VS Statesman

[VLishes]

Heya, I'm thinking of getting a VS Statesman, just have a couple of things I need to found out before I purchase one;

Is it fairly straight forwarding converting a from auto to manual?

also


Can you chuck 17x8's on? on the placard it's states 15" wheels, now vicroads says on their website:

The width of any replacement rim must not be;
- more then 25mm greater then that the widest wheel specified by the vehicle manufacturer for that model or vehicle.
The overall diameter of any replacement rin and tyre must not be;
- more then 15mm greater then the largest diameter tyre specified by the car manufacturer for that model or vehicle series.

So that means that I can't put on some VZ Calais wheels. Tho the SIII comes with 16" and on the VS Calais placard shows 16", now technically I know you can put these on the car but for insurance reasons I can't, plus it does make the car unroadworthy.

Any suggestions?

[futronix]

if your after a VS statesman 3.8 on gas, i might have someone who is willing to sell it...

[semmi]

The width of any replacement rim must not be;
- more then 25mm greater then that the widest wheel specified by the vehicle manufacturer for that model or vehicle.
The overall diameter of any replacement rin and tyre must not be;
- more then 15mm greater then the largest diameter tyre specified by the car manufacturer for that model or vehicle series.

So that means that I can't put on some VZ Calais wheels.

Yes you can, because it's the rim and tyre combination that is important. ie if you increase the rim size by more than 15mm you need to put on low profile tyres so that the increase in the overall outer diameter of the tyre does not exceed 15mm.

P.S Do a search on manual conversions. It's possible (anything is...) but how easy it will be would be dependent on your mechanical ability

[VLishes]

if your after a VS statesman 3.8 on gas, i might have someone who is willing to sell it...

Hrmm gas, not really a fan of it, how much is the VS?

[VLishes]

Yes you can, because it's the rim and tyre combination that is important. ie if you increase the rim size by more than 15mm you need to put on low profile tyres so that the increase in the overall outer diameter of the tyre does not exceed 15mm.

P.S Do a search on manual conversions. It's possible (anything is...) but how easy it will be would be dependent on your mechanical ability

I probably should refrase, I ment $ wise, if I get a someone to do it, would it cost around the same as converting a normal VS? They are probably mechanicaly the same but Statesmans have more electricals in it, I don't want to spend half the cars value on converting it to a manual, then again I don't really like auto either.

[sircruisealotVS]

well converting to a manual would be a hell of alot easier with a whole engine and box...because its not as easy as just chuckin a new manual box in,you'll need to replace a tonne of stuff.
basically its gunna cost you quite a bit to do,so i hope your prepared for some hard work and lots of money.you might be better off searching (as hard as they are to find) for a factory manual.

[StatOmaN]

dont think they made ststos in manuals, all autos bugger it

[VLishes]

dont think they made ststos in manuals, all autos bugger it

Yeah, thats what I thought, generally the old folk who would buy these cars are too lazy to drive manual, hrmm whats this world coming too.

[sixshooter]

I have seen VS Berlina's advertised with 5 speed's before so I'd say that there should be parts available to do the conversion...

I was thinking of doing the same thing to a Calais...and I posted to a few wreckers who were quoting around $1700 - $2500 supplied and fitted...

I think you'll have most of the hassles with the tailshaft...

sorry that I cant be much more help.

[haloeight]

all statos were auto out of the factory

the stato has a longer wheelbase than the sedan, so be prepared for messing around with tailshafts

[VLishes]

Hrmm ok, so what you guys think of the Statesman? Currently I just got one tested at a RACV place, it's a 98Nov-VSIII, 178k but it's been serviced every 10k~, might offer him 8ish due to high k's, anyways, what are they like on fuel? mainly city? parts and servicing expensive on these?

[Sphinx]

I've got a 95 VS 5 litre Stato with 162 thou on it and she can be a bit thirsty. Highway driving is about 9.8 litres per hundred and around town, well, its anywhere between 12.5 and 16 litres depending on how you drive it..

[Demons1964]

Mine's a 1996 VSII 5.0 and 168,000 on it. Doing heaps of small trips with stop-start traffic in the city a few years ago I remember being at 22 Litres/100km and that was going easy on the right foot. If you're a leadfoot driver be prepared for bad fuel economy. Now with a lot more highway driving and some city driving it's at 13.2 L/100km (averaging 52 km/hr) but still with a granny foot.

Parts are relatively cheap because the standard V8 was mechanically identical from 1988 to 1998 so with that economy of scale you see good pricing. The other bonus is that unlike the V6 there's no CAS to worry about failing on you!! As for servicing, it depends on where you go for it but expect similar pricing to a V6.

The only area that may get expensive is with the CD stacker, check yours works properly before you buy the car (think upwards of $700 for a new one). Check the climate control operation as well especially under full vacuum loading because vacuum leaks can be a pain to find.

[sully]

all statos were auto out of the factory

the stato has a longer wheelbase than the sedan, so be prepared for messing around with tailshafts

I'm pretty sure that the ute has the same wheelbase, although don't quote me so you should be able to get the gear out of one of them as lots of the utes were manual...

[haloeight]

the ute is the same wheelbase, but different axle

the vs stato has IRS, ute is live axle

[haloeight]

also do yourself a favour and check out the supercharged statos

almost the same power, and a lot better acceleration than the v8, and a lot less thirsty

i average 7-9l/100k in the city

[sircruisealotVS]

the ute is the same wheelbase, but different axle

the vs stato has IRS, ute is live axle

the statos where based on a wagon wheel base,so if you got a manual berlina wagon with irs you'd be sweet to transplant.

[VLishes]

thanks guys for the input.

The Eurovox stacker looks similar to my old Blaupunkt stacker, tho the connection looks the same as my new stacker I got, well the DIN plug looks similar.

I received my racv report back today, there is a couple of things I need to check out, the main problems are;

Oil Leak (Engine & Transmission)
Pump & Hose leak (P/steering)
Windscreen needs sand blasting
Rear tyres are low and spare needs replacing (I would like to get VZ Calais wheels)
LHS headlight has crack and LHS foglamp lens is cracked (has hole)
Exhaust needs attention, which I was going to replace with a sports exhaust.



There is other minor problems as well, maybe offer 8k, tho I didn't really want to spend money on a car I just bought for a while. I mean it has 178k so there is wear and tear and I thought for a highway car it should be fine.

[semmi]

i have vz calais wheels on my car, i noticed you're in melb... so if you're looking for a set you can get them from wheelking in moorabbin, i think i paid about $1480 which included new low profile tyres, fitting and balancing.

they have a website too: www.wheelking.com.au

[VLishes]

Thanks for the site, I might just buy the rims from there, place in Reservoir sell cheap 2nd hand tyres with 90-95%~ tread. Do you have a pic of your car? would like to see what the vr looks like with these wheels.

[semmi]

i am at work at the moment so the only pic i can give you is one that has already been posted here - this is the link:

http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...629#post145629

[davidpenrose]

semmi, you have the same colour as me and done everything i want to do my car

[semmi]

you've got good taste mate!