Who Agrees With This Review? - R33 Skyline

[FalconXR6]

Powered by the RB25DET, the R33 GTS25t is all but underpowered. In comparison to the previous top-of-the-line RB20DET, the 2.5l is way more flexible. The turbo still does not start working until about 3500rpm, but thanks to the healthy dis-placement of 2498cc and a relatively high (for a turbo) compression ratio of 9.0:1, the engine does not suffer from too much lag below that. Thus, although the car has gained approximately 70kg over the R32 GTS-t, the 250 turbo-charged horses still make for a more than adequate acceleration of 7.1 seconds from 0-60mph for the automatic version. The quarter mile is reached in a tad under 15 and a half seconds, which is quite remarkable for a family car. But traffic-light showdowns are not what the Skylines of this generation were aimed at. From the basic R33 GTS up to the fabulous GT-R, these cars lived for the twisty stuff. Thanks to an enhanced R32 suspension and the stiffness settings of the coupe, the R33 GTS25t in effect feels smaller than it is. The steering is a bit too light at low-to-medium speeds, but otherwise the car shines with an excellently balanced chassis and feels stable and secure at all speeds - in contrast to the R32 GTS-t even at high speeds. Still, throttle steer is well possible and oversteer easily induced.




I'm interested to see who agrees with this section taken from a net review as I've always considered the Skyline's to be a tarted up family sedan in the same way as the SS, XR6T, etc are.

Also interesting to note the 0-100 and 0-400m times quoted for a bone stock example (something I've been trying to find for ages, yet struggled as nearly every example is or has been modified).

[Windsor220]

I've always thought/heard Skylines are actually reverse to a Falcon or Commo as they are built as a sports car first and they make a family car out of it. I may be wrong though.

Performance seems about right. They're not the quickest japanese cars in a straight line unless your talking about GTRs which are capable of getting into the 12s.

[MITCHAY]

Put a few hundred kilowatts through the rears and then you can have some fun.

[Captain Stubing]

I've got an R33 GTST in the driveway now. It's not quick off the mark when driven normally, but putting the foot down and driving with the revs up makes a BIG difference!
The suspension feels great, it goes around corners very quick! The HICAS (computer controlled 4 wheel steering) feels weird when it kicks in. The rear wheels turn 1 degree with and against the front wheels at unexpected times.

All up, they're a fun car to drive!

I think I've got something against over-revving an engine in first gear, though. I've not yet pushed it to it's limits.


PS... It's fine as a family car, if I want to put two young kids in the back seat - older than 10-12 year old might be a bit squished. Also no A/C vents in the back seat, and limited room in the boot, with the wasted space where the battery is mounted.

[private9]

Originally Posted by FalconXR6

I've always considered the Skyline's to be a tarted up family sedan in the same way as the SS, XR6T, etc are.

Have you ever even driven one?

[blue sleeper]

I have to agree with Falcon XR6 they are kind of well common :

I would certainly not buy one over a TT soarer or a chaser.

[duaned]

Nice car, but they have been destroyed by the brigade!

[smoo]

Originally Posted by private9

Have you ever even driven one?

He is right, come to New Zealand and come an experience the awesome base model of 1.8 litres, that our used car market is flooded with thanks to used imports. At least the Falcon offers a decent engine in the base model (wish i could say the same for Commodore). IMO the performance models are impressive, for a Jappa, but they would have to be the most over rated car out there. Too bad most people seem to think the Skyline only came out as GTR and GT25T.

[SVD]

all skylines even since the first, the prince skyline, were sedans first, they were never intended to be super sports cars, just grand tourers, the R33 skyline is a great car as long as you don't think of it as something it's not, the coupe versions are just a revised shell on the 4 Door chassis, it always has been. i would take a nice clean unmodified R33 skyline sedan over a holden any day but it would also be parked next to my EF Fairmont.

[Quicksand]

Originally Posted by swanny

The HICAS (computer controlled 4 wheel steering) feels weird when it kicks in. The rear wheels turn 1 degree with and against the front wheels at unexpected times.

haha i know what you mean, the best way i have been able to describe it is like you are driving in a shopping trolly, they way it turns in and the back end follows etc...

[TZENU]

Originally Posted by swanny

The HICAS (computer controlled 4 wheel steering) feels weird when it kicks in. The rear wheels turn 1 degree with and against the front wheels at unexpected times.

A HICAS lock will fix that!....

They are a fun car to drive in manual form... exhaust, FMIC, bit of boost, fuel pump/reg, injectors and a power fc and you'll be having some fun....

[DivHunter]

Originally Posted by TZENU

A HICAS lock will fix that!....

They are a fun car to drive in manual form... exhaust, FMIC, bit of boost, fuel pump/reg, injectors and a power fc and you'll be having some fun....

Without replacing or rebuilding the stock turbo you won't be getting anywhere near the power level to require bigger injectors, PFC or not. Don't need a fuel regulator either.

Skylines/Soarers/Supras/Stageas/Chasers/300ZX/S14/S15 are all decent cars that are pretty cheap (not so much with the dead $AUD) and have engines with a massive amount of aftermarket parts and easy to modify. Only the Stageas and Chasers are uncommon compared to the others.

The Skylines are good cars, the 32 and 33 are getting too old and you can't trust the odometers of any of these cars except the locally delivered ones. The sedans and wagons (Skyline, Stagea, Chasers) all stuck up very well against same year falcons and commodores in like for like comparisons.

[FalconXR6]

Originally Posted by private9

Have you ever even driven one?

Sure have mate.

My best mate owns one. He lets me drive it every now and then.

Dynamically it feels similar to my old EF XR6, except the Skyline has a more nervous rear end.

The reason I posted this was because he's always banging on about how my XR6T is a family sedan and that it will never be as "sporty" as his Skyline (even if my XR6T is a hell of a lot faster ), yet when I tell him his Skyline is based on a family sedan too he breaks into tears and claims it's BS.

I just think they are very over-rated cars.
Their owners are always stating BS times for what they claim to be stock cars and, frankly, I've had enough of them!

Rant over...for now....

[DivHunter]

It's a Japanese turbo-taxi. Depends on your definition of 'sporty'

You'd kill for an XR6T coupe though wouldn't you or anywhere near the aftermarket parts variety the RB and 1/2JZ engines and based cars have.

[TZENU]

Originally Posted by Fairmont99

Without replacing or rebuilding the stock turbo you won't be getting anywhere near the power level to require bigger injectors, PFC or not. Don't need a fuel regulator either.

Ah yes, forgot that little minor detail... hi flow the t28... Mate pushed ~260rw before he rebuilt his car...i know im missing on a few other things he did but can't remember

[DivHunter]

Originally Posted by TZENU

Ah yes, forgot that little minor detail... hi flow the t28... Mate pushed ~260rw before he rebuilt his car...i know im missing on a few other things he did but can't remember

...T3

260 is the very top end for bored and rebuilt stock turbos and the 370cc injectors.

[TZENU]

Originally Posted by Fairmont99

...T3

260 is the very top end for bored and rebuilt stock turbos and the 370cc injectors.

That's why I stick to v8s

[Captain Stubing]

Originally Posted by TZENU

A HICAS lock will fix that!....

They are a fun car to drive in manual form... exhaust, FMIC, bit of boost, fuel pump/reg, injectors and a power fc and you'll be having some fun....

I've looked at the HICAS lock bars, but I'll leave it as standard. Nissan seem to have invested a lot of money in the HICAS system, which can fix up small stuff-ups! It's quick enough as it is, and is the wife's daily driver!

[DivHunter]

Originally Posted by swanny

I've looked at the HICAS lock bars, but I'll leave it as standard. Nissan seem to have invested a lot of money in the HICAS system, which can fix up small stuff-ups! It's quick enough as it is, and is the wife's daily driver!

It's been proven plenty of times that removing HICAS makes a Skyline faster...on the track.

[XRtowcar]

Had rear end steering on my 89 rx7 which would change angles under load.
Never felt like consistant and made it difficult to get a handle on just how far you go before it let go.
Once the load come off it as you started sliding the steering angle would change.
Not nice.

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by V3RSAC3

I've never been beaten by an R33T. So they can't possibly be that quick!

What? In your Fairmont? Come on.....

[colossus]

My housemate has an R34 Gtst - the thing beats my GT but it is all in good fun. His is 200rwkw with an exhaust and tune.

Nice car but horses for courses - I wont fit in the thing, its 2 doors, low and very much a sports car - I prefer grand tourers but its good to have access to both.

[Rev28K]

Originally Posted by XRtowcar

Had rear end steering on my 89 rx7 which would change angles under load.
Never felt like consistant and made it difficult to get a handle on just how far you go before it let go.
Once the load come off it as you started sliding the steering angle would change.
Not nice.

Was that the series 5/6? They had deformable rubber bushes for the rear steer.

Okay when new (1984-88?), but if you are still driving around with 20-25 year old bushes in the car today I imagine it would be a bit unpredictable.

[EL8TED]

Quote:
Originally Posted by V3RSAC3
I've never been beaten by an R33T. So they can't possibly be that quick!


What? In your Fairmont? Come on.....

many many bags of cement hey nathan :

[MITCHAY]

What are the times against comparable year models from Holden and Ford for interest sake? They quote the 0-60 time as an automatic, so I'd assumed the 1/4 time would be as well.

[Angeldust]

im 100% sure ive seen a figure of 14.6 for a stock r33gtst on some website..

[Captain Stubing]

This is from this site
Performance
0 - 100 km/h (62 mph) 6.96 s (approx 6.74 s, 0-60 mph)
0 - 400m 14.30 s
0 - 1000m 26.91 s
Top Speed 266 km/h (165 mph)

[barbarian]

Originally Posted by FalconXR6

Powered by the RB25DET, the R33 GTS25t is all but underpowered. In comparison to the previous top-of-the-line RB20DET, the 2.5l is way more flexible. The turbo still does not start working until about 3500rpm, but thanks to the healthy dis-placement of 2498cc and a relatively high (for a turbo) compression ratio of 9.0:1, the engine does not suffer from too much lag below that. Thus, although the car has gained approximately 70kg over the R32 GTS-t, the 250 turbo-charged horses still make for a more than adequate acceleration of 7.1 seconds from 0-60mph for the automatic version. The quarter mile is reached in a tad under 15 and a half seconds, which is quite remarkable for a family car. But traffic-light showdowns are not what the Skylines of this generation were aimed at. From the basic R33 GTS up to the fabulous GT-R, these cars lived for the twisty stuff. Thanks to an enhanced R32 suspension and the stiffness settings of the coupe, the R33 GTS25t in effect feels smaller than it is. The steering is a bit too light at low-to-medium speeds, but otherwise the car shines with an excellently balanced chassis and feels stable and secure at all speeds - in contrast to the R32 GTS-t even at high speeds. Still, throttle steer is well possible and oversteer easily induced.




I'm interested to see who agrees with this section taken from a net review as I've always considered the Skyline's to be a tarted up family sedan in the same way as the SS, XR6T, etc are.

Also interesting to note the 0-100 and 0-400m times quoted for a bone stock example (something I've been trying to find for ages, yet struggled as nearly every example is or has been modified).

R33 GTST Coupe will do mid 14's 1/4 mile.. and they're easy to squeeze large amounts of power out of it

[FalconXR6]

Originally Posted by swanny

This is from this site
Performance
0 - 100 km/h (62 mph) 6.96 s (approx 6.74 s, 0-60 mph)
0 - 400m 14.30 s
0 - 1000m 26.91 s
Top Speed 266 km/h (165 mph)

I've seen this and it's this that I have trouble with.
Here is a car that is pulling high 6's for the 0-100 sprint, yet in the same run claims a 14.3. Not bloody likely!

Like I said, I've driven an R33 GTS-t (stock bar a cat-back) and it feels quick up 60km (super short gearing) but after that it feel like a manual 4.0 litre. In gear (from 80-120) it's not very impressive at all.

My XR6T pulled a 14.3 second quarter and there is no way in hell that my mates R33 GTS-t has got a hope in matching that.

I just don't believe that the times being quoted for GTS-t's and GTT's is realistic for STOCK examples.

[DDXR6T]

Originally Posted by V3RSAC3

I've never been beaten by an R33T. So they can't possibly be that quick! the GTR though slaughtered me

In the AU?!?