Topbombingkid

any know much bout pulsar GTiR's been looking on a few pulsar sites and thought id ask here as well. Any main things to watch for? I know its the same sr20det engine thats in the 200sx. Will only be looking for a standard one or very lightly tuned.

vava voom

iTrader: (6)

Noisy clutch...if it squeaks then its on its way out and its expensive to change

B9GLY

they need a FMI if they have big power as the standard top mount isnt that good! standard brakes are terrible!!

Wizzbang

In the past Ive had two of these great cars.

As has been mentioned above, BRAKES

The standards are not up to alot, and a good mod is to fit something a little better, I chose the Godspeed 4 pots with larger discs which certainly helped alot.

Intercooler....unless you spend your life stuck in traffic or your chasing big bhp, Id leave the cooler alone.

They should be getting quite cheap(ish) now, but you still need to look for all the obvious stuff. The engine is the sr20det which runs around half a bar boost as standard. The first thing to do (other than giving the brakes a good service) is to change the actuator(or fit a boost valve) and get the boost to 1 bar(14.7 psi). This will improve all aspects of the delivery of the engine.

With increased power comes strain on the drivetrain, clutches and gearboxes have come in for some stick, but I havent witnessed anything untoward with the two cars I had(second one already had Helix organic paddle clutch in).

Oh...and junk any jappy exhaust that may be on it and fit a full(turbo back) mongoose. Best sounding car Ive had.


Any other questions you may have, just ask....owned my two for around 3 years(if only I still had one) so I might be able to help

pete1977

I owned one for quite a few years.Great fun but i had to grow up eventually .Had 3037hks tubby,sard ext wastegate,tubular manifold,water injection,fmic,uprated brakes,RPS clutch,lightened flywheel etc etc.Spent an absolute fortune on it,running just short of 400bhp there wasnt a lot that could touch it,even put a very pissed off M3CSL owner to shame at santa pod
Dont be fooled by the cheap prices they sell for.To look after them properly costs money.You can check for things like a clutch support bracket,gearbox is smooth etc.The engines are pretty bulletproof but beware of over boosted cars on standard pistons as with any jap car.

Blueblaster

I read somewhere that increasing the tyre width, increases the grip and therefore puts too much strain on the clutch and gearbox. These cars are getting quite old now so buy with care. Good car though.

delcbr

hi my pal has got a white gtir its an M reg but he smashed it up going too fast and lost control yes he is a nutter.
apparently its quite rare to get one on a m reg...anyhoo my point is i was already aware about the reputation these cars have for destroying gearboxes and warned him about it and guess what? his went then he replaced it and weeks later he crashed doh....fully totalled

delcbr

i remember the tuning mags reckoned you were best to stick to the original 14" wheels and not to lower it to preserve drivetrain...there are some ropey ones out there beware make siure it comes with the brolly lol

kammy

The sr20DET is NOT the same engine from a 200sx- so much so that the GTiR unit can not be fitted into the 200sx.

Suberb cars, weak gearboxs but a rebuild and sensible power (300bhp ish) is safe. Pistons will not go safely over 330bhp ish.

Carl2

There's alot of incorrect information in this thread so far.

If the clutch pedal clicks or makes a noise when you press it, it could be the pedal box about to go. There's a £10 strengthening plate available. The clutches don't tend to make get noisey before they go.


400bhp has been run on the standard top mounted intercooler. A front mount is preferable, but not necessary if you don't want one.

Gearboxes are not that weak. Some people do have repeated problems, but the UKs only 10sec car ran on a standard box. An uprated box is preferred but not essential over about 350bhp

Piston will take 400+ is properly set up. Allegedly the yanks are claiming 500+ on standard internals.

I've had mine for 4.5years now. It took 3.5 of those to kill the standard clutch, box, engine and turbo etc are 100% standard and origional still. (and I'm running 215/35/16s)

I've had a power steering pump fail about 2 years ago, the std clutch last year and 3 water hoses this year. That's been about it. It has seen the drag strip plenty of times, so it doesn't get an easy life.


Now I've said that........they're like any car, you can get good ones and bad ones. I got a good one from a dealer at the time. I paid over the odds abit, but I've more than saved that on lack of repairs. It's probably been off the road for less than a week in all the 4.5 years I've had it.

saphcos

What kind of bhp ar you looking at with 1 bar boost, an exhaust and filter with these cars? Is it safe to run them with those mods and nothing else. Also, with them being older do they have a cat (which will be needed for MOT) and are the exhausts usually catback?

Luke-Avfc

Ive had one..

Great cars just 4 things to note..

1. Uprate clutch if more the 1bar boost is used.

2. Get a FMIC the top mount is cack.

3. Big brakes..A Must.

4. Whitleline Suspension kit works wonders.

Very quick and capable car but i prefer the scoob ..

ukdave

Loved me mates to bits,but it spent more time off the road than on it though was running 370bhp clutch, gearbox and transfer box were the main things that went(several times) were unlucky to have it blow up on the rollers soon after he had it aswell but once rebuilt never had any probs engine wise other than a turbo untill he sold the car not long ago,though turbo was ready to be fair(highish mileage) replaced it with rollerbearing one.Were just a real fun car and power delivery were instant,were sad when he sold it if im honest but it had cost him an absolute fortune in tuning stuff/repairs/remapping on several occasions, were one of the most sorted cars ive been in when it were running right .

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/5cc761ee.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...s/6b9fc7c8.jpg

delcbr

unless you dont mind shelling out a big wedge of your hard earned cash on repairs i wouldnt bother getting one...i find it funny when people say that theyve never had their gearbox go just wait and see dont speak too soon itl happen its the most common thing that breaks on them which costs alot to sort.

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

It's not actually... there are quite a few differences...

Carl2

Have you ever owned a Gtir?

delcbr

never owned one because of when it breaks its expensive....though know enough people who have and whats went wrong with them.....just cos i havent owned one doesnt mean i dont know f**k all about them iam a car enthusiast like most on here after all.
happy new year!!

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

I know several people who have (or have had) GTi-R's and not one of them has ever had a problem with the gearbox...

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

There was one racing at Oulton Park last year, **** me it was quick, till the clutch went !

nisr227

I've had mine over 6 and half years, and the gearbox still hasn't broke, even running with its current 330bhp, although mine is only a weekend car and runs OZ superlegs 15's and a less stressfull organic clutch. So its swings and roundabouts on whether it will last.

They are not cheap to run, really need to be looked after it due to its age, and use the best parts, regular oil and perfect fuel setup. Buy the best with UK history and don't get carried away with high bhp mods like most owners do.

Its a great fun pocket rocket, that always get treated as the underdog but can show many modern cars a thing or two, reps etc still don't know what it is! It can also gives great feedback and be chucked through the corners down decent B roads, and pop and crackle with the best of them.

I borrowed many fleet cars, including Evo's and Sti's, and I've still kept my Pulsar after all these years becuase its so much raw fun as a weekend car. In fact, even after driving my bro's modifed evo5 (380+, arbs, AP 6 pots etc) and although his car gripped better, its still wasn't more fun than my R with its carefully chosen mods (also runs whiteline arbs, bigger brakes etc).

To answer the question, a 1 Bar with de-cat exhaust (like mongoose), plugs, pump and filter, and correct fuel setup can be approx 270-280bhp. With a chip/fuel ecu (and fmic) you can be 290-300, this is providing its setup and running right, they are old cars now and need setting up to run on decent fuel like new optimax is a must. Not too bad for a 4wd old car that only weighs 1220kg as standard, fully loaded.

They are some tatty examples around now so it won't be long before they are a very rare cult car.

ste300

these are crazy little things, always been told about their lack of reliability but a mate bought one as a second car for £2,400. He hasnt spent alot on it, just a dawes device and a good service plus the decat remap and induction kit it already had but with the boost turned up it went from 280 bhp to 340bhp with tmic. He thrashes the hell out of it, it spends alot of time on track and other than the manifold gasket nothing has gone wrong at all! It now has fron mount, cage, teins, wilwood 4 pots, stripped its like a stupidly fast go kart i love and nick the keys whenever possibly but not remotely as nice to drive day to day as the scoob.

Carl2

But it does mean you don't have 1st hand experince of one, so just quote not very accurate information. It's like me saying all Subarus have chocolate pistons because of what I've read on Scoobynet.
Like all cars some Gtirs have had gearbox failures. I broke one on my Montego turbo, but I don't go round saying all montegos have weak gearboxes.

Like I said before there are alot of long term owners who thrash their cars but haven't had gearbox problems and some short term ones who have.

PS aren't jap most cars expensive to repair?

EddScott

I'm selling my scoob shortly for something cheap for 12 months.

Once I'm back in the market for something JDM, 4WD and turbo charged, another R is top of the list.

Only had mine for 18 months. Cost a load more than the scoob but loved every minute!

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

I had a uk gtir, and I did have problems with the gearbox in that I needed a rebuilt replacement that wasnt cheap. I did have 17s on mine though which probably wouldnt have helped. Also the standard brakes are sh!te, good cheap upgrade was some ebc green pads, improved the brakes a lot but still inadequate. I ended up buying some tarox 6 pots from dp motorsport and they were the daddies. Talking of brakes, my rears froze on numerouse occasions in the icy damp weather, not funny when sat in traffic and the rears are smoking away. this may not have been helped though by my open 5 spoke wheels that I had on.

Engine wise, pretty bullet proof, I had an air leak on mine and the cams were worn, however one set of uprated cams later from dp and a fixed air leak and she was purring again.
Handling wise, to be honest I though it was rubbish maybe because of the speed you would hit a corner I dont know, I did have aftermarket springs on mine and I think it may have had Jun dampers but I cannot remember now and these did improve the handling but still poor in comparison to the scoob.

Straight line performance, well mine was probably only kicking out about 260ish, but straight line performance was awesome, there really wasnt much that could keep up with it, and it is capable of putting the frighteners on bikes as well. The sight of a gtir/pulsar in the rear view mirror is awesome (especially in red as mine was)

Fuel economy was worse than the scoob, first night I had the car I managed 96 miles from a full tank. However they were 96 fun miles!
I remember pulling up at some lights on a dual carriageway and a guy in a vectra pulled up along side me and gestated for me to put the window down. I thought he may have been an umarked cop so I put my window down and he said "How the **** do you get flames coming from your exhaust? I have an Lancia Integrale and I dont get that" I replied that I didnt know as I had only had the car for 10 mins!. It was a scorpion stainless exhaust with no cat and sounded good.

would I have another?

Yes without a doubt , although in my opinion they are dearer to run than a scoob (parts etc)

ESH

It would seem that owners on here have had varying ownership experiences. I owned a JDM GTiR for about 2 years and must say it was a hell of alot cheapeer to run than my Impreza ownership experience. No probs with the gearbox. The car ran 250 bhp. I lowered it slightly and sat the car on white 17's. I must say it was trouble free motoring for the whole ownership.

I did change some things as you do for improvement. The brakes were poor but I wouldn't have gone as far as 6 pots for the money. I uprated the brake lines / pads and fitted groved disks (EBC) and they increased pedal feel and response greatly. I also fitted strut braces front and rear too.

Its probably been covered before but if you were looking at 280 + bhp the standard clutch would begin to slip and that'd mean a hefty bill for labour to change the clutch. Also labour to change the plugs might be a much too as the I/C needs to come off. On that subject. Getting a blanking plate over the plug area would be advised as every now and again after a wash the car wouldn't start due to the plugs getting damp.

Window motors and switches get tired too.

I loved my ownership but wouldn't go back now I think. But you never know

Regards

Esh

EddScott

Whats the average age of R drivers?

At 29 I feel I might be a little too old for one.

I've found a really nice blue one on nissangtir forum

delcbr

cough cough see what iam talking about!!!!
which reminds me i raced an owner of a pulsar gtir in my standard reno 5 turbo and it was neck and neck i wanted to blether with him and i thought he was taking the **** by matching my speed and not pulling away when racing it turns out he was flooring it lol anyhow i was curious about gtir ownership so asked him some questions and he reckoned his car had poor handling his comment was it had wallowing handling whatever that means really and said you should keep some money in the bank for when it breaks cos itl cost a fortune not my words his!!!ive raced about 3 standard ones in my 5turbo and they were all neck and neck must be 4x4 transmission losses and heavier weight.......but when i eventually tuned my 5 turbo to 18psi hee hee i raced a standard one with 5 ppl in my car and it match for match......but i raced a modded one 330 bhp i think and by the time it took for my turbo to kick in he was already 4 car lengths in front it was the fastest thing ive witnessed on the road apart from bikes......so when their standard their not that quick but tuned they are scary its your call.

Carl2

A standard Gtir should waste a standard 5turbo. The 5 over the 1/4 should be low 16s at around 84mph, The gtir should be hitting that just over the 1/8the at about 8.5secs. He probably had problems (det sensor) he didn't know about. As said before, handling is far from brilliant as standard but can be improved vastly.
I have run a 12.7 1/4 standard bar filter and exhaust, there alot of time effort and money to get a 5 turbo to match that. (I'm hoping for 11s at 330bhp.)

What will the 5 do with 18psi? (don't even know what boost they are as standard)


PS the hefty labour bill for a clutch change is £300 if you go to the right people.
And there's alot more older owners than you might think. (Me included) 29 is just a wee baby

cong

lol standard renault 5 vs gtir LMAO neck and neck LMAO 18psi? PMSl before or after it went bang?

delcbr

i hear what your saying but i did race 3 standard ones and spoke to all owners and they did say that their cars werent running right which i thought was ominous and were were talking poo i even had one of them take me out aspin in his as i was curious 1st gear was rapid 2nd gear was quick then after that it felt like a normal everyday car you could be right but whats the chances of 3 standard cars running poorly.

standard r5turbo runs 7psi i think iam trying to remember back 5 yers now all i did was buying 1 grade colder spark plugs £30 strapped the standard intercooler £free and fitted 1 larger carb jet £3 and was running 14sec 1/4 mile on standard 13"wheels with **** uniroyal tyres up at crail. everything else on the car was standard and it flew i used to race the same ppl over and over again from my area and it was neck and neck with a 2litre 16v redtop nova till 120mph and neck and neck with a clio 172 their not slow cars my friend in the world of hot hatch.

but your gtir seems to be awfully fast considering my pal has a lancer evo3 running 12.2 with 315bhp which makes me think your pular aint standard(like an exhaust is going to make that much difference) know what iam saying when its running 12.7.
ran my 5turbo like that for 3 years with my foot welded to the floor b4 i sold it for a bike.

dont forget when someone needs a clutch they cant exactly travel the length of the country with a fooked cluth to get it done cheapest know what iam talking about i think ppl come on here talking all sorts
how do you like those apples!!