I agree. Mitsubishi in the 90s made really good cars. Now they're slowly fading away. Seeing that the Evo is no longer in production and the Lancer has had the same body style for the last 7 years, I don't see them staying alive for much longer. Can't wait to see the GTR video. The photos on Instagram has me giddy like a little school girl.
Apparently the Mirage of all things is selling like hotcakes here in the US and the outlander is doing pretty good too so hopefully that keeps mitsu alive long enough for them to wake up and realize that they aren't some incompetent import like Daewoo or Izuzu or some shit and see that they are the same company that once upon a time made bad ass cars like the Starion, 3000GT, Eclipse, FTO, VR4 galant, EVO ect.
Antwon Jenkins If the mirage is selling so well why don't I see any on the road. And there aren't that many outlanders either. Mitsubishi seems hell bent to jump on the electric band wagon.
kwedog2373 I saw one Mirage and it was at the autoshow last week. The only real Mitsubishi's I see these days are Lancers, Evo X's, and a few Eclipses here and there.
Its because Mitsubishi is getting back to they're aircraft roots, they prefer to be making jet liners. They released their first proto type since like ww2 last year, they were fabulous aircraft builders ( Mitsubishi A6m Aka The Zero), Mitsubishi heavy industries and Fiji heavy industries (Toyota) are kind of teaming up. They're first new jet is actually supposed to be making its first test flights in May this year. Essentially they're killing they're automotive brand on purpose. It's a shame tho the 90's really showed us what Mitsubishi was capable of.
PopTartPelican That is not just a standard R34 that is a GTR parked then there and we see a lot of R34's here not a whole lot of R34 GTR's but still a decent amount :) you jelly bro move to New Zealand :)
Nice to see this car. Used to be one of my dream cars in highschool. Then I grew up and realized they aren't that great as they "look". But I'd still buy one for nostalgia if I could find one that nice for that price. He got a great buy.
I have a 1994 and have owned several others. They are a lot less scary than people make them out to be. Timing belt, water pump must be done every 80k you do that and they are a pretty reliable car. Also, the 1994 is the one to own. They added the 6 speed and still kept all the other cool stuff. After that they started pulling features.
Agree all around, I own a 94 stealth R/T TT. The 6 speed of course, awd and you can do some minor things to it and she'll get up and go no problem. I take 5.0 mustangs, ss camaros and sti wrxs all the time in mine. Step one is to get rid of the ridiculous exhaust on those things, it has THREE cats. The vacuum hosing is beyond stupid and should be deleted/reduced right off the bat, that is of course if you area doesn't require emissions. The drive shaft is a HEAVY three piece that can easily be replaced by a lightweight two piece and it isn't that expensive. Intake, headers and preturbo piping are a must too. I bought mine for just over 3 grand (american) and spent not quite that much in upgrades and I take cars in the 20k price range all the time.
Lee Peffers hey chief I own 3 of these sl non turbos n would like to what U said. Can U PM message so can more specific advice on how to do this. My local muffler shop here in TX told me as long as have catalytic converter will pass the emissions test. WANT the loudest more brutal sound possible. THANKS
I love these one takes because you really get all the important first impressions in cars, like all of the extras and interior options in this 3000GT. I knew a little bit about this car but the bits about the seat bolstering, active aero and some of the other luxury bits that we see on modern supercars are really neat. Awesome vid! Wish I live in NZ.
The down side is, although we have loads of pretty, winding roads, we have loads of anal road cops, really restrictive speed limits, and really steep speeding penalties. You get an instant 28 day loss of licence, court appearance and $600 fine for 40km/h over the limit - once they get you into court you are likely to face another 3 to 6 months of licence suspension and may get your car confiscated and crushed if you are a repeat offender - not that I'm saying you don't deserve it if you get repeatedly caught doing 40km/h over the limit - but there are times and places where that is actually safe. The latest move by road safety NZ is to take a lot of perfectly safe 100km/h roads and change them to "safe speed zones" dropping the limit to 90km/h or even 80km/h. Stupid.
Matthew Sharpe wow thats shit in my area in canada unless your in an urban area the cops wont even pull you over unless your being crazy racing or wreckless in heavy traffic which is pretty easy to avoid you can do 100km/h or more over the limit and not even get pulled over
That would be amazing. Not sure if they still have those cars though. Pretty sure the Honda S2K is gone. Miata prob gone. Don't know about Gramps... I hope they keep that thing for a while.
Matt no one knows the limit of these cars. there are a couple 1300awhp ones and still going for more a half dozen 1000whp ones and so on. the stock engine is good for around 500-600awhp.
Total agreement from me....this car is my painful love...lol I love how this thing digs out of the hole. I have a 93 and that acceleration is so addictive. Third is a BEAST. I am basking on all the 3k love on this vid. Like you I have been waiting for them to mention my obsession for YEARS. Here are some older pics of mine... www.cardomain.com/ride/2656391/1993-mitsubishi-3000gt/ I was running about 20-21 psi on mine. I have a whole new kit ready to go in and as usual i am out of resources.
Thank you for reviewing a GTO/VR4 Matt! These cars have always been the red headed step child of the 90s Japanese "muscle". They're in the back of the pack and forgotten...maybe that is why I own one lol. I live in Riverside so its close to LA. I don't think mine is worthy for you to try out though because its only at BPU (for now). That being said, there are plenty of clean, high powered VR4s in the SoCal and in the rest of the states.
All I can think of with the Stealth is the boomerang spoiler that is up against the back window. That and how these cars were disqualified from many categories of drag racing because they were crushing everything. No one was putting down the power of a GTO with a big turbo and the car had AWD. Will this car continue to go up in value due to the influence of had on what other companies were doing? Or was it just an accessible version in the US of what say the Nissan GTR was perfecting in Japan?
3000gt VR4s around the NC area are going for 15k-20k for mint ones and 7k-15k for okay ones with or without mods. These cars were definitely ahead their time and still look nice.
Great Car! The first gen VR4 is on my top 5 list of favorite cars, I had a 92 NA in high school. These really are cool cars and there is finally a good review of one on UA-cam :D
new zealand is awesome. I bought an 3000GT in germany. It was a good decision. It is a great car. May I can visit you when I make a trip trough your country?
The earlier cars did have more goodies on them. ECS, active aero, active exaust (can't remember the name of it), 6 disk changer, and a bunch of other stuff. I've got a 95 VR-4, so I lost the exaust thing. And because I have a sunroof, I lost the ECS as well. but I still love it. it's nice to see a clean first gen.
Mitsubishi built a great car. The GTO has a weighty feel, but agile and stable handling, also a very short stopping distance. I miss my car, always a joy to drive (and my car did not rattle, as I think most do not)
VoltageLP very rare car, mainly because they were so expensive when new only the most die-hard Mitsu enthusiasts bought them. I remember seeing an ad for one in like 98 and it was $62,000 at the time, like $15,000 more than a Corvette.
I actually got to see one in Cali on the 405, one minute his top was up, then a few later he is pulled over on the side of the freeway with the top down, this is how I came to know they were hardtop convertibles! I will take my cookie now :)
Matt I noticed you were in the Maraetai/Beachlands area in this video, did you happen to drive down twilight road while you were there? great driving road
That car, being a classic and stock 1991 VR-4 with 103K would probably go for around $8 - $9k here in the states. That kid just scored a dope car for only a 1/3 of the price
TheSmokingTire If LBCvalanez562 is too far, I have a low mileage '97 VR4 pushing close to 500whp on pump gas. Message me if you're ever in Las Vegas and want to drive it or I can plan a road trip to LA.
Represent for us man, I live on the East Coast with a 93 VR4 and like a lot of these cars mine is down for the moment, but man is it a beast when it runs. I have a full IPS Motorsports turbo/headers/downpipe kit sitting in my garage in a container waiting to go in and in the usual fashion I am out of money to take the last couple of steps. I never had mine on the Dino, but I was running around 20psi and it pulls HARD. Third gear is a BEAST. As it sits now I have the full Borla exhaust/short intake, forged BOV, boost controller, and larger injectors. Unlike this vid I LOVE the way mine sounds, and when I put on the headers that will be amplified. I have done about 170 in mine, how bout you? People love to sleep on this car, plus its super rare, which is awesome and a pain all in one package. Here are some pics of the glory days...lol www.cardomain.com/ride/2656391/1993-mitsubishi-3000gt/
Agree with Jason Valerio. Currently working on 2 3000GTs VR4s. The accessiblity to reach things in the car is ridiculously difficult, but workable. RAY PAMPENA is the GOD of 3000GT / Stealth modifications. Matt if Ray Pampena has contacted you, YOU SHOULD ablidge and test drive one of his monsters!! Top end on gas ~600hp / Ethanol ~ 1300hp. 6G72 engines are often swapped to 6G74 for the big power gains. Look up Ray pampena on you tube, lots of videos of his 1300HP monster....
Owned a 91'Stealth Twin turbo. It was a great car but boy you better know how to wrench or it's going to A cost you a fortune to have it fixed or B tie up a lot of your free time. Luckily mine didn't have any major problems like other car club members had. Matt you got a killer deal! You can get one for that price here but high km's and most likely needs a few thousand to get it running properly.
I really enjoyed this vid. Lot of great comments by Matt. Maybe just cause I own a 90's Mitsubishi. Lets see more old Mitsu's. Maybe an old Evo or DSM.
I had an 8th gen sedan. I've sold it and moved on to a Celica GT-Four if you don't know what it is,google them. Heaps of fun to drive. VR4 was fun, but it did drink a bit hence why I sold it.
TheSmokingTire Chur bro for the All Black rep. Way to get into the Kiwi culture. Glad you had a mean time in En Zed. Saweet as bro, come back again and do so mean skids.
You should do a feature on the Green Brothers Racing "Workshop Hack" if you are still in NZ or plan to come back.. We have some monster rotarys down here and you haven't done a triangle feature =D.
Check w/Pampena or Ninja Performance. As far as I'm aware, Chris Hill/NP holds the 3S record at something ridiculous like 9.20s. He may have run in the 8s by now and there's quite a handful of these over 1100 hp. Are they Supras? No. To call them old and slow, well, that's a bit of a disservice.
+Josh Moss Dude, 9.20 in 2016 is ridiculously slow for a car with a crap ton of money poured into it. To put it in perspective, N/A Hondas have broken into the 8s.
This is why we all have opinions. I don't own one because I wanted to make it a drag car. It's quick, rides and handles well, awd, looks good, and gets okay gas mileage. I'd own a fucking foxbody if I wanted to drag race. I only said making them out to be buick slow is a disservice.
Josh Moss So then why use drag numbers as your supporting evidence if you don't care about drag racing? They are old and slow. That's a fact, not a disservice. Matt's job is to review cars, not stroke the egos of the fanboys of said car.
The Maraetai to Clevedon coast road. If you follow that all the way out to Kawakawa Bay and keep going you'll end up on the Coromandel. Had a run out there in a GT4 earlier this week, A+ road and cruise material.
Matt- I know this is extremely off-topic but I just recently watched your Aston Martin Vanquish review...and I was wondering, why haven't you made any videos of your V12 Vanquish? We've seen a lot of your other cars, but not once have you shown your Aston, at least here on UA-cam. I think I speak on behalf of a lot of people when I say we'd really love to see it!
neither one of these guys know anything about these cars... they need to check out pampena motor sports. these cars were skyline killers back in the day. what someone can do with these cars is absolutely amazing. their limits are in the realm of imagination. for every flaw their is a fix in todays world. every system has a work around. from the MAF to head lift fix for anything over 600hp. you name it their is a cookie cutter formula for these cars. Pampena regularly has one well over 1000whp. this car also LOVES the extremely simple super afc air modifier. mixed with a larger MAF with translator can bring the car extremely far. and that rattle he mentioned like 3 to 4 times is a cheap and easy fix.
Always loved the look of the 3000GT. Could never get behind the idea of a transverse-mounted V6 with front-wheel drive bias though. Also, 3,600 pounds is a heavy car any way you spin it.
But not by today's standard thats whats funny. The car is a handling superstar as long as you don't go 100% into corners, then it will push on you. You just gotta watch out for that and make corrections, dig more out of the turn then go into it. If it had vectoring like a lot of the new 4wd systems have it would be insane. That being said its also a strait line monster. Hey if it weighed 300lbs less it would not hurt my feelings. All in all I love the car.....rwd bias would have been nice, but the design is what it is.
Ik this is 5 years late, but the VR4 doesn’t have FWD bias AWD similarly to the GSX / galant Vr4 / EVO, it’s a different system entirely that runs a stock 45/55 FR split- but can vector torque based off of traction (to an extent, the max power the front wheels can get is 45%). In practice this usually ends up being more 40/60 or even 30/70 under hard acceleration.
To the Smoking Tire team: Please go check out Dynamic Racing in new mexico. The owner, Matt Monett has built several of the 3000gt/Stealth/GTO cars that are insanely fast. I think his fastest goes under 9 seconds in the quarter. If you don't think these cars are modifiable, think again. They just aren't the same iconic car as the Supra or Skyline were.
I had a 91 eagle talon tsi and at the time this was my ideal upgrade car. Although I would avoid one now after the experience of owning and more importantly fixing my talon, but they still look good if you ask me.
Awesome that you got to travel to NZ! I've driven a VR-4. It was a pig. One of the biggest letdowns I've ever had when it comes to driving a performance car. Loose steering with no feel, and the car felt very heavy. More power would not have fixed that. The 300zx and Supra were a lot more fun to drive IMO.
Did you get the chance to try that JDM Civic Type R (EP3) - White car at 0.28seconds Matt? Would like to see your opinion of them of them over the US civics or shall we wait for a release :) Really enjoying these keep it up!
topdog371 I did, but the camera flew off and we lost the video. It was good; if you've ever driven an Acura RSX Type S, it was just like that, but a bit lighter.
I am from the UK and familiar with these cars :D. I just wanted your opinion on them considering the Honda/Acura lineup over there never got the engine lineup europe / Japan had. Thanks for the reply man, looking forward to more :) Loving this series.
Worked as a tech at a Mits dealership. These were pretty damn nice and fun brand new. Just imagine a bigger/righter suspension Eclipse. I wouldn't dare own one now, the engines are really difficult to work with, and suffer from the same faults as the 4 cylinders.
I was actually thinking of getting a 3000gt as my first car, and to learn manual in. The only problem is I can't find the price of a new clutch for one and last thing I need is a hart attack when I get the bill.
I picked up a decent 92 SL so the fwd 24valve NA and they really are the dogs people make them out to be. Picked it up as an attractive winter beater and its been great for the $900 I paid for it
TheSmokingTire Yeah, $62k MSRP, thus putting the car in "dream car" territory for me back then. In today's money that's around $107,765. You can get a lot of car for that kind of money.
Shame the Skyline isn't an R33. Anyway, major respect for this car Mitsu. Back in the 90s, Jackie Chan's Lightning Bolt and Gran Turismo's Mega Speed series pretty much ingrained this car into my childhood.
I agree. Mitsubishi in the 90s made really good cars. Now they're slowly fading away. Seeing that the Evo is no longer in production and the Lancer has had the same body style for the last 7 years, I don't see them staying alive for much longer.
Can't wait to see the GTR video. The photos on Instagram has me giddy like a little school girl.
Apparently the Mirage of all things is selling like hotcakes here in the US and the outlander is doing pretty good too so hopefully that keeps mitsu alive long enough for them to wake up and realize that they aren't some incompetent import like Daewoo or Izuzu or some shit and see that they are the same company that once upon a time made bad ass cars like the Starion, 3000GT, Eclipse, FTO, VR4 galant, EVO ect.
Antwon Jenkins If the mirage is selling so well why don't I see any on the road. And there aren't that many outlanders either. Mitsubishi seems hell bent to jump on the electric band wagon.
kwedog2373 I saw one Mirage and it was at the autoshow last week. The only real Mitsubishi's I see these days are Lancers, Evo X's, and a few Eclipses here and there.
Its because Mitsubishi is getting back to they're aircraft roots, they prefer to be making jet liners. They released their first proto type since like ww2 last year, they were fabulous aircraft builders ( Mitsubishi A6m Aka The Zero), Mitsubishi heavy industries and Fiji heavy industries (Toyota) are kind of teaming up. They're first new jet is actually supposed to be making its first test flights in May this year. Essentially they're killing they're automotive brand on purpose.
It's a shame tho the 90's really showed us what Mitsubishi was capable of.
actually the rumors R they are coming out with a Sport hatchback car in 2016 to replace the EVO.
Love love love these, super underrated in my opinion.
New Zealand: Where passing R34's like at 5:28 doesn't even concern you.
PopTartPelican Haha yeah, I see a couple every day when I drive to uni
PopTartPelican That is not just a standard R34 that is a GTR parked then there and we see a lot of R34's here not a whole lot of R34 GTR's but still a decent amount :) you jelly bro move to New Zealand :)
Bro just drove it that day. That was the 1000 HP car he kept talking about.
Nice to see this car. Used to be one of my dream cars in highschool. Then I grew up and realized they aren't that great as they "look". But I'd still buy one for nostalgia if I could find one that nice for that price. He got a great buy.
I have a 1994 and have owned several others. They are a lot less scary than people make them out to be. Timing belt, water pump must be done every 80k you do that and they are a pretty reliable car. Also, the 1994 is the one to own. They added the 6 speed and still kept all the other cool stuff. After that they started pulling features.
Agree all around, I own a 94 stealth R/T TT. The 6 speed of course, awd and you can do some minor things to it and she'll get up and go no problem. I take 5.0 mustangs, ss camaros and sti wrxs all the time in mine. Step one is to get rid of the ridiculous exhaust on those things, it has THREE cats. The vacuum hosing is beyond stupid and should be deleted/reduced right off the bat, that is of course if you area doesn't require emissions. The drive shaft is a HEAVY three piece that can easily be replaced by a lightweight two piece and it isn't that expensive. Intake, headers and preturbo piping are a must too. I bought mine for just over 3 grand (american) and spent not quite that much in upgrades and I take cars in the 20k price range all the time.
Lee Peffers hey chief I own 3 of these sl non turbos n would like to what U said. Can U PM message so can more specific advice on how to do this. My local muffler shop here in TX told me as long as have catalytic converter will pass the emissions test. WANT the loudest more brutal sound possible. THANKS
I love these one takes because you really get all the important first impressions in cars, like all of the extras and interior options in this 3000GT. I knew a little bit about this car but the bits about the seat bolstering, active aero and some of the other luxury bits that we see on modern supercars are really neat. Awesome vid! Wish I live in NZ.
The down side is, although we have loads of pretty, winding roads, we have loads of anal road cops, really restrictive speed limits, and really steep speeding penalties. You get an instant 28 day loss of licence, court appearance and $600 fine for 40km/h over the limit - once they get you into court you are likely to face another 3 to 6 months of licence suspension and may get your car confiscated and crushed if you are a repeat offender - not that I'm saying you don't deserve it if you get repeatedly caught doing 40km/h over the limit - but there are times and places where that is actually safe. The latest move by road safety NZ is to take a lot of perfectly safe 100km/h roads and change them to "safe speed zones" dropping the limit to 90km/h or even 80km/h. Stupid.
Matthew Sharpe
wow thats shit in my area in canada unless your in an urban area the cops wont even pull you over unless your being crazy racing or wreckless in heavy traffic which is pretty easy to avoid you can do 100km/h or more over the limit and not even get pulled over
Matthew Sharpe That's what South Island road trips are for. Saw so few cops there.
Matt needs to drive Mighty Car Mods - Gramps. (Subaru Legacy wagon)!
Well he has to go to Australia first
YES! Perhaps a TRD Laser LOL.
MCM is ZzZZzZzzzzz....
ABeans07 wrong
That would be amazing. Not sure if they still have those cars though. Pretty sure the Honda S2K is gone. Miata prob gone. Don't know about Gramps... I hope they keep that thing for a while.
Matt no one knows the limit of these cars. there are a couple 1300awhp ones and still going for more a half dozen 1000whp ones and so on. the stock engine is good for around 500-600awhp.
Total agreement from me....this car is my painful love...lol I love how this thing digs out of the hole. I have a 93 and that acceleration is so addictive. Third is a BEAST. I am basking on all the 3k love on this vid. Like you I have been waiting for them to mention my obsession for YEARS. Here are some older pics of mine... www.cardomain.com/ride/2656391/1993-mitsubishi-3000gt/ I was running about 20-21 psi on mine. I have a whole new kit ready to go in and as usual i am out of resources.
YAZZZ!! freaking finally, I been waiting for you to review a 3000gt vr4 forever.
Thank you for reviewing a GTO/VR4 Matt! These cars have always been the red headed step child of the 90s Japanese "muscle". They're in the back of the pack and forgotten...maybe that is why I own one lol. I live in Riverside so its close to LA. I don't think mine is worthy for you to try out though because its only at BPU (for now). That being said, there are plenty of clean, high powered VR4s in the SoCal and in the rest of the states.
All I can think of with the Stealth is the boomerang spoiler that is up against the back window. That and how these cars were disqualified from many categories of drag racing because they were crushing everything. No one was putting down the power of a GTO with a big turbo and the car had AWD.
Will this car continue to go up in value due to the influence of had on what other companies were doing? Or was it just an accessible version in the US of what say the Nissan GTR was perfecting in Japan?
I remember these were some of the sportiest looking cars you were ever like to see back in the early '90s.
appreciate all the hard work and interesting cars Matt :D
keep em coming! stoked for the Skyline !
I have a 1998 3000GT and it doesn't have a single rattle...
SixToMidnight Mitsubishi GTO-MR / 3000GT is a great platform!
Man, New Zealand is beautiful.
And that scenery is utterly boring compared to alot of NZ.
Why is some of the tech in this car no longer used?!? Car was state of the art back then. Great review Matt keep them coming!!
3000gt VR4s around the NC area are going for 15k-20k for mint ones and 7k-15k for okay ones with or without mods. These cars were definitely ahead their time and still look nice.
Matt, I'm such a fan bro. Keep up the great work and good content!
Great Car! The first gen VR4 is on my top 5 list of favorite cars, I had a 92 NA in high school. These really are cool cars and there is finally a good review of one on UA-cam :D
new zealand is awesome. I bought an 3000GT in germany. It was a good decision. It is a great car.
May I can visit you when I make a trip trough your country?
The earlier cars did have more goodies on them. ECS, active aero, active exaust (can't remember the name of it), 6 disk changer, and a bunch of other stuff. I've got a 95 VR-4, so I lost the exaust thing. And because I have a sunroof, I lost the ECS as well. but I still love it. it's nice to see a clean first gen.
Definitely need to check out 3sx, they have some great parts and are great group if guys. i miss my 94 stealth, looking to get a 96 or 97 300gt vr4
Mitsubishi built a great car. The GTO has a weighty feel, but agile and stable handling, also a very short stopping distance. I miss my car, always a joy to drive (and my car did not rattle, as I think most do not)
love these cars. friend just bought one in perfect condition for 2g, now im lookin for my own.
Wrong side of the road! Wrong side of the road! : )
Nick Murray Shhhhh Nick, we all know you know this is the right side of the road :P
Rallick N nah mate it's the left ;)
Looking good, Matt! Keep up the work. It's hard to shed husk, I know.
Matt.. ssangyong is god damn Korean, not from China...
Same shit...
XenomorphLV426 pretty much
***** really? shit. my bad.
If my girlfriend weren't (wasn't?) Korean, I probably wouldn't know the difference.
Merica..
I think it's amazing how you can go to another country, meet a complete stranger, and instantly bond over a universal interest in cars.
What up Skyline?!
Spinelly was talking about 3000GT Spyders gaining price in the coming few years, I've never seen a 3000GT Spyder though
VoltageLP very rare car, mainly because they were so expensive when new only the most die-hard Mitsu enthusiasts bought them. I remember seeing an ad for one in like 98 and it was $62,000 at the time, like $15,000 more than a Corvette.
They didn't make many hardtop convertibles because when it got rear ended the occupants get beheaded. True story.
I actually got to see one in Cali on the 405, one minute his top was up, then a few later he is pulled over on the side of the freeway with the top down, this is how I came to know they were hardtop convertibles! I will take my cookie now :)
Nukes Away ISIS must've bought all of them =))
VoltageLP Ouch..Too soon?
I went for a ride in one of these GTO's in Australia when new in '92. Couldn't believe the torque it had.
what a place! beautiful.
Matt I noticed you were in the Maraetai/Beachlands area in this video, did you happen to drive down twilight road while you were there? great driving road
These things were way ahead of their time.
That car, being a classic and stock 1991 VR-4 with 103K would probably go for around $8 - $9k here in the states. That kid just scored a dope car for only a 1/3 of the price
I wish they cost that much now
I had an English teacher who had a 3000GT, in dark green, it was a really nice car
Used to own this car... I miss it so much
Wanna drive a 500whp e85 one?
if it's within driving distance of LA, sure.
TheSmokingTire If LBCvalanez562 is too far, I have a low mileage '97 VR4 pushing close to 500whp on pump gas. Message me if you're ever in Las Vegas and want to drive it or I can plan a road trip to LA.
Represent for us man, I live on the East Coast with a 93 VR4 and like a lot of these cars mine is down for the moment, but man is it a beast when it runs. I have a full IPS Motorsports turbo/headers/downpipe kit sitting in my garage in a container waiting to go in and in the usual fashion I am out of money to take the last couple of steps. I never had mine on the Dino, but I was running around 20psi and it pulls HARD. Third gear is a BEAST. As it sits now I have the full Borla exhaust/short intake, forged BOV, boost controller, and larger injectors. Unlike this vid I LOVE the way mine sounds, and when I put on the headers that will be amplified. I have done about 170 in mine, how bout you? People love to sleep on this car, plus its super rare, which is awesome and a pain all in one package. Here are some pics of the glory days...lol www.cardomain.com/ride/2656391/1993-mitsubishi-3000gt/
Would love to see what you think of some of our " warmed up" Falcon XR6 Turbos here in Australia. ( and in NZ too I guess).
Maraetai, Auckland....That's definitely one of my favorite stretches of road for corners! :)
I wish I knew you were coming to nz. I know people. People with cars you'll love.
Agree with Jason Valerio. Currently working on 2 3000GTs VR4s. The accessiblity to reach things in the car is ridiculously difficult, but workable. RAY PAMPENA is the GOD of 3000GT / Stealth modifications. Matt if Ray Pampena has contacted you, YOU SHOULD ablidge and test drive one of his monsters!! Top end on gas ~600hp / Ethanol ~ 1300hp. 6G72 engines are often swapped to 6G74 for the big power gains. Look up Ray pampena on you tube, lots of videos of his 1300HP monster....
Buying one of these in the next couple of days. Should be fun!
How has the car been treating you?
i like these cars, id drive one
That beach brings back so many memories, Maraetai beach...
that thing was a steal for that price. Kinda hefty cars, but a lot of fun.
At 1m 34s you drove past my old house! Cool review! :-)
Beautiful country. This would be a place I would move to from Canada. Matt how is it driving on the wrong side of the road? Keep up the great work.
I got my gto for 1000$ with 115k miles. Im in the usa and everything works
Nice man, I scored also I managed to find a morroco red pearl 91 vr4 with 165k. Paid 2250 for it.
Nice All Blacks sweatshirts! Great vid
Matt I thought you would have tried to get the spirant 180sx for a video while in Nz
5:30 grey R34 just chillin
Owned a 91'Stealth Twin turbo. It was a great car but boy you better know how to wrench or it's going to A cost you a fortune to have it fixed or B tie up a lot of your free time. Luckily mine didn't have any major problems like other car club members had. Matt you got a killer deal! You can get one for that price here but high km's and most likely needs a few thousand to get it running properly.
Can't pick up one of these for NZD$4,000 anymore.
Cool stuff matt i see one of those on my street all the time :)
I really enjoyed this vid. Lot of great comments by Matt. Maybe just cause I own a 90's Mitsubishi. Lets see more old Mitsu's. Maybe an old Evo or DSM.
My first car was a Mitsubishi Galant - they had so many cool cars in the 90s.
Very sad what happened to them, Evo on its way out.....
Galant VR4! Predecessor to the Lancer Evo cars.
Patrick94GSR :D I currently own one. The funny thing is no one thinks my car is quick - until they ride in it #mitsilife
6th, 7th or 8th gen? I personally have a small obsession with the 8th gen Galant and Legnum VR4s I want one.
I had an 8th gen sedan. I've sold it and moved on to a Celica GT-Four if you don't know what it is,google them. Heaps of fun to drive. VR4 was fun, but it did drink a bit hence why I sold it.
Whats this 1000hp Skyline you mentioned, and will we see it in a future video?
Nice looking all black top ther matt. Great team . Great sport. Hope u got to watch a rugby match
Russell Van wyk I didn't, we were too busy, but I am digging the swag.
Anyone else think that the in-car cam should be driver view or in the back facing forward? Love these vids Matt !!!
TheSmokingTire Chur bro for the All Black rep. Way to get into the Kiwi culture. Glad you had a mean time in En Zed. Saweet as bro, come back again and do so mean skids.
You should do a feature on the Green Brothers Racing "Workshop Hack" if you are still in NZ or plan to come back.. We have some monster rotarys down here and you haven't done a triangle feature =D.
well at least this vid shows us how far we have come from 1991.
Check w/Pampena or Ninja Performance. As far as I'm aware, Chris Hill/NP holds the 3S record at something ridiculous like 9.20s. He may have run in the 8s by now and there's quite a handful of these over 1100 hp. Are they Supras? No. To call them old and slow, well, that's a bit of a disservice.
+Josh Moss Dude, 9.20 in 2016 is ridiculously slow for a car with a crap ton of money poured into it. To put it in perspective, N/A Hondas have broken into the 8s.
+koopatroopa187 I was corrected by a racer a few months back. These are running 1500+ now and are in low 8s, soon to be 7s.
Josh Moss LMAO. Wow. 1500+ and running low 8's? Blistering fast. That's like Jeremy Clarkson in an Ariel Atom fast.
This is why we all have opinions. I don't own one because I wanted to make it a drag car. It's quick, rides and handles well, awd, looks good, and gets okay gas mileage. I'd own a fucking foxbody if I wanted to drag race. I only said making them out to be buick slow is a disservice.
Josh Moss So then why use drag numbers as your supporting evidence if you don't care about drag racing? They are old and slow. That's a fact, not a disservice. Matt's job is to review cars, not stroke the egos of the fanboys of said car.
still one of my favourite cars.
Usually not the case with turbo cars but are these or the n/a versions relatively reliable?
The Maraetai to Clevedon coast road. If you follow that all the way out to Kawakawa Bay and keep going you'll end up on the Coromandel. Had a run out there in a GT4 earlier this week, A+ road and cruise material.
well isn't that chaimponship white civic type r ep3 just looking amazing :P hope to see a video of that soon!
My favourite 90’s sports car/GT.
In the states some have been modded to produce over .1200hp
Matt- I know this is extremely off-topic but I just recently watched your Aston Martin Vanquish review...and I was wondering, why haven't you made any videos of your V12 Vanquish? We've seen a lot of your other cars, but not once have you shown your Aston, at least here on UA-cam. I think I speak on behalf of a lot of people when I say we'd really love to see it!
randomocityvideos I just don't feel the need to make videos with that car. That one's for me.
TheSmokingTire Like a boss :)
Skyline sounds interesting, a RIPS built RB30 by any chance? Being in NZ it would make sense.
It is an RB30, but I'm not sure who built it. Probably RIPS.
neither one of these guys know anything about these cars... they need to check out pampena motor sports. these cars were skyline killers back in the day. what someone can do with these cars is absolutely amazing. their limits are in the realm of imagination. for every flaw their is a fix in todays world. every system has a work around. from the MAF to head lift fix for anything over 600hp. you name it their is a cookie cutter formula for these cars. Pampena regularly has one well over 1000whp. this car also LOVES the extremely simple super afc air modifier. mixed with a larger MAF with translator can bring the car extremely far. and that rattle he mentioned like 3 to 4 times is a cheap and easy fix.
+theblackflag2020 Dude, the only Skylines these were killing back in the day were RB20E powered base models, or maybe some old Newmans.
Always loved the look of the 3000GT. Could never get behind the idea of a transverse-mounted V6 with front-wheel drive bias though. Also, 3,600 pounds is a heavy car any way you spin it.
But not by today's standard thats whats funny. The car is a handling superstar as long as you don't go 100% into corners, then it will push on you. You just gotta watch out for that and make corrections, dig more out of the turn then go into it. If it had vectoring like a lot of the new 4wd systems have it would be insane. That being said its also a strait line monster. Hey if it weighed 300lbs less it would not hurt my feelings. All in all I love the car.....rwd bias would have been nice, but the design is what it is.
+acehighflyer123 If you think the 3000 GT is a handling superstar, I'd really like to be sitting shotgun with you in a Miata or MR2 Spyder.
Ik this is 5 years late, but the VR4 doesn’t have FWD bias AWD similarly to the GSX / galant Vr4 / EVO, it’s a different system entirely that runs a stock 45/55 FR split- but can vector torque based off of traction (to an extent, the max power the front wheels can get is 45%). In practice this usually ends up being more 40/60 or even 30/70 under hard acceleration.
To the Smoking Tire team: Please go check out Dynamic Racing in new mexico. The owner, Matt Monett has built several of the 3000gt/Stealth/GTO cars that are insanely fast. I think his fastest goes under 9 seconds in the quarter. If you don't think these cars are modifiable, think again. They just aren't the same iconic car as the Supra or Skyline were.
TheSmokingTire ^This
Been on that road! Love it
I had a 91 eagle talon tsi and at the time this was my ideal upgrade car. Although I would avoid one now after the experience of owning and more importantly fixing my talon, but they still look good if you ask me.
The VR-4s and GTOs are capable of 1000HP.... How can you own that and not know its full potential :(
+Mauro Lopez Because some people don't care about making enough hose power to compete in a tractor pull?
that restaurant at 1.22 is really good
real clean GTO
Awesome that you got to travel to NZ! I've driven a VR-4. It was a pig. One of the biggest letdowns I've ever had when it comes to driving a performance car. Loose steering with no feel, and the car felt very heavy. More power would not have fixed that. The 300zx and Supra were a lot more fun to drive IMO.
Did you get the chance to try that JDM Civic Type R (EP3) - White car at 0.28seconds Matt? Would like to see your opinion of them of them over the US civics or shall we wait for a release :)
Really enjoying these keep it up!
topdog371 I did, but the camera flew off and we lost the video. It was good; if you've ever driven an Acura RSX Type S, it was just like that, but a bit lighter.
I am from the UK and familiar with these cars :D. I just wanted your opinion on them considering the Honda/Acura lineup over there never got the engine lineup europe / Japan had.
Thanks for the reply man, looking forward to more :) Loving this series.
topdog371 it was essentially the same as our civic SI, just with a bit more power and stiffer suspension.
i hope you tested that type r civic looks sweet
Did you by any chance drive the red nissan gti behind the civic?
Worked as a tech at a Mits dealership. These were pretty damn nice and fun brand new. Just imagine a bigger/righter suspension Eclipse. I wouldn't dare own one now, the engines are really difficult to work with, and suffer from the same faults as the 4 cylinders.
This car is sitting under a cover at my place. Not running but still basically in one piece and plates still live!
Awesome Stuff !
This is a 300GT VR4 I think they called it in the states. The regular 300GT didn't have 4 wheel steering and wasn't a turbo
Any meet-ups? this was filmed less than 30mins from where i live.
Yup, we had one in Auckland
I miss my GTO so much!!!! One day ill buy another one.........
I was actually thinking of getting a 3000gt as my first car, and to learn manual in. The only problem is I can't find the price of a new clutch for one and last thing I need is a hart attack when I get the bill.
what channel are you making a video of the gt-r for?
Gerry C this one
TheSmokingTire Thank you!
TheSmokingTire
oh man i can't wait
I picked up a decent 92 SL so the fwd 24valve NA and they really are the dogs people make them out to be. Picked it up as an attractive winter beater and its been great for the $900 I paid for it
Wow "aren't" the dogs can't believe I saw that just now
I've got a wee Fiat Uno Turbo MK2 you could have had a blat in if I'd known you were in NZ dude :) Think they only brought 12 of them into NZ.
I remember them offering these as a hard top convertible. That was some innovative stuff for back then. I really liked that car.
GrecoRoman123 if you can find a fresh, stock, VR4 Spyder its probably still worth something. Though not compared to the $62,000 MSRP.
TheSmokingTire 6... 62k? Whhaaaaoow
TheSmokingTire Yeah, $62k MSRP, thus putting the car in "dream car" territory for me back then. In today's money that's around $107,765. You can get a lot of car for that kind of money.
TheSmokingTire Well keep in mind, it was suppose to run with Porsches and it's close rival was the Skyline.
you should try drive a skyline (gtr preferably) whilst in NZ seeing as they're a rarity in the US
That skyline at 5:28 !
70k kms and a worn gear stick? It was wound back in Japan before it was shipped as a 2nd hand car to NZ.
Shame the Skyline isn't an R33. Anyway, major respect for this car Mitsu. Back in the 90s, Jackie Chan's Lightning Bolt and Gran Turismo's Mega Speed series pretty much ingrained this car into my childhood.
Hi Matt. You going to do a take on that white ep3
He did, but there was a go-pro related issue..
neat car, good video, great country
Is that a Civic Type R near the beginning?