Does It Feel Like Your R33 Is Outdated?

[RBJETT]

Stick by the skyline....u can always upgrade later on... theres so much room for improvement with a jap car... with a commo it ends the day u buy one lol

my rb20 with a front mount cooler and pod smashed a 5.0 ltr VT ...... imagine what your 33 will be doing if u turbo it ! or buy a gtst..!

5ls never did make decent power tho, my missus old vt v6 would keep up with them.

keep the skyline. put that hood you want on. perhaps do a turbo conversion. i used to own a commodore. cant see myself going back

[crazyr33]

Thanks guys.. it makes sense hat everyone is saying, and thanks for all the suggestions. i havnt got much money atm so i dont think i can get 19" wheels fo a while, as for the skirts i might try and find a set of ebay or somewhere. i just put coilovers in yesterday (so rough!!) and i dont know how to adjust the height yet. But anyway i dont mind commodores, its just that i hate it when people think they look better than skylines. i hav always seen a skyline as an amazing machine. ever since i lived in melb and was in year 7.. its just crap how other people dont see skylines like that..

[Galois]

put a turbo in it and they will change their minds when they catch up lol. you do have the disadvantage of one of the lower skyline power/weight's. but there's heaps you can do about that, just read through the na threads, some people get insane power. could always go rb30? id love to know enough to do that one day

But side skirts + New black nismo hood =

and maybe dish rims?

biggg +1, side skirts and some classy rims and it'll look amazing, i'd go 18" cos apparently above that starts to slow acceleration, and you'll only be going in straightlines if hanging with your mates in falcodores

there's always been the local vs imports scene, so don't expect too much understanding from die hard commodore people

for example if i was buying a car that i had to do a lot of travelling in then i would chose a commodore or falcon over a skyline any day of the week as they are much more comfortable to spend a few hours in at a time in.

ahh, i have to disagree ever so slightly mr. mad, i am constantly shocked at how my r34 gtt rides over bumps and handles in corners with the same stock suspension!! it's stiff enough to hammer the uni speed humps (newcastle uni's humps are bs), but somehow forgiving enough for use every day, and there are a lot of shitty roads in newy. i always feel sorry when i see some falcodore bouncing along, it makes me seasick watching the rear end just bouncing up and down. i guess thats what you get with leaf springs tho. though i have to admit though the ride is decent, it's completely undone by my retarded drony exhaust!

if you end up buying a commodore you'll be disappointed every time you go round a tight corner or find a nice piece of road, lol and every time you have to replace a door handle

But cost wise and the fact that you dont wanna add too many KM's to a skyline

i guess (hope) you're talking about resale cost here? is it really that much worse than for commodores?

[iseekool]

Thanks guys.. it makes sense hat everyone is saying, and thanks for all the suggestions. i havnt got much money atm so i dont think i can get 19" wheels fo a while, as for the skirts i might try and find a set of ebay or somewhere. i just put coilovers in yesterday (so rough!!) and i dont know how to adjust the height yet. But anyway i dont mind commodores, its just that i hate it when people think they look better than skylines. i hav always seen a skyline as an amazing machine. ever since i lived in melb and was in year 7.. its just crap how other people dont see skylines like that..

I think your skyline actually looks quite smart - just needs some TLC.

My personal recommendation.

Don't bother with the carbon fiber bonnet (totally up to you) - but it kinda looks tacky on a stockish looking car.

Current wheels are not bad.

-Get a new stock bonnet.

-Set of side skirts.

-Fix up your front grille.

-Clear side indicators to comliment the indicators on your front bumper.

-Tint your side and rear windshield to the darkest legal tint.

-Polish your headlights

-If budget permits a new coat of clear over the existing paint work - keep the car looking "fresh".

-Detail it.

Nothing wrong with a commodore - but a skyline will always draw attention as it is different.

[mad082]

for those disagreeing about the comfort of the commodore (or falcon for that matter) over the skyline, i had a 33, 180sx and VX commodore. when lowered the skyline rode much better than the 180 round the rough roads here, but the commodore was still a much nicer ride. and i'm not just talking about suspension here. i'm talking about the seats. i have a dodgy back and after about 90 mins of driving the skyline, the 180sx, the missus SSS pulsar (seats were very similar to the 33 seats) and a few other cars i start to get pain. the commodore seats i could spend 4 hours in them and not get any pain at all. they are like a big comfy lounge chair. they aren't some sporty seat to hold you in round corners. they are the sort of seat designed to make long journeys comfortable.

also the fact that they have reach adjustable steering means that i can have the seat back far enough to let my legs be a bit more extended and still be able to comfortably reach the steering wheel, which reduces knee pain on long trips which i also get in the other cars.

i'm not saying skylines aren't comfortable, but after doing some long trips in quite a few different cars, i'd still pick a ford or holden over a skyline if i was doing a driving holiday around the country.

ahh, i have to disagree ever so slightly mr. mad, i am constantly shocked at how my r34 gtt rides over bumps and handles in corners with the same stock suspension!! it's stiff enough to hammer the uni speed humps (newcastle uni's humps are bs), but somehow forgiving enough for use every day, and there are a lot of shitty roads in newy. i always feel sorry when i see some falcodore bouncing along, it makes me seasick watching the rear end just bouncing up and down. i guess thats what you get with leaf springs tho. though i have to admit though the ride is decent, it's completely undone by my retarded drony exhaust!

if you end up buying a commodore you'll be disappointed every time you go round a tight corner or find a nice piece of road, lol and every time you have to replace a door handle

that made me laugh so hard. commodores have never had leaf springs in them. not even the VB back in 79. they all have coil springs. the ones you are seeing bouncing along are probably owned buy some young dick who has lowered it by about 3" and it is sitting on the bump stops. if they are lowered to a point where they still have suspension travel they will still have a very smooth ride. trust me, i've been in more lowered commodores than i care to remember.

[Galois]

lol, my bad, id assumed they were the same as falcons. i was referring to watching the distance between the tyre and the wheel as you go over occasional bumps on a smooth road. in a bigger (older) merc or a maxima or even a camry, they don't spend the next 15 seconds wafting up and down. not doubting you're experience mad082, just saying ive always felt like the commodores ive been in have felt really loose and unsecure, havent driven on a long trip tho. i used to drive a late 90s commodore as a delivery boy and the handling in suburbia was unbearable, granted it was 10 years old at the time and had >200000km. that and despite the owner's efforts he couldn't keep up with replacing/fixing broken bits (power windows, air con, lose indicator stalks etc)

agree with the lounge chair comment tho lol. the skyline stock suspension is really good for what it is imo, has a good balance between hard and firm. but after driving the parents camry for a couple of hours its a reminder that skylines are still a sports car.

[PM-R33]

Yep Holden leather seats are like sitting in a massive soft lounge chair, absolute bliss lol.

[iseekool]

stock-for-stock - Straight line highway cruising and long wide corners - the Commodore (any large Australian car) will always ride better.

Not really built for handling like a skyline or other "sporty" cars.

My dad has a VS commodore - even with the live axel (non-IRS) it rides much better than the Skyline - but throw it into a corner it's a barge.

But in saying that one of my mates has a VE SS-V and it handles and rides brilliant.

[Isola]

biggg +1, side skirts and some classy rims and it'll look amazing, i'd go 18" cos apparently above that starts to slow acceleration, and you'll only be going in straightlines if hanging with your mates in falcodores

+1 to all of this. Just don't treat it like a commonwhore and put dumbass chrome rims on it or anything. Get ones that SUIT THE COLOR OF THE CAR. And don't go over 18" if you still want to drive it. AND, get LIGHTWEIGHT rims. If you think your car drives like a stuck pig and you're not going to do many power mods, don't add more weight to the thing. Get some nice light Buddy Club rims or something similar in weight

I think your skyline actually looks quite smart - just needs some TLC.

My personal recommendation.

Don't bother with the carbon fiber bonnet (totally up to you) - but it kinda looks tacky on a stockish looking car.

Current wheels are not bad.

-Get a new stock bonnet.

-Set of side skirts.

-Fix up your front grille.

-Clear side indicators to comliment the indicators on your front bumper.

-Tint your side and rear windshield to the darkest legal tint.

-Polish your headlights

-If budget permits a new coat of clear over the existing paint work - keep the car looking "fresh".

-Detail it.

Nothing wrong with a commodore - but a skyline will always draw attention as it is different.

+ 1 to all of this except for the tint suggestion. If you're going to get the tint darkened, do ALL OF IT, not just the rear windows. It screams "I'm JDM as fuck yo!" and... well you're not JDM as anything if you're not from Japan.

DON'T get a black bonnet. I don't care if it's full hektik carbon fibre. It will look like your car has contracted aids from being parked too close to the commonwhores. It's tacky, and looks like you made the trip to the wreckers to get a new bonnet, but forgot to go to the painter to get it color matched. It isn't attractive on any car and makes them look like pieces of shit.

Ganador style mirrors would look awesome too - but again, not carbon fibre. Color matching is the name of the game. Stay away from mismatched panels, and stay away from chrome. PLEASE don't make it look like some Leb-spec Chapel Street cruiser.

One other thing to remember. You live in country Victoria. Country anywhere = Bogans/Strayans = Ford vs Holden and no other cars exist. Stand your ground. And if you have that many friends with Holdens... find new friends

[mad082]

lol, my bad, id assumed they were the same as falcons. i was referring to watching the distance between the tyre and the wheel as you go over occasional bumps on a smooth road. in a bigger (older) merc or a maxima or even a camry, they don't spend the next 15 seconds wafting up and down. not doubting you're experience mad082, just saying ive always felt like the commodores ive been in have felt really loose and unsecure, havent driven on a long trip tho. i used to drive a late 90s commodore as a delivery boy and the handling in suburbia was unbearable, granted it was 10 years old at the time and had >200000km. that and despite the owner's efforts he couldn't keep up with replacing/fixing broken bits (power windows, air con, lose indicator stalks etc)

agree with the lounge chair comment tho lol. the skyline stock suspension is really good for what it is imo, has a good balance between hard and firm. but after driving the parents camry for a couple of hours its a reminder that skylines are still a sports car.

camry seats are shocking. they are like toyota grabbed a few park benches and wrapped some fabric around them, LOL.

also the falcons stopped using leaf springs back in 1982 when they brought out the XE. the XD was the last to use leaf. not sure about the utes and wagons though.

[iseekool]

+1 to all of this. Just don't treat it like a commonwhore and put dumbass chrome rims on it or anything. Get ones that SUIT THE COLOR OF THE CAR. And don't go over 18" if you still want to drive it. AND, get LIGHTWEIGHT rims. If you think your car drives like a stuck cop and you're not going to do many power mods, don't add more weight to the thing. Get some nice light Buddy Club rims or something similar in weight

+ 1 to all of this except for the tint suggestion. If you're going to get the tint darkened, do ALL OF IT, not just the rear windows. It screams "I'm JDM as f**k yo!" and... well you're not JDM as anything if you're not from Japan.

DON'T get a black bonnet. I don't care if it's full hektik carbon fibre. It will look like your car has contracted aids from being parked too close to the commonwhores. It's tacky, and looks like you made the trip to the wreckers to get a new bonnet, but forgot to go to the painter to get it color matched. It isn't attractive on any car and makes them look like pieces of shit.

Ganador style mirrors would look awesome too - but again, not carbon fibre. Color matching is the name of the game. Stay away from mismatched panels, and stay away from chrome. PLEASE don't make it look like some Leb-spec Chapel Street cruiser.

One other thing to remember. You live in country Victoria. Country anywhere = Bogans/Strayans = Ford vs Holden and no other cars exist. Stand your ground. And if you have that many friends with Holdens... find new friends

That's what I meant tint all windows excluding front windshield as it is illegal

[Galois]

... find new friends

hahaha

camry seats are shocking. they are like toyota grabbed a few park benches and wrapped some fabric around them, LOL.

also the falcons stopped using leaf springs back in 1982 when they brought out the XE. the XD was the last to use leaf. not sure about the utes and wagons though.

i thought they were pretty comfortable, besides we're talking about ride aren't we? and this discussion is coming down to personal preference, i don't mind driving for 3 hours in the skyline, esp if it means i get the tightness and responsiveness in the corners, others may disagree. fair enough.

i don't like the feeling of sinking into loungy seats and a floppy chassis setup, again, some people like it, some people put the effort in to change it. when i used to race karts there were people who'd go for really tight setups, others very lose ones, and it made a big difference. its just preference.

yeah, you're right about the leaf springs, its only the wagons and utes that still have them, not sure why but my old man always used to tell me about the leaf's on his old xf.

it just means that the bouncing is caused by old springs, and its a characteristic that only falcons and commodores seem to have. im not just some "skylines are the best, that's it" guy btw, just saying that the stock r34 gtt ride is actually pretty decent for a sporty car

[mad082]

i think it is the fact that as you sort of mentioned in a post above, most of these commodores and falcons have well over 200,000kms on them, and many are well over 300,000kms and are still running factory original parts that are well over due to be changed. but that said there's a few sad examples of skylines and silvias getting round town and they ride like a commodore sitting on bump stops. and then there are a few with fully hektic drift coilovers in them with stupidly stiff rear springs (like 13kg springs) and i have followed a few and again you'd swear that you were following a vl or vn commodore with cut springs. but the owners love them because they are fully hektic drift spec boy racers types

[Munkyb0y]

was there mad fitment? coz seriously, no self respecting wannabe drift douche would dare buy wheels that actually fit their car. lol

it seems the closer it looks to a mexican el camino, the more hektik the douche!

[mad082]

ahahaha, thankfully the term "hellaflush" hasn't made it to gympie yet. i am fearing the day it does. i don't mind the slightly stretched tyres look, but stretching them so the lip of the rim hits the kerb a good inch before the tyre does it just plain stupid. same with being able to have the rim grind up against the lip of the guard.

[FrangaR33]

I agree with Marc about the comfort of the big Aussie sedans. I drove a pulsar around for a couple of hours and my back and legs were killing me, I much prefer the seats and driving position in my Commodore, especially when I have to drive interstate. To be completely fair to the pulsar though I was constantly smashing my legs against the steering wheel, those cars are designed for short asses not Aussies who are 6'4.

[crazyr33]

I think your skyline actually looks quite smart - just needs some TLC.

My personal recommendation.

Don't bother with the carbon fiber bonnet (totally up to you) - but it kinda looks tacky on a stockish looking car.

Current wheels are not bad.

-Get a new stock bonnet.

-Set of side skirts.

-Fix up your front grille.

-Clear side indicators to comliment the indicators on your front bumper.

-Tint your side and rear windshield to the darkest legal tint.

-Polish your headlights

-If budget permits a new coat of clear over the existing paint work - keep the car looking "fresh".

-Detail it.

Nothing wrong with a commodore - but a skyline will always draw attention as it is different.

yeah.. thanks for the tip.. the black hood has ben already bought. but i will try sideys and clease side indicators soon. cheers

[crazyr33]

+1 to all of this. Just don't treat it like a commonwhore and put dumbass chrome rims on it or anything. Get ones that SUIT THE COLOR OF THE CAR. And don't go over 18" if you still want to drive it. AND, get LIGHTWEIGHT rims. If you think your car drives like a stuck cop and you're not going to do many power mods, don't add more weight to the thing. Get some nice light Buddy Club rims or something similar in weight

+ 1 to all of this except for the tint suggestion. If you're going to get the tint darkened, do ALL OF IT, not just the rear windows. It screams "I'm JDM as f**k yo!" and... well you're not JDM as anything if you're not from Japan.

DON'T get a black bonnet. I don't care if it's full hektik carbon fibre. It will look like your car has contracted aids from being parked too close to the commonwhores. It's tacky, and looks like you made the trip to the wreckers to get a new bonnet, but forgot to go to the painter to get it color matched. It isn't attractive on any car and makes them look like pieces of shit.

Ganador style mirrors would look awesome too - but again, not carbon fibre. Color matching is the name of the game. Stay away from mismatched panels, and stay away from chrome. PLEASE don't make it look like some Leb-spec Chapel Street cruiser.

One other thing to remember. You live in country Victoria. Country anywhere = Bogans/Strayans = Ford vs Holden and no other cars exist. Stand your ground. And if you have that many friends with Holdens... find new friends

haha "bogans" yeah.. the thing is i alrready bought that black bonnet! its not carbon fibre. just black with vents in it..

o and, im actually lebanese haha..

Edited May 4, 2010 by crazyr33

[Isola]

i alrready bought that black bonnet! its not carbon fibre. just black with vents in it..

*facepalm*

another Skyline bites the dust

[KezR33]

Probably because the VZ is what, 10 years newer?

I hate Commodores. They're not unique, they're designed to carry five adults comfortably and pull a trailer, and they perform like ass. I cannot see any attraction to them as a car enthusiast. The fact they pull up beside me with 5 said (young) adults in the car, monster subs thumping, 20" chromies and try to drag me makes me laugh too. Even if it was a V8 I doubt they'd keep up with my little NA with all that weight and unsprung mass.

The 33 may be starting to looks its age, but with minor cosmetic modifications they can look mint once again, and be proud of the fact that your "performance car" isn't used by Mums all over Australia to drop their kids off at school and pick up the groceries.

I see this car at the recent DECA and even though it only had subtle cosmetic modifications it looked amazing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anna_schulze/...57623661940384/

Editors note: I don't have anything against Falcodores when they're used for their intended purpose, I just dislike people pretending they're some awesome sports car. I don't think my NA Supra is an amazing sports car either, but its sure as hell a lot better than Commodore and the best thing I can drive on my P's.