Thoughts On Nissan Pulsars Please

[axnutty 10]

General thoughts feelings and opnions on Nissan Pulsars please.... ive never paid them any attention before and just wondering what the motoring fraternity on here thinks about them. (if anything)

[welshpug 1,657]

I know a little, watch for rust, clutches, and bottom ends.

 

Whining or clunking noises from the transmission.

 

Don't know much more though, guy I know sold it on not long after buying it, not that there was anything wrong with it, its just what he does

[Cameron 16]

VERY expensive to fix.

[tagy 1]

would love to have one, just scared it will break!

[gaz832 7 1 Cars]

my cousin has had a couple of these, great cars and are really quick, just get a standard or mildly tuned version, make sure the service history is up to date and check the bodywork for rust (rear arches and sills i think) .

[Anthony 1,003]

If he doesn't see this and reply, drop Kyepan on here a PM as he had a (or a couple of?) Pulsar GTi-R's in the past and knows a fair bit about them

[Ben_M 1]

They have weak gearboxs, much like Cossies!

 

As said above if you buy one go for mildy modded or standard. Anything else will suffer gearbox problems. Most people in the 4WD turbo world seem to spend 1000's on the engine and fook all on the gearbox and some people like to do standing starts which will in time kill the gearbox and or running gear.

[AJA_GTi 0]

SR20DET is a cracking engine. Jim Wolf Tech. are great for spares and are based in the US

 

I tuned an SR20 to 180bhp+ and found it quite robust. valve stem seals were the first to go. they have a chain too that are very strong.

 

as before - gear boxes are quite fragile on modded engines also look for rust. I broke my Nissan due to premature rust and it was a belting car

 

If drivetrain breaks it will cost you too

 

I'd be tempted to run one for a few months, sort it then sell it. I dont see them as long term cars personally

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

They don't like big wheels as this aides the gearbox failure from what I read ages ago.

 

If you are thinking of buying one then you would need to spend good money on a decent one. I bet there are hundreds of dogs out there as people think it is (was) cheap 4wd turbo power. You must be looking at £4k on a decent one now at a guess (I have not looked at the prices, but I bet there are loads of £1k ones)

[Masekwm 2]

I remember another thread on the Pulsar, someone said they had 11k of savings when they bought one and after they sold it they had none due to the repairs.

 

So I bought an Mi instead

[kyepan 291]

I went from owning a pulsar to an MI-powered pug via the best car in the world, standard k reg 1.6 sunny.

 

If you feel comfortable taking the engine out to do the clutch, and or dealing with sudden gearbox failure and again, taking the engine out to change it, then they are very quick for the money. If you don't the bills will crush you very quickly.

 

If they have had nos fitted it blows the ringlands, too much boost and they det to death (like any turbo), the standard top mount is derided, but actually a very efficient core. They handle like boats with big wheels, and like someone said that definitly contributes to gearbox and transmission failure. When lowered they suffer from the worst bumpsteer known to man, this can be rectified by a kit, and then they go where you point them.

 

The engines are fairly hardy, and are more trick than the standard sr20, they have independent throttle bodies, a slightly larger exhaust housing on the turbo and solid lifters, wind the boost up to 1.0 bar and tweak the fuelling and you've got a rapid car.

 

many are dogs, as previously said, some good cars still exist, and bhp for bhp they are quicker in a straight line than scoobies / evos of the same power.

 

I spent 5500 in 2004 and sold for 5000 in 2006, it was a fairly standard ish one with cat back exhaust and 1.0 bar. I took it fairly gentle and still went through

 

Knock sensor

AP clutch

Gearbox (the casing split)

Another clutch (the only time i dragged a ferrari, went pop an hour later)

 

After I sold it the turbo went pop on the next guy.

 

They are expensive to own, and run, more expensive to fix, think i mentioned that already.

 

They are in the right hands, weapons, they destroy most things and make capable a road blasters where overtaking 2 or three cars at a time is very much a possibility.

[Carbs4me 45]

My mate has one... it gets 2week on the road breaks and then 4week off the road... spend over 1000quid on it and repeat... problems are always the gear box clutches and tapets

[Carbs4me 45]

and if you have got a racing clutch, you get 3 launch starts before its pretty much disintigrate's itself!

[custard-rallye 25]

i was going to buy one from a guy at work with 415whp also has a os giken gear box but i couldnt justify insurance price still for sale for 3k

Edited February 13, 2011 by custard-rallye

[axnutty 10]

Thats a hell of a price Custard. Id be interested in seeing the for sale link.

 

Not sure about the looks though, its a Sunny with alloys, a huge spoiler and a massive vented bonnet, basically everything thats chav tastic which i hate, but then OE spec, which is what I like. So some what of a mixed bag by all accounts. But then incredible performance for such little outlay. It really is a car ive never so much as acknowledged, but when you think about it, was built to contend with the Escort Cosworth and Delta Integrale.

 

Read to about g'boxes being weak, but then it could be hype brought on about f***ing idiots launching them with 400BHP and wondering why they dont work anymore. Like the bollocks spoken about R5GTT's and headgaskets. (...nah bruv, them Renaults blow gaskets all the time, theyre s*it mate, my mates bruv uncle had one and it were always blowing gaskets like every week after hed turned boost up to twice the factory levels...)

[24seven 104]

I looked into buying one a couple of summers ago and selling the 205 Mi I had at the time. Joined a few forums and did a bit of research then found one locally for around £1500. Drove down to see it, took it for a test run and was thoroughly disappointed with it. It just felt heavy and sluggish and was definitely slower than my 205 - never mind arse-dynos being subjective, there was no comparison. The moment I got into my car to drive home I'd decided against it.

[mainline 2 1 Cars]

Subjectively I think they have aged quite badly. I remember really liking them when I was growing up, but my tastes have definitely changed since then. However, they do retain a certain type of in your face attention grabbing early 90s charm to a point, unfortunately a lot of them seem to have been 'enhanced' by people with a penchant for massive alloys, carbon bonnets, HKS stickers and tinted windows. For me, that's not a brush I would want to be tarred with. Plus, even if you buy a standard one, people with no idea about its heritage (lets face it, most people) will think you have chavved up a standard Sunny. I didn't think that it would bother me when I had an Integra Type R, but colleagues and others asking all the time why I had stuck that spoiler on a Civic, or if I got a drum and bass cd with it when I bought it did start to grate eventually.

 

Objectively they have become very cheap, they are very quick and that's a huge double edged sword. A car that is cheap to buy and expensive to run, but also cheap to modify to get more power from is a huge gamble. Not one that I would take as a two grand car could very easily cost you another two to put right, and then you are £4k down, with a car worth perhaps £1800. So what do you do then? Sell it after you've only owned it for a bit and the buyer will assume that it is a dog. Hold onto it and it might cost you another two grand. Worrying.

 

Speculating over the future value, I think they'll have a bit more to drop off yet. The image problem, lack of real pedigree and running costs will put people off.

 

I'd like to have a go in one, but wouldn't buy a GTIR unless I knew it was a bona fide non-messed with example with immaculate history and long spells of ownership by real enthusiasts. And then the price could well be up in Integrale type territory and I know what I would rather have given the choice

[custard-rallye 25]

Pm me if you want the guys number axnutty

[kyepan 291]

Objectively they have become very cheap, they are very quick and that's a huge double edged sword. A car that is cheap to buy and expensive to run, but also cheap to modify to get more power from is a huge gamble. Not one that I would take as a two grand car could very easily cost you another two to put right, and then you are £4k down, with a car worth perhaps £1800. So what do you do then? Sell it after you've only owned it for a bit and the buyer will assume that it is a dog. Hold onto it and it might cost you another two grand. Worrying.

that is pretty much spot on IMHO