Rb26 Engine Covers Repainted

[Shinrai]

I recently had my car in Power Tune @ Fairfield, Sydney and they offered an exchange program for painting engine covers. I just wanted to share my before and after shots here. I opted for a candy red colour as I wanted something similar to the R34 engine (my car is a R33 GT-R) but different enough to make it more unique. I also fixed the R34 ornamental badge to the valley cover.

Before...

After...

If you are interested in getting this done, the price is $250 for the top 3 covers. You will need to ask them if the timing belt covers are extra as I got a package price with a bit of other work done.

Here's a link to the painting service on their website...

http://www.powertune.com.au/rb26parts.html

Edited September 6, 2009 by Shinrai

[PM-R33]

They powdercoat them for that price or just paint?

[Shinrai]

They powdercoat them for that price or just paint?

Heat resistant 2 pack paint. I don't think you would be able to obtain a candy red colour with powdercoating... Correct me if I am wrong... ?

[Sl!m]

Your engine bays looking good

Candy colours are definately available for powdercoating and I know one powdercoater that can get it done for under $200.

Few examples can been seen in this thread re: candy powdercoating

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Pa...p;hl=powdercoat

[Piggaz]

The red covers really make the engine bay alot more inviting dont they. Might have to do that!

[SiR_RB]

they look great, i did mine with metalcast red, turned out alright...not as good as this though

did you get ur car dyno tuned? what did it pull at the wheels?

[SiR_RB]

this car was my brother inlaws and was at my house for more then 1 year

you got urself one beautiful immacualte series 3

are you used to the twin plate clutch yet? hehe

[Shinrai]

they look great, i did mine with metalcast red, turned out alright...not as good as this though

did you get ur car dyno tuned? what did it pull at the wheels?

Yes, it was dyno tuned. However, the car only has some minor modifications. Part of the work done at PowerTune was to install a Haltech Platinum Pro ECU so there is plenty of room for power upgrades in the future. It also received a major service and brake upgrades (slotted front rotors with Project Mu Type MS brake pads). It is now in perfect base form ready for whatever I decide to do with it.

On stock turbo's the car hit 222kw (on all wheels). I was a little disappointed as they initially said more would be achieved. The tuner said 260kw could be achieved when I handed the car over to them. I thought this was very optimistic and I was hoping for the 230kw - 240kw mark. I have a feeling if this car was tested on another dyno, it would quite possibly hit that kind of figure as it certainly feels like it is pulling harder than the 222kw achieved. I guess there are so many variables that can influence a dyno reading. Obviously, much more can easily be achieved later when I decide to invest more into some bigger turbo's and whatever else follows. On a plus note, I am very happy with the recent tune as it is very smooth to drive and power is instantly there whenever you need it and doesn't seem to suddenly drop off either (like my old R33 GTS-t used to do).

As the car is in very good condition, part of me wants to enjoy it in near stock form for a little while. It is a 1998 series III V-Spec so there weren't too many of these made. However, I am sure I will hunger more power in the near future.

Here's a pic to show the condition of the car...

this car was my brother inlaws and was at my house for more then 1 year

you got urself one beautiful immacualte series 3

are you used to the twin plate clutch yet? hehe

I actually was under the impression that it was a triple plate clutch (that's what was listed on the spec sheet)... Could be an innocent error.

Yes, the clutch can be a little tricky but I enjoy it very much.

Edited September 7, 2009 by Shinrai

[SiR_RB]

nismo twin plate clutch

[Shinrai]

nismo twin plate clutch

Thanks for the clarification...

By the way, my next job scheduled is to repaint the lower lip (black plastic) on the front bar to get rid of the scrape scratches. I added a couple when I first bought it. I'm confident now that I have a guage on how low the front is to avoid further scratches.

I have plastic primer and black paint ready to go... Just waiting for my next couple days off.

[SiR_RB]

they said it should be making 260rwkw with the mods it has? thats abit hard to believe...especialy with the stock ecu. but youre right, power is instant, and that clutch is just so right for a car like that. just bites and goes....was a pain to drive in traffic to and from the city though lol

will you be painting the lower lip that matte black? or you going gloss?

[N1GTR]

and I know one powdercoater that can get it done for under $200.

lol, its been a while since i paid that guy, but if the price is right from memory you must get a better deal than i do

[N1GTR]

BTW that red looks ace!!! If i were you id be VERY happy with how that came out! The oil cap is a nice touch

Did the $250 include them taking off the covers and painting or just painting and taking the covers off was extra?

Here's a set of mine, done by the guy Sl!m mentioned;

[Shinrai]

they said it should be making 260rwkw with the mods it has? thats abit hard to believe...especialy with the stock ecu. but youre right, power is instant, and that clutch is just so right for a car like that. just bites and goes....was a pain to drive in traffic to and from the city though lol

will you be painting the lower lip that matte black? or you going gloss?

Maybe you misunderstood... I installed a Haltech Platinum Pro ECU and had it dyno tuned. Initially they said it would increase it up to that power figure. Maybe they thought it had more power in stock form. Prior to the tune it hit about 190kw on all wheels, so the ECU and tune definitely made a difference. However, as I said... I thought it was too optimistic to hit 260kw and I knew that it wouldn't output that sort of power in current form. Honestly though, I think their dyno reading is a little low, especially at 14psi, HKS exhaust, Trust 105mm intercooler (I guess that has no influence being stationary on a dyno), Haltech ECU etc. I was hoping for 230kw (240kw if I was very lucky) mark. I think that I need to eventually put it on another dyno to test out the variance in the way different shops calibrate things.

Did the $250 include them taking off the covers and painting or just painting and taking the covers off was extra?

I didn't actually pay anything for them to be done as I spent approx. $5,000 for major service, slotted front rotor upgrades, Project MU brake pads, Haltech Platinum Pro ECU installed and dyno tuned etc. etc. so I managed to get the cover painting thrown in but I am quite sure the $250 is for you to hand the covers to them and they hand them back when completed.

Here is another pic of the engine in the sunlight...

Edited September 8, 2009 by Shinrai

[SiR_RB]

should of chucked in some adjustable cam gears while they were doin the 100k service

not that they will give you alot more power but they make your midrange (or top end, which ever you prefer) more meaty with a reasonable increase in power

[Hakosuka22]

Nice work, looks awesome. Quite cheap too!

[Shinrai]

should of chucked in some adjustable cam gears while they were doin the 100k service

not that they will give you alot more power but they make your midrange (or top end, which ever you prefer) more meaty with a reasonable increase in power

Yes, I could have but I was already spending more than I should. Especially with the Haltech Platinum Pro ECU install and tune.

In regards to the lower lip painting. I actually have some gloss paint but I am in two minds about this. As the original finish is matt, I am wondering if I should use matt paint instead.

What do you think? Or anyone elses opinion? (Recap, I am painting the lower lip section on the front bar. This is made of black plastic and some scratches from over the years)

[Jap_Muscle]

ive been meaning to paint mine lately. but i just cant decide on a colour =[

[(OO)SKYLINE(OO)]

Shit yeah that looks great!

I have been thinking about the same thing, getting my cam and engine cover painted R34 GTR red.

I was thinking about just interchanging to R34 GTR cam and engine covers...

Can that be done?

Is it a straight fit?

+ I like the NISMO Oil Cap, makes the engine look a lot nicer then just black everywhere.

[SiR_RB]

matte black for sure

i dont like the colour coded lip on GTR's or the gloss finish

plus the matte black suits ur rims, looks so much tuffer in matte black...stealth looking