saliya

Hey, In an R32 GTR manual, CH-31 and 32 clearly shows a baulk ring (what we call a synchro) on first... in this photo from my box rebuild, it's the rightmost brassy ring on the top LHS shaft (mainshaft). No comment on the don't-shift-to-first - I've shifted to first in-motion in every hillclimb I've ever done - but that of course isn't normal driving Beer Baron's right - in normal driving, this shouldn't be a problem (you shouldn't shift to first while in motion). As to the problem - if it's 'catching' it will be the 1st-second coupling sleeve catching on the teeth of the first main gear. This is bad - you'll burr the teeth on the sleeve or the gear, so don't do it. If it's just hard to press it's because the baulk ring has to synchronise the speeds of the gear and the shaft before the sleeve can engage... Regards, Saliya

Depends on the engineer. Rough guesstimate is about $550 inc GST. Do the ring-around In NSW, I don't think you'll get an atmo BOV engineered at all. I don't know about other states. Depends on the engineer. The one I used for my car said he'd be happy to inspect/add my other items to my Report for free when I got them done (I already had the items, but they were not fitted). So 'yes' you can do it like this (some mods now, some later, later at a lower cost). I would guess that most would do the same; or for a minimal fee. This is assuming that you go back to your original Signatory to get your new mods certified. If you go to a new one, expect to pay full price again. If you make changes a long time later, expect to pay full price again. Don't expect them to just do it though - _before_ you get your original Report, tell them what you plan to do, and ask them about updating/changing the Report after it's been issued and whether there's any cost. Lay out everything and ask them what they can do for you... Regards, Saliya

The cert is just an indication that at some stage the car was legal; meaning that yes, they can still defect the car (something might have changed between issue of cert and 'now'). It's not a get out of jail free card. Generally if you pass what I like to call the 'd1ckhead' test (that is, the police officer assesses whether they think you are a d1ckhead) you won't have a problem. If you _don't_ have a cert, you are much more likely not to pass. The RTA has a list of Engineering Signatories (check their website) and any of them will be able to tell you whether your car's legal or not. If it's not they will be able to tell you what you need to do to make it legal. He/she will then be happy to take approx $550 off your hands to write you an Engineer's Report that you must then register with the RTA and keep a copy in your car. Regards, Saliya

Hey, Sorry I wasn't clear. What does different duty cycle mean? The amount of time the injector is open per unit of time. Have a look at http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-injection.htm and the following pages, they call it 'pulse width'. Does different duty cycle make a difference to an injector? Pretty much not. They're only opening and closing - that's what they're designed to do. In theory having the magnet on for more time might make it wear out faster - but we can pretty safely say that doesn't really matter for the purposes of this discussion. Does different duty cycle make a difference to the burn process? Of course. See the above link. Are bigger injectors or an adjustable FPR safer? No. They only help if you're running out of fuel - that is, your current injectors are at 100%. One set of injectors (working properly) that operates at 100% duty cycle is exactly as safe as a different set operating at 85%, as long as they are supplying enough fuel for the air. The difference is, that if you need more fuel with the first set you can't get it - you have to change something (e.g. fuel pressure). Where you _can_ get a bit of safety margin is by tuning the car up to an airflow level that's say 5-10% higher than the maximum you expect, then backing the air off a bit (e.g. by turning the boost down slightly). That means that if you somehow get more air in there (e.g. it's a cold night) the PFC's already been mapped for that higher airflow and will supply enough fuel to suit. But that's not a function of injector size or an FPR - that's you anticipating certain conditions and mapping for them. If your stock injectors can supply enough fuel for this higher airflow, bigger injectors buy you exactly 0 'safety'. If your car's not tuned for this higher airflow even with bigger injectors, again, no extra safety. People seem to think that leaving 'headroom' in injectors (e.g. tune up to 85% duty cycle) somehow makes things safer - it doesn't. Yes, there's room for more fuel flow - but unless the car is mapped for it, it won't be used. And if an injector goes south the others won't make up the difference... Regards, Saliya

Hey, There's no need to worry about the duty cycle of the injectors, as long as you realise you run out of extra flow at 100%. They do the same amount of opening and closing at 99% duty cycle as at 1% (but the timing is different). Typically an adjustable FPR is an alternative to replacing 6 injectors where you need 'a bit more' flow (say 15%) but you don't want to go to the expense of a new set of injectors. Winding up the pressure is the same as installing slightly-larger injectors, but cheaper (provided your lines can take it ) A car tuned for max 85% injector duty with an FPR will go bang just as hard as one tuned for 100% without if an injector stops working and suddenly 1/6 the fuel flow is cut off. The other injectors, while they have room to flow another 15% each, _won't_ - the ECU won't tell them to... Regards, Saliya

Hey, To shut it up and get it passed a drilled plate might work (either welded in, which is perfectly OK, or removable-but-nobody-knows-its-there, which isn't). The problem is that everything is supposed to be part of the exhaust (not removable). So your silencer (I'm guessing you mean one of those things jammed in the tailpipe) is supposed to be welded in; and any plates should be welded in. Anything removable will probably be removed before measuring... The bad news is that when you remove the silencer and plate (you will, because the car will run like a busted ar5ehole), you will probably get pinged again; this time, they will probably hit you with a big dollar fine straight away... The good news is that if your pipework is 3" or smaller and you have stock cams/turbo it should be relatively easy to legalise properly. A working cat, a centre straight-through resonator/muffler, and a rear straight-through muffler of reasonable volume should allow you to get below the legal limit easily (and it will sound good too ). If you have more lift/duration/overlap on the cams, or a bigger turbo, or bigger overall pipework you will need more muffling to counterbalance that. 3.5" pipes are borderline but probably OK with stock cat/turbo/cams; for 4" pipes and aftermarket turbo I had to use a rear muffler that was not straight-through. It will be cheaper in the long run to do it right the first time... and no, you don't need to go back to stock to do it... Regards, Saliya

It's not that bad Start by draining oil/water from the motor, just do a little at a time. The stages _are_ ridiculous (they summarize so much work so easily!!!). Don't lean on any of the oil/water lines (you can damage them very easily) so make sure you've cracked the nuts on the banjos before you undo the banjos. This goes for anything that you might want to separate - separate the lines while they're still relatively fixed in place rather than try to do it after you've removed a solid mounting. Also to take the turbos off the manifolds you need to do it in stages - like crack the nuts, lift a little, undo some more, lift a little, etc. etc. I had a bit of drama with the water lines running along the side of the head; had to find a special spanner that would engage more faces than a standard spanner (pipe spanner? flare spanner?). I also found that a set of Kincrome metric stubby ratchet spanners was invaluable (both in removal, and installation). Good luck, anyway. If you've already made your car undrivable, you may as well do the lot. It really _isn't_ that bad. Regards, Saliya

I'm forced for engineering purposes to have a high-mount stop light, but I don't want one that sticks to the inside of the rear window, or mounts on top of the boot. So I thought I'd put one in my rear spoiler. I purchased a 'super slim' 12V LED array from www.spoilerlights.com (super fast, reasonable price), then a 2nd hand GTR spoiler (I was promised plastic, but I don't think that it is after seeing the white dust that came out of it while beginning my cutting!!!). I've cut the wing in half along the original joins, found a mounting point, cut the appropriate hole and got it looking OK. But I think I'm going to have to make a mount such that I can insert/remove the LEDs with the spoiler back in one piece. I then need to rejoin the spoiler... Questions to anyone that has experience in this area: 1) What can I use to rejoin the spoiler on the inside? As well as 4 screws, looks like great big dobs of glue were used originally, but I'm not sure what the glue is. 2) Does it make a difference if it's plastic or fibreglass? How can I definitively tell? It doesn't look like any fibreglass I've seen before; but it also doesn't look like plastic. Are they radically different in weight or flexibility? There's a number sprayed on the inside of each piece - what would the factory numbers be? 3) What can I use to fill the gap between the two wing parts so that the entire assembly can be repainted? I think I need something that's semi-flexible but can also be painted over. What would have been used originally? Thanks folks, Saliya

Hey, I have only anecdotal evidence from a friend (seat-of-pants) that says yes, performance will drop. When you plumb it back you're attempting to stuff extra gas through the system - more backpressure, less performance. So the same car, same tune is almost guaranteed to lose performance from changing VTA to plumb-back and nothing else. "How much" performance drop really depends on how much your exhaust 'can' flow vs how much it 'is' flowing right now, and how much gas is chucked out the gate that needs to be accounted for. I'm not familiar with that HKS exhaust nor the internal design of its mufflers, but if it's 3.5" or bigger I'd say it will probably be OK. You could always knock something up and see If there's a big difference you'll probably hate it and take it back off; but then at least you can take it to the track ready for fitting if you do get pinged... Regards, Saliya

Hey, Methylated spirits is 'denatured' ethyl alcohol (ethanol); denaturing meaning basically making it undrinkable. This is usually done by adding 10% or so methyl alcohol (methanol) or a similar amount of naptha. I doubt the company was selling 100% ethanol diluted with water as methylated spirits, because it's not denatured and is thus subject to booze tax. There are hundreds of ways to denature ethanol - but none of them is by adding 5% water only Guilt-toy - keep us all posted; if you can get a PFC with 740cc injectors past emissions I'd like to think I'll be able to put my 700cc Sards in and do the same thing. If you could post any information/graphs etc. that you get that'd be awesome. Regards, Saliya

Looks too high to me. If you could rotate it I'd say it looks like it's on upside-down - but I understand that the RB30 head stud pattern doesn't allow for that. Do what you've done - put the turbo where you think it should be, figure out where the turbo flange should be relative to the exhaust flange(s). Then find a manifold that makes that happen. If it's a split-pulse manifold you're going to have a great deal of trouble cutting the flange off and re-welding another one on (because of the split-pulse - they are almost impossible to weld from 'the other side'). Regards, Saliya

Pods aren't illegal in NSW. Mine's engineered; afaik completely street-legal. If someone wants to argue; they can argue with the engineer that said it was legal (I don't really care ). Intake mods that don't pass the noise-test and emissions test _are_ illegal in Oz; but then, so are any mods that put you outside the emissions envelope. You're not supposed to have programmable engine management anywhere; but there are some folks that are _allowed_ to adjust stuff on the RTA/EPA dyno to pass (how do you adjust non-programmable management?). Go figure... Regards, Saliya

Hey, if the MAP sensor's reading 0.5kg/cm2 and you set target to 0.5 (and it's _really_ 'something else') don't see how that would be a problem - after all, it doesn't really care _what_ the number is, only how close to (or far away) you are from it... I'm pretty sure he's "aiming" at the sensor reading (like if the sensor reads 0.5, but that's really 1, and he really wants 1, then he programs 0.5...) The only time this would be a problem that I can see is in terms of resolution (like if 0.1 == 1, then an 0.2 overboost is actually 3 instead of 1.2); or in terms of minimums (say it reads 0.3 @ 1; you can't dial up 0.3 as a target if you want 1) Regards, Saliya

Pretty sure that's the "learning" part; _exactly_ what the number means I don't know; but when you change the duty cycle it goes to 255 again. A number that's not 255 is perfectly normal as far as I know. If I had to guess I'd say it's "attack" - and that it self-adjusts so that you approach target boost as fast as possible without hitting the boost cut - but I don't know Regards, Saliya

Hey, edit: strangeness! if you connected to the other port, you should have had exact reversal of previous behaviour - with BCK enabled, should have been running on spring pressure; with it disabled, should have been "unlimited" boost. Anyway... At least you're making progress Put a multimeter that can measure duty-cycle on the solenoid, and see whether it's being told to open or not. At this point it doesn't _sound_ like the solenoid to me - when you have it enabled, it's closed; and when you have it disabled, it's open. Sounds like the solenoid's working fine, but the controller's not telling it to open ... the meter will tell you for sure though. Regards, Saliya

Hey, if that's the case: it _was_ working properly AND all you have changed is a turbocharger AND all the other stuff's been done AND actuator pressure is 16psi then something's probably been broken during the changeover You didn't go from int to ext gate, did you? Check the boost reading with a different (known-good) gauge. You mentioned that your duty cycle is the lowest it's ever been - 44 - but doesn't this go down to 20? Turn it down as low as it goes and work up. Mine runs on 36 for 1kg and 40 for 1.2kg. You said that on your sensor check boost was 0-1V; mine's 1.97V with the ignition on but not started. Check that when displaying boost on the hand-controller the figure follows what you see on your gauge. Maybe the line to the MAP sensor's kinked or your PFC is seeing less boost than is actually there for a different reason. Tee a known-good boost gauge into the line you have currently connected to the actuator, this will show you what your actuator's seeing. Do this with the BCK enabled and disabled. If you see '0' psi all the time with the kit enabled, then your solenoid or control isn't working properly. If you see 'more than 0' with the kit enabled, the duty cycle is the most likely culprit. Make sure the solenoid's cycling (rattling). If it's not cycling (maybe it's closing once, then staying closed) put a multimeter that can measure duty cycle on the control line and see whether the signal is saying 'stay closed' or whether the solenoid's not following the signal. If it's not following the signal try switching borrowing a known-good solenoid to replace yours. If it is following the signal (but the signal is wrong) try a known-good PFC. Regards, Saliya

Hey, The Apexi solenoid has three ports; one common (labelled COM), one normally-open (NO) and one normally-closed (NC). On my solenoid, it looks like this (ignore the dots, I had to use them as spacers): COM = =||== NC ................|| ...............NO Mine's inline between the pressure signal and the wastegate, so I use the COM and NO ports (in my setup the controller closes the valve to stop the gate seeing pressure). If you connect it as a bleed (tees off the signal -> wastegate line) you would connect COM and NC (the controller opens the valve to take pressure away from the gate). Since I don't know which configuration you have, I can't recommend which connection to use But I'm guessing that switching between the N ports will fix your problem - that is, if you have one line connected to the NC port switch it to NO; or if you have it connected to NO switch it to NC. Leave the COM line alone... I'm guessing this because when you activate/deactivate it boost changes - so you _probably_ have it electrically OK and it's just the air lines that are backwards. Regards, Saliya

The temp warning is for the cat - the idea being, if the cat gets blocked by one means or another the temperature on the upstream side will go way up. View it as a health-of-cat sensor. Exhaust shops use this as a means of gauging just how blocked your cat is If you delete it you won't do any harm as long as you're cat's not blocked. Regards, Saliya

Hey, If you think about it: If an exhaust wheel lets go the last thing it's going to cause is excessive backpressure; unless the bits happen to block up an exhaust port or two. Perhaps _before_ it let go; but not after. I've had a wheel let go; no damage - others have had them let go and have spent big dollars cleaning crap out of their motors. So many things are happening at once; it's conceivable that large pieces will find their way back through open exhaust valves (I've seen an aluminium spacer off a carby go _right through_ a v8 motor on 700thou lift) and result in "interesting" stuff happening to your bores. It's worthwhile taking other experiences into account - just because mine wound up as bits in the cat and nowhere else is no guarantee that every other explosion will be similar. Regards, Saliya

pfft. Insurance is based on risk; Shannon's won't insure a business-registered car and JC love it. IME for the same vehicle but for private registration Shannon's has always been cheaper and they have always been willing to insure for more (replacement-value, anyone? Regards, Saliya

You don't _have_ to. If you keep the box shut and are careful of where the stick comes out, no. The clutch section and the 'box' section are completely separate. That being said; most boxes are full of crap. And I've never dropped a GTR box without dropping the fluids first. Does not hurt to drop the oil and look at what's happening. If you find bits of metal, be scared (replacement of stuff is often expensive). If you have a problem with synchro you _can_ get a bit more life out of it with oil (apparently); but the ultimate solution is to fix the problem (change the worn synchros). Regards, Saliya

Hey, Presuming you have a turbo (you're in FI) you will get some performance benefits from deleting mufflers. It won't be as loud as a NA because the turbo(s) does a lot of muffling. It _will_ be louder - it depends what you're going from/to; but say you deleted the mufflers from a stock system on an R33 with a stock turbo I'd guess you'd be looking at around 95-100dB. If you can unbolt your exhaust behind the cat, try it out to see what it will probably sound like. You probably won't like it If what you're going for is performance; you should be able to find something that flows more and yet is still legal by either using a different muffler design (you haven't said what you already have) or a larger pipe size with appropriate muffling (up to around 3.5"; anything bigger than that is very hard to shut up). If you're going for performance - but on a budget - look for a secondhand system in stainless to suit your car. You can polish stainless if you're after the bling factor. Regards, Saliya

morton & may. Don't have a ph #; they are in the book Did a sterling job of a wheel that some freak had run down a gutter for in my estimate 20m or so. Liverpool, NSW (might be called "wetherill park"). SW

pms replied, sold stuff updated, pics of water pipes added. SW

Hey, Something small and cheap. You can ride some 600s as a learner but I wouldn't - they're big and heavy; and you'll spend more of your attention than you need to on just keeping the thing upright and turning corners. Don't get a faired bike - you _will_ drop it - and fairings are horrendously expensive. If you do get a faired bike pull them off it until you've dropped it at least once (or sold it). This can happen while you're riding but seems to happen to most learners once they've parked the bike IMO hard to go past the Honda CB (no, not CBR) 250 for cheapness and reliability - and when you sell it in 12 months time you'll get back virtually what you paid for it. Riding position is relatively upright, they are almost bulletproof and they are very cheap. The only downside is they look like crap - depends on if image is important to you. They are also a little heavy compared to current spec 250s. Sprockets/chains wear out. Depends on how well they're adjusted as to how long they last - also, on the power level of the bike and how they're ridden. On a 250 kept adjusted I wouldn't be surprised to see 15,000 out of a chain/sprocket set. You need to replace both at once. A couple hundred for both sprockets and chain. Regards, Saliya