pixel8r

you're not serious?? surely that would have more to do with your speedo guage being out due to bigger wheels than actual fuel economy, or am i just stating the obvious?

I originally only blocked off my bov completely just to diagnose whether the bov was leaking or not. ie. by isolating different parts its easier to locate where a problem is. After taking it for a run down the road and discovering the noise was still there, I took it back and put everything back together with the bov in place as it should be. I agree with the other posts - the bov is there for a reason, and blocking it off will cause air to rush back through the turbo which can only be a bad thing.

Thanks Luke! I really hope you're right will have a look on the weekend. actually the thing that made me look into it was that I heard (yes 'heard') another stagea go past as I was walking to my car from work - and it sounded awesome. I love the sound of turbo + engine combined. When I heard it I thought 'I wish my stagea sounded that good!'. Out of interest it was a silver stagea s1 heading west along greenhill rd, eastwood area...

Thanks guys. Looks like i've basically nailed it down to turbo - or a leak around that area... Not up to pulling everything apart today but will definitely give that a try in the next couple weeks when i get a chance and check for loose nuts etc... Hopefully it is just a leak. But its audible anywhere above ~1800rpm - ie. as soon as the stock turbo starts winding up. it gets higher with the turbo, not rpm - so it will get higher and higher until the turbo hits full boost and then it stays at constant pitch. Not really a 'whoosh' in that it doesn't go away. The noise keeps going for as long as i'm on boost. kind of annoying when going up steep hills etc. Anyway, not much else I can try other than look for an exhaust leak or something similar.

Thanks for the quick replies guys! I just tried blocking off the blow-off valve (by unscrewing it, putting something across the hole to cover it, and then screwing it back up to seal it properly) but still the same noise. will check the turbine wheel as soon as it cools down enough... i guess that means my blow-off valve is ok?? i dont know that much about mechanics so this is a learning thing for me but i'm making progress. The bov itself had a small amount of oil leaking out of it - on the end that connects to the big rubber hose - is this normal? i really just want to find out where the issue is. if its the turbo then apparently it should still last a while and if it does pack up then i'll have to assess my options at the time. was kind of hoping it was the bov cos thats just a simple replace job. thanks again for the help.

Hi all, I have a '99 Stagea S2 (neo) and since I bought it back around march/april its been doing this squeal / whining noise under the bonnet when the turbo spools up. Its fairly loud too. It seems the faster the turbo spins, the higher pitched the noise gets. I've recently done the mod to the stock boost solenoid where you ground one of the wires so it now runs 7-8 psi boost and the higher boost means the noise now reaches a higher "note" when it maxes out. Haven't had the turbo properly checked out but on just taking it for a test drive some people have said its probably the turbo on its way out and others have said its a leak in the factory blow off valve. the car is completely stock and has made this noise since i bought it. Any help as to what it is?

Yeah thats about the result I got. not much diff to fuel economy. Noticeable performance improvement in lower rev range tho!

Here's mine Pretty much stock - got a shift kit installed today tho!! I'd highly recommend it to anyone who has an auto! Didn't go overboard on shift harshness - so the gear changes are still very smooth (dont notice 3rd to 4th change) but very instantaneous!! yay!!

I used to get ~13-14 L/100km (100% city driving) - will let you know the difference next time I fuel up.

Go 4WD, its not as bad as you may think. The benefits you get with extra traction in all seasons in my opinion far outweighs any downside. And correct me if I'm wrong but the way the ATESSA awd system works if varies between full RWD and 50-50 as necessary so its not the same as the constant-4wd systems found on other 4wd cars. But either way you do still have the extra weight of the front diff. Also, you may think the turbo is overkill but seriously the performance of my S2 Stagea (completely stock) is very close, if only slightly faster than a Ford BA Falcon wagon/sedan. I'd like mine to be a tad quicker but for people like yourself you may find it handy to know what its like in stock form. Fuel economy may be slightly worse than an equivalent sized wagon (i'll use the BA wagon as an example) on long trips, but city driving should be fairly close. It does depend on driving style, but that goes for all cars. For example: Stagea S2 (mine) - city = ~13-14 L/100km, country = 10.7 L/100km (very consistent) BA Wagon - city = ~12-13 L/100km, country = <10 L/100km (btw dont believe the factory figures from ford. if you want real-world figures, head over to an aussie ford forum and read for yourself - thats what I did when I was looking at the stagea - just for comparison). And if you want better fuel economy, get an Apexi SAFC-2 installed and tuned and you'll be impressed. These are very cheap to buy and tune. I plan to get one soon and have worked out it will pay itself off in just 6 months in fuel savings alone. I'm hoping to lower my fuel consumption to around 11-12 L/100km for city driving and somewhere around or below 10 L/100km for country. You wont be disappointed with an AWD Turbo Stagea! Trust me!

actually to answer my own question, i went ahead and did it anyway. I have a stock S2 Stagea. All I did was cut the BLACK wire between the solenoid and the plug and then i connected the solenoid end of the black wire to the chassis. Then I taped up the plug end of the black wire and also taped up the join on the other wires and the job was done. And the result? At first I didn't notice any difference but the more I drove it the more I realised that the down-low response was noticably improved. Top end power is the same, which was to be expected, but what you get is greater throttle response at lower revs. Makes it feel just that little bit quicker off the line Too easy! and I highly recommend it!!

Can anyone PLEASE confirm if this works on a S2 Stagea or R34?? So far this question doesn't seem to have been answered anywhere in this thread. Anyone??

Just the S2 Pearl White Stagea for me. Last 2 cars were both silvias tho! The first was n/a and then i decided to go for some grunt and bought the '92 Silvia Turbo - that car was loads of fun. and now the Stagea. Completely different world but a very nice car nonetheless. I miss the rush of the silvia tho. If only I had the money to mod the stagea up to be as quick as the silvia.

Nice car!! I've also recently bought one ('99 S2) - I live in Adelaide but bought it from a dealer on the Gold Coast. Looks very similar to yours (white) but doesn't have the grey strip round the sides and back. That grey strip actually looks pretty cool. Good luck with it - and enjoy - they're an awesome car!!!

sorry to kind of hijack the thread... does anyone living in adelaide know much about Tisonics alarm systems? They're locally manufactured and have features such as integrated Turbo Timer, Glass breakage, tilt, and microwave sensors - all at a price of course. I had one installed on my silvia turbo when i bought it and their install looks professional enough. Now looking at an R33 skyline and considering the same alarm system... What I want to know is if anyone can give more info on just how good they are as far as alarm systems go...