Considering A V35 - Should I Go For A 250Gt, 300Gt, 350Gt Or 350Gt-8?

[Marko R1]

hi guys,

ive owned my r32gtr for 10yrs & looking at a runaround car as i am sales rep on the road driving all over sydney and occasionally rural / act.

should i look at the V35 as i wonder if parts & upkeep is similar to that of the gtr (to me, maintaining the gtr is not an issue).

if i take this path, should I go for a 250gt (158kw), 300gt (191kw), 350gt (205kw) or 350gt-8 (200kw)?

also, why is it that the 350gt-8 seems to sell cheaper than the 350gt? as i understand, the 350gt-8 has an 8 speed cvt transmission...are they reliable? i wonder if this tranny sounds like the toyota prius tranny which sounds like 1 constant gear (like a train)...

[PN-Mad]

350gt with either your preference of 5at /6mt would be best.

The CVT is hideously expensive to fix and service, and while there are a few cases of reliable operation, there are 3 times as many horror stories. They aren't a normal cvt, and there was never another box made like it.... Tells you something...

The DD motors (25/30)have the direct injection, and EGR. Which isn't a crash hot system. They can be sorted, but the vq35 is just such a good basic unit.

Servicing is pretty straight fwd, and you'll find it cheaper than a GTR.

[Nightcrawler]

Don't touch a GT8 with a 20 foot pole. Do a search on here - you will find plenty of topics on it. Basically if they break, there is no-one able to fix most faults. I know of at least 2 cars that weere parted out and sold as bits, as they couldn't figure out how to fix the CVT (or it was going to cost more to fix than the car is worth).

Just go a 350GT/370GT. The VQ35 is rated as one of the best engines ever made. With a few mods they can make 180rwkw and over 600Nm of torque, and are plenty fun. But they are 100% reliable (unlike a GTR). Mine has done 150,000km, I service it myself, it has never even seen a mechanic and has purred like a kitten all its life. Sure it's no GTR, but they are comfortable, look great (I still have people come up to me and ask 'is it brand new', or 'gee that must have cost $100k') and bang for buck are hard to beat, unless you are after a car that makes 300rwkw, in which case a GTR is pretty much your only decent choice.

Plus, they are insane value for money. Good V35s can be found for $20kish, good V36s are now as cheap as $30kish. Unbelievable value for a car that goes, looks and sounds as good as these imho. If you can stretch your budget to a V36 then get one - they produce 45kw more (when stock) than the V35, have push button start/proximity unlock (like the R35GTR), most have 6 camera reversing/parking systems, the SP has titanium paddle shit (if you're into autos - and why wouldn't you be - they are awesome!) and various enhancements over the V35. The newer ones even have self-healing paint!

[sonicii]

Since you are considering a 250GT, 300GT or a 350GT-8, i guess you are looking at a sedan? since the coupe is only a 350GT in a 6sp manual or 5sp auto.

Either way, i would go with the 350GT with a standard auto or manual.

[Marko R1]

thanks guys for the feedback - "self healing paint?" pls elaborate

looks like i need to stay away from cvt...i will.

[Nightcrawler]

[scotty nm35]

^^ makes for expensive resprays though. The self healing only works once for an area, and won't last forever obviously. You can't cut and polish it afaik.

[Marko R1]

this is bizarre - sounds like a hoax haha

[Nightcrawler]

Nah quite a lot of new cars and various things have self-healing paint/surfaces. They are even talking about the new IPhone6 having a form of it.

The clear coat has a polymer in it which stretches closed when it is scratched. Hence why Scotty raised the point about not being able to cut and polish it.

[Howaitonaito]

I have a 250GT.

-carbon build up is the worst.

-pain to remove said carbon.

-could not pull the skin off custard it's that gutless.

-the 300GT is slightly better in performance but nothing to rave about.

-4AT in 250GT and 5AT in 300GT is hopeless without shift kit.

-fuel economy is average.

Like many have said beforehand. Avoid the 350GT-8 at all costs.

Iron Chef have a series2 manual sedan in silver 2005 6MT. 13.4 I think it was. Clean clean car

Edited May 18, 2014 by Howaitonaito

[junkie]

250 is fine for a runabout. I get about 600 kays/tank and performance is about the same as a base spec falcodore with less torque down low. Not looking forward to carbon issues tho

[Marko R1]

What exactly are these carbon issues though? Sounds crazy or unexplainable to me.

I ended up buying a magna, yes it's a magna haha BUT it's a ralliart which is #418 of 500 and drives well. They cam out of the factory with stainless headers and aggressive automatic...I know it sounds funny but it is awesome.

I retain my values though with my ADM R32GTR

[junkie]

As far as I know, due to direct injection, the carbon builds up in the intake manifold and creates all sorts of performance issues. Doesn't happen with normal injections setup as the fuel helps wash off carbon deposits. Some late model Audi's with tfsi engines are badly affected as well

[sonicii]

^^ this.. no fuel in the intake manifolds, but plenty of exhaust and oil from the EGR and PCV ends up covering the back of the intake valves as well as the rest of the plenum, needs to be dismantled and cleaned.

Ralliart Magna is an interesting car.. Numbers on paper aren't too exciting, but they managed to do it with an old fashioned SOHC engine with no variable valve timing, and in a FWD layout.

[Marko R1]

It really is a wolf in sheep's clothing, look kinda odd as well.

They run 14sec qtr mile and sprint 0-100 in 6sec so it's surprising just how many cars want to race me. They won't pick on me in my Godzilla though

[sonicii]

yeah, not too bad considering.. official specs were high 6s and high 14s for the MT, and just over 7s and low 15s for the AT. not sure what the real world figures were.

0-100 times were better than the XR8 and V8 commodore of the time!!

Edited May 26, 2014 by sonicii

[PN-Mad]

Interesting choice with the magna. I don't mind them, and think they are pretty cool, except the motors were hand built by technicians. So when it needs a rebuild, what happens...?

[Marko R1]

How do u mean engines were hand built by technicians? If it needs a rebuild, wouldn't u just pull it down like an rb26?

[PN-Mad]

Exactly that, they were built by ralliart employees separate from the line of normal engines.

Sure you can rebuild them just like any other motor, but where do you get bits or knowledge when only 500 units were made!?

[Marko R1]

It's just a Mitsubishi haha, not a veyron