benro2

Sent you a PM...

Hehe, I'm not that desperate The main reason I'm asking is that I'm just surprised that the function isn't available in a climate control system. Every system that I can think of (not that many really, but anyway ) has an ambient temp function. Some car designers think it's so important that they have a portion of the dash dedicated to permanently displaying this info! Oh well, couldn't hurt to ask...

Hi, The PM system doesn't seem to be working now so I'll have to post here. I've paid for my order for shocks and springs and the receipt no. is 537791. I'll send you my full PM when the system is working again. Regards, Ben

Anyone? Surely someone knows the answer? Does anyone have a copy of an original English Skyline manual (if such a thing exists)? Perhaps it would be in there?

PM sent...

The purpose is that I want to know what the temperature is outside. I don't carry thermometers with me everywhere I go, so it would be handy to have one in the car. Another car I drive has an ambient temp button and I use it all the time.

Hi guys, I can't believe that this question hasn't been asked before, but I can't find the answer in these forums. So sorry if it has been asked before... Anyway, I've been wondering if there is a way to check the ambient temperature (as in outside the car) on a Series II R33 GTS-T. I can't see any obvious buttons, so I was wondering if there's some sort of secret combo that you can hit to bring the readout up. I did find the climate control diagnostics procedure, but I don't really want to have to do that every time I want to check the outside temp! I haven't actually tried this procedure before, but is there a way, just out of interest, to bring up what the ambient temp sensor is reading, rather than just check to see if it is OK? I saw a pic of an R32 climate control unit and it had an "AMB" button on it, so surely they didn't actually delete this feature for the next series? Possibly that was a GTR though, I'm not sure. Thanks, Ben

Hehe, there are two very good reasons for this: 1. My granny and mum will have to drive my car (against my wishes ) occasionally, and they can't drive manuals, and have no hope of learning either... 2. Of all the many ads that I looked at, the autos were all a few thousand cheaper than the manuals, and I just couldn't afford that extra amount. There were a few other financial things as well, but basically, it just wasn't feasible to get a manual. Trust me, I would have *definitely* gotten the manual if I could have, but it just wasn't possible. I also live in an area where traffic's mostly not too bad, so a manual would have been OK as well. Dammit! What I'm *hoping* to do is to keep this car *and* get the GTR later on. I'm talking a long while off though Hopefully I will be able to sell it to my parents or something so I don't have to see it go (I'm pretty sure my dad likes my car ). But yeah, I'd say I will definitely use the GTR for what it's made for. I'd really like to get into some track days and I don't really think an auto is suitable for that. It might be OK, but it's just not the same as a manual, you know? I have heard that guys who own both GTS-T's and GTR's prefer the GTS-T's for everyday driving, but I guess that's just something I'm gonna have to put up with... Edit: thanks for the tips. The dealer already changed the brake pads for me but didn't do the discs, so I may need new pads again when I get the discs done. I think I'll just go for the Advances

Thanks for the info foznice, will check that when I get the chance. Also skylinecouple, nice post! I will definitely be looking into that 3" cat-back with hotdog and FMIC ASAP. Only problem is, I need new tyres, possibly need the brake discs done, need the front windows tinted, among other small things. So that's really gonna set me flat broke The car is under 3 months' warranty as well, so I'm not supposed to do any mods during that time. Kinda good though, as it gives me a chance to save up for the FMIC and exhaust... So, after I've added the FMIC and exhaust, I recall some posts about people saying the stock ECU will be limiting power because it's running rich. In the manuals, you can get a PowerFC(?) but it appears that with the autos it's not that easy, as they stuff up the shift quality. Is it possible to just get a piggyback computer or just tune the existing one? I assume this would have (almost) the same benefits of a full replacement ECU but retain shift quality (and maybe be cheaper)? But is it really necessary, or worth the extra cash, to get an ECU retune? I don't really want to spend *too* much money on this car, as I really want a GTR So ATM I'm leaning towards some decent, relatively inexpensive mods, but who knows...I bet I'll end up spending thousands on mods in the end... Oh yeah, with the rattle, I'm quite certain that it's not the seat or the seatbelt. I'm pretty sure it was rattling with someone in the seat, and it seems to be coming from the front LHS of the car, like within the glovebox or in the LHS door or something. I've tried hitting various panels but it doesn't make a difference

Hmmm...it could be the window, but it only appears to rattle when I go over bumps (say, 60km/h) and sometimes at certain idle rpm (for example, like when the A/C comes on and idle revs drop). Just out of interest, has anyone tried a water-air IC? I was wondering if it was possible to convert the standard IC to water and then get a reasonably sized oil cooler for the charge air? This would shorten the charge air length (should reduce lag) and would possibly give better cooling performance because it's using water and at low speeds, the cooler water should be better than the small amounts of air that will find their way to the standard air cooler. Will this work, or is it a waste of time and/or money? Just an idea... Oh yeah, does putting a huge FMIC decrease A/C performance? I know, I know, it's a "granny" type of question, but I've always wondered about that. What about engine coolant temps? Are they affected also?

Hi guys, I've been reading these forums for a long time, before I bought my Skyline, and was waiting and waiting for the day to come when I finally owned one. Well, a couple of weeks ago I finally got an R33 GTS-T auto, '96 Series II. Totally stock, (supposedly) genuine ~50,000 km's (according to the mechanic who checked it out). Just got a few questions in a lot of different areas - thanks in advance for your help! Oh yeah, and apologies for the really long post... 1. After reading a lot of threads on the auto boxes, some people think they shift slowly. I'm wondering if mine is still stock, as my changes are quite fast (as fast as a quick manual change), and are really smooth, and this is in Normal mode. I was actually quite surprised when I test drove the car. No rough changes from 1st to 2nd. Always seems to shift @ 6,500 rpm whether in Normal or Sport modes. Does this sound like a stocker? Is there any way to get it to change @ 7,000 rpm or higher? 2. I got a RhinoCo 3-point immobiliser/alarm installed about a week after purchasing the car, and up until that time I had never seen the HICAS light come on at any speed. However, after the installation, the light seems to come on after I've been driving the car for a few mins and only above 100-110 km/h. I don't have an aftermarket steering wheel and the steering weighting stays the same at speed and while parking. No weird movements from the back while driving either. So what does this mean? Is the HICAS system still working and is it likely that the guy who installed the alarm caused the problem? 3. What are the proper tyre sizes for the rears? The rear tyres only had about 15-20% tread left on them when I bought the car so I'll be going for some new ones very soon. There is a tyre placard that appears to be stuck on by the dealer in the RH door and it says that the fronts are 205/55R16 and the rears are 225/50R16. I've seen people here saying that the rears are just 205's. Can (and should) I fit 225's to the rears, and for that matter, the fronts as well, on the stock wheels? What's the best width combo front/rear? 205/205, 205/225 or 225/225? 4. There is a really annoying rattle that seems to be coming from the glovebox/LHS dash/LH driver's door - can't really tell where. Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas on what it is and how to fix it? 5. What's a good idea of the stock rwkW for an auto? Also, 0-100 km/h times and quarter miles? I've seen people get straight 15's on here with a stock auto, but I believe Nissan officially quotes 15.5. What's the deal here? Another thing I've been wondering about, the official power figures for the manual are something like 186kW and 286Nm, but the auto's are 180kW and 276Nm. What's the reason for this difference? Is it simply less boost? I assume everything like the turbo / intercooler are all the same? 6. I want to try and get a few more kW's on the cheap (for now) Like, $200-$300 for the time being. I found a post for that 5 min boost cut mod - the one that gives you 8psi around the rev range rather than just over 4,000rpm. I told the dealer about this and he reckons there is no solenoid that limits boost under 4,000rpm. Are the autos and different to the manuals here? I saw a post about a Turbotec (?) boost controller for something like $40. If I get one of these, can I just wind on a couple more psi and expect more power or do I need an aftermarket air filter, etc. as well? I don't have an aftermarket boost gauge though. Should I go to a tuner and get them to install the boost controller? Will they be able to put the car on the dyno and see the highest level of boost I can run with maybe an aftermarket air filter? Also, will I get more low rpm boost if I just buy the boost controller, install it myself, but leave the boost as stock? 7. It seems that one of the best mods for power is an aftermarket exhaust. However, one big problem I have with this is that I just don't like the sound of an auto with a loud exhaust. Maybe it's just me (is it?), but I much prefer a manual with a loud exhaust to an auto. It just doesn't sound "right" with an auto Anyway, is it possible to get, say, a 3" full exhaust that is (almost) as quiet as the stock one, but still as free-flowing as a loud one? I actually really like the sound of the stock exhaust, but I want the flow properties of a free-flowing 3". Am I expecting the impossible? I've actually got heaps more questions but I'm sensing that half of you have already fallen asleep reading this ridculously long post Oh well, I'll save them for another time... Thanks again for all your help, Ben Edit: this is the actual car that I bought (for $19k): http://japlinkmotors.com.au/?i=c&n=233

Down the bottom of this page it says some stuff about Midnight Purple II and III: http://www.prospec-ms.co.uk/models/bnr34.html

EVL, since I'm new to these forums, I don't know anyone here, so I didn't know what colour car they owned. Your avatar is sort of ghosted so I can't tell the colour properly, and I can't see any links to pics of your car. What I meant about rare is that I don't ever recall seeing one on the road. I usually take note of the colour of Skylines as they drive past, and most seem to be silver, black, white or dark red. Oh yeah, blue as well Was Midnight Purple a colour specific to the R33 and/or GTR model? SS8, thanks for the suggestion. I think people go for more horsepower because it looks more impressive on paper. Also, and I'm just guessing here, I would say that decreasing the weight of the car would cost more than increasing the power. I was also planning to do a good suspension/tyres job as well, but that would be on top of the engine mod costs. Trust me, I know the importance of these things, so they certainly weren't taking a back seat to engine mods. However, I do have a better idea of the cost of these, whereas there are so many damn options and combinations with the engine mods that I just wanted to know the most reliable and cheap way to get the power/driveability that I want. Ben

BTW ferni, I checked out the photos of your car and I really like the colour! I can't say I've ever seen that colour before. Is it overly rare? Ben

Nope, didn't think a triple turbo would be easy, as I've seen a triple turbo Supra and the amount of pipework on that was ridiculous. But still, someone's gotta attempt it! Oh yeah, but with that Supra I think the guy still wanted the sequential setup, which would have added a lot of pipework. So with a straight triple-turbo setup, how hard could it be? :jk:

OK thanks guys for all the info! I just had another idea, which again seems pretty stupid, even to me What about a triple-turbo GTR? I don't think I'd ever attempt it myself, but rather than buying two new turbos, how about simply adding on a 3rd stock turbo? Assuming you've started with a stock car, would the work required to get this idea working be more than simply buying two bigger turbos? But for the "wow" factor, I like the idea of a triple-turbo! So mesh, how does your car drive? What about the clutch? Is it OK or a bit of a bitch? That's one other thing I forgot to mention - I'd like the clutch to be fairly smooth and progressive if possible, unlike some of these nasty ones I see floating around that are basically "on" or "off" So, if I spend a bit more on tuning, I could possibly get a better bottom end response? Now this is something totally unrelated: my dad reckons that one of his friend's sons has an older Supra with a hand-controller thing (don't know the name ) which allows him to adjust the ECU, which he apparently picked up for around $80. This guy's a bit of an engineering/mechanic-type guy, and the thing allows you to put some presets in for how you want to drive. He has one for performance, fuel economy, etc. etc. Is this the same as what one of those aftermarket ECU's will do, except it's not pre-tuned? Is it possible to get one of these for the Skyline, and how hard is it to use one? What about getting one pre-tuned by an expert, then messing around with it yourself afterwards to try and improve on it? I know you obviously have to know what you're doing, except I wouldn't mind having a play around with one. My dad's OK with this sort of stuff, so if I ever got into any sort of trouble, I'm sure he'd be able to undo my work Ben Edit: oh and BTW, it seems my guess of $10-15K for mods was about right, looking at the linked thread. I think I'd stretch to $16,730 for 320rwkw. BTW, what drivetrain loss is factored in for GTR's?

Hi guys, I'm a newbie here, and I don't actually own a Skyline (yet). However, I've got a number of good questions for you, so thanks in advance! I'm considering an R33 GTR, and want to get around 500hp (flywheel) out of it. I'm wondering which parts would be the best for this (with some room left for higher outputs for the future), and approximately how much they will cost in total, incl. labour and tuning time? I don't want to lose too much bottom end torque, in other words, it has to be very driveable, and will mostly be used as an "everyday" car, but I anticipate I'll start going to the drags, also do a bit of track work, etc. etc. Oh yeah, I want to be able to run the car on 98 octane fuel as well I spotted this video of an R34 GTR by MINE: http://racingflix.com/getvideo.asp?v=293&p=6 According to someone at the forum, it has 600hp (not sure whether at the flywheel or wheels). Now *that's* what I'm after. Someone on there also mentioned that it uses two 2530's, which I've also seen a few people recommend in here. Although you never really see the car below 4000 rpm, the power band seems to be fairly linear, which is what I'm looking for. Now this may seem like a stupid question, but as far as I can see, there's no other way of asking it: is the amount of power (and driveability) you get for your money directly proportional, or are there "points" along the way where you may as well spend a relatively small amount for a relatively big gain? I'm asking this because I figured you guys would be able to help me with my 500hp goal. Should I go for 600hp (what I'd really like, but beyond that is a long way off ), or is that a lot more money? In other words, is 500hp for a GTR a good "point" or is it better value (in terms of $/kw) to go for, say 550 or 600hp? In case you're wondering about my budget, well I'm not exactly sure, as I don't have the car yet (figuring around $35K for one with OK then, that's about all I can think of for now, Ben