Soarer Central: Mitsubishi 3000GT. Opinions??

Soarer Central Off-Topic Mitsubishi 3000GT. Opinions??

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Ryan Rankovic
Goo Roo
Victoria
Soarer TT GT-TL

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 06:35 pm, by: Ryan Rankovic (Ryan1j)

Hey guys,

What are people opinions on these cars? In particular, the later 98+ VR4 models.
I'm always looking around for a weekend car, (a lot of dreaming too) and think I may be considering leaving the Toyota family!

What is reliability like? Anyone know of any common issues with these? Looking at the engine bay, they look like a nightmare to work on, similar to a 300zx? Worse?

So Soarer Central, let me know what you know!

Chris Lock
Goo Roo
sa
V8 Limited

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 07:18 pm, by: Chris Lock (Sledge)

They look nice..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJQxmoXMWIA
I think the soarer is easier to work on...

Ali Saeed
Goo Roo
WA
-

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 08:01 pm, by: Ali Saeed (Ali)

4wd :/ 4ws..i see a lot of problems coming your way

Dan McColl
Goo Roo
Victoria (The Nazi State)
Pretty Red Thing and The Black Rattler

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 08:34 pm, by: Dan McColl (Hoon)

Hard to work on, Difficult to modify. Pretty reliable if looked after and serviced regularly.

To me they look dated now, and whilst in theory they are like a twin turbo 4WD GTR, in reality they are nothing like it. They are heavy and slow.

If you want a weekend car then consider something light, nimble and fun rather than bigger and heavier than a soarer.

Ryan Rankovic
Goo Roo
Victoria
Soarer TT GT-TL

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 08:34 pm, by: Ryan Rankovic (Ryan1j)

Soarer would be easier no doubt. Intentions would be to keep it stock and get it serviced at mitsubishi though, I wouldn't want to touch it, lol

a lot of problems because of 4wd and 4ws? GTRs have 4wd, early model preludes have 4ws. if a car hasn't been looked after, you expect problems, but if its been looked after, you can't really assume it will give you trouble.... unless you have had such experiences.

Ryan Rankovic
Goo Roo
Victoria
Soarer TT GT-TL

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 08:46 pm, by: Ryan Rankovic (Ryan1j)

Dan McColl wrote on Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 08:34 pm:
Hard to work on, Difficult to modify. Pretty reliable if looked after and serviced regularly.

To me they look dated now, and whilst in theory they are like a twin turbo 4WD GTR, in reality they are nothing like it. They are heavy and slow.

If you want a weekend car then consider something light, nimble and fun rather than bigger and heavier than a soarer.

I have been looking around for performance parts and can't find much, the fact that its a V6 makes it tricky I guess to put a big single on it.

Are you speaking form experience Dan in terms of performance??

And when I mean weekend, just a cruising car is what I'm after. I can't afford a Supra which is what id really love, rz-s fully optioned, but I'm loving the shape of the later vr4's

the lack of performance parts for it is whats really turning me off though.

even though difficult, what would you say about potential, Dan??

Michael Fuhrmann
TryHard
nowra
Soarer TT

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 08:57 pm, by: Michael Fuhrmann (Tha_new_dude)

couldnt be any worse than a soarer

Daniel Clarke
Goo Roo
NSW
TT 2.5L 6 cylinder

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 09:31 pm, by: Daniel Clarke (Dieseltrain)

No potential without big money . Gearboxes are weak as are axles once upping the ante .

They are heavy and no where near as sporty or agile as a gtr .

I recon a nice 33 v spec would be great weekender for the money . Don't try and turn something into a weapon , buy something that already is

My mate ended with a nice gtr instead . Looked at Mitsubishi , lancer, 3000 gt , supra . He wanted a weekend warrior that could handle track days .

Brembos , 4wd 4ws , twin turbo , factory front & rear strut bracing , simple bolt ons for high 11 sec 1/4 fun . And it has handled everything he punishes it with . Plus parts are everywhere and easy to work on

My 2 c .

Dan McColl
Goo Roo
Victoria (The Nazi State)
Pretty Red Thing and The Black Rattler

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 11:23 pm, by: Dan McColl (Hoon)

Ryan Rankovic wrote on Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 08:34 pm:
Intentions would be to keep it stock and get it serviced

Ryan Rankovic wrote on Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 08:46 pm:
the lack of performance parts for it is whats really turning me off though.

What do you want???

There is a little potential there, though nothing like JZ or RB, but like Dan said they're weak and expensive.

If you want an unmodified cruiser then it would be ok, as long as it's been very well and regularly looked after.

I'd suggest lots of other things for cruising, though. Old yank tank is awesome for cruising. super comfy, super easy to fix and get parts for. super reliable if looked after.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=571260 would be an awesome cruiser and getting fairly affordable these days.

If you want something to modify, I'd keep away from the Mitsu GTO, though, unless you're a fanboi with deep pockets.

I've never owned one, but drove a couple of friends cars years ago and was pretty un-inspired. Drive one yourself and see if you like it.

Also, I thought a really well looked after late GTO was pretty on par price wise with an equivalent Supra. Could be wrong, though, haven't really been paying attention to such things these days.

Michael Sinay
TryHard
NSW
TT

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 11:29 pm, by: Michael Sinay (Mikey)

Hey mate if you're after a supra why not consider a NA one, they are cheap as, and then when u get a bit more cash just put a 1j in it...

Ali Saeed
Goo Roo
WA
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Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 01:23 am, by: Ali Saeed (Ali)

TT Supras are now well below the 20k mark...so i mean why wouldnt you go Supra over this?

Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

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Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 11:26 am, by: Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt)

I've not had any experience with GTO's other than a workmate who owned a N/A model (it was very slow even compared to my JZZ31 - he looked after it fairly well and it didn't seem to give him any grief) but based on my experience with other vehicles, rule of thumb is old Mitsubishi's fall to pieces at the first sniff of neglect, so if you are buying one that is more than 5 years old/50K+, make sure it comes with a full service history.

Michael Sinay
TryHard
NSW
TT

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Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 12:50 pm, by: Michael Sinay (Mikey)

http://www.supraforums.com.au/forum/parts-sale/77201-car-parts-sale.html

Ryan Rankovic
Goo Roo
Victoria
Soarer TT GT-TL

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Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 07:20 pm, by: Ryan Rankovic (Ryan1j)

Daniel Clarke wrote on Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 09:31 pm:
No potential without big money . Gearboxes are weak as are axles once upping the ante .

The 6sp Getrags are weak?? Are they the same as the Supra boxes??

I'm not a fan of Nissans in general so a GTR is out of the question. I respect them, but just don't like them.

Dan McColl wrote on Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 11:23 pm:
What do you want???

haha, reading what I wrote doesn't make much sense. I think its a "just in case" type thing. I drove my soarer stock for ages then got bored and finding parts was relatively easy. I guess if I got a stock one and was happy to cruise around in that until I got the bug for some power, but parts seem to be scarce.

There are 2 98 3000GT's on carsales for just under $20k, for a clean, stock 97+ RZ-S Supra, are still $30k plus. From what I've seen anyway.

I'm getting really turned off the GTO now though, I love the looks, but in terms of standard performance I'm not too confident now. Maybe one day when I win the lotto I'll buy one for the sake of having one.

Ross Pesina
DieHard
Vic
Soarer V8, Soarer T, Soarer TT, Supra TT.

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Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 09:42 pm, by: Ross Pesina (Ross79)

Ryan, I was seriously considering getting one myself, but ended up going an RZ supra instead; mostly due to the fact they're easier to work on and reliable. Also availability of parts helps.

Gearboxes aren't as weak as people think. Have a read of this under the 'Tranmission Reliability' section:
http://www.3000gtvr4.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148:3000gt-history&catid=29:ti ps&Itemid=63

As you know downside is tune-ability and they look like a prick to work on. If you don't plan to work on it yourself, I'd stay well clear of them as I can see mechanics charging a large sum to do any work.

Despite the negatives I still hope to own one eventually.

Ross Pesina
DieHard
Vic
Soarer V8, Soarer T, Soarer TT, Supra TT.

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Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 09:57 pm, by: Ross Pesina (Ross79)

Looks like you can get them pretty cheap these days:
http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/mitsubishi-gto-1999-12443152?base=1216&vertical=Car&cr=9& eapi=2&__N=1246%201247%201252%201282%204294964597%204294961264%201216&silo=Stock&Range=Price:Min,150 00~0.5&sort=default

Aka Abedin
Goo Roo
NSW
Manual TT

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Wednesday, July 11, 2012 - 10:28 am, by: Aka Abedin (Soarer_91tt)

Supras are cheap these days but a good one is hard to find.

Took me almost 5 months before i found my supra for a semi-decent price. Ended up paying more then the market price but it had full jap service history including the auction report.

They are easy to work and good power can be had for little outlay. For example i only added a 3inch exhaust and now hitting boost cut. Had her on the dyno and on 4000rpm she pull 211rwkw before hitting boost cut. Once removed should see 230+rwkw.

Your could also look at rx7 S5. Cheaper to work on then 3000gt/GTO.

Joshua Rao
Goo Roo
WA
TT (for sale $5.2k), 97 Blk UZZ31, 97 JZZ30 vvti turbo white manual, 96 vvti turbo manual, Legnum VR4, MR2 sw20, Alfa 156

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Wednesday, July 11, 2012 - 03:31 pm, by: Joshua Rao (Soaren1)

Get an Evo and have a car that will eat up any car (with a few mods) bar some super ads. I did and have no regrets.