Ohayo gozaimasu! [R32 from Japan]

[FabM]

Hi everyone,

My name is Fabien, 32y old, I'm currently living on Tokyo and owning a R32 gtst black that I purchased from auction and then shaken + registered it here.

I'm actually replacing parts here and there to restore and build the car before to bring it back to France with me next year.

But before to come back home, I travel with it around Japan and track it a few times.

Those hard times shows that this 30y old lady needs to be maintained well, so here I am to share about all that as we all need to improve and preserve them to enjoy the ride as long as possible!

[robbo_rb180]

Welcome,
That will be a great experience living and driving there.

[PranK]

Welcome to  !

Car looks gorgeous. Very jealous of you living there and driving that.

 

[FabM]

Hi guys, thanks for the welcome, it was a dream to live here for a while. Not easy process  for the driving experience but I'm in. So enjoying it ^^

Road are really nice and in good condition and landscape is... Perfect for memories ^^ I enjoy every ride, excluding driving on Tokyo daytime^^

Compare to Japan, France is, I would say, more rally mountain than touge mountain.

also, some small tracks in Japan are not as good flat as ours. Good to practice tho, but still, with my old and ruined Cusco L comp coilovers, I just destroy a wheel and a fender while drifting.

need to find replacement now, many option but loving bilstein, I'm a bit confused now as they don't produce anymore for hcr32.

So I'm looking for a setup for 70% rally mountain and 30% track use.

But I will probably do a topic regarding the evo of the car, if I don't find answer with the search section.

Edited December 4, 2023 by FabM

[GoHashiriya]

Just shipped my car back after 4 and a half years in Japan, enjoy it, It's a fantastic experience. I recommend getting as much fixed as you can before shipping it back. Also, ship the car back yourself if possible, as many of the export agents are unreliable (maybe you've got a good one lined up), or you can pay a premium to get a reliable export agent - Yamato/Nisshin quoted me around 600k yen to the Netherlands. 

I just went with Blitz for coilovers, then upped the spring rate by 1k F&R using Swift springs iirc. My mate, also a member here, went with the Teins with EDC which he commends.

I like the small circuits here, especially given how cheap they are. I was paying around 4k yen p/hr at Suzuka Twin, Mikawa and YZ circuit. Aichi - where I'm based - is prime for circuits but it is a big trek from Tokyo.      

[FabM]

To bring it back home I'm a member of a French club import so it's gonna be easier for me too.

About the suspension the thing is I'm hesitating between maintain my actual Cusco (10-9kg) which have just the heigh adjustable and will last only 2030000kms before to rebuild them (which is not possible in France for what I know and expensive anyway)

OR

A set of tein monoflex/super drift (7kg/mm front & 6or5 rear) with softer springs compare to Cusco,  but not as good.

Also it might be harder than the next choice regarding springs rate (even if the valving seems softer compare to bilstein +adjustable so maybe fine enough for road use? +)

OR

an old bilstein shocks set, but hard to find as not produced anymore (hopefully I find them... never sure).

Bilstein would live longer, get maintened easily with the add of softer spring compared to coilovers ( the hardest founded is an old but good condition tein setup -45mm with 5.8f & 4.6r). But valving would be harder than tein coilovers, so I don't know the result on road, just know that I can make them fitting exactly to my expectation regarding our road and track in France.

I had bilstein b12 on Honda civic, and b12 but firmer on Clio 16s and I like it on mountain road.

Also for technic inspection, I can pass it with bilstein, not with coilovers so make life easier ^^

So still hesitating as I'm not sure about the bilstein/tein combo efficiency.

Of course only If I find those bilstein shocks second hand.

 

Or maybe something else?  ^^

Edited December 4, 2023 by FabM

[GTSBoy]

Hmm. I feel tempted to offer you my custom valved B6s** with ~5.6/4.something kg springs.....for about the same money as an upgrade to a set of truly excellent Aussie coilovers would cost. Which is about AU$3K.

 

**Look up the thread by SydneyKid on here from many years ago, when he started offering modded B6s.