Need To Make A Choice Regarding Stagea Ownership

[AlexCim]

Anyone got those chassis bracing pictures for me, i tried to search for about 20 minutes through the threads but coulding find it searching "c pillar" "pillar" "chassis brace" "bracing" and "brace".

Ill check out my car tomorrow, see if i got it or not. Doubt i do, but ill see. So its halfway between the diff and the gearbox... hmm... we'll see

[Burns]

Mine came with the tunnel brace as well I dont think it is exclusive to the 260RS.

[StageZilla]

i got the tunnel brace in the bottom left corner and the strut brace for the front is stock on rs fours anyway

260rs aint that far up the ladder as suggested

Edited December 27, 2005 by StageZilla

[jake32]

all the braces are transferable from the 260rs to the rs four as ive got the 260rs tunnel brace already on there, and there are threaded spots for the front brace under the gearbox bellhousing, and only thing is the c pillar mods, nothing a roll cage wouldnt fix when it does a high 10 one day  :lol:  got r34 brembos too, and all gtr axles, so its missing the kit, which i'd rather get something better looking imo. (no im not saying the 260rs is crap, just the rs four isnt as far behind as u make besides the driveline) and im sure the 260rs stock susp would be 100 times better than the rs four making the handling "soo much better" as u said. anyone with a rs four would be planning suspension mods to lower it and fix the handling anyway

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and in the end its still an rs four or 260rs "replica" that cost twice as much and will never be worth anything like the real thing end of story ...but everyone make there own choices

[AlexCim]

I am sure the rear subframe brace would be very helpful and useful, but the subframe lock kit should help us with that anyway.

I guess the only way to know, same driver, same track, one 260rs worth 40k and a rs4 worth 40k

[StageZilla]

as long as u can sit on your "kings thrown" and know u are the best and only the 260rs is the boss then live in stock stagea land.

if i wanted an investment i woudnt be playing with cars now would i

i think a nice fat power figure and all brand new parts suspension and brakes wise will help me forget im only in a "rs four" bunky as u put it

[jake32]

as long as u can sit on your "kings thrown" and know u are the best and only the 260rs is the boss then live in stock stagea land.

if i wanted an investment i woudnt be playing with cars now would i 

i think a nice fat power figure and all brand new parts suspension and brakes wise will help me forget im only in a "rs four" bunky as u put it 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you seem to do a lot of bragging about a car that spent more time on the back of a towtruck than on the road ..and still not on the road and hasn`t run a 15 second pass let alone a 10 ..so far its all been talk from you ..not torque ..in the meantime i`ve enjoyed driving the 260rs" stock" as it is for the last 12mths ,coming up for time to to sell in feb @$35k...which makes the stagezilla or moded 2.5 auto and even bigger money pit as far i can see ...and "built by autech..japan " has a better ring to it than "built by sidchrome..backyard"

[AlexCim]

haha, mine has the tunnel brace also, checked today as i said i would

Also installed the suspension kit, subframe lock too. Will do caster soon. God does she feel good now

[AlexCim]

Oh, leading on from that, I dont REALLY care if my car is worth 25k even after 20k + 20k has been spent. If it handles better then a 260rs, is quicker, has better components, brakes harder etc, ill be happy as the car will be what i wanted and ill think to myself "i couldnt have done better for the price"

I dont think any of us here are owning cars to make money, or to own cars that dont depreciate quickly. I plan to keep the stag for many years to come, if i want something EVEN faster, ill save up for a 2nd car.

I guess this is why brad doesnt care that his car wont be as valuable as yours jake, because i am sure that he wont sell the stagea until he.. well.. writes it off (similar happend to the VL????)

[Ska]

Totally off topic, I see StageZilla is banned..... anyone care to enlighten me in a PM please.......?

[AlexCim]

Maybe Jake32 got pissed off and dobbed him in? haha, only jokes fellas.

anyway, i noticed that too, add me to the string of PM's about his banning...

[jake32]

Oh, leading on from that, I dont REALLY care if my car is worth 25k even after 20k + 20k has been spent. If it handles better then a 260rs, is quicker, has better components, brakes harder etc, ill be happy as the car will be what i wanted and ill think to myself "i couldnt have done better for the price"

I dont think any of us here are owning cars to make money, or to own cars that dont depreciate quickly. I plan to keep the stag for many years to come, if i want something EVEN faster, ill save up for a 2nd car.

I guess this is why brad doesnt care that his car wont be as valuable as yours jake, because i am sure that he wont sell the stagea until he.. well.. writes it off (similar happend to the VL????)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i guess it depends on how you get the money in the first place..i sweat for mine and not in the habit of throwing it away and i guess thats where my point is coming from...why spend 10`s of thousands of $ on a car ..that you can buy allready done for less + it has the badge and all the b/s for resale and is a better car than any backyard conversion ..period

your original question ..should i buy a decent car to start with or should i start a money pit ...you obviously lean towards the pit ..good luck ..have fun ..try not to make the same mistakes as old mate with the non-runner in WA ,ie: put BIG engine in std driveline...break driveline...upgrade driveline...break BIG engine...replace with BIGGER engine ...then break ???? ...oh yeah better upgrade the brakes and chassis ...wheres that autech brochure from the forum ?

and i don`t think he will be writing this one off soon ..unless the towtruck its on is involved in a accident

[AlexCim]

Ok, well lets think about this from a non-resale point of view

From the first page, the car was ~27k so far in spendings

+ AP racing 4 pot front kit $3200 (better then 260rs)

+ some rear brakes, whatever $500 (on par)

+ SK's kit, $1600 (better then 260rs)

+ GCG, $2100 (cant compare to 260rs)

+ Custom bracing to suit 260rs, MAX $1500, (on par with 260rs)

+ Nismo injectors, $900, (Better then 260rs, but not relavent)

+ R33 GTR box, $1500 (on par)

+ Clutch, $1200 (better then 260rs)

+ Labour on manual conversion $500

* Already better exhaust

* PFC as well, plus fuel pump, plus AFM (better then 260rs)

So all those components are better then 260rs parts, which someone with a 260rs might want to change anyway, and thats a total of 13+27k = 40k exactly, and at that point i would call the RS4 "finished".

Id say the only way to tell is drive a 40k RS4 then drive a stock 260rs, see the difference. Would be interesting, anyone got a 260rs here in Melbourne?

EDIT:

Oh oops, Forgot

+ NISMO LSD $1600 (better then 260rs)

+ Interior manual parts $1500 (same as 260rs)

+ Rebuild $2000 (not counted, 260rs may need as well)

So, actually 43k

Edited December 28, 2005 by AlexCim

[Sydneykid]

So I can spend $43K on a 260RS.............easy

$35K on the RS itself (I have seen 2 recently plus jakes)

$1.5K suspension (shocks, bars alignment...standard springs are OK)

$1.6K on a N1 steel wheel upgrade for the turbos

$1K on a GT Power FC

$1.5K on the exhaust, split dumps, hi flow cat

$1K on brake pads and rotors

$150 Nismo adjustable fuel presure regulator

$400 Bosch 044

$800 Clutch

$400 Adj camshaft pulleys

Total $43,350

It will make around 290 rwkw, running higher fuel pressure via the AFPR will stretch the standard injectors that far. It will have good throttle response (6 versus 1 throtttle body) and fast boost build (N1 spec turbos are not that large). It will achieve more power at lower boost ( than the RB25) due to its less restrictive (standard) cylinder head. Solid cam followers (not hydraulic) so it will rev better. Slightly more agressive (RB26 versus RB25) cam timing and higher lift. The RB26 obviously also has better rods, crank, water pump, oil pump, head bolts etc etc

There is enough work in fitting the parts (suspension, brakes, turbos, exhaust, Power FC, AFPR, clutch, fuel pump) and tuning (engine and suspension) to make me feel that I have invested my own personality into making it MINE.

And if its not fast enough (unlikely with 290 rwkw) it is only a turbo (to 2530's) and injector (to 600 cc's) upgrade to get to 350 rwkw. The N1 spec turbos, AFPR and the standard injectors are easily sold to give a net cost of $2500 for the extra 60 rwkw.

cheers

Edited December 28, 2005 by Sydneykid

[jake32]

Ok, well lets think about this from a non-resale point of view

From the first page, the car was ~27k so far in spendings

+ AP racing 4 pot front kit $3200 (better then 260rs)

+ some rear brakes, whatever $500 (on par)

+ SK's kit, $1600 (better then 260rs)

+ GCG, $2100 (cant compare to 260rs)

+ Custom bracing to suit 260rs, MAX $1500, (on par with 260rs)

+ Nismo injectors, $900, (Better then 260rs, but not relavent)

+ R33 GTR box, $1500 (on par)

+ Clutch, $1200 (better then 260rs)

+ Labour on manual conversion $500

* Already better exhaust

* PFC as well, plus fuel pump, plus AFM  (better then 260rs)

So all those components are better then 260rs parts, which someone with a 260rs might want to change anyway, and thats a total of 13+27k = 40k exactly, and at that point i would call the RS4 "finished".

Id say the only way to tell is drive a 40k RS4 then drive a stock 260rs, see the difference. Would be interesting, anyone got a 260rs here in Melbourne?

EDIT:

Oh oops, Forgot

+ NISMO LSD $1600 (better then 260rs)

+ Interior manual parts $1500 (same as 260rs)

+ Rebuild $2000 (not counted, 260rs may need as well)

So, actually 43k

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

anything in the budget for ...time off road costs..the other car you will need during the upgrade..and don`t forget the towtruck

and $43k+still seems a lot of money for a 20k car

[AlexCim]

Well, SK you provide a very convincing arguement.

I think though, in my case, ill have to keep modding the 2.5 as I wont be able to/parents wont like it if i take out an even bigger loan to buy an even more expensive car

Though, as we have seen, its probably a better option to just buy a 260rs, but not by too much id say.

[Sydneykid]

Well, SK you provide a very convincing arguement.

I think though, in my case, ill have to keep modding the 2.5 as I wont be able to/parents wont like it if i take out an even bigger loan to buy an even more expensive car

Though, as we have seen, its probably a better option to just buy a 260rs, but not by too much id say.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Honestly, I am quite happy with my RSFOUR, it will be plenty fast enough with 200 4wkw and the auto is a big advantage for city work and towing the race car. At an all up cost of $25K ($16K plus $9k worth of mods) I can't think of anything else that would do the job as well.

cheers

[AlexCim]

Hobby vs Depreciating investment

Modded RS4 vs 260RS

[Burns]

Or you could forget the whole Stagea idea and get a E39 BMW 540I for 40k instead. My old man just picked up an absolutely immaculate one for 40k and it pisses all over the Stagea in every respect even an 260RS. The Stagea just feels like a fat Datsun wagon in comparison. 160 grand new and only 6 years old. If I had 40k to spend on a car I would be looking at something like it even though I love Nissan’s

[Sydneykid]

Yep, I thought of one of those, even test drove a couple (the local BMW dealer owes me). But they don't tow 2 tonnes, don't have waggon S-P-A-C-E and aren't 4wd.

cheers