mikel

I'd also have a look at SK's thread about oil control: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/t110680.html

The biggest problem with LPG is the agricultural delivery mechanism is quite restrictive as they were designed for low tech low performance engines and haven't had much development since the carby days. I read an article recently about a new LPG system that didn't restrict airflow as much and they got very good results on an XR6 turbo. LPG does have a very high octane rating hence the ability to run high compression and high boost - you can usually only realise this benefit by having an LPG only system, although the XR6 turbo mentioned above was dual fuel. The cost of the decent LPG conversion was pretty expensive though (somewhere between $5K-$10K I think) - it would take a long time to recoup the costs, and is a big % of the cost of the total car. The old style dual fuel LPG systems would never keep up with a 98RON powered car. cheers Mike

have a look at the apexi FAQ - it's in there somewhere http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...mp;hl=apexi+faq

Best place to diagnose the problem is on a dyno as it could be anything. Unfortunately Apexi stopped making the PFC for R33 GTST so you'd have to find a 2nd hand one. Even then it's best to tune it on a dyno.

If you still have HICAS and there's something wrong with it, think seriously about installing a lock bar instead of fixing a faulty HICAS - who needs the computer telling the rear wheels where to point. You'll then have the HICAS light on all the time (unless you remove the bulb) but at least there'll be a reason for the HICAS light to be on. As the previous post said there's plenty of info on removing HICAS, but you'll need to source the lock bar first. Mike

That's what others have said... The oil gets changed every 5000km, but as soon as the fresh stuff goes in it's dirty on the dipstick after going around the block as it mixes with the grubby stuff in the cooler. thanks

Hi guys, I have a remote oil cooler mounted in front of the radiator. The oil filter is in the standard spot but with an adaptor. There are two braided lines coming from the adaptor that come up higher than the cooler then down to poke through near the radiator to the cooler. Because the lines loop higher than the cooler, whatever oil is in the cooler doesn't drain when I do an oil change. There is no drain plug on the cooler, but I could disconnect the lower braided hose where it connects to the cooler (and oil would spurt all over the place as there's no way to catch the oil). Any ideas on the easiest way to flush this oil out of the system? Assuming I can get the oil out of the cooler, will I have any issues with an air lock in the braided lines, given they're the highest point in the system? Should I re-route the lower braided line so that the highest point in that line is the cooler? Thanks

I'd use a thin synthetic say 5W30 or 0W40 (more expensive) In the old days when I used to read street machine I remember they recommended taking the dizzy out and putting a special tool in to drive the oil pump before starting the motor (ie get the oil pumped around and up to pressure before turning the motor over). Not sure how necessary this is provided you used lots of oil on assembly mike

thanks BHDave, I start looking around for tyres...

what would you recommend if you were going to splurge on a set of rims and tyres to keep just for track days? assuming standard brakes, and to use the wheels and tyres only on the track. Can you get 2nd hand slicks based on a contolled tyre in 1 particular size? Is the heat cycling of 2nd hand race tyres going to render the tyre useless or are they still good for a few hard laps on a track day? I've heard Ford falcon wheels fit the skyline - is this true? can you get 4 track day wheels/tyres in a skyline assuming no passengers?

thanks Salad - I would have thought that the extra toe-in (2mm front and 2mm rear) suggested by the shop would have produced more wear than SK settings, but been better behaviour (especially without the caster SK suggests, ie extra toe in on the front promotes self centering) but I don't know enough about the suspension side.

Can be boring, but worth a look supposedly at 6pm our time to see what auto exotica is lining up to go for a blat at the 'ring http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/webcams.html cheers Mike

Just put a HICAS lock bar in and about to lift the car to 350mm front 340 rear and get a wheel alignment done. The suspension shop is suggesting 4mm toe in on the rear and 2mm toe in on the front, as opposed to Gary's spec of 2mm rear and 0mm front. I haven't put any of the SK groupbuy kit in so I don't have adjustable castor/camber etc. The differences are bugger all, but can anyone recommend which setting - or what differences these changes would make to turn in etc? I have a track day next week and want to get the car sorted - but it's mostly street driven.

How dangerous is it to give it a stab under full load if it is detonation? How quickly does an engine self destruct under those conditions?

Assuming the injectors are maxed out, what would people recommend in regards to straight fit injectors? Would I have to upgrade the fuel pump at the same time (assuming both injectors and pump are stock)?

Just installed mine - went in without a hitch Thanks Sherwin

thanks Paul - excellent info and should be sticky'd Anybody know how easy it is to get a hand controller? I know my first tuner tried 2 different controllers before giving up and I took it to someone with the laptop software (Datalogit or whatever)

tough call without pictures I know my HKS EVC has one vacuum line to the wastegate controller on the turbo, one to the inlet plenum (after the throttle body) and one after the turbo before the intercooler.

power = torque x revs. which is why peak torque occurs lower in the rev range that peak power - power will keep rising after peak torque so long as the revs rise faster than the torque drop off. There's no magic number - it just depends on the characteristics of the engine. There may be a tendency for the engines you've been looking at to have a crossover around 5252 rpm, but the scales are different (ie kW vs newtons), so you could cross them over any where (or not at all) just by fiddling with the scales on the "y" axis. Also remember the torque figure is not Nm (newton metres) but newtons (N) as there's too much variation in gearing between every car (tyre/wheel size, diff ratio etc), so the torque reading would change by changing wheels, but the horepower won't (much). I'd love to read more about this theory - I may be missing something.

Could be, but the light was coming on at no/minimal boost while dealing with ugly traffic - likely I've "laboured" the engine at low revs/low speed with too much timing. Either way not good - thanks for the input. I'll be taking it easy until it gets back to the tuner.

You need the full voltage, so unless you provide another 13.8V feed into the cabin (assuming the ECU is behind the passenger kick panel) it won't work. In my experience keep full voltage/reasonable current wires short and in the engine bay. Mike

From an electonics perspective it makes no difference, provided the extra length doesn't drop the voltage much (ie less than a few mV). You could use heavier gauge wire to help. I'm not sure how voltage tolerant injectors are, ie do they squirt more fuel if they get a higher voltage, or do they squirt the same fuel if they get sufficient signal. not sure if this helps Mike

Thanks guys The turbo's a hks 25/30, but the injectors are likely stock (not that easy to tell). You confirmed what I thought - take it easy and let them sort it. Lucky the track day is a week away. cheers Mike

Got my GTST back from the tuner last week, and very happy as they took it from 214rwkw to 235rwkw with 16 psi dropping back to 14psi at full power. They did add timing and a bit more boost as previously it was peaking at 13psi. Driving home from work in peak hour this afternoon the "engine check" light came on several times intermittently. Given it was peak hour this was under minor/moderate throttle. I spoke with the tuning shop when I got home and they recommended monitoring tomorrow (which is a public holiday in Brisbane) and calling them first thing Thursday. Its got an Apexi PFC, but unfortunately I don't have the hand controller to tell me if it's knock/detonation. Do these cars have knock sensors and retard the timing under detonation conditions? Should I just back off the timing a smidge? Is a hand controller likely to be available so I can monitor this stuff? I've got a track day next week, and the last thing want is a blown motor. cheers Mike

If it means you can't have the skyline if it's manual, but you can if it's auto, then it's a no brainer - get the auto. The skyline will still be heaps more fun than any AU falcon. cheers Mike