i only have $40-$50k to spend..

Another thing you must realise is that, modifying a Euro is more expensive than modifying the jap cars. An exhaust for my VW R36 cost $3k just from the cat-back. So you can imagine how much you'll be paying for a BMW..If you want to have a smick modified M3, budget another $10k-20k on top of the price of the car.

My 2c.

[glaze]

Sloutch, thanks for the advice and I will be doing my research!! If I choose an M3 I may have to modify it over a longer period of time compared to a GTR, but Im sure thats half the fun:)

Will be test driving both M3 models and a R34 GTr n the next few weeks to see what I think, I may end up keeping my R33 GTR and do that up a little!!

[Daz]

Def go the 34 gtr cant go wrong, they are selling for good prices these days.

Going to Apollo Bay in 2 weeks cant fkn wait.

[MRSAMO]

I'm in the exact same boat, same car and also around the same age as Glaze.

Had mine for years, no mods and wanted to sell. The problem was I will never get another car as good for the market price out there. I wanted a family performance vehicle like an HSV or an SUV for the next 10 years. Most importantly something that drank less petrol. The R34 GTR was always a dream of mine to have one day but if its going to be a gas guzzler and cop magnet then I might as well keep my R32 and modify it. The $30k difference is a lot for mods

I would be interested in what you are looking at glaze.

[glaze]

I'm in the exact same boat, same car and also around the same age as Glaze.

Had mine for years, no mods and wanted to sell. The problem was I will never get another car as good for the market price out there. I wanted a family performance vehicle like an HSV or an SUV for the next 10 years. Most importantly something that drank less petrol. The R34 GTR was always a dream of mine to have one day but if its going to be a gas guzzler and cop magnet then I might as well keep my R32 and modify it. The $30k difference is a lot for mods

I would be interested in what you are looking at glaze.

Sam, we are ion a tough spot as the cars we have are probably the best in that price bracket.

Not sure about yours, but my R33 GTR is amazing. If its wasnt running so well and maybe causing me headaches, it would be an easy sell.

Looking at an M3 for many reasons,. the luxury and boot size are just some of the main differences that I could do with, hopefully I have a crackin 6 months and I can justify the $20-$30K change over for an E46 M3.

I will cdertainly keep you up to date with what my thoughts are.

GL with your situation as well!!

[MRSAMO]

Ah I thought you had an R32.

R32 > R33