KiwiRS4T

Have you changed your brake fluid lately..or ever?!!

I can't believe what I am reading! If you want a two wheel drive car DON'T BUY A 4WD car ...its that simple! Get your deposit back!! There are 2 wd turbo RS stageas around... there was one on Trade Me a week or two ago. If you rip out the front driveshaft you will still have a heap of unnecessary weight in the form of the transfer case and front half shafts, cv joints etc. A sophisticated aftermarket ecu should be able to handle the auto. Vipec/Link can, and anything more grunty than a PFC with sufficient outputs could be made to work. Stagea brakes are fine for normal use. For the track I have slotted rotors and better pads. No-one is going to race a Stagea so the only heavy use would be for serious towing in which case you might want bigger brakes. Some people say they are upgrading brakes for cosmetic reasons but that doesn't mean that the stockers won't stop your car.

Any reason why you're not running more boost (e.g. 16psi)?

Yes either will fit but S1 has R33 smic and it would be inadequate for the R34 GTT ...you would want the S2 one which is identical to the R34GTT (or for more flow a Trust, Nismo or ARC which would all fit).

Yes its a crap job. Three members spent best part of a day doing it. I just paid a sparky $300 to out and in the dash (it pretty much has to come out completely).

There should be no need to run a rev limiter as the ecu does that. If replacing the ecu didn't help then something is wrong and needs to be tracked down and fixed. Either someone has deliberately disabled it or wiring has become damaged. An aftermarket rev limiter will be using/modifying the same signal so probably won't work. If you can borrow one i guess its worth a try but I don't think its the answer.I got my new S1 checked out by the AA (I bought it sight unseen, 1200km away) and they said that the 4 wheel drive didn't work and the warning light stayed on. When I got the car I filled up the reservoir in the boot (it was low) and its sweet now. But I was lucky. Next stage for you is to bleed it, check that the fuses have not been pulled and yes, see if the front driveshaft is in place. Other possibilities are that some one has pulled the fuses for fun or on a dyno and stuffed the clutch packs. Have you run the Attesa diagnostic? Its on this site somewhere... someone may be able to point you to it. BTW I have a spare Attesa ecu and the gear that sits on top of the diff. Good luck! Tangles its unlikely to be the ecu as the ecu I sent Rodders definitely limited the revs to about 7000 rev/min in my car. (Although having said that Rodders it would be simple to open the two ecus and compare the insides - an aftermarket daughterboard would be really obvious but I doubt theres one there since swapping the ecus made no difference).

For my S1 stagea I have an R33 skyline split dump front pipe. Its pretty close to the floor but no problems.

Sorry, no idea what you're looking for. I have a series 1 and to my knowledge it doesn't have a "boost sensor" maybe a photo with an arrow or someone with an S2 knows what you're talking about?

i think your best bet is the Vipec/Link computer. Have a read of Skidkid's successfull installation in his S2 auto (and dirt garage's OTT praise). The Vipec has the computing power to do it all and it is a current model still being improved and supported (unlike the PFC). The main thing is to find a competent installer (as skid kid seems to have found). A new computer will not on its own necessarily produce a lot of power but it will get the maximum from any mods. It will very likely produce some economy though because Nissan's standard settings are conservatively rich.

Good video RB26! But to answer the question ... I knew quite a bit about what the attesa does but not exactly how. Here is an excellent description: http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/112630-attesa-dummies.html

Dave have you tried asking DBA if they have rotors for your car? Make exact measurements of your rotors - diameter, thickness, offset any other dimension they might want and your make, model, year , and vin number and contact them by email or phone and ask if they have anything in the 4000 series or 5000 series for your car (slotted, not cross drilled). If they do then maybe you can get prices from them or get the address of your nearest stockist: http://www.dba.com.au/contact.php

Its hard to keep track of Whiteline. They seem to have had many changes lately. A tip though - unless you have specifically ordered 24mm front sway bars you will get exactly what you have on your car now. You need to order using all of those words (not just a code) or else you will just get another 22mm bar like you already have:24mm non adjustable front bar for a 1997 Nissan Stagea WGNC34 RS4T auto. (formerly BNF27X or XX) The one I got from my local NZ Whiteline supplier came from Superior Suspension Ltd and was branded Selby. Use google to track them down and then find out who your nearest agent is (at the time I bought they would not sell direct). Good luck! BTW after going to all this trouble to import the right bar it was destroyed a little while ago when I wrote off my car. I am buying another S1 and have the original bar out of the old car and plan to go around a few spring makers and say "can you replicate this for me in 24mm bar?"

There is a picture of the ARC smic in my TradeMe ad: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=204295818

F Con installed in centre console: (this guy doesn't need stereo controls here because he has built a computer with a touch screen that controls his stereo, gps, displays various readouts etc) see http://www.skylinesdownunder.com/forums/sh...0707#post480707

With a normal wheel balance and alignment (castor just under 5deg) my S1 was smooth and rock steady all the way to 200 (not on a public road of course).A balance and alignment should fix your shudder. But anyway jack up the front of the car and check that all nuts and bolts are tight and use a bar to see if any suspension components are insecure - pull off your wheels and make sure your hubs and calipers are secure.

Dave I put a wanted ad on TradeMe and after about 2 weeks got the call! I'll leave the ad there in case another one turns up as they are pretty rare -probably because they would cost about $1000 to import and people would just get a front mount. I would guess that this and my previous Trust one came fitted on second hand imports and were replaced here with fmic. Wisey I am due to pick it up next weekend as I am going down to the South Island to pick up my new S1 and the smic is also in the South Island and I happen to be going through their town! I will post up pictures of the Nismo one and also my (stuffed) Trust one for people's interest. There was a nice looking ARC one in the Skyline parts for sale on this forum but that was $600 (would have cost me NZ$800+ by the time I got it over here) but it sold very quickly anyway ... possibly because it seems that in some States a fmic hanging out the front of your car leads to unwanted attention from the cops.

That's great news. Any dyno figures? Is the Vipec controlling boost or are you using a seperate boost controller?

Maltech are in Geelong (Drysdale) google the name for contact details. They will make brake lines to suit any application - even if you send them some and say what kind of fittings, longer or shorter and a variety of colours you want. In the Geelong area they will come round in a van and amke them on the spot.

Hallelujah! I have found a Nismo SMIC the same capacity as my previous Trust one (24% more than the R34GTT one) for $100. Motoring seems to be cheaper here - if that dead Stagea for sale above was here i could get it re-engined for $2000 and it would be a great car.

Its an HKS F-Con - alternative/piggy back ecu...like a PFC (actually I think its more like a Greddy Emanage). There are a few in Skylines over here probably in Aus as well.

Here is a picture: (forget about the bleed switch - just run the motor)http://tyndago.googlepages.com/gt-rbleedingattesasystem

GuiltToy you said PFC knock detection was not up to scratch (can't find the original post now) but is the problem with the PFC hardware or software or the nissan knock sensors or all of the above? If I get a Link/Vipec will it function OK with the Nisssan knock sensors? I know that Link have a knock detection system as well - should I get their sensors or do i need to get a Gizzmo K-Mon to accurately set timing? (it's sort of on the subject ...I want to use an ethanol blend and do the tuning myself - I have a wideband meter).

I am very keen to find an accurate way of detecting knock as I want to do my own tuning and have got a wideband kit but there seems to be no cheap solution. Guilt-Toy reckons that the PFC is too conservative with its knock detection but I don't know if that is a problem with the PFC hardware or software or the nissan sensors. He uses a K-mon knock detector with two special sensors (total around $1500) so I will try to get the answers from him.

Another idea: take the cover off the ecu and get as high as possible resolution photo and send it to Toshi. he will know if it has an aftermarket daughterboard but unless he recognises the handiwork he probably won't have the software to tune it...worth a try though. ps normally you would do the back sway bar first - with just the front there would be a tendency to understeer (i.e. go straight ahead on corners).

Engine bay looks good. I see you have cable ties to hold the snorkel. Mine came without the two black buttons as well ... i found it OK with only the bonnet to keep it in place.