First DOT/EPA LEGAL R32 GTR comes to the States

[Jeff V.]

http://www.gtrusablog.com/2014/01/first ... orted.html

The first R32s are becoming legal this year, thanks to them now being 25 years old. There are no further restrictions from the DOT and EPA on importing these cars. This guy brought in an '89 R32 from Canada.

I am so, so tempted to sell off the Stealth and Spyder and pursue one of these. But it'd probably still be a $20,000 car, or more if I brought it in from Japan instead of Canada. I'd have to find a way to pay cash for it. And then there's the issue of finding parts.

But damn, this is hot. Do want.

[Monochrome]

Oh hell yes!

[Jeff V.]

If I did it, I'd take this year to sell the current cars and then wait until 2015 when the 1990 models become available. There's a lot more to chose from after that.

[Monochrome]

What year did they get programmable ECUs?

[Jeff V.]

:d ontknow:

They never had US style OBD2 and so they didn't have to go flash as of 1998 like the US cars did. From what I do know, most if not all of them were EPROM based like the DSMs. So you remove the EPROM, install a Moates Ostrich emulator, and program in real time. Screw flash.

Just like I was doing with my TechTom ECU, but even easier.

[Jeff V.]

Looks like the R32s at least have Hitachi-base ECUs. So it'd be a very shallow learning curve for us. H8/539 was also Hitachi, before Renesas bought them.

[Monochrome]

[quote=""Jeff V.""] :d ontknow:

They never had US style OBD2 and so they didn't have to go flash as of 1998 like the US cars did. From what I do know, most if not all of them were EPROM based like the DSMs. So you remove the EPROM, install a Moates Ostrich emulator, and program in real time. Screw flash.

Just like I was doing with my TechTom ECU, but even easier.[/quote]

I didn't ask the right question. I know they came "live tunable" at some point. The earlier ones had a tuner device that you plugged in. The later ones had that interface built into the dash.

[Monochrome]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]Looks like the R32s at least have Hitachi-base ECUs.[/quote]

Oh I would to dive into that!!

[J-Groove]

YUP!

Hmm, I love the R34s...so, they came out in 2000, still have 11 years to go. haha

-JOhn

[Jeff V.]

I didn't ask the right question. I know they came "live tunable" at some point. The earlier ones had a tuner device that you plugged in. The later ones had that interface built into the dash.

Uhhh....no. :suspect2:

The R34 had the multifunction display (MFD) on the dash, but that was a performance display only. There was a Nismo upgrade for it that offered additional parameters and the ability to log the data to a laptop via a serial port, but none of that should be confused with ECU tuning.

There were a ton of aftermarket ECU options for the GTR though. Impul, Mine's, Apex'i PowerFC, HKS FCon, etc.

[Monochrome]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]Uhhh....no. :suspect2:

The R34 had the multifunction display (MFD) on the dash, but that was a performance display only. There was a Nismo upgrade for it that offered additional parameters and the ability to log the data to a laptop via a serial port, but none of that should be confused with ECU tuning.

There were a ton of aftermarket ECU options for the GTR though. Impul, Mine's, Apex'i PowerFC, HKS FCon, etc.[/quote]

Aftermarket... Pft!

Sounds like I need to do a lot more research.

[Jeff V.]

Honestly, 8-bit ROM emulation tuning is the cat's ass. No flash hacking, no chance of bricking, live tuning. Just unsolder the chip, install a socket and an emulator, and off you go.

The sole reason I'm not using my TechTom ECU is because it's 16-bit, and has insufficient current to power dual 8-bit emulators when the laptop isn't hooked up. It turned into a clusterfuck of cables and hassle.

[alienviking]

It is a pretty hot car, but.. for $20K you could get something far newer with (more importantly) FAR less headaches..

[Jeff V.]

I know

It's like a really hot, screwed up woman though. The sex is amazing (when you get it), but the relationship is miserable

[Monochrome]

Such is the story with any 20 year old car though...

[tabasco122]

http://www.nistune.com/equipment-products-type2.php

[Jeff V.]

If that's the company and person I'm thinking of, some of the tech info he posted to various Nissan forums was very useful when I was disassembling the 91-95 3S ECUs.

[tabasco122]

yeah they are the closest you can get to a factory ecu flash tune on most nissans.

[Jeff V.]

Right on schedule, cue the controversy:

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/heres- ... 1493437688

Federal law goes by month and date of manufacture. The first 1989 GTRs didn't come off the line until August. So this car is not yet 25 years old.

But apparently the Canadian paperwork only shows the model year, so Federal law has been rendered moot by the opinion of some night-shift customs agent in Maine.

[green-lantern]

[quote=""Monochrome""]Such is the story with any 20 year old [/quote]



I bet the price will go down after 2-3 years and more of them reach the states. I'd love to get one for sure.