The Mafia

I have a 55mm PWR twin pass radiator (tanks on the sides). I had issues with my cooling system. This is how I fixed it. 55mm PWR Radiator, older 80mm Intercooler, 16 row oil cooler, stock N1 water pump. 6 laps, water temp at 112, had to back off. 55mm PWR radiator, new A.R.E Intercooler, larger, more airflow, 16 row oil cooler, stock N1 water pump. 6 laps, water temp at 104, but still rising. 55mm PWR radiator, new A.R.E Intercooler that is larger and more airflow, massive 900 x 300 Oil cooler, dry sump. 6 laps. Water temp at 85 and holding. Oil temp barely 85 degrees. If you are having heating issues, a few things I have noticed: - Intercoolers sometimes block the airflow to the radiator - Get a better one. Larger area, wider spacing - Oil coolers - the bigger the better. Takes heaps of load away from the engine coolant system - Vacuum on the radiator outlet.

Very well put Lithium. Just to add to this - on my RB28, 272 JUN cams, fully ported head, the 8374 and 1.06 pretty much fell off the cliff at 650rwhp (front shaft out). Vcam made it VERY responsive on the 2.8L when added later. To put it into perspective, I had to ask my mate because mine has been cut, but he said from about 3k onwards he could feel his foreskin peeling back coming onto boost. I thought it would have more but nope, 650rwhp on a proper reading dyno at 32psi and she was cooked. The 8474 though on a 2.8L and Vcam, noticably more mid range with just the tiniest bit of extra lag. 100-200rpm. But the transient is so much better.

I personally would use the 9180. While the compressor will perform similar, The 8474 is too small in the rear. You want to keep that pressure ratio down and allow that exhaust to get out. The power will be more manageable too. I have a 2.8L, Vcam, and 8474 with a 1.06 rear. It's a weapon and I can see it getting to 750rwhp with ease.

hey mate, they were stupid low. if I turn on the thermos, it will pull the temps down below 70. Oil coolers make a HUGE difference on the RBs, But you need a massive one. Those little 16 row ones don't do shit. I had one previously and it did nothing. But, I left the 16 row one mounted and piped my transmission to it, and now my transmission runs cool as hell. (Holinger 6 Speed sequential)

I should probably update my experience too. I stuck with the stock water pump and changed my Intercooler to a custom made ARE brand with better airflow, then installed a massive oil cooler. It's like 900 x 300 I think? Now the Water and oil temps won't go over 85 degrees even when doing constant laps. Seems Oil coolers are where it's at.

Butters, how does it drive? Can you feel your foreskin starting to peel back when its coming onto boost now? (I have to ask because mine got snipped 😢 )

This is the purest form of Skylines Australia. Proper data straight into the SAU encyclopaedia. I wish I knew this when I installed mine. Could have saved a lot of time and $$ and used heavier springs. Thanks so much for the information.

That is a good test and thanks for letting us know. I will go heavier when it's all apart again.

Hey mate HKS springs have a 55psi seat pressure. We measured them ourselves when installing them. Your 105lb Kelford Springs will be too heavy. Vcam won't work until over 3000rpm. JUN springs are 65psi and I recommend those. I would have used them now that I have the HKS springs. This is just a guess too - but I think about 75psi would be the limit for a Vcam. The Vcam was worth it though. Car had about 1000rpm more usable powerband down low. comes on boost a lot more savage now too, and that is with the BW EFR 8374. I just installed a 8474 so I'm keen to see how that performs.

haha details. What engine / cams / turbo / boost / power are you running?

Okay, so changed the valve springs and the VCT works as it should now (nice and responsive at idle). 125psi springs were just too heavy for it. I have heard that when people have put heavier springs in the Barra those have stopped working too. Currently running HKS springs. I recommend lighter springs 90psi would be pushing it. 75psi or below will be my safe estimation. (Please bear in mind your RPM targets, cam selections, etc). It's a careful balancing act.

The sampling data was live mate. from idle to 3500. It's like the VCam couldn't move under 3500rpm (Oil pressure I'm thinking) because at 3500rpm the pressure at the guage was going over 100psi. Under that it couldn't control the position properly. When the oil was cold it was a little under 3500rpm which makes me think it's a pressure / flow / resistance (springs) issue. New springs are going in and I will report back.

Hi Mate, I have two VCam kits, we swapped the solenoid and that didn't help either. We've ruled out quite a few things that's for sure.

Yep, that's it. ECU was reporting the cam angle. A quick test to rule out solenoid control was to get a tail, plug it into the solenoid, and give it 12v and ground directly. It wouldn't move until 3500rpm and 100psi on the little gauge we had inbetween the line and the cam cover. Exact same behaviour as when the ECU was trying to control it.

Can confirm all of this went back together correctly

Hey mate, we double checked the o-rings. One was pinched and we replaced it and it had the same behavior. Cam is being controlled with an Emtron KV8. To bypass all of the ECU side of things we connected the solenoid directly to 12v and ground and had the same result. Cam wouldn't move until 3500rpm on the trace in the ECU. Something is not right. It's frustrating that's for sure.

I'll find out mate

Sorry Guys - Edit - The Springs are 125psi. We had the choice out of 90psi and 125psi and 125psi was optioned.

We installed a pressure gauge right on the side of the cam cover, 40psi at idle couldn't move the cam. Had to increase the rpm to 3500rpm (100psi) and it started to move. I've asked so any people - No one is sure.

Hi Everyone. So we've installed a HKS Step Pro VCam kit to my RB26 2.8L engine. (Dry sumped etc) Head has had a full overhaul in the past - 1mm oversize valves, Shimless Buckets, 150psi aftermarket springs etc. So the issue i have is the VCam system can't advance unless the RPM is at 3500rpm or more. I have eliminated all electrical Issues / ECU control issues. The oil pressure feed line has been moved somewhere where there is plenty of oil (engine has a dry sump with heaps of pressure), and the VCam itself has been disassembled and checked thoroughly. Could there be a chance the valve springs are too heavy for the VCam system to open the valves at lower RPM and oil pressure? Anyone have any ideas? Thanks

Seems a bit suss that the block was unicorn spec, then all of a sudden went missing?

okay, so I had issues with sourcing a 0.8mm Apexi head gasket and purchased the Nismo 0.9mm gasket. Careful measurement with the engine dummy assembled showed that with these particular pistons, and Kelford 272, 10.15mm lift cams, at 35 degrees advance I have 2.15mm clearance from the piston at the closest point of the valve lift. The pro cams have slightly less lift at 10mm. A pro kit will work fine locked out at 35 degrees or less. 35 degrees is still a massive gain to be had.

in the BNR34, it's wired to the ECU. I have the Link ECU triggering this fan when required. In the BCNR33, they are wired through pressure switch and it isn't wired to the ECU and needs a fair bit of modification to the wiring setup to make it work. Going to make some changes and see if I can get it under control. If not I will have to look at getting a proper electric fan shroud made up as the spal3000 I had kept it under control on the 35+ degree days here. On my BCNR33 race car, I had issues with temp creep after 5-6-7 laps. All I did was change the intercooler from a 15 year old HKS to a custom made A.R.E intercooler, and the temp difference between the top and bottom hose (I have sensors on both) went from 5 degrees to 15 degrees. I think we are blocking the radiators significantly with these big intercoolers we are installing. I asked ARE for one that had more surface area but bigger spacing so allow more air through. It worked really well. On the BNR34, I have a PWR rad and Intercooler. I think the intercooler is blocking quite a bit of the airflow. I didn't have this issue with the stock intercooler.

Hey mate, anwers to your questions and suggestions. What makes me think it is an airflow issue is that when I turn the AC off but force the fan on it helps. The clutch is brand new and it's locking up quite well. Definitely no issue there.

Hey mate! I sure do already. Foam etc. Plate on the top of the rad support etc. Do you think this tropics up here is partially to blame? 30+ degree heat and 90% humidty some days. It's so shit.