# How often do you give it a good thrashing..



## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

Just wondering how the majority of people on this forum drive their Skylines?

I have an R32 GTR coming in the next couple of weeks and was thinking that I would have to modify my driving style (ie always thrashing it about) as the car wouldnt be able to take it - especially compared to my last car a new Civic Type R.

Any comments also on how reliable the RB26 is when driven hard (all answers taken on the basis that the car is well maintained and also warmed up properly).

Cheers for the input.

Mart


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## GeorgeBush (Feb 27, 2004)

All the time, just can't help myself


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## m6beg (Apr 21, 2003)

*EVERY TIME I GET IN*

Every time i get in her :smokin: And i cant wait to get her back    Well thats what they are for its a racing car  

M6BEG


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## SteveN (Aug 6, 2002)

If its in good nick, and maintained right, it should be able to take all thats thrown at it. Wether it has been i dont know.

Pikey was unlucky with his for example.

Thats why i always buy a car with the intention of going mad on it straight away- 
I use my cars HARD, only reason i have em is to go mad in, to destroy everything, and i make sure i spec it so it can take my constant abuse all the time. 
At least then i know the engine etc's history, and its only me to blame if it fuxup.
Cossie engine lasted me 20k at 30psi boost and extreme abuse (1 in every 2 journeys would see over 160mph on the speedo, hell, could see over 165mph by the start of the M5 sliproad if i come off the GoldenValley roundabout at about 40mph and boot it up the duel-carridgeway towards gloucester...) and if my skyline engine lasts me that long, thatl do me.

Best tactics without doing any real mods (like fitting an uprated oilpump) are make sure the fuelings correct esp at full boost/revs, check its running cool enough plugs (if your running too hot a plug it might drop a plug tip, which does a quality job of ****ing your piston, some plugs might be good for your average driver with whatever power, but someone who goes mad it might be too hot a plug, seen it 100s of times), check that its warmed up n cooled down right, use the right oil, check oil before EVERY journey (and keep it at maximum), and change it OFTEN. My idea of often was every thousand or two, or whenever the oil looked any colour apart from exactly how it looked when i put it in...

Sometimes its about luck too. Be lucky mate :smokin:


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

Thats good advice. Thanks. 165 by the slip road eh. Thats not bad :smokin:


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## Crail Loser (Jan 11, 2003)

Whenever the road conditions allow it or the situation warrants it. So pretty much as often as possible then


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## JasonO (Jun 29, 2001)

Is there any other way ?


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## R32 Combat (Jan 29, 2004)

*Whenever the Girlfriend isn't in it.*

I 'use' mine all the time. I've had to re-build it once cos I knocked out a shell. I'm more of a cornering driver and don't worry to much about top end. I've had 280ish kph out of the old girl a couple of times but I always worry incase I get a blowout or something. If I did, it would all be over and I'm to young for a trip to the pearly gates.
Tyres don't last long and ball joints arn't cheap. But apart from that, all seems quite reliable. I did break a gearbox a short time ago and I've just broken a valve guide, but I think its all my own fault. Don't let that put you off.

Andy


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## Pikey (Feb 19, 2004)

I drive normally when I'm just using it to get somewhere (shop, mate's house etc), but on a nice weekend head for the country and have a good blast.

It would be rude not too, really :smokin: 

GODDAMN I WANT MY CAR BACK


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## dangerous dave (Dec 16, 2003)

weekdays I try to behave ........  
weekends I try to missbehave , as often as possible.


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## KOOLBLUE (Feb 4, 2004)

I did thrash it all the time, until i burnt the clutch out.  
The cars now at GBH and has been for 4 weeks, getting loads of little extras as well as a new clutch.  
I will be a bit more restrained when I get it back.


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## blueskygtr (Mar 24, 2004)

Ha ha ha ha 
I cant lie cos the threads i have posted would show me up    
Drive her hard and give it stick the repair bill will only be one page thick!!!!!!



One page every 2 months pmsl
JAY


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## KOOLBLUE (Feb 4, 2004)

blueskygtr said:


> Ha ha ha ha
> I cant lie cos the threads i have posted would show me up
> Drive her hard and give it stick the repair bill will only be one page thick!!!!!!
> 
> ...


Yep heard you,ve blown 2 set of tubbies. lol  
You must drive it hard...are you gonna make JAE...


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## SteveN (Aug 6, 2002)

Blowing 2 sets of turbos in a short space of time (esp at relativley low boost)isnt a sign of hard driving, more of a sign of badly made turbos, poor turbo oil feeds, or poor maintainance...


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## blueskygtr (Mar 24, 2004)

SteveN said:


> Blowing 2 sets of turbos in a short space of time (esp at relativley low boost)isnt a sign of hard driving, more of a sign of badly made turbos, poor turbo oil feeds, or poor maintainance...


TBH its not my driving thats cooked 2 sets  

The car had various problems from word go and its only now i have found someone local who knows what they are doing!!

Mainly due to bad oil pressure but also set for too much boost for a std set of tubs and had no boost conroller 
I am now in legal position over the original work so can not say any more  
All i can say is Yes i will be ready for JAE and i have paid the 2k bill already :smokin: 
Will get my girl back on the 2nd of july and cant wait   
To give you an idea of how particular the new guy is he called me today to moan about my girl getting gearbox oil on his floor     
oops that will be the sensor that the previous guys forgot to tighten then!!!
mmmmmmmmm perhaps should not have put that but wtf
JAY


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## Demon Dave (Sep 15, 2002)

LOL  Funny aint it, when buying a used car (particularly something like a Skyline) the owner will invariably say something along the lines of:

"never been thrashed" 

 

This thread, if anything proves the majority of Skyline owners do anything but drive sensibly! 

I don't use mine during the week, but come the weekend it comes out from under wraps and it's driven the way god intended it to be  

That is, till the wife says otherwise


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## JasonO (Jun 29, 2001)

The thing is, and this is the way I see it.......

Any lesser car would be getting seriously thrashed to perform in the manner which a Skyline does naturally. We're not really thrashing the cars, we'd need to be seriously infirm to do that on public highways, we're just using them as intended.

ANy lesser car would get bodged back together too, we just like to do it properlly


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## R32 Combat (Jan 29, 2004)

*Yeh?*

Maybe in standard trim skyline's would last ages being thrashed, but who has a standard skyline? I've never seen one thats totally standard. We tune em up to race em about. 

Usually to within an inch of our wallets. LOL


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## kenan (Apr 29, 2003)

I find I drive my everyday car harder as you have to, oh that and it's cheaper to fix/replace


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## mattb (Feb 12, 2002)

With a few exceptions anyone attempting to "thrash" a skyline will end up dead very quickly. If you drive it like you drove your type r then it will be fine. That's not an insult to your type r just an observation that flooring a 400bhp car is different to flooring a 200 bhp car.

If you mean thrashing as in driving driving at 8000 rpm in first gear to show off your exhaust note to the girlies, then no the car won't last as long as you had hoped.


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## Pikey (Feb 19, 2004)

No I don't think that's what anyone means by 'thrashing'.

I'd hope not anyway  

If that is what the question referrs to, then my answer is 'never' !


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## mattb (Feb 12, 2002)

It's scary, I knew a perfectly sensible guy. Everytime he got in his car, with baseball cap on, he'd tear off down the centre of town red lining the car in first and then sitting at 6000rpm in second all the way through town as he "looked cool".

A few months later he was wondering why the engine "wasn't quite right"


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

mattb said:


> With a few exceptions anyone attempting to "thrash" a skyline will end up dead very quickly. If you drive it like you drove your type r then it will be fine. That's not an insult to your type r just an observation that flooring a 400bhp car is different to flooring a 200 bhp car.


What I'm talking about is the way in which the car is driven. BHP tends to increase with revs (ignoring torque for the minute) upto peak power, which would suggest to get the most power out of the car you need to rev it to access the higher power available. What I mean by thrash is drive the car using the higher portions of the rev band and generally drive the car fast. When I get mine, I am currently thinking that I want to limit the revs to 6.5K ish to try a reduce wear to the engine (and my wallet)



mattb said:


> If you mean thrashing as in driving driving at 8000 rpm in first gear to show off your exhaust note to the girlies, then no the car won't last as long as you had hoped.


I didn't think people that owned skylines did this type of thing.  

However - Are you saying that if you do drive it hard in first then its likely to break and it would be a good idea to go easy in first gear?


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## mattb (Feb 12, 2002)

> However - Are you saying that if you do drive it hard in first then its likely to break and it would be a good idea to go easy in first gear?


No. Although if you choose to drive a car to it's peak limit then any engine will give up the ghost earlier than if you drive it sensibly. This engine isn't a honda vtec it has a turbo, this means that although the peak power is at 6200 rpm there is still alot of power available before this limit. 

I would suggest you drive your car and decide how you want to drive it afterwards. Coming from a vtec you'll be suprised how much power turns up at 4000 rpm.


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

mattb said:


> No. Although if you choose to drive a car to it's peak limit then any engine will give up the ghost earlier than if you drive it sensibly. This engine isn't a honda vtec it has a turbo, this means that although the peak power is at 6200 rpm there is still alot of power available before this limit.
> 
> I would suggest you drive your car and decide how you want to drive it afterwards. Coming from a vtec you'll be suprised how much power turns up at 4000 rpm.



I know how cars work - I know the differences between a Honda vtec and a skyline. I wont be surprised either that there is a lot of power lower down the rev band - hence the earlier comments of not revving over 6K rpm. 

The point of the poll was to find out how people drive their car. Ie with kid gloves or as they would an everyday normal car. 

Thanks for the advice though.


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## ctsjoe (May 27, 2004)

cant reach red line in 5th,  not found the right place yet....
1st,2nd,3rd,&4th work well...........


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## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

Looking at the results suggests that our Skylines do get driven in the manner they were designed to do. Thanks for the responses of all those that decided to vote.

cheers

Martin


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## Alexb (Jul 1, 2003)

Voted not that often, cos I don't drive it that much!  to and from work is only 2 miles, it isn't even warmed up by then!


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

my Punto gets driven pretty hard on "hacks" but poodle most of the time, around town.

just wondering if i'd ever get into 3rd gear in a GTR


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## kenan (Apr 29, 2003)

Mookistar said:


> my Punto gets driven pretty hard on "hacks" but poodle most of the time, around town.
> 
> just wondering if i'd ever get into 3rd gear in a GTR


You'll use 5th after you get used to living in the petrol stations


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

kenan said:


> You'll use 5th after you get used to living in the petrol stations


i live in a world of 35mpg, 8 valves and only one turbo....



I'm screwed


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

wow, resurrection.

i now live a world of 15 mpg, 24 valves and 2 turbo's

I'm still screwed!!


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## moosedoog (Jul 13, 2006)

yep, a resurrection it is to be sure!!!

but 15 mpg is cack. i take it thats giving it a reasonable amount of beans fairly often???

i probably manage 250-280 miles to a tank drving gently, but that dont happen too often:chuckle: :chuckle:


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## Newera (Mar 22, 2005)

As long as you started with a good car, service it properly and always make sure anything that goes wrong is quickly and properly repaired, warm the engine properly and watch temperatures (std. gauges aren't reliable), you should be fine.

I drove my 380 bhp R33 GT-R hard for 4 years up to around 70,000 miles. It never missed a beat... except one blown off intercooler pipe. Didn't have the heart to export it to the UK, so sold it at auction locally in Japan. 

I now live in the world of 1.6 litre N/A Corolla and 1.3 turbo rotary.. But the Corolla only does around 15 miles to the gallon and the RX-7 can guzzle through a 70 litre tank in around 150km (90 miles). For economy I use a 1 litre Honda that does 28 mpg, but it's the quickest of the 3 :chuckle: :chuckle: 

Miguel


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## bkvj (Feb 13, 2006)

when the engine is warm and i have no traffic ahead:smokin: 

200sx and a yamaha banshee that is though:chuckle:


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## Steve (Sep 21, 2001)

ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, ANYWHERE !!! Mr Martini really !


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## Lith (Oct 5, 2006)

Haha I hardly ever "thrash" it - the car gets driven daily, but as much as anything the thing is too quick and too noisey at full throttle in such a small area to do anything which draws much in the way of attention. I gave it a bit of a boot near town a couple of weeks ago and heard back about it from 2 or 3 different people 

Its neat though, dawdling around with it most of the time then if you venture past 4000rpm or 50% throttle - getting pinned into your seat and having to grab gears in the car which has been acting as a placid commuter is great!


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## Adam Kindness (Jun 22, 2002)

about 95% of its miles are hard 

It is a road legal trackcar though


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