Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Anyone here use their M35 Stagea as a daily family car? I currently own a VZ exec wagon for the same purpose and would prefer something a bit 'sportier' in a family mover. So to you who do use your Stagea as a daily... A few questions?

Average fuel consumption (with minimal mods) drove normally? My VZ gets around 10-10.5L/100kms babying it for comparison.

Insurance? Mega expensive? (28y.o/perfect history)

Service costs? Compared to the average Aussie family car? I expect it to be a little more expensive due to it being an import, but not say... Legnum expensive?

In general... Does an M35 Stagea make a good family car?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/370341-m35-stagea-as-a-daily-family-hauler/
Share on other sites

  • Replies 42
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Fuel economy babying it is around 13-14L/100

Insurance can be mega expensive, depends who you go through. I've seen anywhere from $800-2000 for full comp.

Service costs? I've seen nothing shocking so far. Quality fluids and filters are the same price, I guess the difference is you want to make sure you put quality stuff in. Just depends on whether stuff breaks, but most parts I've bought so far haven't been much more expensive.

I think it'd make a good family car, but I don't have a family :P

* Yes, I use it for eeeeeverything.

* Yes it makes an awesome family car (no kids but a wife and 90kg of canine means I need a wagon).

* Fuel economy will not be fantastic. I drive a lot of hwy and generally average 10-11L/100 or so. Around town is pretty bad, but they have a bit fuel tank for a reason!

* Insurance I pay 1200pa full comp as a daily with all my mods listed through Shannons (34yo)

* Servicing shouldn't be more expensive than any other Nissan... but do yourself a favour and do your own servicing.

as a daily yes it'll work but u do have to consider warming it up and cooling it down............ u cant just do 5min runs in it, and that said females usually dont have a clue on this.

i know my car is a little over tempremental but even stopping into a servo and filling up doesnt always make the car to happy to start again if its a quick stop............

other than that it's a great car, done everything from going on holiday with 5 mates and stacking the car to hauling my german sheperd around, but also if ur like me and u get a car like this the mods keep coming pretty damn quick!!!!!!

cheers, Theo.

You might need to look at that starting problem Theo, I've never had an issue...

pretty sure its the battery too and i'll do another ecu reset but i'll let them do that when i go for a service in 600km and get my free battery under warranty :)

i know my car is a little over tempremental but even stopping into a servo and filling up doesnt always make the car to happy to start again if its a quick stop............

Turn the key to the accessory position for 2-3 seconds before cranking it over instead of just quickly turning the key. :thumbsup:

Turn the key to the accessory position for 2-3 seconds before cranking it over instead of just quickly turning the key. :thumbsup:

aaahhh let the glow plugs warm up first aye :P ROFL............... bloody diesels HAHA

I use my car as a daily driver/work/family car.

Average economy prior to mods = 12.7L/100 with mods 13.5 - 14.5L/100km.

Servicing costs are cheaper than any other car I have owned as I do all my own work on it. No timing belt to replace and very helpful forum make looking after it possible.

Insurance = 1500 but my stock Outback cost 900 so not much more given that is not business registered. Oh the value of living in Sydney. (over 40 and good driving record)

pretty sure its the battery too and i'll do another ecu reset but i'll let them do that when i go for a service in 600km and get my free battery under warranty :)

Sounds like the battery....I had the same problem.....battery lost amps

yet another family man here.. love it the stagea dearly!

i put on my on direct gas injection to keep fuel costs down.. get about 16L per 100 giving it squirt now and then and the rest in traffic gets a bit better on the freeway.

would highly recommend one!

  • 3 weeks later...

was looking into legnums too before deciding on the stagea...

had a chat with a few mates and they mostly adviced me to go for the M35 stagea because of support (service etc cos shared with most local Nissans), newer (01-04) compared to Legnums (95-01? correct me if i'm wrong), and the luxury features offered with the M35 (Axis, ARX and RX? i'm noob, correct me again if i'm wrong)...

was looking into legnums too before deciding on the stagea...

had a chat with a few mates and they mostly adviced me to go for the M35 stagea because of support (service etc cos shared with most local Nissans), newer (01-04) compared to Legnums (95-01? correct me if i'm wrong), and the luxury features offered with the M35 (Axis, ARX and RX? i'm noob, correct me again if i'm wrong)...

legnum lol.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Jap premium will be 100 RON. You should use 98.
    • The exhaust gases are at their highest temperature as they leave the exhaust port and enter the manifold. They cool as they flow through the manifold because they transfer heat to the manifold and the manifold loses heat to the surrounding environment. Thus, inevitably, the exhaust gases are cooler as they enter the turbo compared to when they entered the exhaust manifold. So, yes, the exhaust manifold can easily get as hot as the turbine housing. Having said that, you will generally see the highest temperatures where the exhaust gases have to slow down or they are concentrated into one area - which is usually the collector on the manifold and in the turbine housing, because the gases slam into the metal at those places, increasing the convective heat transfer coefficient and transferring even more heat to the metal than they might just flowing past elsewhere. Exhaust manifold heat shields are a good idea - certainly for the stock manifold they are there from the factory. People seldom have anything like that on a tubular manifold because they are hard to achieve. Some might wrap a tube manifold with fibreglass tape - but this has a reputation of leading to cracked welds. The best case is generally to put ceramic coating onto the manifold to prevent it getting as hot (internal coating) and radiating/convecting heat into the bay (external coating). All the real heat from a turbo comes from the exhaust side. The gases entering are at ~800-900°C and the steel/iron gets nearly that hot. The compressor side is only going to heat the charge air up to <<200°C (typically not much more than 100°C). So that's nothing, by comparison. The compressor is not a significant source of engine bay heat.
    • Late to the party, specifically joined this forum as I just bought one of these and this thread has been a gold mine of info. If the OP is still around, mind if I ask what gas you been putting in yours? Mine has a Japanese sticker in the cap saying premium but it seems to get way worse mileage on premium (95) than 91. I always thought it was meant to be the other way round🤷 I do think Nissans claimed "6l/100km" is a bit fantastical 😂
    • Does exhaust manifold get hot as turno exhuast side? I have a turbo cover to managr heat in the engine bay but  nothing is covering the exhaust manifold before turbo   i know as turbo does compress air, the temp does go up however does that mean exhaust manifold would be as hot?
    • It's excellent but I'm still breaking it in so I'm not 100% sure where it'll end up. I would say it's about 15% heavier than stock and the smoothness of the slip zone is quite progressive but you need to be a little patient compared to stock or it'll bite hard and stall. Stock I got away with absolutely horrid clutch control. Like I said before I couldn't even tell where the clutch would grab when it was stock so releasing way too quickly without enough revs it would just slip and the revs would drop lower than ideal but that would be the end of it. Currently there's a bit of a nasty clutch judder if I don't apply enough revs + find the exact wrong point of the slip point in the clutch pedal but it feels like it's slowly resolving as I drive it more. I would not recommend the competition clutch unless you really need the extra clamp force. I think this clutch combined with the Nismo operating cylinder is going to be exactly what I want. Enough bite that you need to remember the release point to avoid stalling or rough shifts, but progressive enough that it's not hard to drive by any means and not heavy at all. I tried a "super single" clutch on my friend's 997.2 Turbo 6MT and that was absolutely horrid. It runs an electrohydraulic power steering pump for the clutch power boost so there's zero feedback in the clutch pedal and there was a horrific clutch shudder well after break-in due to the lack of marcel springs or hub springs in the friction disk. It felt like the slip zone was the thickness of a single toe twitch as well so it was almost impossible to avoid stalling it unless you gave it a ton of revs and just dumped the clutch instead of trying to be smooth with it. I was terrified of pulling out in front of traffic. I have also tried some kind of "super single" on an EK9 and that makes this twin plate Coppermix look like a stock clutch. Releasing the clutch pedal even slightly too quickly feels like you're getting rear-ended. The pedal is extremely heavy as well and there's no vacuum assist like the GTR.
×
×
  • Create New...