Sydneykid

Why do you want to put a smaller tyre on the front, do you want it to understeer? Over 60% of the weight is on the front tyres. Cheers Gary

If only it were that simple. There is more than one limit on the strength of components question, there is knock, boost, RPM and torque to start off with. Keeping in mind that BHP is simply torque x rpm. For example, I hear quite often 400 rwhp is OK on the standard components. Well it isn't if you are using 7,500 rpm. It also isn't OK if you are running 1.5 bar of boost. Not to mention 70 plus knock all the time. My rule of thumb is quite simple, no more than 475 bhp (around 300 rwkw), 1 bar of boost, zero knock and 6,500 rpm limit. A standard internals RB30 will live a long life within those limits, I built one in 1999 that is still going strong. Cheers Gary

I was answering a question about standard rods and pistons, hence the mention of the 6,000 rpm Cheers Gary

The real question is what is excessive RPM? Remember RB30's barely reved over 6,000 rpm standard. Adding around 500 rpm = double the load on the pistons and rods, so at 6,800 rpm you are already way more than double the standard loading. Cheers Gary

The original Bilstein shock that was used in the front of the Stagea kits was discontinued not long after I started the Group Buy. So we have been using the Bilstein R32GTR front shock as a base, which actually gives a slightly better result. The downside is they cost $50 more each. I had Bilstein absorb the price increase ($100) for as long as possible to keep the Group Buy prices the same. But all of the suppliers have had multiple price increases since the Group Buy was established over 2 years ago and I can't hold them any more. For the moment the only change is the extra $100 on the front shocks, but there will be an all over price increase of around 5% very shortly. So get in now if you want to avoid it. A quick reminder, some time ago I did negotiate a price reduction of around $90 in the front camber kit, so the change in the total kit price over all this time is around $10. For exact pricing on your specific needs, a PM is the best method. Cheers Gary

RPM is far more savage on the up & down bits (pistons and rods) than the round & round bits (crank). They have to stop, change direction and accelerate, then stop, change direction and accelerate again etc while the crank simply rotates. I could see the probability of 1,000 bhp out of a standard crank, but 1,000 bhp out of standard rods is not in my wildest dreams, pistons forget about it. Cheers Gary

That's my guess Cheers Gary

1. Not quite, bit cheaper than that. The front Bilsteins are $476, the rears $588, but since the total is over $1,000 you get an additional 5% discount. So it's $1011 all up which includes free delivery. 2. Nope, 20 mm is the limit though 3. No matter what you do, you will never ever have the same ride comfort 20 mm lower. It's simple physics, the car has 20 mm less travel to soak up the bumps. Small bumps = no difference, big bumps = a difference. 4. It's all in the Group Buy threads with comments back from over 180 guys that have kits, a few short explanations follow; Skylines NEVER have enough caster, that's why they wander at speed, are reluctant to turn in and have poor steering feel. Hence the need for adjustable caster (radius rod) bushes. The standard rear subframe bushes are very soft, silicone filled. They are soft when new and do wear over time until they finally leak. The rear subframe alignment kit supplements the standard bushes, stops the subframe from flopping around and at the same time gives some adjustment of the rear squat. This allows for improvement in the rear traction. If you lower it and don‘t correct the excessive negative camber you will suffer from rapid tyre wear, as well as reduced traction for handling, braking and accelerating. For camber kits, please keep the following in mind when lowering yours. This is what is usually needed for each height increment, note that all measurements are centre of wheel to guard; Standard (new) height is 380 mm front and 370 mm rear 360/350 mm needs only the standard rear camber adjusters 350/340 mm needs 1 front camber kit and 1 rear camber kit 340/330 mm needs I front camber kit and 2 rear camber kits In your case (20 mm) you might not need any camber kits, but if you do it's probably only one rear kit. Every car is different, the only way to be sure is to check the wheel alignment once the shocks are in. As any suspension engineer will tell you, stabiliser bars are the best bang for buck suspension upgrade you can make for improved handling. Road or track. 5. The base shocks are in stock right now and Bilstein takes 1-2 working days to machine the additional circlip grooves. Add overnight delivery and you have 3 days. 6. I don't own or work in a retail workshop, so I can't commit to what they would charge. It's usually an hourly rate, around $100 or so and it's a 2 hour job, so maybe $200 plus a real wheel alignment say another $100. There is a list of recommended suspension workshops on page 1 of every Group buy thread, make a few calls 7. Skylines are sports cars, not limos. Nissan didn't design their suspension system for a plush ride, so no matter what you change the basic design is biased towards handling rather than ultimate ride comfort. With over 180 kits supplied, I guess there are a few guys who maybe wanted a more soft ride, but going by the vast number comments posted the guys are very happy with the ride comfort and handling balance. Obviously you will benefit slightly more in the ride comfort stakes than most, as you will be retaining the original springs which are around 20% to 25% lower rate than the Whitelines most guys have. "Shocks absorbers" is in fact a rather inaccurate name, the real term is "dampers" as their purpose is to dampen the movements of the chassis and control the springs. Springs are actually the "shock absorbers" they compress to take the impact. As far as ride comfort goes everybody is different, one man's feast is another man's poison. Some people like the soft floaty feeling that worn out shocks give, it actually makes me car sick, like being in a boat in a rolling swell. There are guys on here that will tell you that their car with 12 kg/mm front springs and 10 kg/mm rear springs rides very nicely. So what's an uncomfortable ride to some is perfectly OK to others. The best suggestion I can make is to check around for someone with a kit installed who will take you for a ride, an R33GTST or an R34GTT would be the best. Cheers Gary

Measure it, standard (new) height is 380 mm front and 370 mm rear. So 2" would mean 330 mm front and 320 mm rear (note that all measurements are centre of wheel to guard of course). The rear guards are cut lower than the front guards by around 15 mm, so the guard gaps are not a reliable measure. The usual is 10 mm rake (nose down), measured at the sills just behind the front wheels and just in front of the rear wheels. Cheers Gary

Nitrogen still expands with heat, let's face it air is ~60% Nitrogen. The big advantage is the lack of humidity, the water (H2O) splits into H and O and that increases the expansion in the tyre. Dehumidified air doesn't expand much more than 100% nitrogen. Cheers Gary

OK front rate for road tyres, a bit under done for R type tyres though. Cheers Gary

I SMS'd it within 5 minutes of your phone call and I have just PM'd it as well. Cheers Gary

I video the dash display Cheers Gary

60 mm OD = 40 mm ID, I have never seen a spring that small. If you meant 60 mm ID, then; Spring rate = 290 lbs/inch (5 kg/mm) Cheers Gary

Then answer #2 applies; If it's R33GTST (eye) and R34GTT (fork) then the rear shocks won't fit Cheers Gary

Have you actualy read that article? Lets start with this; The increased the front spring free height by 25 mm but the Verada only went up 15 mm? Hang on, the Verada has a front suspension movement ratio of 0.9 to 1, so 25 mm at the spring should have been 25 / 0.9 = 28 mm, not 15 mm. Why? The answer is contained here; The Verada obviously still weighed the same, so the only reason for less than 28 mm of raising was a reduction in the spring rate as a result of the resetting process. This is a common occurance, loss of spring rate during resetting, just what you don't need when lowering. BTW, I notice that they don't mention the "legal" word in the article, typical Autospeed. Also in typical Autospeed form they make errors in facts; Doh almost all Eibach, H&R, Bilstein, Jamex, AMG, M Sport, etc etc springs are cold wound. I would say every single V8Supercar runs on cold wound coils, I guess they are a small car. Cheers Gary

Always hard to decifer much from a wide angle video, but here's my 20 cents; No enough rear squat, I can't see any weight transfer to the rear. With the slow throttle response that it has, you need weight transfer to soak up the torque hit. Rear spring rate? Rear cradle setting? Similarly at the front it has insufficent weight transfer there as well, so the same questions need asking. Front spring rate? Front anti dive setting? It seems to skip over the track iregularities, not follow the minor changes in track surface. Spring rates, maybe, but my second guess would be too much high frequency bump valving in the shocks? It handles the ripple strips and larger bumps rather badly, to do a decent time around Wintoon it needs to ride the low frequency impacts without disturbing the balance. Have you corner weighted it? It looks like it may handle right hand corners better than left ones. The esses being an interesting comparison. Is that a screamer pipe I hear? It's damn annoying, I hope you are wearing some hearing protection. Cheers Gary

So you have built a 750 hp RB26 and you aren't going to use it properly. Seems like a waste of time and money to me. You had better take a proper look at Nomura and Blitz R348, they make up for the standard ECU deficiencies with add on electronics. Much smarter to do it all in the one unit. Cheers Gary

What model R33? What model R34? If it's R33GTST (eye) and R34GTT (fork) then the rear shocks won't fit If it's R33GTR (fork) and R34GTT (fork) then the rear shock will fit, but the front shocks will be too short and the spring rate too high If its R33GTST (eye) and R34GT4 (eye) then the rear shocks will fit etc etc Cheers Gary

For a road car I see no sense whatsoever in changing from the superior load sensing of AFM's, nothing even comes close. Tuning multiple throttle bodies with MAP sensors is a pain in the ass, even for a very experienced tuner. You are looking at 4 to 5 times the tuning cost because of the complexity and the painstaking load point by load point requirements. Even after such meticulous tuning the MAP sensor driven car still doesn't drive anywhere near as nice as the AFM driven one. I have driven/ridden in plenty of cars with MAP sensors as the primary load sensor, where the guys claim they are perfect and they truth is they never are. They always have issues, rough idle, poor transient response, hesitation, throttle position dead spots, load (power steering, air con, alternator) compensation problems etc etc. Sometimes minor, sometimes so bad I couldn't live with it for one hour of my life, let alone every day. For a 100% race car, MAP sensor driven ECU's are fine, we use them all the time, but not on my road car. Cheers Gary

Ahoy Roy, I didn't say change the springs AND the shocks, I suggested simply changing the shocks and using the additional circlip grooves to achieve the lowering. You end up with a much better handling car than changing springs only. His height drop was within what the standard springs can handle (20 mm). Cheers Gary

Perhaps you need to read the second half of what I posted; Cheers Gary

Why are you running wasted spark? You are decreasing the coil recharge time by 50%. Run 6 ignition circuits with the Splitfires and it will be fine. Cheers Gary

It's illegal, plus no self respecting springs works will touch it. Cheers Gary

That's anti lag, a complete launch control system combines anti lag with traction control. Anti lag spools up the turbo, builds boost with no load on the engine. If you launch with full anti lag on you will be sacrificing horsepower (too much retarded ignition and way too rich A/F ratios). That's why a decent motorsport ECU is essential, to switch between anti lag and traction control on clutch release. Retarding and advancing the ignition timing to control the wheelspin. The ECU can use G forces sensors to detect forward motion or the ABS sensors to detect wheelspin or simply a predetimed engine RPM that correlates with previously tested maximum traction, or a combination of all three. If you are truly serious about what you are doing then lose the standard ECU, it has nowhere near the accuracy, speed of processing data, logging and functionality that you will need. Restrict your choices to proper motorsport ECU's, you will need full data logging at around 50hz, anti lag, launch control, traction control, soft and hard rpm limiters, ignition interrupt on gearchange (so you can flat change), data analysis software etc etc. The likely units are Motec, Autronic, Pectel, Bosch, TAG, Electromotive etc. Cheers Gary