Sydneykid

Wait for a week or two, then get back to us. The more power you have the quicker you will notice. I have found ZERO difference in shift logic ignition retard and cut between models. It doesn't "work" on all models. I have driven 10 or so Skyines autos supposedly "working" with aftermarket ECUs'. Not one of them had even remotely close to satisfactory gearchange smoothness or provided any protection for the gearbox at the time of the gearchange. If you are going to use the Power FC to tune for any decent sort of power increase you will come to quickly realise what that means. As I said above, please keep us in the loop. cheers

I checked the legality with the technical officers, since I removed the rubber covers and replaced them with polyurethane covers they had no problems. It doesn't matter that the polyurethane covers were thicker than rubber covers they replaced. In addition (and more importantly) there is provision for real wheel alignment changes, anti- squat in the rear being one of those, same as anti dive is in the front. Have a read of rules 1.8, 9.1, 9.3 and particularly 9.14 and open your mind up to the possibiliities. Cheers

Around 4 hours, so somewhere between $250 and $500. If you don't have all the necessary gaskets and seals, then they will be extra. cheers

Keeping it as brief as I can; Using a GCG Ball Bearing High flowed RB25DET turbo. We used to run 1.3 bar on the old (170,00 k's) RB20DET for 225 rwkw In 3rd gear it would make the full 1.3 bar by 3,750 rpm (that's on the Commander and the Datalogit, the old R32GTST standard tacho read about 10% high) It would hold the 1.3 bar all the way to 8,250 rpm (rev limiter) Mods were a Power FC with boost control kit, POD, heat shield, ambient air feed, Jun adj cam pulleys (inlet and exhaust), Performance Metalcraft spilt dump, standard R32GTR intercooler, R32GTR fuel pump, R32GTR injectors and a light weight OS Giken twin plate clutch Tuned for response, in particular we spent a lot of time tuning the ignition timing between 3,000 rpm and 6,000 rpm. Plus I sacrificed a little max power for more response using the adjustable camshaft pulleys. I have compared a number of high flowed RB20DET turbos with RB25DET turbos and I can't say as I have noticed any difference in the external sizes of the compressor or turbine covers. The R34GTT turbine cover is slightly larger of course. My understanding is that the internal dimensions of the RB20DET turbine cover are slightly smaller than the RB25DET turbine cover. But that is machined to the same size when GCG do the high flow anyway. cheers

The Bilsteins come with the circlips in the standard height grooves. The grooves are 8 mm apart, so if you want to lower it 8 mm then move the circlips down 1 groove. If you want 16 mm lower, then move them down 2 grooves. Using standard springs, I wouldn't go more than 24 mm, that's 3 grooves down. cheers

PM Sent cheers

I don't have any, but I can organise some from Jamex on the Group Buy for you. PM sent. cheers

The only place you would use an inverted monotube is on a strut based car, to take advantage of the extra shaft strength to maintain the wheel alignment angles. For example Bilstein for Cefiros and S13/14/15 utilise the inverted montube design. Using an inverted monotube shock on a double wishbone car (like a Skyline R32/33/34 and Stagea) is simply not necessary. That's why the Bilsteins for those models are the normal/straight monotube design. Summary follows; Pros Holds alignment in strut based cars, the shaft doesn't bend under cornering, acclerating and braking loads (as occurs in strut based suspension, not double wishbone) Lower friction when subject to side loads (as occurs in strut based suspension, not double wishbone) It's a monotube, so all the usual advantages over a twin tube (larger piston area, more fluid, room for more sophisticated valves etc) Cons Not necessary for double wishbone cars Complex design, more parts to fail Costs more to make Heavier than a straight monotube Difficult to service (particulalrly nitrogen regas) Larger seal area, so more prone to leaks Fitting travel limiters is more difficult Replacing and tuning the internal bump stops is also more difficult Slightly reduced piston area to outside diameter compared to a straight monotube design Hope that answered your question. cheers

Loosen the rear nuts all the way (don't remove them) and lever the front down with a LARGE screw driver. cheers

Helper/tender springs help keep the main spring trapped at full droop. They do that quite effectively. The only con is that you have to spend money to buy them and the intermediate seat that they require. This shock is for a MacPherson strut based car (S13/14/15, Cefiro or equivalent) hence why it has the large diameter shaft. The extra rigidity is necessary because the strut has to not only act as a damper, it also has to stop lateral movement of the suspension. Since R32/33/34 and Stagea have double wishbone suspension, they upper wishbone does that job. All the shock has to do is dampen the spring and chassis movements. Hence I wouldn't use that design of shock in a Skyline. As you can see this design of shock has the more normal shaft diameter and hence is most likely for a double wishbone car. However it also has the larger diameter lower body indicating it is most likely a twin tube design. cheers

I never run tyre pressures over 30 psi cold. PM me for prices on Bilstein revalving, I need to get a feel for how much you want to change it. A Skyline typically weighs 60% front and 40% rear, hence why you CAN run higher front tyre pressure than rear and not suffer excessive over inflation wear. Or, it could be simply that the excessive caster wear is offset by the excessive tyre pressure. There is no caster on the rear to offset the excessive tyre pressure at that end. Excessive caster wear can be caused by excessive caster (obviously) or by a driver who doesn't use the caster (ie; drives on freeways a lot and/or doesn't corner as fast as a sports car is set up for). Are you saying at 38 psi the axle tramp stops? But when you go down to 35 psi it reappears? cheers

I disagree right back.......you knew that was coming didn't you? The Whiteline rear subframe alignment kit most definitely does decrease the lateral movement of the subframe. More importantly it decreases the vertical movement as well. In addition it allows you to change the angle of the rear subframe for more, the same or less squat. The pineapple actually sits partially inside the subframe and it is squeezed in place by the standard nut and large retaining washer. The standard silicone filled bushes are like a bag filled with liquid. Like any liquid, the silicone can not be compressed, so to allow movement of the subframe, the silicone has to be displaced. The pineapple prevents that displacement. Hence the Whiteline rear subframe alignment kit most certainly does increase the rigidity of the standard bushes. If you are suffering an understeer problem, then the faster (in lap times) approach would be to increase the front grip, not decrease the rear. cheers PS 1; the Ottomotto rear subframe kit only has 4 bushes (as per your attached picture) the Whiteline kit has 6. PS 2; aluminium alloy subframe bushes are illegal in Improved Production, polyurethane bushes are not.

The front and rear guards openings are not "cut" to the same height. The rear guard opening is in fact ~15 mm lower than the front guard opening. Hence, rake is best measured at the sill (just behind the front wheels and just in front of the rear wheels), that's where the 10 mm nose down comes from. cheers

The difference between the R34GTT Neo and Stagea S1 turbo and the R33GTST and Stagea S1 turbo is GROSSLY overrated. I have had both (GCG ball bearing high flow) on an R33GTST and I can assure you the difference is not worth the aggravation it causes. The ABSOLUTE best I could get (with lots of tuning time) out of the R34GTT turbine cover was 10 rwkw more than the R33GTST turbine cover (265 rwkw versus 275 rwkw). Keeping in mind that EVERYTHING else in the turbo is EXACTLY the same. For the 10 rwkw extra I sacrificed 250 rpm of boost build ie; the larger turbine cover meant the boost was a little slower to build. I am still not convinced it was worth it. There is a Group Buy on at the moment for R33GTST and Stagea S1 GCG ball Bearing high flows for $1,750 delivered, that includes all the gaskets and seals necessary to fit it straight on, NOTHING more to buy. Plus it is an exchange service. You pay $2,250 and get the GCG Ball Bearing High Flow delivered to you. Then in your own time you take your turbo off and send it back. Once it is confirmed as being suitable for high flowing by GCG you get your $500 back (ie; you have paid net $1,750). This Group Buy is organised through Jamex, the same people who do the Whiteline and Bilstein suspension Group Buy. So service is guaranteed, judging by to 70 or satisfied SAU customers. Now back to your problem………….. Sorry but you won’t get anywhere near 10 psi with a GT30 before R&R mapping sets in. This is because the R&R mapping is triggered by excessive airflow, which the GT30 will do at 5 psi compared to the standard turbo’s 8 psi. Yep, that’s right, as soon as I went past 8 psi I encountered R&R mapping on the Stagea S1 and the R34GTT. I had to tune the DFA to avoid the dreaded mid range flatness and grossly excessive fuel consumption. The A/F ratios dropped into the 9’s at 3,250 rpm to 5,000 rpm, which is the most common range used for brisk driving. So whether you upgrade the exhaust or not your are still looking at annoying R&R mapping, very slow boost build, lots of lag and a Stagea that is almost guaranteed to be slower than a standard one as a result. But, as I always say, every car is different, yours might just be the one. cheers

Nope, Bilstein Skyline shocks come with circlip grooves standard, the Group Buy simply adds a few more. The shock body is designed for that purpose. cheers

Take it back and complain about the fuel economy. Any sort of decent tune would have included a closed loop running test, to make sure that the lambda sensor is functioning as it should. Takes about 10 seconds on the dyno. cheers

Genuine Bilstein shocks have "BILSTEIN" machine into the shock body along with the part numbers. Thye are usually down near the lower shock mount. cheers

I think the other guys are being a bit gentle, I think it’s time for reality check here. Surely you are not seriously considering using a GT30 with the standard ECU? Honestly you will hit the standard ECU R&R mapping before the GT30 is halfway to its efficiency. You are going to get so frustrated driving it. You will have a 300 rwkw turbo with a 130 rwkw ECU, a 160 rwkw intercooler, a 165 rwkw fuel pump and 200 rwkw injectors. It’s a total mismatch in power output potential. Personally I think you are doing it completely the wrong way around, the most efficient (least frustrating) order is; 1. On a turbocharged engine the very first thing you should do is a turbo back exhaust with split dump and high flow cat. 2. The second thing is something to control the boost (EBC, bleed valve whatever) 3. The third thing on an S1 is an intercooler upgrade, the standard side mount intercooler is marginal at even the mild power upgrade you get from the exhaust (ie; 160 rwkw). The S2 intercooler is somewhat larger and probably OK to 200 rwkw. 4. Next, it’s time to get some control over the tuning. The standard ECU R&R mapping will make it slow, surge prone, uneconomical on fuel and just plain frustrating tot drive. You will fowl plugs, guzzle gas and it will slower than it was standard. So it’s SAFC (or equivalent) time if it’s an auto and a Power FC if it’s a manual. 5. Once you have the above 4 items, then and ONLY THEN is it turbo upgrade time. Since you have chosen a turbo that exceeds the standard fuel pump and injector flow, you will need to move on to the following. 6. You will need to choose a fuel pump and injector size that matches your power target. With the GT30 you are well past a fuel pressure upgrade (via a adjustable FPR) and the standard injectors. So don’t bother with the FPR, just go straight to the right sized injectors, something around 500 cc’s if you want to use the GT30 to its potential. 7. If it’s an auto you are into severe transmission upgrades, standard it won’t last a week. If it’s a manual then you have need of a decent clutch upgrade immediately. Hopefully the above has either stopped you from suffering the inevitable frustration. Or at the very least forewarned you of what to expect. cheers

A perfectly working lambda sensor is unlikely to improve the fuel economy from 200 k's per tank. Maybe 20 k's, depending on how much time you spend at cruise or idle. If it's a lot of the time while you are driving, then you might get 15%, but if you spend hardly any time idling and cruising then it won't make much difference at all. Personally my guess would be you have other problems, not the least of which is tuning. cheers

Let’s clear up this “closed loop tuning” issue. There is no such thing as “closed loop tuning”, the standard ECU has a simple lambda aim table loaded into its mapping. In a Power FC that is in fact one number, around 15 to 1 A/F ratio. This means whenever the parameters are met (idle or cruise) the ECU reads of the standard (narrow and slow) lambda sensor and tries to hit the targeted A/F ratio. So it increases or decreases the injector duration continuously trying to keep at 15 to 1. As long as the lambda sensor is working correctly the ECU will always aim for its target A/F ratio, hence there is no tuning required. Remember with all closed loop running it doesn’t happen instantly, the throttle opening has to be constant, the rpm has to be stable and the (slow and narrow) lambda sensor has to have enough time to read off the A/F ratio and tell the ECU what it is. This is where a slight improvement in fuel economy can be gained by utilising a fast and wide lambda sensor. By tuning the fuel map locations around the closed loop location (idle and cruise) to give around 15 to 1 A/F ratios. This means that you save that little extra fuel while the ECU is fiddling around reading the lambda sensor etc. If you have a read of the Tech Edge thread in Forced Induction, I go into some detail on how I tuned the idle and cruise A/F ratios. cheers

I don't think I can contribute to this thread. cheers

The Falcon lambda sensor I used cost $78 from Repco. last time I checked the genuine Nissan one was $180. I don't think anyone is going to charge you $102 to swap over a plug, it's a 10 minute job. Cheers

Is that a “what is it legal to tow with a Stagea” question? That seems to vary from state to state. With override brakes in NSW it is the weight of the Stagea (1600 kgs or so), with power (electric in my case) brakes it’s 2.5 tonnes. If it is a “how does a Stagea handle the towing weight” question? The R32GTST on the trailer weighs around 1700 kgs plus I carry around 150 kgs of tools and spares. It hustles that (all up 3.5 tonnes) along very well, keeps up with a V8 Landcruiser (with similar race car/trailer on the back) no problems. Note that I have a large automatic transmission cooler, which is an essential for ANY towing, an R34GTT intercooler and around 50 rwkw more than standard. The only problem is the fuel tank (65 litres or so) is very small when you are towing that amount of weight and drag on a long trip. The Landcruiser has a 150 litre tank/tanks, so it goes more than twice as far between stops. cheers

Almost; 1. Yep, you got it 2. Yep, that's it 3. Nope, not quite, what happens is the spring rebounds from the compression in #2. But the shock isn't "strong" enough to release that energy smoothly, the spring recoils too quickly. This rapid release takes the weight off the rear of the car, it springs upwards. So the tyre spins a little bit. When the energy of the spring is fully released (only takes about 1/100th to 10/100ths of a second) then the "upwards" stops. The tyre has weight on it, so it grips again, then the spring compresses, then the shock can't control it agians etc etc . 4. Yep, that's it, as per #3. If you want to test #3, get a small spring and compress it with your finger onto a table. Then release it by slipping your finger off to the side, very quickly. The spring will jump off the table. Then compress the spring the same, but this time leave your finger on it and let the spring decompress slowly. The spring doesn't jump up off the table. In the second example, you finger is a good shock absorber, it releases the stored energy progressively, hence the spring (and the tyre in a car) doesn't jump off the ground. Cheers

I would add; My old S1 had a separate ignitor and a Garret turbo, with a ceramic turbine & steel compresor It had the half moon CAS drive on the exhaust camshaft It had one plug on the TPS No airbags Our S1.5 has ignitors on the coils and a Garret turbo, with a ceramic turbine & steel compressor It's an M spec, so it has the high rear wing, front bumper and side skirts I don't know what CAS drive it has It has 2 plugs on the TPS, but only 1 is connected Drivers airbag The S2 I used for a month had ignitors on the coils and a Hitachi turbo, with a ceramic turbine & plastic compressor It had a star shaped CAS drive on the exhaust camshaft It had 2 plugs on the TPS and both were connected (from memory) Drivers and passengers airbag cheers