# Daily reliability of tuned R32?



## JacktheLad (Jan 2, 2012)

Hi everyone, this is my first post on the forum.

OK, so I have always been into Jap cars, having started with a Prelude VTEC, I moved onto a Toyota Soarer 2.5 Twin Turbo. I have had the Soarer for 5 years now and it's been fun and ultra reliable. Aside from a change of fluids, discs and pads, the car hasn't missed a beat, even though it is a 1993 car.

I love Jap cars, I love turbos, so I have been looking into Skylines, and would like to gauge your opinions on how reliable the R32 is?

My plan is to buy the best I can afford, already modified (I don't have the time to do it myself) and a well maintained example. Perhaps even a club member's car.

*Questions:*

1. Just how reliable is the R32 as a daily driver with, say, 400 - 500bhp?
In the time I have had my Soarer, there have been no surprises whatsoever, and that is why I am also considering a Supra.

2. If driven sensibly, what sort of MPG can be expected from a 400 - 500bhp R32?

3. Of the R32 and R33, what is the more reliable car?

Any info appreciated.


----------



## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

Hi

Your toyota is bullet proof 

A Gtr will few need more tlc as I suspect you do lots of miles 

They are totally different to drive & run

32/33 - it's not about the style / year

It's about condition


----------



## rb30r34 (Jun 30, 2008)

Depends who built and tuned it for a start mate. Buy carefully and treat it like a normal high performance car. Regular oil changes etc.


----------



## WillRobDon (Jul 29, 2006)

I love my R32 to bits but it is the most unreliable Japanese car I have owned. It's never anything major just little niggles. I had an MR2 turbo before it and you can tell the difference in Toyota build quality, that car never let me down.


----------



## JacktheLad (Jan 2, 2012)

matty32 said:


> Hi
> 
> Your toyota is bullet proof
> 
> A Gtr will few need more tlc as I suspect you do lots of miles


Hi Matty, I don't do a huge amount of miles as it is a weekend car, maybe 3,000 miles tops per year, something around that or under.



willrobdon said:


> I love my R32 to bits but it is the most unreliable Japanese car I have owned.


Oh dear. Doesn't sound too encouraging, what kind of things have happened?

I don't know if I have been lucky, but the Soarer has been good to me, in fact very good, but I just fancy a change. Other things I am looking at are a Pulsar or an Audi S2 (I know, I have a weird taste in cars). Both are turbo, 4WD.


----------



## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

get the niggles sorted, and tune the car will no stone left unturned with absolute top-shelf parts, have the mapping done right and with some mechanical sympathy, it will be reliable.

however, sorting out all the niggles? Three years for me, and some of them, out of my ignorance, took the rest of the engine down with it.

I've run stock, N1, Jun, and Tomei oil pumps. Just buy a Tomei from the beginning...and then spend a couple grand on mods to support the massive increase in oil flow.

Even with stock turbos boosted up a bit to 400bhp, you will still have to deal with the niggles of an old car, and R32s will have more as they as simply older.

And, as mentioned above, mileage means nothing. It's about the tune. My car has 200,800km on the odometer; but that really refers to the carpet and seats. Damned near everything else, and I mean EVERYTHING, has been replaced. I often wondered if I was tuning a car...or restoring one!


----------



## wildboy (May 2, 2010)

Mine is fine, fingers crossed. 
Daily driver, very few problems, just got to appreciate the age of a r32.
90k+ miles original engine as far as I can tell, uses no oil or water, just plenty of fuel lol
Running around 380bhp. 
pick one that's been mapped properly and enjoy


----------



## SPEED MERCHANT (Jun 5, 2006)

I run my R32 for six to seven months a year ... I had one good year & two crap years with things going wrong in what would be termed 'minor' problems for a GTR but none the less still took the car off the road.

If you want a reliable Skyline then a clean well looked after R33 GTS-T or R34 GTT on a stage one tune to about 300 BHP will be as good as your Toyota ... hence I still miss my old R33 at times as that never missed a beat ...

I can't speak for the R32 GTS or GTS-T though as never had one ...


----------



## majestic (May 3, 2010)

Bought my 32 gtr 2 yrs ago, 470 at wheels, uses no oil or water whatsoever, starts instantly , used everyday last year through the snow, instant power available when required. Very satisfied .


----------



## freakazoid3 (Jan 19, 2008)

I'm abit surprised some dare to say a GTR is unreliable...Apparently you guys have never owned a decent Italian car then huh 

Never had major issues with mine (that I didn't cause in the first place :nervous: ) and I use the car alot and sometimes very hard aswell!
As long as you treat it well and you're satisfied with stage 1 power (400 bhp ish) then you'll be more then fine :thumbsup:


----------



## gts-tom (Jun 14, 2010)

SPEED MERCHANT said:


> I run my R32 for six to seven months a year ... I had one good year & two crap years with things going wrong in what would be termed 'minor' problems for a GTR but none the less still took the car off the road.
> 
> If you want a reliable Skyline then a clean well looked after R33 GTS-T or R34 GTT on a stage one tune to about 300 BHP will be as good as your Toyota ... hence I still miss my old R33 at times as that never missed a beat ...
> 
> I can't speak for the R32 GTS or GTS-T though as never had one ...


Have to agree. Had my R33 GTS-t for about 3 years and was used every day. Running 400hp and got lots of abuse, drag, track and apart from the body needing attention for rot it was faultless. The R32 GTR on the other has been a pain in the bum. Lots of money eaten but it does run another 160hp over the old R33. 
To be honest the first thing I looked at when I got mine was the body and then the mechanical side. You can be constantly chasing rust round and never win the battle.
Thing is though even with all the sh*t and problems with it on that occasion when it is working well it all seems worth it :thumbsup:


----------



## Nigel-Power (Dec 16, 2009)

freakazoid3 said:


> I'm abit surprised some dare to say a GTR is unreliable...Apparently you guys have never owned a decent Italian car then huh


Talking of Italiano's, the GTR is bulletproof in comparison. 

The Italians crumble like biscuits, yet still scrumptious 

Put it this way, the amount of abuse the GTRs can take with heavy tune, a lot of cars won't last a day.

I ownn a heavily tuned GTR and in the last four years not a single thing has gone wrong with the engine,

Has blown clutches and gearboxes, but then again that's a lot of power to take, count them as consumables.


----------



## Ryan_GTR (Dec 15, 2011)

Hi,
i to recently to bought a R32 gtr,
havnt had a single problem with it so far driven everyday
making plans to hit the 400+hp mark

just remember the car is like 15 years old :thumbsup:

for the mpg where i work is like a 10mile drive away and probally getting around the 18-20 mpg mark lol


----------



## WillRobDon (Jul 29, 2006)

Don't get me wrong. I'm not poo pooing the car at all. All I'm saying is there is a difference from the Toyota to the GTR. I'd never go back and nor can I see myself driving anything other than an R32. Engine has been bomb proof for me as has the gearbox. Diffs are suffering a bit! I have done various trackdays and use the car for what it wS built. Tbh it's just electrical jiggles for me nothing mechanical. But then I am allright with the mechanical side. Happily swap out turbos but when electrical gremlins crop up I'm stuffed!!!


----------



## freakazoid3 (Jan 19, 2008)

I changed a fair few things over the years aswell but that said some days I do more then 1000km in total with driving to a trackday, going on and on like a madman all day and driving home again without any problem whatsoever.

But once you start to use things to the max, yes they will sufffer loads more. But daily use won't kill it when you drive sensible 

And besides the G-sensor playing up from time to time I've not had any electrical gremlins yet


----------



## alternatengine (May 17, 2006)

In my experience it depends on the quality of maintenance being done. Find a good tuner and don't skimp.. Have a bit of mechanical sensitivity and in my eyes they're extremely reliable!


----------



## git-r (Nov 15, 2005)

majestic said:


> Bought my 32 gtr 2 yrs ago, 470 at wheels, uses no oil or water whatsoever, starts instantly , used everyday last year through the snow, instant power available when required. Very satisfied .


Any chance you could let us know your specs? Also whqt sort of use its getting? 

I've did over 30k miles in my first r32 and had no real probs with it... My second one runs 409 at hubs and has had no probs in the last year... 

Been running 32's since 2005 and have never been let down... That's with literally hundreds of really hard track days too 

Part of my love for the GTRs comes from their reliability..

Mpg wise you'll get roughly 22 mpg cruising down motorway at 98 mpg.. 18mpg round town.. maybe 25mpg doing legal speeds on motorway...


----------

