1997 Nissan Skyline GTS 25-t 2.5L 6 cylinder turbo from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Great performer, looks fantastic

Faults:

Nothing wrong.

General Comments:

Quick car, very nice to drive, turbo had a nice sound.

Handling is great, tightened up a lot by installing a front strut brace (rear was present from the factory).

Reliable engine, going strong even after 150,000Kms.

One downside, it guzzles fuel if you drive spirited (like you should).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 17th March, 2011

1997 Nissan Skyline GTS 2.0 SOHC 6 cylinder from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Reliable, gas guzzler

Faults:

Driver seat back support adjuster is broken on one side. Hard to explain, but uncomfortable.

Not enough under body sealant. Prone to rust under boot.

Rust starting to come through under bonnet near the guard.

Terrible fuel economy. I get 430 kilometres to 50 litres petrol.

General Comments:

A very reliable motor, very nice 6 cylinder sound, although it is under powered at 93 kilowatts.

The boot is huge, but a very narrow entrance so nothing big fits in it. Rear seats do not fold down either.

The electrics work perfectly.

Has the same insurance premium as my old 1.8 turbo Mitsubishi even though it is half the power, go figure.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th March, 2007

1997 Nissan Skyline GTS 25T Type M 2.5 Inline 6, single turbo from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

WOW

Faults:

Clutch thrust bearing is noisy. (does not hinder performance of clutch)

General Comments:

Rear wheel drive turbo manual with a LSD. What more could you want?

Before I bought this car I knew what skylines could do, but having owned the car for roughly two and a half months all my expectations have been blown away. The engine runs like a swiss watch and delivers scare your girlfriend level of performance even in standard trim. It does not have the GTR's 390 NM of torque, but seeing as how the car only weighs in at 1380 KG, it can truly deliver.

When I picked the car up it was standard apart from running on 235 40 R17 tyres and wheels. The wheels definately make the car feel anchored to the road, and aided by the excellent suspention geometry and the HICAS four wheel steer the car can truly upset some famous physicysts and defy the laws of gravity, until you push it too hard and start drifting that is. Cornering is excellent, but I still have not pushed the car to it's limits, I'll leave that experiment for the racetrack. I can only imagine what the car would handle like with aftermarket shocks (tuning firms like HKS have aftermarket gear developed specifically for these cars, and pretty much all other skylines). The factory ride can be rough, espcially on New Zealand's shocking roads.

The standard brakes are good, my friends can't believe how quickly the car can grind to a hault, in saying this a upgrade to stronger pads is a good idea, nothing wrong with making a good thing better!

The heart of the beast as stated before is excellent. The engine can push 300 KW at the wheels before internals need to be upgraded, the turbo on the other hand is ceramic and if it's exposed to pressures above 12-15 PSI then the compresor wheel can shatter and you will need a full engine rebuild. My car has only a K&N air filter at the moment so it's basically stock, but this mod alone adds a good 10-15 HP and a noticeable improvement in responsiveness from the engine. The turbo happily winds from 2500 RPM up to 5000 RPM, and from 5000 RPM to the 7000 RPM red-line the car goes ballistic because the turbo's second boost setting kicks in. Only problem is when you drive like this the gas needle goes down at about the same rate as the engine rev's up. Amazingly there is almost no turbo lag at all thanks to the engines high compression ratio and it's 2.5 litre displacement. All this equates to a 0-100 time of approximately 5.5-6 seconds (with a passenger in the car) running on 98 octane gas. 180 KPH comes up in 4th gear at about 4500 RPM (wasn't paying too much attention to the speedo at that speed) and the car cuts out at 190 KPH. (this can be removed by chipping the ECU).

These cars are rapid and despite it's age (eight years) the car does not have a spot of rust on it and the paint is in top order.

Best of all it cost me $18,000 NZD (about 6000 pounds), so I sure do get that warm fuzzy feeling when unsuspecting people in their exotic euro's or Ford/Holden muscle cars end up studying the back end of my car.

You don't need a GTR or GT-T to have a fast skyline and the money you save on buying a older model frees up cash for power mods (company's in NZ can build you a 300-350 KW @ the wheels, RELIABLE motor for about $7000-$8000 NZD, that includes stuff like the fuel system and ignition, etc.). That is my course of action as I'd rather not force more boost into a 94000 KM engine, a full rebuild that delivers reliable power is the way to go.

So I unless you blatenly missed the whole point of my review I thouroughly recommend the 97 GTS25 T Type M, or any R33 for that matter. They have the sexiest shape (GT-T's look to boxy and plastic, but that's just my opinion).

So if you see a nice example, and in paricular if it is unmodified (modified cars have most likely been thrashed) don't buy it tomorrow, buy it today :-)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th July, 2005

21st Jan 2006, 11:19

Having owned a GTR and driven all the other models, I must disagree that the RWD are anywhere driver friendly as a 4WD. Do you know what seperates the Supra Twin Turbo from the GTR? 4WD and the ability to put down the power. I found the RWD Turbo Skylines to be extremely tail happy under hard acceleration especially around corners. If you bump up the power you get wheelspin; something the GTR does not give until you push it past 800 HP. (Yes, 4 wheel wheelspin all the way down the 1/4 mile).

25th Apr 2007, 15:06

I agree that it is a brilliant car and I love all skylines, but the GTR is the one for me it's just the looks and the presence of it. also what Nissan say about it, the ultimate driving pleasure.

31st May 2008, 10:59

The GTS is a drivers car (rear wheel control is kind of an art). The GTR drives itself almost, and you lose a lot of power through the 4 wheel drive system. I'm not disputing that the GTR, is an animal because it is, it's just I prefer the GTS. And if it had the 2.6 twin turbo GTR engine I don't think there would be any contest! That said, the GTR is a close second. Many would disagree obviously, but that is my opinion and I have the utmost respect for the GTR, as it is an awesome machine.