Sydneykid

My trailer is pretty much the same as Duncan's, electronic brakes, load stabilisers etc. The R32GTST is bit lighter than his GTR though, but I do carry around 300 kgs of stuff inside the waggon. I have towed well over 50 times and I started off checking the tow bar mountings, nuts and bolts after every race meeting. Never found one single thing loose, cracked or even remotely showing any sign of stress or damage at all. So lately I have resorted to only checking it when it is on the hoist to do services, so every 5,000 k's or so. This "thin metal" stuff is pretty illogical anyway, my tow bar has 8 mounting bolts to spread the load around the rear of a 1.7 tonne waggon that is designed to carry 5 adults and big load space full of junk. So I don't think it matters how strong one single bit is, the load spread is what matters. Cheers Gary

Last question first, I want a Skyline, a red one, I like low volume imports, there too many 350Zs' for my purposes, a V35 is a Touring Car whereas a 350Z is a Sports Car, a V35 is cheaper and I think it looks better with the longer wheelbase, plus I occasionally need rear seats. Yes, it will most definitely be street driven, daily in fact. Plus it will see the track occasionaly as most (but not all) of my cars do. I have looked at the Turbo XS and I like the functionality to piggy back it with the standard ECU so that the electronics function normally and the cold start and run are factory tuning. The cost is a bit on the high side, but it seems one of the better solutions. Will probably stick with the standard engine with maybe some cams, until we kill it. That then opens up this huge bag of USA stuff that I looked at at SEMA. Plenty of engineering fun to be had for years to come. Merry Xmas Gary

Zenitani built an RB24 (RB26 crank and 83 mm pistons) that had 550 bhp using, if I remember rightly, a HKS GT32 and a set of HKS cams. That's was some years ago though. Realistically there is no reason why you couldn't get an RB24 to 800 or so bhp, it's all about how much money you want to spend on it. That's building it and maintaining it. A stroker RB26 crank would fit, so you could also get one to 2.6 litres if you realy wanted, hence 1,000 bhp is not a rediculous target. Why you would want to, that is the real question. When you could build an RB26/27/28/30/31 for a much lower cost per bhp. Cheers Gary

Firstly, as most of the guys know, I am here to help, not judge. I just tell it like I see it, most people seem to like it that way. Let me make sure I got it right, it made 255 rwkw but they tuned it back to 226 rwkw for safety. That's perfectly acceptable, if that's the case. But you are going to put on a "better" turbo, why? If it's not safe above 226 rwkw with the current turbo, why will it be safe with a "better" turbo? Exactly what is you power target? As per the post above, it makes no sense to choose a turbo 3 sizes larger than your power target requires. Realistically a high flowed RB20DET turbo would have given you an easy 226 rwkw with a 1,500 rpm wider power band than you currently have, together with far superior response and still had headroom to make the 255 rwkw safely. An RB25DET turbo high flowed would have given another 20 rwkw on top of that with very litte loss of reponse or increase in lag. Add a VG30/Neo tubine cover and some Poncams and you are up to ~300 rwkw, with lightening response. Merry Xmas Gary

RPM versus kph is easy in a manual, 4th gear is 1 to 1 that's why it is used on the dyno, the common Nissan diff ratios are 4.1 or 4.3 and the tyre rotations per k you get from the tyre manufacturers web site. A quick rule of thumb, a 4.3 diff ratio with 255/40/17 tyres and a 1 to 1 ratio 4th gear = 28 kph per thousand rpm. So 100 kph = ~3,500 rpm. An auto is tricky, we use 2nd gear on the dyno as it avoids the 180 kph speed limiter, most Nissan autos have standard ecu's. Torque converter slip means you get higher rpm than would be the case with direct drive (manual). That's why on an auto we always use the dyno's rpm sensor, just clip it on where the timing light goes (check out the Changing a Timing Belt thread for pictures). Most Dyno Dynamics dynos have rpm sensors, it's an option on some models and standard on others. Having one and not using it is simply laziness or ignorance as to where the timing light trigger is located. Autos are far more tolerant of larger turbos than manuals, because you don't lift you foot on the gear changes, so the boost drop is minimised. You can also spool them up against the torque converter, makes for a fast launch in a Stagea with all that traction. As for turbo sizing it's actually very simple as long as you pick a power target first. To maximise the response, then all you do is pick the smallest turbo that gives that power target efficiently. An example, a GT35R with external gate, 600 bhp is not a very sensible selection when you engine has standard internals and your power target is ~450 bhp. You don't get the advantage (600 bhp) but you pay the price in lag and poorer throttle response than you should have for 450 bhp. It's a lose lose scenario. Merry Xmas Gary

On the dyno I could eassily duplicate that result without even changin the intercooler. Simply do consecutive power runs, heat soak the intercooler and make sure the dyno fan is pointing at the radiator, not the SMIC. Then let it cool, point the dyno fan at the intercooler, not the radiator, and bingo there's your power increase. Many dyno guys don't even know that they are skewing the result on a car with a SMIC by pointing the dyno fan only at the radiator. Then when it comes back with a FMIC, of course the dyno fan is pointed at it, to get air to the radiator behind. Obviously when you are driving along the road the air is going to both the radiator and the SMIC. That's why our dyno has two fans, because we try and duplicate race conditions. As for the cool night power increase, that's mostly to do with the lower ambient air temperatures. Mostly the air temp going into the turbo, that has a 100% effect on power output, Whereas the most efficient intercooler I have seen was 70% effective at best. Merry Xmas Gary

OK, so it was a BIG Xmas party yesterday, but am I missing something? I don't see a 255 rwkw dyno graph anywhere. No matter, this one (226 rwkw) will do. I don't see a torque graph, just a very laggy boost trace. Advan did their usual trick and run the boost labeling to minus, this makes it look like it has boost (it's off the bottom of the graph) when in fact it has zero. It doesn't even make 5 psi at over 3,000 rpm, needs all of 4,500 rpm to get to 15 psi and the graph stops at 6,500 rpm. The average power over the useable rpm range is.......well ..........very average. It would drop off boost on the 1st to 2nd gear change and again on the 2nd to 3rd. This exactly what you don't want in 1.7 tonnes of waggon. Any decent high flow turbo equipped auto Stagea (12 psi against the torque converter) would dispose of it easily. Why? Because the turbo is too big for a 2.5 litre engine in a heavy chassis. So what is he going to do? Bolt on a BIGGER turbo Surely I must be missing something........... Cheers Gary

R34GTT (Neo engines) have solid lifters and a different CAS drive in the exhaust cam. This is the same as the S2 Stagea, as it also has a Neo engine. Hence you would need to use Neo (R34GTT) cams in an S2 Stagea. Stagea S1's have hydraulic lifters (like an R33GTST) and the later (S2) CAS drive in the exhaust cam. Perhaps the person who said that R33GTST S2 cams don't fit was talking about an S2 Stagea, not an S1. Cheers Gary

That is the case for an S2 Stagea (Neo engine), maybe they think yours is an S2, not an S1. Best point out to them that it's NOT a Neo engine. Cheers Gary

Last bit first, they are cam covers, there are no rockers in an RB25DET to cover. From this I deduce that the exhaust manifold bolted onto the cylinder head. As it should because my Stagea currently has an R32GTST (RB20DET) exhaust manifold on it following the obligatory cracked manifold that RB25's are so fond of. I compared it with the RB25DET manifold off the R33GTST and it was the same. In fact there are pictures in the thread of all 3 manifolds, Stagea S1 auto, R33GTST and R32GTST and they are Zacharies. So the fitting problem (hitting on the exhaust cam cover) is NOT a manifold issue, but more likely incorrect turbo selection. My guess is that the turbo has the wrong turbine cover for that application (ie; too big and/or too much offset). As for the "no room for a dump pipe" I can't explain that without some pictures. Most likely it is the wrong turbine cover issue again. Merry Xmas Gary

Effective 0.9 mm. Merry Xmas Gary

This thread has been dormant for some time, but it has some good info and just needs everyone to bring it up to date with their mods and thoughts. The SoSK project R33GTST is just about to have its forged engine installed, which pretty much completes the build. A red V35 Coupe manual with Track Pack is going to take a few months to find, so plenty of time for some research. This is pretty much the look we are chasing, as seen at SEMA; The suspension will be my usual combination of Bilsteins (PS9's in this case), Selbys Swaybars (of course) and whatever alignment products I can source, especially something to give it some more caster, Skylines always need more caster. The power up kit I currently favour is this one; I am thinking the GTRS's as the 3.5 litre will have no problem spooling them up. Plus I can run low boost and still make some power, around 300 rwkw would be nice. The ECU is the current open question, at SEMA HKS were suggesting the FCon, but I am not happy being in the hands of one tuner only. So what have you guys found? Merry Xmas Gary

My wife's car (not a Skyline) allows the windows (all of them) and the sunroof to be opened or closed after the ignition key is removed, until such time the driver's door is opened. Then it shuts off the electrical supply. There are thousands of other cars that do the same. So why is a RAWS/SEVS import different? Cheers Gary

Talk to Graham Docker & Associates Pty Ltd, they will be able to tell you. Personally I would reregister it in Vic, right now. Don't fight about an unregistered vehicle, time is not your friend. Get it registered, then you have 12 months to sort it out. Cheers Gary

Only 5 cars....mmm....I already own 5 cars.......well you need a 4 cylinder, a 6 cylinder, an 8 cylinder, a 10 cylinder and a 12 cylinder Easy one first, I could have a transporter for the race car, that's a truck though (not a car), so I'll leave it off this list. So the 10 cylinder would be an M5 Waggon to replace the Stagea for towing the race car and driving everyday. I simply wouldn't fit into an F1 car and I really only need 1 race car. The 4 cylinder has to be a Honda, they make the best 4 cylinder engines. I already have one but I think I can do better. So a Lotus Exige it is, with the K20 turbo charged. Hang on, no convertibles on the list, so change that to an Elise. The 6 cylinder, tough one, I already have 2, an M3 and a 650 BHP R32, one's gotta go. I only need one BM, and every body needs a Skyline and a race car. So a 35GTR it is. The 8 cylinder, well I could replace the 6 cylinder M3 with an 8 cylinder one. But a real man needs some classic American iron, so the 8 is a '69 Camaro 427...... no hang it, the 572 is going in there. I am looking for a good chassis right now as it happens and the 572 is available as a crate motor. What's left.....12 cylinder....that's easy, a McLaren F1 (which I think is the most popular car so far). So of the 5, the only 1 that I see that I could never own is the McLaren, so maybe I have been a bit too realistic, not enough dreaming. Still, it's not too bad a garage and I could drive anyone of them, anytime I felt like it. Merry Xmas (Santa...if you're listening.... the F1 would be nice thanks) Gary

You can, but they won't do anything except rattle, wear out very fast and increase the NVH. Actually, they can't accurately be called "camber tops" because they can't adjust the camber, double wishbone cars are like that. More aptly called "strut tops", but even that is a misnomer, because R32/33/34's don't have struts. Merry Xmas Gary

It's actually quite logical, VCT heads have 3 oil feeds, front (for the VCT), middle and rear. Since you have to run the front oil feed (otherwise the VCT won't work) it makes sense to block off the middle feed and use the rear. It balances the flow better along the head. For a 2 oil feed head (non VCT) you want to use the oil feed closest to the oil pump, that's the front one, and block off the rear one. Logical isn't it? I do the research, come up with the solution to the problem and then we test, test, test. The oil flow mods were originally arrived at in 1999 and have been only slightly revised since, so there are 8 years of testing. They work, everytime, just follow the table. Merry Xmas Gary

Normally when you add caster, you find that the bump impact is somewhat reduced as the shocks are inclinded forward (at the wheel). Perhaps it's the alignment rather than the bushes themselves. Cheers Gary

My experience has been that 20 to 25 pulls on the dyno is way more heat producing than a 20 minute race. Why? Because the airlfow from a dyno fan is nowhere near what you get on a circuit at 200 kph, which is what you are doing on the dyno. We run 2 dyno fans and it still doesn't get anywhere near that temperature on any track we have raced on. Back on subject, by adding too large an intercooler, which is exactly what you (tony_nivin) are doing. The higher volume of air that there is between the turbo/turbos and the throttle bodies, the more lag you have. So what you are going to end up with is lots more throttle lag for no real power benefit. When you do the other stuff (to increase the power) then the air flow will increase proportionally and you will find you get back some of the lost throttle response. If you have matched the power level to the intercooler (and pipework) size correctly, then you will end up with pretty much standard response times. Yes, Toto you can have too big an intercooler. Merry Xmas Gary

They only understeer if you don't have them set up right, they are pretty neutral until the power takes effect, but even then you can control the oversteeer with the throttle. The 2005 NSW State Speed event champion for imports, found the SK road kit to be pretty effective. Drove 400 k's to the events, put on the "R" type tyres, kicked some butt and then drove 400 ks' home. Even Duncan was impressed with the kit in the Stagea at the SAU track day. The Group Buy kits were engineered (by me) to give a sporty ride for the street and at the same time suite the sorts of things that Skyline owners use their cars for (road, drag and circuit). It's a great all round kit, 150 or so Skyliners seem to agree. Merry Xmas Gary

That is not at all normal, are you sure it's the bushes? Cheers Gary

The best of the R type tyres for street use that we have found is the Yokohama A048R. They at least have some semblance of a tread pattern. Merry Xmas Gary

Standard strut brace is fine, anybody who tells you otherwise is simply trying to make a sale. Merry Xmas Gary

Hi Nathaniel, lets start with ride height, if it is lower than 350 front and 340 mm rear, then (as you know) you will suffer from rapid tyre wear, as well as reduced traction for handling, braking and accelerating. For camber kits, 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 Stabiliser bars are the best bang for buck suspension upgrade you can make for improved handling. Road or track, any suspension engineer will tell you that. 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 give some adjustment of the rear squat. This allows for improvement in the rear traction. Most of this info as well as how to order and pricing is contained in the Group Buy thread, which by the way has satisfied over 150 happy Skyliners. http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=88141 Hope that was of some help, any questions please just ask. Cheers Gary

Slicks = ? Cheers Gary