MerlinTheHapyPig

fully synthetic oils these days last much longer than mineral or semi synth oils. I don't recommend it, but you can probably leave it longer than 10,000 and still be protecting your engine properly. I change my oil every 4,000kms or 6 months in a car that sees mostly track work these days. I also use genuine nissan oil filters, they are like $12-13

offsets are useless without rim width. But yes, lower offsets on the back usually.

the number of load points adjusted isn't a very good indication of the quality of the tune. the quality of the tune would be a function of... 1. the comprehensiveness of the tune (relates to number of map points adjusted, and also relates to the time spent tuning under different conditions) 2. the tuner's skill 3. the features of the ECU i'm going to avoid talking about remaps v powerfc because it's been done to death and we won't reach a meaningful conclusion but i will say this: If tuner skill is equal, a fuel only computer will give you a much poorer tune than a fuel and timing computer (or remapping fuel and timing maps). Tuning a fuel only computer is very very easy, if you have the right tools, it's a simple logical process with little-no guesswork. 1 and 2 are the most important factors, and provided an aftermarket ecu gives you a reasonable level of adjustment they all have the potential to provide equally good tunes. Remaps and most of the aftermarket fuel and timing computers people are using all offer similar features and level's of adjustment.

i would suggest powerfc as your best option (rb25det but do some research on what you have to do to get it to work). unless you live somewhere where there is a good remap tuner (hard to find) think of it as a long-term solution, do you ever think you'll buy an aftermarket turbo? how much power will you eventually be aiming for? if your answer is "yes" and "more than 160-170kw" then a proper tune is a must....

lol, steering wheels can be an absolute bitch, just keep trying it will come eventually. you can also get a friend to hold one side of the wheel, you hold the other side and pull hard. sometimes, bashing it side to side really quickly from the front with your fists helps to loosen it. you can buy steering wheel pullers, but you should be able to get it with some time and effort. It took me 20 minutes to remove a steering wheel one time.....

if 4 is the problem, then shocks aren't working, you can try increasing the damper (particularly if your shocks have rebound damper adjustment), but it's common for blown shocks to cause axle tramp, you may need to replace or rebuild the shock absorber. the spring rate could also be too high, so you should also look into that. it's possible to run ultra-high springrates without problems provided your shocks are up to the task!

how is it possible to kill bearings from detonation? don't you mean pistons? bearings usually die from forign particles, lack of oil or just general wear / driving it too hard.

A good result from a compression or leakdown test will verify the condition of: -Piston Rings -Head Gasket -valve seating -cracked head -general condition of bores and pistons it's a good overall test of motor as you would assume these components are in similar condition to the rest of the engine. It MAY be able to identify damage to: -pistons -bores -valve springs, guides or lifters - or rocker arms if it's an SR20 (maybe... if they are causing a valve to stay open) (depending on if this damage is causing a drop in compression) It will NOT verify the condition of: -Bearings -Crank -Conrods -Oil & oil pump -other head problems such as stem seals. You can have an engine with a spun big end bearing, and it could be using mud instead of oil and it will probably still give you a good compression reading! What i'm saying is it isn't a complete indication of the health of your engine. A leakdown test can pinpoint the percentage of compression leakage and where it's leaking from, but it tests the same things that the comp test tests. ---------- A good example of a BAD compression test was the one I did on my daily driver before i rebuilt the engine. Dry: 95psi 95psi 165psi 165psi Wet: 165psi 165psi 165psi 165psi A large increase in compression indicates piston ring problems... Pistons 1 and 2 had cracked ring lands..... http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/merli...dia/piston2.jpg ^ if you look at the piston in the pic this was the damage....

if all else fails you can bash a screwdriver through the filter, one sometimes has to resort to this if previous owner or mechanic overtightened it. there are a few different tools you can buy to remove filters, some work better than others. With my skyline i've never had to use a tool to get the filter off, but other cars i've had to. i just removed my hicas including the solenoid in the engine bay, and there is now more room to get to the oil filter!

manual spec is above 127psi and no more than 15psi variance between cylinders

Check that everything is lined up, right! (ie, there are dots on both cam gears, and dot on crank pully, make sure they line up with marks on timing belt), also check that you bought the right timing belt, but i assume you did. You get some resistance when turning from the compression of the engine, take all of the spark plugs out and see if it's still hard to turn, but whatever you do, don't turn it hard incase the cam timing is out of phase with the crank timing.

bad compression can make the car run poorly. i'd get a compression test done, just so you can rule out that being a problem before you spend money on parts to fix it. No point doing anything if the rings are gone.

if you have a relatively new gearbox, or it feels pretty fresh. don't use lightweight shockproof!! use redline MT-90 Gearbox oil is usually every 2 years or 50-60,000kms from memory...

RB's breathe heavy at high rpm, so it's not unusual to see oil in the cooler pipes (or filling up catch can) if you've been driving it fairly hard. like busky2k said, install a catch can, and when you get a chance, do a compression test.

^ yep i think that's right.

i've heard people say that they are difficult to tune with. The explanation i read was something to do with RX7's don't need as accurate injectors so they tend to run poorly on skylines.

afaik, the only place that can tune fcon's is BD4S in sydney, try calling them, they are very helpful, but i don't like your chances getting it tuned in WA solution, throw it in the bin, and buy a powerfc.

once you've been sliding for a while you get to know how the damper settings work. I must admit, i change my damper settings constantly to make allowances for -different tyres (rim size, tyre width/profile, grippyness - all vary when using second hand tyres to drift on) -track conditions (temperature, raining?, track surface) -track layout (ie mostly sweeping corners, tight corners, track camber, uphill/downhill) for me, they make a big difference to the amount of front and rear grip, and oversteer and understeer under different conditions. (ie if it's raining i usually soften up the rear to stop spinning, and also soften the front to stop understeering due to lack of front end grip). You can also play with the tyre pressures if you don't have damper adjustment. They make minor differences, but it is very noticable. I'm no expert, but i know what settings work for me under various circumstances!

there are heaps of s13's which are dumped on their ass and they perform well, but you just can't do that with skylines. Mine is still legal height, and don't have any problems. I'm using 8/8 springs with stock swaybars, and body roll is not noticable at all. I'm sure it's bad for circuit, but that's not what the car is setup for. There are a few drifters setting their car up for circuit, and there are merits. Alot of drifters set their cars up for grip, which means they can go faster before starting to go sideways. This is not really an ideal setup for beginners, but something you should strive toward. Sure when budget allows, swaybars will be an upgrade for me, but with the setup i've mentioned above i've had no problems to date.

interesting combination of problems..... with electrical problems like this, check alternator, check body earth, check battery. dying batteries and poor earths can cause very random problems! and check everything around the air filter (air-flow meter connection does spring to mind)

it's from either. I have a r33 s1 afm on my desk, part number is 22680-02U00, both have the same part number, both have a green sticker........

i'd like to try them, but i'm not convinced they will be better. Maybe better for general drivability under a variety of track or street conditions, but not necessarily drift. In drift, you don't need to ride ripple strips to take the fastest line, so having rock-hard suspension often isn't a problem, also the coil over approach has added advantages such as camber adjustment (for s13's, not skylines unfortunantly), height adjustment, and damper adjustment which can be used to fine-tune softness more easily than changing swaybar settings. A friend just bought some rear whiteline adjustable swaybars for her s14 which has softer suspension (better than stock but not as hard as the usual jap coilover), so i'm interested to see how she goes with them. As far as settings, this is what i'm using. r32 gts-t (4-door) rb20det Quantum RS Racing coilovers (8kgmm front, 8kgmm rear) (can't remember brand of springs) D-Max pillowball castor rods Locked Diff Uras Tie Rod Spacers GTRGeoff Hicas lock bar Generic Alloy Subframe Collars Generic Strut Braces (front and rear) Generic Steering Shaft Spacer Power Steering Cooler (magna auto trans cooler) Air-con removed Walbro gss-341 high pressure fuel pump 3.5inch turbo-back exhaust HKS frount mount cooler HKS pod air filter Manual boost controller 0.9bar boost stock turbo (it's on the way out....) shift knob, handbrake button, handbrake lever, racing harness, fire extinguisher etc. car is lower than stock, but still relatively legal height. 7 degrees positive castor -1.6 degrees front camber (stock, with lowering) 2 mm total front toe out 0 mm total rear toe as soon as i get back from queensland (moving there for 6 months for work), i'm going for the power upgrade which will involve rb25det, td06-20g, ext gate, injectors, powerfc etc.etc.etc.

some pads have little metal things that hit the inside of the brake rotor when the pads reach minimum thickness. also there is a gap between the two sections of the pad, when the pad wears below that gap, then they need changing. Also check rotor thickness with a vernier or micrometer to see if your rotors are below minimum thickness.

yeah, basically. Learning with a locked diff and coilovers is the way to go, you will progress 3 x as fast than someone with a viscous and stock suspension. The tension rods (aka castor rods) are to increase castor. The pillowball items and 8deg castor will give you better turn-in and more accurate and responsive steering. The tie-rod spacers, are to give you more steering lock. They are little washers that are installed between the tie rod and the steering rack to increase the amount of travel in the rack. I have them for my r32 and they are worth their weight in gold. You may also want to consider aftermarket tie rods and tie rod ends, but it's not vital unless you start bending tie rods (common on s13s but skyline stuff is stronger so it doesn't happen as often). You can get some of the other stuff on your list if you like, but once you have the basic setup i mentioned, gains will be minimal with alot of the other stuff (especially with stock power). Also if you're starting to drive on the track, buy a racing harness and a fire extinguisher. Not alot of drifters in australia are using swaybar upgrades, it's been proven you can drift perfectly well with a stiff set of jap coilovers. But if you are street driving the car, some people will recommend softer spring rates and swaybars which basically achieve the same thing.

for a beginner, i recommend as minimum... -Stiff coilovers -locked diff or mechanical 1.5/2way -adjustable tension rods (pillowball type) +8deg or so caster -uras tie rod spacers (not sure if they are available for r33) for extra lock (speak to trent, sponsor URAS on nissansilvia.com) depending on how low your car is, you may need rear camber adjustment to reduce rear tyre wear if you want front camber adjustment, go with the whiteline bushes, that's the easiest (cheapest) way to adjust front camber on skylines. Wheels, stock r33/s14 or r32 rims are ideal for beginners, 16x6.5 they will be easier to slide on than 17x9's for example. You can usually pick up a pair from wreckers for $50-100 the rest of the stuff on the list isn't necessary for beginners, though you might want to consider alloy subframe bushes if your subframe bushes are stuffed and the rear end is moving around a bit (ie axel tramp etc.). Strut braces are an idea, they are pretty cheap, fronts make a difference, rears aren't so vital.