[Oscar of Markoz]

Hi all
My wife is thinking of selling her Mazda 6 wagon and buying an R34 Skyline GT-T. Now, she is not sure if she wants the 2 door or 4 door, but she is leaning towards the 2 door.
The problem I have with the 2 door is that we have a 7 year old and 3 year. So I prefer the 4 door for space.

So the questions I have are:
1) How much space do they have in the boots, 2 and 4 door? Do the seats fold down for more access?
2) Are there any faults or problems I should be aware of on these cars?
3) In drivability and responsiveness, is there much difference between auto and manual?
4) What options did they come out with over standard?

Iam in the Liverpool Area of Sydney, is there any places people could recommend I try out to buy this type of Skyline?

Thanks in advance

[llama_au]

I can answer on the four door side of things, as that's what I own;
1) huge boot, but folding down the seats only reveals a small ski port and there's a ledge just before it.
2) only a few rust concerns, depends on where the car's lived for most of it's life. Everything is pretty strong in these cars, but get the necessary body and mechanical checks done.
3) mine's auto, the gearbox is great if left in Drive - tiptronic mode is a waste of time.
4) not sure how to answer this question, what do you need to know?

[Oscar of Markoz]

llama au, thanks for all the info so far.
What I meant by options over standard. For instance, they all have air-con, power-steer, power windows etc etc. So what are some of the things that they came out with that could be ordered from new. Like for instance, sunroof, leather seats. I don't know what they are. So if I knew what some of them were, I could look out for such items when selecting her choice of skyline.

What do these cars do down the qtr in standard mode?
She is planning on doing a few track days here and there for some fun, so I want to make sure she's not going to get herself into too much drama on the street first.

[llama_au]

Sunroof was an option rarely taken in Japan so if you get one you're lucky. Assuming it's a GT-T, they came with different configurations on top of the dash - some with gauges, some with pop-up GPS unit and screen, and I think there was another option but I'm forgetting it. There was also the factory lip kit (mine has this if you look at my intro thread.) Standard quarter mile I think I've read is a mid-high 14. I dyno'ed my car a little while ago, it made 155rwkw stock with an exhaust, so they make reasonable power.

They are easy to park despite their size (bare in mind it's the same length as a Commodore), very torquey and ridiculously easy to drive. Traction control is a plus, you have to be pushing this car to get it out of shape. Fuel economy is average, but not the worst. What I will say though is for a large family car they really lack interior space, especially in the back seat. They're not really designed for an average Aussie family - but by all means try one out and see what you think. It feels more like a sports car with a couple of extra doors and a huge arse added on it as an after-thought.

[CHASE-1]

i am also interested in the 4 door. would be converting to manual down the track if i can't get one cheap in manual! how torquey are they compared to the JZX100? because I'm tossing up between the two atm. I owned a R32 4 door and it didnt handle the best, so does the R34 handle better? Stock the R34 comes out with 343nM torque, but a guy who had FMIC, full exhaust pod and not much else got 593nM torque from his JZX100. Would modding an R34 with these mods make this amount?

[Bourkey]

I have a 2 door GTT and I can tell you the boot space is quite crappy lol. My corolla had MUCH more space than the R34.

As for faults, I have had mine for a bit over 2 years, with just regular servicing I haven't had a drama as yet.

I haven't driven an auto version, but I have been led to believe by some other owners that the manual is a bit better for performance.

To give you an idea I went to the drags in december last year and ran 14.0@101mph with minor mods. And it was my first go so I sucked big time launching... The 4th run saw the end of my clutch for the day too lol.

[llama_au]

Since my last post I have had a couple of problems - one I caused and one I didn't. I stuffed a wheel bearing when I had a spectacular off at a track day, required replacing the entire rear hub. And a few weeks later the shift solenoids in the auto started giving errors which forced the car into limp mode. It's a common problems and once it was fixed it's been perfect. The unfortunate part was the wait on parts from Nissan Japan - 3 weeks. That's one bad thing about owning a grey import

[Epic_Dragon]

hey mate, ive got a r34 2 door. have owned a few cars in my life, this one ive not had too long. ive got an automatic as injured myself at work a couple years ago, so now can only drive automatic with a spinnerk knob. will be putting a shift kit thru it as they r really good with those. but generally its a really good auto gearbox. they take off faster than a manual cos power is straight down. and my partner when he drives it uses triptonic, and its not too bad at all. i play with the paddle shift sometimes and enjoy pretending to drive manual. not as good as a real manual tho. rear leg room they seem to have more space back there than 32 or 33. but still a 2 door is a 2 door. u would be fine with ur young children now, but they might get bit squashed as they get older. i can fit my 2 40kg dogs in the back be it only just, but if they can fit in the back, ur 7 and 3 yo would take less room than 2 huge dogs for the next few years at least. i might get annoying always moving the seat to let them out tho fuel i think they r better on fuel if manual. as auto tends to be on boost more. but to get around this if driving round town, suburbs etc, or up hills, keep it in 3rd, it revs higher but isnt staying on boost so much. im able to get 400kms out of a full tank in an auto, and thats my car runnng really rich and being auto. manual ud get more. and my car needs a tune.

they go hard too as u prob already no. got a friend with a absoluely crazy 4 door one, it is a road rocket. it is manual and handles really well! ur wife might find a 4door more appealing if was like that one! and would be easier for kiddies to exit and enter.

fault wise, only issues we have had is the factory radiator sprung a top tank leak. easy fix put a aluminium one in it (with new trans cooler as well) got a good one off ebay for not too much. llama, what errors were u finding in ur trans making it go into limp home mode? just for future reverense

traction control is good cos u can turn it off fun button!!

but like already mentioned in this thread, prob best to even go to a few dealerships and try both 4 and 2 door with the family, to see what u all like

[Vincent--TT]

I have a 4doors tiptronic as well. Nice to drive around. I don't plan to do any performance mode since not going to race it. Just to make it nice to look at. It's not far from the feeling of driving a BMW. They are straight 6 plus a turbo. Lot lower maintence cost. I had a Audi TT before this 34. Due to parents planned to move to austrlia with me, then I picked up a 4 doors 34 without second thought. Honestly, 2 doors look better. But 4drs heaps more practical, especially u have kids. Now my parents planed not coming to austrlia. I m planning to go back to 2 seaters. My r34 is now up for sale.

[r33cruiser]

whoa, epic topic bump Vincent