Identifying Skyline models

billyo

Track Warrior
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Sorry about all these questions but I want to get my cousin to buy a Skyline and he's started to look at them but I need to point him in the right direction.

How do you tell the difference between an R32 R33 and R34 Skyline. What are the main differences in these models and which are the easiest to tune. Do they all come with the same range of engines or did the engines get bigger and more powerful over time.

Is the RB25 a 2.5 litre engine? Are any of these models RWD only? What sort of things do you have to look out for when you buy one. Are they only available in the UK as imports or did Nissan actually officially supply them.
 
I'm not 100% sure but I think R32's are rear wheel drive. R33's come in both rear and 4 wheel drive and R34's are 4 wheeldrive only. But like I say I'm not 100% on this maybe someone else will correct me if i'm wrong. And all three are very tunable. I personally would take a Rwd R32. But it would have to be twin turbo......:D:D
 
the r32 is rear wheel drive,
you can get them in a sdifferent size engiene but 2.5 twin turbo is the 1
if hes going for a skyline, might aswell go full hog

the rear lights on a r32 have 2 circular lights the outside 1 are bigger

thats all i know about them, oh and their #!#!#!#!ing quick
 
This is really a thread for MRB or Econ if ever I saw one. The R32 I believe was the one with nice curvey wings.
 
Lots of assumptions here...

The R-series indicate generation, R32 was 1989-1994, R33 was 1994-1998 and R34 was 1998-2002. The main differences between the generations are visual, although engine, drivetrain, suspension, interior, etc received updates as well.

All cars sporting the GTR badge are 4WD unless converted, including the R32.

There are many different models within each generation, the most common ones being:

R32 GTS-T
Powered by a RB20DET (2.0-litres, 24V I6, single turbocharger) making 216 hp. 4WS and RWD with 5-speed manual gearbox.

R32 GTR ('89-'94), V-spec, V-spec II, V-spec N1
Powered by a RB26DETT (2.6-litres, 24V I6, twin turbochargers) making 280 hp. 4WS and 4WD with 5-speed manual gearbox.

R33 GTS-25T ('94-'98)
Powered by a RB25DET (2.5-litres, 24V I6, single turbocharger) making 250 hp. 4WS and RWD with 5-speed manual gearbox.

R33 GTR ('95-'98), V-spec, V-spec N1
Powered by a RB26DETT (2.6-litres, 24V I6, twin turbochargers) making 302 hp. 4WS and 4WD with 5-speed manual gearbox.

R34 GTT ('98-?)
Powered by a RB25DET NEO (2.5-litres, 24V I6, single turbocharger) making 280 hp. 4WS and RWD with 5-speed automatic transmission.

R34 GTR ('99-'02), V-spec, V-spec II, V-spec II Nür, M-spec, M-spec Nür, V-spec N1
Powered by a RB26DETT (2.6-litres, 24V I6, twin turbochargers) making 320 hp. 4WS and 4WD with 6-speed manual gearbox.

All four generations have the circular tail lights. These are equal size on R32's and R33's, with the outer light being bigger on R34's. On the R32's the rear turning indicators are mounted between the tail lights in each pair, on the R33's they are mounted below and on R34's they are inside the inner tail lights.

Nissan supplied no new cars in the UK. An agent of theirs, Middlehurst, supplied 100 R33 GTR's and 80 R34 GTR's loaded with extra equipment such as leather interior, extra oil and fluid coolers, etc. All other cars are imports.
 
Hey someone knows their skylines!

Are Nur spec the best ones? I heard that they have lots of stronger racing parts.
 
The N1's are basically the pure racing versions, and the Nür-models basically inherited their engines. This means uprated oil pump, water pump, engine block, pistons, conrods, crankshaft and turbochargers.

The N1 engines are basically more efficient and reliable than the regular engines, but they can take about the same power - except the turbochargers (which have steel internals instead of ceramic) and the block itself.

The Nür ones are the ones usually considered the most desirable since they have better spec in standard version and they were manufactured in limited series (750 examples of V-spec II Nür and 250 examples of M-spec Nür). No wonder, they're also the most expensive examples and hardest to come across.

There are other characteristics that differ between the various models of the R34 GTR, but one could say that the Nürs are basically regular V-spec II's and M-spec's equipped with N1 engines.

Any more questions, just fire away and I'll answer to the best of my ability.
 
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Which are the best models to get from a tuning point of view? is it a case of the newer the better?

Did Nissan do an RB30 block? I think I read about it on here didn't one of our members fit the RB30 to his?

How much power can a Standard Skyline handle before you have to worry about strengthening the internals?

(Sorry about all the questions but I really love these cars and its great to meet someone who really knows about them.)
 
First off, I wouldn't consider any other model than a GTR if I wanted to do some serious tuning to the engine. As for generation it's a little bit trickier... I would consider the R34 GTR the best car to start with, but with an engine from a R32 GTR. The engine blocks used in the R32 are stronger than the ones in the two latter models. I'm not taking into account here that the R34's have a better base engine, but if you're going to tune it you'll replace all the updated parts sooner or later in any case.

Nissan made a RB30 engine block, but it wasn't used in any newer Skyline model at least. I'm afraid I'm not very knowledgable about the older models. Otherwise you can buy a 3.0-litre kit from OS Giken, or just satisfy yourself with a bore an stroke upgrade from either HKS (2.8 ), Tomei (2.8 ), JUN (2.7 ) or GReddy/Trust (2.7).

The RB26DETT have very strong internals, and usually it's not power that kills them. The engine is quite sensible to vibrations, which cause the oil pump to malfunction and you will be looking at replacing your bearings before long. Another weak point is the bolts for conrods and pistons. A Danish guy ran an excess of 700 PS @ flywheel with redline at 9.000 rpm during a whole season - incuding track days and drag strip events - with basically standard internals. He had just upgraded bolts, bearings and crank damper pulley.

Now were just talking about a fairly reliable engine here. There are rumours about some crazy Australians running more than 800 PS @ flywheel with completely standard bottom end, but then the engine will not last long.

Most people satisfy themselves with 550-600 PS @ flywheel, and as long as the tune is good and you're somewhat moderate with revs, it should hold pretty good. A friend of mine ran his R32 GTR three seasons with 550 PS, and when something finally broke, it wasn't the engine internals but the gearbox.

I hope this answers your questions.
 
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MrB is the one with the RB30 engine. The RB30 wasn't put in any skyline it was actually made for the Holden commodore in Australia but it’s a direct replacement for the R33GTST you have to change your mounts as the engine is slightly taller.

My car is an R34 GTT with the neo engine if you want RWD but the stronger engine then this is the one to get because as standard the GTT has a lot of GTR parts like the rods and solid lifters.

The only addition I will make to Alecci's original post is that the GTT did come in a manual version not all where automatics and the ones that where automatic where all tiptronic boxes.
 
The only addition I will make to Alecci's original post is that the GTT did come in a manual version not all where automatics and the ones that where automatic where all tiptronic boxes.

You're absolutly correct, of course. I was aware of a manual version GTT (an acquaintance of mine owns one), but I chose to exclude it as I only attempted to list the most common models, and the manual one is pretty unusual if I'm not mistaken.

I believe we have about 30 R34 GTT's in Sweden by now, to my knowledge only two of them are manual versions.
 
You're absolutly correct, of course. I was aware of a manual version GTT (an acquaintance of mine owns one), but I chose to exclude it as I only attempted to list the most common models, and the manual one is pretty unusual if I'm not mistaken.

I believe we have about 30 R34 GTT's in Sweden by now, to my knowledge only two of them are manual versions.

They are popular here in the UK but are still hard to come by Nissan made more tiptronics than they did manual versions thats for sure
 
They are popular here in the UK but are still hard to come by Nissan made more tiptronics than they did manual versions thats for sure

I can tell you the manual versions are the more popular over here as well, but demand and supply rarely coincide with each other I'm afraid. :toung:
 
Converting a GTT into a GTR wouldn't be worth either the money nor the effort, an even though it would look and behave like a GTR, it would still be a GTT.

The GTR's are not that expensive anymore, and you'd get away far cheaper buying a GTR from the start. Why make things harder than they are?
 
Converting a GTT into a GTR wouldn't be worth either the money nor the effort, an even though it would look and behave like a GTR, it would still be a GTT.

The GTR's are not that expensive anymore, and you'd get away far cheaper buying a GTR from the start. Why make things harder than they are?

A GTR V-Spec is about £20,000+. A GTT can be picked up for less than £10,000.

What is the difference between a GTR and a GTR V-Spec. Is there any power differences or is the V-Spec just a little bit more track prepared?
 
The V-spec is 10 kg's heavier than the standard model.

The differences between the two are that the V-spec are equipped with diffusers front and rear (the latter being carbon fibre), lower and stiffer suspension, values for exhaust and intake air temperatures added to the MFD and the uprated version of the 4WD system, the ATTESA ET-S Pro.

There are more things than you may think if you want to convert a GTT into a GTR, just some examples:

Engine
Gearbox
RWD -> 4WD
Bonnet
Front bumper
Rear bumper
Almost complete interior
Front and rear wings
Rear spoiler
Rims
Etc...

Check some prices for these parts and do the math. Then add all the labour...
 
There are more things than you may think if you want to convert a GTT into a GTR

I'm not thinking of doing it personally, I was just wondering what work was actually involved as there are a lot of replicas about. I'm actually considering saving up and getting an R34 GTR V-Spec.
 
The Nür versions are either the V-spec II or a M-spec featuring a complete N1 engine, which includes:

N1 engine block
N1 pistons
N1 conrods
N1 crankshaft
N1 oil pump
N1 water pump
N1 turbochargers
+ other minor details

The N1 (commonly also referred to as a 24U) engine is better balanced than the regular (commonly referred to as 05U) one, and can withstand a higher power output without having to upgrade the internals. The turbochargers in particular are better suited for high boost as they have steel internals instead of ceramic ones.
 

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