New Owner/ RWC Queries

[Shtooks R33]

Hey Guys,

Slightly overwhelmed by the amount of different forums on this page, so decided to post my queries on here, apologies in advanced if this isnt the right place to do it...

so this is my situation... TL:DR After around three years of saving, I took the plunge and bought myself an '94 R33 GTST. I Committed a cardinal sin and bought a car at night without checking it out during the day 🥲. Granted, i did go on Vic roads and pay the two dollars to check the vin and it seems to be all checked out. Can someone let me know, from that can i be 100% certain that it hasn't been in an accident and can be registered? 

upgraded intercooler, upgraded turbo and from what I can see looks like a dump pipe from the turbo into the exhaust? will these things pass road worthy, and if not how should i go about it?

 

I feel like i could ask a million questions, but obviously i could do my own research to. Any help would be appreciated. 

 

Thanks, Lucas

 

 

 

[Kinkstaah]

The RWC requirements are pretty clear actually in regards to what is checked during a RWC test in victoria.

One of the more stringent ones (it does note this out specifically now) is that the car's emissions system needs to be as factory from the air filter intake to the dump pipe.

If the car is currently registered it is fine to assume it is still able to be registered unless it is a WOVR vehicle, which means you need the reciepts for the damage that got the car off the WOVR register and back onto the road. Provided it's not been written off.

Other than the turbo/filter/intercooler situation most of the other considerations for RWC are safety related as well as modifications that fit under VSI8. This means wheels that are 1" wider than OEM, not sticking out past the guards, passing a noise check, brakes that work, no obvious oil leaks everywhere, seatbelts that work, wipers that work.

Anything that does not meet this needs to be presented with a VASS certificate. Those are generally reserved for registering a vehicle. As my car has been engineered, I'm actually not sure what the new buyer would need to provide, but I am going off on a tangent here.

As to what is stock and what looks stock, well the RWC tester is required to take photos. So it needs to look stock. . This goes for every car sold or RWC'ed for defects etc.

[trel]

Make sure the intercooler is a return flow otherwise 99% they've cut a hole for the piping which will be an instant fail for RWC and then you'll need an engineer involved for repairs. Good luck.

[admS15]

If you don't have a friendly rwc guy, then it's best to make everything appear stock again. Don't give them a reason to take a deeper look.

I'd be fitting a stock side mount intercooler and covering any non standard holes, stock exhaust system and making sure there's no traces of leaking fluids underneath and then take it to somewhere like a Kmart auto for a rwc. They're generally not too fussy, I've found.

 

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

[Shtooks R33]

Hey Guys, really appreciate all your comments and heads up! Sorry i havent gotten back to you all sooner.

Ive agreed with one of my mates to split the payment for a stock fmic, since we both will be needing one to get our cars registered. In terms of making it look "stock", Ive also ordered an intake box for the pod filter.By the looks of it, thankfully, this car has been kept relatively stock.

Unfortunately, since posting this topic I've run into a few issues.

The "bigger" (ebay) turbo siezed on the drive home from my mechanic after getting a list of things to fix. So, that has since been replaced with a standard gtst turbo and confirmed working  

As I was waiting for a new turbo, i decided to test comp. it came back with some not so pleasing results... readings from cylinder 1-6 are as follows, 100, 95, 98, 90, 100, 98 😐 granted this may be due to the fact that the engine was cold and no oil was put into the cylinders. Either way seems like a pretty tired engine and looks like it may be due for a rebuild 🙁  

Here comes the fun part tho. Found out my horn wasnt working and tl:dr now my car wont crank 😆. We concluded that the horn may not be working due to the a dodgy install of an aftermarket alarm system and immobilizer. Which, now has some how tripped and isnt unlocking with the key. went to have a look underneath the steering wheel and was greeted with a giant rat nest. ive started following all the cables and disconnected the immobilizer, however im just worried. Have I messed up by removing the immobilizer before unlocking it? If anyone could please let me know what the correct process is, as im slightly overwhelmed by this whole situation. Sorry for the overly long message...

[Duncan]

Firstly, don't worry too much about the compression test results in the short term. If it is noticeably burning oil, or getting through oil between changes you can plan for a rebuild in your own timing.

Re the immobiliser, they can be a PITA, I've had a couple fail over the years. Even if you are familiar with wiring it might take some time to sort. Best to pull the trims off, unmount the fuse box and key wiring and start chasing carefully. Basic operation of the immobiliser is they will cut some key loom wires and run them through the immobiliser. Good ones use all same colour wires (generally black) to make them harder to trace quickly. You need to find which factory wires were cut and sent via the immobiliser, and then join them back together (same colour to same colour). Generally that would be ECU power, start signal, fuel pump etc but it depends on the installer and immobiliser how many and which circuits are controlled. 

The basic wiring context is battery power comes into the key, and then depending on key position it goes back out on the ACC, IGN and/or Start wires. From there the ACC and IGN (as well as BAT) go to the fuse/relays at the driver's knees. The immobiliser could be tapped in before but more likely after the fuse/relay box in individual circuits.

The other thing they almost always do is come with central locking so there will be separate wires for that, in that case they may have either cut or joined to, or just run in parallel factory wires. Your car will still open with the key even if you remove the immobiliser. 

[Shtooks R33]

On 02/09/2022 at 6:37 AM, Duncan said:

Firstly, don't worry too much about the compression test results in the short term. If it is noticeably burning oil, or getting through oil between changes you can plan for a rebuild in your own timing.

Re the immobiliser, they can be a PITA, I've had a couple fail over the years. Even if you are familiar with wiring it might take some time to sort. Best to pull the trims off, unmount the fuse box and key wiring and start chasing carefully. Basic operation of the immobiliser is they will cut some key loom wires and run them through the immobiliser. Good ones use all same colour wires (generally black) to make them harder to trace quickly. You need to find which factory wires were cut and sent via the immobiliser, and then join them back together (same colour to same colour). Generally that would be ECU power, start signal, fuel pump etc but it depends on the installer and immobiliser how many and which circuits are controlled. 

The basic wiring context is battery power comes into the key, and then depending on key position it goes back out on the ACC, IGN and/or Start wires. From there the ACC and IGN (as well as BAT) go to the fuse/relays at the driver's knees. The immobiliser could be tapped in before but more likely after the fuse/relay box in individual circuits.

The other thing they almost always do is come with central locking so there will be separate wires for that, in that case they may have either cut or joined to, or just run in parallel factory wires. Your car will still open with the key even if you remove the immobiliser. 

Hi Duncan, once again apologies for the late reply, but really appreciate your response! it honestly gave me the confidence to tackle this issue myself and I can confidently say i learnt A LOT from it! Luckily for me, the wires were pretty easy to follow, and all it took was snipping off and the shitty connections and re-soldering the factory wires.

The last post from myself was before leaving for Europe as almost a cry for help. lol. But happy to say that the immobiliser was successfully removed and the wires returned to (mostly) factory! Oh the car starts and drives fine now too (sorta)... I honestly have no clue how the wiring underneath there got so bad. A rat's nest would be an understatement lol!! Ill add the photo's for you to enjoy XD 

Re: the curresnt issues im having with the car, should probably be for a separate thread. Although, I have managed to a few threads already with people having the same issues. So it'll definitely be a last resort thing!

 

Really appreciate everyones help!

[Duncan]

Great to hear you got the immobiliser out and are able to start the car now, and I'd have to say what you had under there is typical of many quick/cheap alarm installs I've seen over the years - no wonder they are causing problems 20 years down the track

[tridentt150v]

You will need to double down on the wiring. Trace from source to application renewing dodgy connections.  Unwrap all insulation tape as you go, try to simplify the whole loom by removing as many solder etc connections as you can.  I have examples of wires that had 5 solder connections in under 30cm of length.  I also have examples of wiring that went from 8 to 6 gauge to 4 gauge then back to 8.  Heatshrink, connectors, crimping tools, and an airgun will be your friend.  Get some split tube and/or spiral wrap to help tidy up once done.

What you are doing is building in reliability while eliminating under dash fire risk.

[Shtooks R33]

G'day guys,

 

Apologies for reviving an old thread.

Just wanted to say, we managed to register the car! Passed the RWC with a few minor adjustments. Airbox, horn, front wheel guards and a few little leaks here and there. Luckily, he didnt get me for the FMIC! 

The horn was probably the biggest issue as clocksprings for these cars are rather hard to find actually working... So I had to do a bit of a dodgy repair on mine to get it working.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who helped out!

 

Thanks, 

Lucas