MrStabby

R32 GTR with ride height of 330mm all round, which is a bit too low for my liking. The car has fixed base Tein suspension (adjustable damping), so i guess that means i need new springs. Will I be able to just swap the springs for some Whiteline 83157's (340mm)? If the tein spring base is at a different height to the stock stuff i wont end up with 340mm - does anyone know if the base hight is the same? Tnx, Kot

J, Did my flywheel recently - 3 bolts came off with the rattle gun, the others required a slug with the hammer first before the rattle gun worked. I've found lots of stuff stupidly over-torqued on my car. HTH, Kot

I dont know if i'd say i'm a fan, but i'm currently using Delvac 1 5W-40 which is supposed to be good, probably better than some/all of the Mobil 1s. I'll look at Redline next time as they appear to be better oils based on the specs, but if there's a lot more expensive i'll stick to the Delvac, which is costing me $15/lt. Re the different ones, i dont know - just check out their website and make sure you note the weights - that's the important bit. IMO you dont want to be running a weight of 50 or more (so Mobil 1 5W-50 is out) unless you've got a problem with oil temperature, and if that's the case fix the oil cooling system! ;-) Rgs, Kot

What's considered "warm" BB? GTR service manual says 5000kms, but does not specify climate. Thats for oil available 16 years ago. The oils now are far superior. Some say that oil is the most technologically advanced part of the engine. IMO if you're spending $20+ per litre on oil, it would be well worth getting a used oil analysis (UOA) done rather than aribitarily changing at 2500kms. You might be throwing out good (and expensive) oil unecessarily. The UOA can also provide info on engine condition etc. I *think* there was a group buy for UOAs - $40. FWIW I know of someone who used to do regular UOAs on his Porsche 928S4 and the oil was still recommended for use after 20,000kms, which is twice the recommended drain interval. A low stressed motor with large oil capacity, but the oil was only a relatively inexpensive Shell Helix. Rgs, Kot

Yeah i saw it, and came to the conclusion it didnt mean much. If you put a heavy diff oil in that test it would have shit all over the other oils from a great hight. That doesnt mean you want to use heavy diff oil in your engine... The oil manufactures do hundreds of different tests, and the big names havent gotten it as wrong at that test might indicate. Mobil runs large banks of smallblock chevs running 24x7 to verify that the theory actually works in practice. That sort of testing is far more informative that the one run in Street Commonbores. Think about it this way - how much money do you think Mobil et al spends on R&D? Do you really think they would have missed this? Rgs, Kot

I might be heading OS for a year or two, and if so the GTR will be stored. Is there anything i should do other than disconnect the battery? How about taking the rims off so the tyres arent loaded? Also, how much should i pay for security storage? Cheers, Kot

This might be of interest to those of you who like objective information; i've made a small table with some oil specs on it. If anyone can find Motul specs PM me and i'll update the table. If anyone can tell me how to make an html table appear in a post, PM me. Pasting the HTML didnt work. http://www.jaftan.com.au/skyline/engine/oilspecs.html Rgs, Kot

In a recent thread I read that the stock ceramic turbine wheels fail because the bonding that holds the wheel on the shaft fails due to heat. So presumably those of us still running stock turbos can reduce the risk of failure by ensuring they dont get too hot. So - how are the turbos cooled? Is it by the coolant or oil or both? If its by the oil, then perhaps a proportion of blame for many failures is due to the poor (non-existant) oil cooling? Any errors in this info/logic? Tnx, Kot

First check that your power steering fluid is up to the right level. If its low the HICAS light will come on. Mine was right at the bottom of the filler reservoir - bringing it up to half way (check the markings on the stalk connected to the cap) sorted it out. HTH, Kot

I'm pretty sure there are two different types of 595s - the SS595 and the 595 RS. The SS595s are these ones; http://www.federaltyres.com.au/car/ss595.htm The 595RS's were reviewed along with 8 other tyres in either Motor or Wheels recently. The short of it is that they were the best in the dry, the worst in the wet, and the cheapest by a fair margin. The mag suggested thay may be a good choice for ppl who do the occasional track day. They sort of seem like they're a bit more like an R spec tyre than the others in the test. HTH, Kot

Why is an engine rebuild required? The turbine is downstream of the motor, so the bits would just head down the exhaust and get caught on the cat. Does the disintegrating turbine often take the bearings and compressor wheel with it on the way out (so its bits of compressor wheel that kills the motor)? tnx, Kot

Thanks for that - the gearbox is back in, and i'm enjoying the new single plate! (anyone want to buy a dual plate OS Giken in good condition?) Yes i was doing it on the floor - son of a biatch! Rgs, Kot

Just to confirm - the lightweight shockproof HAS cured this issue for me. HTH, Kot

TomR33, I have a v2.1 that's now connected to the loom, which i assume has power, but the loom is not connected to the stock ECU. There's male and female ECU connectors in the loom so it will be dead easy to connect this if required. I could not get any LEDs to light on the fconv - does one of the LEDs indicate power? Also, i'm ready to help with the v2.x software - just let me know what u want me to do. Rgs, Kot

I have the gearbox shaft inside the pressure plate "fingers", but it needs to be about 10-15 mm higher to get into the clutch plate splines - problem is that the box is already hard up against the firewall. I've tried jacking the front of the motor, but this doesnt seem to prompt the rear of the motor to drop. Any tips for getting the box in? Tnx, Kot

Yeah, count me in. My car came with a silver box fconv pro so i guess that's a series two. The factory computer is currently connected, so i dont even know if the fconv works. These's an extra wiring loom under the carpet.... Rgs, Kot

Re Oils, i'm about to do mine, and here's what i've decided on (and how much you need according to the R32 shop manual); Gearbox and front diff - Redline lightweight shockproof (4.1 and 1 litre) Rear Diff - Redline 75W-90 (1.5 liters) Engine - Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 (4.5 litres, or 4.9 with new filter) - because i have some. Next time i'll use a 0W-40 or 5W-40 fully synthetic, maybe even the Delvac again - it will certainly keep the engine clean. I'm also going to add a remote filter mount, oil cooler, and oil temperature gauge. That "report your engine failure" thread is making me paranoid.....and i want to do some track work. Notes; - The redline stuff is expensive, but in theory will be good for 300,000 kms so i wont be changing it again. At a minimum go for a fully synthetic 75W-90 for the gearbox. - Make sure you use an LSD compatible oil in the rear diff - You can use lightweight shockproof in the rear diff, but apparently the LSD will lock a bit so you'd notice some chatter when turning tightly. I wanted to avoid that, hence the use of the 75W-90. - Gearbox requires GL-4 spec, diffs require GL-5 spec. FWIW I doubt any fully synths would be lower than GL-5. HTH, Kot

Tnx Dirt & Kami, the gearbox is out! Spent all day today getting the twin plate cage apart (three broken allen keys later and i had to drill the last bolt out...) anyway its done now. Got any tips for flywheel bolts? Obviously i'll need to fix the flywheel somehow. Cheers, Kot

Hi, The xmember is already lowered - i still cant reach. Cheers, Kot

From the workshop manual it looks like there's a bolt at 12oclock - how do i get this out? There doesnt seem to be any access. Which side should i come at it from - exhaust or front driveshart (I havent removed either at this stage). Tnx, Kot

I've had the same thing a few times recently, co-inciding with a cold snap of weather. Since i'm doing the clutch now, the box oil will be replaced with Redline lightweight shockproof at the same time, which i hope will help. If you're not already running a fully synthetic 75W-90 or shockproof in your box, it might be worth trying that out first. Synthetics perform much better at lower temperatures than minerals, and its a much cheaper option than pulling the box... Kot.

Hi All, Car is a R32 GTR. The clutch is reportedly a twin plate OS giken. Its very grabby, has a very frim pedal and feels like it must have a solid center (ie no springs to absorb the shock, so its pummels the box and diff when it grabs). The car is near stock and makes 243 rwkw when the boost is wound up. IMO the clutch is OTT for this setup so i am looking at a more traffic freindly single plate. There is some slightly crunchy bearing noise when the clutch finally fully grabs, or if you give it some throttle very low in the rev range while the clutch is engaged. What bearing is this likely to be? Obviously i'll replace the release bearing with the new pressure plate, but what else? IIRC there's a bearing in the rear of the crank that the shaft from the gearbox rests in (is that the spigot?) so i'll replace that while its all apart. Are there any other bearings (in the gearbox?) that may need attention or i should do while its all apart? Cheers, Kot