Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

i have an R32gtst with 3" exhaust from the turbo, high-flow panel filter in the airbox, CAI, and bleed valve to about 11psi. but, its an auto ;)

in 2 weeks i finish my exams and have time free...

and i have about $500-600 to spend...

now comes my dilemma... i'm thinking either 1 of 2 options:

1) i was thinking of getting a 2nd hand SAFC and dyno tune to get the fuel mixtures right as i know i am running rich with the stock ECU. but woud it also be a good idea to put in a transmission cooler to ensure the like of my auto 'box? than i would mount a 2nd hand motorbike radiator fan behind the stock 'cooler to help cool-down after use (and the CAI+fog lights are partially blocking the airflow anyway).

2) my other thought was to get a 2nd hand jza80 supra FMIC intercooler (has inlet and outlet on same side) and mount this. i could sell my old cooler to get some money back, and use the stock pipes but with a bit of extensions to reach the supra front-mount. this option would probably be cheaper and better for protection, although its an rb20 and has a lower comp ratio so less prone to detonation...

So my question is to those who have been there and done that. What option do they think is the best bang for buck. can the SAFC be done all up for $500 - 600?? this was the option i was leaning to but i'm not sure of the gains i will get... i've read posts of uo tp 60rwkw gain after tuning! but are my mods too minimal for any gain?

any help would be great or even a suggestion of an even better option that i didn't think of...

Cheers,

Warren.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/28001-time-money-to-safc-or-fmic/
Share on other sites

hey mate i have got a safc on my r33.I know i am getting some extra power from it but no where near 60kw.Maybe 5-10 kw .The car hasnt been dyno tuned but i have mucked around with the settings and got some help from the people here.I would be trying to get a second hand fmic.I picked my safc up for 200 second hand so thats why i bought it.I dont think its worth spending 600 .A power fc is 1500 i know its a little more than twice the price but honestly worth waiting for.I still have to get power fc and fmic but for now just have water sprayers and safc and am doing ok fast car in winter but a lot slower in summer cos iof fmic.

You probably won't get 60rwkw out of an S-AFC. The reason that guy got an extra 60kw was because the engine was running really badly beforehand. The usual amount of extra power is 15-30rwkw from a car that is running ok before the tune. If you're only getting 5-10, the tuner hasn't done a very good job.

A front-mount on its own probably won't give you much extra power at all, especially with the stock ECU compensating for the extra air by adding even more fuel in. When I got my car it had a small front-mount already, and pre it was around 150rwkw @11psi. After tuning the S-AFC it was around 166. I think I could have gotten those figures or almost as much with the stock intercooler.

After that I got a bigger FMIC and upped the boost, and then got 215rwkw @15psi, but it was leaning out due to lack of fuel.

Have a read of the "13.4s quarter mile from a stockish R33" thread, you might find you don't need to buy either of those things to get a nice power upgrade.

Btw, who do you think is going to buy your old factory cooler? :rolleyes:

thanks for the relies

- i don't expect to get 60rwkw i was just putting up that there are gains to be had...

- who's gunna by my old 'cooler? some idiot with an older turbo car without any cooler?? let's hope so :P

- the $600 i have put aside includes what i would be paying for a dyno tune to get things perfect...

- as my car is an auto i won't be able to get a powerFC...

if i put on a FMIC won't it just richen things up even more?

plus with a SAFC i can re-tune as i do more things...

am i on the right track here? others let me know what you think...

well i have both an aftermarket FMIC and an SAFCII and i have to say the SAFC gave the biggest noticable gains... my car wasnt running too bad, but i gained alot of midrange by tuning the SAFC.

But i would have to say that a front mount will allow for further modification. you can wind the boost up knowing its a bit safer for your engine.

get all your bolt on mechanical work done before fine tuning electronics. besides if you change anything again you will have to retune the SAFC again... more $$

Hey guys while we are on the topic here im at the same situation as Waz. I got a r33 gtst with 3" turbo back exhaust, pod, bleed valve to 10psi.

Now my next two mods will be the S-AFC and front mount. I was just wondering if i got the S-AFC fitted and tuned before i got the frount mount, would i have to get it re-tuned again afterwards by the workshop? Or is it not nessecary? or could i even tune it myself?

Cheers,

Matt

Go with the SAFC warz. I gained 15rwkw from it along. Read my BMT Dyno Tune thread in Vic. Your mods are exactly same as mine, auto, 3" turbo back zorst, hiflow panel filter.. set to 11 psi. You are looking at $350 for safc blue screen and about $120 - $150 for the apexi unit tune + dyno and don't count on 60rwkw just safc ;) that is, if your car is in good condition :)

tuning an safc shouldnt cost more than 100bucks, so your looking at around 400 for a secong hand one tuned if you install yourself (easy)

the front mount doesnt give you much more power untill the car is tuned to make the most of it. even if you plan on doing powerfc down the track its quite easy to sell an safc for the same price you bought it for

heaps of info here people... thanks!

i don't plan on doing too much more for the car after this... after all i'm applying for more uni courses next year after this degree and will probably be a student for a few more years (no dosh in other words ;) )

hmmm i'm thinking an SAFC is the way to go...

i'm not worried about detonation as its an rb20 which has a lower compression ratio to the rb25's (in the r33) and so can take boost a little better...

now my next dilemma...

1) who has an SAFC that they want to sell?? c'mon, you know you want to upgrade to a powerFC!!

2) and also what should i look at paying for a second-hand SAFC?

I would suggest two things,

First get a decent front mount. I dont think detonation would be a huge problem with the 8.5:1 CR, although a bad tune, or one close to the edge will cause detonation if you get a bad batch of fuel, a hot day, plugs are getting long in the tooth, etc all could cause detonation. This is even more likely if you start tweaking your AF ratios, and alot more likely if you dont have a front mount, or you dont adjust your ignition timing to match.

The R32 can be boosted a bit higher than the R33, even with stock turbo. Just fitting a stock cooler will allow you to do this pretty safely.

Another reason for a good front mount, you turbo wont like boosting with the stock cooler, they have a pretty huge pressure drop at higher rpm, and dont really cool the charge air a whole lot.

Lastly, I would suggest you look into getting your stock ecu remapped, it will allow you to not only do fuel but also ignition which is very important.

A fuel computer is a bit of a band aid IMHO. I am not saying they are a bad thing, just esp as you have an R32, get it remapped as you will have MUCH better results.

I believe BMT do remaps in Melb? Have heard some good comments about their (Dr Drifts) work with the R32 ECU.

You also need to be ready to start considering an upgraded fuel pump around this stage.

Just my 0.02 anyways.

EDIT: and dont worry with a supra cooler, get a decent aftermarket one, or a GTR one if you find one cheap enough.

Man you are getting mix reation here. Reading this thread has made me confused! hehe

I was on the same boat as you with my car, but my car is a R33.

The thing is I have been told that Skyline runs really rich so a/f would be the way to go to get a better tuning.

As with the fmic, you are already runing 11psi do you want to go even further even if you have a fmic with the ceramic turbo?

And as suggested the supra fmic is not much better than the stock so maybe you should save up a bit more and get a better fmic.

But I know if you have the money there now, you would want to spend it. So I say go the SAFC or save a little bit more get a better fmic and retune your ecu.

As my car is auto too, I decide with the e-manage. But still haven't gotten it install yet due to $$

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • From there, it is really just test and assemble. Plug the adapter cables from the unit into the back of the screen, then the other side to the car harness. Don't forget all the other plugs too! Run the cables behind the unit and screw it back into place (4 screws) and you should now have 3 cables to run from the top screen to the android unit. I ran them along the DS of the other AV units in the gap between their backets and the console, and used some corrugated tubing on the sharp edges of the bracket so the wires were safe. Plug the centre console and lower screen in temporarily and turn the car to ACC, the AV should fire up as normal. Hold the back button for 3 sec and Android should appear on the top screen. You need to set the input to Aux for audio (more on that later). I put the unit under the AC duct in the centre console, with the wifi antenna on top of the AC duct near the shifter, the bluetooth antenna on the AC duct under the centre console The GPS unit on top of the DS to AC duct; they all seem to work OK there are are out of the way. Neat cable routing is a pain. For the drive recorder I mounted it near the rear view mirror and run the cable in the headlining, across the a pillar and then down the inside of the a pillar seal to the DS lower dash. From there it goes across and to one USB input for the unit. The second USB input is attached to the ECUtec OBD dongle and the 3rd goes to the USB bulkhead connected I added in the centre console. This is how the centre console looks "tidied" up Note I didn't install the provided speaker, didn't use the 2.5mm IPod in line or the piggyback loom for the Ipod or change any DIP switches; they seem to only be required if you need to use the Ipod input rather than the AUX input. That's it, install done, I'll follow up with a separate post on how the unit works, but in summary it retains all factory functions and inputs (so I still use my phone to the car for calls), reverse still works like factory etc.
    • Place the new daughterboard in the case and mount it using the 3 small black rivets provided, and reconnect the 3 factory ribbon cables to the new board Then, use the 3 piggyback cables from the daughterboard into the factory board on top (there are stand offs in the case to keep them apart. and remember to reconnect the antenna and rear cover fan wires. 1 screw to hold the motherboard in place. Before closing the case, make a hole in the sticker covering a hole in the case and run the cable for the android unit into the plug there. The video forgot this step, so did I, so will you probably. Then redo the 4 screws on back, 2 each top and bottom, 3 each side and put the 2 brackets back on.....all ready to go and not that tricky really.      
    • Onto the android unit. You need to remove the top screen because there is a daughterboard to put inside the case. Each side vent pops out from clips; start at the bottom and carefully remove upwards (use a trim remover tool to avoid breaking anything). Then the lower screen and controls come out, 4 screws, a couple of clips (including 3 flimsy ones at the top) and 3 plugs on the rear. Then the upper screen, 4 screws and a bunch of plugs and she is out. From there, remove the mounting brackets (2 screws each), 4 screws on the rear, 2 screws top and bottom and 3 screws holding in the small plates on each side. When you remove the back cover (tight fit), watch out for the power cable for the fan, I removed it so I could put the back aside. The mainboard is held in by 1 screw in the middle, 1 aerial at the top and 3 ribbon cables. If you've ever done any laptop stuff the ribbon cables are OK to work with, just pop up the retainer and they slide out. If you are not familiar just grab a 12 year old from an iphone factory, they will know how it works The case should now look like this:
    • Switching the console was tricky. First there were 6 screws to remove, and also the little adapter loom and its screws had to come out. Also don't forget to remove the 2 screws holding the central locking receiver. Then there are 4 clips on either side....these were very tight in this case and needed careful persuading with a long flat screw driver....some force required but not enough to break them...this was probably the fiddliest part of the whole job. In my case I needed both the wiring loom and the central locking receiver module to swap across to the new one. That was it for the console, so "assembly is the reverse of disassembly"
    • But first....while I was there, I also swapped across the centre console box for the other style where the AV inputs don't intrude into the (very limited !) space.  Part# was 96926-4GA0A, 284H3-4GA0B, 284H3-4GA0A. (I've already swapped the top 12v socket for a USB bulkhead in this pic, it fit the hole without modification:) Comparison of the 2: Basically to do the console you need to remove the DS and PS side console trim (they slide up and back, held in by clips only) Then remove the back half of the console top trim with the cupholders, pops up, all clips again but be careful at the front as it is pretty flimsy. Then slide the shifter boot down, remove the spring clip, loose it forever somewhere in the car the pull the shift knob off. Remove the tiny plastic piece on DS near "P" and use something thin and long (most screwdrivers won't fit) to push down the interlock and put the shifter down in D for space. There is one screw at the front, then the shifter surround and ashtray lift up. There are 3 or 4 plugs underneath and it is off. Next is the rear cover of the centre console; you need to open the console lid, pop off the trim covering the lid hinge and undo the 2rd screw from the driver's side (the rest all need to come out later so you can do them all now and remove the lid) Then the rear cover unclips (6 clips), start at the top with a trim tool pulling backwards. Once it is off there are 2 screws facing rearwards to remove (need a short phillips for these) and you are done with the rear of the console. There are 4 plugs at the A/V box to unclip Then there are 2 screws at the front of the console, and 2 clips (pull up and back) and the console will come out.
×
×
  • Create New...