Thread: 3kgt misconceptions...

I own a 99 3kgt VR4, so naturally I read the comments here about the VR4's. I didnt want to bump old threads, but I'm not sure where you guys got all the mis-information. I'm hoping to clear some of that up for anyone who might be in the market for one. I have had mine for 3 years and so far I've had zero problems. Anyone who is looking to buy one get the 95 or newer models. 95 is a great year because it is still OBDI and you get the beefy 6 spd tranny. The 6G72 block on all are 4 bolt main and can withstand much abuse, people have gotten 900+AWHP on STOCK bottom, stock tranny, and running 9 sec 1/4 miles in extreme cases. The 6 spd is practically indestructible, the only weak point is the VCU & output shaft on pre 95 models. The burned out VCU's are a result of 2 kinds of abuse.. running different tire sizes front and rear, or constantly spinning the front wheels from hard launches... and of course this will also fry a stock clutch. Basically there are performance parts available to cure all of these scenarious i.e carbon/carbon clutch and reinforced VCU carrier. Nothing else breaks on this car really. Mine being 99 is it's own animal as it is a 1 year only ECU, so serious tuning is difficult but possible. If you can find a good deal on a 99VR4 or a 95VR4 spyder... get it though because they are extremey rare (1 in 2xx made usually) and they routinely sell well over blue book. The spyders are still over 30g for a 12 year old car!!! and the 99s still pull around 20 in good condition. most 2gs go anywhere between $10g-20g depending on mileage, car condition + quality of mods.

I think you guys are getting your reliability info from people with busted up 1g cars. and most non VR4 base models yes are a piece of junk... same look, but have totally different guts.

VR-4= (viscous, real time 4 wheel drive in case you were wondering)... All years have All wheel steering, all wheel drive. most Pre 99 cars have ECS (active suspension sport/tour mode) and also active electric wing and front spoiler and also an active exhaust whch closes off one side of the duals for noise reduction. The 99s do not... I guess to save weight and the electric wings usually fy out and the active exhaust is a little gimmicky. 91-95 models were 300AWHP/300TQ and 95 up are 320, but the only real difference is the factory boost setting. A few mild "BPU" mods really liven the car up. Just an open K&N, a boost controller, and downpipe with gutted precats yield nearly 100hp. The stock cat-back exhaust is sufficient up to 550hp. The twin turbos are only 9b TD04 hair dryers.... so an upgrade to tdo5 Evo's and a FMIC, with supporting fuel mods can get you over 500HP very quickly. The cars are very heavy, nearly 2 tons I think 3700 lbs or so. This prevents super fast 1/4 mile times, but it aids in traction and high speed stability (especially with AWS). 60ft times from a 6k clutch dump are pretty insane because of the awesome traction (It almost pulls the front tires off the ground). The car feels very comfortable and nimble over 100 MPH and gearing is capable of 180MPH but realistically they will stop pulling about 150-160 depending on aerodynamic/ atmospheric conditions.

A "GTO" is basically the same car except for being "Japan only" right hand drive and some of the lights and trim are different.. There is no performance difference at all and they did not make the 99 bodystyle or the spyder version there. If you see a GTO, it is probably because someone switched out the rear garnish and taillights to amber on their USDM 3kgt so it looks "J-spec" The only performance difference in Japan is a sort of rare GTO- MR spec model which used a lower gear ratio. Some people have swapped out to a JDM MR differential but the results are negligible and it lowers the top end performance to get a little more responsiveness.

The wing and front end is stock....

Haha I will have to agree with you they certainly are a PITA to work on. Seems you have to have little Japanese fingers to get into all the crannies, and if you drop a bolt it seems to disappear into the twilight zone.... and you spend the rest of the day digging it out or you worry about what it got lodged into. The engine bay is really packed side to side and flush with the hood. Just to change the rear bank of spark plug requires removal of the intake manifold. But like some folks said, you get used to it and tolerate whatever it dishes at you out of love for the platform.

I had a 98 VR4 before I got my Talon and prior after I lost my 98 to a retarded truck driver I helped my cousin build a 95/99 Clone and another firend build up a 99 "VR2"

There will always be misinformation because our cars are hard builders. We are just now getting cheap aftermarket upgrades that put the car in the perspective of the average tunner. Although it looked a lot better than my Talon I know that the VR4s potenial is no where near a DSM. Thats why they stopped meating with the DSM guys for the #S nationals. We'd hit the track and get embarassed.

I hope to get back in the seen soon.

The misconception of the 3KGTS goes to the DSMs as well.. If the car is well taken care of it doesnt break down.

VR4>>>>>TSI/GSX

reguardless of price in anyway but performance. Hell it looks like it should cost more and it is a bigger car.. Guess you get what yuo pay for lol...

Its funny this guy comes over here to say all this when you goto 3Si.org they are even worse in reguards to DSMs.. Trust me I was one of them. From the point you sign on you are trained to hate DSMs especially Eclipses... lol. Even the VR4 owners with DSMs put on that front.