Dale FZ1

Got a bit of a story back up the page, post #83. I like the setup but we're continuing to play with it until it's better. M/C sizing was 7/8 and 3/4. I considered the steel wool for the breather, but didn't want to risk bits flaking/fracturing off and being sent through the oil system. Probably no risk, but that's what the thought process was. Plus we had the mesh already.

Making a couple of running changes in the breathers, so doing work to the cam covers. Haven't seen any pics or detailed commentary, but here's what's been done to slow and condense oil-heavy air being spat into the catch can: Drill out the fasteners holding the baffle plates in place. Use louvred aluminium and cut/fold like a concertina. Install into the void, and retain the OEM screen. Re-fix the baffle plates, using steel (not stainless, too likely to twist their heads off) self tappers. Apply a bit of Loctite. Seal the baffle plate edges as per the factory job using coppermax RTV or similar. Total cost under $30. People running RB26 cam covers do mention Jap spec kits; whether they are the same or not, I bet they aren't in this same price bracket. Pics might help anyone thinking about doing the same. I've been using this same setup to pretty good effect the last few years, this new job is because I want to use some new fittings and I had a set of cam covers in the shed.

31 should be at home in the forest now with those flares. What size are the slicks?

Nothing too awesome but it was a good weekend. Morgan Park E circuit. Best lap 1.09.949. Best run 4.44.025 Intercooler pipe blew off in the run against the BMW so that stopped the fun.

Ran the car 2 weeks ago, here's the initial vibe from the changes to brake system. Firstly - no vacuum assist is going to give a pedal requiring a much heavier push than OEM. And the initial feel is quite dead. Secondly - the harder you work the brakes, the more feel you seem to get for them. Much more idea of what is going on underfoot compared to the OEM gear. So there's a fair bit of acclimatisation required, at least for me there was. This setup gave very very good bias from the get-go. Nothing really needed doing to alter it. However the pedal effort was IMO excessive, and travel was over a very short range. So I'm figuring the best bet is to come up with a BMC combination that gives the same/similar bias but reduce the effort and allow the driver to modulate the pedal if/when close to locking brakes. Smaller BMC is necessary to do that, and I'm just using a bit of maths to help the decision of what is required. Otherwise - the Tilton pedal box gives scope to increase/decrease the pedal ratio and position. I found it necessary to move the pads sideways to make foot movements easier, and decrease pedal effort. Definitely a quality product. The clutch MC selection was 5/8". I think it could have been a size larger, reduced travel and increased effort would probably help even up the pedal effort vs brakes. The throttle linkage works great, and actually slowed the throttle action down compared to the OEM gear. This car runs a VH45 throttle and was previously quite sudden off idle. Now it picks up from a closed throttle at idle without stumbling, and throttle control off corners is easy and confidence inspiring. What made me happiest is it's something I built/modified from the Tilton throttle linkage kit. Beware that there's a lot of time involved in that part of the job. The brake rotor/caliper/pad combination works properly and there's no complaint. Alpha Omega brackets do the job with the Evo Brembos, and the Winmax pads are the good thing I'm going to stick with. I will assess whether the rear Brembos and big rotors are necessary, but cost constraints haven't exposed deficiencies so far. Time will tell on that one. Braking consistency over several laps didn't change, and the whole thing was confidence building. Bottom line for the event was running within 0.08 of my PB from last year for one lap, and 1.4 seconds quicker over a 4 lap run. Using same spec rubber and same spec brake pads, same suspension settings. There's quite a bit of improvement available when BMC changes are made, just going to need driver improvements to use it.

Quick on and quick off is good, especially if it's all nice and firm when fitted. With enough give if/when you have an excursion... :} Good to see you found the likely culprit for fluid leaks. Never hurts to double and even triple check those unions for proper tight.

I'd like to try the Hoosiers. And the Nankangs.

It would be very unlikely/unusual to pump/spit fluid out of the reservoir. A loose/dislodged cap might be worth checking. But I'd have a closer look at the brake line unions onto the BMC too. Very soft pads that wear can also account for dropping brake fluid levels, so possibly a combination of factors.

You mentioned some new 2 piece Project Mu rotors but that was it? So what else has gone into the braking system?

The pedal box was completed the day before practice for this weekend's sprints meeting. Average quality pics however there's enough detail to show what was done. Cut a hole out of the floor and welded in a box section, stitched to the chassis rail underneath. No flex in that... Unfortunately, playing with sheet metal required fuel lines to be re-routed so out came the originals and new ones were routed through the cabin along with the required bulk head fittings. Including all fittings and hoses, that added a few hundred $$ to the job. Fabbing up a throttle linkage used a combination of Tilton bits and a rocker arm made out of aluminium plate. All low friction stuff with proper bearings. Reservoirs were fitted under the bonnet, due to lack of suitable places to mount them under/behind the dash. Best bet would be to follow the idea of guys ditching the original dash and free up room and do things simpler than I have. So far, here's my opinion on the setup: Floor hinge action feels different, but you quickly get used to it. Anybody who's driven old Volkswagens will be right at home. The pedals can be adjusted up/down and sideways to suit preferences and feet sizes. It's an easy way to alter the leverage ratio and it seems this Tilton gear is well thought out. There are definitely some tricks to getting the balance bar positioned right, bearing in mind that is just a starting point and you will adjust from that point. Tilton offer some good literature, probably enough to get a competent person headed in the right direction. However there's no denying the benefit of experience and I've been fortunate to consult with a very knowledgeable engineer. In practice, the whole setup works pretty well but I'm thinking the master cylinder sizes may go smaller. Pedal effort is currently very high and you've got to really step on them to get proper braking action. Actually the harder they are stood on, they begin to come into their own from a "feel" point of view. No brake lockups, the system talks to you. Smaller master cylinders, longer pedal travel and improved modulation sounds like a good move. The caliper/rotor/pad combination is a good one, and it just works. What's good about this setup is that we got a good initial result, but it will get better the more we tweak it.

It is correctly labelled a GT3076. That part number indicates it is running a 76mm OD compressor. But it's an old school T04S spec compressor, evidence is in the 7 blade impeller. Also note the 0.7 A/R housing fitted to it. The one usually referred to as GT3076 on this forum runs a 6 bladed compressor and a 0.6 A/R housing with funky surge slots and provision for an internal bellmouth as fitted to the HKS branded units made by Garrett/Honeywell. It is also (correctly) labelled as a GT3037. It's all in the part numbers. Google the number off your unit, and also search this forum. It's been discussed before.

Welcome to SAU Mikey. Look in Forced Induction section. You're going to get plenty of very direct comments about using the search function because there's a wealth of knowledge, threads, and general posts about this sort of upgrade. Here's your starting point: ECU, injectors, fuel pump, fuel pump wiring, clutch, FMIC, 3" exhaust and adequate muffling without neck-downs in the muffler(s). Chassis upgrades to deal with 450-480rwhp that this turbo can support - tyres, brake pads, brake fluid, decent shocks, 4.3 diff and a 1.5 or 2 way centre.

We didn't struggle "too much" with setting one up to handle respectably. The challenge is in adapting to driving them correctly. Rear weight bias changes things, but there's enough video of Porsche 911 and Lancia 037 on gravel to show what rear engine cars can do.

I'm backing Hadouken. Check that the hydraulic unions for the new braided line are tight, not leaking or allowing air into the system. Bleed the line properly. This really sounds like there's air in the system. Hopefully the big loop that Nissan saw fit to use has been deleted, and there's a straight run down from M/C to slave. That type of setup makes the line virtually self bleeding simply by cracking the lower nipple and letting gravity do most of the work. You're still going to need to bleed it in the conventional manner though. If there's any cylinder going to be needing love, the slave would be first port of call. It's the one subject to most contaminants and internal corrosion/pitting. If you're handy, it's possible to recondition with new internal seals. Generally this works for a while, so the cost of a new slave makes better sense if you don't like spannering. Listen to Jiffo's advice

Question is whether the cooler should be 1. on the scavenge side; and 2. in the boot. Presumably the tank and lines are going to punch out quite a bit of heat. Depending on length of events being run, oil temps may not need to be regulated with a cooler. Any heat exchanger will need to be getting airflow - maybe the oil tank could benefit from a bit of air passing around it to evacuate heat also.

BMW diesel engine into Skyline? This deserves a fabrication/build thread!! Do it. Meanwhile do a bit of searching on this forum for turbochargers. Quick google search, it seems like the Arashi is similar to some Kinugawa/Kando units on offer. A bit like the case with Mamba branded units. On a 2.5 litre you might find a T67-25G or TDO6SL2-20G more useable than something running the TDO6H turbine.

Yes

Not everyone does FB. Photos show a few drag times and some sound gear install plus a pod filter, so maybe a long way to go? Expect comments about planning/costing the whole upgrade, with all the gear required to fuel and tune the beast plus transmit the drive. Are you on tighter budget? 4 turbo options that would cover 380-450rwhp (by Australian figures) would be BW 7670, Kinugawa T67, GTX3071, or something out of Stao's ATR43 range.

Looking good. A lot of people don't realise how some simple things can transform an R chassis. Looks like you're having fun with this thing.

^^ +1 for VMX. Although I'd suggest it's ham fisted + rushed gear changes that kill gearboxes, not oil. Good road car gearbox, not a racing box. Don't treat it like its got a dog gearset and things will last significantly longer. Right spec oil and it will last longer again. Suggest you remove the brake rotors and run a wire wheel on the flange faces for both the hub and rotor. Ensure all scale and other buildup is removed. Put a very thin smear of silver anti seize on both surfaces. Get a can of brake assembly lube and slip the nozzle extender under the caliper dust boots. Give it a squirt. Maintenance in a can, might help with reducing tendency of the pistons to stick in the caliper bores. It's not unusual to see uneven pad wear, but it won't correct itself. You need to monitor and maintain the components in the system so they work as well as they can. Use some degreaser on the back of your power steering pump area. Doesn't look like a new weep. Run it and see if you can better identify where is the source of oil. Run different nuts on the turbo. Try cone-lock or Wurth. Use high tensile washers under them. Expect they will come loose and periodically check. Definitely do a spanner check before every track day. And take your spanners to check on the day after a couple of runs. Don't forget some good gloves to prevent burns because things get mighty hot.

So Taz, are you ordering one? If so throw up a few pics on this thread when you install.

I'm going with 7/8 and 3/4 MC. They give a calculated 70:30 bias F:R. We won't know how that translates to pedal travel until it's in and plumbed but it should be a reasonable starting point. Going to test those two sizes for clutch MC and be a bit more informed when ordering the third unit. Not sure I would follow the factory BMC sizing particularly because the pedal box will probably have a different movement ratio (leverage) than what the factory specified. It's definitely a juggling act for pedal travel vs weight vs feel. I'm going through the plumbing process ATM. Necessarily slow because I want to get it right, without buying unnecessary fittings. Earls aren't cheap.

^^ Chris I note the past tense "had". What do you have now, and what do you reckon is a better setup based on the experience?

Go with the T67. If there was a 12 cm housing, that would be the go.

You're wanting to go with a completely different compressor wheel. A housing profiled for a 25G won't work with a 20G wheel. Buy a complete turbo. What are you hoping to achieve with the downsize in cold side spec?