Sydneykid

From a recent post.............. Firstly, knock sensors are simply microphones, they are calibrated to hear upper cylinder pre-ignition frequencies and pretty much ignore all other noises. Unfortunately there are quite few noises in cars that have similar frequencies to pre-ignition and the knock sensor can't tell the difference. Being a microphone, they simply transfer the noise into electrical signals that the ECU receives and interprets. The displayed knock is simply a number, it's not knocks per minute/second/hour.....it's just a number. In the case of a Power FC (my terminology) 100 is really bad (stop right now and fix it), 80 is bad (stop soon and fix it), 60 is almost OK (get the tune checked as soon as you can), 40 is OK (maybe get the tune checked if you are worried), 20 is perfectly safe (press on) and 10 is too low (the engine is not tuned close enough). cheers

This thread us ever so funny, a quick recap...........followed by some thoughts….. 1. thedriver wants to do an LPG conversion on a GTR, or is it a Stagea, I can't tell? 2. So he can save money on petrol and still have the performance of a GTR 3. proengines (who builds engines, all day, every day) says he will be lucky if he saves the cost of a cheapo gas mixer conversion in 3 years. And he left out the interest cost of the money spent and the higher depreciation in value of an hi mileage LPG GTR. 4. No one in the LPG industry has been able to offer a solution any better than a simplistic gas mixer. Which will mean less performance, substantially less performance. That's not just less power but less throttle response and (just what a GTR doesn't need) much less torque at lower rpm. 5. LPG used to be high octane, over 102 ron was not unusual. But, in order to keep the price down to make it attractive for high mileage fleet users, that is no longer the case. Recent tests have shown average LPG has fallen to be 95 to 97 ron. 6. LPG contains only 66% of the calorific value of petrol, so you have to use 33% more to go the same distance. But (there is always a but) that's at a lower speed (refer #5 above). If you want to go at the same speed, then you use more than 33% more LPG, recent estimates put it at an additional 8%. So that's 41% shorter distance on the same amount of LPG. 7. LPG needs a pressurised vessel to carry it in, regardless of removing items, the LPG system is always going to weigh more. That's more weight to carry, that means less fuel economy and/or lower performance. We can argue about how much weight, but that isn't the point. The point is there IS more weight and a GTR hardly needs MORE weight. 8. There is a conundrum, if you could put the LPG tank in the same location and shape as the fuel tank it would still hold less because it is a pressure vessel (thicker walls), around 5% smaller based on some simplistic calcs. So the GTR will only travel 54% (100 - 33 - 8 - 5) as far at the same speed with the same sized tank (external dimensions). That means you will have to stop for fuel twice as often. Do a check on the frequency of LPG refills and you will find this is in fact pretty much the case, across the board. 9. The fill rate of an LPG tank is slightly more than twice as long for the same litres as petrol. So that means you have to go to the service station twice as often and spend twice as long there while you are at it. I don't know about you, but I don't have enough time now, I don't need to lose 20 minutes extra every other day filling up the LPG tank. 10. LPG service stations are pretty common these days, but they will need to be for a 100% LPG conversion. What are you going to do when it is more than 200k's to the next LPG service station? That's why there are so many dual fuel LPG conversions, you really do need a safety net. Check around the fleet managers, they will tell you that is why the 100% LPG fleet cars are not allowed out of the metropolitan area. 11. Ever tried to slip a few litres into an LPG car to get that extra kilometre to the service station? What are you going to do? Top it up from your BBQ bottle? 12. Support, you are not going to get much. Don't expect the LPG conversion industry to be very interested, they know there is no money to be made in developing a one off performance LPG conversion. Much more profitable to do the gas mixer dual fuel conversions on the hacks. Don't expect the performance industry to be too interested either. They all will think you are crazy, spending good money to go slower, add weight and decrease the distance between fills. You are on your own I would suspect. Bottom line, as someone said about 30 posts ago, IT”S NOT GOOD IDEA. cheers

Thanks, it works again, for some reason the links stop working. Quick refresh (change nothing) and they work again, strange. cheers

Before I start, I should apologise for being harsh, but someone has to do it. Let me throw a bit of realism into this............. If you are going to give good response to your sponsors financial input then I suspect he will want to see you being competitive in the events. And a 500rwhp RB20 in an S13 is simply not going to do that for you. As I see it there are 2 major problems; #1. The terms words "responsive" and "500 rwhp" don't live together with an RB24. You are kidding yourself if you think that a 2.4 litre engine with small ports and valves is going to make 500 rwhp without a great big turbo, lots of boost and a sizeable intercooler. That means piss poor throttle response. Exactly what you do not need in a competitive drift car. #2, Handling, manoeuvrability, nimbleness are not what you will get with a 500 rwhp RB24 in an S13 chassis. The necessary sized turbo, pipework, intercooler, oil cooler and radiator for serious sideways airflow cooling of a 500 rwhp engine are all going to be major weight issues on their own. Then you have to add the weight of the cast iron RB20 block, serious clutch and RB25 gearbox. And all of that is in the front half of the chassis. Not very good for weight distribution, then add the R32GTR rear sub frame, diff and drive shafts necessary to handle that sort of power. I would think that giving good value for money is your first priority as you are going to need a lot more over time. The maintenance and repair costs of a competitive drift car are not to be sneezed at. You will need serious money to keep it going. It is not good value if you can't run in events because the car is broken and you have no money left to fix it. Bottom line, I suggest you seriously rethink what it is you are trying to achieve and then build the car to achieve that result. Don't build a car simply to prove a point. cheers

Yes, VERY EXTREME case, I have personally never seen it. You certainly wouldn't get it with any of the usual fuel pump upgrades and a standard fuel pressure regulator. cheers

I didn't get enough response when I started this thread 6 months ago. So I have not proceeded any further. But if there is enough interest after its revival then I can still do it. cheers

I think the Nismo R34GTR ZTune2 would be the go. Now, where was that spare $250K I had lying around........................... cheers

I think the above post answered your questions, if not ask away. Measure up the springs and I will work out the spring rates before you have them installed. cheers PS; There is no problem getting to the lower spring seat and lock ring with a C spanner on a Skyline. The only tricky part is getting enough swing on the front with the upright in the way. The rear is easily accessible.

If you take a look at the above link, it shows how to measure up the springs in the car. Maybe a bit of explanation may help first. There are 3 common dampening adjustments on shocks; 1. Rebound (sometimes called extension) adjustment. Rebound damping controls the spring. When you hit a bump, the spring compresses to absorb it. After the bump the spring then recoils back to its normal height. The rebound damping controls how fast that recoil happens. To little rebound damping means the spring recoils uncontrollably, think pogo stick. So the bouncing continues for some time after the bump (ie; one bump becomes 4 or 5 bumps). Too much rebound damping can mean that the spring doesn't have time to return to its full length before the car hits the next bump, this gives a very choppy ride. In extreme circumstances it can mean the the car gets lower and lower as it drives along. Because as it hits each bump, there is not enough time for the spring to expand back to where it was and the spring is gradually more and more compressed. Until finally the car sits on the bump stops and has no travel at all. 2. Compression (generally called bump) damping, is the reverse. It slows down the compression of the spring. Too much bump damping makes the suspension quite harsh and too little bump valving means the spring has to be too high in rate. Bump damping is very important in how much traction the car has. It allows the right spring rate to be used so the the spring is soft enough to follow all the little ripples in the road. 3. Combination of the above in one adjuster. This is tricky, as 1% more bump damping is a lot and 5% more rebound damping is not too much. So getting the ratio of adjustment right is very difficult to engineer. The most common damping adjustment found on shocks is rebound (#1 above), most adjustable aftermarket shocks only have rebound adjustment. Some aftermarket shocks adjust both rebound and bump damping together (#3). The ratio of adjustments (ie; how much rebound = how much bump) is technically quite difficult to achieve, so the cost is quite a bit more. The more expensive shocks have separate adjustment for bump and rebound. Even more expensive are quad adjustable, where you can adjust the high and low frequency bump and rebound independently. There are some 5 way adjustable shocks, that add the adjustability for BIG bumps (ie; ripple strips on race tracks). To answer your questions, based on what I have seen; The allen key adjustment on top of the shaft on the Japanese Ohlins adjusts the rebound and bump damping, in a fixed ratio. The knob on the bottom is just a way of getting around the access to the top problem on some models. The last time I priced a set of Japanese Ohlins for an R32GTR (single top adjuster and screw thread adjustable lower spring seat) they were around $2500 for the set of 4 with springs and tops. Prices vary a lot though, some retail shops charge twice that. But it includes fitting, which is very expensive in Japan, where good mechanics charge like brain surgeons. The Swedish quad adjustable Ohlins with remote canister were around $3,000 each, that's just the shock, no spring or top. Hope that helps cheers

Stagea RSFour Standard R33GTR rims 17 X 9 X 30 offset with 245/40/17 tyres No mods required cheers

There are still a limited number of Bilsteins left, I will post up when the Group Buy is about to finish. cheers

There are still a limited number of Bilsteins left, I will post up when the Group Buy is about to finish. cheers

There are still a limited number of Bilsteins left, I will post up when the Group Buy is about to finish. cheers

Yes, I will post up when it is finished. cheers

PM response sent as follows, please remember every car is different; 1. The bad news is there is no factory camber adjustment on the front. The good news is you MAY not need to adjust the front camber. MOST R34GTT's end up between 0.5 degrees and 1 degree negative when they are lowered to around 355mm (centre of wheel to guard) or higher. That's around 20 mm lower than standard, off the showroom floor standard is around 375 mm. Measure yours up and see if you will be happy at 355 mm, if you are then you MAY not need a front camber kit. The rear of R34GTT's has a small amount of camber adjustment standard. So the same applies, keep it similar to the front in height, around 345mm (note that the rear guards are cut lower than the front guards). The standard rear adjuster USUALLY has just enough adjustment to get to 0.5 degrees negative. So you MAY not need a rear camber kit. 2. The rear subframe alignment kit makes a great deal of difference to the handling feel of the rear end. They only cost ~$100 and take 10 minutes to fit yourself. They are a good cheap upgrade, personally I wouldn't leave them out. 3. Fulcrum are the only consistent ones I have encountered. I have not listed them because I know (from past experiences) that they will try to push their own stuff. After all that's how they make their money. A long as you are firm in what you want and insist on the parts and settings (as specified in the Group Buy) they will do good fitting and alignment for an OK price. Hope that answered your questions cheers

Datto plus trailer with ramps, spares, fuel, tyres etc = around 1400 kgs. I would be very interested in having a look at the tow bar kit. If it is much improved over the one I have, then I will get one as well. cheers

Nothing unusual, standard Skyline ECU Rich and Retard strategy. The R34 ECU is very agressive in implementing R&R. Time for some tuning. cheers

I am not a fan of sphericals in a road car, they wear out very fast in that environment, knock like a bustard and cost as much as a new arm to replace. Plus they add quite a bit to the NVH (noise, vibration & harshness). Adjustable polyurethane bushes are a far better solution for a road car. cheers

The R32GTR Ohlins have both the front and rear adjusters on the top of the shock shaft, there is a nifty knob that screws onto the main shock shaft and allen keys into the adjuster. They have threaded sleaves and screw adjustable bottom spring seats. I will post up some pictures tomorow night. I had heard (but never seen) that the R33GTR Ohlins had the adjuster at the bottom on the rears because the tops were very hard to get at. Unlike the R32 rear shock tops which are dead easy to get to. The fronts are the same as the R32, with the adjusters at the top. What I hadn't heard (or seen) was that the R33's had circlip style height adjustment, like the Bilsteins I use in the Group Buy suspension kits. I have swapped the springs on a couple of sets of R32GTR Ohlins to more sensible spring rates using Eibach coils. For example the standard Ohlins front spring rate is 650 lbs per inch, which is simply rediculous. I would never go over 300 lbs per inch in an R32GTR used on the road. If you want to know what the spring rates are on yours there is a thread that I started some time ago, just post up your spring dimensions and I will work the rates out for you. http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...topic=79157&hl= cheers

Hi Has anything progressed as per this thread?? Got an interest in some side skirts.

WOW! Circlip height adjustable rear Ohlins, never seen them. What do the top adjusters look like? And the fronts? cheers

Heat and torque loading kills the ceramic turbine, not boost on its own. I have seen 6 Skylines with ceramic in the cat disease at 12 psi or more. But the people that own these 6 Skylines actually USED the 12 psi for more than 5 minutes continuously at higher than 5,000 rpm. Not 12 psi/>5,000 rpm for a few seconds, then doddle around for a month or so. So you can run 50 psi if you like, just don't do it for very long, not long enough for the heat to build up. That's why some people have problems at 12 psi and some people don't. The people that have problems are actually using the power that the 12 psi facilitates. The people that don't have problems at 12 psi doddle around most of the time and get no benefit from the 12 psi. So they might as well not bother. I will be in Adelaide next month, I will bet you that at >12 psi I can kill your ceramic turbine in less than 10 minutes. Wanna test it? cheers

Got the R33GTR wheels fitted up today with some Hankook 245/40/17's. LOOKS PHAT, well that's what I have been told. The digi camera is in Canberra today and tomorrow, as soon as it comes home I will take some pictures and post them up. As previosuly posted I have put the Whiteline springs in with the spring seats in their standard position. It is sitting at 345 mm (centre of wheel to guard) on the front and 335 mm on the rear. That gives a 15 mm rake (nose down) towards the front, which looks purposefull. I had the 4 X R33GTR wheels and 8 tyres in it today, plus an R33GTST gearbox and a passenger, it was very low in the rear. Since it carries loads a lot and tows the race car, I might raise it up one circlip groove (8mm) both front and rear. That will preserve the rake at 15mm, which I like. The 245/40/17's look a little small in diameter in the guards, Stageas have big arches. So I think 245/45/17's would look better and fill the guards a bit more. I will try that sizing on the next set of tyres. cheers

Not an easy question to answer, but I will have a go. Selecting Q45 on the menu simply loads the Q45 AFM voltage ramp table. This means the Power FC will have some idea of how much air is flowing through the Q45 AFM by its voltage output. It doesn't change anything else, the fuel and ignition maps are still the same as they were. This usually enables me to start the engine and let it warm up. Then I see what the exhaust looks like with a few quick free revs. 1. If it is belching black smoke I know it is super rich, so I adjust the fuel trim on the PFC until it just blows a little black smoke. Rememer that the fuel trim resets once you turn the engine off. I then know I can safely drive it to the dyno at low rpms using zero boost. 2. If it is clean exhaust (no black smoke) then I know it might be lean. Again I adjust the fuel trim until I can just see some black smoke out the exhaust. Remember that the fuel trim resets once you turn the engine off. I then know I can safely drive it to the dyno at low rpms using zero boost. Hope that was of some help cheers

I have seen no evidence that cryoing used RB rods makes any difference. They are nitrided from the factory and they have been through so many heat cycles it is unlikely that they will have any stresses to relieve. The initial weakness in RB rods is the rod bolts, using ARP rod bolts would be the first thing I would do to improve RB rod durability. cheers