mikel

I use Millennium Motorsports at Newmarket cheers Mike

Thanks Ty1 that sounds like a dash out solution - very ugly if required??? How did your mate do it? cheers, Mike

yes E85 is hygroscopic, ie will absorb moisture from the air, but at the same time, 98RON fuel has additives which are quite volatile and will "gas off" over time which will reduce the octane rating of 98 if left to sit. A bit of absorbed water in E85 is less likely to affect it's octane rating, as it's the ethanol content that provides the high octane. Normal 98 fuel left sitting could be closer to 95 octane by the time it's sucked into the engine - IMO a bigger risk on an engine highly tuned for fresh 98. IMO the "sitting" time is not a good criteria for deciding E85 vs 98. It's more about your horsepower requirements, availability of E85, ability to fill up on a long drive, carrying jerry cans of fuel etc cheers Mike

tacho jumping all over the place on R33 GTST Hi, Today my tacho (standard dash) started jumping all over the place. I did a search but couldn't find anything, other than check the battery terminals, which I checked and are fine. At idle it's jumping between 4500 and redline. The car is driving normally, the speedo is working normally. Computer is an Apexi Power FC. Any ideas before I take it to my tuner? cheers Mike

Great day guys - thanks for organising. cheers Mike (1 of the 10 or more white R33 GTSTs)

cheers GTSBoy, changing the circlips is what I figured was the best option. You'd suggest a spring swap based on ~5mm of sag over 10 years? Surely a bit of sag doesn't mean the spring is at "end of life" - the car's only done about 30K km since the springs went in? Maybe I'm being naive, but you change springs if they're the wrong stiffness for the job, not because they "wear out" (assuming low km)? If that was the case I'd go to a different spring that didn't sag (or sagged less) rather than putting whiteline springs back in. cheers Mike

Hi guys, I put whiteline springs in about 8-10 years ago, and needed to have the rear guards rolled at the time - the springs were softer than the ridiculously stiff coilovers the car came from Japan with. The guys that rolled the rear guards said the fronts usually don't need it - which was the case at the time. I've noticed over the last year that I get an occasional scrape on the front now with heavy cornering if I hit a bump mid corner. The ride height at the time was setup for the best handling height, which based on my recollection was 340mm - 345mm centre of wheel to the wheel arch. The current height is 335mm from centre of wheel to the wheel arch - so some sag, but I can't remember whether it was set up originally at 340mm or 345mm. Looking at the front guards, there's some discolouration of the paint at the very top of the guard, but it hasn't taken paint off (yet). New springs would be overkill - should I get the front guards rolled, or lift the car? - the bilstein shocks have circlips and grooves. Obviously I'd need to adjust front and rear and get a front/rear wheel alignment etc. cheers Mike

enjoy guys cheers Mike

are there spots still available? did one of these years ago - great fun. cheers Mike

A mechanically minded friend recommended I do a little more fault finding before dropping the gearbox - particularly taking it out cold from an engine bay perspective to see if the clutch slipped (ie possible vapour locks in the clutch line) - did that, couldn't get the clutch to slip in high gear on the freeway. Came home and bled the clutch and got some new fluid in there - the old stuff was looking pretty manky. Pedal feel better, and no slipping on a short drive, top gear freeway. All good so far...I'll take it for a longer drive tomorrow - still quite likely my clutch is on the way out, but I may get a bit more out of it... Noticed quite a lot of squeaking in the clutch fork action during the bleeding process. On one of my discussions with Jim Berry he mentioned the only lube you should put anywhere near any clutch is graphite powder (but obviously keep it away from the friction surfaces). My question is can you get to the clutch fork pivot by pulling back the dust boot, or any other way without taking the gearbox out? Can you get access to squirt a bit of graphite powder in there, without getting any on the friction surfaces? Cheers Mike

Does anyone have experience with the HFM clutches? Cost wise they look great. Mike

So if I've got this right 2 channels will drive the splits leaving 2 channels of amp available? If that's the case then it doesn't appear that you need another amp. You could run the subs as you say, or just individually off each channel provided you feed each with a mono signal Mike

cheers Mike

Could someone run ECR33 - 132582 please cheers Mike

I had a chat with a gearbox guy today. He mentioned that getting the right synchros can be tricky (which I suppose is understandable as the car was never sold in Australia), and depending on the type of synchro (1 piece, more than 1 piece) will make a massive difference to the parts cost. For import cars his suppliers will often ask for a sample to ensure they send the right part. Does anyone know the part numbers for the synchros for a 1997 Series 2 ECR33 GTST? or even better a list of all part numbers for the gearbox? I'd like a better idea of what I'm up for before the box comes apart, as it's way dearer to re-build the box than to replace the clutch, and I may decide to squander the opportunity to fix the box while it's out and just nurse it for a few more years. Mike

Cheers abr33 Sounding like a specialist job for pros Mike

Thanks 89CAL, I'm unlikely to do it myself - thought about it, and have a friend who has rebuilt Ford toploaders numerous times... One of the reasons I posted this thread (not that I asked) was to get some idea of what's involved - your tip on replacing the baulk springs and retainers needing good pullers and an oxy leads me to think I'll leave it to the professionals - especially applying heat to gears - I'm wary of applying heat to something that's presumably already heat treated. I'd also need a dummy shaft to set the clutch up, and a torque wrench (and a decent puller kit). I'm happy to buy tools where it makes sense (and I've no idea where my decent quality torque wrench disappeared), and have reasonable mechanical ability and friends with skills. A new 'box is $3K from JustJap - I'd prefer not to put a 2nd hand one in (unless it's re-built) as it's synchros will be just as flogged. Thanks for the tips cheers, Mike

Hi guys, I've got an R33 GTST making 235 rwkW. Usual problems with synchros - been nursing the gearbox for years on smurf's blood. On the freeway today in 4th under acceleration the clutch started to slip (did it once, then I deliberately did it once more to check I wasn't dreaming). Also the takeup point seemed higher than usual before I hopped on the freeway. It was a pretty gentle cruise also - not like an organic clutch that's taken a thrashing and will recover a bit when it cools down. Hopefully I haven't trashed the flywheel, but it wasn't making horrible noises like rivets scraping. Looking for guidance on the things that should be replaced when the gearbox and clutch is out. Not looking for upgrades of gearsets/selectors or anything, just re-built back to standard. Also looking for recommendations on what clutch I should put in. Read on another thread that I should stick with factory synchros. What other bits should typically get replaced (eg bearings etc) on a gearbox re-build - assuming I don't have any cracked gears/selector forks etc. At this stage I'm assuming I'm up for: new clutch plate, pressure plate, throw out bearing machine the flywheel replace synchros I'm quite mechanically sympathetic on the old girl, but it does do a few track days a year, and occasional drags. I'd prefer not to have the car back together and someone say, "why didn't you replace blah while you had the 'box out?" Also any recommendations of who to go to in Brisbane? Probably more important, PM me if you know people I should stay away from (please don't flame anyone in the thread) cheers Mike

sold

Hi eXquisit will organise a shipping quote Nothing sold yet though Mike

Hi guys, I've got a set of Japanese spec ELSport coilovers to suit an R33 GTST Skyline for sale. They were on my car when I imported it, and I swapped them out as they're a little stiff for a daily drive. EL Sport are a Japanese company that sell coilovers based on named brand bits. The pillow ball top plates are Cusco, and the springs are Bestex (10kg/mm front, 8kg/mm rear). From my research, EL Sport uses Bilstein shocks, but there's no markings to confirm this. Adjustable height. There's no way to tell how many km are on them - there's no leaks/weaping, but there is some surface rust on the shafts outside of normal travel and the bump stops are getting brittle/cracking. Price: $150 I'm in Brisbane and will ship at buyers expense. Photos attached cheers Mike 0409 489 982

Cheers Mike

Agreed Nizmo_man - the next upgrade (well maybe not the next - gotta work out how to get the old oil out of the remote oil cooler) cheers mike

Hi guys, I swapped out my jap spec coilovers for softer Bilsteins in my R33 GTST, and looking to sell the jap spec coilovers. Did a quick search but couldn't find an answer - just wondering what other Skylines these would fit to assist the sale. cheers Mike

Thanks for your input guys - greatly appreciated to get back on the road I've just gone for a replacement filter for the HKS Pod - not ideal but the cheapest option. I'll look at going pack to the standard airbox and snorkle when I have some cash and time to muck around as my current setup will need some fettling to fit the stock airbox. The funny thing is my wife will be disappointed to get rid of the pod - she likes the sound (I couldn't care less - more interested in better filtering and stopping hot air being ingested) cheers Mike