N-DAWG

That's a really good explanation PM-R33

Spotted 3 Skylines on the way to work this morning... a blue R32 GTR on Dawson/Logan Road intersection; then a silver R33 GTSt 4 Door parked next to me at the Village in Mt Gravatt; then spotted a Blue R33 on Orange Grove Road.

Well...the key to unlocking power in an N/A motor is to relieve as much restriction as possible. You've helped air flow in better with the hi-flow panel filter, which is in a box so it won't be soaking up as much heat as an unshielded pod. You've done the catback. Upgrading extractors will help scavenge the exhaust gas out of the engine quicker, and will generally help increase the power band in the mid-range. Cars have the cats ripped out and replaced with compliance cats when they're imported. Chances are you've still got a compliance cat. Changing this will help improve flow between the extractors and catback exhaust. Good healthy spark plugs will help with ignition, and of course air+fuel+spark = power. Good fuel also. If you're not already using 98RON fuel I would suggest it. After that, disconnect neg terminal on battery, foot on the brake for about 10 seconds, reconnect, let the ECU relearn. After all that's done, then you could look at a SAFC to clean up the Air/Fuel ratios to get that little bit of extra power out and improve fuel mileage...though the dollars spent on a SAFC + tuning could be put elsewhere. Other than that, adjustable exhaust cam gear to get bit more power out. I would do that as part of the 100,000km service though since they're coming out anyways. You mentioned the car is stock besides the catback? How's your suspension? Some lowered springs and sway bars will help make use of power already there. If it were me I'd be deciding between extractors and cat, or suspension, if i had $1000 to spend. The way I done it, I done suspension first, wheels/tyres, brakes, then went for big power. With power you want control. I know that the N/A R34's aren't the most powerful of cars out there, but upgrade your suspension and a good set of tyres, and learn to make use of the power that's there with the handling capabilities unless of course if you're only after straightline power, in which case the N/A R34 Skyline isn't the best choice.

has what you thought was pinging stopped now? if so maybe it was just the sparks/coilpacks. Did you go with a SMIC or FMIC?

Extractors and cat, maybe change your sparks to some irridiums if they're due.

Sounds good.. looking forward to the results Post up a vid / audio clip if you can =]

Will the R34 N/A exhaust fit? I know the catbacks are interchangeable with little to no modification... if so I can call my tuner and see if they still have the one that came off my car or if it's finally gone to the scrap metal yard...

Good luck with finding an aftermarket to suit 2.5" N/A. The only one that I recall seeing marketed for the N/A was a Fujitsubo Legalis R catback from Just Jap. It's marketed as being for an N/A Sedan, though this doesn't confirm the pipe sizing. AFAIK the coupe and sedan catback is the same. http://justjap.com/store/product.php?produ...=273&page=1 TBH at $1199 +shipping, you could get a very good quality catback system with a good quality and nice sounding muffler set up and hi-flow cat. Add a few hundred more and you've got yourself extractors, cat and catback. You mentioned that you're not so much after power but rather a nice tone... to be honest if you're prepared to spend the sort of money that aftermarket systems cost, I know I would be wanting more power out of it. A larger diameter exhaust on an N/A will be louder. The characteristics of an N/A means it's going to be louder as the turbo helps muffle the exhaust. Just change the rear muffler to get a nice tone, and make sure it's not an el cheapo one that will just make a loud noise and sound bad...if all you're after is a nice tone and not a power increase.

I thought it was more to do with running a constant 12v signal to keep it open? If it's just that simple then I'll do it, after having a chat to my tuner to make sure it's not going to mess up the AFR's.

The intake plenum on the R34 GT from what I can see is designed to help power delivery with it being naturally aspirated. The variable valve in the plenum is a hinderence under boost. I get 1-2PSI increase after that valve opens completely at around 4500revs.

How much you chasing for the seat belt covers? I really don't know what they're worth, I don't want o offer too low a price.

My system isn't cutting edge anymore, since owning a skyline I upgrade computers on a needs/as parts die basis lol Some parts date back to 2006, except the mobo and GPU and RAM. Case___Thermaltake Armor Silver Aluminum Mobo___Asus P5KE-WiFi PSU____Hyper Type R PSU (580watt iirc?) CPU____Intel Q6600 G0 Stepping =] GPU____Palit 8800GTS RAM____2 x 1GB Corsair Dominator (pretty sure it's around a Ghz at decent timings, I'd have to check, been a while since I've tweaked around with them) HDD____ 2 x Hitachi 320GB 16MB Cache in Raid 0, Seagate 250GB 16MB Cache, 2 x 80GB Seagate SATA's, only use them for backups now, not point having them all hooked up using more power and noise. DVD____Asus Light Scribe DVD Burner Sound__ Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music Media___ iMon Media Bay/Remote KB/Mouse_ Logitech G15 (2nd edition, previously owned a 1st edition), MX Revolution, and G5. Monitor__ Asus W222U? 22" Wide Screen Sounds__ Sennheiser HD485 Headphones, Logitech X-230 (will get a 5.1 set up again when I move to a bigger place) Cooling__ Laing D5 Pump, 1/2" Tubing, Storm G4 Waterblock (one of the original ones before Swiftech bought the design), Black Ice Xtreme 240mm Radiator with Swif Coolink silent fans, Silverstone computer Coolant, front 3x5.25" bay Scythe Intake Fan mounted in front of 3xHDD Cage with Antec red LED Fan, Coolermaster UV and LED fans blowing onto GPU Northbridge heatsink RAM and voltage regs, gatewatch II front LCD Temp Monitor/fan controller, Zalman ZM MFC1 Fan controller (not the new design). Other Stuff_ couple of UV Tubes for all that glowey stuff. A couple of Red Cathodes. I Eat n00bs sticker (from PC Case Gear), Noise deadening material on the floor and panels of the case. Runs 3.2GHz Daily. I have had it aroun 4GHz before for some Pi runs, one day when I've got time I'll see how far I can push it again I've never OC'd that video card yet though...probably the first one that I haven't OC'd or changed the cooler on... usually I find the limits on them in no time..but I guess if it aint broke, and it can render the games I play nice and smoothly, then I'll leave it as is and get some decent life out of it lol Before this I had a Opteron Dual Core (skt 939) with a DFI LanParty that ran 3GHz Daily with Corsair 1GB Kit pushing 500MHz @ 2-3-3-6 timings (TCCD Sammy Chips), and a Xpertvision 512MB 7900GT SONIC that ran 671MHz/1440MHz daily with a Asetek GPU Waterblock. Had the #1 spot on AtomicMPC Benchmarks for 2-3years. Might put it in again one day and do some V-Modding since it was voltage limiting it. I could get it to almost complete an Aquamark at 700 MHZ Core before it would just freeze. Never artifacted. RAM is pretty much limited to 1440MHz Effective. The chips on it are rated for 800MHz (1600 effective) but it's been physically limited on the card (been a while since I've looked into the V-Modding threads on this card). Been outta the 1337 loop for a looong time now, I wouldn't know what the latest chipsets and cores are these days

If a workshop does an awsesome job, they can charge for it, and it's a case of getting what you pay for. If your budget allows, go for the the system that you know will be of high quality. Yeah I'm over canons too...I wish I did get a oval barrel twin tip now, I saved myself $90 instead =/ Turbo conversion at the time was adding up very quickly. DKNE do HPC Coating, it's $280 extra. Over time, wrapping will increase the chance/rate of corrosion. There's a lot of arguments between the two methods on the net. Have a chat to the guy that's going to do your exhaust and ask for his opinion between the two and he'll give the full run down on it. Basically you want to retain the heat in the headers to help with scavenging the exhaust gasses out of the engine. The more you can scavenge the exhaust gasses the quicker it will flow = more power, or more so for N/A's, improved efficiency and quicker power delivery as you are relieving the restriction. The next best thing you can do after a complete exhaust system is a high flow air filter, ensuring it is shielded with a nice cold air feed. That's good if he's willing to just put them on for you. I believe it's fairly straight forward, just the unlikely risk of cross threaded manifold studs. If your factory exhaust was anything like on my R34, the compliance workshop welded the flanges on both sides of the compliance cat ~_~

Are you getting them HPC Coated or wrapped? Definitely best to spend the extra and get HPC so as not to corrode the extractors. It does cost an extra $280 or there abouts. Do a google on heat wrap vs HPC Coating to have an idea. $750 is about the average price for a good quality custom mandrel bend 3" system with a Hi-Flow Magnaflow cat (which is what I have). For a 2 1/2" catback system with cat I would not pay more than $750! Unfortunately the majority of Jap brand exhausts are 3" so there's not a lot of option for you with a used Japanese cat-back system for an N/A which would be MUCH cheaper again. Got any particulars on the 3 prices you've had? i.e. brand/model of cat converter? $160 price difference between the lowest n highest quote... would be good to see what distinguishes the $850 system to the $690 system. For $850 I would expect a very good cat converter (metal cat) and something like a oval barrel twin tip, not just a straight through canon. Can't really help you much on the Newcastle area. Be sure to post up how you went with the DKNE extractors. I'm sure most people would like feedback in regards to the fitment, any interference with the factory air box, build quality/welds, engine response, improvements to the powerband (eg. how quick it revs out through the flat spot). I'm not sure how many people on SAU have tried the DKNE extractors as I believe it's only been around a year now since they started making them? In the past group buys had been run with the Coby's so having some results on the DKNE's would be a good resource for others looking at getting extractors done

The 3k metallic rasp, common on N/A Skylines...nothing to worry about, but a search will show how most ppl fix the problem. Generally it seems that a decent quality exhaust system solves the problem. iirc GTS4WD knows of a good exhaust set up that practically eliminated it?

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Co...html&st=100 http://www.dkne.com.au/nissan-skyline-r34r...rb25-p-415.html http://www.partsco.com/partsco-hibernate/f...16@13400134@all You'll probably find a thread somewhere on the before/after results I believe. Search is your friend

Spotted an Orange R33 on Logan Road Mt Gravatt Yesterday... gave it a rev past me when I was waiting on the lights lol

I recall reading about weight at the wheels in comparison to say weight in the boot of the car. Basically the point was that it takes more rotational power at the wheels to turn a heavier wheel to get the vehicle in motion than if that weight was on the car. When I upgraded my 16" GT wheels to 18x8 Mesh Wheels, I was very suprised by the weight comparison when I changed them over (I knew they'd be heavier, but not THAT much heavier), and definitely noticed the difference the first week or so driving. But after that I got used to it. Now I wouldn't know what difference it would make with stock wheels compared to what I have now being that my performance has changed significantly.

Just remove the plastic bits covering the recessed holes on the strut tower, attach the plate, put in the bolts and tighten, screw in the bolt against the master cylinder with the flange on the end. After driving check the bolts again later if they need further tightening. Based on what I've read on other forums in regards to brake stopper installation. My main question is how tight to press up against the master cylinder? even when tightening the big bolt all the way there's a tiny bit of play between then MC and the bolt flange. Should this be pressed right up against the MC? I've noticed the difference under heavier braking. At the moment my brakes have been quite soft (almost having to put pedal to floor sometimes, it's booked in for new rotors n pads this week and a check of the braking system) but meanwhile this master cylinder has given more confidence with braking the way that it currently is. If you open the bonnet, put one foot in the car pressing down on the brake (with the car on) and have a look at the movement of the master cylinder you can see how much flex there is. I was quite suprised with mine actually.

Forza 2 is my personal favourite for a driving sim... though it's disappointing to see lack of support for the G25. The Xbox wheel is a must for Forza 2 IMO. Forza 2 + G25 (with full support for clutch and gated shifting) would be awesome! If only

Got pics of the Nismo Seatbelt Covers? Condition?

Got mine this morning, will fit it up later today

The Castrol Edge 10W60 is what my tuner recommended so I went with it..but I've had no complaints I read about that $1 cooling mod in a recent HPI mag... how does it look on the skylines though? What happens when it rains? As for custom coilpack covers, I've seen some laser cut coilpack covers in a group buy. That should help them vent. iirc they were around $125? I'm paranoid about coilpacks now, mainly cause I'm using the GReddy eDamage ignition harness, but hopefully the zener diode mod will have fixed that problem now. I do find that the DE+t gets rather warm under the bonnet. How does it compare to a DET though temperature wise? I've never had the opportunity to compare...

Can you elaborate a bit more on what you mean by heat choking your coilpacks? Also running the same oil