Ben's R33 Gts25T

[Bennis]

Hey SAU,

Just bought an R33 Skyline and have some plans for it so I thought I would make a thread about the car.

I have wanted an r33 gtst since I was 12 years old! 7 and a half years later, here I am.

Originally I had planned to find a standard, good condition example but after looking for a few months and inspecting 5+, all of them had problems here and there. Crunchy gears, stuffed diffs, hard to start, and my number 1 pet hate BAD PAINT.

My last three cars have all been grey, so I just had to find a nice grey example. Eventually I found the car I would eventually buy, however it was a bit far from stock.

Modifications done to the car include:

- Garrett GT3582r a/r 0.82

- GCG Highmount

- Turbosmart 45mm Wastegate (plumbed back)

- Ace 100mm thick Intercooler

- Splitfire Coils

- Siemens Deka 750cc Top Feed Injectors

- Custom Fuel Rail

- Turbosmart Fuel Pressure Regulator

- Bosch 044 External Fuel Pump

- Warlbro 255 In-tank Fuel Pump

- Surge Tank

- Greddy / Freddy Plenum (could be real!! Its not all chromed up like all the fake ones are, its the same external finish as a real greddy but doesnt have the red badge, anyway to tell?)

- Kakimoto Mega N1 3.5" Exhaust

- De-cat Pipe

- Custom Catch Can & Radiator Overflow

- Turbosmart Eboost2

- Apexi Power FC

- Z32 AFM

- HKS Turbo Timer

- Bee*R Rev Limiter

- Lowered Springs

- Bilstein Shocks

- Hicas Lock Bar

- Aftermarket Rear Bar

- Buddy Club P1

- HID Headlights

- Alarm /immobilizer /GPS tracking

Tuned by Unigroup in Sydney to 330rwkw @ 20psi.

So... thats all the mods I am aware of at the moment. The bloke who sold it to me had not listed half of them so I kept finding new things. He said he didnt know much about cars and left everything up to the professionals. Its in great nick with a healthy motor, no rust and great condition paint all round bar a tiny 20c piece sized piece on the rear quarter and your usual scratched up lower front bar. The interior is in excellent condition with the only flaws being some bad paint on the dash and warn out gearknob/ gear & handbrake boots that I will be fixing.

My plans? I hope to have a fair chunk of this done by the end of 2013. I am still on my Green P's until December so this gives me plenty of time to get the car to my standard before I can drive it on the streets. Problem is moneys not always there when youre living out of home for the first time and have bills to pay and uni stuff to do, but it should all be doable by December.

- Exhaust- At the moment, the car is extremely loud with the basically straight through 3.5" exhaust. (Kakimoto Mega N1 has no centre muffler and a straight through rear can). It sound incredible but is just screaming to be defected. Am planning on swapping to a 3 or 3.5" system with a Varex muffler in the centre and a discreet rear muffler. Perhaps an oval nismo, fujitsubo or vibrant muffler. Also am planning on getting the wastegate pipe flanged so I can swap between screamer or plumb back. Will also be getting a high flow cat as well as it currently has a de-cat pipe.

- Exterior - I also plan on swapping to an original rear bar and hunting down some type M pods to match the type M sideskirts and front bar. Along with this I would like a roof spoiler and either a ducktail or series 2 spoiler. Both look great in their own way so it will be a tough decision down the line but atm I am siding with the original and timeless series 2 item. Hoping to get the few small paint imperfections fixed when all this is fitted and painted as well. I would love to get my hands on a Hasemi Sport front lip as well, will be contacting Jesse Streeter as I hear he is good to get items from Japan easy.

- Wheels- I dont mind the Buddy Club P1's on there at the moment. Not sure on their full specs as I havnt pulled them off to look but I do know they are 17" and look atleast 8" wide, probably more. They have a pretty decent offset aswell, not -stance- worthy but they are practical and dont look stupid or sit 20km's inside the guards. Once everything else is done a decision will be made on whether to swap wheels. Ive always loved the look of XD9s and Ce28ns on R33's however they are alot of money. Varrstoen make a Ce28n replica in good specs so may pursue that option in some sort of dark grey or gloss black finish. 18x9.5 +22 all round.

- Engine- The reason I had originally wanted a stock example was to do my own course of engine modifications, however its hard to pass up what was done to this car. I would like to make the engine bay a bit less of a defect magnet. I will be painting all chrome/polished items black. Rocker covers wrinkle coat black and may even change the braided lines for black hose and 'make' the catch can setup look legalish. Down the line I will be swapping to a GT3076R a/r 0.82 as it is the turbo I have always wanted to fit after seeing so many amazing examples on SAU. Also I will be sourcing a standard airbox & snorkel and routing the intake into it rather then a pod filter. Will be interesting to see as I have not seen a highmount with the standard airbox before!

- Interior - The interior is in pretty good nick. No rips or tears or stains. The gear & handbrake boots need replacing and they will be complimented by a shift knob. (thinking Tomei Duracon atm). Will be hunting a nice looking Nardi wheel as well (regretting selling the one I owned years ago with my R31). It has an older style Double DIN headunit at the moment which will be swapped out to a cheap single DIN item & a single DIN triple gauge cluster (not sure what gauges yet). Will be relocating the HKS turbo timer to a better spot and am thinking about a detachable boss kit and hidden ignition line cut switch for extra security. Would love to replace the drivers seat with a Nice reclinable BRIDE item or retro fishnet recaro, and the door skin cloth with BRIDE cloth as well. The dash paint on the centre dash piece that extends under the speedo/tacho area will need some love as that paint is a bit crappy these days (Might carbon wrap it).

Well... thats all I can think of plans wise atm. I have a long time to do it so will be saving the pennys to get this going! If anyone could be bothered to read all that I will be very impressed.

Enough blabber, here is some pics of the car. Mostly pics from the seller but I will be getting some good pics next time I am with the car. I am a hobbyist landscape photographer so am looking forward to a little fun with a car shoot, just didnt have time recently. Until I can drive it, the car will live 3 hours away at my parents place as there is not room at my house for it and no where to work on it.

heres a pic I took on the iphone today, just gave it a good a wash. You can sorta see my daily car next to it, a Peugeot 306 Gti-6, also grey

Anyway thats all for now...

Will be starting with the cheap bits first. Going to be buying new handbrake and gearshift boots from that UK Topgaiter seller. New Gearknob as well.

[MrFijiGold]

Nice ride mate. Good job you didnt go down the path of picking up a stock example - you saved yourself a bit of coin there.
Also, why do you want to downsize to the 3076R from your current setup?

[Bennis]

Yep did save alot of time and money buying this.

A few reasons, I really really like the response and power capability of the 3076r. I have been in a few rb25 powered cars with a 3076r and I really like how they drove and the response and whatnot.

Dont get me wrong, the difference isnt that huge, but the 3582r is noticeably laggier to me. It begins to sing around 3000-3500rpm and begins really building power at 4000+ and its just a fair bit later than the 3076r examples I have been in.

If the swap wasnt a straight swap I wouldnt bother and Ide just live with the 3582r however the 3076r will match up to the manifold and dump. I will have to change the turbo outlet pipe with a different joiner but thats cheap stuff and I am making a new intake pipe to fit onto a stock airbox anyhow.

Oh and on a superficial not performance related note, the 3076r sounds amazing which keeps me all the more motivated to swap over.

~

The interior overhaul will be first I have decided. I have purchased new leather boots and am currently trying to decide on a gear knob to buy as well. Also on the to be done list includes a new ipod friendly Single DIN head unit + triple gauge cluster to go under neither it.

[MrFijiGold]

Fair enough mate. Seems like your after a more responsive setup rather then a big bang at top end. And with the turbo's being a straight swap - it seems like the way to go.
I had an internally-gated 3037S with a sonic rear housing on my car and I know what you mean

All the best for the build.

[MrFijiGold]

Oh on the sound system front - I bought a Clarion Headunit (ipod/USB) + Hertz Speakers/Amps/Subs for my car. While new to modifying and to the skyline world, I had stripped the interior (seats/carpets/dash) and installed it myself. See if your keen to go down that path while your at it.

[Bennis]

On my first car, an R31 I had an old classic leather Nardi wheel on it. I am not a big fan of the currently offered deep corn of classic styles and theres so many fakes of them out there getting a genuine one is a bit worrying so I went on a hunt for an older leather model the same I had on my 31.

Found one a good condition preloved item, cant wait for it Its the one item I have left on a previous car that I regret selling. Such an amazing wheel and is exactly the same as the one I used to have, cannot wait to get this one in my hands.

Heres the boots I purchased as well. Still deciding on a gear knob though...

Edited June 2, 2013 by Bennis

[Albus]

Awesome car man, you using this for street, track or both?

[Bennis]

Will be a daily driver when I get off my p's in December. No track plans. However lately ive been debating whether to join the police force or not as my current uni degree is boring me something fierce... Wakefield Parks at Goulburn where the academy is, so you never know!

[Landyy]

good buy bro

hope everything goes well

Edited June 4, 2013 by Landyy

[Bennis]

Minor, slightly boring update haha.

Just purchased some R32 GTR wheels + yokohama advan R1's from RBMunkie.

Buddy Club P1s will be up for sale in the future when its all swapped over.

[Albus]

Awesome man, looking forward to this.

[Bennis]

Just a pic I took the other day. Want to do a full shoot of the car once its up to respectable standards, with me that may be a while... Hoping to be able to go pick up the new r32 gtr wheels sometime this week when I have time off.

[Bennis]

r32 gtr wheels on. Next step for the exterior is standard rear bar + type M pods. Roof spoiler, and series 2 spoiler. The wheels look nice and shouldnt attract much attention. Will be staying on until everything else is finished inside, outside and under the bonnet.

Also noticed its a 38mm ultragate not a 45mm ultragate. Oh well, who cares lol, still works fine at 20psi!

Edited June 19, 2013 by Bennis

[Mr.H]

Your 33 looks good mate, never been a fan of the 32 GTR rims tho.

Sounds about right size for your gate....

Turbosmart Guide:

Big Turbo/Low Boost = Bigger Wastegate
Big Turbo/High Boost = Smaller Wastegate
Small Turbo/High Boost = Smaller Wastegate
Small Turbo/Low Boost = Bigger Wastegate

[RBMunkie]

lol.
Now yours has wheels and mine don't.


XD

Looks good man.

[Bennis]

Thanks guys haha.

Fitted my Nardi Classic today. Spent a good half an hour figuring out why the nardi horn button wouldnt fit the HUB like a moron until I realised the Hub had a slip in reducer in that just pops out HURR DUURR.

Also fitted my new Gear shift boot from Topgaiters, perfect. The Handbrake boot however is a pain in the ass, the steel wire supplied in them is very flexible and just sucks, so Im going to perform a transplant of the old boots wire rim into the new boot, shouldnt be hard at all.

Also, began removing the rubbery black coating thats on the gearshift surround, stereo surround and drivers door switch surround, Peeled half of it off by rubbing it with my thumb until my skin began to burn, then my smart mind decided to assault it with wax and grease remover and a cloth, too easy. Such a shitty factory coating, just peels off like nothing... Will remain raw black plastic until I decide what to do with it all.

NO PICS I KNOW, TERRIBLE BUILD THREAD.... left my camera kit at home in Newcastle like an idiot, very pissed as Port Macquarie has had some crazy good sunsets and lightning storms these past few days .... -_-

[Bennis]

Cars getting paintwork in the next couple weeks finally. Had to postpone it after being delayed with parts for a while but its all steam ahead now.

Whats getting done?

Standard rear bar, type M pods, series 2 spoiler, viva garage roof spoiler, repainted front lip, removal of the clear reflector things on quarter panel.

Cant wait going to look boss!

Next on the to-do list after paint:

- Paint engine bay stuff in black for maximum ninja

- Purchase and fit steering quick release

- Purchase Prosport Gauges (oil temp, oil press, water temp) & Triple Gauge DIN holder

- Purchase single DIN headunit

- Purchase GT3076R, Varex centre muffler & Venom 100 cell cat

- Book a tune and fitting of all the above stuff with DVSJEZ

- Purchase and fit Gloss black 18x9.5 +22 Varrstoen 3.3.1 (CE28N) w/ 265/35r18 Federal 595... Have seen a guy in the wheel fitment thread pull these tyres off with that offset on a gtst. Hoping too aswell

Excluding whatever DVSJEZs work costs me, its a touch over $4000 for all the above things. A fair bit less than I expected after adding it all up!

Then it shall be done! I hope..

Edited August 30, 2013 by Bennis

[colourclassic]

Hey mate, nice looking car, with a good spec list to back it up!

What springs is it currently sitting on? I'm looking at King Lows with Bilsteins for my car, and am gauging how it looks. Do you find yours too low? And what offset were the P1's? Looked fairly high!

Cheers!

[Bennis]

Not sure what the exact suspension set up is to be honest, was fitted when I bought it. Theyr yellow bilsteins and blue coloured springs. Someone told me it may be a sydneykid setup but I have no idea what specs that is...

P1s were 17x8 +32. Sold them to a dude with a Honda Civic Type R!

[colourclassic]

Cheers dude, SK setup was Bilsteins and King Lows (-30mm). About what I want. Your new wheels should sit pretty well, much better offset.