Nissan PULSAR GTI-R (1990 - 1994)
MODELS COVERED: 2.0 3DR HATCHBACK 1990-1994 PULSAR GTI-R (JAPAN) 1991-1994 SUNNY GTI-R (UK)
BY ANDY ENRIGHT
Word of mouth is a strange thing. Certain products can, with little or no promotion from their manufacturers, rapidly build into items of cult status. Credibility counts here, and in the case of the
Nissan Pulsar GTi-R, this is a car with credibility oozing from every bulge, scoop and intake. Following in the footsteps of Nissans Skyline GT-R, the Pulsar or Sunny as UK cars were incongruously dubbed GTi-R shared the Skylines hardcore all-wheel drive and turbocharged ethos.
In many ways its the ultimate in function over form, and GTi-R owners tend to be a pragmatic bunch. No its not pretty, nor does it wear a sexy badge, but thats all part of the appeal. Call it inverse snobbery if you will, but the Pulsar GTi-R is refreshingly unpretentious. BMWs and Audis that can show this little Nissan a clean pair of heels are few and far between.
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Used examples are relatively easy to come by if you look in the right places and most of them will be Pulsar models imported from Japan rather than the slightly less powerful Sunny GTi-R cars that were imported to this country between 1992 and 1994. Dont let that put you off. Do some research, buy from a reliable outlet and you should land a performance bargain.
Think of the Pulsar as a regular Japanese shopping hatch with a trick up its sleeve and you wont be far wrong. And thats part of the appeal. Its easy to get into and out of, it can
seat five, it has a decently sized boot and you can see out of the thing. Okay, so the scoops, the firm ride and the throbbing engine may give the game away, but when the time comes to acquaint throttle pedal with carpet, the Pulsar switches personality and turns into a monster.
The interior is fairly ordinary with swathes of black plastic, but the bucket seats grip front passengers tenaciously and the increments on the speedometer remind you this is no ordinary hatch.
Prices start from as little as £3,500 for the Pulsar, making it one of the most outrageous performance bargains around. With comparable performance and handling to a
Ford Escort RS Cosworth, examples of which are hard to find below £9,000, the Pulsar is rightly popular amongst keen drivers. Whats more, many of these imported cars are reasonably low mileage too, although mile for mile Japanese cars tend to have an even tougher time of it than British models due to crippling congestion. The 220bhp UK cars start at around £5,500.
Whichever model you choose, be prepared to be stung for insurance, most brokers rating the Pulsar at Group 20.
The engines on GTi-Rs tend to be very tough little units, easily capable of shrugging off 100,000 miles. At first they sound very tappety, but this is due to the fact that they use a cam chain rather than a belt. Many owners cant resist using a bleed valve or a boost controller as a cheap way of upping power. These cheap methods promise to raise power to around 260bhp but they have a downside.
The intercooler on the GTi-R is placed atop the engine in the hottest part of the bay and often struggles to supply air at higher boost pressures. A favourite modification is to move it to the front of the engine and to install a higher capacity fuel pump. In hot weather at low speeds the GTi-Rs response can feel a little sluggish. The gearbox and clutch tend to be fine for standard cars, although if youre uprating power, the clutch should also be uprated.
Suspension isnt a problem, although many owners will drop the ride height of the car by up to 50mm and add aftermarket alloys to get rid of the standard cars rather unfashionable gap between wheel and arch. When giving the car the once over check the clutch isnt squeaking. The GTi-R uses a hydraulic system so a squeak often indicates that the pedal box has broken away from the bulkhead. Engage the gears with the engine running and the clutch depressed.
If the clutch slips, walk away its a pricey engine out job to change. Brakes should bite well, but the standard
Nissan discs and pads are prone to fade. Bodywork should be fine, although the one place to check for rust is around the rear arch extensions. The Pulsar wont be as corrosion resistant as Sunny variants.
Also check for crash damage. There are a few curious characteristics common to the GTi-R that you may want to look out for. The cross bracing in the roof can rattle against the roof itself. This annoying fault requires the headlining to be removed and the spar to be rebounded.
Cars with sunroofs escape this fault. Almost all GTi-Rs have lazy drivers window winding mechanisms and plenty suffer from vibrating doors at speed. Cures for this include partially opening the sunroof and replacing the door seals.
Parts for the Sunny and Pulsar GTi-R are commonly available on internet web rings. Trawl the message boards, join a few clubs and you should easily turn up the bits and pieces you need. A number of aftermarket tuners specialise in the GTi-R so you certainly wont feel alone!
Although it was the Ford Escort Cosworth and the
Lancia Delta Integrale that raked in all the glory, the Pulsar GTi-R is arguably a better ownership proposition than both of these icons and it can certainly more than hold its own on the road. Take power to weight ratio. The Pulsar pumps out 189bhp per tonne whereas its contemporaries such as the Integrale 16v at 163bhp/tonne or the
Toyota Celica GT4 at 134bhp/tonne dont stand a chance. Bear in mind that todays crop of super hatches cant beat this.
A Ford Focus RS manages 169bhp/tonne and a
Honda Civic Type-R 166. Not even mega-money specials like the VW Golf R32 or the
Audi S3 can touch the little Nissan. Performance figures for the standard car are 0-60 in 5.4 seconds and a top speed of 143mph although such cars are relatively rare.
A more indicative time for a 260bhp boosted car is around 4.9 seconds to 60mph and top speed nudging 150mph dependent on gearing. Handling is well up to scratch as well, with no nasty surprises in store. On wet roads the GTi-R will eventually understeer, but with more commitment will drift all of a piece.
On dry surfaces the standard tyres will squirm a little if cornered very hard, but most will run on low-profile rubber and will grip like a leech. The four-wheel drive system isnt as clever as that in the Skyline, being a mechanical 50-50 split front and rear, but its undeniably effective.
The Nissan Pulsar/Sunny GTi-R has to be the most cost effective way of putting a
Porsche in its place. If you are prepared to shop around, look at a few and understand their characteristics, theres no reason why you cant have a giant killer in your garage for less than you think. No, theyre not particularly subtle and they can cost a fair bit to run, but the GTi-R is built tough and has a practical side to it. At least thats how you can sell it to your other half.
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