pixel8r

nah i meant no wet fluid on the steering rack anywhere. The only wet oil i could see was on the oil hose to the turbo but its a brand new good quality hose and from what I can see there are no cracks in it. Its dry and clean at the top end, and just a bit of wet oil on it (on top as well) about half way down and its been dripping from that. Doesn't look like there's anything above it so thats why I thought it might be just spillage? Although I would've thought that would disappear in a few days...?? Last oil change was when the turbo was done which was in August sometime so not long ago. Will keep an eye on the oil level - seems ok at the moment...

ok, i've had a closer look all around from underneath and from what I can make out - it seems that the oil here is just spillage from when the turbo was installed (say 2-3 months ago). Could this be possible? I couldn't see anything else it could be coming from. On the steering side of things, I noticed if I turn the steering wheel side to side when the car is stationary and not running, there is a clunking sound from the steering rack around the middle of the car. Is this normal? Everything seems to be ok, no "wet" fluid anywhere at all. Also the front left radius rod bush appears to be starting to crack, and the right one appears to be fine. How badly cracked does it need to be before it needs replacing?

I was hoping that someone could point me in the right direction. Its not coming from the engine so the only thing under that where the leak is would be either steering rack or diff - in my uneducated opinion... just after a "what should I check?" suggestion I guess. I'm not great with mechanical stuff.

Hi, Just noticed this morning that the stagea is leaking oil under the front on the left hand side. Not sure where its coming from but hopefully can get some help with where to look/what to do. I've attached some pics - hopefully someone can help. You can see by the small spot on the pavement that its not a huge leak and I cant see any difference in fluid levels anywhere - but the fact that it covers quite a large area under the car worries me a bit. Looking from front right across to left hand side... (excuse my cat - always trying to help) Looking from front left across to right hand side... Cheers. EDIT: Incidentally I do have minor steering issues (no idea whats causing it) - dont know if its related. For example if I go over a bump when turning sometimes it will clunk a little - particularly the front left - and it can be felt through the steering wheel (also just generally on bumpy roads - which are everywhere in SA). This was the real issue I wanted to check out but in having a look I discovered the above...

Not really no Was just thinking aloud. I think with every mod planned there needs to be a reality check as well. It all depends where you want to go with the car... I've reached my performance target so anything I do now will be about making it more comfortable. On the topic of fuel economy it actually still seems to be sitting around 12.5L/100km (city driving) which is funny because my turbo silvia I had before (same speed, less kw, 500kg less) was doing 12L/100. Amazing how much more economical the newer RB25 NEO is - with a good tune of course.

That sounds like very high fuel consumption for a XR6T. My Stagea S2 (1658kg) gets around 13L/100 in the city and around 10L/100 on the highway and at the moment it isn't too far off the stock power for a XR6T. Also being AWD it has more losses through the drivetrain so if anything your fuel economy in the XR6T should be much better than mine, depending on mods of course. Just another suggestion, by looking at a GTR are you infering that you no longer need a 4-door car? If you'd prefer 4 doors you may consider a Stagea RS260 or 4-door skyline? Just thowing it out there...

I'll be driving to brisbane at the end of november for a small holiday - shame I'll be too late for this Hope it all goes well!

Nice!! remember ~180kw(?) is only the stock figure. Doesn't take much to get a LOT more power out of them though - depending on your budget. Good luck with it

wow, so are you suggesting that I could get around 200awkw for less than $1000 from here? I do want to keep it safe so the engine still lasts a long time so dont want to push the stock internals too far to the limits. Still, this would be a great upgrade for sometime in the future (maybe this time next year). Gotta love the upgrade potential of turbo cars. One thing I would assume with the above list is that because there is talk of increasing fuel pressure and making more power, there would also be a negative impact on fuel economy as a result. Something I'll need to weigh up if the opportunity to do these mods ever arises

haha a photo won't be necessary at the moment. Its not actually mounted anywhere. They ran the cable around so it sticks out just to the right of the passenger seat beside where the stereo is (it pokes out under the plastic). All I've done is place it under the passenger seat so you can see the cable but not the unit - and it doesn't get thrown around when I accelerate or turn. It would look great mounted on the dash somewhere but I'm just concerned about getting pulled over and being defected for it. Not sure where to mount it. I'm thinking just on the side wall there to the left of the stereo and under the glovebox. Any other ideas?

My rear window (boot) is black like the side rear ones. Only my windscreen and front driver and passenger window are not dark. I have no problems seeing out at night or anything though. I've yet to be questioned about the "tint"....touch wood.

Incidentally, the s2 stagea has no power button. I believe it does still have 'power mode' but just no button to activate it. It seems to automatically engage power mode depending on your driving style or if you put your foot to the floor. In my last car (turbo silvia, auto) I used to leave power mode on all the time as I found it was more responsive with gearchanges and generally felt more lively. At first I thought it was a disadvantage for the stagea not to have a power button, but with the MV automatics shift kit (valve body upgrade) installed it does such a great job with the gears I really cant find any fault with it. Its a fantastic gearbox. I've heard snow mode just stops it going into first gear - so you just start off in 2nd?? Not sure if this is true. And for the record, the 50-50 torque-split button (with the 'S') will hold 50-50 torque front and rear but only up to around 2500rpm or something and after that it will still allow more torque to the rear where necessary.

#2 and #3 look good. probably #2 would be my preference and yes the SAU one for the side quarter window would be cool too.

yep, they dropped the front driveshaft AND pulled the fuse (just clearing that up). the r32 gtr's could be put into rwd by just pulling the fuse but anything later than that requires the front driveshaft removed as well. fcruz3r: not sure if fuel pump and fuel pressure regulator will allow me to get more power. My knowledge on it all is very limited but I'd guess that these would definitely help, and would be required to get more power, but on their own they may not be enough. At the moment there is no issue with fuel at all. The only problem was that if I raise the boost any higher than 12psi the ecu cuts the fuel so John from hitech dyno made sure it was going to be safe as is. There doesn't appear to be any issue at all with the car right now. As far as I know the ecu will cut fuel once it detects too much air flow (and hence would require more fuel than the ecu thinks the car can handle, and therefore it cuts fuel to prevent damage). So just the ability to provide more fuel wouldn't be enough as far as I see it. I know the apexi SITC (ignition timing) allows better control over ignition timing and also allows the safc to be tuned better (independant of ignition timing) but I'm not sure how to remove the fuel cut issue etc... Either way, I've spent over $2k on the car in the last month so its time to leave it alone for a while and enjoy it in its current state. And I must say it IS very enjoyable right now. The safc has made a very noticeable difference in power, from midrange right to the top end, and sounds so much "cleaner" and nicer than before the tune. Before it ran very rich (could smell petrol after driving hard) and the power really dropped off at the top end as I presume it possibly was hitting R&R mapping at high revs...either way it had a flat spot near 4000-4500 rpm and failed to pick up after that. But now its got very smooth power delivery all the way. Its something like 50% more power than before I did the exhaust and safc etc. and the difference is just incredible.

Cooling wasn't a problem. The issue was more about fuel... The safc can only correct so much and at higher airflow with the gt30 turbo John reckoned I'd be getting too close to the ecu's fuel cut. Not sure how to overcome that exactly... 160awkw was my target, and I would've thought 170rwkw is closer to 150awkw (??) so thats close enough for me. A better quality boost controller that holds 11psi constant would give me the 160awkw I was after. There is more potential in the car than this but at this point I have a good reliable car making decent power and I'm very happy with that.

Its listed in the other thead I just posted... http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...howtopic=138246 Basically, 3" turbo-back exhaust, apexi air filter, jrd boost controller, and GT30 turbo. 170rwkw @ 9psi.

Not quite. The 100kw run was on a 4wd dyno. The exhaust made the biggest difference. I reckon I picked up nearly 40awkw after that due to the bigger turbo (normally an exhaust would give ~20kw extra). Then with the safc install and tune that would've picked up a bit extra... Its about a 40% power gain (exhaust, safc, jrd boost controller). Not only that, it has good response now too.

I agree with sinistagtst - just the text and/or SAU logo. Great idea too - definitely interested!

I wonder if insurance companies look after you if you've been a long-term customer... I pay around $900 for a '99 stagea, rating 1, through just car. I'm 24. I know skylines cost more to insure due to the risk of theft but $1500 for a 30 y.o. sounds a bit too much. Hopefully you can find something cheaper and reliable. Try suncorp, i've heard they're not bad on price.

Hi all, As the title says I got my Stagea tuned today. I went to HiTech Dyno (run by John Keen who ran Turbo Tune many years ago, incidentally also the brother of Bill Keen from ATS who fitted my turbo). They have a very good reputation here in SA and prices were very good. ($250 to install and tune safc). Had new spark plugs fitted, SAFC1 (blue screen) installed and tuned, and a JRD boost controller installed (similar to the $22 manual boost controller). Very happy with the result - 170.2 rwkw!! It was on a 2WD dyno so i'm not sure how to convert to awkw (I've always thought it was just rwkw-20=awkw - someone correct me on this).. and if you follow the boost graph, this figure is at only 9psi Mods are: - GT30 turbo (machined into stock R34 housing) - 3" turbo-back exhaust - JRD boost controller set to 11psi - SAFC1 - Apexi Panel Air Filter (dry type). - MV auto trans valve upgrade. Boost builds quickly to 11psi but then soon starts dropping off down to 9psi. Not bad from a $35 boost controller tho (that includes Postage). I dont have a AFR graph - but I'm thinking of calling into the place sometime and getting some extra printouts - I've heard they keep the files on their computer... Here's the dyno printout, showing power and boost:

Just got my JRD boost controller installed today. (similar to the $22 one, similar price too) Haven't got the same stable results as other people - it boosts up to 11psi and then starts to work its way back down to 9psi by the top of the rev range. Boost does build up very quickly though and my power graph is almost a straight line. Still, not bad value for money.

its strange - cos just having a boost controller doesn't mean you've put the boost up. There are cases for installing one for more reliable boost or just gear-specific boost etc. which if kept at or below stock boost levels couldn't make emissions any worse than stock. There are many other mods that also affect emissions (eg. exhaust) but these are generally overlooked - unless your exhaust is loud or you have something obviously illegal showing. Just do like everyone else, if you must have a boost controller, keep it well disguised/hidden. Its the best you can do.

great idea! are there currently any stickers available or if not i wonder if anyone on here is able to make some to order?

Will see how it pans out after I get the safc installed and tuned. I'm starting to think its just a matter of different results with different cars/setups. Looks like everyone has different results with it. I know many people on the stagea section have reported good gains in power and economy with the safc and also the jaycar digital fuel adjuster (similar thing).

I've got a GT30 in my stagea s2 (same engine/turbo as r34) and with a 3" exhaust it goes really well. Not sure of its upper power capabilities but I know its slightly higher rated than the GCG hiflows. I'm in SA and went to Adelaide Turbo Services. Great work and great advice. Its got very little lag and quite good pull throughout the rev range, but then I'd only have between 120-140 awkw at the moment so not really the sort of power you're looking for...but I know this turbo can deliver some good numbers. Others have had great results with the gcg hiflow as well. Definitely do the research and talk to a turbo expert. Its not necessarily what is the better turbo but what one might be better suited to your setup (or planned setup). Hope this helps