Well, Im looking to buy a car, and skylines are a favorite car of mine. Ive never driven a RHD car before, and the skylines legal in Canada must be at least 15 years old. I was just wondering if any of you have right hand drive cars and how you’ve found it. Also, are there any major problems (engine, drivetrain, etc) associated with the R32 GTS-T?
Not that it’s an R32, but I just read about this:
http://www.nissanusa.com/09gt-r/
I won’t perpetuate Sport Compact Car’s “speculation” because they have a knack for publishing unsubstantiated info, but I have a feeling it’s gonna be BAD ASS.
The 4-wheel steering is awesome…
until it fucks up. Then you are looking at a hefty-hefty repair bill. You’d probably find a whole shitload of more useful info at a Skyline forum.
I have driven a RHD on a copule of occasions, actually, everytime I get into a car!
I am sure that it has to better than LHD, if not, why would we bother doing it in a country as great as ours.
[quote]helga wrote:
I have driven a RHD on a copule of occasions, actually, everytime I get into a car!
I am sure that it has to better than LHD, if not, why would we bother doing it in a country as great as ours.[/quote]
They like LHD cos the French like it.
RHD all the way. I did have a Merc 190E Evo that was LHD, the insurance was a pain as the suits don’t like your driving from the passenger seat. Can’t always see to overtake either.
[quote]LowfatMatt wrote:
Not that it’s an R32, but I just read about this:
http://www.nissanusa.com/09gt-r/
I won’t perpetuate Sport Compact Car’s “speculation” because they have a knack for publishing unsubstantiated info, but I have a feeling it’s gonna be BAD ASS.[/quote]
The new US GT-R might be bad ass, but it’s still only the VQ engine. Which is great, no doubt, I enjoyed one in my old 4th gen Maxima. Perfectly balanced, quiet, revs insanely fast. The best V6 ever created. But it’s no RB engine! You just can’t beat inline for the torque.
General info on Skyline GT-R imports:
Motorex are the ones who have the Skyline GT-R imported and modified to be US street legal:
http://www.skylinegtr.com/
And: “You can contact Skyline Motors at (714) 558 -7655 for more information on left hand drive conversions.”
Don’t know about Skylines, but had a RHD Spitfire back in the day. The one bummer with RHD is overtaking. You have to go too far out to see anything and be prepared to go back in lane very quickly.
It is very cool to step onto the sidewalk directly, though. Another fun thing is to watch your passenger blanch and clutch for the non-existent steering wheel when you overtake…
iv’e got an 89 R32 Gtst and iv’e never had a problem with it.
like most turbo cars, if you buy one that has been thrashed you will have problems with it, but if you can find one with genuine low k’s and nothing more that stage one mods then it will be fine.
the four wheel steering, HICAS, only kicks in at higher speeds so you don’t ever really notice it.
I sold my R32 a few months ago.
I have an R33 GTR Skyline,best car I’ve ever owned.If you can afford the GTR over the GTS you will be much much happier.My GTR makes just over 500hp at the wheels,engine HP around 620-650hp.
Your right about the RB,just get the 2.6 if you want the best.A word of caution,most R32 GTR’s have either had a rebuild or are due for one,my rebuild cost $12,000 aus,ouch.
Good luck.
Question for you RHD, something I’ve wondered about. Is the gear box pattern reversed from a LHD? As in, is 1-2 always closest to the driver?
If you have the money but the new R-type that is just coming over to the US and I assume other north american countries. Its the first time its ever been offered in the US as the R-type and its LHD.
[quote]Donut62 wrote:
Question for you RHD, something I’ve wondered about. Is the gear box pattern reversed from a LHD? As in, is 1-2 always closest to the driver?[/quote]
No, you just do it with your left hand.
[quote]Kailash wrote:
LowfatMatt wrote:
Not that it’s an R32, but I just read about this:
http://www.nissanusa.com/09gt-r/
I won’t perpetuate Sport Compact Car’s “speculation” because they have a knack for publishing unsubstantiated info, but I have a feeling it’s gonna be BAD ASS.
The new US GT-R might be bad ass, but it’s still only the VQ engine. Which is great, no doubt, I enjoyed one in my old 4th gen Maxima. Perfectly balanced, quiet, revs insanely fast. The best V6 ever created. But it’s no RB engine! You just can’t beat inline for the torque.
General info on Skyline GT-R imports:
Motorex are the ones who have the Skyline GT-R imported and modified to be US street legal:
http://www.skylinegtr.com/
And: “You can contact Skyline Motors at (714) 558 -7655 for more information on left hand drive conversions.”[/quote]
0-60 in 3.9 seconds doesnt display much torque to you? Not trying to be dick but that is quite impressive to me out of a V6.
[quote]Kailash wrote:
The new US GT-R might be bad ass, but it’s still only the VQ engine. Which is great, no doubt, I enjoyed one in my old 4th gen Maxima. Perfectly balanced, quiet, revs insanely fast. The best V6 ever created. But it’s no RB engine! You just can’t beat inline for the torque.[/quote]
Yeah, this was just an FYI. This is gonna be a completely different car from past GT-R’s (and not necessarily in a good way, but we’ll see).
My friends and I were discussing why they had changed it for this application. Probably something to do with the same reason it took the US years to get the STI and EVO. But that’s a story for another time.
[quote]LowfatMatt wrote:
My friends and I were discussing why they had changed it for this application. Probably something to do with the same reason it took the US years to get the STI and EVO. But that’s a story for another time.[/quote]
It’s purely economics of scale. The VQ is already established across Nissan’s entire line-up, from the sports coupe 350Z to the sedans Altima and Maxima, the crossover Murano and even the mid-sized Frontier pickup. That includes many chassis designs to fit the engine, particularly the front-midship which is on the 350Z and other sports cars, and is the darling of Nissan engineering.
The RB, being inline, would require a much longer engine bay, and the resurrection of a whole new chassis design. The new GT-R would cost so much more, that Nissan could never make their money back using the superior engine.
Instead, they could just put a twin-turbo, four wheel steering and all-wheel drive onto a 350Z and call it the US GT-R. Much more sensible.
[quote]trailrash wrote:
0-60 in 3.9 seconds doesnt display much torque to you? Not trying to be dick but that is quite impressive to me out of a V6.[/quote]
Definitely impressive. Don’t get me wrong, I love the VQ, and it does make gobs of torque. In fact, it produces the same max torque as the RB engine at their stock tuning.
But the VQ is also one liter larger and 300 lbs heavier, despite being an aluminum block compared to the RB’s cast iron. This is progress??
And that brings us to the question of tunability, where the RB is proven up to 600hp on stock internals and 1300hp with reinforcements. I highly doubt the aluminum VQ could handle that kind of power, though I do believe that time will tell, as this is the present/future of Nissan Motorsports.
Whoa, just read this about Motorex:
"Many Skylines were subsequently imported through Motorex. This lasted until late 2005, when the NHTSA became informed that not all 1990 through 1999 Skyline models would perform identically in crash testing. Motorex had submitted information for only the R33, and told the NHTSA that it was sufficient for all R32, R33, and R34 models. According the further review by the NHTSA, only 1996-1998 R33 models have been demonstrated as capable of being modified to meet the federal motor vehicle safety standards. After that, only these 1996-1998 models are eligible for importation. In March of 2006, Motorex ceased all imports and Motorex principal Hiroaki “Hiro” Nanahoshi was arrested and held on $1 million bail on financial, kidnapping, and assault charges [9] [10].
According to unconfirmed stories floating around the net and various forums, Nanahoshi was allegedly involved in an assault of a disgruntled would be GT-R owner that absconded with $100,000 of Nanahoshi’s money. In addition, Nanahoshi is facing civil lawsuits from GT-R and would-be GT-R owners and jail time over unrelated charges not associated with Motorex. Motorex is reportedly an empty space with a lone wrecked GT-R shell on site."
The RB26DETT motor and the SR20DET were both dropped due to stricter emmision laws.Shame really.
what about the RB20DET?