pixel8r

ok. still not very clear to me how it all works. All I can think of is that because my exhaust is so restrictive (stock exhaust) the backpressure will build up boost pressure quicker so it will still read 8psi but the airflow is less since the turbo is having to struggle against backpressure to actually put air through...does this make sense? am I way off track here? Am really hoping a 3" exhaust will fix the lag and low kw issues. The gt30 turbo is a big jump from stock and I went on the recommendation of the guy that works with turbos all day that installed mine. But it seems it never really reaches its optimal efficiency until about 4000rpm. If an exhaust or any other mod is not likely to fix this, then I have to say the gt30 will be coming off again and a unit more similar to stock going back on. All along I've been thinking its just because of the exhaust - but I dont want to spend $1k on an exhaust only to find its still very laggy.

The minimum would have to be much lower than that. At 173kw (is that correct?) a S1 turbo stag has ~104 kw/tonne And for reference a S2 (206kw) has ~124 kw/tonne. And you can import n/a skylines etc. so the minimum must be a bit lower.

There are but not in Australia. They dont meet SEVS requirements for power/weight ratio or something like that. Would be painfully slow anyways.

I didn't have any boost pressure drop on the dyno (if thats what you mean) - it held 8psi very constant, only dropping slightly at the very top end (say down to 7.5psi?). I'd probably look at replacing the entire exhaust if I was going to do that. As a minimum I'd go for dump/front pipe + cat and make sure the catback section is bolted on to make it easier to change later on. But for the remaining cost of the catback section its probably worth doing the entire exhaust at once.

I think I know the caryard that was mentioned. Its quite possibly the one I bought my car from. And yes be VERY wary of buying from a car dealer. I've now spent $3k+ fixing up things that the dealer should have fixed - and I have 12 month AWN warranty and trust me that doesn't cover much. Its good to have but it doesn't cover anything major. You'll probably get a much better deal if you import one privately. That way you're paying less for the car, you know how many genuine kms its done (usually) and you'll get photos of just about every angle and every section of the car so you know exactly what you're buying. The caryard I bought mine from supplied about 5 photos and when I asked for photos of scratches I was told there weren't any - only to find about 6 or 7 noticeable scratches on the exterior. Going from people's experiences on this forum, I'd say a private import would be the best option. They generally handle compliance and rego for you and can have the car delivered to your state - where you will probably need to change the rego to WA plates and insure it etc. Or you can follow Brendan's advice ^^ and buy one privately thats already in australia. That way the same rules apply as for purchasing any car 2nd hand through the trading post etc.

I think he's right. Not saying everyone's like this but I remember how I was when I first learnt to drive. scary. I think 2-3 years regular driving should give enough experience to handle any car reasonably well after that -but yeah its about knowing your limitations/experience (that is "knowing", not imagining). Still, on the topic, a n/a skyline or other nissan import still makes a great first car. Not the quickest thing on the road but the fast acceleration is the only thing you're missing out on. You still get the looks and handling. How much are you allowed to modify an n/a car with these new laws? I'm in SA so dont really know how it all works... Maybe these laws are a good idea but I'd personally rather they spent the $$ on better driver training and education than just outright banning of turbo cars etc. I mean most of the time when an accident is speed related, just about any car could've reached the speed in question without too much trouble. Even n/a cars can still easily manage 150km/h on the freeway so really I think its a step in the wrong direction. Make it harder for people to get what they want and they will try harder to get it. rant over.

Sounds good. So that makes me wonder. If I can get away without touching anything on the fuel side (injectors/fuel pump etc) I'd be very happy. I'm still well away from R&R (AFR=11 at the top end so a bit of room to move) and my fuel economy is better than before so a bit more richness isn't going to bother me. Still puzzled as to why I have only 100awkw with a s2 and gt30 turbo running 8psi. Maybe I have some other problem somewhere. The main 2 things I want is bigger exhaust and bigger cooler (if i need it) so if I can get by with just an exhaust for a while that'd be great. Getting manual boost controller soon so that will be good for later on. Should be able to bump it up to 10psi for now tho - nice round number.

It may be able to cope with it but how well? Cooler air is always better so a better cooler will still improve things over the stock cooler. Would be interesting to actually see the difference.

Obviously they weren't the only mods (boost controller, fuel or afm-related piggybacks, bigger cooler?) Thats roughly the sort of power figure I want to end up with. Not planning on running huge boost, probably around 12-13psi would be nice. Just a matter of getting the supporting mods to run that kind of boost. I think at 8psi (gt30 - i think that means more air than stock at same psi?) I'm running into cooling problems but not sure. Its s2 so its got the r34 gtt cooler. I'm thinking fmic, exhaust (not sure if I need full 3" or just catback? anything that will reduce lag would be great), and safc. Already have boost controller (not installed yet).

Hmmm this sounds like there's a problem somewhere. A highflow turbo really wouldn't be a good idea unless you have a problem with your current turbo (my situation), or you have the supporting mods to make it safe and worthwhile (my guess is fmic, boost controller, safc or equivalent, and exhaust). The stock turbo is not what I'd call lagging or lacking response. Its actually very responsive but cannot handle a lot of boost (ceramic wheel). So I'd want to be sure there are no issues with your current setup before looking at a highflow option.

Cheers thanks for that. Personally I'm only interested in piggybacks and only to tune AFRs to keep things healthy and economical along the way. It sounds like the SAFC and SITC combo works very well if tuned properly so thats where i'm headed in the distant future...funds permitting. I find it very helpful to know the above info cos based on that I can see that piggybacks (at least in the foreseeable future) are still going to be the best option.

haha I could probably guess My car is S2 but with stock exhaust,cooler and a gt30 turbo. Still reasonably responsive, great top end, and very smooth boost buildup etc. AFR's sit on 11 at the worst and 12 avg so fuel economy is better than stock at the moment - still running factory ecu. Its an interesting setup, not as responsive as stock so not worth it if anyone thinks this is an 'upgrade'. The main issues are air-related and fuel-related - as in it really needs a front mount cooler and also really needs a bigger exhaust. AFR's would probably need to be tuned after that but yeah the airflow and air temps are my guess of what you'll notice is lacking. Let us know how yours goes Alex. interesting to know the dyno figure with that setup. my s2 for some reason was recently dyno'd with 100awkw (should be ~120awkw stock i thought) so i'm wondering if this is just because of the turbo or if I have other issues. running 8psi with the gt30 (stock solenoid - high boost mode).

That makes it easier if its S2. I was thinking it might be one of the S1's with the fog lights underneath the headlights...

Yeah that makes a lot of sense SK. Very informative and really highlights the real issues involved in getting a full replacement ecu to work effectively in an auto. When I spoke to the guy at GWW it was just a comment he made in passing - kind of like telling me the option is there for me if I want to go down that road in the future. That said he was fairly vague about it and didn't really expand on how exactly they do it. I presume by what you've said that it IS possible to run both factory ECU (for controlling auto trans) and another engine management system at the same time, though with little point?? It sounds like either you get comfortable and reliable gear shifts with the factory ECU, but less tunability overall, OR you get great tunability but loads of trouble with the auto trans as a result. Hope I've read it right. Some questions then... 1. Would reprogramming the factory ecu (through a programmable daughterboard, supposedly they do exist) be an alternative option (ie. avoid the above issues)? 2. My brother has a V8 falcon auto with shift kit and its completely run by a microtek unit. Gear changes are a little harsh but I think thats his shift kit setup (and it has a locked diff). Would I be correct in thinking that these options ARE there but no one has managed to successfully tune an RB with them yet? (or unichip etc.) Still, I guess there's a practicality side to it too. You can get enough power through piggybacks etc. to more than kill the auto trans already - so a powerfc really wouldn't be necessary unless you had a manual gearbox anyway?? just another perspective on it.

GREAT!!! Glad everyone has had good results from this unit. For more control over boost and more tunability I guess an EBC is the only option - but for people like me who just want the ability to raise the boost level a bit and hold it this JRD boost controller (or similar manual boost controller) sounds like the best bang for the buck. I've already bought the thing from ebay and should receive it in a week or two. Probably wont change the boost much for now - but will be handy if it spools quicker (?). Now I just need an SAFC (or similar - anyone know if SAFC version1's are still useful? cheaper thats all), exhaust and fmic and i'm done. Hoping for around 150-160awkw from my car and that will do for mods for me. Not after a race car, just a wagon with some reasonable go. Thanks for the responses guys.

About 37000kms on mine. Still the original brakes as far as I know - has 'nissan' on them. Pads still have plenty left on them. Pretty sure my rod bushes need replacing. Based on the condition of the interior I reckon it is likely to have not been driven much. Still, its therefore been sitting around for a long time and I dont really know which is worse - a car with higher km's or a car thats been sitting doing nothing for years. I have major issues with my shock absorbers tho - rear right was leaking when I bought the car so had to have the rears replaced under warranty. Fronts still dampen but there's noticeable (but not too harsh) vibration from the front end (could be bushes), although steering still feels ok. I guess the bottom line with any import (or any 2nd hand car really) is just to play it cautious for a year or so as you find out the actual condition of the car.

Thats a good call. I agree with that - no point spending hundreds on an EBC just for an extra 5 psi boost, although it depends what the long-term plans are - and what other mods you have (to get better value from the ebc). For the money I guess $22 is pretty good. My only worry was spiking as in overboosting. But if it doesn't do that then its something that can easily be plugged in or removed. And for that money if it didn't work well I could always remove it and return it to stock - easy. Just out of interest - how would it compare to the stock solenoid? My stock solenoid holds 8psi boost very well. drops off a bit at higher revs but otherwise holds boost very flat across the rev range.

EBC's are extremely expensive. Probably wont ever end up getting one. But if I could get away with raising the boost level cheaply with one of these I'd definitely go for it. Not sure how any boost controller could make the turbo spool faster. Plenty of people using bleed valves - so I figure they must be fairly reliable? When you get boost spiking - does it just keeping going up indefinitely or is there some boost limit it will hit?? I'm still using the stock solenoid (stock boost - set to high-boost mode).

Saw these on ebay - JRD Manual Boost Controller. It says its 'not a bleed valve' and claims 'faster turbo spool' and 'eliminates wastegate creep'. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/JRD-Boost-Controlle...1QQcmdZViewItem Sounds like a cheap option - am tempted to get one, but would like to know people's thoughts on reliability etc. If its claims are correct it sounds pretty good and easy.

good points there! One or two small scratches on the entire car. Paint was otherwise very good. Interior was absolutely spotless. Noticed tiny wear mark on top of the steering wheel only a month or two ago - that could've been my doing tho...

Yeah I dont doubt a lot of cars at dealers have the dash switched to make it display less km's. But the fact that they display less km's means they will charge more for them. I bought my s2 from a dealer on the gold coast. Not sure if my km's (~40,000 now) are genuine - seemed too good to be true for a 1999 car - but a couple of guys who have worked on the car and turbo have told me as far as they can see the km's do appear genuine. There are risks either way but after my experience buying from a dealer I'd probably import one directly if I was to look at buying another import. You just seem to know so much more about what you are actually buying this way. Dealers tend to hide a lot from you in order to get the sale. Just my opinion.

Anyone have a link to a company who sells them? (even in japan). Could then put a link in the parts list - would be something many S2 owners would be keen on i'm sure. In the meantime I'll try japan auctions or ebay etc...

most of these would be Series 2's. Not sure that the price difference between S1's and S2's is really justifyable but there is a reasonable price difference. Most stageas over $25k have very low kms (genuine?) too so that also demands a higher selling price. Also you tend to pay a bit more through a caryard since you're also paying for warranty etc... Hopefully the resale value of stageas wont drop too quickly...

Bought my S2 stag in March 06. Was to replace my SR20 turbo silvia - had my fun with that and it was time for a bigger, more practical car. Was kind of the best of both worlds in the Stagea. Its got all the perks of a luxury wagon and the reliability and the same engine and turbo etc. as the skyline. Always wanted an R34 skyline so this was the next best thing. And since a 2 door R34 would've been about as practical as our 2 door silvia, it really would've been between a 4-door r34 and a stagea. The stagea was just better for what we wanted - more space, and awd and in my opinion a better interior. Plus I like the sports wagon look.

The first car I bought with my own money was a Nissan Silvia n/a, which was replaced by a turbo silvia 4 years later (SR20DET)...and I fell in love with booooooost!! I've been so impressed with the way these cars handled and performed that when it came time for more space I had to stick with a turbocharged Nissan import. I wanted a car with 4 doors at least and some space (the silvias had very little of that, although the boot was very long). So I was deciding between a R34 4-door (ALWAYS wanted an R34 2door - still do, but...) and a Series 2 Stagea (basically the same as a r34 under the bonnet, but with more room). In the end it was the Stagea hands down because I preferred the interior of the stagea and they are much cooler in my opinion - being so unique and all. I love the whole sports wagon thing. Dont even mind the looks of the latest subaru liberty and the mitsi legnum but not to own - nothing but a stagea for me! It was the more practical option, more space, AWD, and so much about it to love! And as others have mentioned its got plenty of space and its a 5 seater so I wont need to sell it later when the kids come along...(I'm 24 now so a few more years yet) btw, great topic Brendan!!