Frequent Dramas With R33 Gtst S2 , Pulling Hair Out !

[Sky_Line_Mike]

hey guys im new here and hoping someone can help me diagnose wtf is going wrong with my beloved skyline...

short story is , i keep fouling plugs , its running like shit , some plugs drop off before others , eg theres one or two in the middle of the line that foul very quickly ....ive tried all manner of plugs , the very expensive ngks lasted about 20k then the bp9es`s from memory , not even 2k , best result was with the ngk ones with the little split in the top.

So im getting them again and starting all over .....

basically i want to know a few things ,, i have a small hole in my exhaust and its a bit crushed and fkd up just at the bottom of the dump pipe , will this have major effects ?? its not bad but its not round anymore, more oval shaped !! + the small hole right at the back just before it goes into the rear baffle ...

so you know........

im running stock RB 25 with pod filter, greddy frount mount, standard snail, 3.5" straight through exhaust , standard computer with remapped chip, apparently this cannot be tuned , I cant afford a new computer atm so i need to just get my car running good as best as i can ... but i am wanting to know what you guys think i should do ... what setup u would run with what i have ...???

ok is there any truth in the fact that this chip may be setup to run on jap fuel or something , whats advice can anyone give me on how to improve the performance and reliability of my car , i dont wat a massive powerful blow the doors off when i hit boost , just a nice ballsy machine that is consistent etc... im ripping the plugs out again , dropping oil, i better get this hole sorted out and maybe a new dump ??

theres just so much misinformation about these cars its doin my head in something fierce ...

and before i take it to a mechanic who instaly assumes im loaded cause i drive a friggin skyline id like to try find whats causing my ongoing dramas ,

lastly how do i correctly check the voltage of the coil packs and diagnose them , what readings should i be looking for and the method of doing so ??

also how do i diagnose the state of my turbo itself , and how do i find out if i have some sort of boost leak ?? because it just feels like crap to drive , no response really just very sluggish .....

ahh the pain of it all ....

thanks in advance

mike

Edited September 9, 2009 by Sky_Line_Mike

[Cam84]

Could be the chip, if it was fitted in Japan. i would take it out, go to the dyno and check afew things there. Mine has standard ECU, with FMIC,Pod, 3.5" exforce exaust, standard turbo and it runs fine. it might not be the chip, but i would start there first.

Cam

[Sky_Line_Mike]

cHEers cam,

im thinking, clean up my iridiums, weld hole in exhaust, maybe swap dump pipe over wind boost back up to .9 bar and then reset the ecu ???

when i got the car 2+ years ago it went like a fkn rocket , these days , like an absolute bag of crap....

the reading ive done on resetting the ecu makes me think if i sort out the niggling issues , exhaust hole , rubbish plugs and possible exhaust restriction then reset the ecu , ive gotta be looking a whole lot better then what i am now ?? agree ?? .. only because when i first got the car it was sweet as , since then its gone downhill slowly, am i correct in thinking that a dyno tune cant do much for me with a remapped chip ? what will a dyno tune do for it , in its current state , nothing can be altered in the chip can it ??

[Sky_Line_Mike]

and would resetting the ecu be the equivelant to hooking up to a dyno , resetting it would take me back to optimum settings wouldnt it ?

hence whats a dyno gonna do for me on a standard ecu, i can borrow my mates ecu , but where does that leave my one ??

[jutstar]

Source a standard ECU and give it a go.

[blind_elk]

If you are running a heat range 9 plug, no wonder they foul. What actual plugs are you running? What gap?

The injectors might be leaking - get them sonic cleaned.

The coils could be failing and not firing the full spark. Borrow your mate's, if they seem to be working ok.

[FineLine]

Have your system tested for a boost leak. It doesnt take much of a leak to foul plugs and rob power.

[Sky_Line_Mike]

ok , next 3 questions, how do i correctly check the voltages of my coils ??? howi check for boost leak ?? and does anyone know of a good mechanic on the northern beaches in sydney ... most i have been to are complete theives , most of the work i can do myself , i dont need some tosser charging me 5oo buks for a printed out chart with all my issues , just some guidance to help me with my process of elimination, i have access to coils, standard ecu, etc etc .... leak in exhaust im welding up tomorrow, ecu reset on saturday , things seem ok today with the car, i wound boost back up to around .9 bar and it was close to its normal performance , could it be that a bunch of very minor issues have contributed to a very out of sorts tune, eg the century 20 chip will only run good when its running .9 bar + and everything else is on par.... good fuel good plugs etc etc

and sorry my mistake . i have used BCPR6ES and they were rubbish imho lasted about 2k if that... then i swapped to BCPR6EY11 asnd they went good for around 4k ,

anyway im thinking ecu reset , compression test, after i sort exhaust hole!! get boost psi right ,check coils .....wat more can i do ?????

whats putting a standard ecu in going to tell me ??? that i dont know ,?? im no mechanic but im not stupid either , i grew racing dirt bikes and building paddock bashers , so i have some idea ,.. unfortunately for some of the theif mechanics on the north shore in sydney!!!

failing all that im considering getting a 10k loan and rebuilding engine , getting the turb high flowed, and living happily ever after , after all ,, i only want a good strong, mildy powerful, and reliable engine , i dont wanna compare dyno sheets etc etc and be able to crap on aout how powerful my car is , simply speaking, and with no offence meant to those who want to do those things ...

after all, my engine does have 140k+"japanese" on it so it would be getting close to crapping itself ??? it came from japan with hicas disabled, 18`s ,cut springs, speed limit removed , big FMI , 3.5" right through , etc so im picking its had a hard life !!

love my sky !!!

[mad082]

if you are running those plugs that you think, then you realy should change them. go BCPR6ES and it should run fine. if you are running heat range 6 plugs then i would be looking at the ecu. resetting the ecu isn't the same as getting it tuned. all resetting it does is reset any self learn settings which are mostly to do with light load/cruise. since the ecu has been chipped it will have different base settings to a stock ecu, and depending on what car/setup it was tuned for it may be totally wrong for your car and making it run way too rich.

also you could have a leak somewhere in the intercooler piping (or the bov) which is causing the car to run rich.

start with finding out what plugs you have and then go from there.

[Chris_R33GTSt]

Hey mate, if you are on the Northern Beaches, go see Stewart at Monavale Automotive Engineering.

I am having similar issues after having my 97 R33 S2 off the road for about 3 months as well.

[SLY-25T]

do you put octane booster into your petrol? i put it in a few times and my plugs kept shitting themselves. thought it was the coilpacks but after a service with BCPR6ES gapped down to 0.8 its running the best it ever has. never putting octane booster in again

[Sky_Line_Mike]

hey lads , i am currently runnign bcpr6ES .... .. today i welded the hole in my exhaust and it was actually cracked right around the pipe, reset the ecu and gave it a petrol treatment .. alas for now its running well again. but i did notice both of my cooler pipes at either side of fmi are badly weathered and cracked on the rubber joins....fso a few things do yet , but i feel im on the right track, im installing a new boost controller tomorrow as it may be some part of the problem too cause my boost levels were all over the joint .... so yeah many thanks for your help peeps.. ill keep ya`s posted..

[mad082]

if you have dodgy cooler piping then that will more than likely be the cause of the boost fluctuating as well.