JimX

Ah ok, I have a liquid filled one. Good to hear it's normal, though it still seems dodgy to me to have it like that! It was more the vacuum reading that I was worried about rather than just where it parks at when off. I will pay closer attention to the vacuum reading and see if it varies due to RPM or engine load or temperature or something.

You'd have to measure them with calipers to get any indication of how much they're worth. Near-new I would say they'd be worth maybe $200 the pair machined (machined because without doing that there's no way to determine their thickness with any accuracy), or if worn down below the halfway point maybe $100 the pair? New rotors are 30mm thick, and the run-out point is 28mm. Unfortunately there's no way to tell how much they've been worn just by stating the odometer reading. The amount of wear they've had will be largely dependant on driving style and type of pads used, and for all you know they could be the 2nd or 3rd set of rotors used on the car (entirely possible if the car had done any trackwork in Japan). If you've been running the Ultimates on them since they got machined 5 months ago, you might find they're up for machining again.

Bwahaha! That's just too funny

I think my aftermarket Autometer boost gauge is faulty. When the engine is off, it seems to sit at a random position between 0 and 3 psi, and at idle it is between -20 and -13 or so (varying over long periods of time for no apparent reason, but doesn't jump up and down constantly). However it always seems to sit on the maximum boost I have preset on the EBC when the turbo is at maximum boost. I believe that both these devices get the actual boost pressure from 2 different parts of the engine, so I don't think the EBC is fluctuating in a similar fashion. The readings on the EBC are always consistent. Does anyone know what might be the inconsistent Autometer gauge readings? Is it just a faulty gauge, or could there be something wrong with the line? Why is it only seemingly inaccurate when not at full boost?

The impact would be no less or more than if the pump died without a surge tank. Your engine will splutter and lean out, hopefully for not too long! I'm not sure if the stock fuel pump will flow fuel through it if it's not running. If it does then you might not even notice that it's not working.

How much are the Comp 15 pads? They seem to be the next step up from the RB74's. How are they for rotor usage and dust?

Plenty of people have done that, and I was contemplating it myself. The only real problem with this setup is the extra noise and loss of boot space. If you think you can cope then go for it.

For general street driving I think the biggest difference you'll notice between the RB's and the Ultimates is the lack of dust all over your wheels Btw, those discs look nice and chunky. What size are they?

Sydneykid, that sounds possible, Mark was talking about the EBC working hard at high boost so perhaps he was talking about the actuator (I might have misheard or misunderstood what he said). What do you think I should do with it? Can you buy just the actuator part, and if so, where from and what do I get exactly?

The biggest thing going for Garrett as already mentioned is the price. With HKS turbos you are paying for the research and development as well as the name. They are very good turbos, and if you have money to throw around then they are probably preferable. Unless you have an expert like Sydneykid around to help design you a good Garrett spec I guess. I swear by my Garrett T04E. It is a sleeve bearing turbo, which means that a rebuild is only $350 instead of $1000+. It's not even a new design by a long shot, but it still has the goods. If someone wanted to swap me for a brand new HKS of around the same spec I would gladly do it, but I'm not pining for a HKS turbo and I don't think I'll ever upgrade to one unless it's very cheap. The usual required $2k+ upgrade cost could be better spent elsewhere. The weakness in my turbo (and I presume all similar Garretts) is the wastegate. They aren't designed for high boost high power applications (>14psi), and according to Mark at Hills Motorsports I'm getting wastegate creep at higher revs. Once I get the wastegate replaced I should be able to get the same power output at lower boost. Actually I should have tried a dyno run yesterday at lower boost. might have still gotten the same top-end power.

It's all pretty ordinary: Front-mount intercooler made by Mick's Metalcraft in Sydney 3.5" exhaust (dump pipe slightly narrower to match the turbo outlet size but expands out to 3.5" at the front pipe and back) Home-made front-facing plenum (which I think helps the throttle response but not the power) Garrett T04E turbo (flows up to 450hp) Bosch 044 fuel pump Boost controlled with a GReddy Profec-B EBC (the older type with only 1 dial). The bit on the dyno printout where it peaked at 92kph was where the maximum power was at about 130kph when I first got the car. Back then it had a smaller fmic with really bad piping, which was the biggest restriction. I think that replacing this got me my biggest power gains. The Hills dyno is pretty conservative too. As I already mentioned Mark told me that all R33 GTS-t's he's seen on his dyno will max out before 220rwkw with the stock fuel system, but I've seen a few people around cracking 220 on other dynos with the factory fuel.

At the moment I'm not chasing more power, but wanting to smooth out that upper range. I can't believe that huge power/torque spike at around 4500rpm, I can definitely feel the difference on the road. I would even be willing to sacrifice some power at around that range to get rid of the dip at around 6000. I think I need a new wastegate in the medium term, and injectors/regulator in the long term. For now I'll just live with the temperamental power curve up top.

I got my car tuned at Hills Motorsports today, and the result was pretty good. The best run was 214rwkw @15psi. It was breaking traction by the second or third run, and after that I had to start sitting in the boot! Then the next run it was still breaking traction so he got one of those straps out to hold it on the rollers (with me in the boot again). If anyone's considering removing their tow hooks for a neater appearance, then consider that you may not be able to get accurate dyno readings once you start upping the power Mark said that he's never seen an R33 GTS-t break 220rwkw on his dyno with the stock fuel setup, so I don't think I'm doing too badly. He suggested a SARD fuel regulator to help with the top-end leaning out (the 044 pump on its own is not enough), but at around $300 for that I'm thinking I might look at bigger injectors instead. The car went in with 184rwkw at the old tuning settings, so I can definitely tell the difference. The biggest increase is in the midrange, with the top tailing off because of waste gate creep. That's probably something I want to fix up before the injectors, the power delivery is now more wobbly than before.

The regulator *could* be a problem, but a new one is $200, and a bigger fuel pump isn't much more. If you go the Walbro pump (which isn't as good as a Bosch but should be a bit better than a tired old factory one) then it'll be under $200. Upgrading your fuel pump is a much better option than upgrading your regulator. If your old pump isn't flowing enough you could seal the other end of the fuel line with a bolt and you still wouldn't have enough pressure at full throttle. I don't think you can re-tune your R33 without a replacement ECU or piggyback item like the S-AFC. The factory ECU will re-learn its mixture curve, but it will just stay a little too rich.

Oi! I haven't played soccer in over 20 years! Or gone to school in over 10

I mounted my 044 pump internally on my lightly mod'd R33 (14psi with all the usual gear) the other day and there are no dramas. The stock regulator copes admirably and I can barely hear the pump from inside the car or outside. My Commodore's stock fuel pump was much louder, but i think that was externally-mounted. The only thing I've been advised of is that because of the increased pressure, a re-tune of your mixture is a good idea because it's run a bit richer. I'm getting my S-AFC done tomorrow. Btw, good luck with mounting it if you want to DIY. It was a major pain in the arse for me, but then I've never attempted anything like this before.

Don't forget that even though it will rev a little higher at 100kph than a Commodore or Falcon, you've got an extra 1500rpm to redline (2500 for GTR)

A bigger fuel pump will increase your fuel pressure slightly and you will run a bit richer. That's why I'm getting my S-AFC re-tuned tomorrow, to compensate.

Brake squeal is one of those luck of the draw things. Some pads will tend to squeal more than others, but there will always be some people that always get squeal and some that never do with any pad you care to mention. However there is no one with Ultimate pads that doesn't get dust I don't think rebuilding calipers will help with squeal at all, all that will do is provide a more linear amount of pressure on the brake when it is applied, and possibly stop the pads from touching on the disc when in motion. It depends on where the stickiness in the piston lies. If you want to try a cheapass rebuild, move the piston in and out a few times. To do this pull the caliper off the hub and push the pistons back. Then pump the pedal a couple of times to push them out again (be careful, not too far out!) and push them back in again. I did that with mine along with a fluid flush and the brakes feel like brand new again. Slots and holes in your rotors will help prevent squeal, but they may not cure it. Again it comes back to the luck of the draw.

When you machined the discs did you sand back the pads as well? Both pads and discs will become glazed over time, and if you scrub one back without the other, the one you scrubbed back will just get glazed again really quickly and you'll be back to where you started. Could be the discs are too thin too, things will glaze up easier if there's a lot of heat involved. I think new DBA4000 discs are around $200 each. It may seem expensive, but they are probably a lot cheaper and definitely a lot better than the OEM items. If you are really pushed for cash, maybe try buying someone's second hand discs? If you do, make sure you check for run-out. The factory items are 30mm thick when new, and need to be replaced at 28mm.

Oh, if it's non-turbo then the bigger TB is definitely worthwhile. And also, the front-facing plenums will be a waste of time and money! You will either need to make a new air box for it on the opposite corner of the engine bay (very time consuming and tedious) or keep the same over-the-engine setup to keep the intake as short as possible. The only reason for the front-facing plenum is to cater for front-mount intercoolers. Even if you had a turbo Skyline with the stock cooler it would be a waste of time.

They used to have a website but I think it's been down for a few months now. They are really hard to track down if you don't know who to ask about them because they aren't in the White or Yellow pages and now that their website is down (or changed domain names without me knowing how to find it) it's even harder. Give them a call and ask them about it. If you want to see what their plenum looks like, try to find a photo of B-Man's engine bay, because he has one fitted. IMO they are very sexy!

Whoops sorry, WOT is Wide Open Throttle.

Well, I was mostly thinking that if somehow the clamps fail and the pump drops off and lands with the positive terminal on something metallic in the tank. When you say "its all earthed and plastic" do you mean the interior of the tank? If so then maybe I'll just forget about it

Well, I didn't "know" all this, but it was pretty much what I had worked out in my little brain after I pulled my turbo off and had a good long think about it. It's good to see that I had the right idea about it all, so I'm glad you posted it! I'm still not sure where I contradicted myself in my post though. If you can let me know where I went wrong, I would appreciate it.