diamondjo

Need to replace my original, which fell off after a scrape and got run over by me... and then by a truck! Would prefer white, but happy with any colour. The one I'm after is just the fiberglass lip that marries up to the factory S2 front bar and clips in.

So after giving it a quick (yet within the speed limit) squirt up to mount henry bridge I was promptly stuck in traffic for 45 minutes and after a while I started noticing this really weird noise whenever I pushed the accelerator. You hear it under normal circumstances on big old fords and that kind of thing and I once heard it on my wife's car when her exhaust gasket went. I had all these thoughts going through my head of "maybe the fans weren't hooked up after I had the FMIC installed and I've partially cooked the head", "maybe the heat has finally killed the old coil packs". I can't help but think giving it a hard drive and then immediately idling it for 45 minutes has done some major bad stuff . I couldn't even stop the engine because we'd crawl forward every 30 seconds or so. Have a listen; what do you think? -- Should also add; no accusation intended by the "fans" comment, just one of the many possibilities that race through your head when your car is in pain and you can't pull over -- Also: REALLY SORRY for cross-posting. I originally posted this in WA and almost as soon as I did, I realised that was a bit silly because it's not really the right place to post is it? I only posted there because that's kind of where I hang out. Oops!

So after giving it a quick (yet within the speed limit) squirt up to mount henry bridge I was promptly stuck in traffic for 45 minutes and after a while I started noticing this really weird noise whenever I pushed the accelerator. You hear it under normal circumstances on big old fords and that kind of thing and I once heard it on my wife's car when her exhaust gasket went. I had all these thoughts going through my head of "maybe the fans weren't hooked up after I had the FMIC installed and I've partially cooked the head", "maybe the heat has finally killed the old coil packs". I can't help but think giving it a hard drive and then immediately idling it for 45 minutes has done some major bad stuff . I couldn't even stop the engine because we'd crawl forward every 30 seconds or so. Have a listen; what do you think? -- Should also add; no accusation intended by the "fans" comment, just one of the many possibilities that race through your head when your car is in pain and you can't pull over

What's your story? Any damage? how's the car?

Okay, this is weird... tightening the controller right up has no effect either! Tomorrow I will try reversing it in case I have it backwards, but I'm almost certain I don't! Also, checking under the bonnet, things look a bit different to my last skyline. For one thing, I can actually see the waste gate actuator and it almost looks as if the hose from the solonoid comes from a T-piece on the main line goes somewhere else entirely. It was getting dark when I did this, so I couldn't see exactly what was going on, but I'll draw a diagram: It was also hard to see exactly where everything went because of the rubber conduit. I'll take some actual pics tomorrow and try to find out where everything goes.

I'm pretty sure I followed everything correctly, with the arrow pointing towards the turbo-housing (and hence the wastegate actuator) and I was turning the tap in the direction of "Boost+". I can't help but think I've done something wrong though as (apart from the very occasional hunting at idle) everything else about the engine in terms of smoothness and response seem fine. Edit: I think the idle problem is the AFM. It only happens when cold and only very occassionally. A light tap of the throttle always sorts it out.

Yeah an aftermarket gauge. Can't remember the brand name but it's from Supercheap. Can't afford an electronic controller yet - having just bought the new car and getting some mods so I needed a gauge (any gauge) quick smart. I wouldn't have expected the gauge to be more than a fraction of a PSI out regardless of the cost - but I'm really wondering whether or not to trust it. As I mentioned though, the readings are smooth and consistent - it's not like it wiggles up to the line or anything. It's hooked into the pressure line to the stock gauge via a T-Piece. To be honest, the car "feels" faster when I unwind the tap - but you know how reliable feelings are when measuring power increase What bothers me is that even with the tap FULLY unwound, it makes no difference to pressure. Tonight I'll try winding it all the way in to see if the readings come out lower - as they should.

Sleep on it, they say, and the answer will come. Now I'm not a mechanic, this only comes from thinking about the physics of the problem - please someone who knows what they're talking about put me right if this isn't the case. Now I know this is modding 101, but please bear with me because this is my first foray into proper mods. The FMIC and all that extra piping has (for argument's sake only) doubled the volume that needs to be filled with air before the intake plenum. This means that it takes twice as much air to reach the same pressure as it once did and the turbo has to work twice as hard to get there. There's probably nothing wrong with my gauge, tee or anything else, I'm simply getting to the limit of what my little snail can puff. Is this the case? And if so, if it was considered "safe" to run my virtually stock skyline at 12psi, I'm assuming I've got to wind this figure down somewhat for the modded one?

Thanks for the update mate, I was interested to know how you went.

I guess my biggest concern is, I have absolutely no idea what pressure I'm actually running.

So I installed a Turbosmart Boost Tee today along with a boost gauge and according to the gauge I always max out around 9psi and this is the weird part: even with the stock solenoid. The Tee (according to the gauge) makes absolutely no difference - even wound out all the way! Something is very wrong wrong here. I always ran 12psi on my previous Skyline with a Turbotech controller and really didn't have any problems getting to this pressure. The only real difference between the old and new cars is that my current one is more heavily modified that my old one (3" turbo back, hiflo cat, fmic, pod, bov versus just the pod on my old one). Does the fact that the engine breathes easier somehow mean I can't make as much boost? Or perhaps there's something wrong with my gauge. The gauge is responsive and smooth, but I'm not sure I trust it. Anyone have any ideas?

This is true; you should have your pressure set right ANYWAY

So I ended up driving an Avalon until I could get my new 'line. My uncle was kind enough to lend it to me as it is their "dog" car. Not exactly a bunky but not much fun either. Fill up a bath to the top with water, pop some wheels and a V6 engine on it and drive around in that for a while. That's pretty much the experience for you.

Probably not. I'm with Just Car and they didn't check any of that, basically just wrote it off and took the keys. I really don't think they're that bothered as the car goes to auction anyway. I left all that gear in because I just COULD NOT BE BOLLOCKSED tearing the interior apart and putting it all back together AGAIN. Done it once. Hated it. I'd rather spend some bucks on some newer gear. Although the speakers were nice kevlar cones. I'll miss them . Mate, honestly, if you want to do it, buy the cheapest paper shit you can possibly get (from like supercheap or dick smith or jaycar or something) and just replace them. If you're going to the trouble of ripping the interior apart, a few extra bucks and a few extra minutes will ensure you won't get hassled by the assessor (although mine was a top bloke). Also, I have a stock head unit if you're interested PM me (EDIT: Spelling)

Yeah mate totally! I'll post some pics on show'n'shine when I take some tomorrow. Bought it from Alistair at Autoworx. Nice bloke The reputation is warranted. It's another RB25DET - but it's manual, white, and a few toys under the hood.

Oh, and I would just like to point out that I now drive a manual houseboat. The auto is now in a pickles yard somewhere. My sig lies!

Can I also ask (as I really haven't been keeping up with the forum for a few months), will SAUWA be organising a day on the skidpan sometime soon - for just this sort of thing. I'd be interested. - - Picking up the new 'line today! WOOT!!

Haha, true true. Also, to be fair, I noticed that my first skyline (with stockies and cheap "get-er-complied" rubber) was a bit tail happy going round corners in the wet. I swear this is without being a tool or deliberately trying to over-cook it. There was one particular corner (Beaufort and Grand Prom) that really used to scare the shit out of me because of the angle you're going uphill as you're coming out of a corner. Until I got wider rims and better tires I just had to take it REAL easy in the wet. By that I mean "driving miss daisy" not "still going too fast, just a little bit less so". The camber was out also when I first got the car so this may also have had something to do with it.

Oh and about losing traction? Let's assume you haven't just broken traction by being a tool and you've actually swerved to miss something in the rain and lost it. My good friend Mr Keets once told me after a bingle when I was on my Ps. "In a spin? Both feet in!"

From a driver training course I did: pump your tires up. The intuitive thing would be to let your tires down right? Not so, because when you let your tires down, the centre of the tire makes less contact with the road. Even though it looks like you've got a fatter profile and its harder to steer so it feels like you're glued to the road - the middle bit that you can't see flexes upwards. It's only harder to steer because you're fighting the tire deforming due to lack of pressure. This also makes it more likely that you'll have a blowout - the tire wall is contantly flexing as it goes round and round so it heats up and wears faster. Tires are actually a form of pump, that's why you have ridges in them - to pump the water away from the contact surface and out the back. Good contact = good tires. Letting your tires down in sand works because you're on a loose surface that changes its profile when you roll over it - so you want your tire to deform with the surface. Roads are hard so you don't want deformation . Related: Manufacturers recommended pressures on your placard are actually a trade-off between ride-comfort and safety. If the placard says 32, go 36 or even a bit more. Uneven wear (when the centre of the tread wears faster than the outside) only really happens when you pump up to ludicrous pressures. Also, if you're running low-profiles, ignore the placard completely and run a few PSI over the manufacturer's recommended pressure. I shit you not, since I started taking this advice - you have to be REALLY trying to break traction, it won't "just happen" and my tires are lasting a LOT longer.

^ Agreed. I got into some nasty situations with my Charade, once parking it in a tree after it had just rained and several other newbie mistakes that we all have while learning. Even at the time I had said "If I had a more powerful car, I'd probably be dead by now". Because when you're on your P's you ARE still learning and you're also just starting to get a feel for the car, the dynamics of it, what it's limits are. At that level of experience, it's better to have a car that isn't going to turn around and bite your head off the second you make a mistake. As others have said, in a HPV everything happens a lot faster. When you're learning, you need time to react, time to understand what's happening - and yes, better to do that at 80km/h than 200.

That takes me back! That was my missus' first car (the mazda though, not the ford). It was awesome fun, not because it was fast or powerful, but because it was old and needed work and when you went to work on it - everything was so accessible, parts were dead easy to come by and you pretty much just needed a socket set and away you went. I learned a lot from that car.

But I will add to that, a few weeks after I just decided for no reason whatsoever that I fancied a drive so out I went. A marked car passed me in the other direction, did a U-turn and came barrelling up behind me to pull me over. The guy was friendly at first but when I asked me what I was doing all I could say was "uhmmm, nothing really.. ermm I just fancied a drive". "Uhuh? Through the suburbs at 9pm on a thursday night?" So he gave my car a full look over, opened everything, boot, glove box, etc and he was starting to get frustrated. At this point another marked car pulls up and the guy winds the window down and says, nah that's not him and they all just took off without any explanation. I hate not being able to give a good reason for my actions other than being totally random - I felt well dodgy. I guess the cop picked up on that and as I was only young I felt that "just going for a drive" wasn't a very good explanation. Oh well, at least he didn't ask me to accompany him to the station

Best experience I had with a cop was when I was coming home from work around 2 in the morning and decided to hop through the industrial estate behind Yangebup as a shortcut. I was 17 at the time and had sleeping gear in the back having just stayed at a mates the night before. As I pulled out of the estate a marked car trailed me for a bit and pulled me over. It was an older english bloke and he introduced himself, told me what station he was from and that he was pulling me over because there'd been a lot of thefts in the estate lately - but didn't hint that he suspected me of anything. He saw the bedding and asked if I was alright and if I had a place to stay and after I told him why the bedding was there he bade me a safe journey home and went on his way. He was really polite, friendly and interested in my welfare. Kinda made be feel warm and fuzzy inside, haha

So I just put a deposit on my second Skyline (YAY!) - the first one being damaged in the hail storm - it's another R33 GTS25t. Now, I noticed that it has a nismo badge on the top right hand side of the boot lid - where the GTS25t sticker would normally be. I've done a search and discovered that there are in fact a number of cars like this which makes me wonder - does this badge denote anything different in the spec of the car? Or maybe it was just a trendy thing to do in Japan: remove the GTS25t sticker and pop a Nismo badge on it. Thing is, the badge is aligned so perfectly and there are no marks on the paint to indicate a sticker was once there - I just want to know what (if anything) the badge means