Quinny

Thanks mate, exactly what I needed to know.

This may be a really dumb question (sorry, I am new to turbos), do you have to change the BOV or anything else to run say 14psi on a stock (hi-flowed) turbo on R33 GTS-T?

Thanks guys, I got under my car to change the clutch on the weekend, and I found that my car has a good exhaust system (3" from turbo to cat, Catco cat, 3.5" out to HKS rear cannon - all mandrel bent) so I don't need to replace that. So I was thinking of getting the turbo hi-flowed instead so I can run a little more boost. So with the FMIC, PFC and about 14-15psi, hopefully that will net 200rwkw, maybe a little more with fuel pump and injector upgrade. Does that sound about right?

I will be getting it all done at the same time. I am wondering whether the PFC will really be necessary, but with the FMIC, exhaust & extra boost, I think it may be a good idea. Would these mods be ok without the PFC?

I am thinking it is better to be safe than sorry... If I run 12psi, and the turbo fails, then the car is off the road until I can get a new one, that is what i want to avoid. I don't think that detonation will be a problem, with an aftermarket ECU, and intercooler, detonation should be kept under control.

Isn't 12psi really pushing the stock turbo? I don't want to push for the extra 15hp (or whatever 2psi is worth) if there is an increased risk that the turbo will fail. If you knew my previous history with cars and the problems I have had, you mayunderstand why I want to avoid any problems with this car.

10psi is probably a bit boring, but I don't want to risk reliabilty for a little extra performance. From what I have seen on here, 10psi is about the safe limit for a stock turbo, maybe down the track I will get a hi-flow or a different turbo, but for now it will have to do. The main reason for the computer is so I can get the car tuned to ensure everything remains 100% spot on. Basically, I want to get as much extra power out of the car as i can, but without compromising on reliability. I need to ensure that I can get in and drive the car anytime, anywhere without worrying about it breaking down.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. I am a little hesitant to use cheaper parts, because doing things by halves only causes problems. Since I did my Commodore - I spent a whole heap of money, but it just didn't work properly because I skimped on some things, I have kind of adopted a "do it right, do it once" attitude now. Realistically, the car probably won't get much more modification than the mods listed above, but I will have to see what the budget looks like down the track.

There has been quite a few turbocharged cars/race cars in general that have done quite a bit. One car that has not been mentioned is the Jaguar XJ220 (twin turbo 3.5L V6), which held the "official" production car top speed record for a little while. The Callaway Sledgehammer was an absolute weapon. 898rwhp, and they used to drive it to and from the track, and down the shop to get breakfast. Not bad for a 410km/h car. I find it funny that the Sledgehammer was genuinely fast, very streetable, and it was built in 1988, nearly 20 years on, Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche can't seem to better it. No-one has mentioned the 2 Bathurst wins for the R32 GTR, or the Ford Sierra or Nissan Bluebird turbo (which held a lap record at Bathurst for a while). I also believe that there was a category in Japan for production cars in 1990 or 91, in which all 29 races were won by a GTR. Another interesting statistic is a VC Commodore, 372ci twin turbo V8, 1470.8rwhp on pump fuel, street registered. Apparently that is the highest HP figure for a car on pump fuel in the world.

I wanted to get decent parts, not cheap shit. The reason I wanted the Hi-Tech exhaust is because they have been proven to make 25rwkw just from exhaust, that is pretty impressive. I also want an electronic boost control rather than manual, and a decent cooler rather than a cheap one. As I said, I chose the parts because they are the best, not necessarily the cheapest. You get what you pay for. Also, my Exedy HD Sports clutch cost me $420...

What do you guys reckon about this? Is this about the best way to spend my money? The parts I have chosen have been chosen because they are supposed to be the best, not necessarily the cheapest. Apexi Power FC - $980 (Nengun) PFC Boost Controller - $410 (Nengun) Blitz LM Tube & Fin or ARC Turn Flow FMIC - $1200 (Nengun) Hi-Tech Stainless Turbo Back Exhaust - $1800 (Hi-Tech Mufflers) Dyno Tune - $500 (RUF Performance or Silverwater Auto Services) Total $4890. Once this is in, I am hoping for around 180-200rwkw @ 10psi, and a mid 13 quarter would be nice. Opinions?

I won't bother PMing this because anyone reading this who steals cars would know all about kill-switches. The basic idea behind a kill switch is to have a switch hooked up which will stop a vital component of the car functioning. If you hook up something like the Earth for your battery to a switch, if you turn that switch off, you can't start the car, because the circuit is not complete, therefore no power goes anywhere. I think I might be getting a few extra bits and pieces added to my car at least make it harder for someone to knock off.

That is a very good idea. Any chance I could get a copy of that article? Can you send it to me?

I thought the front guards were the same. The headlights and bonnet are the same. I thought the Series 2 had different front bar & different wing, not sure about side skirts. I would think that panels for an R33 Skyline should fit series 1 or 2.

That is a pretty stupid idea, tell everyone how to break into a Skyline and hope people only use the information for legitimate purposes..... An internal screamer is a very good idea. I might look into one. I had one in previous car, you don't want to be inside when it goes off.

I have been reading on here, and heard a few other stories about Skylines getting stolen recently. It seems that the thieves have worked out how to get into them. One of the reasons I bought a skyline was because they did not seem to get stolen as often as Commodores, but it seems they are the new favourite for thieves after Commodores and WRX's. I have been trying to think of a way of disabling my car so it can't be started at all, but I can't seem to think of anything other than pulling out a few relays. Does anyone have any ideas about pulling something off the motor to disable the car? It seems that alarms and immobilisers don't cut it anymore. I understand if people don't want to post up their little tricks (unfortunately, you don't know who is watching...) but I would like to hear from anyone that has any good tricks.

More confusing "turbo-talk" . I shall do some investigation. At least know I know what characteristics I need to look for when selecting a turbo.

After having a look at the GCG website, a brand new GT3040R or something similar is only about $200 extra than the cost of getting the standard turbo hi-flowed. I think it also has a T3 flange. Would this be a better option than getting the standard turbo hiflowed? Is there any real drawback to getting a turbo like a GT3040R compared to a hi-flow?

Bazr33, it seems that you have basically the same mods as what I am going for. Around 230rwkw is right in the range where I would like my power to be. 250rwkw might be a stretch, 300rwhp (225kw) is my aim, any more than that is a bonus. That should be good enough for a 12.something on the track once I learn how to launch the car properly. As i said before, one step at a time, I will get the PFC, EBC & FMIC done, then look at the turbo. I may be better off getting an aftermarket turbo, I will consider the options when I have the cash. I asked about the hi-flow turbo because I figured it would be a cheaper alternative to an aftermarket one, but it doesn't really seem that much cheaper...

I agree with paulr33, more boost does not necessarily mean more power. However, I am still pretty new to turbos, things like the A/R and the compressor maps etc confuse me a bit. That said, if my aim for 300-350rwhp with the mods previously mentioned, what sort of airflow or boost should I be running? Should I consider a slightly larger turbo? I would like something which hits full boost by 4-4500rpm. Also, above 12 psi is out of the efficiency range for a stock turbo, how does having the turbo hi-flowed affect this? Is 14psi in the efficiency range for a high-flowed stock turbo?

Thanks Bob, I will be getting the cooler, computer & boost controller pretty soon. The turbo rebuild, injectors, fuel pump & AFM will come later, I am just getting ideas for now. Ideally, a mid 12 would be nice, I don't want to go berzerk throwing heaps of money at the car, I want to play it safe and reliable, anything over 300rwhp and 12.anything will be fine. But above all, the car has to be 100% reliable, it is a street car, not a race car.

Thanks Paul, here is what I had in mind: Hi-flowed turbo (rebuilt by GCG) @ 14psi (or there abouts) Full turbo-back 3" exhaust Electronic Boost controller Power FC ARC turn-flow FMIC GTR fuel pump Aftermarket injectors - haven't decided which ones yet stock plenum, throttle-body etc. AFM - not sure what to do here, maybe Z32 item? I already have an Exedy heavy duty (Sports Tuff) clutch - brand new, tyres are good (but I expect I will probably go through a few more), Standard airbox with K&N filter with custom CAI setup (not sure how this is going to work yet) Will this be enough to get around the 350rwhp mark? Not that the dyno readout really matters, mid 12s would be nice.

I suppose a colder thermostat might be a good idea, it is pretty cheap insurance to prevent overheating. Going for an aftermarket radiator might not be required though. I suppose if I have any problems, I can always throw the standard cooler back in until I get it fixed.

That was going to be another question I meant to ask. Is it likely that the car could overheat with a FMIC in place, being that it sits in front of the radiator. Is it worth looking into a better radiator and/or colder thermostat?

LOL, I was just looking at that pic trying to work out how that works with the twin entry, then I realised that your car is a GTR - i.e. twin turbo..... Looking at the turn-flow kit, would the "turn" to come back under the radiator be restrictive, or is this a better design than the regular kits that go over the radiator? Looks like one advantage of this kit is that it uses the factory piping.