Sydneykid

Here is one I prepared earlier, that I found by using the search button.... =================================================== My suggestions for plumbing up a catch can. Yes that's right you have CHOICES, there is not a wrong and a right Pretty much the same for a RB26DETT, or an RB20DET or an RB25DET or an RB31DET (in my case). But keep in mind there is no "best way", you choose whichever suites your requirements. I call the choices ; 1. 100% plumb back 2. 50% plumb back 3. Zero% plumb back Let's try this one, it's the open to atmosphere catch can; The idea is to only have one connection from the cam covers as they are joined by the standard pipe. The PCV valve and the connection to the inlet before the turbo are blocked off. You can have a return (drain) to the sump form the catch can if you like. Don't T it into the turbo oil return as it is under a bit of pressure and the oil can run up into the catch can. This one I call the 50% plumb back, because half of the time (no boost times) the air from the catch can is being sucked into the inlet manifold via the PCV valve; It is not my favourite, because you can still get a bit of oily air into the engine, but since it doesn't go in under boost (the PCV valve is closed then) detonation isn't much of an issue. At least you don't get any oil into the intercooler and its pipework. The last is 100% plumb back, all of the air goes back into the engine. Some goes via the PCV valve, at times of no boost. When there is boost, it goes back via the inlet system, through the turbo, the intercooler and its pipework. :uh-huh: The idea is the stainless steel wool, helped by the lower velocity in the catch can, catches the oil and removes it from the air before it goes back into the engine. This is the environmentalists favourite :alien: and is the easiest to get engineered. PS, the PCV valve on RB25's is screwed into the RHS cam cover. For the plumback options (50% and 100%) you would need to move the PCV valve so it is between the catch can and the plenum. For RB20's the PCV valve is screwed into the plenum and so it doesn't need to be moved. Hope that helps:cheers:

I noticed that you live in Melbourne, there is no BP refinery in Victoria.

Ball bearing hi flow is the best for all round performance and obviously it bolts straight back up from whence it came. No aftermarket turbo will do that. The ball bearing hi flow from GCG will reach the power limit of the standard engine ineternals. I have used a number of them and they are the ONLY turbo I have found that I can get more power EVERYWHERE than standard.

Hi Luke, if you had done a search you would have read many times that an N1 oil pump is simply a standard pump with a higher pressure relief spring. By doing a search you would have also found that the N1 water pump is for sustained high rpm use, and as such not so good for a road car. The search button is your friend. As for elecrtric water pumps, there are a number of threads on that subject that would have pooped up when you did a search. The Motorsport forum would have helped a number of times with some good tips when you searched for hillclimbs, supersprints etc. PS; did I mention that you should do a search?

Hi Sam, have aread of the Jaycar IEBC and DFA thread in the Stagea section. The DFA is, in operation, the same as an SAFC.

Take a look in the Jaycar IEBC and DFA thread, I explained in words and pictures a zero cost, 10 minute boost upgrade. I also strongly suggest that you read the rest of that thread, as what you want is what I am doing.

A few questions there benl1981, I have taken the liberty of numbering them and my suggestions follow; 1. It isn't "lag" as such, more slowed boost build because the wastegate is partially open. The IEBC ensures that the wastegate stays firmly closed until your mapping tells it to open. You can't do that with a needle valve. 2. A few PSI is a lot of kw, you will feel the difference. Plus, with the current set up, I bet you get a drop off in boost (1 or 2 psi) at higher rpms. The IEBC enables you to map that out and hold the target boost all the way to the rev limiter. You can't do that with a needle valve. 3. That is quite normal for a turbo car as the engine has more load on it in higher gears and therefore produces more exhaust flow, hence the turbine is more active. 4. The ECU has no idea what the boost is, there is no map sensor. The often called "boost cut" is actually "excessive airflow cut" as determined by the voltage output of the AFM. When the ECU sees excessive AFM voltage it goes to its "rich and retard" strategy to protect the engine. This is not gentle protection, it takes 20 degrees or so out of the timing and dumps a bucket load of fuel in. You loose 30 hp or more, instantly. More 4. The dashboard warning light will tell you if there is excessive knock. Even more 4. There is nothing that will help you if it is too lean, the answer is don't tune it too lean. If you have no tuning capacity then the standard ECU runs very rich standard, when you turn the boost up, it just gets richer. Hope that answered your questions:cheers:

If that car was on a dyno I was responsible for, these would be my questions; 1. It's running 12.6 psi which is more than I would recommend for a standard turbo. It is risking ceramic in the cat disease. Keep it at no more than 10 10psi. 2. What does the A/F ratio look like? If it is leaner than 10 to 1, it's got some tuning, either ECU, rechip or piggy back. Let's check it all out. 3. If the plenum truly reduced resistance, then the standard turbo wouldn't have enough airflow to hold 12.6 psi. Are we sure the turbo is standard? 4. What's the injector duration looke like? It should be around 80% at 5,500 rpm, If it isn't then its got some tuning, either ECU, rechip or piggy back. Or maybe fuel pressure up or injector swap. All signs of it not being as standard as we think. That's probably the difference, I would cross off ALL of the other possible reasons for its good power result. If I couldn't find any, then I would look at the plenum as maybe the answer and do some primary pipe exhaust gas temperature testing. When i had finished that I would stick the standard plenum back on, touch nothing and see what sort of result the car gave. Then and ONLY then could I be confident that the plenum made any difference at all. Over many years of racing I have learnt that you don't always get the right answer without ALL of the data.

Yep:cheers:

The headlight switch has 4 positions; Off Auto Parkers Low/High beam.

Yep, but they charge more than I can buy new 550cc Rochester injectors for:cheers:

That's not actually the case, I have personally seen 3 X R33 GTST's with RB30/25's and they had the standard plenum. I built 1 X R32 with an RB30/25 that most certainly didn't need to have the plenum changed. I did actaully use a Sub Zero plenum, but that was because I bought the RB25DE top end without a plenum (it was damaged in the accident in Japan). So don't buy a plenum because you think it won't fit otherwise, buy one because you need it for the extra power that a forged bottom end RB31 is gunna make.

Hi John, that's a looooong post. Maybe I can just clarify my thoughts on plenums and power in this one and get around to the other points later on. The question is not "whether to upgrade the plenum on an R20/25", it is more a question of "when to upgrade the plenum on an R20/25". There are a couple of things to consider when making that decision; A. What gives me the best bang for my dollar, will I get more benefit (maybe max power, maybe average power, maybe response) out of one part over another. B. By doing this upgrade now am I compromising what I want to achieve (things like sticking a 250 rwkw turbo on if you are targetting 300 rwkw). This is the order that I would do upgrades in ~$1.5K steps, if I don't want to open the engine (ie; stay under 450 bhp) on an RB25DET; 1. Cat back exhaust, Hi flow cat and engine pipe, that would be is my first ~$1.5K because on a turbo car exhaust is always first. Standard power is 180 kw - 60 kw = 120 rwkw Exhaust adds 20 rwkw, but is is an enabler for more power later = 140 rwkw 2. Next I would usually suggest a FMIC, there goes my next ~$1.5K. Throw in a Pipercross panel filter at the same time. FMIC usally worth 15 rwkw + 5 rwkw for the filter = 160 rwkw 3. Once I have done those 2, I usually find the clutch isn't up to much more. So although, it doesn't increase the power, next is clutch. There goes my next ~$1.5K Still at 160rwkw 4. This is where it gets interesting, if I want the turbo to last, then 10 psi is the max I can realiably depend on. But at this level of mods the car is running very rich, guzzling gas and not running "nicely". So I would go for a Power FC at this stage for my next $1.5K with a Z32 AFM. The tune is good for 25rwkw = 185 rwkw 5. Now it's turbo time, if it hasn't already failed, then the ceramic turbine is in danger. So there goes my next $1.5K (maybe a little more depending on my choice) Ball bearing hi flow adds 30 rwkw, depending on boost and injector duration = 215 rkw 6. This is were I usualy run out of fuel supply, maybe it happened even earlier and I kept the boost down till I could save up for injectors and fuel pump for my next $1.5K. Maybe a little extra extra power because I can turn the boost up, say 15 rwkw = 230 rwkw 7. For me its camshaft time for my next spend of $1.5K Tomei Poncams give me a good 25 rwkw = 255 rwkw But it will need another tune at this stage and I usually pick up another 10 rwkw = 265rwkw. That's my 450 bhp reached and I haven't done a plenum upgrade. If I look back over my list which one would I give up? Remember my target is 450 bhp and I am not going over that. Obviously I need the turbo, the standard one won't get me to 450 bhp. I need to tune the engine, so the Power FC is a must. It's not gunna get any power to the ground without a clutch. The FMIC? The exhaust? What do I leave out in exchange for the plenum? Shoud I not do the cams? Will the plenum give me the 25 rwkw that I loose from not upgrading the cams? Note that cams are #7 on my list. The car John has used for his plenum test he has done it at #4 (assuming the car already has a clutch upgrade). This is before a turbo upgrade, but I wouldn't like running the standard tubo at 12.6 psi. The Power FC, but it's guzzling gas and has the usual annoying RB25 dip in the power band. I could go on but I think you get the drift, there is simply no room or need for a plenum upgrade in my planning. I should point out that at this power the R34GTT did an 11.9 at 120 mph. And it hasn't been the only one.

Not on our R33's, the GTR has forks at the bottom of the rear shocks and the GTST has eyes. The R34 GTT and GTR are the same though.

As well as the rear shock lower mount being different, the front spring and damper rates are quite different. This is due to the extra ~200 kgs the front wheels carry on a GTR.

Hi emanuelt, welcome to the exclusive Stagea owners club. "Power" = holds gears higher in the rpm range and kicks down with less stomping on the accelerator. "Snow" = doesn't use first gear "4WD" = more initial even spread of torque over the 4 wheels. The ATESSA ECU still takes effect when the lateral and longitudinal G sensors tell it to ie; it's not like a centre diff lock. We use "snow", "power" and "4wd" on the 4wd dyno as it seems to give the least amount of torque change between the front and rear wheels. So the Stagea doesn't move around on the rollers so much. Hope that was of some help:cheers:

It is most certainly not "unsafe" to run 10 to 1, in fact that is the most common A/F ratio I see on STANDARD Skylines. Nissan tune them at that A/F ratio for safety. When you start upgrading things like exhaust, cat, dump, boost, intercooler, air filter etc you quickly find 9's are far more common and 8's are not unusual. On the Stagea RB25DET it went to 9's just by turning up the boost from 0.4 bar to 0.7 bar. Plus it jumped around all over the place. I had to apply a reasonably amount of AFM voltage correction with the Jaycar DFA to get anywhere near a consistent 10 to 1. If you are seeing "10:1 flat line" then my personal opinion is that there is no way that some tuning has not been carried out.

This is the style I use, just take the filter off the top and fill 'er up. The hole looks small in the photo but is big enough to fit a stocking in and then, one by one, poke in the stainless steel wool. I don't usually remove it, I simply fill it up with 50/50 kero and metho, slosh around and rince with water. You can get them with 2 inlets at the top and I have even seen one with a tap on the bottom for draining. For those with bling inclinations you can get them anodised like this fuel swirl pot; PS; Thanks to Mick for the photos

I think it's a GT25 core, but the turbo specialsits will know what is a 2535.

My experiences mirror Mr Miagi, as at today I have slotted DBA rotots on 4 road cars and 2 race cars. I have never had a problem, they last far longer than the standard disks, they stop demonstrably better and cost way less on 2 of those cars than the standard rotors. I have used multiple types of DBA rotors for many years on both road and track cars and I see no reason to change. When the Stagea needs rotors (won't be long) it will be getting DBA's (not sure what size yet) but they will be DBA's.

My suggestions......do a leak down test, that will rule out mechanical issues. And get the injectors cleaned and flow checked. Have you cleaned the AFM lately? If not, give it a clean with some brake cleaner. If none of those cure, it I suggest getting a loan (or buy) one of Impakt's copy Consults, the diagnosis available will save you some money otherwise wasted on buying unnecessary parts.

Ring your local turbo shop, is that Per4manz? The 2535 has pretty much a standard Garrett core, so it may be a easy swap job. For a pice comparison give GCG or Ray Hall a call.

Fill 'er up:cheers: PS; I usually stick the stainless steel wool into an old stocking, it makes getting them out easier and stops any small bits of stainless from floating around.

On the Stagea I parralleled into the #1 injector trigger signal at the ECU. In fact ALL of my wiring (for both the IEBC and the DFA) was done at the ECU, ZERO wiring went anywhere else. If you do a search you will find the appropriate ECU pin out for your model. This is what I used for the Stagea which is the same as for an R34. Fuel Adjuster; Red = 12 volts + * Pin 31 Black = 12 volts - * Pin 32 Green = input from AFM * the cut wire that used to go to Pin 54 Black = output to ECU (where the AFM used to be connected)* Pin 54 Boost Controller; Red = 12 volts + * Pin 31 Black = 12 volts - * Pin 32 Green = input from injector * Pin 101 (cylinder #1) Black = output to the standard solenoid * the cut wire that used to go to Pin 104

Hi Geof, that hits the nail right on the head, what are "BIG NUMBERS"? I few years ago I used to think that 500 bhp was a big number, but we get that out of a standard (PFC & exhaust upgrade only) R34GTR now. I have seen a ZENI TANI built R34GTT (with the standard inlet system) make 475 rwhp. It had plenty of response to go with that power. Up till then I had a rule of thumb that said, change the inlet plenum when you change the pistons. But that car and another R33GTST with 425 rwhp certainly challenged that perception. I have heard for years that you need a big plenum and big single throttle body to do a 9 in a GTR. But I have seen Theo's car do lots of 9's and it has multiple throttle bodies. I also heard that to do 9's you have to get rid of the AFM's, but Apexi VMax ran an 8 with AFM's. Well, where does that leave me? Seems my original rule of thumb is still the best I can come up with, ie; don't change the inlet sytem unles you are changing the pistons. Because the inlet system is most certainly not going to limit the power or the response up to that point, and in light of quite a few cars now, maybe well past that point. So the question for me remains unanswered , what are BIG NUMBERS?