Major Service Incl. Timing Belt, Should I Upgarde Cam Gears As Well?

[N-DAWG]

I bought my R34 N/A Sedan in January 08 from a private seller obviously looking to make a bit of money importing cars as it was only complied in December. I bought it with around 105,000kms and haven't had a major service done as yet, only a RACQ check to make sure everything was fine prior to purchasing.

Now the seller I bought the car from told me the timing belt had been changed. Also tells me that they change them at 75,000kms in Japan. Whether that's true or not I'm not sure, it's the only time I've heard such a thing.

Being better safe than sorry, my cars booked in for a service including the timing belt change.

I'm also looking at getting a custom 2.5" (or 2.25") catback exhaust and maybe a high flow cat fitted before hand. Ultimately I will be fitting extractors as well but this will be later down the track when budget permits.

With this in mind, would I be best to have aftermarket cam gears fitted whilst the mechanic will be changing the timing belt?

I've read somewhere (I think on these forums) that there's not much point in replacing the intake cam as you lose VCT. Can someone confirm this? The car is a daily driver so I'm more interested in a car that's going to have useable power than just outright power figures.

So I guess the big question now is:

Should I change the cam gear(s), if so is there a specific brand/model of cam gear I should be looking at? Are JJR cam gears anything to go by or is it much better to stick with the likes of HKS or Tomei?

Stick with the Nissan Genuine Timing Belt or go for a gates timing belt kit? The kit obviously comes with the seals etc… though I've read on the forums of some noise issues with the gates belts.

I would rather focus my money on simply doing the service and saving my money to put towards sway bars and exhaust upgrade, but if fitting an aftermarket timing belt and cam gear (s) is much more beneficial now cost-wise, I guess it's better to do it at the same time?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and advice.

Cheers

Nathan

Edited May 21, 2008 by N-DAWG

[GTS4WD]

It is possible to change cam gears and keep NVCS.. Bear in mind you also need a cam gear that is compatable with you VVL engine.. Products.. i can't help you there..

In terms of belts.. Nissan vs. Gates.. Gates is a very well established brand.. and id simply say the cheaper of the two to save money.. Either of them is fine..

I haven't heard anything about having to change cam gears at 100,000km service.. I wouldnt bother for a performance reason yet.. gears are good after you sort out the basics..

[dori34]

is it possible to get aftgermarket cams that get rid of the vct ?

or should vct be kept? tbh i rekon it does nothing..

i looked at the dyno graph and it didn't look like much..

Edited May 21, 2008 by whyte

[Eug]

NVCS is actually quite noticeable... disable the solenoid and run the dyno again. overlap the sheets and voila!

unless you are going for some uber lumpy cams and massive head work i wouldn't throw it away.

[N-DAWG]

That clears things up a lot for me, thanks guys!

Looks like I'll save my money / put it towards other parts, and leave the gears for now then. If I do end up doing cams it probably won't be for a couple of years. I was just thinking if it's worthwhile whilst they have the cams off to do seals.

So what are other people's thoughts on the Gates belt? The main reason I was looking at the Gate's belt as well is because they come in a kit with the seals etc.. required for a belt change.

I'm also looking at the Dayco timing belt kit as well from a pricing point: http://www.kudosmotorsports.com/catalog/pr.../products_id/50

How does the Dayco kit at $275 stack up against the Gate's timing belt kit for $349 ?

Edit: I'm also assuming that whilst the belt I'm looking at is listed for RB25DET Neo it is still suitable for a RB25DE?

Edited May 21, 2008 by N-DAWG

[bluegts]

NVCS is actually quite noticeable... disable the solenoid and run the dyno again. overlap the sheets and voila!

unless you are going for some uber lumpy cams and massive head work i wouldn't throw it away.

Tune it before BOTH runs, and you will see, it does bugger all. I know because I had it done on my car. If you just unplug it, the computer will still try to run the engine as though the VCT had hit its change over rpm.

Jack

[SHANE666]

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Ma...=cams&st=20

thread that came up not long ago....i think sydneykid makes a recommendation for a set of poncams and few other bits and peices.

[dori34]

yeh im only going for step 1

with emanage to tune with the optional harnessses

so im hoping for anice figure

[dori34]

anyone know if bass junky still sells the inlet cam adjusters ??

[SHANE666]

not sure...best bet would be to msg him...

i havnt heard of anyone selling any since ive been on the forums...

let me know if you get thru.

cheer.s

[cuppas]

you may want to get your water pump replaced too whilst the belts are off

sounds like you dont know much of the cars background...

[N-DAWG]

you may want to get your water pump replaced too whilst the belts are off

sounds like you dont know much of the cars background...

You're right there. I had the belt changed after all, got the gates belt (black) kit from Croydon. Turns out the belt had never been changed, so I have a lot more peace of mind now that it's been changed! I've been informed that the water pump is looking good for at least another 50,000kms worst case scenario, 80,000kms best case. So I'll wait till the it gets to that sort of mileage before I change the water pump, and besides, if it lasts the 80,000kms I can get another belt again at the same time.

[Eug]

cuppas is right, getting the water pump done now will save you in labour costs in the long run.

no point taking it all out again for something that could have been done initially.