Sydneykid

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, that’s the great thing about forums, you get to express your opinion. And other people get to see that opinion and hopefully plenty of others, some in agreement and some in conflict. Then they can make a somewhat more informed choice than they could previously. So another 20 cents worth from me……………….. Ohlins is a Swedish company, with a high stake owned by Yamaha as Ohlins used to be almost entirely a bike shock manufacturer. Ohlins have licenced their name (to Carrozeria), maybe becuase of the Yamaha conection, so there are "Ohlins" shocks made in Japan but they are CRAP compared to the Swedish Ohlins. Yes I have tested them, yes I have tried to have them repaired, yes I have compared them to the Swedish Ohlins we use in the race car and THERE IS NO COMPARISON. The Australian Ohlins representative (Steve Cramer) will not touch Japanese Ohlins. He runs the other way as fast as he can. As an example, I changed one of the race R32GTR's from Japanese Ohlins to Proflex and it was 30 seconds faster in a 20 minute race at Oran Park, first time out. The Bilsteins we use are 100% made in Germany. I can honestly say I have never seen a Japanese manufactured Bilstein. There are Bilsteins sold in Japan of course. A 400 lbs per inch spring is a 400 lbs per inch spring, whether it is made in Japan or Australia, it STILL takes 400 lbs per inch to compress it 1 inch. And a 400 lbs per inch spring used in the rear of road Skyline is a JOKE. Japanese suspension is not primarily designed for Japanese roads, it is designed for Japanaese tastes. Their aftermarket likes it that way. Their aftermarket has very little understanding of swaybars, anti lift, anti dive and their mechanics charge like brain surgeons. So suspension set up is almost unknown, it has to be a bolt on culture. I can’t tell you how many hundreds of used Jap cars I have seen for a wheel alignment that have NEVER EVER had one in their life. They still have the manufacturers original paint on the nuts and thread. Most of the Jap adjustable shocks only adjust the rebound damping. Changing the rebound rates in a shock absorber does not make it softer, that requires a spring and bump rate change. Softening the rebound rate makes it less controlled on spring and bar recoil and chassis vertical motion, that’s not SOFTER. I still hits the bumps with exactly the same force/resistance as it did before. How do you know that you have the damper settings right? Even an experienced race engineer finds shock set up a bit of a black art. Expecting a novice road car owner to know what is right and what is wrong is asking a lot. The window of operation on the average Japanese shock is very narrow compared to the much wider offerings of the Europeans shocks with their more sophisticated valving. That way you don’t have to guess, you know you have a 90% fit, even in the worst case. How many times have you adjusted your ride height? And why? Most people choose a height that they want, then they leave it alone. On the race cars we adjust the height regularly, for changing the roll couple (none of our Skylines have adjustable roll centre). At the same time we redo the wheel alignment and the corner weights, as height changes can affect the geometry and balance. But on a road car that never happens. Most of the road cars I see with screw height adjusters have never been touched from the day they were put in, you need a lump hammer to rotate the adjusters. They paid for something that they will never use. You stick them on the aligner or the corner weight scales and they are all over the place. At least with circlip height adjustment you only have to count the grooves. As I said earlier, horses for courses, one mans meat is another mans poison etc. I have yet to find a single Japanese shock that I would put anywhere near one of my cars. Hopefully one day I will, but I am not holding my breath. cheers

Running a little rich perhaps? cheers

I would have thought that with 408 rwhp (305 rwkw) it would have run with a TS around 125 mph. A TS of 118 mph seems to me to be indicating a power more like 270 rwkw than 305 rwkw. Or am I being too optimistic? cheers

The ~4,750 rpm drop looks like a pressure leak, make sure all of the hoses and clamps are secure and there are no unused fittings that aren’t blocked off completely. My next guess for the high rpm would be ignition timing. I would try some more advance, when the inlet cam timing changes you need to carefully tune the ignition timing to suite. Restrictions don’t usually cause a sudden drop in power, they slow down the increase, flatten it out, or cause a minor decrease, but NEVER a sudden drop. That’s a tuning issue, boost is always the first suspect. cheers

Do a search Sydneykid +ECU+Rich+Retard+Mapping cheers

I held back on responding because, like Roy, I thought it was a waist of time. But heck, I am bored and rattling someone’s cage is good for the soul occasionally, as long as it is done with a smile of course And an R32GTR N1 is 1515 kgs, that’s less than 2% difference. you really do need to check the homologation papers. And an R33 GTR comes with 9” wheels on all 4 corners The same 4 tyres will ALWAYS have more traction than the same 2 tyres, regardless of power. On a prepared drag strip specifically designed for 2wd drag cars. On the street it would be lucky to do a 12, a 9 sec GTR will do 9’s on the street just as well as it will on the track. It doesn’t need a prepared surface to run within 10% of its potential. They won NOTHING until the GTR’s stopped racing. So you are saying if Mario had spent the same money on a Supra he would be driving it? Oh my you need to open your eyes. He doesn’t drive it because he has business issues that prevent him competing. And I suppose the worlds fastest Supra has a stock standard engine? I won’t stoop to insults, that’s childish. Everyone (except you) knows that the 1989/90 model R32GTST manual (no sunroof) weighs 1265 kgs with a full tank. Later models and those with more options weight more. If my power target is under 625bhp that’s $600 I don’t have to spend on a GTR. That’s $600 I can spend on something else to make it faster, not make up for a deficiency in its design. Wow, I only managed a race team that ran Supras for 3 years, I didn’t know that. All I know is the bustards just got slower and slower as the races went on, the heat soak killed them. The rear tyres lasted 3 laps at best. Not to mention the heat from the turbos cooking the brake and clutch fluid. At least GTR’s have the turbos on the LHS and the tyres last a 20 minute race. If my power target is under 300 rwkw that’s $1000 I don’t have to spend on a GTR. That’s $1000 I can spend on something else to make it faster, not make up for a deficiency in its design. . You obviously had a problem understanding what I wrote about the GTR’s on radials that run regular 9’s. I suggest you go back and read it again. Supras are popular drag cars in the US, because they were sold there, because the turbo/turbos are on the passengers side there, because there are thousands of them running around as road cars, bits are cheap and common. That’s the law of supply and demand at work. The fact is no one wants a Supra, so their price is depressed. Everyone wants a GTR, so their price is heightened. You actually lose the argument right here. As I said above, I spent years managing a race team with Supras, I know which car I would much rather have. Which car is going to win (or have a very good chance of winning) in Production or Improved Production racing. Has 16 years of circuit racing history, homologation and development. The GTR is not a legend for no reason, there is plenty of true substance. Don’t get me wrong, a Supra is an OK car and a 2JZ is a pretty good engine internally, but there are plenty of better 2wd cars around. The real issue is a GTR is the 4wd Godzilla and it always will be. Cheers

Turbo timers = waste of oxygen (ie; rice) Turbo timers = good place for a thief to get access to your ignition system Turbo timers = nothing for your gearbox, diff or brakes Throw it in the bin and cool the whole car down properly. cheers

The centre of wheel to guard measurement is the one universally accepted in the suspension industry. It also appears on the recognition documents for new cars. But it isn't the only rule. There are couple of others that can override that; Ground clearance, what is a legal 100 mm with a 2.5" exhaust will be highly illegal at 62 mm with a 4" exhaust Headlight height, unless stated on the recognition documents 600 mm from the ground to the centre of the headlights Suspension travel, 2/3 of the original suspension travel (to the bump stops) must be maintained. As you can see it is impossible to give a legal centre of wheel to guard height. Although my recommendations would be not to go below 350mm front and 340 mm rear as it compromised the geometry and leaves insufficient travel to absorb the prolific bumps we encounter every day. If you want more details try the search button cheers

The actual mechanical components are very cheap and easy to buy/make. The problem with water injection as always is the engine safety aspect. What happens if I run out of water? What stops the engine filling up with water, hydraulic lock is not a pretty thing? What stops me injecting too much water and it getting into the oil? What happens if the pump fails because it is not designed for methanol? etc etc That’s where the value of a complete kit comes in. They have the one way valves and solenoids to stop hydraulic lock. They have warning for low water levels. The have the sophistication and programming in the control circuit so you can adjust the water flow using the AFM signal or the MAP sensor signal. The pumps have sufficient power to mist the spray against the boost pressure (150/220 psi is heaps of pressure) and internals designed so as not to corrode when in contact with methanol. cheers

Glad you liked it cheers

PM's sent cheers

PM sent cheers

The standard setup is rubber bushes, inside steel sleaves with steel crush tubes. We replace the rubber with polyurethane bushes, adjustable for camber. We find it is better to do camber correction on the upper wishbone as it avoids the bump steer problems associated with doing it on the lower control arm. cheers

Nothing to do with laziness, the Nissan ECU programming for lift logic is EXTENSIVE. Think about how much data and calculations are needed to be done to cut/retard the ignition just the right amount to give a smooth change and limit the torque loadings while still giving reasonable performance. Up and down hills, around corners, in reverse and 4 forward gears, with limitless throttle opening positions and load (how much weight is it carrying). There is buckloads of R&D and testing needed to get that right, Nissan spent $millions. All of that has ot be paid for, hence included in the price of the ECU. The REAL question is would you pay $20K for a Power FC than worked in an auto? Apexi have decided that you probably wouldn't, so they haven't spent the $millions. cheers PS; Apexi do have Power FC's for auto Toyotas, but their shift logic is in the auto ECU not the engine ECU.

Not as simple a subject as it first sounds. I use thermotec wrap for the exhaust manifold and the dump pipe, engine pipe (back to the cat) and the wastegate pipe. Been doing it for decades on all sorts of cars, so its easy, I can almost do it blindfolded. I also have a turbo blanket around the turbine cover. Makes a HUGE difference to under bonnet temperature. The extra heat (that now isn’t being radiated) goes out the exhaust pipe. I can’t say as the pipework or the turbine cover are any hotter with the wrap/cover. Maybe a few degrees, but in 750 + degrees it’s almost inconsequential. After a 20 minute race the exhaust gas temperature comes down very quickly on the slow down lap and the idle through the pits. The EGT sensor is in the dump directly after the turbine mount flange, just in front of the lambda sensor. I can’t say that it holds the temperature any more than it used to before the wrap/cover. My guess is the extra/retained heat gets transferred inwards (since it can’t go outwards), into the exhaust flow and gets carried along with it and out the tail pipe. This happens, not only at full throttle, but while idling down after the race has finished. The bottom line, I am not really concerned with any extra heat soak caused by the wrap and cover and the benefits are so great it’s a no brainer. cheers

I have fitted several set of 73176 rear coils to R34GTT's and they have always been captive. It is illegal, and also not a good idea, to have them loose at full droop. They don't have any preload, they are JUST captive, enough so they can't fall out of the top spring seats when the shock is fully extended Did you refit the rubber donut on the top spring seat? Did you refit the rubber sound insulator over the bottom coil? Make sure you fitted the rubber top insulators the right way around, the large one goes on the bottom and the small one goes on the top. Make sure the bump stop washer is not upside down, they have a taper that faces downwards Check that the shock shaft nut isn't bottoming out prematurely. I am sure you will find some small fitment issue is the problem. cheers

Fronts will fit, but totally wrong spring and damper rate (R32GTR is ~200 kgs heavier at the front due ot 4wd) Rear won't fit, R32GTR has fork lower shock mounts, R32GTST has eyes cheers

I voted for auto, why; 1. I use mine for towing the race car, the auto is much better for towing 2. Mine gets driven a lot in the city, peak hour traffic and the auto is much better for that 3. I drag off most manuals because I can get boost holding it against the torque converter 4. In the rain with the auto and 4wd, nothing is faster 5. I have 2 manual Skylines that I can drive (race car + R33GTST) if I feel in the mood 6. The auto S1 was much cheaper than a 260RS 2 years ago when I bought it. S2 manuals were almost as much. For what I use it for, a manual Stagea just wouldn't do the job any where near as well. Horses for courses as they say. cheers

What I used to do when I drove cars to circuits was to adjust the toe while it was jacked up for fitting the sticky tyres and adjusting the stabiliser bars. From memory 1 complete turn of the toe adjuster is around 1 mm. If you do both sides the same amount, you should be easily able to return them to zero to drive home. Only takes a few seconds while the car is jacked up. Check the 1mm = 1 turn with the wheel aligner next time it is there. There are 3 settings on the rear subframe alignment kit, I usually go for the neutral setting, except in the continuous rain where we go for the squat setting. I never use the drift setting. cheers

There are 2 dimension to the ECU and auto discussion, the first (#1) is the control the ECU exercises over the igntion timing on gearchanges (that's the post above). The other (#2), far less important, discussion is whether or not the ECU has the relevant outputs for the Auto ECU to make the right choices for the gearchnge. Road speed, engine rpm, throttle position etc outputs. Most ECU's have those, they are very simple. It's the #1 that no aftermarket ECU has. cheers

Interesting approach. It take it from the fact that you posted the question that you think you are getting some wastegate creep as the wastegate actuator is fed pressure prior to the target boost level being reached. The way I test for that is to wire lock the wastegate closed and give it a quick run up on the dyno. Only until the target boost is reached of course, you don’t want rampant uncontrolled boost. That gives you the best possible boost build curve. Then compare that to the boost curve you get with the PFC BCK running the wastegate actuator. That will prevent you from chasing something that isn’t there to be had. There is nothing I can see wrong with the theory of using the Autospeed pressure limiting valve to limit airflow at anything lower than the target boost level. Just make sure you are not wasting your time first. cheers

As posted many times, here is the problem.……..if you want more details so a search. The standard Auto ECU has mapping to retard/cut the ignition on gearchanges. This gives nice, comfortable, jerk free changes and protects the gearbox from excessive torque loadings during the change. NOT ONE after market ECU has that mapping, it is extensive, complex and therefore expensive to program. Supposedly there are more lines of code in the auto mapping than there are to run the engine. If you completely replace the standard ECU you get no ignition retard/cut and the higher power you have the rougher the gearchanges and the quicker the gear box will wear out the 2nd gear bands and 3 + 4 clutches. To retain ignition retard/cut you have to leave the standard ECU in control of the ignition timing. You can use any other ECU to run the injection. Hardly ideal but workable. Other than the Power FC which uses the AFM, the other ECUs’ use MAP sensors. You could use a Power FC to run the injectors and the standard ECU to run the ignition, obviously having no control over the ignition will limit your tuning options. Using the SAFC on its own, you (or the tuner) have obviously hit the compromise limit. Less fuel needed, but the ignition is already too advanced. That usually happens around 225 rwkw. You may find an injector upgrade changes the mix of those components and the compromise becomes less. In my case I use the SITC to give some independent control of the ignition timing. Since the SITC sits between the CAS and the ECU it doesn’t interfere with the ignition cut/retard on gearchanges. Some guys have had recent success using the EManage, to give more control over the injection and ignition. The early problems with the standard igniters seems to have been overcome. Do a search if you want more details. Some guys swear by the chip upgrade, personally I have had no experience with that solution. Do a search if you want more details. I think that covers the options, for the Stagea I looked at them ALL for some time and ended up with the DFA (SAFC equivalent), IEBC (boost controller) and SITC option. My power target is 210 4wkw (equivalent engine output to 230 rwkw in a 2wd manual). I can not see any reason why I won’t reach that target. Hope that was of some help Cheers