pixel8r

I was running 12psi with my last boost controller but it dropped off to about 9psi at the top end. the turbotech one holds boost pretty well constant so it meant I was running 3psi extra up top which proved too much for it (pinging a bit under full boost). So I put it down a little, and its now somewhere around 9psi. So I could also be running less power than what my sig says (i'm not gonna edit that tho ). But some other things that affect my fuel economy (that I forgot to mention) are: * bigger turbo (GT30 but with same RB25neo housing - from Adelaide Turbo Services). * MV auto shift kit. The bigger turbo means I have more lag which means I'm off boost when just cruising around. I think this made the biggest difference to fuel usage but getting one will be more expensive than any fuel you'd save in the next 5+ years, so not really worth it for a fuel economy mod. Its just a nice side-effect. But I had the turbo before my last tune and was still getting around 12.5-13L/100km and after the last tune and now with less boost its now more like 11-11.5L/100km. Cant really say if the shift kit affected fuel economy. I got it installed only a month or so after I got the car so wasn't paying that much attention to fuel economy before vs after. It does improve the gear shifts hugely so I've always recommended one just for that. And the fact that it only costs $300 or so more than a normal gearbox service which you have to do every year anyway. When my car was stock, I was getting 13-14L/100km so I do think the turbo had a lot to do with it. My reason for not mentioning it before was that I didn't realise it was that that made all the difference (i do now). At the end of the day though, stageas cost a bit more to run (98octane fuel etc) and cost more to insure - its just part of the cost of owning an awesome car.

I'm not trying to brag, but one thing I always find puzzling about these fuel economy threads is that I get better fuel economy in my stagea than many people get in their skylines. Same engine, and more weight in the wagon (they're about 200-250kg heavier) and AWD and yet I'm getting 11-12L/100km driving to and from work (~30-45min drive). My car's not slow either (see my sig). Obviously being in Adelaide the traffic isn't as heavy here but the difference shouldn't be more than 1-2L/100km at the most. I would expect skylines to get less than 10L/100km or at least around 10-11L/100km in daily driving. My stagea was doing 13-14L/100km when I bought it (stock) and with an exhaust, apexi SAFC, some ignition timing and a good tune, its now doing 2-2.5L/100km BETTER even though I'm running higher boost. Hopefully you can improve your fuel economy too

I've managed to get mine down to 11-12L/100km these days. I live in Adelaide and drive to work and back every day, and the shops etc. so nothing out of the ordinary. A lot of it comes down to tuning/ignition timing, driving style, and how much boost you're running. I recently dropped my boost back a little just to be sure all was safe, and I noticed an improvement in fuel economy just with a ~3psi drop. I think thats telling me I hit full boost too often?? It depends what sort of traffic you're in too, and the weather. Obviously more stops and starts will use more fuel, and if you use air/con a lot that will use a fair bit more fuel too. I think there's only so many things you can do to improve fuel economy - and these are: change O2 sensor, lower the boost, get some kind of engine management and a good tune, and lift your right foot off the floor on the odd occasion

Just to throw in another option - check out the Ricoh R6. For the money, its excellent value, but its more for people like yourself that really want something that can easily fit in your pocket. Its 7.2MP, with 7.1x optical zoom - 640x480 video @30fps - almost no shutter lag (AF is fairly quick, especially outdoors) - it has anti-shake - uses SD cards - takes about 300-400 photos on a single charge - custom battery (charger included). - its lens is wide angle, so ranges from 28mm - 200mm (35mm equiv). and the best bit is it measures only 10cm long, by 2.2cm deep, by 5cm high - so yes it will fit in your pocket easily. shot-to-shot times are about 1s or .5s in burst mode. Its not jam packed with features but does have all the usual stuff and some extra features you'll find useful - such as face detection, all the usual scene modes etc. prices are around $500 i think - well I paid something like $540 with a 1GB card from camerahouse. I believe the ricohs have a sony CCD sensor but I cant confirm this for the latest model. Ricoh does exhibit a bit of "noise" or "graininess" in photos but if you look closely its mostly luminance noise (different variations of the same colour) and not digital noise (red, blue and green dots). Many reviewers still dont understand the difference and criticize the R6 for noise when its just luminance noise which simply gives greater detail. How many things in life are flat colours? Even your seemingly smooth desk will have a certain texture to it - a lot of modern cameras use so much noise reduction that what you get from the camera is only a semi-realistic image with everything slightly blurred and smoothed over to make a "nicer" image. This is fine for most people but ricoh opts to give you more detail and a more true-to-life picture (as do a few other brands, like panasonic for example). Have a look at any photo with grass in it from major camera manufacturers. It'll look very airbrushed, particularly in distant areas. I personally prefer more detail than a surreal picture that is more pleasing to look at. I can edit the photos on my PC afterwards if I want to brighten the colours and smooth everything, giving me the best of both worlds. If you prefer nicer looking photos to realistic looking photos however, then a ricoh is probably not for you - and vice versa. You can get the same effect using photo editing tools on a computer, but many people dont want to bother with this and dont care for how true-to-life their photos look Sony's are good cameras also. I'm not a big fan of canon point-and-shoot cameras as I feel they do too much noise reduction and give you plastic looking photos but the photos do look good so its your call

That'd be an M35 (or Stagea series 3, but most commonly known as M35 - the series 1 & 2 were both C34). The AXIS variant I think is made by Autech, as is the 260RS stagea. I think the Autech AXIS is more just like a M35 with all the trimmings and a bodykit, so the difference is not as big as with the s1 and s2 stageas and their 260RS counterparts. Still, I think these AXIS models do look better than most other M35's. M35's come with either a VQ25DET (2.5L V6 single turbo - 206kw, and 411N-m) or VQ35DE, same as the 350Z - just FYI

I think the pic they have in the article looks hideous compared to the ones pictured in videos recently. I'd say the video evidence is a lot closer to the mark - otherwise why would they cover half the car up? The one pictured isnt' covered up at all, which is a dead giveaway that its not the real deal. And until now we've been told it is a VQ based engine - 3.8L twin turbo, so who knows who to believe. Nissan apparently haven't been telling anyone anything so this article is as much a guess as any other info you might read. Until the tokyo motor show this year we'll know nothing.

If it was early morning like about 7:15ish and somewhere near where churchill rd joins torrens road then that'd be me Just on the way to work

Didn't the VQ25DET come out on the 2001 stageas? Do you know if 2001-2003 models (earlier than 11/03) are compliancable?

You'll need either a piggyback ecu or replacement ecu to be able to "tune" anything at all. Otherwise the most you'll be able to do is adjust ignition timing which is hardly worth paying that much money for. A good dyno tune will normally cost around a minimum of $150 just for the tune. The $700 you mentioned would have included extra stuff, and maybe tuning more than one thing. I've only had a Apexi SAFC piggyback tuned which isn't that hard so cant give you a good estimate for say a full replacement ecu sorry. FMIC is Front Mount InterCooler. You should be able to find some good info on these forums by using the search button... there is a small nozzle on the back right hand side of the engine (if you're facing forwards, or left if you're at the front of the car looking in the engine bay) - it has a small rubber thing on it to block it off - you just remove the rubber stop and connect your boost guage hose to that nozzle. as for mounting it etc. well thats a bit more difficult and entirely up to you... generally, if you're not sure, get a friend or workshop to do it...I'm kinda in the same boat as far as my technical ability. I know how to do fairly simple stuff but I'm no mechanic. Oh, and stock boost is 5psi up to 4500rpm where it increases to ~7 psi. But if you've replaced the stock boost solenoid with a boost controller you'll probably want to set it anywhere between 7 and 10psi but no higher than 10 to protect the stock turbo. If the turbo shatters (which it will at anything around 14psi) it'll cost more than just a replacement turbo... Like others have said, to make an aftermarket turbo worthwhile, you'll need to spend around $5K including the turbo itself...and maybe more to get the best from it...

i understand exactly

there was a recent thread about a 2004 model stagea but i think the issue was the year it was manufactured - since ADR laws changed in late '03 or early '04 or something... I too would be interested to find out if the VQ25DET powered stageas up to and including 2003 models are elligible for compliance here.

Come to think of it, I did see a stagea on ward st in north adelaide (not far from melbourne st) on friday last week, driving the other way past me. The driver lifted his finger to say 'hi' when I gave the thumbs up (not thinking anything of it) and I noticed the car had a trade plate on the back and the driver was bald. Didn't see the front as it was in traffic but now thinking about it I reckon the guy would've been packing his pants wondering if I was waving because of the car or because I knew the owner. Hope they catch him and give him what he deserves.

Hey, I've been checking out mearkat's water spray kit and I was pretty impressed by it. Unfortunately though I wouldn't be able to install it myself...but for the money, I could easily afford to pay someone to install it and still end up better off than paying for a bigger intercooler. Anyone know of a place that would do this kind of thing? or maybe someone on here could help me out for an agreed price? Haven't bought one yet - I just want to know that if I get one it wont sit in my cupboard for years... Also, does anyone know if this unit also supports a manual override - ie. so you can change it over to manual operation only - ie. only spraying when you press a button. cheers

Hey thats great it was recovered!! One of the things I've always thought about stageas is that even if its stolen, they're so rare and easy to spot that the thieves would be caught before long. I'd never place too much confidence in this theory but it is interesting that everyone I told about this stagea being stolen said the same thing - that you cant hide in a stagea. Even the fact that people on this forum sighted it within a couple days is something you couldn't dream of if you owned a falcodore...(not that this is any fault of these cars, just using the example). The more unique the car, the more stupid someone has to be to steal it... so glad you got it back - hopefully its not been thrashed too much. If the TV in it was the stock unit, then its probably no big deal anyway - the only annoying thing is having to wire up the alternative single DIN climate control unit and a new cd player.

I believe the official definition is its illegal to have any colour light that it doesn't come with from the factory. ie. Some BMW's etc can legally have blue lights on the front if they are fitted with them from the factory. I dont think they have to be the same lights, just the same colour, or any other legal colour. Other than this, the only colours allowed on the front are white, and orange, and at the rear its white, orange and red. I never heard the bit about interior lights - that is going a bit far IMO but its true they will get you for anything if they want to. I can see the reason for limiting what colour lights you have on the front. Its fair enough IMO...

Just needs to be australian insurance approved, which is pretty much any immobiliser supplied and fitted by a company here. Mine is 2-stage and is approved - a lot of dealers will fit them for you (as was the case with mine) so its insured when it leaves the yard. Sure I could get it done cheaper, but I wasn't taking chances with insurance. As they say the most important part of any alarm isn't the alarm itself but how its installed. If everything's out in the open and easily visible then it doesn't matter how good it is, whereas even a cheap alarm can be professionally installed with black wiring etc. hidden out the way and can be very effective in theft prevention. oh, and the immobiliser also needs to be auto-arming for it to be approved as well.

That really sux man. Hope your insurance comes thru ok. Or otherwise I hope it gets recovered in good condition... Never thought it would happen to a "family wagon"...guess they are still a skyline underneath... ouch.

This thread has been fantastic for fmic info... I now have 2 options: I can afford to dive in deep and get a trust/greddy or blitz SMIC (save money on piping, still good result, no cutting) for ~$1k OR instead I can buy a better fuel pump (suggestions?), Nismo FPR, and maybe a Z32 AFM (or other suggestion?) - if needed for ~180awkw. And I can look into a mearkat water spray kit which should solve any cooling issues. This second option gives me much better value for money, at the cost of a more complex cooling setup (more to break?). I reckon this would allow me to pass 180awkw, with the only thing lacking being an Apexi SITC - but it should still handle the power fine. The GT30 turbo should only require boosting a few more psi to get a nice huge power increase. Its currently at 12 psi but the fuel system isn't real happy with it so I dont push it much, and even at 12psi its only just touching on the GT30's efficiency zone... I'm not desperate for more power, I'd settle for the same power as I have now, but with better cooling. But given the choice of the above 2 options, I'd definitely go for the second one.

These cars were only ever built for the local japanese market. Japan as far as I know isn't aware of fuel lower than at least 95RON so none of their cars are made to run on 91RON fuel. Especially skylines and related cars. I believe japanese fuel is above 100RON so I'd recommend 98 as its the closest you can get in many parts of australia. Some states have 100RON (lucky ppl) although that comes at a higher price too. 98 is quite safe. Depending on how your car is tuned, you may have trouble even with 95RON - i know my stagea pings a little on it. Its BP Ultimate98 for my stagea. Have tried shell vpower but wasn't as happy with it. Each to their own. Offtopic a little - I often wonder how many people who buy these new hot hatches and other new aussie-delivered cars realise that they need to run on 95RON or higher?? Many of us are only vaguely aware that 91RON fuel exists, and yet most people out there are unaware there is anything OTHER than 91RON... It doesn't matter who sells it, if its cheap, people will put it in their cars.

Cant comment on skylines - hopefully someone here can clear that up... But the R33 skyline (lets say manual) has 184kw but the stagea s1 auto (mostly same gear as r33 s2) has only 173kw. Either the way the auto may be a bit slower/less responsive than the manual but on the other hand they are smoother to drive. Autos can accelerate normally through the gears without you or the passengers being able to feel the gearchanges, or at least not very much. A MV Automatics shift kit (valve body upgrade) will make things a bit more clunky mainly on the 1st-2nd change, but still very driveable day-to-day. None of my passengers have ever commented on the shifts. They're not harsh unless you drive it hard. For the low cost of a shift kit I'd highly recommend one. They improve the speed of your shifts a lot.

Yeah thanks for that. I do tend to be a little too protective of nissan imports when compared to the aussie motorsport scene...and your explanation probably makes a lot more sense. I wasn't there (and at the time had no idea what a skyline even was lol). I have a PDF of a summary of all of the races the 32 competed in. It is very different to the v8 scene these days and I must say the reliability of the cars now is MUCH better than back then. It sounds like just finishing the race was an achievement I dont hate the local-made cars - I just feel that more diversity would create better racing - but many people beg to differ on this...and its also too risky for them to change the format from something that works (and pulls huge crowds) to something that hasn't been done before.

My S2 stagea has the XANAVI tv/satnav/cd player unit and also has a button like this but in the centre console, along with A/C outlet (100V japanese plug) and snow mode button. I always thought the TV/NAV button had something to do with the aerial - ie. switch to the one you want to connect the aerial through to either tv or satnav. Not sure if this is even remotely close but in my case it doesn't work anyway since the only working thing on the XANAVI unit in AUS is the cd player and climate control (both in english too).

I also am assuming that "Bathurst type car" is meaning a commodore or a falcon. If it really was a real Bathurst car it'd be pretty awesome to drive on a track but likely very painful as a daily driver... My only favourite bathurst car is of course the R32 GTR (the original "godzilla"). It was in a league of its own (then, not so much now) - so much so that the australian public packed up their toys and said "we're not gonna play with you any more". Rather than come up with some decent competition they decided instead to ban the outright winner. I know the last race was controversial due to the AWD advantage but the other races weren't. Anyway, not that there's anything to debate. Cant change history Was wondering if you might be buying one of those...(but knowing thats not what you meant )

This kit sounds great in theory but there's no way I'd be capable of installing it. However, it should be possible to hook up a manual system to do a similar job. All this controller does is automatically spray the intercooler when the temperature difference between ambient (intake) and throttle body reaches a certain point. If nothing else it proves that spraying water on the intercooler can dramatically improve its cooling efficiency. It does also beg the question...even if I paid someone $200 to install it, I'd still come out significantly cheaper than a big fmic with the same effect. although I'd hafta top up the water every now and then but it doesn't sound like it uses enough to be of any concern. I have a rainwater tank too for anyone that is wondering if this water usage is necessary

Spotted a silver Stagea series 2 on montague rd turning right onto main north rd this afternoon about 5:00