Long Time Member - New To Stagea M35/pm35

[Caly2c]

G'day everyone i know i am not the first to post a thread like this but i have been a member on SAU for a little while now, although more observer than poster and have been looking to upgrade my daily drive to something late model with plenty of space, comfort, power and it had to be a wagon. I had thought of Stagea's in the past, my mate had a C34 for a little while before he crashed it but their getting long in the tooth and i have never been a fan of their styling. I had looked at VE Calais V's and E39 BMWs untill one day an ARX turned up in a carsales pop up ad while i was browsing the interweb one night. I was so impressed with what i saw that i soon became obessessed with getting to know about the M35 and to some extent the PM35. Having never owned a turbo car before i am leaning towards the M35. The level of kit that a Stagea has for the money is unbeatable IMO and i am openly looking to get into one.

I am aware they have a fragile turbo but i hear this can be fixed with drilling out the banjo and uprating the dump and front pipes. I also read that the double din units affect the a/c when they fail? A brake upgrade seems to be the go as well. Fuel consumption does not appear to be too bad and the rest of the car seems to be pretty reliable?

I have done plenty of reading of late but is there anything else i should be aware of? Where should i purchase one from? I know Northshore Prestige is a good dealer, but other than that i do not know of anywhere else i can go to view and/or drive a Stag, i have certainly read about a few lemons out there haha.

I have a preference at the moment for an AXIS or an ARX, i prefer the look, but would an RX or RS be more trouble free with less gadgets? Would it be fair to say the ARX is slightly less mod friendly?

Look forward to any feedback you may have

Cheers,

Ben

Edited May 13, 2013 by Caly2c

[Commsman]

Hi Ben

If you're not concerned by the fuel consumption then you're more than halfway to buying one.

Factory turbo's are a bit of a lottery. Some people have had no issues after years of ownership, but most people will recommend budgeting for a rebuild in the near future & then you won't be disappointed.

I really like the looks of the Axis model, but even the ARX with its big guards can look good OK. It's all subjective in that regard, but modifying any of the models is the same.

Re the gadgets, there isn't a hard & fast rule. Some of the lower spec models can still come with all the gadgets - depends what boxes were ticked initially. My RS had the nav/TV option, electric leather & sunroofs - not that I would especially buy one with all those again, but just mentioned as an example. All the luxo comes at a price (weight).

My suggestion re the stereo would be to find a car without the integrated audio/AC. You can change it out for a standard DD if you want to upgrade the audio later (or it fails), but much harder & more expensive than if you get the single din & instrument cluster in the first place.

The best bit about buying one is this community. It's the most helpful of any I've seen. If you are a bit handy & don't mind getting your hands dirty occasionally, the total cost of ownership of the M35 can be really low as general servicing is very easy.

And if you're looking to upgrade, there's guys on here (as you would know) that can make &/or fit all sorts of stuff that will give you excellent bang-for-buck.

Good luck with your car hunting. Keep an eye on here & M35stagea.info for cars being sold. There's been some amazing ones recently for excellent prices.

Cheers, Leon.

Edited May 13, 2013 by Commsman

[WAGON_BOY]

Hello and welcome!!!

I'm assuming your in sydney ?

[Caly2c]

Hi Leon.

Thanks very much for the reply, some great info there. In regards to the intergrated stereo i get the impression the AXIS and ARX only came with that particular set up? Or is there a sub spec within those two model variants that had a single din or option to do so?

Fuel consumption appears to be around the sort of numbers i am getting from my GA16 powered N15 daily, with a bigger engine i know i will be finding myself spending less time on the throttle getting the M35 to go anywhere so fuel might be less of an issue in comparison to what i drive now haha

That is one thing i have always noticed is the community atmosphere, i do plan to upgrade and mod a few things but more so in the interests of preventative maintenance to begin with. I do like to do the DIY thing so i will continue that tradition with this car should everything fall into place i can get what i am after.

I have also signed up the M35stagea.info too plenty of great resources but it seems activity is much less on there?

Hi Wagon Boy thanks for the warm welcome! Yes i am in the southern region of Sydney, planning to do a trip up there soon to check a few cars out in the next week or so.

Edited May 13, 2013 by Caly2c

[Commsman]

Hi Leon.

Thanks very much for the reply, some great info there. In regards to the intergrated stereo i get the impression the AXIS and ARX only came with that particular set up? Or is there a sub spec within those two model variants that had a single din or option to do so?

I have also signed up the M35stagea.info too plenty of great resources but it seems activity is much less on there?

Mmm, I think you're right re AXIS & ARX only coming with AC integrated into the (Bose?) stereo, but I'm no expert so someone else will need to confirm.

Even so, if those cars are what you like, don't worry - if something breaks it is possible to change it over. Look for the best car for you rather than incidental stuff.

Yeah, more activity here. Itsnotavolvo is more a storage of how-to guides & other good info.

[PN-Mad]

Welcome!

Had a giggle when you talked about economy. What on earth have you been dong to a 1.6 litre poosar to get 14 litres per 100?

Obviously you've been reading. That good. Go drive some and you'll find what you like.

[iamhe77]

Mmm, I think you're right re AXIS & ARX only coming with AC integrated into the (Bose?) stereo, but I'm no expert so someone else will need to confirm.

This is true although it was possible to option up an RS with Autech parts to retain the gauge cluster and single DIN unit

[Caly2c]

Welcome!

Had a giggle when you talked about economy. What on earth have you been dong to a 1.6 litre poosar to get 14 litres per 100?

Obviously you've been reading. That good. Go drive some and you'll find what you like.

Hi, thanks for the welcome!

Hahaha great question, i do drive it a bit harder than i should sometimes i guess that could be the result of it being slower than what i am normally used to, but overall it is not overly great on fuel. My record is 680, however my average range is about 550-580km, which from my reading so far is about on par with what people have been getting from their M35s. The N15 Great car mind you when comes zipping through traffic and parking in town, unfortunately it's not a good car for long trips, has almost no boot, same goes for front and rear legroom, having said that its a fun car to drive but its time to move back into something big anc comfortable again. Thanks, i plan to go look for some at some dealers in the coming weeks, just trying to find some reputable places to go to compare.

Hi iamhe, thanks for the reply. That's useful information, i assume it can work the other way too? I have a preference for ARX or AXIS, and with the more reading i do the RS is in the frame too so its good to know things are easy to interchange like that

[PN-Mad]

Ummm.... Bet your poosar has a 45-50 litre tank, while the stagea has a 80 litre.

The Kms range achieved does not equal the economy......

[Caly2c]

This is true, but at the end of the day if the range is around the same i am no particulary worried, if it were anything less then i would be Yes i will be paying more, but having owned Commodores in the past i am no stranger to a higher fuel bill. I did read somewhere that there was a tune being developed for the VQ25 that did improve economy. It was in a slightly older thread though, do you know if it has become available?

[PN-Mad]

They are thirsty cars. More thirsty than a commodore day to day I think. It would be double my little 323. Heavy awd turbo car....

There is no way to flash the ecu of the vq25 cars here. Only way to tune is via piggyback or hks FCon. And frankly only a handful of cars over here are tuned via this method.

Only way to make it cheaper is regular servicing, and a very light right foot.

[Caly2c]

Completely understand, it is something i have prepared myself for, i live in a rural area so it may help a little more with economy driving mainly highway miles with very little in the way of stop - start traffic. Shame about the lack of flash tuning, i think Greddy do a piggy back system still as well, i would be willing to give something like that a shot down the track, i do have aspirations to fit an exhaust to complement the dump and front pipes. But for now all that is just a future plan in the event that i find what i am looking for. Here's hoping

Is the drivetrain pretty sound? No mechanical or electronic issues that creep in? Have yet to find much in the way of info on that from searching.

[scotty nm35]

The drivetrain is fairly robust, much the same as 34GTR running gear. The auto requires at least a shiftkit to perform anywhere near as well as it should, and the turbo is a grenade due to the stock 14psi on a ceramic turbine.

The AFM's are known to fail, but mine is still the 12 year old original. Crank/cam sensors can occasionally fail, especially if the recall for them wasn't carried out.

Other than that the car is very reliable, even at triple the stock power.

[Caly2c]

Thanks for the reply Scotty, and thanks for info also. i have heard about the shift kit, i assume it is an expensive exercise? Turbo problem i have prepared myself for along with the fuel drinking. I had an idea to maybe do something about putting a different turbo on it at some stage or at least do the rebuild and high flow route. AFM i did not know about, are they a direct swap for a Z33 version?

On a side note i understand you are the man to see for dump and front pipes?

[scotty nm35]

Yep, I can definitely help with the dump/front pipe, and most other mods you require. Are you in Melbourne? PM me if you like for pricing.

Hypergear can do some great rebuilds for the price, (he is the guy listing the rebuild on ebay.) Good strong product and service. There are other options available too, but their prices can vary from reasonable to expensive. You need to keep the turbo wheel size small if you want the car to behave on the stock map (without tuning it.)

There is a thread dedicated to the AFM failing, believe me you will know what it is if it happens. It is the same part as the early WRX and a few other cars (not the VQ35) so a quick google with the P/N will find you one for around $150 I think.

[Caly2c]

Fantastic, thankyou very much. When the time comes i'll be in touch, went to look at couple yesterday at some dealerships just to get a feel for them in person, one looked very dodgy, the other was a VQ35 and slightly out of my price range, although very nice. Just have to keep looking. I am located in NSW, although not overly far from Sydney.

Just had a look at his kits, they do look very good, good pricing too. Do you happen to have the specifications for turbo by any chance? I see from Hypergears listing that the turbo itself is T3 which i found interesting. Was expecting a T25 or maybe T28, although to be honest I had not looked too hard into the finite details of the engine yet, but that was an interesting thing to find out.

Good news on the MAF too, they can be an expensive little things!

[scotty nm35]

Hypergear can stuff pretty much any core you want into the stock turbo housings, but you don't want to go too big unless you plan to tune the car. One of his highflows has recently hit 280kw on 98 on a M35, all in by 3000, but the same turbo on a Skyline can go as high as 330-340kw on a highmount manifold, so our stock manifold is a little restrictive it seems. (plus auto losses)

With a switch to e85 there is an easy 300-350kw with a cheap highflow upgrade, and the engine will take it all day. (The gearbox won't take that for long without building it though.) As usual Nissan over engineered the engine for longevity.

[Caly2c]

Hypergear can stuff pretty much any core you want into the stock turbo housings, but you don't want to go too big unless you plan to tune the car. One of his highflows has recently hit 280kw on 98 on a M35, all in by 3000, but the same turbo on a Skyline can go as high as 330-340kw on a highmount manifold, so our stock manifold is a little restrictive it seems. (plus auto losses)

With a switch to e85 there is an easy 300-350kw with a cheap highflow upgrade, and the engine will take it all day. (The gearbox won't take that for long without building it though.) As usual Nissan over engineered the engine for longevity.

Hi Scotty,

Thankyou again for the reply, more great info there. 280Kw is a healthy number, that would be with a piggy back as well? Nissan certainly build their engines well from the factory, comforting to know they used the same method on the VQ25, shame they didn't for the turbo though! But with that power jump i would imagine there would be a further dip in fuel economy?

My only real concern with the car is crash parts and larger mechancal/electrical maintenance parts, the latter i had been thinking may have been shared with 350Z or V series Skylines. I guess ebay would be your friend for those things?

[scotty nm35]

It's not a problem for me, I have an M35 wreck in the drive.

The ceramic turbo is quite robust considering it runs at 14psi stock, try that with any other ceramic turbine... I have run mine at 19psi for months without failure. As with any turbo failure it can usually be traced back to poor oil supply or lack of servicing.

Fuel economy shouldn't change with a good tune, it could even get better if you ditch the o2 sensor and lean out the cruise mapping. I wouldn't suggest it though.

[Caly2c]

Hahaha half your luck , i guess just have to keep an eye on the wreckers for parts, no stranger to that myself. Yeah i was surprised how much boost they run from factory. Impressive, i guess just keep up to date with services and make the change to the banjo bolt etc. Tuning wouldn't be anything i would do untill later, but replacing the O2s would be something i would do in the first couple of jobs.

There was one other question i wanted to ask, i am trying to work out (and i have googled and searched but to evail) the differences between the 250RX, 250RS, 250 RS Four and 250 RX Four i am not sure if people have written the wrong description on their advertisements or not. i know there were many different options and combinations but it appears there is not a whole lot of difference except for perhaps an Aero front bar and painted lower skirts etc then factor in the options ontop of that?