sunny gtir
 

Hi, what are peoples views on these cars, would prefer people that have owned them or know someone that does and not just people guessing what there like because of stories they have heard!

I would be looking at standardish cars (exhaust,filter,wheels,suspension,BRAKES lol etc ) but nothing silly powerwise!

would like to know how they compare to classic scoobs, performance,reliabilty,running costs etc etc

thanks

Fancied one too. Was put off TBH as a standard STi is a complete package. to get the Pulsar to the same spec would be costly.

The lack of fresh ones coming in to the country another limiting factor.

When I priced them - 5-7 for a sorted 300bhp modded one. 3-5 for a stock over boosted example. Look hard, there are a few sorted examples around but like I say. Anything close top 300bhp needs pistons, injectors, ECU, rebuilt gearbox... Scooby a far better package IMHO however I do still like the old Datsun ;)

The gearbox is ment to be the cars weak point. A friend of mine had one and the gearbox went more than once.

My brother in law has one at the moment.

Its running HKS forged pistons, balanced bottom end, lightened fly wheel etc(covered about 12k since rebuild),HKS cams, hybrid turbo, water injection, chargecooler, GAB suspension, helix clutch, a roll cage and some other bits I cant remember.

Its just about to have larger injectors and a greddy e-manage fitted, and is going to be mapped to 1.6 bar. :eek:

It fecking flies at the moment running 0.9bar.

It'll be up for sale at for around 7k when its done, as my sister is 3 months pregnant and they want something with 4 doors.

Nice cars, but like most pocket rockets they have tried to put as much as they can in a shell designed for a 1.3 FWD engine.

When they are sorted to 300-ish BHP they are very capable, but that requires expensive upgrades such as front mounts and pistons, as said above.

I know of someone that spent absolutely thousands to get around 400BHP.
I think Nissans 'preferred' sports car, the Skyline, would have been a better option.

thanks guys!

i owned a K reg grey one a few years back and it was a awesome little car, had a stage 1 chip and a brake and clutch upgrade, car was putting out 296bhp and was very quick, i didn't have any problems the time i had mine but their very thirsty, mine averaged out about 15mpg so the price of petrol these days it would cost a fortune to own if you do good mileage, hope this helps.

cheers Dave

I have owned one for 5 years and still got it. Currently mapped to a shade over 290bhp at 1bar with mods, also got all the whiteline gear, uprated brakes etc, and about to have a remap to 1.2bar (320) and lose abit more weight.

Anyway, in 5 years ownership only thing to go wrong was the broken transfer box, but I have always looked after it, and probably been a bit more lucky than some.

I know of many people who have broken the gearboxes in the club, depending whats gone your looking at £500 to rebuild it so it ain't that bad.

Like early Scoobs, Pistons can be weak above 300bhp and poor fueling, and they are getting old cars now, with the way most are driven you kind of expect to here of many owners looking at rebuilds, but they are not as bad as people make out. One pulsar (awd's) got a 10.98 1/4 run at Crail a fews weeks back with standard(!!) internals and box, they keep on modding it expecting it to rebuild it soon but admit themselves its last longer than they expected. But you can also here of standard ones blown a piston if not looked after.

There are many dogs out there now, so you'll need to look at a good few.

Personally I love its pocket rocket rawness and the fact its different. I deal with over 300 de-hire fleet cars a day in my job, including early Scoobs, and now upto 04 Sti's, and the fact that I could buy any of them at trade but still love the Pulsar says something. It still feels like an old fun raw pocket rocket rallycar, and for the money, I love it.

No it doesn't!!!!!!!!

It can be done easily with the standard top mount and standard pistons.

It does require the fuelling to be spot on and probably a clutch as the standard one won't last too long. The standard turbo can do about 1.4bar but over say 1bar, it obviously won't last for ever ;)

My own one has run a 12.7s 1/4 with 246bhp (don't say it steve :p) so they are definately pocket rockets. :D
I've had mine for over 3 years now and only had the powerstering pump fail on me. The clutch is now on the way out tho and the headgasket is abit dodgy, but it's running fine.

yup have also owned 1 and there graet lil cars only thing that went on mine was the waterpump,ment to be an engine out job but you can get away with (like i did) buy taking off the engine mount lower it down undo half the pump jack it up undo the other half etc bit of a pain to work on but hey who cares,buy 1 lol!!

mates got a pulsar and spent a fortune repairing it had lots of probs with gearboxes clutches tho its running 370 bhp think the bill at the mo for all the mods hes done buyin the car and the probs he`s had is around 25k (dont get me wrong i love the car but if it`d have been mine would have sold it ages ago)

:eek2: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...r/DSCN0338.jpg

I had mine for 4 years and nothing went wrong with it, was a daily runner at 330bhp for a while and then had a hks 3037s fitted to it in the end. Stock engine and gearbox are a lot stronger than people expect but lack of care and tired 10year old parts need replacing sooner or later...

I would just say upgrade brakes and suspension, and don't get too carried away with power.

I had one as my last car, owned it for just over 2 years and never had any probs with it, be very carefull when buying one, as I have heard some nightmare stories from other owners. I absolutly loved mine as you dont see many about. Mine was pretty much standard apart from the usual mods, induction,exhaust, wheels etc.. and it went like ****e off a shovel, defo quicker than a standard WRX.
The inside is a bit dull (like most Jap cars!) but they are quite comfy, get yourself a good one and you will be more than chuffed, avoid the high BHP ones as this is where the probs start.

Good luck.

Best thing about them is the umbrella compartment.

Mate had one, went through 3 gearboxes in just over a year.. just around 320 BHP IIRC, so maybe keeping the power down will help reliability.

treat it with respect and it'll last forever, std internals will hold up to 500 bhp (proven) you need to get the fuelling spot on - this is where people dont bother due to the cost of a map or a dastek unichip + map. you see no end of them with the std pump and the boost whacked up past 1 bar with the same 20 deg timing allowing nothing for any det. keep it to 18 deg with a set of cold plugs to stop preignition, a walbro pump. std fpr is good anyways so its up to yourself if you upgrade it, std maf and injectors will max out about 1.4 bar on std turbo. should see 340 - 360 bhp (depending on timing and fuel) at that. slap a bigger turbo (gt30, 3071r, 2871r) on, bigger injectors (550's), Z32 maf - get it mapped and this will see you past 400bhp.

oh and remember to upgrade the brakes!! the whiteline kit will also give stability to the std suspension, best to get coilovers though if you want it sorted properly.

front mount gives you a bit more lag but keeps your intake air cool and dense. some peeps would rather try to cool the topmount down, each to their own.

but being honest - keep it to 300bhp for reliability.


big BHP = big BILLS!!