pixel8r

I spent AGES wondering how the rear hooks on the ceiling worked!! Thanks for that - will give it a shot when I get the chance just so I know how it goes... I worked out the normal installation of the cargo net ok (just behind the rear seats - connecting to the rear struts) but always wondered why there is a second set of hooks on the ceiling a bit further back - well now I know so many little tricks with the stagea...its like a swiss army knife lol! oh and congrats on the purchase Matt!! I look forward to checking it out on sunday at the photoshoot - assuming you'll be there (also hoping you bring the stag instead of or as well as the ceffy).

Brendan, all the best with the turbo install. Actually I was just today wondering why the guy that tuned my car only left the boost at 11psi?! He reckoned if he put the boost any higher it'd hit boost cut - is that true? I thought there was no boost/fuel cut or anything - its just if the ecu detects too much airflow it will hit R&R?? Made me wonder if I took it to a different tuner would they be able to get more power out of it....hmmm.

damn. oh well not to worry. will still be getting photos of my own. hopefully i'll get a couple good ones.

not me i know but just wanted to say that 9 months after i bought my stagea I still find the "stagea look" (ie. the "what is it?" look) quite humorous I do love the attention the car gets tho - even if most people are just wondering what the hell it is...

I'll be there in my white '99 Stagea RS4.

Congrats on the purchase!! I bought my stagea "blind" as well, from a dealer. Only saw a few photos beforehand. Had a few small scratches etc. that I wasn't aware of (hopefully you dont, most importers seem to be good with showing you photos of every detail of the car), but overall a very nice car in great condition - couldn't be happier with it...(had it for ~8 months now). but yes, good luck not spending money on your stagea. However should you give in and spend money on mods/upgrades you will find that the stagea is very thankful and responds nicely to all that you give it

Definitely do the research first. apparently there isn't just one gt30 so make sure u get the right one. I dont have the exact part number though. Many people have had great results with GCG highflow turbos. they are still gt28, they use your stock turbo & housing etc. which you have to send to them. They basically replace all the important bits with steel parts and highflow it which I think makes it slightly bigger internally. Being slightly smaller (I think) than the gt30 means you'll have a bit less lag and being all steel (like the gt30) it can still handle lots of boost (think upwards of 18psi). A lot of people cautioned against the gt30 but I've found that whilst it reaches full boost later, with full 3" exhaust and good tune (safc) the revs build up so quick that the lag is hardly noticeable. The exhaust gives more torque off boost as well which helps to get the turbo spinning. And the sound of the turbo is awesome

Nothing wrong with making your car look good/better. I say go for it all the way (likely to be expensive tho!!). There is a difference between wanting your car to look like a GTR and actually pretending it is one. I dont think the original poster would answer 'yes' if someone asked if he had a gtr, unless of course the people asking the question were real gullible. You'd still be jealous of 'real' gtr owners of course So yeah my vote is make your car look how you like, realising that not everyone will approve of your taste. but i'd stay away from the gtr badges. making it completely "badgeless" would be cool tho

no probs. i hope thats all it is. if it looks like water it probably is. dont know of any other clear fluids that go into a car... I panicked about exactly the same thing after buying a car last year. and yes, big relief.

got the pm. should be there - looking forward to it!! Any other stagea owners in adelaide - would be great to see you there!

you didn't happen to have the aircon on? the aircon will always make water drip out (kind of directly beneath the firewall area) - condensation or something... just checking the obvious first. if it is that then its not a problem at all and safe to ignore... otherwise ignore this post if you know it isn't that...

no probs. was nice to meet you and we very much enjoyed chatting to you both. Always glad to "show off" my stag. btw check the SA section for the latest on the photoshoot. looks like a change of day and venue to what was originally planned. Check the thread titled "photoshoot" somewhere on the first 2 pages in the SA section... I should still be able to make it. There are a couple of official cruises next month. 9th December is the "cruise for a cause" gold coin donation for the lukemia foundation (i believe the pulsar club will also be attending part or all of this cruise - which is fine with me). Then sometime in december also is a bbq/cruise planned but details aren't finalised yet... Obviously check the SA section for official details...

btw the actual sensor wires that hang down in the middle of the afm can be cleaned with metho (or other non-residual contact cleaner) fairly easily. I've done it before - just remove the afm by itself and run some metho over the "sensor" (not the electrics - obviously leave the cover on the plug and leave that part well alone). Then leave it in the sun for a while until its dry (metho evaporates very quick) and then put it back in the car... I had trouble a while back with an oiled air filter stuffing up the afm. a quick clean of the afm and it would run good again, but before that it would not idle properly and generally be a bit stuttery when driving... just something to try before replacing it completely. its an electrical component so not any more likely to play up than any other electrics as far as i know...

coz apparently hondas are cool - dont need turbos or anything, just lots and lots of plastic and shiny bits on the exterior... edit: nah i'll admit *some* hondas do look nice (most are overdone) but very few are anywhere near fast.

yeah i know. shoulda gone smaller but at the time it was complicated. original turbo went cactus and i wanted to replace it with a quality turbo that would be reliable, have warranty, and still be fairly responsive, plus i wanted future power potential. its a gt30 machined into the stock exhaust housing (i think - i could be wrong tho). Many people told me it would be laggy and not run well etc. and at the time I had no other performance mods and for the most part these people were correct. I lost 20awkw and gained a lot more lag. Then I decided it was time to do something about it so I gave it a full 3" exhaust & apexi panel air filter (dry type). This pretty much reduced the turbo lag by about 1000rpm and made it run very rich in the top end. Then I got an safc and needle-valve boost controller and after a quality tune it now runs very very nice with minimal lag and a very nice and straight power curve. Its 1L/100km more economical than stock, and with 30-40 more kw. Not a huge gain but enough to make it a fast wagon. It would only need fuel pressure regulators, bigger fuel pump, and upgraded fuel lines, and then a apexi sitc (for ignition timing independent of the safc) and tune and i'd be looking at ~200awkw. The cost would be somewhere around $1000 but at the moment I'm so far in debt its going to be a while before I take it to that final stage. I'd like to run 15-16psi on the gt30 (it'll handle that just fine) but that will have to wait. At the moment its actually running 11psi but the cheapo boost controller cant hold it and it drops off gradually to 9psi at the top end... In its current form it should keep up with a stock skyline i'm guessing. the power/weight ratio is about the same. Turbo lag is next to nil - starts spinning up around 2000rpm and reaches full boost by about 3000-3500rpm, which isn't too bad IMO.

any chance of you bringing your 260rs stag to the photoshoot next saturday? Haven't seen one except in photos.

spotted a very nice black r34 (gtr?) on O.G. rd this morning on my way to work. I reckon I've seen the same one on north east rd some mornings headed away from town. Looks awesome!!

The common road to take for the autos is to use the apexi safc (air flow) and sitc (ignition timing) piggybacks to tune it. There are always going to be limitations without a full replacement ecu but also remember the auto box can only handle so much power too. Actually, you'll find that the piggybacks will be enough to give you more power than the auto can take anyway so if you really want big numbers (r33 or r34) then go manual and eventually you'll have issues with getting traction so for those wanting insane numbers, go the GTR!! I have a stagea s2 (same engine and auto trans as an r34) and my safc worked very well for me. I was hitting r&r after getting my exhaust installed so I bought the safc and it fixed all the issues. After a good tune my power graph is almost a straight line up to redline - its a lot better! I have 3" exhaust, gt30 turbo,jrd boost controller (similar to the $22 one on these forums), apexi air filter and my car has 170rwkw @ only 9psi (its a heavy wagon at 1658kg so a skyline r34 with same mods would have a slightly higher figure). Basically it equates to ~150awkw but was tuned on a 2wd dyno, hence the rwkw figure. For more info on getting power from a '34 check out this thread...I think this may be what the original poster may have been referring to?? http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...howtopic=112779

i like it! nice clean engine bay too (jealous)

Yeah i think people wouldn't mind as long as it wasn't at all expensive. Obviously it would only be for those in the main photoshoot as some people may just be coming for a looksee...or to take their own photos... It'd be cool to get some SAU 'lines in a mag

Just Car Insurance aren't that bad. Only downside is you dont get to choose your repairer (they get 2 quotes and go with the "most competitive"(?) quote) -but any repairs do come with a guarantee (i know its a long time but not sure how many years from memory). I pay ~$900 a year through just car insurance. excess is a killer at something like $1400 but fortunately I haven't had to use that yet (touch wood). I'm rating 1 and I'm 25. (was same price when i was 24). Shannons dont insure under 25's so I haven't yet gotten a quote from them. Might try soon since they seem to be a good insurer. My only concern with shannons is that they may be too picky with where the car is garaged (or not) and what mods it has. I've found JCI are very easy to deal with and dont ask 5 million questions before insuring your car. I dont want my insurance company dictating where and when I drive my car...

I'm happy for you to come and check out my series 2 (1999) stagea if you like (its not for sale though). Its pearl white, tiptronic auto with shift kit (faster shifts), and has the rb25det neo (same as r34 skyline). In stock form I think the s1 has about 100awkw and the s2 something like 120awkw? Fuel economy is generally around 13-14L/100km in town, the s2 being slightly more economical than the s1. Currently mine has: -3" stainless exhaust (turbo-back) -garrett gt30 turbo (stock is gt28) -Apexi SAFC -Apexi panel air filter -shift kit (aka "valve body upgrade") for auto trans. -boost controller (search '$22 boost controller' in these forums) and that equates to 170rwkw (approx 150awkw) at 9psi. Stock boost is 5-6 psi. My fuel economy is actually BETTER than when it was stock - and I average 12.5L/100km city driving. But yeah the best way to find out for sure if its right for you is to test drive one. If you're after a wagon then I can safely say you wont find a better value wagon than a series 1 stagea. The handling, performance, quality and driving experience are in my opinion better than any other wagon (or even many sedans) for the same money. My reasons for buying my s2 were basically that its got the same engine, turbo and gearbox as an r34 skyline and that I needed more space/doors than an r34 skyline. I wanted the newer version, tiptronic, less kms, slightly more powerful engine. So its a practical wagon with all the good bits from a skyline. And with a few mods (you could easily get the same power as mine with the stock turbo) it can go like a skyline too. Hope you manage to convince the missus. My missus didn't need much convincing so that made things easy for me. Good luck

him having a powerfc and yours not having one (and hitting r&r) is a pretty big difference in my opinion. If you put a powerfc on yours (assuming its manual) the gap would open up a fair bit I'd imagine. Simple fact is, you can get power out of a 33 or 34. They're both very well built and can handle much more than they came out the factory with...

Just out of interest, is the s1 unicorn badge different to the s2? My s2 has a plain chrome one (looking a bit "worn" on some edges). Not looking at selling it tho.

hey I might be able to make it after all. I'll be bringing my digicam (not SLR ) and will take my own pics anyway but a professional photographer would be a huge bonus. My stagea's running heaps nice at the moment lovin it!