supra v skyline v 300zx

supra v skyline v 300zx

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Discussion

4wd

Original Poster:

2,289 posts

232 months

Wednesday 13th April 2005
quotequote all
Tuned up reliability?

I wonder how you guys feel about the differences with the above vehicle options. Especially once they're tuned up to a reasonable 500 or so. Which is the most reliable at this level?

From another thread I notice SE nissan tuning specialists are in my little town of maldon - got me thinking! Someone mentioned 650bhp for 12k on another thread.

NikB

1,834 posts

266 months

Wednesday 13th April 2005
quotequote all
4wd said:
From another thread I notice SE nissan tuning specialists are in my little town of maldon - got me thinking! Someone mentioned 650bhp for 12k on another thread.


Don't know the answer to your question but you may want to do a bit of research on SE Nissan or Nistek as they are now known. www.sxoc.com/vbb/index.php is a good place to start searching.

4wd

Original Poster:

2,289 posts

232 months

Wednesday 13th April 2005
quotequote all
Just spoke to SE and they seem to think 500 is no problem with regards to reliability on either car.

I presume insurance is silly on imports, so the key is to find a UK sourced car? Most of the dealers seem to stock imports only though...

shadowninja

76,396 posts

283 months

Wednesday 13th April 2005
quotequote all
Given the name/shame rules, and my understanding of SE from SXOC and elsewhere, this is a summary of how good they are:



As for the cars I'd guess that they're all about as reliable at that level... it's quite a bit of tuning beyond standard nissan parts...

shadowninja

76,396 posts

283 months

Wednesday 13th April 2005
quotequote all
Bloody traitor... name and shame!!


iaint

10,040 posts

239 months

Wednesday 13th April 2005
quotequote all
4wd said:
From another thread I notice SE nissan tuning specialists are in my little town of maldon - got me thinking! Someone mentioned 650bhp for 12k on another thread.


Is that 12k on top of the purchase price???

~6k of tuning would get you close to 500bhp in an RX-7 and as reliably as the others, 12k would get you something silly

Lighter, RWD, no gizmos and beautiful too...

I'm a bit biased though.

Mr E

21,634 posts

260 months

Wednesday 13th April 2005
quotequote all
4wd said:

I presume insurance is silly on imports, so the key is to find a UK sourced car? Most of the dealers seem to stock imports only though...


I think once modified, it makes little difference my friend.....

tuttle

3,427 posts

238 months

Wednesday 13th April 2005
quotequote all
It all comes down to how much ca$h you can afford to throw at your car really.
All the named cars can do 500+bhp reliably.[/quote]





>> Edited by tuttle on Friday 15th April 20:35

gavinl

47 posts

262 months

Wednesday 13th April 2005
quotequote all
Gazboy said:
The limit is somewhere between 500-600bhp before you need to go for stronger internals, but most people rip the thing apart and fit the strong stuff just incase (what's $600 of con-rods to £6000 of turbochargers???)


It's not just a matter of con rods though. If your going to build an engine (a lot of people don't or only do so because they have trashed the stock engine) It's rods, pistons, rings, bearings, head and rod studs, new gaskets, seals etc not too mention labour costs.

I would suggest a decent build engine will cost at least if not more than a nice single turbo kit.



4wd

Original Poster:

2,289 posts

232 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
Reliability:

I wouldn't feel the need for any more than 500. It's a nice round number, lol. Plus I would rather have solid reliability.

Ok, I think the 300zx can be crossed off the list.

Suprised with the skyline comment as I thought this might be the strongest of the lot. Maybe that was just the cast iron block, and nothing else.

I thought the RX7 needed a full rebuild every 60k on the dot. Is this any different to the other cars at this level of tune? Does it cost a similar amount to a normal piston engine for the work?

Handling:

Surely the skyline is the daddy here. As the only car with 4WD it must be a lot safer getting all that power down - especially in the wet! On the rear wheel drive two, does the supra feel a bit lardy compared to the RX7? Id appreciate some feedback here guys....

Looks:

IMO the supra and the RX7 are the best looking. Skyline is more brutal, in a mustang kind of way.

Tuners:

Ok, so who are the most respected tuners in the south east for toyota, nissan, mazda?

NikB

1,834 posts

266 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
If you are going to lump that sort of cash on a Skyline then talk to Abbey Motorsport. They've been tuning Skylines for years and have a very good reputation.

tuttle

3,427 posts

238 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
Skyline,even a rwd one,will almost certainly out corner/out handle a Supe'(R34s & UK supes have the best brakes) very solid.As you put it'put the power down' really well,tho '34's do suffer from body roll a bit.RX-7,fantastic car,very different-never driven one.
Don't want to get into commenting on tuners.Can be a big can of worms Tho,if you can afford Abbey M/S,go there.

4wd

Original Poster:

2,289 posts

232 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
R34 look pricey. Much difference between 32 and 33? I would want 4WD really...

tuttle

3,427 posts

238 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
Many '32's getting a bit long in the tooth now,however,it still is the car that the die-hard,big power 'liner drivers seem to go for.Its the lightest of the 32-34 range,(1300kg iirc)& has virtually no driver aids.Probably the most skillful to drive well.

R33,best shape,imo.Heavier(GTR approx 1500kg,iirc)can adjust fr->rear diff balance,HICAS,quicker ecu,etc.

R34,all bell & whistles included,very easy to drive fast,imo.Very forgiving drive.

4wd

Original Poster:

2,289 posts

232 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
Sounds like the 33 then. Which is the version to get? Bearing in mind I want 4WD. Is there an official UK car?...

gavinl

47 posts

262 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
Gazboy said:
I was being sarcastic...


nah, this is sarcastic

iaint

10,040 posts

239 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
4wd said:
Reliability:
I wouldn't feel the need for any more than 500. It's a nice round number, lol. Plus I would rather have solid reliability.




Late 400's (~470) a 7 would equate nicely to 500 in the others as it's a pretty light car.



4wd said:
I thought the RX7 needed a full rebuild every 60k on the dot. Is this any different to the other cars at this level of tune? Does it cost a similar amount to a normal piston engine for the work?


Pretty much true here in the UK (in the US tuned engines do >100k fairly often due to the type of driving - no traffic james relative to here!).

Most are rebuild due to water seal failure - basically poor maintenance by allowing it to run too hot for extended periods. Tip failure happens less often and is usually a sign of poor tuning - i.e. detonation from running lean.

A good build with appropriate cooling (big rad, water injection and sufficiant monitoring) will help as will sympathetic driving (not ragging until the oil's up to temp etc).

Obvioulsy a highly tuned engine of any sort has a reduced life-span.

Worth pointing out that a refresh (i.e. rebuild for a non-dead engine) will be considerable cheaper than any of the others and water-seal failure is usually ~2.5k. Just depends on the state!


4wd said:

Handling:

Surely the skyline is the daddy here. As the only car with 4WD it must be a lot safer getting all that power down - especially in the wet! On the rear wheel drive two, does the supra feel a bit lardy compared to the RX7? Id appreciate some feedback here guys....



The FD is razor sharp but some care is needed in exercising the right foot - particularly with big power cars. Mapping is pretty crucial herer as it can smooth power delivery considerably. 4wd might help some but without fancy gadgetry (like the Evo) driving like a tt will have the usual results!

Most problems people have with FD handling (apart from going from 1.1 Fiestas to 300bhp rwd) are from 12+ year-old suspension and upping the power without looking to that too. Makes a big difference.


4wd said:
Looks:

IMO the supra and the RX7 are the best looking. Skyline is more brutal, in a mustang kind of way.



No contest is there? ;p


4wd said:
Tuners:

Ok, so who are the most respected tuners in the south east for toyota, nissan, mazda?



Opinions are like arseholes - we've all got one! Well known tuners down this end of the country are RE:Worx in portsmouth, rx-motors (over bristol way I think). Most of my work's been done by WGT Auto Developments in Cheshire (Pip is probably the best all-round rotor-expert imo). Carl Hayward (hayward rotary) builds some amasing engines and is probably the UK's most experienced builder of serious FD engines (his 4-rotor carbed engine is a thing of beauty!).

Go on, you know if makes no sense at all

>> Edited by iaint on Thursday 14th April 13:13

>> Edited by iaint on Thursday 14th April 13:15

4wd

Original Poster:

2,289 posts

232 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
The RX7 in your profile is stunning. Think I'll have to get one of those. Where do you suggest I find a good one? Is there a respected dealer, or failing that a great place to have a thorough inspection carried out? The internal condition of the engine / transmission would worry me.....as it's all, well hidden away.

killerm5

270 posts

234 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
Don't discount the Mitsubishi 3000GT or GTO as they can be tuned to produce 450-500 quite as easily as the Supra, and with a modern car that has a 4 bolt bottom end, you can expect better reliability if mod's are done in a balanced thoughtful way.

iaint

10,040 posts

239 months

Thursday 14th April 2005
quotequote all
4wd said:
The RX7 in your profile is stunning. Think I'll have to get one of those. Where do you suggest I find a good one? Is there a respected dealer, or failing that a great place to have a thorough inspection carried out? The internal condition of the engine / transmission would worry me.....as it's all, well hidden away.


Thanks - looks a bit tattier in the fles (stone cips, a few dents and kerbing!) but I love it.

Apart from the unknow engine state the twin turbo setup is prone to problems due to age - many miles of vacuum pipe that perish, one way valves and solenoids that break but they're relatively cheap to fix!

Transmission is pretty solid. Diff is good for quite big power unless you're into drag strip work but stock box and diff have been known to do 10-second times in Oz and the US!!! Clutch needs uprating once you approach 350+ fly-wheel.

If you buy a '92 car then considering it's 13 years old (like mine!) it's not going to be perfect!

Get yourself over to [url]MRC|www.mazdarotatryclub.com[/url] or [url]FDUK|www.fduk.org[/url]. MRC had all the info on the forum - basically it all depends on budget - 8k+ and you'd be able to get a rebuild motor, 4k for a dead one (subject to availability!).

One of the importers would be able to source you the prefect car (want a single turbo with all the gizmos and a recent rebild from Japan?)...

newera and rotary imports have good reps, there are a few other importes on the site that all seem really decent too.

Iain

PS. Currently have a hooje intercooler, rad, 80mm downpipe and fuel pump sitting at home and the rest of the kit on order to uprate the fuelling for a little upgrade that will up mine from 300fwhp to 320-330rwhp.

I've modded mine in easy stages from completely stock power as the wallet has allowed and I'd reccomend it to anyone - not as cheap as importing a pre-tuned car but yuou know whats' in there and the quality!