R32 Hicas Delete Or Already Deleted Who Knows Help Needed

[Peanut92]

hey guys sorry if this is in the wrong section but i assumed handling is close enough to steering

my dilemma is 1. i cant find a straight anwser on my actual hicas question

and 2. i need re assurance

now i hear everyone deletes hicas pretty quickly

bought my first 32 and noticed the hicas light on

after hearing things about the car like its setup for track and what not i would assume it was deleted

but i checked the power steer level and it was very low. i havent topped it up just incase he did a delete and ran low oil

i dont know

but yeah didnt think to much of it

my questions lie here

what is better a hicas lock bar (off ebay or anywhere someone will recommend a good one)

or a cusco or driftworks eliminator? with the seperate rods

will there be any play with either?

when i jack my car up there is a little play

and i assume that the hicas is still there after topping up my fluids i noticed the light gone straight away i did see the hicas computer in the boot one day im pretty sure all wires intacts

next question

how do i know if the hicas is actually working ? and was it working when the fluids were low as the car hasnt changed

i will say it steers pretty tight but maybe thats just the car. first 32 ive driven. ive tried doing the diagnostic but it didnt make to much sence i did it in my yard.

i started it turned my wheel 5 times left right left right left

pressed the brake 5 times moved forward slowly about 5 - 10 metres

no effect (remember light was on from low fluid)

have i missed something?

tried driving along looking in the mirror thru roundabouts cant really tell

but i did do some heave steering thru a mountain pass last weekend and the steering felt funny afterwards like mt centre point was constantly changing i would have the wheel in a straight line (yellow marker at top) and the car would start to veer and steering would lighten up one way then stop and ide be about 20-40 degrees off where i was

is this hicas playing up? or just wheel alignment

any help is appreciated

main question is are the lock bars as sturdy as the eliminator kit with proper seperate arms

and the other main question

if i buy the cusco if its better and its adjustable is it to hard to adjust?

$70 seems alot cheaper

then $300-400 im just wondering is it even worth the cash.

(drift is the cars intended purpose with me. weekend cruiser/drifter)

[GTSBoy]

This is a big set of questions, all of which have been answered before. However....

I will try to answer all of it, not necessarily in the order that you have asked.

First point, you will not see the rear wheels move by looking in the mirror, especially around roundabouts. HICAS only moves the rears through a very small angle. If you have time to look in the mirror then you aren't going fast enough.....and of course you won't see it anyway. HICAS also does not counter steer the rear wheels in lowe speed tight bends. That is purely for crappy 4WS systems on FWD cars like Mazda 626s and the like. They did that ebcause manufacturers had a hard time getting small enough turning circles out of FWD shitboxen and looked to 4WS to claw some back. HICAS is only there to do one thing - it detects when you are making a direction change at reasonably high speeds and applies a small amount of co-steer angle in the rear wheels in order to generate some slip angle at the rear earlier than it would happen if it had to wait for the fronts to start to change direction and turn the whole car. It makes the chassis more reactive to steering inputs. Makes the steering feel sharper - to normal grunts. If you are driving the thing over about 7 tenths you will usually get frustrated by the HICAS system sawing away at the rear wheels in the middle of a corner. It does not inspire confidence - you would much rather the only thing controlling the direction of the car to be you - not some halfwit computer designed to half the job only.

The HICAS light was probably on because the fluid was low.

You will not be able to get the HICAS system to go into diagnostics if you have an aftermarket steering wheel on it that does not have a HICAS compatible boss. The boss needs to be able to drive the steering angle sensor. If it can't then HICAS has no idea about the direction of the wheel. This also means that it cannot function properly while driving, and one of the symptoms of that is for the car to suddenly crank on some rear steering angle when you're driving over 80kays, needing you to hold the steering wheel to one side in order to keep going straight.

Any HICAS lock bar that leaves the original tie rod ends in place will leave all the play that was there in place. These are almost all completely stuffed, so they all need to be replaced - either with new ones or via a complete delete.

Any HICAS lock bar or any HICAS delete kit is not street legal withotu engineering. It is considered modification of a steering system and is therefore defectable. If you do it, be warned. Paint it all black.

Delete kits are a much better idea than lock bars.

Removing all the hydraulic gear is desirable. Do it if you can. It has been described on here before.

[Peanut92]

Thankyou for your anwser it pretty muchs covers all areas of my questions

And yes the light was a result of low fluid. I topped it up. Then again the light came on. Topped it up a little more the lights out has been out most of the night

Now here's where my problem gets hairy

I was out tonight (and am still out) I won't sugar coat it.

I went to lay some donuts now the steering was all funny and it wasn't as it normally is (no stress helis)

It was trying to fight me

So I did the smart thing and left as I was driving it the car started crab walking again really bad. We were basically on a 45 degree angle it felt like whole we were driving straight along the road. After I started braking it straightened up now it was doing this but not at 80 kms more like 60-70. And anything around these speeds

For instance one time I turned a corner there arse end would move left to right

Could this be faulty hicas?

[Peanut92]

Also the hicas light has come on again

And the handbrake light comes on sometimes at random times for short periods some longer then others

Does this indicate anything other then the handbreak being up

[GTSBoy]

Yes, this is a HICAS fault. Already told you that.

Pull the smaller of the two plugs out of the back of the HICAS computer. HICAS will go dead, but power steering will still work. No more light, no more crab walk. Just a lot of unnecessary crap along for the ride.

[Peanut92]

I thought so. Sorry I read it in a rush

Thanks heaps mate

Ill unplug it then just get a proper eliminator

[sonicz]

I have an aftermarket steering wheel but dont have any hicas light nor can i tell if the hicas is working or not.

I have had one back wheel revert to a strange toe setting after a wheel alignment though. and there is a certain sloppiness and jerkiness to the rear wheels.

I wonder if the bulb has been pulled from my dash by a previous owner.

[Peanut92]

IDE say the bulb is pulled. Considering I have this similar problem and I get the light. It comes on after a while and there's plenty of fluid

Easier way to check turn your ignition till the reds come on and see if lights up its on your left side under your speedo near the handbrake one

[sonicz]

Nope nothing lights up there on reds. Mine is a one of the frist R33s produced of any kind though, a 1993 model, but it still must have had a bulb for Hicas, correct?

Looking under the car the Hicas guts are definitely there.

Edited April 13, 2013 by sonicz

[GTSBoy]

bulb gonezoes.

[0zhiph0p]

I guess I can add onto here rather than new post, i've noticed when turning 90degree corners and giving a bit of stick it feels like the back end slides out but no tyre screech or anything unless I keep the boot in could that be hicas aswell? It's an r32 gtr

[dontyellpl0x]

Hicas is only active over 80km/h

[GTSBoy]

Could be HICAS, if going fast enough for HICAS to be active, but more likely to to be worn out suspension bushes, diff mounts, subframe mounts, HICAS tie rod ends, etc.

[sonicz]

I guess I can add onto here rather than new post, i've noticed when turning 90degree corners and giving a bit of stick it feels like the back end slides out but no tyre screech or anything unless I keep the boot in could that be hicas aswell? It's an r32 gtr

Exactly what GTSboy said. On top of worn bushes tie rods etc, there is just more components back there than a regular 2ws car so there's more things to "flex" under load.

I have noticed almost all R33s have this loose feeling at the rear end, but personally I kind of like it. Instead of the car breaking traction as you would expect, you have a soft buffer zone where wheels turn a bit in the direction they are trying to break traction so you get a gentle shimmy than a whoosh spin out. I think its preferable on a road car.

[Philr32]

Sounds like diff bushes, also check your steering rack (front and HICAS) sounds like it may be leaking hence the weird steering feel and your consumption of steering fluid. Turn the steering side to side on one spot and check underneath for leaks, also check the boots for leaking fluid. Leaking fluid could affect HICAS as they are off the same system I think?

Check out GKTech.com.au there stuff is great, they have all the shit you need (lock bar or complete delete) and they have great prices. Also they're shut us black so more stealth lol