Sydneykid

The N1 oil pumps have the wide flange drive, the RB20 crank has the narrow flange drive. If you fit a wide flange pump to a narrow flange crank you run a high risk of cracking the pump as the drive is not centered on the oil pump rotor. To run an N1 oil pump on an RB20 you need a crank collar, which is an engine out and full dismantle job to fit. Cheers Gary

Must have been those new swaybars I made for Sam Cheers Gary

H Ryan, I specify Eibach/Bilstein sets for Skylines almost every day for circuit racing, drag racing and drifting. We use Konis in lots of applications but I have tried their offerings and for R32/33/34's and the bottom line is the Bilsteins are a superior solution. The Bilstein/Eibach combo's work out around $2,200 depending on the specification. I have recently arranged some sets of R33GTR, R34GTT and R34GTR Bilsteins in the PS9 style with track day specification, they will be around $2,900. For MSA (nee Proflex) you are looking at around $8K for the double adjustable, remote cannister and $9.5K for triple adjustable. Penskes are around $11K which is similar to the Ohlins (that's Swedish Ohlins, not Yamahas). I am doing some work on the Sach range, they are 5 way adjustable so the engineering is substantial. Cheers Gary

Too firm for the track, way too firm, that's almost double what R type tyres will tolerate. In fact it's more than we run on the race cars with full slicks. Cheers Gary

Being 4wd, the GTR's have around 180 kgs more weight in the front, so the chances of the spring rate being too high for a 2WD are pretty much guaranted. Plus Cusco coil overs are well known for having higher than ideal spring rates even in the car they are designed for. So the chances of the spring rates being too high are now doubled. The only way to be sure is to confirm the spring rates with the guys selling them. If he doesn't know, this thread tells you how to measure them and I can then work out the spring rates for you. http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=79157 If the spring rates are too high then the shock rates will similarly be too high. In typical Cusco fashion, the adjustment on the shocks will most likely only do rebound (extension) and will have no effect on the bump (compression), so softening the shocks will achieve very little in improving the handling and/or ride comfort. Cheers Gary

The guys have been telling you it's OK to use lowered springs with standard shocks, so I guess it's time you had the other side of the story. In short, lowered springs have to have higher spring rates than standard height springs so that they can soak up the impacts in less travel. The standard shocks barely control the standard springs and they have an effective life of around 60,000 k's. After that their performance deteriorates in small but progressive implements that you may not feel, until you replace them and you realise what you had lost. So that's your scenario, higher spring rates, less travel and worn shocks. This thread shows what happens; http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...c=103158&hl The most effective way to lower it and achieve superior handling is by changing the shocks, not the springs. The Bilsteins in the Group Buy come with additional circlip grooves which enable you to lower it using the standard springs. Around 20 mm works very well. If that's enough lowering for you then that is a far superior solution. The Group Buy thread has the details http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=88141 Cheers Gary

On a comparison basis, 13 psi with an open pipe and 20 psi with the wastegate fitted would seem to me to indicate that the wastegate isn't flowing enough. If the wastegate was of sufficient size then there should only be 1 or 2 psi difference. As an asside, I have yet to find an externally gated exhaust manifold that faciliates zero boost. Anything decent accentuates the flow to the turbine, so some boost is always produced. Cheers Gary

My last words on this subject; Manufacturers use cable ties. Nissan includes adjusters as standard ie; rear camber, front and rear toe. So having adjustment is part of the package that you already have. Nissan admits that the car needs alignment adjustment ie; they are not perfectly straight, even when new. I would argue that using a rack to stretch bent parts is hardly doing it "right the first time". They are bent from their original shape, and consequenlty have lost some rigidity. When you attempt to straighten them you reduce that rigidity even further. They will bend easier the next time. The most common damage is to the mounting points of the subframe, where they bolt to the main chassis. Replacing the subframes may fix the problem, but it is by far in the minority of cases. if it needs a substantial pull, then you run the risk of damaging the bolt up points, the captive nuts etc. My guess is you are looking at $400 to $700 attempting to fix a problem that would be technically better fixed with a $200 adjustable solution. Most of all, the latter is a guaranteed result, the former is a gamble. Cheers Gary

The question of servicing shocks comes up a lot and is usually met with poor response, the reasons why; 1. Each shock brand is different, so the parts are almost guarateed to be different. No one can afford to to carry spare parts for every brand of shock. Plus it is not unusual for special (expensive) tools to be required. 2. Most Japanese brands of shock don't have spare parts. They are not sold separately by the manufacturer, so no one can buy them. Plus very often the shock bodies are sealed at the time of manufacture, the don't have easily accessible internals. No service manuals are available. Their thinking is "buy new shocks" when the old ones are worn out. 3. So a lot of shock reconditioners use second hand parts in the service. They get 2 or 3 sets of one brand and make 1 good set out of them. That's why the success rate of getting shocks reconditioned is patchy, you might be lucky and get good second hand parts and you might not. 3. The majority of the value in shocks is in the parts that wear out. The shafts, the bores, the pistons and their valves, that's where the money is and they are what wears out. Add labour to the cost and you end up with more than the cost of new shocks. 4. Sometimes you can be lucky and the only thing wrong with a shock is the seals are damaged. Then you need to be lucky again and hope that the seals are a standard size, which doesn't happen very often with Japanese shocks. The process is to replace the damaged seals, new shock oil and regas with nitrogen. Based on my experience that would happen less than 0.1% of the time. Why? Well when the seals let go the nitrogen escapes and the shock looses a lot of its efficiency, it moves up and down a lot freer. Quite often so much so that bump stops start wearing out. When the bump stops are gone, the piston starts slamming into the top and bottom of the shock tube. That very quickly destroys the valves and the piston itself. Plus the resulting bits of metal score the bores on the shock tube and it becomes useless. So you have very short timeframe between seal failure and total shock worthlessness, the last piece of luck is noticing the damaged seals in that short period of time. 5. The more sophisticated shocks (Bilstein, Koni, MSA, Sach, Penske etc) are designed to be serviced. Their manufacturers offer spare parts and service kits. They have designated agents who carry the range of spare parts for their brand, they have the special tools and the manuals. They have shock dynos to confirm the results, which is essential, unmatched shock pairs are not a good thing. Cheers Gary

The word I hear is that certain team principle is more interested in having a good time, getting drunk and partying than spending the time and money on running a competitive team. Maybe that's why they have trouble finding decent people who will work with them anymore. Cheers Gary

You have an obvious conflict here; 1000 cc injectors = ~1000 bhp capacity RB25 standard inlet manifold = ~500 bhp capacity Which is it that you require? Cheers Gary

Not in my experience, RB26 cams are cheaper, both new and used, there is larger choice of RB26 camshaft profiles and suppliers, RB26's have solid lifters standard, RB25's have hydraulics that have to be converted, the RB25 inlet manifold doesn't like much more than 300 rwkw, RB26 inlet manifolds have no problem at 450 rwkw, RB25 exhaust manifolds don't like much more than 300 rwkw, RB26 inlet manifolds have no problem at 450 rwk, oversized RB26 valves are cheaper than RB25 oversized valves also due to them being more common, RB25's have VVT which has to be removed for true high BHP applications, RB26's don't have VVT, aftermarket RB26 valve springs are cheaper then RB25's, RB26 head gaskets are cheaper than RB25's as they are the same as RB30's, RB26's have 12 mm head bolt holes, RB25's are 11 mm and so have to be drilled to fit the largr headstuds that a true high bhp engine demands, RB26 heads have better oil flow return to the sump then RB25's which require more machining.................... I have more if you want Cheers Gary

Drift to the left (gutter) is caused by a lack of caster on the LHS, I always aim for MORE caster on the LHS than the RHS. Less caster on the left is very, very, very common. The LHS front wheel is the one that hits the gutter, rocks, stones, bottles etc accumulate on the left and the biggest potholes are always on the left. This causes the LHS front wheel to be pushed back a little bit at a time, every time the car has hits something a little bit more caster is lost. The front subframe twists a little, the mounts bend, the bushes get deflected, the rods straighten, it all adds up. Measure the wheelbase, down the LHS and then the RHS, centre of front wheel to centre of rear wheel. You will see the LHS is shorter than the RHS, 1 degree of caster is around 10 mm. The answer is simple and done every single day in workshops everywhere. Fit adjustable bushes to the front of the radius rods, they have eccentric crush tubes which are rotated to give the desired caster correction. Cost around $200 supplied and fitted and wheel aligned. You don't want to do that? Ok then, the answer is to give your car to a panel beater and ask him to put it on the rack and stretch it. If you can find someone willing to do it and are preapred to pay the cost, then you migh just get enough out of it to correct the difference. But as you drive it it will gradually slip back to it's old shape, eventually you will have to take it back for another pull. The other downside is the stretching process may well increase the LHS door gaps a little and you might find the door locks need adjusting and new seals are required to fill the gaps. That's why everyone uses adjustable bushes, it's the best, cheapest, most effective, ongoing adjustable and permanent solution. Cheers Gary

That's unusual, it always pays to check the bar part number, it should be on a label on one arm of the bar. Lots of Nissan swaybars are almost interchangeable, perhaps someone who should know better has sold him an "equivalent". Whiteline will exchange any bar incorrectly supplied and retrain the relevant sales person if necessary. Cheers Gary

Swaybars moving laterally usually indicates some form of geometry problem with the car. Swaybars are usually self aligning, they centre themselves with even loads from each wheel. If it is consistently one way then that is a strong indication that something is not aligned with that particular car. My first suggestion would be to check for what it is that is causing the bar to be pulled one way not the other. Uneven ride heights, bent links and worn control arm bushes are some of the more common reasons. There are lateral lock kits available which clamp on the bar adjacent to the D bushes and prevent the bars moving sideways. This is becoming more common on late model cars, for example 350Z's, V35's and M35 Stageas have lateral locks on their standard bars. PM me for details, they are not expensive and work very effectively. Cheers Gary

It varies from model to model, if it was via the Group Buy then they are as I have specified. Cheers Gary

There are few things that I do in the calculations based on experience. That is hard to make black and white, but maybe try these for start; * You have a "number of coils" input, from which I would subtract a "number of inactive coils" input with a default at say 1.5. That represents the standard R32/33/34 spring configuration. * Then perhaps a suggestion for 2 inactive coils, if it's a race style spring. That will give a more accurate result. * Perhaps a warning on paint/powder coat thickness and that all coils are slightly tapered (even as little as 1 mm). I am not sure how you get over the cold wound versus hot wound spring steel metalurgy differences, perhaps simply ignore it as the diffference is not significant in what most guys will use this for. Cheers Gary

Good job, save me some time. It works OK for race style springs ie; ground flat both ends, but overrates normal Skyline configuration by around 15% Cheers Gary

Only if they are currently worn out. As any suspension engineer will tell you, the best value for money handling improvement is swaybars. Cheers Gary

Airflow in lbs per minute = diameter of wastegate in mm X boost correction factor 350 rwkw = 550 bhp 550 bhp = 55 lbs of airflow = 55 mm wastegate If you want to run 19 psi, then that's the right size wastegate. But my experience has been that to get 350 rwkw out of a GT3540 you would need to run around 1.5 bar (22psi). So we need to apply the boost correction, using the formula. 55 / 22 X 19 = 48 mm So the 44 mm wastegate will be a bit too small even at 22 psi, let alone your optimistic 20 psi target. I think 48 mm is more like it. Cheers Gary

"he is getting a gtr rear hubs and diff fitted to it", so he isn't changing the cradle? If so, there is a long list of issues; Driveshafts won't bolt up Tailshaft won't bolt up Shocks won't bolt up Wheel bearings are different Rear brake lines and hoses are different If he is changing the cradle then he will have clearance problems as the GTR rear cradle is wider. So the rear swaybar won't fit either. Nissan didn't want people doing this, so they designed in lots of difficulties. Cheers Gary

Communication has been established and we will check them over just to be sure. Cheers Gary

I always try and not use the bump stops, except for the larger ripple strip bashing. For toe adjustment, around 1 turn = 2 mm, close enough to test anyway. From memory, the off the shelf Cusco rear bar is too soft as it designed to run with the high (Jap style) rear spring rates. The race team drivers tell me that there should be zero time between brakes and accelerator, I'm not that good though. The reasoning is when you take your foot off the brake it removes some weight off the front wheels, hence reduces their grip. With judicious use of the accelerator you can balance the front grip, Plus, in a GTR, some torque transmission to the front wheels increases their steering effect in comparison to free wheeling (on overrun/accelerator off). They seem to have some success with that technique and it is technically correct, I'm personally not good enough to achieve that sort of control, so I settle for a much simpler slow in fast out. Cheers gary

Hi Eron, not sure why you can't contact me, the mobile is on and the PM inbox has space. Obviously there is no problem with Bilstein warranty if it is needed. Cheers Gary

That's the problem, you should be either on the brakes or on the throttle If you can't get on the throttle, then maybe you are coming in too hot, have a go at decreasing the entry speed slightly and getting on the throttle earlier for a faster exit. The small amount of time you loose by a slightly slower entry will come back 3 times over in the faster exit. Some things to check; Make sure it isn't running out of travel on the front, the old cable tie on the shock shaft trick will tell you Try some more front toe out, since it is the slower (2nd gear) corners, it may not have enough Ackerman, in which case some static toe out will help Since Barbagallo is mostly right handers, you may want to try reducing the camber on the RHS front. That will put some more tyre contact patch onto the inside tyre which always helps with mid corner understeer. The tyre temperatures will tell you how much camber to remove. You have probably already tried backing the front swaybar off to the softest setting, if not that will tell you if it's too much anti roll causing the understeer. Try the reverse, put the front swaybar onto the highest setting, that will tell you if it's too much weight transfer onto the outside front tyre. I assume you already have the rear swaybar on its highest setting, if not try that. Cheers Gary