Time For Some Upgrades

[QWK32]

So after owning the stagea for almost two years now, and never really having any time to have the car off the road, or any spare cash to go crazy with the mods, i've decided its about time. over the next couple of months i've been told by work that i have too much annual leave saved up and i need to take some, so i thought, perfect opportunity to get some work done on the stagea.

i already have:

- Full 3" Exhaust

- Jaycar IEBC

- Pod Airfilter

- Rear Strut Brace

so very basic mods.

by the end of november/start of december i hope to have successfully added:

- Cooling Pro Stealth FMIC

- Fuel System Upgrade, Walbro intank pump, maybe injectors.

- Turbo Upgrade, GT35R

- Coilovers, and some adjustable control arms (to help with camber once lowered)

- Nistune

first to go on, this week, is the FMIC, the fuel pump, and the ecu is getting a Nistune chip. i already have these ready to go and its just a matter of getting to motivation to start the jobs lol.

as far as the turbo choice goes i dont want this turning into a discussion about turbo sizing, the reason i went with this turbo is purely because a mate was stripping down his engine and pritty much gave me the turbo setup. he had it on an unopened RB25 Neo that was producing 300kw at 21psi in a manual VL Calais, he saw full boost(21psi) around 4000rpm it was making 14psi around 3000rpm. the way i see it is, i have an auto, 4WD and a heavier car so with the extra load i should see boost abit earlier. i'm only planning on running about 12-14psi to start with until i can sort out other things like the auto trans.

i know the auto will need some work to handle the increase in power and it is on my list, but i only have enough funds and time off to do what i've listed, and why i'll be trying to keep power around the 200-220kw mark. the only thing i'm still chasing up is how i'm going to wastegate the turbo, because i'm going to use the stock manifold i have two options, getting an internal gated rear house for the turbo, or welding a external gate flange to the stock manifold or turbo rear housing. either way the setup will end up costing around the same.

thats the basic run down, i'll be posting up pics and progress of the mods as i do them. now off to get started.

Edited October 19, 2009 by QWK32

[mattye]

Looks like a nice list dude. Bit jeallous. Pm me if u want a hand with anything. Would be a good chance to suss things out for when i get the ball rolling with my stag.

[kidafa]

How are you stock coilpacks travelling atm?

[GUN_METAL_GTR32]

i would definately get a proper cooler put on there those cooling pro ones r shitouse

[QWK32]

How are you stock coilpacks travelling atm?

fine, they dont miss a beat, no break down, but it is something i have in the back of my mind.

just sent off the ecu to get chipped. hopefully have it back in a couple of days.

[QWK32]

i would definately get a proper cooler put on there those cooling pro ones r shitouse

i've run them before without a problem and i'm sure others do to. i wanted a cooler that i could pick up off the stock piping so i got this one. the last cooling pro kit i got had cheap alloy piping, this one has stainless pipes so i though that was good.

[pyro-ns]

i've run them before without a problem and i'm sure others do to. i wanted a cooler that i could pick up off the stock piping so i got this one. the last cooling pro kit i got had cheap alloy piping, this one has stainless pipes so i though that was good.

let me know how you go with the cooler. jo's got here the other day, but i have sfa time to put it on until the end of this semester (32 days and counting) we've moved in with my parents now too, so i also have sfa space to play with the stag haha.

you should make a guide, hint hint

Edited October 19, 2009 by pyro-ns

[_Ryan_]

Don't go coilovers, and speak to TJ about a trans build...

I would go Bilstein/Eibach if you want coilover, or bilstein with tein s-tech springs if you want just comfy but improved. add swaybars and adjustable bushes all round and your set.

[QWK32]

i've already got a set of coil-overs, one needs a rebuild though. if i pull my finger out i'll drop them in to get serviced and they'll be installed the last week of november when i'll have access to a hoist and wheel alignment machine. but yes, i will be looking at the trans not long after everything is had been installed. i dont have the time to have my car off the road anymore than what it is, its my daily driver. but will sort out some more annual leave start of next year and concentrate on the auto then.

the next week i have off i'm going to bundaberg, my hometown, where my brother is a mechanic, and where he works has an exhaust shop attached, so we'll have all the tools, hoists, welders etc to do the job. but we'll only really have enough time to get all that done before i need to have the car back on the road again. i'm just trying to work everything into the windows i have available, i've got the perfect opportunity to install the turbo so i'm going to take it. the auto can wait.

today i managed to get the FMIC 99% installed, tomorrow i just have to trim the front bar to suit. i was fairly happy with the install, the most frustrating bit so far was removing the front bar, trying to find and get to all the clips and bolt holding it on was a mission. i didn't have any issues with the cooler hitting the a/c fan like others have had, the brackets that where supplied were no good so i had to make some up. reo bar only needed a slight touch with the grinder. the outside air temp sensor for the a/c was in the way so i had to move it. the cooler also sits on a slight angle, i'll have a better look at that tomorrow.

pics so far:

Edited October 19, 2009 by QWK32

[RBPOWA-(TJ)]

shift kitting the Trans is cheap!

depending on workshop and workload they can have it done in 1-2days.

i got my whole gearbox rebuilt and upgraded in about 4-5days. plus testing. went back a few times cause he wasn't happy with how it was going. few more tweeks to do yet.

shift kitting is a good option, but then you may need to look at upgrading the trans cooler, cause of all that extra pressure and friction the box is now loading on the stock parts.

[DaveB]

Yes shift kit & upgraded servo, definitely recommended. I just got my standard S2 cooler relocated to behind the driver's side wheel/under the headlight; according to the transmission place it was big enough for my ~195kw atw and high-stall convertor .

[KiwiRS4T]

I am installing the self same fmic at the moment. Stock injectors and afm will get you over 200awkw easily with the bigger turbo but you will soon need 550 injectors and Z32 afm. I am currently running 16-17 psi with my unopened S1. i believe the neo has stronger rods but 21psi sounds a bit brave!

[msports180]

Hey mate you can run and external gate of the stock manifold, few guys over here do it, tight fit with something with ABS but is do-able.

[QWK32]

I am installing the self same fmic at the moment. Stock injectors and afm will get you over 200awkw easily with the bigger turbo but you will soon need 550 injectors and Z32 afm. I am currently running 16-17 psi with my unopened S1. i believe the neo has stronger rods but 21psi sounds a bit brave!

yeah i'm not going to be chasing big power atm, so the stock injectors and afm will do for now, something i'll eventually chase up is a Z32 or even a Q45 to get closer to the 4" mouth of the GT35R.

Hey mate you can run and external gate of the stock manifold, few guys over here do it, tight fit with something with ABS but is do-able.

yeah i'm looking into that, or mounting it off the turbo housing itself, thing is i can get an internal gated rear housing setup for a fraction more than a decent external gate setup.

[msports180]

How will you go with boost control though with an internal gate? People are having probs with boost creep arnt they with gt30's internally gated.

See im a lover of gate so im allways gonna say external and vented haha

It will cost more, but i think 6 boost make low mount manifolds, that with an external gate setup be awesome.

[_Ryan_]

Yes shift kit & upgraded servo, definitely recommended. I just got my standard S2 cooler relocated to behind the driver's side wheel/under the headlight; according to the transmission place it was big enough for my ~195kw atw and high-stall convertor .

Yup, s2 coolers are bigger than s1, so I personally wouldn't replace unless told too by an industry expert.

[QWK32]

How will you go with boost control though with an internal gate? People are having probs with boost creep arnt they with gt30's internally gated.

See im a lover of gate so im allways gonna say external and vented haha

It will cost more, but i think 6 boost make low mount manifolds, that with an external gate setup be awesome.

boost control is the main thing i'm concerned about, there are a lot of mixed stories with the internal gates. some setups are fine and others have problems. i think because to start with i want to run low boost i will probably have an issue with the internal gate.

lol even though i love the sound of a gate on full scream i'm trying to keep everything road legal, or close enough, so if i do run an external gate it will be plumbed to the exhaust. i've been looking at the 6boost manifolds, also the ETM manifolds, i'd say they would be the best option, most expensive too, but i'm just looking into the stock manifold setup first.

Edited October 20, 2009 by QWK32

[DaveB]

With GCG hi-flow of the standard NEO turbo, I got about 14PSI with no boost control edit: using stock plumbing with non-earthed boost control solenoid.

Edited October 20, 2009 by DaveB

[QWK32]

Got my ecu back from Nistune this morning, once i get the software licence code i'll have a play with it Yesterday i finished off trimming up the front bar to suit the intercooler. by the end of the day i had the front bar on and off about 50 times taking small amounts off the bar each time to get it to fit. the only thing i dont like is how much the Dayz bar covers up the intercooler, but it would be a shame to completely hack a dayz bar up to expose the intercooler anymore, i'm thinking of maybe getting some slots/openings in the bit of the front bar that has the reo behind it, the same style as what the R32 GTR front bar has.

heres the finished FMIC install, i havent got the blinker/foggies back in yet, i need to got get some new bulbs.

Edited October 22, 2009 by QWK32

[KiwiRS4T]

I moved the number plate and cut out a bit of the plastic behind - will put up a photo tomorrow.