R33 practicality questions

[willyolio]

I just have a collection of questions that don't seem to be asked very often about this car. Thinking of making a purchase soon. I don't intend this car to be a daily driver, just a fun vehicle, but it will be my only vehicle. I mainly bike/transit to work (parking's too expensive anyway), so commuting costs/gas aren't a major concern. I'd like to hear from the owners about other things...

1. How much do you spend (annually) for regular upkeep and maintenance? Not counting gas.

2. How comfortable are the back seats? I don't intend to make use of them regularly, but I occasionally want to be able to drive 3 friends around to some place. I'm about 5'8", most people i know are around that height too.

3. Anyone ever take your GTR for skiing? Anyone ever found a good roof rack (preferably easily to remove/re-mount on weekends) for it? I'll also need to transport a bike or two occasionally in the summer, so a proper roof rack may be the only option.

Thanks! I may have more questions as i think of them.

[ChezoGTR]

1: annual maintenance is a tough question to answer due to the fact that most of us only drive them for the summer. Its about 65-85$ for a oil change. Depending on what plugs you want you can pay 24$ or 200$. It also depends on how often you plan on changing you diff and trans fluid

2: if you're tall the back seats suck. Other then that they're pretty comfy I find depending on your suspension setup

3: don't know how you would mount a roof rack. The r33 has a one piece roof. NJ

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[willyolio]

i dunno, this guy managed to do it, so it's not impossible.

[louis110]

You should be able to fit a universal roof rack onto the car. There's a R32 in Alberta with a roof rack installed. As for maint costs expect about $500-$1000 per year. It really depends on your car though. More modding of course brings higher costs, but if your car is relatively stock and you plan to just do general maintenance it won't be too bad. I've owned my 32 for 3 years and I've had to replace the ac compressor, mafs, spark plugs, ignition wire, ignitor box, alternator, cv boots, fuel filter, battery, and injector seals.

My 32 is extremely practical and the 33 should have more cabin space to fit you and your friends. After market seats will reduce foot room in the back though.

[Skym]

Roof rack for ski's was an option on R32. R33 should be the same.

[sb119]

That r32 drilled through the roof to install the roof rack. Nissan had one as an option in the 90s but good luck tracking one of those down. Apparently a rack for a s14 will fit but also difficult to track down.

[Skym]

The R32 Nissan roof rack looks like it mounts into doorway inbetween the rubber trim around doorway and chassis (same way as the mounts as used with stock Monsoon shields). There must be roof racks that do that, but the end pieces / mounts following shape of roof near doorway is probably where the roof racks are different.

For example -

[willyolio]

yeah, i've been doing some roof rack research... and most models of roof rack seem to be of that design these days. most non-SUV cars don't have integrated rails and such.

it's also the type that appears easiest to remove, too. I just want to figure out which make/model of roof rack fits the R33.

Ooh, some more practicality questions. How do you guys find the rear visibility? for both lane changes and parking. I often find coupes tend to have thicker C pillars and really tiny side windows. From the photos, it doesn't look too bad, but looks can be deceiving...

As for anti-theft, what do you guys use? Is there a good system you guys would recommend? I suppose a RHD maunal car isn't the easiest car to steal as it is, but you can't be too safe...

[Skym]

There's enough visibility to park, change lanes, etc. The rear 1/4 windows are quite big, and the C pillar angle / shape helps with this (it is a blind spot, so wait a second or two to make sure nothing is behind it). Nissan had optional little antennas for the edge of the front bumpers, as can't see the corners of bumpers due to shape of hood, etc. But you gauge it based on how far object infront appears above hood. If just tell someone to stand infront and tell you where the bumper is compared to object infront and compare to how far object (side or front of another car) is above hood, then you have rough guide of where front of car is.

Easy to get into if know how to. Fit a kill switch somewhere and alarm with immobiliser. But most use tow trucks these days, so it looks legit to most (common problem in many countries, UK, US, etc). Best is probably GPS tracking of some kind, so even if taken by tow truck you can track it down. I remember this person caught the tow company joyriding in their car, as was in motion down a road (obvious it wasn't on the back of the tow truck, as speed was recorded) instead of being in their yard.

[AL91GTR]

I had a Barrecrafter window mount on my Z31 for years ... only holds 2 pairs of skis but worked amazing and was rock solid up to 160 +/- kms several times. Z31 has glass panel t-roof and no window frames ... I would think that it would work just fine on an R33. I've used it on a few other vehicles over the years as well with no issue. I've actually used it to carry really long trim on my crew cab Fiso ... one on each front and rear window haha.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-in-good-condition-Barrecrafters-Window-Mount-Ski-Rack-can-hold-2-pair-/111109828185?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19dea96e59

I'll see if I can find a pic ... I know i have some of it installed on my old Zed

[NismoS-tune]

Everyone has a different story. My annual upkeep has even about $15k a year haha and still not running.

Doesn't have 4 doors so kids are no fun to bring.
It's low so you can't go anywhere. When it breaks, even the slightest bit, it could be down for a while due to no local parts most times and no warranty.

List of cons continue on for practicality

[nismo240r]

Have owned my R33 since September 2011, put on 59,000km's since. I drive it year-round, cold. . .hot. . .blah blah blah. I change oil every 5000km's.

First thing I changed when I picked her up were the coilpacks, went with Yellowjackets and haven't had a problem since. Replaced the coilpack harness out as well since it was crispy. It was completely stock, aside from a Titanium exhaust. Swapped out the filter with a K&N and have kept that in there as well (Cleaned every season). Changed the fuel pump as well as the fuel filter on the first oil change. Flushed tranny/diffs/transfer case as well.

Radiator developed a bad leak the following spring, exchanged it for a Koyo rad and some Flex-a-lite fans. There has only been 1 instance where the temps went above 100. . .hot-lapping at Stratotech with the factory fan and rad. . .no problems since. Swapped the mid pipe for a larger one and deleted the cat.

Blew the rear suspension out driving to Yellowknife last Christmas, bought some Ohlins and have never looked back. Acquired the Driftworks arm kit and HICAS delete as the rod ends were shot. Installed them as well as the DBA kit from Daryl (rotors, pads and lines). . .the brakes get the most compliments out of everything else. . .

I changed the timing belt/idler/tensioner, cam gears, front seal and exchanged the oem crank pulley for a Fluidampr, as well as a Tomei fpr. . .around 145k km's.

My windshield is cracked to ****, my paint on the hood is chipping (Thank you Alberta roads) and my subframe bushings are knocking around a bit now. The next big project is changing all the gasket/seals, single turbo, clutch and bushings and hopefully paint this winter.

All in all, I've spent a bit of money here and there. . .mostly just bringing a 15-year old car up to a reliable spec. I'm very happy with it. . .it's a killer winter car and a fun summer one, even at a stock state. If you're on a budget, this isn't the car for you. I couldn't imagine bringing it to a shop to do all the work and getting the bill. I've had a baby seat in the back and it wasn't bad at all. . .

my 0.02 cents. . .I'm happy with it and the amount I've spent on it. . .

[willyolio]

^ good to know it can handle alberta winters, then.

[nismo240r]

It took -65 in Yellowknife. . .took a while to warm up though. . .get it man. . .wicked car. . .