Can't Decide.

[skyline32sup]

So basically, Since selling my R32 last year i've missed the sound of an RB. But as my " Automotive " knowledge has dramatically increased i am just really after some information. I'm coming up to my Opens, and looking to build that one ride, and it'll stay with me untill i have to sell it ( untill the mrs says so lol ) and i am stuck on what i should buy and money isn't really a problem as it will be done over years.

I currently own a NA S13, But its hella clean compared to the other S13's up here in QLD on there P plates. Has a S14 VCT motor and i upgraded the cams/injectors etc so puts out a little more power and can nearly keep up with your standard S13 turbos.

Anyhow, I can decide wether to build another R32, But I'm skeptical of the RB20, and have been thinking about a RB25 Neo OR RB25/30 bottom end for more compression. The price difference varies but by the end of doing what i want I'm hoping for a safe 280 KW @ the wheels. It'll be a R32, as i hate the shape of the R33's and R34 is well not really my type of thing unless it's a GTR lol. On the topic of a GTR, I won't buy a R32 GTR, I don't want a 15k maintenance a year allowance and despite them being a monster, I'll never get one.

However, I have turned into a SR man ( I know qq ) and would love to build a S15 but there body shape kinda turns me off thats all, and since my S13 is pretty much what i would want it to look like i would rather keep it my daily then to upgrade it.

So what do you guys think? I know you guys can't make my mind up, but i'd just like some opinions thats all, cheers.

Edited January 29, 2012 by skyline32sup

[Duchie]

Hard to make these decisions, best bet is to take your time and weigh up all your options along with what you really love.

Maybe keep the s13 (seeing as you like the look of it now and if yours is clean then defs keep it seeing as alot are in pretty bad shape), then overtime do your motor build, don't skimp, if you want a 25/30 then do that.

Comprimising will never make you happy. And I totally agree with you on the sound factor.

Im thinking of getting rid of my skyline but saying goodbye to the sound of the rb is a big deal. Maybe get a cheap run around and have the s13 with your rb25/30 as a weekend car. Or start your motor build now and drop it in when you're on your opens.

Edited January 29, 2012 by Duchie

[adamskill]

ditch the silvia, and get a rb25 r33. they are DIRT CHEAP these days!! and plenty of nice ones to choose from in qld. im not a huge 33 fan, my heart is with 32's, but for the price, 33 is a good package. or throw a few more beans in the pot and get a 34gtt. newer and nicer to drive.

dont f**k around with engine swaps and crap like that. its just not worth it. with all the money you would spend on an engine swap you could buy a 32gtr.

na s13's fetch an ok price these days from the p plate brigade, so sell it, and buy somthing that doesnt require engine swaps, or anything that may or may not happen "in the future"

also, why have you randomly chosen the target of 280kw? a nice tune on a rb25 with less power than that is fun on the street. why is 280kw better than, say 230 with the correct turbo and tune? 280 with a laggy turbo and poor tune will be junk. my advice, dont aim for a "number". you dont drive number. aim for a car that suits you.

and finally, everyone puts shit on rb20's. but they are a great little engine. have a look in the rb20 sticky. can get great response from them

Edited January 29, 2012 by adamskill

[T4NK]

ditch the silvia, and get a rb25 r33. they are DIRT CHEAP these days!! and plenty of nice ones to choose from in qld. im not a huge 33 fan, my heart is with 32's, but for the price, 33 is a good package. or throw a few more beans in the pot and get a 34gtt. newer and nicer to drive.

dont f**k around with engine swaps and crap like that. its just not worth it. with all the money you would spend on an engine swap you could buy a 32gtr.

na s13's fetch an ok price these days from the p plate brigade, so sell it, and buy somthing that doesnt require engine swaps, or anything that may or may not happen "in the future"

also, why have you randomly chosen the target of 280kw? a nice tune on a rb25 with less power than that is fun on the street. why is 280kw better than, say 230 with the correct turbo and tune? 280 with a laggy turbo and poor tune will be junk. my advice, dont aim for a "number". you dont drive number. aim for a car that suits you.

and finally, everyone puts shit on rb20's. but they are a great little engine. have a look in the rb20 sticky. can get great response from them

This man knows what he is talking about, if ur wanting power u can get a 32 GTR imported for around 20k now days also www.j-spec.com.au they show prices for cars sold recently also.

[skyline32sup]

Hard to make these decisions, best bet is to take your time and weigh up all your options along with what you really love.

Maybe keep the s13 (seeing as you like the look of it now and if yours is clean then defs keep it seeing as alot are in pretty bad shape), then overtime do your motor build, don't skimp, if you want a 25/30 then do that.

Comprimising will never make you happy. And I totally agree with you on the sound factor.

Im thinking of getting rid of my skyline but saying goodbye to the sound of the rb is a big deal. Maybe get a cheap run around and have the s13 with your rb25/30 as a weekend car. Or start your motor build now and drop it in when you're on your opens.

Yeah, It's just hard to decide haha. Yeah, I'll post a pic up of my S13 tomorrow, I still want to get a set of Work meisters and little things but I'm sure i could easily get 10k+ for it. Well, yeah i guess it just depends if i can keep the S13 for a daily ( its great on fuel and i've never had a problem with it ) but doing a whole engine swap isn't what i really have in mind. I'd prefer to keep an RB in a R32 or even a Laurel?

ditch the silvia, and get a rb25 r33. they are DIRT CHEAP these days!! and plenty of nice ones to choose from in qld. im not a huge 33 fan, my heart is with 32's, but for the price, 33 is a good package. or throw a few more beans in the pot and get a 34gtt. newer and nicer to drive.

dont f**k around with engine swaps and crap like that. its just not worth it. with all the money you would spend on an engine swap you could buy a 32gtr.

na s13's fetch an ok price these days from the p plate brigade, so sell it, and buy somthing that doesnt require engine swaps, or anything that may or may not happen "in the future"

also, why have you randomly chosen the target of 280kw? a nice tune on a rb25 with less power than that is fun on the street. why is 280kw better than, say 230 with the correct turbo and tune? 280 with a laggy turbo and poor tune will be junk. my advice, dont aim for a "number". you dont drive number. aim for a car that suits you.

and finally, everyone puts shit on rb20's. but they are a great little engine. have a look in the rb20 sticky. can get great response from them

I hate R33's, i agree they're dirt cheap but they have to be the ugliest Skyline ever made, the arse end is bigger than a " big booty " and I've never seen one I've had any liking to. As for a R32 GTR, the reason i will never buy one;

3 of my mates have/own one, One of them picked up his for around 16k was fine for 3 weeks? Had to rebuild the whole engine ( still currently doing it after 2 years lol apprentice ) the other imported his from Jap with 55k's on it, stock as except for the turbos he's rebuilt his twice now and he drove it every sunday and yeah bad luck? last but not least, spent over 12k in the first year on Maintence, genuine parts etc and I'm not very judgmental untill i have had one, but this turns me off lol.

Well it more an estimate, I figure i want something with a bit of go, I've been in a 240KW S15 and that was awesome, i just wanna get lets say above 230 then . Yeah, my RB20 in my old R32 was a ripper, i was a " hoon " i guess you could say in it, and for all the times bashing limiter and doing stupid things it held up, so i've got nothing against an RB20.

I'll continue researching builds

[UWISSH!]

buy a already built r32 gtr that has all service history n receipts for mods.

if its been looked after correctly then u will have no problems.

ive owned my 33 gtr for 4 years now n have never ever had a service/ maintenance bill for the amounts u have quoted. only time ive ever seen a bill that high is from modifications

[adamskill]

at the end of the day its your hard earned money. do what ever you want.

you can spend a whole bunch of cash on building a car and swapping engines etc etc, or start with a solid base and spend alot less to get the same end result. choice is yours.... only thing is one of the choices is a long, painfull, f**kING EXPENSIVE process,

the other is very enjoyable and rewarding, and alot more simple.

[Goombeh]

This is a tough one.

I've been through the builds, and have enjoyed every moment of them. Well almost every. But sometimes you just have to go through it. If you love tinkering, if you love the continuous improvements and performance increases you get from the messing about, and if you have to have something different, then a build is good. As long as you don't ever expect to get anything of that money back through resale. You have to do it for the love and pay for it. It's worse of an investment than the car itself.

If you really want something that is built right from the foundation, and really care about the performance and having some reliability with it, I'd start with something built to perform. ie GTR. Cos the thing has the chassis for your power, the brakes for your power, the drivetrain to handle it and the engineering that makes it a great base to start from.

I've had a few and as much as I liked them, and as much as they served their purpose, if I were to compare them to my mildly tuned GTR, they were like cobbled together toys.

So it's all about what you want from it.

[adamskill]

^^+1

but as i said before, unless you have heaps of disposable income, plus a daily driver/ work car, plus the mechanical knowledge, plus the tools, plus the mates to help you out, plus the best part of 6 months - 1 year, do not spend the money on putting a 25/30 in you na silvia. its that simple. if your nigel petrie, do it. but your not.

otherwise get a solid base car, as everyone has said, and build from there.

im speaking from years of experience, passion, and trial and error.

[skyline32sup]

Just to clear it up, I won't be changing the engine in the S13, must of wrote something wrongly.

I think I've got the mates, I've got some of the tools its just the place to do it is, well not. I am still looking for a bigger place with room i can build a shed and make it my after-work garage. As you refer to " base " car you mean something thats had the work done and go from there, or something stock that can with-held the modifications i can/want to do.

I'm pretty dead set on a R32. After talking to some other people and getting information, tossing up between a GTR or a GTS-T mod plating it for a RB25DET. If i was to do that it would cost me about the same as the GTR anyway. I was going to make the R32 ( non GTR ) a GTR replica just not the same engine but body/inside pretty much the same.

I've been on the J-spec imports and i've got to say, I reckon i'll import. The prices arn't THAT bad and its under the 60k mark which is re-markable, but there cars over there are illegal on the road after 45ks or something ( don't hold that to me )

This will be a 2+ year project, I'll get something in running order/stock and then work my way up, Just like i did with my Silvia bought parts before i had the car and then made it my own, if only i had genuine aero anyway, thanks guys. If anyone has a build thread that has been successful, link it my way please cheers.

[UWISSH!]

I would never import a car based on the km's it says it has unless it has full history with it

[adamskill]

Just to clear it up, I won't be changing the engine in the S13, must of wrote something wrongly.

I think I've got the mates, I've got some of the tools its just the place to do it is, well not. I am still looking for a bigger place with room i can build a shed and make it my after-work garage. As you refer to " base " car you mean something thats had the work done and go from there, or something stock that can with-held the modifications i can/want to do.

I'm pretty dead set on a R32. After talking to some other people and getting information, tossing up between a GTR or a GTS-T mod plating it for a RB25DET. If i was to do that it would cost me about the same as the GTR anyway. I was going to make the R32 ( non GTR ) a GTR replica just not the same engine but body/inside pretty much the same.

I've been on the J-spec imports and i've got to say, I reckon i'll import. The prices arn't THAT bad and its under the 60k mark which is re-markable, but there cars over there are illegal on the road after 45ks or something ( don't hold that to me )

This will be a 2+ year project, I'll get something in running order/stock and then work my way up, Just like i did with my Silvia bought parts before i had the car and then made it my own, if only i had genuine aero anyway, thanks guys. If anyone has a build thread that has been successful, link it my way please cheers.

either.

if its an r32 you really want, search for a r32 that someone has already put an rb25, and go from there. the outright purchase prise will be a bit higher, but you will have a great platform to work from. all the hard work will have been done. with the engine sorted, there is still PLENTY to modify on a car that is 20 years old. the suspension and brakes are major components that often get overlooked, or you can do a full restoration job (have a look at chris rogers restoration project in the build thread). what ever you do make sure you get a good mechanic to give it a once over before you buy it.

[skyline32sup]

After summing up all my options, Even though i won't have this car for least end of the year. I've going with a 94 R32 GTR V-spec II. The latest model of the R32's making it the more superior model. Thanks for all the input and in about a years time i'll make a build thread.