Skyline Crossover

[win4ever]

Hi all, I recently bought a 2013 Skyline Crossover from Japan and is just keen to see if there are any other owners on the forum. Is this the right forum to discuss the J50 or is there a separate forum for this? I have been doing a search but can't seems to find any topics about the crossovers!

Just a big fan of the Skyline and after driving a V35 and V36 coupe, I thought I will upgrade to a J50 due to a new addition to the family! Also, any NZ owners of the J50 here? I hardly seen any in Auckland but the importer who got me my car told me they have sold a few down to the South Island....

Edited July 29, 2016 by win4ever

[Stuart McK]

Yep. 

 

 

 

[talkiet]

I've got one and love it, except the 2wd version is AWFUL on gravel. Really, really bad.

Oh, and the AC pump is busted and won't be cheap to replace.

Cheers - N (Christchurch)

 

 

[Stuart McK]

Looking Good, Neil. Hey, your photo just reminded me to wash my car... 

[BigDirtyJase]

On 7/30/2016 at 3:52 PM, talkiet said:

2wd version is AWFUL on gravel. Really, really bad.

How awful and bad is awful and bad?

I'm looking at getting a Crossover myself - found a 2009 that I'm interested i

[talkiet]

Well, I chase around the occasional rally and on gravel the VDC is so intrusive that it makes driving swiftly on gravel impossible. Not hooning, not racing, just travelling briskly isn't possible. Turning the VDC off isn't advisable either - with over 330BHP and RWD in something this heavy it's amusing but honestly a pretty terrible idea as well.

In addition the rear diff must be proper stupid. At one stage going across a small ditch the car got stranded on diagonally opposite wheels and someone had to get out and push the car half a metre so it would grip again.

My previous road cars have been a bunch of Legacys (1994 RS, 1999 GTB, 2004 GT) and a 2008 V6 Toyota RAV 4. The RAV4 drove a LOT better on any sort of loose surface than the Skyline, not just due to the 4wd but the less intrusive VDC.

On sealed surfaces however the Skyline is actually good, really, really good. Much better than I expected for a heavy luxury car.  I did notice some brake shudder when pressing on very hard, but skimming the rotors and new pads cured that. It's tremendous on the seal.

(For context my benchmark for handling is my Lotus 7 replica... The skyline is nothing like it but at higher speeds it handles more like my Legacy GT wagon than the RAV4.

If you can find a NJ50 (The 4wd version of the Crossover) AND you intend to go on unsealed roads more than very occasionally, then it would be a much better choice. Unfortunately they are a lot rarer.

If I find one with all the rest of the toys (radar cruise, IBA, Around view monitor, Type P leather and seat heaters etc) then I'd consider swapping over to a 4wd version.

Cheers - N

 

Edited July 31, 2016 by talkiet

[niZmO_Man]

Yeah, well it does sound like something one would use to drop kids off and go shopping in, not gravel driving lol.

[Stuart McK]

Heeeey, my daughter said my 2013 looks like a Soccer Mum's car, but I like it. The comments prior relate to gravelled roads. On sealed road a different matter, although I can't power through circles like I could in my Skyline V35 coupe. My view is that the quality of fit and the rear room is worth it for me. Sure, I miss my coupe, but I picked up a new lawn mower in a box a few months ago, and loaded it in next to 25 IKEA parts boxes. Umm, my previous coupe could manage a bunch of bananas in the boot and not much more...

As they say, horses for courses. ;-)

Edited August 1, 2016 by Stuart McK

[sonicii]

22 hours ago, BigDirtyJase said:

How awful and bad is awful and bad?

I'm looking at getting a Crossover myself - found a 2009 that I'm interested i

 

Well.  it really is a 370Z with a high body.. so I wouldn't expect it to handle gravel roads any better than a 370Z does, other than the higher clearance.

[BigDirtyJase]

3 hours ago, sonicii said:

Well.  it really is a 370Z with a high body.. so I wouldn't expect it to handle gravel roads any better than a 370Z does, other than the higher clearance.

Yeah I know that..I was going what talkiet experienced since I will be going on some gravel roads when I go camping. I wasn't expecting it to be the greatest thing in the world

[win4ever]

Hi people! Just posted a message on the other thread that Stuart had alerted me to (for some reason can't seems to find that thread when I did my search else would have just posted there instead of starting a new thread).

Good to hear that there are quite a few who has a crossover or is thinking of getting one. I am waiting with great anticipation for mine to arrive (it's still in Japan as I just won the auction for the car last Thursday so will be another 1.5 to 2 months before I will finally get to lay my hands on the car).

From my research reading reviews etc the general feedback is the car is indeed not made for driving off-road it seems and Neil seems to have verified that with his car. Not too sure if the AWD will make a big difference though but the reviews online does suggest that the AWD works really well in the snow (the review I read was from a Canada) so assume it should work well on gravel as well. I am not too fuss as I don't expect driving much off-road so the RWD should work for me I guess.

Anyway, will be good if everyone can share abit more about their car and if there has been any issues on the car. Again, from the review, it seems like similar to all Skylines, the car is pretty reliable so just keen to see what everyone thinks. Since owning a v35 and v36 coupe, I think my only major repair on the cars was replacing an alternator on my v36. But apart from this, both cars have been rock solid and I am hoping that the Nissan reliability will continue on the J50!

[sonicii]

4 hours ago, win4ever said:

Not too sure if the AWD will make a big difference though but the reviews online does suggest that the AWD works really well in the snow

 

It should help with traction, thus will be beneficial in the snow, but I doubt it will be any better than the RWD version on rough/uneven surfaces as it is still basically the same suspension setup, which isn't designed for off road work.

[mybrains]

I have a 2010 RWD crossover. Its really bad in the wet - left wheel likes to spin off the lights. Suggest AWD version if your going off road or at least swap in the LSD from a wrecked import V36 (this is what I intend to do)

Pete

[niZmO_Man]

Tried better tyres?

[talkiet]

I can back this up - rear traction in the wet, especially turning (like pulling out of a T intersection) is awful and I have reasonable tyres. Unless you're genuinely dainty on the loud pedal you will get the flashing dashboard light of slipperyness..

To fix the issue with tyres you'd need unreasonably soft rubber for this sort of car.

Cheers - N

 

[win4ever]

I have a set of toyo MPZ on mine which is a RWD version and so far haven't had any issues with it on wet surface.

My old v36 coupe had a set of INVO nittos on them and the traction control did on a few occasion, kicked in when I tried to accelarate harder after a set of lights in the wet.

What tyres are you guys on?

[mybrains]

The crossover came with factory SP7000 Dunlops on. They are quiet enough but cant tame the 225Kw motor with just one wheel. For comparison my v36 sedan with lsd and Bridestone 003 is fine.  http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=SP+Sport+7000+A%2FS

Now I can get a LSD from a import wrecker for around $600. What shop in syd would be able to swap it (I read the V36 R200 diff has some sensors on it so they need to carry over)

Tyres wise, The 225/55R18 are to be plus one to 245/50R18. Im thinking of these brand new ones just out http://www.continental-tires.com/car/tires/car/summer-plt/sportcontact-6

[win4ever]

Hmmm.... still no issue with the traction so far and we have had almost 1.5 weeks of rain here in Auckland! Could be me not pushing the car hard enough I guess.

Let us know how you get on with the LSD Pete!

[GT-Rr32]

Hi guys. 

We bought a crossover about 6 months ago. It's the premium model but RWD. 

Haven't had any issues at all including traction in the wet. 

Love the car and a bargain at the price. 

The quietness in the cabin and the sound system is amazing 

One thing I want to do is replace the very small air filters. 

 

[Stuart McK]

On 23/02/2017 at 9:36 AM, GT-Rr32 said:

 

The quietness in the cabin and the sound system is amazing 

One thing I want to do is replace the very small air filters. 

 

Yep - a very quiet car. Which air filters? Motor or inner cabin?

And did you buy your's from Nagoya Motors?