Soarer Central: New UZZ31 Owner

Soarer Central Say G'day New UZZ31 Owner

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Jose-Antonio Castillo
Goo Roo
NSW
Both Soarers

Posts: 1675
Reg: 07-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Saturday, May 30, 2009 - 08:57 am, by: Jose-Antonio Castillo (Ahh_soarer)

Well after owning 2 turbo Soarers I made the jump and bought myself (well, actually for the missus) a 91 UZZ31. Typical FSG/spruce hardtop.

Apart from some LHS guard damage it's not in too bad condition. The EMV works flawlessly (and I mean flawlessly... no dead pixels, touchscreen works fine too) and the stacker plays burnt CD's without a hitch (most of the time). The interior is in pretty good shape minus the cracked door trims, ratty steering wheel and shifter. Not even a sign of blinkidash :-)

Mechanically she's pretty sound. New airbag struts have been fitted and the engine runs like a champ. There are a few things I wanna sort out with it though (hard start when cold (usually kicks over on the second try), the temp gauge varies between the 2nd bar from cold to middle), and I think the A/C needs a re-gas.

The only thing added to it is an old school Field height controller, and I threw on the 17's I had on the Cressida (17x8" and 17x9" Manaray Vertec mesh wheels on Bridgestone Potenza rubber).

The plans for this one are:

Get the dents fixed up (hopefully within the next few weeks
Full 97 conversion (from my 97 Soarer)
Maybe a set of 18" BBS RG-II's
New bushes and JZZ30 brakes
D2S Xenon retrofit (like on my 97 Soarer)

If I have enough funds I'm planning to give the car a full respray in the new Toyota White pearl (e.g. Kluger/RAV4 pearl white) with black/tan interior and revamp the sound system with new amps and speakers wired into the EMV.

Anyway here she is

Cheers

Jose

Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31

Posts: 10592
Reg: 11-2004

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Saturday, May 30, 2009 - 05:18 pm, by: Peter Nitschke (Pen)

Nice! Enjoying it?

Mike Beck
Goo Roo
New Zealand
540i E34 V8

Posts: 3535
Reg: 11-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 04:12 pm, by: Mike Beck (Gold_40gt)

Nice buy sir!

Funny, now days after having my Limited, I wouldnt buy one again, I really dont like them. All the little features actually get on my nerves when I think of them - Thank God mine didnt have an EMV!

I would take a basic UZZ30 or JZZ30/31 any day with what I know now. I love my BMW in the sense it has simplistic controls, nothing too fancy.

Joe Russell
TryHard
Marlborough
4.0 V8 GT-L(UZZ31)

Posts: 418
Reg: 10-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 05:00 pm, by: Joe Russell (Joe_r)

Nice Jose.
Haha Mike making yourself feel better huh?

Mike Beck
Goo Roo
New Zealand
540i E34 V8

Posts: 3537
Reg: 11-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 05:05 pm, by: Mike Beck (Gold_40gt)

No? I'm just saying it as I find these thing through my experiences

Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31

Posts: 10598
Reg: 11-2004

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 06:28 pm, by: Peter Nitschke (Pen)

Interesting view Mike. I love my 30 and my 31 for different reasons. The 97 31 had less available options that earlier models, but the smooth ride is awesome. The 30 is my hoon car, loud exhaust etc.

David Vaughan
Goo Roo
NSW
V8 Ltd manual

Posts: 4412
Reg: 07-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 07:03 pm, by: David Vaughan (Davidv)

I disagree completely, Mike.

Wess McManus
TryHard
nsw
v8

Posts: 138
Reg: 09-2007

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 07:04 pm, by: Wess McManus (Bar)

Nice car Jose.
New airbags! what a score!

I cant imagine not having my soarer loaded with all the fruit including my e.m.v.
There would no toys to keep me occupied while I sit in Sydney traffic.

Hey Pete,
Got any shots of your late 31?
I'd love to obtain one of the final uzz31's

Mike Beck
Goo Roo
New Zealand
540i E34 V8

Posts: 3540
Reg: 11-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 07:20 pm, by: Mike Beck (Gold_40gt)

I hear you Peter, I think a combination one for cruising (31) and one for hooning (30) would be best.

David Vaughan wrote on Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 07:03 pm:
I disagree completely, Mike.

I would have said the same thing once before, was fanatical about a full optioned limited!

Jose-Antonio Castillo
Goo Roo
NSW
Both Soarers

Posts: 1677
Reg: 07-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 09:03 pm, by: Jose-Antonio Castillo (Ahh_soarer)

Peter Nitschke wrote on Saturday, May 30, 2009 - 05:18 pm:
Nice! Enjoying it?

Very much so. Didn't realise there was so much difference driving the turbos and then the V8. Very very different beasts and both with their own merits. The turbo one is my hoon car, the V8 is my city/traffic car (nothing beats it in traffic).

And c'mon, pics of the 97! I was looking for one for ages before I bought my late model turbo.

Wess McManus wrote on Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 07:04 pm:
New airbags! what a score!

I cant imagine not having my soarer loaded with all the fruit including my e.m.v.
There would no toys to keep me occupied while I sit in Sydney traffic.

Yeah, picked up the car for a decent price with the bags. All the suspension needs is a new set of bushes.

It's nice to have everything working in it too hehe.

Nathan Smith
Tinkerer
Victoria
V8 Limited

Posts: 17
Reg: 04-2009

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 09:32 pm, by: Nathan Smith (Zanjara)

If you need the pearl white paint code let me know. I work for a toyota dealership so any paint code is easy to get

Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

Posts: 4348
Reg: 10-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Monday, June 01, 2009 - 09:36 am, by: Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt)

I can see where Mike's coming from though, its why I like my JZZ31 so much, I can pretty much fix anything that goes wrong with it myself, and for the most part its not too expensive. Less to go wrong as they say.

Sean Routledge
DieHard
Victoria
V8 Limited

Posts: 568
Reg: 07-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Monday, June 01, 2009 - 10:44 pm, by: Sean Routledge (Stircrazy)

I half agree with you as well Mike.

I find with all of these fancy little bits of technology, comes all of these fancy little problems, which all seem to have fancy price tags when you want them fixed!

Electric windows for example. Great to have, so easy to use, (like winding down a window was so hard to begin with), but as soon as the regulator breaks, that's it, can't wind down your friggin window anymore until you pay $200 for a new one.

Another example, EMV. Awesome little feature, looks great and fancy, start to think you're pretty cool having an LCD TV screen so nicely placed around all of your other fancy little features, then one hot 40 degree day...gone! Now you can't use your air con anymore either until you pay yet another rather large sum of money.

And the all mighty AIRBAG Suspension....
....don't even get me started on that!

God I love technology!!!!!

Anyways, nice buy Jose. Enjoy your UZZ31 mate.

Jose-Antonio Castillo
Goo Roo
NSW
Both Soarers

Posts: 1679
Reg: 07-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 10:26 am, by: Jose-Antonio Castillo (Ahh_soarer)

Should I regret buying this? :p

Nah, it's a great machine. With age I expect these little things to happen, they are nearly 20 years old for the earliest ones... I can't think of many other cars of this age that can last this long.

Mike Beck
Goo Roo
New Zealand
540i E34 V8

Posts: 3547
Reg: 11-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 12:36 pm, by: Mike Beck (Gold_40gt)

Not at all, a good buy!

I guess my particular UZZ31 just annoyed me.

Stephen Fitzpatrick
Tinkerer
Western Australia
Soarer V8 Limited

Posts: 11
Reg: 01-2009

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 04:24 pm, by: Stephen Fitzpatrick (Fitzy82)

I say if it came with new airbags, you got a great buy. I test drove 4 turbos before buying the my V8, it was exactly the ride and performance I was looking for. Don't worry, I also began to wonder what I had gotten myself into after reading some of the threads on here, but after owning the car for 6 months I can confidently say the shine has not worn off. Congrats on the buy Jose.

Sean Routledge
DieHard
Victoria
V8 Limited

Posts: 571
Reg: 07-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 10:19 pm, by: Sean Routledge (Stircrazy)

I've had mine for around 8 months, and still look forward to driving it to work every morning.

Some little things are annoying, but the rest of what the car has to offer makes them irrelevant.

In truth, both my EMV and Airbag suspension still work perfectly, i'm just preparing myself for the distant future.

The window regulator did sh1t me though.

Rob Rojo
Goo Roo
NSW
Soarer TT & UZZ31

Posts: 2276
Reg: 12-2007

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 09:35 pm, by: Rob Rojo (Rob_tt)

I have also just bought another two UZZ31's, one to keep for the Mrs and one as a bit of a project and can say that since we have owned it my TT has just been sitting in the driveway.
The ride quality is excellent and overall just a pleasure to drive.

Brenton Trafford
DieHard
SA
V8 Limited - UZZ31

Posts: 973
Reg: 08-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 09:01 am, by: Brenton Trafford (Traff)

I've had mine for about 5 years now and I still love driving it. In that time I've had no "major" issues. The EMV still works fine (though is developing wavey screen on cold mornings, but not a hard fix). I have had to put a new overflow bottle on the radiator, a new starter motor and I've had the air con condensor reconditioned, but that is it. For a car of it's age and mileage, that's not a lot.

Colin Woolford
Tinkerer
South Australia
JZZ30 GT T L

Posts: 16
Reg: 06-2009

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 11:31 am, by: Colin Woolford (Xcwx)

nice ride mate well done I hope thaqt you enjoy the car and make it exactley what you want it to be...

Im very new here as well and I have found this site to be more than helpfull.. so use it because all the things on here are from experienced people....

James Buchan
TryHard
Vic
UZZ31 V8

Posts: 102
Reg: 10-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, June 12, 2009 - 12:40 am, by: James Buchan (Jrbuch)

Jose-Antonio Castillo
Goo Roo
NSW
Both Soarers

Posts: 1684
Reg: 07-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 09:41 pm, by: Jose-Antonio Castillo (Ahh_soarer)

Colin Woolford wrote on Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 11:31 am:
nice ride mate well done I hope thaqt you enjoy the car and make it exactley what you want it to be...

Im very new here as well and I have found this site to be more than helpfull.. so use it because all the things on here are from experienced people....

LOL I'm not so new here mate, but welcome

It's the first V8 I've owned, my other Soarers were a 93 twin turbo (sold) and 97 VVTi single turbo (sits at home).

James Buchan wrote on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 12:40 am:
I want to do a few of the mods you've listed too. Bigger brakes, maybe a 97 front end conversion. Will also upgrade to vlamos bushes at some point and get rid of the horrible nolathane ones on it at the moment.

I'm planning to throw in some Vlamos bushes as well. The 97 kit will come off my other Soarer along with the brakes... all in due course, of course

James Buchan
TryHard
Vic
UZZ31 V8

Posts: 104
Reg: 10-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 02:16 am, by: James Buchan (Jrbuch)

Jose-Antonio Castillo wrote on Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 09:41 pm:

How do you find the UZZ31 compared to the 97 vvti single turbo?

Jose-Antonio Castillo
Goo Roo
NSW
Both Soarers

Posts: 1685
Reg: 07-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 09:05 pm, by: Jose-Antonio Castillo (Ahh_soarer)

James they're completely different beasts.

The V8 is something you want to be stuck in traffic with. A lot quieter than the turbo... nearly makes me fall asleep inside and surprisingly economical for a V8 (I've clocked just over 500km from full ~ 9 litres in city traffic). Smooth, quiet and enough stick for overtaking etc... a fantastic daily driver.

The VVTi is a lot more basic (feature wise) but is an absolute joy to drive. Noisier than the V8 but then again it has my one has an exhaust on it with less sound deadening. Can't wait to get the engine and suspension work going... the turbo one is my fun car.

Vinh Bui
Goo Roo
NSW
94 UZZ31 (V8) / 96 JZZ30 (TT) / 97 JZA80 (TT)

Posts: 2835
Reg: 07-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 10:01 pm, by: Vinh Bui (Hyudsjk)

Wonder what's going on your late model then Jose if you're taking the '97 kit off

Joshua Rao
Goo Roo
WA
JZZ30 vvti GT-L, 94 TT manual (being wrecked), Legnum VR4

Posts: 1620
Reg: 09-2006

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Monday, June 15, 2009 - 04:19 am, by: Joshua Rao (Soaren1)

Cmon Jose be honest the vvti kills the V8 in every way bar features. My vvti GT-L with stock exhaust is silent quiet and has enough features for me.

Yeah thats a scary though hey Vinh

James Buchan
TryHard
Vic
UZZ31 V8

Posts: 107
Reg: 10-2008

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 01:49 am, by: James Buchan (Jrbuch)

Jose-Antonio Castillo wrote on Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 09:05 pm:

I have thought at one point or another about trading in + some cash on top for a late model vvti, but seeing as I've just got my v8, I'll keep it as it's not a bad car

Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

Posts: 4395
Reg: 10-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 06:54 am, by: Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt)

It depends on what you like. I've driven my fair share of UZZ's and JZZ's, and I just don't like turbos. Sure they are a cheap thrill, and I totally get why people love them, but they just don't suit my driving stile. I'd have a late model V8 over a late model JZZ30 any day. Sure the JZZ30 would blow the UZZ3x away, but I don't drive everywhere with my foot on the floor these days anyway, and I'm not interested in the track any more. Its all about whats better on the road for a 140km commute to work for me, and the V8 would win hands down.

Mike Beck
Goo Roo
New Zealand
540i E34 V8

Posts: 3558
Reg: 11-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Saturday, June 20, 2009 - 06:45 pm, by: Mike Beck (Gold_40gt)

Matthew Sharpe wrote on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 06:54 am:
It depends on what you like. I've driven my fair share of UZZ's and JZZ's, and I just don't like turbos. Sure they are a cheap thrill, and I totally get why people love them, but they just don't suit my driving stile. I'd have a late model V8 over a late model JZZ30 any day. Sure the JZZ30 would blow the UZZ3x away, but I don't drive everywhere with my foot on the floor these days anyway, and I'm not interested in the track any more. Its all about whats better on the road for a 140km commute to work for me, and the V8 would win hands down.

Couldn't agree more Matt.

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