Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

this may be a bit of a such eggs to some of you, but nonetheless, I have been quite surprised by the effect of upgrading my exhaust.

I fitted an Nismo exhaust, 80m with two straight through mufflers, to quieten my car down to legal, from the N1 that was fitted, 80mm, small final muffler, no middle resonator.

At the time I was making around 200rwkw, and noticed an increase in lag and drop in power, but nothing overly dramatic.

Later I fitted a HKS 303756T with a 0.61 turbine AR, and as expected, a huge increase in power, around 256rwkw at 1 bar with an interim tune, as I was doing cams and a couple of other things.

Boost came on too hard at 3000rpm and even in 4th gear, with light throttle, the car would go sideways at 100kph, when boost hit.

To combat this, and to reduce back pressure/free up top end, I went to a 0.87 turbine housing. HUGE lag, over 5000rpm until 1 bar was achieved. I was very disappointed, as other cars running similar combos were no where as laggy as this.

The first thing I blamed was my custom manifold, as it was the only 'unknown' quantity on my car. I took the car to be dynoed, it now made 285rwkw at 1.2bar, and 270rwkw at 1.1 bar, but the lag was still up around 4800rpm for 1 bar. Better but by no means what it 'should' be. At 1.5 bar I only made 300rwkw, and at 1.7 bar 309rwkw and power dropped off between 7000 and 7500rpm.

People I know who have run these turbos, told me that their experience was very different, with a massive increase in power for every 0.1 bar of boost being wound in above 1.2bar. In once case on an SR20, making 30rwkw more going from 1.3 to 1.4bar.

I now suspected the car was being choked, so went off to get a new catback. I found a HKS Super Dragger 90mm, small centre resi, to 'try' and see if it resulted in much improvement.

It was a dramatic improvement.

things I found

- boost comes in 700rpm earlier

- off boost is alot crisper

- off boost, it is now possible to drive at 50kmh in 4th gear, and the car can now be driven under 2700rpm all day - very smooth (and nice and quiet if plods are around)

- economy has improved, from 190-250kms for 50L fuel I am now up to 170km and only just made 1/2 tank!

- The car is so much snappier to drive, and really brings a grin to my face every time I get in the drivers seat.

- It would appear that an exhaust system will flow reasonably until a flow is reached where back pressure starts killing power.

- It also seems that the bigger the turbine housing, the more imperative that the exhaust be less restrictive.

- my wastegate held 1.7 bar no probs with the nismo exhaust, now it wont allow more than 1.3-1.4bar. The (lack of) back pressure seems to be making the solenoid, and wastegate spring work harder (soft spring)???? but the car pulls alot harder at that boost pressure than 1.7bar before:)

The car isnt getting a retune until I replace the intercooler to plenum pipe (2 1/2 inch, being upgraded to 3 inch) as I am sure this is something of a restriction too, and hope for a further improvement. Also, it seems I need to upgrade my wastegate spring to around a 1bar unit, or I wont be able to get much more boost.

Bottom line, DONT underestimate the importance of a well built, free flowing exhaust especially when you start making a bit more power than stock:)

Hope you find this interesting, as I cannot believe the massive difference just changing my cat back has made:D and remember, a noisy exhaust is your friend:p

  • Replies 54
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Also, it seems I need to upgrade my wastegate spring to around a 1bar unit, or I wont be able to get much more boost.

What is the std spring set to? Would make your boost controller work a lot less hard if you upped it as well. Nic report mate, thanks.

Adrian

2rismo, I have to change the spring, as its external gate. It has been as low as 10psi without spiking, so perhaps less than 10psi spring.

I would have liked to do a before/after, but I would sooner spend the money it would cost on mods:) Plus, I had access to a couple of different cat back systems to try and see how things went.

Dean, to reiterate, meow:p

Thanks Paul, not quite out of the woods yet, but nearly there:) some people just have to learn the hard way - makes it more fun I spose, just gets a bit expensive.

I think your small turbine housing is helping alot too, I may end up stepping down to 0.73 - have to see how it all goes - if I can get power to 8000rpm without dropping, I will stay with the housing I have. Currently (before this exhaust anyways) it starts dropping off at around 7200rpm.

Steve,

I still remember the Tilbrooks dyno day a yr or so back when Spoolin's (SAU nick) car ran a very low 219rwkw, very low considering his GTS25t had serious mods ex-Japan. The exhaust had a shitty comp cat & backyard cat back section to keep it quiet. The lads replaced the cat with a pipe & fitted the original Jap brand name system (came with the car ex Japan) The car went back on the dyno with tune & set boost level untouched. It ran 282rwkw.

Perfect example of how much difference an exhaust can make!

The smallest part of my exhaust is the shitty 2.5" cat used for compliance. I have always wondered how much difference a 3" straight through pipe would make, the only thing stopping me (apart from the fine) is the noise level. With the N1 system my car is very noisy already and I dont want to draw more attention than I have already to the cops.

rob77, I know someone who has a pipe only hanging off the back of an SR20, and its acutally not alot louder than the N1 system, if at all. Only difference is it sounds a bit more aressive if you know what I mean.

He also has an apexi flap in, and with it shut, makes less noise than a N1 system - but still has its pretty aggressive note.

HKS make some damn good exhausts, in fact most of the japanese systems are pretty good - and the aussie ones that can be fabbed up lack a lot of the refinement. I think one of the reasons my car runs so smoothly is simply because of a nice exhaust setup.

yeah.. definitely whatsisname! Ok...this is a whole different type of car, but same concepts apply. My brothers car is an old XF which i was driving around for a few weeks while my skyline was in the shop. It was basically making hardly *any* power, and would struggle up hills, or basically under any attempt at accelerating fast. Basically we thought the rings or something had gone and the engine was on its death bed. Somebody recommend we should change the cat, we did and TOTALLY different car. Power came right back again, and actually went pretty hard for an old 250c.u. 4.1L. So basically the totally clogged cat was killing the backpressure and starving the whole engine of any power.

Lifespan of a cat is 10 years or so, so probably about now the old factory cat is starting to get restrictive on a skyline, if it hasn't been changed.

  • 2 months later...

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

    • looking for some help and maybe some insight on others experience with a new LSD. R34 GT ran and drive beautifully, but always alot of grip loss due to the open R200 rear end, so I just installed a new 1.5 LSD way into the stock open R200 for a ER34. Simple. Everything seemed right. I test drove for the first time this weekend. as I started to back out the garage the first time slowly with tires straight it sounded and felt like I had a loose or half disconnected drive shaft...that was clucking around loose and shaking entire vehicle, and making it feel like the trans clutch was spontaneously slipping then grabbing very roughly while just letting out pedal slowly. I backed it out went to pull forward with the same noise, shake and slip grab feeling with hesitation, I turned the tires to back out more and then pulled ahead some same thing but worst because of added wheel resistance (which that I expected) puzzled … pulling it back in checking everything over and finding nothing wrong, I tried it the next day. same thing, couldn’t believe how it shook everything again making a terrible noise and making it feel like the trans clutch was slipping and grabbing, but I got it out of garage into the driveway, got it straight, drove forward and then reveres a few times in a straight line everything shaking , causing what felt like clutch slip and grab every time, sounded like right behind front driver tire and I could feel it in the floor board with my feet,... worst right when beginning to let clutch pedal out to engage slightly, shuttering and sounding terrible along the way…I managed to slowly get down the road, babying it the whole way, once I was rolling (out of 1st) seemed to be better and between shifts, then clutch felt closer to normal…not slip/ grab etc., but back down to any stop, straight road or turning, same thing. Made no difference if all tires were straight or if I was turning. All other gauge read out correct. with in 2 miles as planned I reached the empty parking lot and performed the break in procedure that came with lsd, essentially to drive in a figure 8 a bunch.  Did this, binding chattering, and shaking the car the whole way. I drove it back home seemed somewhat normal once I was in straight line and past 10 mph or so, and I know it will “bind” on corners and cause some tires squeal when turning especially from a stop, but when I begin to move it still causes what feels like the trans clutch to slip and jerk badly as well as shaking the entire car, and sounds terrible, that I didn’t expect. I used the fluid they supplied with LSD kit and did the breaking, planning to change fluid as they suggest after breaking, but wondering will it get smoother or less aggressive with use? maybe a 1.5 is just too aggressive for normal road driving?   I have a LSD that I put in my 71 cuda when I restored it, with amazing smooth , quite yet effective results. Different style LSD but that ones a joy to drive. maybe expecting too much from this R200?
    • Join SAU NSW for a flame-grilled feed & flame-spitting cruise! Sunday 17th August 2025 3:30PM Meeting Archies Flame Grille Sylvania Waters 4:45PM Cruise Departure 5:15PM Arrival at Cape Solander Kurnell Meet Location: Archies Flame Grille Final Destination: Cape Solander Kurnell *Disclaimer* There will be a lead and follow car so no one should get lost. If you would like to attend or bring others along please put your name down and a +1 as numbers will be needed prior! This is NOT a race and we will all be adhering to all road rules. If this is what you want please come to one of our many track days. This is an official SAU:NSW event and will be run under a CAMS permit. One of the things that really sets our club apart is our commitment to being true enthusiasts. When on normal roads we strive to maintain good relations with the authorities as well as the public in general. When attending one of Skylines Australia NSW events please try to: • Be aware of surrounding environment and act accordingly. • Drive courteously on the state’s roads as a true enthusiast should. • Understand how important it is to maintain the good name of SAU NSW and thus, treat others accordingly. • Any misbehavior will not be tolerated and you will be asked to leave.
    • Yeah good luck out there! Will be good to see a mighty GTST going harder than the GTRs
    • i will be there 😁
    • Hello!  i just finished manual swaping my r34 skyline with a r33 rb20de box(RB71C)box  When the car is running it squeaks crazy loud and it was smoking from the gearbox area. The gearbox is fine it was tested. The clutch slave cylinder seems like it doesn't fully releases the clutch. I want to ask if this noise is from the throw out bearing or could it be the clutch assembly or disk att.xFliq87Gzw6kImKBVqDebXkj0fBqymk0JaYeP3_3SlM.mp4
×
×
  • Create New...