R33 skyline

[fuzzy2308]

well im thinking of buying a r33 skyline in the next few months just for a toy.
any one got any advice for me? any thing about them i should know?

[Ozzie]

just dont kill yourself in it

[DANNY8]

I'm not saying they're all slow....but a guy here who bought one kept trying to drag my bro in his VH 202 4spd....turns out the ol VH whooped his bum....a few times....not sure wat was wrong tho coz the r33 is a manual and turbo!! Ya could even here it spoolin up as the VH was pullin away haha.....funny as......it's prolly just a thrashed out r33....but hey it made the VH look good lol.

[danja]

Mate has (had?.. haven't seen him for a while) a manual R33 GTS-T, stock except for the exhaust and suspension (good luck finding an R33 WITHOUT a cannon.. :P) And it could honestly run rings around Ecotecs.

Things to know? If you get one with HICAS, take it out - it ****s with you at the worst times. If you don't get a GTR you'll have a RWD. and its very easy to kick the back end out, much more than in a Commodore because of how the boost comes on. My mates had some dodgy coil packs and it would miss up high, he said it was a common problem so I guess check for that. While you can get a lot of go-fast bits fairly cheap, and turbos are generally easier to make faster, you'll find the OEM parts are outrageous because it's an import and there are less of them around than Commies.

I think that's all for me? Oh an enjoy your license while it lasts, and buy some thin tyres for it so the patches are easier to clean

[chuckie]

Nah - I beg to differ. There are some excellent resourses around for them, and if you spend a bit of time on skylinesaustralia.com you will meet some VERY knowledgable people that are pretty willing to hwelp (just try to keep the stupid questions to a minimum) My second car is a stagea, which is basically a R34 GT-T but has the AWD system from the GTR and a station wagon body, and I have used them guys a lot as a base for advice.

The cars themselves (skylines) seem to conjure up a LOT of myths etc - esp about parts prices etc so talk to some owners to find out the truth.

[Troy711]

Speaking of R33s, I saw one on a tow truck about 4 months ago. It was in bare metal and primer, had a roll cage and massive wheel tubs with (atleast) 12 inch wide wheels on the back. I didn't get time to get a picture

[AttaBoy]

My advice is treat the car with a bit of respect.

Back in 2005 and close high school friend of mine got killed. Basically he lost control and speed was also a factor in the severity of the collision which killed him instantly.

The car maybe fun to drive, just be careful as with any other car you drive.
Its really easy to kick the rear end out in an R33 (Over steer).

They are great cars but it starting to age and be expect a few thing to fix up. So have plenty of spare cash left over after you buy it.

Goodluck.

[Callie6lt]

if your looking for a good toy go for it!!! i bought one 8 months ago and i love it!!! you shouldnt be disapointed.fast lil buggers and easy to get the arse end hanging out! in a controlled enviroment. lol

[redcv6]

i think they are very impressive cars even stock. just wonering (and this is being said not knowing how much its worth or how rare they are) a r32 gtr. i was very impressed when i saw one last night pull a 12.2 down the quarter, and when speaking to the owner, he said the only modification it had was exhaust and good clutch. now that is a quick car

[Deutscher]

I'm planning to sell up my VS and buy a R34 GT-T next year. You can pick them up for 15-20k. Not so many around WA where I live but over east a few. My advice would be to look for a non-modded one. These type of cars are the cars that idiots tend to drive and thrash the crap out of .... but then again ... commodores are kind of the same. Make sure it doesn't look like your going to be doing stupid **** or cops will pull ya over in no time I mean like neons, decals, 20" exhaust XD etc. I prefer the R34 better than the R33 but there's not much difference.

[danja]

Nah - I beg to differ. There are some excellent resourses around for them, and if you spend a bit of time on skylinesaustralia.com you will meet some VERY knowledgable people that are pretty willing to hwelp (just try to keep the stupid questions to a minimum) My second car is a stagea, which is basically a R34 GT-T but has the AWD system from the GTR and a station wagon body, and I have used them guys a lot as a base for advice.

The cars themselves (skylines) seem to conjure up a LOT of myths etc - esp about parts prices etc so talk to some owners to find out the truth.

I'm talking brand new OEM parts, aftermarket parts are dead easy to come by, and you're right, skylinesaustralia.com is good, especially if you want to pick up used OEM parts cheap. Just don't expect to get new parts cheap, that's all I was saying

[danja]

Oh, and other thing to be aware of, no one will want to insure you, or you'll loose an arm and a leg in the process

[TUF UTE]

get a old r31 and just turbo the rb30, get used to a old car with a turbo before u go gettiing a nice new car with a heap of power , from memory the ute is your first car and the 3.8 is nothing compared to the 25det, they behave very differently

[ProphetVX]

get a old r31 and just turbo the rb30, get used to a old car with a turbo before u go gettiing a nice new car with a heap of power , from memory the ute is your first car and the 3.8 is nothing compared to the 25det, they behave very differently

Don't you think that advice is kind of unnecessary? A stock R33 really isn't that quick, but handles brilliantly. The power delivery is also still pretty linear due to the smallish turbo in them.

A complete and utter waste of money its not as if he's going from a car with 60kw to 400kw.


As for the advice on the skyline, make sure you rev it up to at least 5500rpm under load and make sure the coil packs don't miss. VERY COMMON and its a $600 fix. And make sure you get it up on ramps and check that there is no rust on the underside, they use salt on alot of japanese roads, so its a pretty common issue as well.

They're a great car, most fun to drive car I've ever owned.

[danja]

Well, it's going from a 1.5 ton car with 140kw to 1.3 with 180kw (all from memory, so please forgive a little here and there), and regardless of numbers the R33 is without a doubt a faster car - it's never bad advice to take is easy with cars.

[Cody]

one of my best mates has a r33 gtr...
its one scary car.

[ProphetVX]

Well, it's going from a 1.5 ton car with 140kw to 1.3 with 180kw (all from memory, so please forgive a little here and there), and regardless of numbers the R33 is without a doubt a faster car - it's never bad advice to take is easy with cars.

Yep its a faster car, but not a ball tearingly faster car. The step up in power ISN'T huge, the difference is more in how the car handles. To advise someone to get an intermediary car to get used to the power when there really isn't a huge difference is pretty unnecessary and irresponsible IMO.

I highly doubt anyone who would offer such advice has actually driven a stock R33 skyline.

BTW a VS ute is only about 100kg heavier than an R33, around 40kw less power, but more torque. A stock R33 GTS-T barely breaks 15 sec down the quarter.

[Jesterarts]

well im thinking of buying a r33 skyline in the next few months just for a toy.
any one got any advice for me? any thing about them i should know?

Get a r32... lighter and from what I've been told by a mate who races one a better package than the r33.

[ProphetVX]

Get a r32... lighter and from what I've been told by a mate who races one a better package than the r33.

Cost alot more to get decent power out of though. The RB20 has nothing compared the the RB25, if getting an R32, a GTR is really the only car I'd buy, GTST's in the R33 and R34 have a much better powerplant. That being said, the r32 handles like its on rails.

[TUF UTE]

prophet your an idiot. me telling someone with not much driving experience not to jump into a turbo skyline is irresponsible ? yeah real smart....

telling someone who hasnt had much driving experience to jump in a turbo and rev it out to 5500 all the time is a lot smarter and i appologise for my irresponsible post.

everyone goes on about p platers jumping into cars with heaps of power then killing them selves and then we have wankers like you encouraging them to rev the **** out of a turbo car with a hell of a lot more power than they are used to

and as for power vs r33 to a vs ute , well theres difference in weight, torque, rigidness, suspension setup , power, generally behaviour of the car especially in the wet, oh and the turbo.... im more questioning your history of driving atm.

[Jesterarts]

^^^ he said he wants it as a toy... so he might be getting it as a track car.

I don't think there is a need for personal attacks in this thread people.

[ProphetVX]

prophet your an idiot. me telling someone with not much driving experience not to jump into a turbo skyline is irresponsible ? yeah real smart....

telling someone who hasnt had much driving experience to jump in a turbo and rev it out to 5500 all the time is a lot smarter and i appologise for my irresponsible post.

everyone goes on about p platers jumping into cars with heaps of power then killing them selves and then we have wankers like you encouraging them to rev the **** out of a turbo car with a hell of a lot more power than they are used to

and as for power vs r33 to a vs ute , well theres difference in weight, torque, rigidness, suspension setup , power, generally behaviour of the car especially in the wet, oh and the turbo.... im more questioning your history of driving atm.

Yet you suggest bolting a turbo onto an R31 which has an RB30, producing pretty close to the same power after addition of a turbo in a car with worse suspension, is lighter (by almost 300kg) and a far weaker chassis. If you knew anything, its actually quite common for r33's to run an rb25 head with rb30 bottom end to get more power, and you're saying that I'm an idiot for saying that your advice isn't necessary? You've potentially told him to get an even more powerful car, in a body that is far less capable of handling it. But at least its not a "new" car like you suggested, ie produced first in 1986 instead of 1993 for the r33

No what I'm saying is that advice is a complete and utter waste of money for the original poster, and irresponsible advice with little understanding of the vehicles in question.

A standard r33 skyline, is not that quick, I owned one, I also owned a VX Berlina v6, I also owned a VX SS. In a straight line, the skyline was not much quicker than the berlina, yep it was quicker, but not enough to make you think someone should get a different car in between to make the transition easier. The skylines turbo is very linear in delivery, it delivers peak power by 3500rpm but starts building boost as soon as its off idle, it feels no different to most NA cars. My question to you is have you actually driven one? Or are you the typical bloke that goes oh its a turbo it must be lightning fast and as soon as you hit 4000rpm the turbo kicks in and you lose traction instantly?

GTS-T's are not powerful cars standard, they are quicker than your standard car but not by much, they do have the potential however to be real weapons. As for losing traction, dare I say it, it'd probably be a more likely scenario in a VS ute with a terrible weight balance than a skyline that you will get yourself in trouble.

Question my driving history all you want, but the facts are there, you're going from a car that does a 16 second quarter mile, to a 14.8 second quarter mile (two times that are far from quick), its like saying oh I wouldn't go from a nissan pajero to a pulsar, because the pulsar is so much quicker. A car that is only 100kg lighter, and has perhaps 10-15% more power at the wheels. It simply is not that much more powerful. The handling on the otherhand is much better, so you're more likely to be willing to push it to the limits into corners (which is where most people come unstuck).

As for encouraging him to rev the "****" out of the car, where have I done that? If you're having a go at my advice for testing the engine before making a purchase I suggest you take a step back for a bit and actually look at what you're saying. Are you suggesting he should not test the engine fully before making a purchase? Who is giving the stupid advice now.

If he was buying a GTR or a heavily modified GTS-T I'd be advising against it, but he's not. The fact of the matter is, he's buying a car that was marketed as a family car in japan when it was released.

Save your personal insults for someone else, it just makes you look worse. I look forward to another misinformed reply attempting to berate me to avoid the facts.

[Torquen]

Well i might just add me 2 cents worth here,
Firstly, if you havnt driven a turbo car befor go and test drive a few as some people love how they drive others dont. Theres very little power of the mark but has a real rush when it comes on boost.
Skylines are great cars but id be looking for an unmolested, non-imported one. As said above go for say a 94 model r33/r32. Not that quick standard but can be modded fairly easily, with lots of aftermarket parts readily available.
Don't limit your self to Skylines either if its just a "toy" car. Try looking at Silvia's or maybe the SX range (180, 200, 300sx ect). All good fun with similar donks. Toyota Soarer is another option (Twin turbo 6) and again plenty of potential... Or maybe an XR6T (my preference...totaly unbiased opinon of course ).

[danja]

Easy boys, we've had enough locked threads lately...

Speaking for myself, yes I have driven an R33 GTS-T, and I wouldn't say its the same power delivery as an NA car esp not an Ecotec. The stock boost is quite linear - for a turbo - but it's not the same as an NA car. Below about 2500rpm they are quite sedate, boring even, but around 3000-3500 you start getting decent power out of it, and from there to redline they scream. Skylines do handle much better than Commodores, thats for certain, and that can give you false confidence which combined with fast power delivery at the wrong time can send you sideways into stationary objects quite easily.

I take your point about the VS power/weight ratio being close enough that it's not worth having an intermediary car, I don't think its a great idea either, but I still think that anyone who says "I want a new 'toy'" and "turbo car" in the same sentence needs to have a long think about what they are getting into. That kind of attitude often leads to bad things.

Also I don't think most (any?) R33 GTS-Ts came with ABS, which is also worth thinking about for someone jumping out of a car that does have it.

[ProphetVX]

Easy boys, we've had enough locked threads lately...

Speaking for myself, yes I have driven an R33 GTS-T, and I wouldn't say its the same power delivery as an NA car esp not an Ecotec. The stock boost is quite linear - for a turbo - but it's not the same as an NA car. Below about 2500rpm they are quite sedate, boring even, but around 3000-3500 you start getting decent power out of it, and from there to redline they scream. Skylines do handle much better than Commodores, thats for certain, and that can give you false confidence which combined with fast power delivery at the wrong time can send you sideways into stationary objects quite easily.

I take your point about the VS power/weight ratio being close enough that it's not worth having an intermediary car, I don't think its a great idea either, but I still think that anyone who says "I want a new 'toy'" and "turbo car" in the same sentence needs to have a long think about what they are getting into. That kind of attitude often leads to bad things.

Also I don't think most (any?) R33 GTS-Ts came with ABS, which is also worth thinking about for someone jumping out of a car that does have it.

The series 1.5 and series 2 came with ABS if my memory serves correctly, and I believe it was an option on series 1.