Review | Nissan Skyline GTR R32 | Learning from the Past

[Music] [Music] [Music] oh dear so many people have asked for classic or older vehicles and you can't get any more old and classic than the 89 Nissan Skyline GTR this is a real treat to get inside because it is so rare let's take a look at the interior the exterior in the shop and a quick driving evaluation [Music] the interior space of the skyline is as 80s and 90s as you can possibly imagine it is so simple it's about really one thing driving and I love this compared to so many of the brand-new cars I get into where I have to spend three days trying to figure out the infotainment the bugs in it how it works the electronic gauge cluster to get it to show what I want and what I don't want the ten different drive modes that effect the steering the throttle response the suspension damping that's not what this is about it's about pushing in the clutch starting the car which you don't even have to push in the clutch to start the car there's no safety switch like we need for us dumb Americans it's just shifting driving and steering and enjoying this experience now the interior space of this GTR is about as stock as you can get with the exception of this pioneer you head unit and this Momo steering wheel but the horn still works other than that really you have three gauges on the center stack which you know you're never gonna look at your voltage gauge your oil temperature gauge or boost gauge and then in the center gauge cluster it's your classic tachometer speedometer and you do have one gimmick a torque gauge which you know is absolutely silly but everything else in here aside from it being right-hand drive is completely intuitive and I think you know if you're just getting in here for the first time you're gonna be like wow you know what are people so excited about with this as you would expect for a 30-year old vehicle there is some wear and tear and I'll be straight this thing is an amazing shape but you can tell the things that haven't held up well over time in the interior like the traditional - bubble on the passenger side where the adhesives have come undone the driver's seat looks like a used pair of underwear the door cards aren't perfectly in place there's UV rot on the plastics the vents are broken in the center and feels so brittle I don't even want to touch them but for the most part you can tell honestly this thing is held up very very well for its low 60,000 miles or 104 thousand kilometers alright let's head into the shop and talk about the Nissan GTR in all the technical aspects of it and then we'll take it for a drive welcome to the shop segment at Fay's garage and Ames Iowa you made it all the way out here yes I used the teleportation device that Jeff Goldblum use or Seth Brundle and the fly and luckily I don't have any superpowers yet we'll see you brought the flies with you though on this 95 degree day with 95 percent humidity yeah this is the worst date of film I saw about 600 bugs but let's not talk about that let's talk about the r32 skyline gt-r that is on the bend back lift jack now this is a 1989 r32 gt-r that came directly from Japan we faced garage imported it to Ames Iowa and there is an owner of this correct yeah who's currently trying to sell this particular car okay so if you're interested and you want to buy this contact face garage the mechanic here will give this away for a lofty sum I'm sure but let's get into the mechanical stuff because that's what people want to know you don't typically see something like this every day and given its age and its propensity to rust go figure this is an unbelievably clean example of a car that is what 25 2000 over 25 years over 25 years old this car is almost 30 years almost 30 years only it's crazy especially for an is son no it's not a dance and remember it's a Nissan in the front even though this is that old we have double wishbone suspension now you do have some cast steel parts the lower control arm but your upper is all stamped the knuckle design to the upright to the upper a-arm there's only if there's typically the a arm is supported on both sides this is only as a singular but it is an incredibly beefy design it is and the ball joint design is crazy and you don't typically see this at all anymore and of course it's it's dated but it works for what it is now if we get if we go back a little bit further of course there's no paneling this is predates any type of aerodynamic covers or airflow this is just a mess under here especially when you look at all the hydraulic lines that are that are running front to back in modern car Moses be primarily electronically controlled in this case it's almost all hydraulic alright jack in the center of the cart you're going to see this a five-speed manually operated transmission fancy stuff it is you have to use your arm I mean your left arm because this is a right hand drive you get used to it pretty quick now the transmission is extremely direct but you know the gearing on it it's really short it is incredibly so when you're in fifth gear you're like at 80 miles an hour you're already out like 4,500 there's not a lot of overhead there and it's just part of the driving experience you know so many cars that you add more and more gears people complained about the modern GTR not being this role and in this case I mean yeah this is more back to basics all right now that we're in the back you're going to see a very sloppy looking rear differential that is spewing looks like oil and Oreos all over it but we're gonna talk about hi kiss first and hi kiss all that is is a fancy term for rules steering yes and you have two hydraulic lines that run from the front there's a pump that's under the hood that's separate from the power steering system there's two lines that run all the way back to this module and this module is controlled by an ECU it's part of the it's integrated and so this cars got three ECU's well it's gum yeah it's got more than that technically but you have the drivetrain for the drivetrain but you have an ECU specifically for the all-wheel drive system which is located in the trunk which we're gonna get to in a second so this is all hydraulically actuated and it will give you somewhere above about five degrees of tow so when you're turning the front wheels and the car has to be running it because it's hydraulically driven has to be running and it will give you some assists and it's it's way different than a modern steering system very much different the modern systems if you look at it it's just a electronic unit usually by Aysen and it just has a wiring harness to it and it gives you a little bit of a lecture even the feedback the way this car turns in is way different it's a very mechanical feeling and there's so much you it's very mechanical because when you turn you have hydraulic power steering and then this back end kind of responds it whenever it feels like it wants to and partly it could be and I think that's why so many people that get the GTR remove this because you know after a while all the bushings where the you know the toe links wear and it can't return back to the correct all right you can't do it based on its old specification so a lot of people remove this and the lines because it adds weight the second thing to talk about is the attesa all that will drive okay and that is a another hydraulic system there's an accumulator up here that is constantly charged and a reservoirs and a reservoir that is constantly charged with hydraulic fluid and all that does is it charges the clutch pack that is in the front half of the car and it's the differential and that will slip and unzip the front axle to lock and unlock because this is a rear-wheel drive platform by design so this is kind of the tacked on all wheel drive the rear wheel drive model is called the gtst correct and I honestly after with the age of this unless you were just gonna keep this as a show car I would want I wouldn't want any of this stuff on here it is just to make sure it's working right all of that crap because of its age I don't know it just gives me the heebie-jeebies jack we made it under the hood of this myths on what do we have well this particular cars from 1989 and with that comes a RB 26 Nissan's legendary motor it's an inline six with twin turbos ceramic turbos so you know what that means that means as we know given 30 years of experience if you plan on modifying this more than what this has you have to be careful because the ceramic turbines get brittle and they can break so if you're planning on modifying it you need to replace the turbos but other than that when you look at this under the hood despite how amazingly clean it is this engine looks like it could it could power a freight train it is huge and the bottom half is cast-iron but the top half the heads are aluminum the motors amazingly stout and even from the factory this they made 276 horsepower largely due to japan's gentleman agreement among manufacturers to limit horsepower the subs yeah it's incredible if you take a look at the horsepower numbers for the leader you know two point six litre pushing out over 300 horsepower at that I was just insane and the fact you know as you looked at underneath you could see all the mechanical details that they did with the four-wheel steering all-wheel drive and then you have individual throttle bodies on a turbo motor which you know they're you know they're kind of paired in twos here but it also has a mechanical linkage for your throttle pedal no electronic throttle actuators to go bad like some car I know that's very disappointing it is I want to replace each one for a thousand dollars every time but you don't have to deal with it here you just have to keep the maintenance up and this is a really I keep saying it it's a very interesting car yeah it's both incredibly complex for the era but by modern standards is pretty simple everything's hydraulic and with that I mean this car is a testament Nissan's engineering in the late 80s this whole thing is basically a giant engineering exercise yeah it is it's pretty cool let's take this thing for a drive and see how it does on the street yes behind the wheel of the r32 Nissan Skyline GTR and this is kind of a dream car for a lot of people they either grew up fantasizing about it mostly because they couldn't have it and now you can and a lot of people do now importing a car you know may not be for everyone and you know when you look at the underside of this when you look at the exterior and you know that it's gonna be hard to come by parts and all the things that you have to deal with with having an older car you know might deter some people but I think the reality is you're gonna buy this you know what you're getting into and you want to know what it would be like driving this namely compared to some of the modern cars so let's get into that first let's talk acceleration I'm gonna come to a stop here this is all-wheel-drive and given the age there's absolutely no way that I'm going to nail it but let's do a rolling street start [Music] so there's two things and I'm gonna talk about this [Music] so the first thing is this compared to modern sports cars this is not going to blow you away there's a level of smoothness and refinement to it because it is an inline six twin-turbo and it does make its boost higher up in the rpm range so there is turbo lag at the bottom but there's no tuning weirdness there's instantaneous throttle response and that's not something you typically get with modern turbo cars so that's a treat so I'd say we've become spoiled but there is more to it than just the engine [Music] of course there's the gearbox and this is a 5-speed manual and you know it's not one that you want to tear up or you know bang gears really hard because it's not as durable some of the modern transmissions if you're smooth and you're precise with it you're not gonna get any grinds they're not gonna get any hesitation and it has a amazing mechanical feel you feel directly connected to the gearbox at all times he'll the tow is easy despite a pain right you know white side Drive I mean there's nothing weird about it once you get used to the fact the wheels over here and you know you have to shift with your left hand you adjust so quickly that it becomes super intuitive and that speaks to how well this car how well of a good of a driver's car it is that you can get in here and feel comfortable right away the other thing about it is its ride control and body control is unbelievably good for how old it is it you know in you get in cars like this and you really miss the older hydraulic steering and some of the older nineties cars and while this is an 80s car technically but it's so good compared to so many modern vehicles it's almost criminal [Music] now handling you know it's it depends on who you are how you want to drive the steering is not as quick it's the modern cars because a lot of modern cars are synthetically have their steering setup to have variable gear ratio so it can be faster the electronic power steering can give you that immediate sense of gratification but you don't feel anything and that's where this differs the steering is pretty quick overall but it's it's not lightning fast you do feel that slower heavier weight of being an older vehicle and then you add in the rear wheel steering effect and it has this real strange slow mechanical delay from when the front end is turning and that rear is starting to turn a little bit and it's something that you have to get used to but I got it I got to say this I would rather have this I would rather have a little bit of weirdness and this sense that something's going on with the car then nothing's going on with it and that's how so many of these modern cars are when you turn it feels like a video game and this feels like you're having you're driving the car and I think that's the big draw of these 90's vehicles and namely the skyline I think the biggest thing is people think about these is kind of like sideways machines they're all over the place but this is you know I wish more cars were like this I mean think that's why people are so in love with these their 90's vehicles because you really do feel everything that's going on and it's just so rare to have this type of experience anymore and I could see why you'd want to spend 20-some thousand dollars to import something like this [Music] I think the biggest takeaway of the skyline gt-r is again we talk about this a lot on this channel is the simplicity of the late 80s 90s and early 2000s vehicles that have disappeared in favor of everything else but driving everything has become a distraction and when you get in a car like this you understand right away why so many people love driving and so many people have also lost connection with that whole experience and this kind of brings it all back to you final thoughts on the skyline gt-r now with a 35 year old design you have to adjust your expectation levels which I have so here's the pros and the cons I understand why there's this cultish following with these 80s and 90s Japanese sports cars with the skyline the biggest Pro is this when you get in the driver's seat you feel this level of mechanical connection that you don't get with modern cars you feel the vibration you feel the connection every time you shift gears you feel what the wheels are doing through the steering wheel you feel vibration in your seat from the exhaust and from the engine that has been stripped out of all the modern cars and this is something that you really can't explain to somebody until they get in this car the biggest thing is visibility you can see around you you don't need you know 20 different sensors to tell you if there's something around you because all you have to do is look there's so much glass and this is part of that connected feel that the driving feel that you just have to experience to talk about now the negatives are this this is an import car they weren't available in the US if you're in the US which means you could be waiting months to get parts if you can find parts at all you might even have to go to different models to scavenge or find the thing you need if something breaks which means it's for really two people fanatics that love this car or people that just want to buy it stuff it at a garage as a collector's item or drive it randomly you just have to be careful with this it's not like buying a you know a 20 year old American car that there's a million parts for the biggest negative for me is it is dated it doesn't handle the bus it's not the fastest the transmission isn't the greatest it doesn't look particularly amazing and you know for me if you're gonna ask me what I buy something like this I'd say hell no I take a 370z used throw in a few modifications and it would just annihilate the skyline but that's not what it's about this is a heritage vehicle and if you get that and you love it well this might be the car that you would own [Music]

Channel: savagegeese

Views: 174,629

Rating: 4.8946347 out of 5

Keywords: nissan, gtr, r32, skyline, gt-r, toyota, supra, NSX, mitsubishi, honda, s2000, 240, import, help, problems, best, worst, 90s cars, buying, tips, review, new, used, mazda, rx7, 4k, RB26, cheap

Id: hP1fOxYrv1I

Length: 19min 48sec (1188 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 06 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Ovechtricky]

Gotta say SG has become my new favorite car reviewer. No BS, just straight talk about a car from an enthusiast who knows his shit.

[u/MDA123]

I'm really surprised it weighed in over 3,200 lbs. I know the AWD and rear wheel steering systems add a lot of weight, but I guess I assumed that it was small enough and old enough that it'd be more like 3,000.

Loved this review /u/savagegeese. Keep 'em coming.

[u/infinite_ideation]

I agree with the general impressions of the car. I get a lot of questions about mine and try to be as modest as possible as to not upset people and their expectations, or defeat their dream of owning a skyline. They're wonderful and pleasant cars to own, but definitely not the best sports car suited for daily driving. I think I even have harsher opinions than SG about the cars as they have severely antiquated HICAS/ATTESSA systems, the performance (imo) is very sub-par, but for me it kind of really all boils down to the complete mechanical feeling. I never really wanted a car that would punch me in the face as much as I wanted it to impress me with how it feels and handles. There is growing support in the US for them, and a few online parts catalogs in the US/CAN that are great resources, but these definitely aren't the cars for anyone who wants cheap and fast, or reliable and fast, or cheap and reliable.

[u/Hurr1canE_]

SavageGeese and the R32 GT-R... the combo we never knew we needed, but have secretly always wanted

[u/Wailer_]

It's heavier than I expected. I just assumed old car = light car. And speaking of age, it's crazy to me that this was designed and built in the 80s. Even though I prefer what Honda and Mazda were making in the late 80s and throughout the 90s, I will always have huge respect for the Skyline.

And SG is really starting to grow on me as a presenter. Very enjoyable review!

[u/Gasifiedgap]

Not sure I believe those milage amounts. In Australia most Skylines come in with the same kms as they're wound back.

[u/[deleted]]

After growing up in the 90's I'm afraid of buying a new car because a pile of gadgets and a car somewhere underneath just isn't what I'm looking for.

[u/SavageVariant]

I really enjoyed this, especially from the perspective of someone who has spent way too much time looking up the skirts of 90s Nissan's.

I think one thing missing in the conclusion though, is the third category of buyer. The mod-crazy idiot who will overbuild the drivetrain, get power out of the motor, and go hunting new performance cars from light to light.

[u/acrspeed]

I like Jack Singapore.