hrd-hr30

I definitely have a use for them. In standing start events (hillclimb/supersprints etc) I can use them to evaluate different launch techniques or rpm. besides, the drag strip wouldn't tell you your 0-60, 0-100 or 0-160kph times either. this unit's peak hold function for rpm, coolant temp, duty cycle would be good for me too. and peak kph would be interesting - eg after Lakeside the other week, everyone wanted to know what speed i was hitting just before the kink on the front straight - the fastest part of the track. I couldn't tell them accurately because you had to be concerntrating on the road at that point, but with this unit i would know exactly what my top speed was. so they do have legitimate uses for people who use their car on the track. people who do this sort of thing on the road are going to still do it wether they have one of these units or not. I can't wait for one of these. thanks NewKleer. I suspected it wouldn't be possible, or you would have already included it. btw, yep adhesive backed velcro tape is available. I think I bought it from Supercheap believe it or not!

yeah nice! but why is there always crap music played over car movies??? I want to hear that S20 engine! and give it a decent rev ffs!

r33_racer, you might enjoy this link - The Art of Cheating hehe OK then. I'll make one more point. Trying to justify the use of pineapples under 9.14 Wheel Alignment settings are free, is a huge stretch too! for 2 reasons: 1) Wheel alignment settings are camber, castor, toe - things which align the wheel. squat geometry is not a wheel alignment setting. it is a geometry change similar to altering roll centre or bump steer geometry, which have no impact on the alignment of the wheel, they alter the suspension geometry. 2) 9.14 applies to wheel alignment facilities. ie the facilities provided on the car to make changes to wheel alignment are free to be set any way you see fit. there is no facility provided to set squat geometry on the Skyline. You are not using any wheel alignment facility to make this change, so it is not legal under this rule.

we'll have to agree to disagree, but I won't take it to the tech officer - it might stuff things up for people currently running with these mods. and I don't want to do anything to make it harder for a LM turbo car than it already is! cheers, Harry

details on p6 NewKleer, is it possible to include knock sensor value?

only a component deemed to be free under the regs can be replaced. power steering racks are not deemed to be free. rule 9.13 tells you exactly what you may do with "a power steering rack". The 2nd power steering rack in the rear is still "a power steering rack" irrespective of wether thare are other power steering racks in the car, and is still covered by those rules. it is still "a power steering rack" not an "other component of the power steering system" and is not free to be removed or rendered inoperable. But let's say for argument's sake that you do successfully argue your 'singular' steering rack point. 2.6 states that the entire vehicle must remain unmodified except for the freedoms provided in the regs. 9.13 only grants freedom to "other components of the power steering system". A HICAS lock bar is not part of the power steering system and is not therefore permitted under the freedom granted in 9.13. So you have to find another rule that allows you to fit it. There isn't one. the only way to disable hicas, IF your argument prevails, is to retain it as part of the power steering system. so you could pack it with washers, but then you'd have to bypass the power steering hoses from it. At which point it is no longer part of the power steering system, so that's not legal either. So you still can't do it even if your argument is accepted that 9.13 only applies to one of your power steering racks! RE: wether the 4 fixed mounting points for a suspension subframe are pivot points, I see what you are angling (IRS pivot points may be relocated up to 20mm within the existing brackets), but I cannot see your argument that because the bushes at a fixed mounting point allow some movement it is a pivot point, standing up to a protest. In the absence of "pivot point" being properly defined by CAMS, its a good rule to stretch. But I can't see how you can at the same time say alloy blocks are illegal. they relocate the "pivot point" as you call it too! there is no restriction on what method, or type of material you can use to move the pivot point up to 20mm. And I'm sure they would still allow a fraction of a degree of movement in all 3 axis, so its still a pivot point according to your definition.

I knew you wouldn't like it! yes OTHER componets of the power steering system are free. they already covered what is permissable to do to power steering racks - ie replace interals to alter steering ratio, or swap with another rack from an eligible vehicle. you cannot remove them or render them inoperable. fact is, the technical officers are wrong on both of these rulings. they have been wrong before too! I'm sure it would go the same way as the "optional" LM regs if CAMS found out about these things! edit: oh, and a pivot point is a fulcrum, an attachment point for moving suspension arms. just because a bush on a fixed mounting point for a subframe allows some movement, does not make it a pivot point!

maybe you should ask that technical officer if you can replace the washers over those bushes with other ones - that way i could use the alloy blocks!

1.8 is the definition of an elastometric bush. no freedoms granted there. 9.1 says springs are free provided type and location remain unchanged??? 9.3 permits the replacement of elastometric bushes at suspension PIVOT points with other elastometric bushes. the subframe to body mounts are not suspension pivot points. and a pineapple does not replace a bush, it is an additional device which augments the bushes function. 9.14 allows specific freedoms to alter geomtery on certain types of suspension. no specific freedoms are granted for IRS vehicles to alter the location of a rear subframe. you left out the most relevant rule - 9.10 which allows freedoms to replace any other elastometric bush in the rear end with another elastometric bush. but again a pineapple does not replace another elastometric bush. its an additional device designed to augment the function of an elastometric bush. not sure what rubber covers you refer to either - my car certainly doesn't have any. but a rubber cover is not an elastometric bush anyway, so cannot be replaced by another. the technical officer is wrong to allow an IRS car this freedom. if you are getting away with it, good for you! and you can't disable/remove/replace HICAS either, just to really stir things up

yeah, I only searched for info on the system as used in my 32 GTR. alot of other 32 GTR drivers report the same kind of problems with HICAS making the car unstable.

I have some pics from this race meeting at home. I'll have to edit them and post a few.

SAE Technical Paper 891978, 1989, pp.14951504 'Development of “Super Hicas”, a New Rear Wheel Steering System with Phasereversal Control', Author Eguchi, T., Sakita, Y. Kawagoe, K., Kaneko, S., Mori, K. and Matsumot, T., Nissan Motor Co., Ltd says that HICAS uses steering angle and road speed to determine what to do at what time. it has a maximum of 1 degree movement, and operates between about 20 and 120kph. Basic summary is that at lower speeds and higher steering angles it counter-phase steers initially then changes to on-phase steering. at higher speeds within that operating range it steers in the same phase as the front wheels. remember it only steers up to a maximum of 1 degree! I keep it connected on my GTR which is mainly used for motorsport, although everyone else will tellyou it causes all sorts of eratic behaviours and make the car unstable under brakes and during turn-in, as well as making it hard to hold a line through a corner. I have not experienced any of those problems.

this system is very variable, much more so than most I have seen, and the only 'tuneable' one I know of. most have like 9 or 10 settings - this one has 5 maps (a more sophisticated approach rather than just amplifying the standard map as commonly done) each with 8 levels of adjustment = 40 combinations. and you can toggle between 2 settings on the fly, which would be very useful on the track, or even on the road - eg a dry and wet setting. and it can data log. and... ah, just read the manual! I'm sure the other ones do a good job too, but this device allows it to be tuned for different driving styles and conditions. If you base your decision purely on price, go for your life. but remember on ebay the starting bid is not what you will end up paying!

pineapples are not leagal either. there is no scope in the IPRA rules to allow for additional bushes to be added to a vehicle to augment the function of a standard bush, or to pack a subframe away from the body.

nothing you've said there disagrees with anything I've said. but depending on the manner you chose to fit them, they only offer some help vertically to counter torsional forces generated by accelleration and braking. eg "all-round will still allow some vertical movement under accelleration and decelleration - depending on the condition of the bushes. "traction" setup will stop vertical movement under accelleration, but do nothing under braking where it will rely totally on the condition of the bushes, and "drift" setting will do nothing to stop torsional movement of the subframe under accelleration, again relying on the bush to do the work. You still need bushes in good condition with pineapples. only partially and on one end of each mounting point, allowing alot of scope for movment of the subframe pivoting around that "partially inside the subframe" poly ring. they need to be right inside the bush and the subframe at top and bottom if they are actualy going to locate the subframe. not so. the silicone can still be displaced the other way away from the pineapple (as you only fit one on either the top OR bottom of the bush), and in cases where the bush has already ruptured and the fluid has leaked out, there is no fluid left to displace! I know you know better than to suggest that increasing rear squat will not increase power on understeer. I don't have an understeer problem, but i seem to be in the minority of GTR owners here on that point. I like the nuetral balance of my car now, and increasing rear squat will induce understeer exiting corners = slower. that was just the first pic i found of the pineapples. the Fulcrum supplied kit was 4 pce too, and apart from being a different colour they look the same. I see whiteline kit provides 2 additional cut rings for easier mounting above the subrame. nothing you couldn't do yourself in 2 minutes with a hacksaw, and still overpriced IMO. IPRA? who really cares? only 2 GTR's in the country run IPRA! well actually only 1 again now. and the pineapples are not legal either! sprints, hillclimbs and other speed events all have a seperate awd turbo class these days, and there literally are no rules for that!

I'll second that. There is only a VERY slight increase in noise transmitted to the cabin. On the other hand, they also removed some noises caused by the stuffed bushes too! And the improvements in handling are very noticeable. More stable and consistent especially on bumpy corners. Bring on the QLD Challenge Rally! The poly pineapples do not locate the subframe to the car. They are overpriced. They're only possible function is for tuning for more or less squat, but more squat (traction setup) means more power-on understeer too, as well as more traction - arguably OK for a GTST, but not something I want in my GTR. Neutral setup (as per the factory mounting) on the subframe definitely seems the go for a GTR IMHO, and pineapples simply do nothing for that - total waste of money if fitted in nuetral setup. You do not need them. They can only support the subframe in a vertical plane, they will not stop it moving laterally or longtitudinally. if your bushes are stuffed, pineapples are not the answer! So you either need to spend a bucket of money on replacement bushes (Noltec or factory) or $140 on alloy blocks which can be fitted at home.

nope. the alloy ones are prcisely machined to fit into the bush's steel sleeve, crush the bush when tightened, and positively locate the subfram to the mounting pins, as you can see from the pic. I just fitted a set of these alloy blocks after initially buying a set of poly pineapples from Fulcrum (who tell me they also supply Whiteline). There is nothing in the design of the poly pineapples to locate the subframe, they simply alter the angle of it. I took them back. so if your bushes are gone and leaking the silicone goo as one of mine was, the poly pineapples are no good for you. You either need to bit the bullet and pay someone to replace the bushes or fit the alloy gear. there is a little more noise transmitted into the cabin, but its not too bad. My car is only used for fun anyway - the odd weekend drive and track days, so I couldn't care less. Made a very noticeable difference to the handling though! the set of 8 alloy ones cost me $140 normal retail, which is much better value than $110 special group buy price on the 4 poly blocks. Hell I can buy a set of 10 poly body lift blocks with steel crush tube inserts for my Patrol for $100, again at normal retail price... the whiteline pineapples are a touch

what - turn the bushes upside down? hehe

if you need it to be CAMS approved, it must be fire retardant. Rubber isn't. FIA standard material moulded to fit cages is available in 1m lengths (various colours) from places like Revolution Racegear at Moorooka, Tyretech, at Albion, and some performance shop at Toombul whose name I can't remember right now. Its been a few years since I bought any, but I think it was something like $15-20ea but it does look suspiciously like those pool noodles...

fark - another thing I'm doing all wrong!

my advice, decide what you are going to do with the car first. Second, read the rules for that over and over again until you understand them and know them inside out, before you pick up the spanners. you obviously need to be registered for Targa or Dutton rallies. Targa has strict rules on mods for modern competition, whereas Dutton is a "run-what-you-brung" sort of affair, but very expensive for a multi day Touring Road Event.

roller bearings only allow movement in one axis. most suspension systems move in more than one axis, so you will get binding problems - something will break. motorbike swing arms only move in one axis so that's OK, but the mini ia a surprise

yep, that's right.