Run-It-Hard

Alright guys, Was building this diff setup for my Stagea. It consists of: Nismo 2 way LSD for BNR32 GTR (roughly 30,000kms) 4.363 final drive out of a R34 RB25DE manual 6x1 GTR halfshafts (still on the way from Japan) It will need some fresh oil of your choice. I've decided against it due to it making it hard to setup a spare, and I'd need to customise my tailshaft (Stagea uses a GTR style tailshaft). It's all assembled, ready to go, just need to put the halfshafts in when they arrive. This would be perfect for a R34 or S15 looking to beef up there diff, and never worry about blowing it. I assume it'll fit other R/S chassis' but you'll need to use a R34/S15 tailshaft. Price: $1100 for the lot OR $950 without the GTR halfshafts. Located in Liverpool region, Sydney. Will ship at buyers expence. Adam.

Bump, these are ready to go. Would see them within a week after payment clears.

THE QUEST FOR MORE - PART I - VIEW ON THE BLOG Since the Stagea was going into hibernation until the next drift day, I decided it was time to rectify the front suspension. I was torn on how I could do this for a while, do I convert it to the typical RWD Stagea setup (which is based on a C35 Laurel platform), or something else? Well after lots of time spent researching and thinking about it all, I came to the conclusion that converting to McPherson strut would be too costly, and a lot of work to do it properly. My whole problem with the OEM 4WD Stagea setup was that the hub bearing within the knuckle, is secured by the driveshafts. So with the driveshafts in place, I’m unable to utilise any modified knuckles or what not. Also the link arm/upright was limiting the Stageas ride height. So what have I decided on? R33 front suspension conversion! It’ll mean the Stagea will remain double wishbone but be setup similar to a R chassis. I can, gain more lock, use common tie rod ends and save some weight from removing driveshafts. That still leaves me with the link arm height being an issue. I was stumped on this for a while until I had a chat to a bro named ‘Jimmy’ (he owns a rad 32 4 door you can see here). I figured if anyone has heard of this sort of thing, it would be him. Jimmy enlightened me on what the super low R32s in Japan do to overcome this problem. Which is either shortening their OEM link arms, or using GTR items and retro-fitting them. I was fairly sure this would be the same with R33s so I compared my Stagea link arms with R33 items. The Stagea arms are roughly 40mm shorter than the R33 arms. The Stagea link arm is also identical to the R33 GTR. You can see the sway bar mounting points are different between link arms, and the angle the bearing carrier sits. The Stagea arm is much skinner in some sections compared the R33 arm too, which I found interesting. Anyway, moving on … I had no choice but to get my current link arms modified. So basically the bearing carrier is being moved up the arm 40mm in order to allow full suspension travel, without the upper control arm hitting the chassis. It’ll also be re-enforced to ensure its strength. Which means I can run the Stagea as low as I desire. Once they come back from the fabricators, the bearings will need to be swapped over, as the taper is different on RWD and AWD knuckles. The next task was to figure out exactly how I’m actually going to mount R33 knuckles to the chassis, As the 4WD front sub frame is vastly different to RWD. LCA mounts are different as are castor/tension rods (though I think I’ll be able to use my current castor/tension rods). 4WD and RWD LCAs are very different too as you can see. the 4WD LCA (right) is mounted to the chassis and knuckle via ball joints. Whereas the RWD LCA is essentially solid mounted to the chassis. To overcome this, I’ve gone with RWD LCAs converted to a rose joint end. The reason for this is because the OEM setup is too wide to utilise with the AWD sub frame. While the LCA is getting the chop, I’ve also went with a boxed under-side and modified bump stop (actually going scalloped now). The arm needs to be shortened too, similar to 4WD LCA spec. The rose joint will offer adjustability if I ever want/need more front track. So it’s win win! So the LCA is all good and well, but how am I going to mount it to the chassis? well thankfully there is enough room for me to make an adaptor plate. Which will use the 4 bolts that hold the ball joint for the 4WD LCA. It’s a rather simple piece that is completely reversible. I didn’t mention thickness or plate dimensions for holes on the shoddy diagram I made, but it’s basically mimicking the 4WD LCA mount with two vertical plates attached. I’m opting to go for 10mm steel folded in one piece. We’ll see what happens. The knuckles are fairly simple. They are just cut/shuts that’ll offer more lock and reduce Ackerman. But I’ve requested them to be re-enforced between the LCA point and tie rod point (as above). It isn’t necessary but I have a knack for over-engineering things. The Stagea is heavy so it definitely can’t hurt. Everything is currently getting modified at JDI Fabrication in Melbourne, they take pride in their modified knuckles and not one has broken yet, Stewy Bryant used them before going McPherson strut … good enough for me! They also gave me an awesome price. I should see everything sometime this week, and then we’ll see how well my theory’s have worked out.

THE QUEST FOR MORE - PART I - VIEW ON THE BLOG Since the Stagea was going into hibernation until the next drift day, I decided it was time to rectify the front suspension. I was torn on how I could do this for a while, do I convert it to the typical RWD Stagea setup (which is based on a C35 Laurel platform), or something else? Well after lots of time spent researching and thinking about it all, I came to the conclusion that converting to McPherson strut would be too costly, and a lot of work to do it properly. My whole problem with the OEM 4WD Stagea setup was that the hub bearing within the knuckle, is secured by the driveshafts. So with the driveshafts in place, I’m unable to utilise any modified knuckles or what not. Also the link arm/upright was limiting the Stageas ride height. So what have I decided on? R33 front suspension conversion! It’ll mean the Stagea will remain double wishbone but be setup similar to a R chassis. I can, gain more lock, use common tie rod ends and save some weight from removing driveshafts. That still leaves me with the link arm height being an issue. I was stumped on this for a while until I had a chat to a bro named ‘Jimmy’ (he owns a rad 32 4 door you can see here). I figured if anyone has heard of this sort of thing, it would be him. Jimmy enlightened me on what the super low R32s in Japan do to overcome this problem. Which is either shortening their OEM link arms, or using GTR items and retro-fitting them. I was fairly sure this would be the same with R33s so I compared my Stagea link arms with R33 items. The Stagea arms are roughly 40mm shorter than the R33 arms. The Stagea link arm is also identical to the R33 GTR. You can see the sway bar mounting points are different between link arms, and the angle the bearing carrier sits. The Stagea arm is much skinner in some sections compared the R33 arm too, which I found interesting. Anyway, moving on … I had no choice but to get my current link arms modified. So basically the bearing carrier is being moved up the arm 40mm in order to allow full suspension travel, without the upper control arm hitting the chassis. It’ll also be re-enforced to ensure its strength. Which means I can run the Stagea as low as I desire. Once they come back from the fabricators, the bearings will need to be swapped over, as the taper is different on RWD and AWD knuckles. The next task was to figure out exactly how I’m actually going to mount R33 knuckles to the chassis, As the 4WD front sub frame is vastly different to RWD. LCA mounts are different as are castor/tension rods (though I think I’ll be able to use my current castor/tension rods). 4WD and RWD LCAs are very different too as you can see. the 4WD LCA (right) is mounted to the chassis and knuckle via ball joints. Whereas the RWD LCA is essentially solid mounted to the chassis. To overcome this, I’ve gone with RWD LCAs converted to a rose joint end. The reason for this is because the OEM setup is too wide to utilise with the AWD sub frame. While the LCA is getting the chop, I’ve also went with a boxed under-side and modified bump stop (actually going scalloped now). The arm needs to be shortened too, similar to 4WD LCA spec. The rose joint will offer adjustability if I ever want/need more front track. So it’s win win! So the LCA is all good and well, but how am I going to mount it to the chassis? well thankfully there is enough room for me to make an adaptor plate. Which will use the 4 bolts that hold the ball joint for the 4WD LCA. It’s a rather simple piece that is completely reversible. I didn’t mention thickness or plate dimensions for holes on the shoddy diagram I made, but it’s basically mimicking the 4WD LCA mount with two vertical plates attached. I’m opting to go for 10mm steel folded in one piece. We’ll see what happens. The knuckles are fairly simple. They are just cut/shuts that’ll offer more lock and reduce Ackerman. But I’ve requested them to be re-enforced between the LCA point and tie rod point (as above). It isn’t necessary but I have a knack for over-engineering things. The Stagea is heavy so it definitely can’t hurt. Everything is currently getting modified at JDI Fabrication in Melbourne, they take pride in their modified knuckles and not one has broken yet, Stewy Bryant used them before going McPherson strut … good enough for me! They also gave me an awesome price. I should see everything sometime this week, and then we’ll see how well my theory’s have worked out.

bump!

Cheers for the kind words Michael! I did want to do a leakdown test but I was assured that I didn't need it after seeing the comp test. Meh doesn't bother me really, the car has low kms and all that jazz. I'd be sad if I know something was wrong too so I'll just take it as a win haha! I was going to give that a go if the baffles didn't make much of a difference. The catch can has enough outlets to do so, so it wouldn't be hard but yeah so far so good with the baffles!

The website has been playing up heaps lately. Try using www.tinypic.com to upload your pics. GLWS!

CHILL OUT BRO - VIEW ON THE BLOG With my latest tune I made considerably less power than the “norm” for the Kando TD06 on an RB25 engine. At first I thought I’d deal with it, but after a continuous beating the car would lose power rapidly. Intrigued I headed to the SAU Kando thread and posted up my dyno, specs etc. Everyone pointed straight to my intercooler setup. So I started to dig into how an intercooler works, limits, types and everything else. One of the many flaws with the old setup, was that the core was a bar and plate setup. Which is good for keeping air temps cool initially, but tends to suffer from heat soak … taking a while to drop temperatures. Another problem was that it’s super thick which reduces flow to the radiators (still have AC) which could be another reason why my water temp shoots up rather quick. Finally, the cooler is just too small for the power level I was hoping to achieve. I really liked how the old setup looked factory and was return flow. So I wanted to keep it that way. The next problem was that most return flow kits hang rather low with the return pipe running under the intercooler. At first I was set on going a custom route, but after Benny had a quick look on Yahoo he found a HKS type S kit at a good price. I did my research and found that it’s the same size core as conventional intercooler kits for the RB engines but return flow which was exactly want I wanted. The kit came with most parts but I wanted to use T bolt clamps and new thick black silicone for the stealth/factory look. Blowing cooler pipes suck too so I want that shit to stay together. After cleaning and painting the intercooler kit, it was time to fit it all up. My main goal was to get it sitting as high as possible. I ended up mounting the whole thing twice, as the first time just sat too low for my liking. Unfortunately that means I needed to make another set of brackets to suit, and find a way to bolt them to the chassis. Another challenge was the pipes hitting the front bumper. Due to the Stagea’s OEM bumper design there isn’t much room to work with. So I had to modify them. This one was shortened and I used a 45 degree silicone joiner to attach it to the core. This worked out perfect. The front reo had to be cut too to accommodate the bigger core, not something I originally wanted with the old setup but it’s gotta be done. Anyway after a lot of time and swearing, the HKS type S intercooler has finally made its way onto the Stagea. Here’s hoping it unlocks the full potential of my TD06, and keeps the air temperatures cool when I’m giving the RB25 hell.

CHILL OUT BRO - VIEW ON THE BLOG With my latest tune I made considerably less power than the “norm” for the Kando TD06 on an RB25 engine. At first I thought I’d deal with it, but after a continuous beating the car would lose power rapidly. Intrigued I headed to the SAU Kando thread and posted up my dyno, specs etc. Everyone pointed straight to my intercooler setup. So I started to dig into how an intercooler works, limits, types and everything else. One of the many flaws with the old setup, was that the core was a bar and plate setup. Which is good for keeping air temps cool initially, but tends to suffer from heat soak … taking a while to drop temperatures. Another problem was that it’s super thick which reduces flow to the radiators (still have AC) which could be another reason why my water temp shoots up rather quick. Finally, the cooler is just too small for the power level I was hoping to achieve. I really liked how the old setup looked factory and was return flow. So I wanted to keep it that way. The next problem was that most return flow kits hang rather low with the return pipe running under the intercooler. At first I was set on going a custom route, but after Benny had a quick look on Yahoo he found a HKS type S kit at a good price. I did my research and found that it’s the same size core as conventional intercooler kits for the RB engines but return flow which was exactly want I wanted. The kit came with most parts but I wanted to use T bolt clamps and new thick black silicone for the stealth/factory look. Blowing cooler pipes suck too so I want that shit to stay together. After cleaning and painting the intercooler kit, it was time to fit it all up. My main goal was to get it sitting as high as possible. I ended up mounting the whole thing twice, as the first time just sat too low for my liking. Unfortunately that means I needed to make another set of brackets to suit, and find a way to bolt them to the chassis. Another challenge was the pipes hitting the front bumper. Due to the Stagea’s OEM bumper design there isn’t much room to work with. So I had to modify them. This one was shortened and I used a 45 degree silicone joiner to attach it to the core. This worked out perfect. The front reo had to be cut too to accommodate the bigger core, not something I originally wanted with the old setup but it’s gotta be done. Anyway after a lot of time and swearing, the HKS type S intercooler has finally made its way onto the Stagea. Here’s hoping it unlocks the full potential of my TD06, and keeps the air temperatures cool when I’m giving the RB25 hell.

FROM JAPAN WITH LOVE - VIEW ON THE BLOG So my latest order from Jesse Streeter showed up! It came in pretty cool packaging this time around, anyway let’s have a look at what I got. I truly love how efficient EMS is compared to our local postal services. Australia needs to get with the program! In the Cusco box are a pair of near new front upper camber arms, these are a much better design than my old 2 piece items, As these are adjustable without ripping everything apart. In the Up Garage box, is a Nismo 2 way LSD to suit my new diff set-up, which I’ll talk more about in an upcoming post. I also got some nifty receipts that I can’t read and an Up Garage envelope, interesting how their envelope format is opposite to ours. I’ve got some juicy stuff to update, but I’ve just be too busy slaving away in the garage … or lazy, more-so the latter.

FROM JAPAN WITH LOVE - VIEW ON THE BLOG So my latest order from Jesse Streeter showed up! It came in pretty cool packaging this time around, anyway let’s have a look at what I got. I truly love how efficient EMS is compared to our local postal services. Australia needs to get with the program! In the Cusco box are a pair of near new front upper camber arms, these are a much better design than my old 2 piece items, As these are adjustable without ripping everything apart. In the Up Garage box, is a Nismo 2 way LSD to suit my new diff set-up, which I’ll talk more about in an upcoming post. I also got some nifty receipts that I can’t read and an Up Garage envelope, interesting how their envelope format is opposite to ours. I’ve got some juicy stuff to update, but I’ve just be too busy slaving away in the garage … or lazy, more-so the latter.

I doubt it, they haven't been out long and I can't recall anyone going that extensive with their subframe on a Stagea. For the price they sell you don't have much to loose. I think you don't have anything to worry about personally. You could always compare to your old subframe and see if the mounting points are the same design/shape etc.

http://zilvia.net/f/advertiser-announcements-feedback/487639-gktech-products-now-available-enjuku-racing.html some pics of where they go in that thread. Even know the Stagea subframe is 50mm wider, I reckon this will all fit as all the mounting points are the same as S14/S15

Get yourself the plates from GKtech http://www.gktech.com/index.php/s14-s15-subframe-weld-in-reinforcement-plates.html Weld it in, and happy days. Will have an almost indestructible rear subframe.

R33/r34/c34 Adjustable Upper Camber Arms SOLD!

done, send me a PM bro.

bump!

Cheers dude, I didn't come across much myself so I figured I'd be detailed with what I did haha. Yeah It's 3mm (or 3.5mm, cant remember) aluminium zapped on with a TIG.

Just impulsed on these whilst doing a parts order in Japan, decided against them shortly after lol. look exactly the same as above image, but are black and brand new. $120 shipped Cheers, Adam.

Good to hear someone else has done a similar thing. No much info on the net about it.. I had been pondering about how the oil would drain back if it was overfilled, I wanted to see how it went before looking further into it. I'll definately keep that in mind if it does spit out oil at Wakefield. That makes sence, Thinking about it now it would probably be best to leave the drain section open (no foam) and have foam in the other spots to slow the oil, while drilling out holes at teh front of the cam cover. Thanks for your input

The front cradle/subframe is completely different between the two, so no chance unfortunately.

Yes, 3x2 and 5x1 shafts have the same spline

bump, keen to get rid of the front, or swap for a 24mm.

Actual photo of the upper camber arms