Stagea Choking

[Stagea1]

Hi all Sau members. I have a question. I own a 96 Stagea s1. It's stock apart from air filter (k&n) not a pod. When I floor it, it kind of chokes for a while then changes gear n keeps going. What could the problem be? any ideas? It's really annoying.

[Dingus]

Is it only in 1st? K&N pods are oiled, and have had bad experiences of the oil on them getting on the afm hotwire, a spray with a bit of electrical contact cleaner helps that out. Other things are make sure it's not overboosting and hitting boost cut (could be a line disconnected/not plumbed right), or other things I'd check are change spark plugs, if they're new, could be coilpacks giving out under load.

[AAA34T]

i second dingus i had the same problem and it cost me an afm highly do not recomend any oil air filters like k&n on any skyline

[kidafa]

im assuming coilpacks.

[Big Fella]

I'm gonna throw boost cut into the mix, have you

Got a gauge fitted?

Mine has a similar issue, had it when it was stock and still does it mow, just not as bad, with every breathing mod I've done it has gotten better.

I'm running standard boost control, full 3" turbo back system with a blitz pod, and my car makes 0.9 bar of boost, ie 12-13 psi. Maybe yours is like mine and it is over boosting.

[QWK32]

If its airflow cut you'll know when you hit it. It's a complete engine cut, feels like the throttle got slammed closed and the engine revs down. By the way S1's don't have a boost cut, no way for the ecu to know the boost pressure.

Has it always felt this way? Or just recently? The stock setups on all rb's is fairly restrictive especially the exhaust, and the stock mapping doesn't favor consistent pull through the rev range, they tend to flatten out around 4500rpm.

[66yostagea]

I reckon AFM

[Stagea1]

hey guys thanks for replying. its not sparks as i have new lithium ones. i dont hink its air flow coz my revs stay high all the way till it changes gear and keeps driving normal. its not just in fisrt gear. i first noticed it couple months after i got it which is when i put my k&n on. so maybe it is my afm?

sorry i said my car is stock but i didnt think about but i have a 3" all the way and a hi-flow cat. I got the cat put on coz i thought that was the problem. then i got my dump pipe changed and that didnt fix it either. it already came with massive exhaust when i bought it.

so its either the FM or coilpacks?

ive researched abit n thought maybe the ecu needs tuning. i dont know how it works. this is my second car but my first turbo. man the stagea is awwesome.

thanks for your help guys. please keep helping. some mechanics dont even know what a stagea is.

[Stagea1]

how do u stop it from overboosting? boost control? im getting a boost gauge. will try install myself (have no idea)

[Dingus]

Overboosting is usually caused by a dodgy boost controller, or when you have the stock set up could be vacuum lines not set up correctly.

I'd say it's either your coilpacks or AFM though. Easiest/cheapest option would be try to give the AFM a good clean with contact cleaner first.

[Stagea1]

ok i will give it a clean. just been researching n it probably is the afm coz its does idle not as smooth as it used to

[Stagea1]

do i have to take afm out to clean it?

[Dingus]

Yeah, should be pretty easy to do. Just take it out, give it a good clean with contact cleaner, let it sit to dry and put back in.

[Stagea1]

Thanks mate

[66yostagea]

Somewhere there is a thread on checking the soldered joints insde the AFM connector. I did not do that as I had a spare.

If cleaning the sensor wire does not fix it, see if you can find the fix it thread.

[Stagea1]

Thas for the help guys. I've looked at the mesh on afm. It is dirty so I rekon that what it is. Will clean it on weekend. What set up should I have if not a k&n?

[Dingus]

One not oiled. If you're in Perth I have a bolt on HKS pod setup for sale

[chuckie]

Whats wrong with K&N setup ,

just don`t over oil its simple ,

i done 100,000 kms with it never had a worry

[wolverine]

^^ x2

+ contact cleaner on the afm element whenever you poke your head under the bonnet.

[Stagea1]

Hey Guys thanks your support and help. Got my stagea from mechanics yesterday and it's running smooth. I didn't know they go so hard. Turns out the choking problem was related to my spark plugs. I didn't install them properly.I just put them in and didn't do the whole right measurement thing. Don't kno what it's called. Thanks guys. I'm happy with my car now. Also got a boost gauge so I can keep a eye on turbo. also had manifold replaced coz I had a tink crack.