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Nice work. I thought about making something similar for the power windows after having to dismantle the switches and clean the deposits off all the little individual copper rocker arms and contacts. It's crazy to think that 20 years ago, all of those little components of the switch were the cheapest way to manufacture a power window switch. But if that arduino assembly sits in the door panel, I'd be concerned about moisture and corrosion. It's essentially an outdoor area, electrically speaking.

Are these a dying breed? I'm looking for an upgrade for the mrs, and we are both leaning towards another wagon. I'd really like to get something AWD and with a decent bit of power, hopefully 6 cylinders for the sound and smoothness, rather than a turbo 4. However, there doesn't seem to be much around, unless you're willing to go for an expensive audi or merc. Subaru seems to have gone the CVT route with everything, and the other major manufacturers spend all their time churning out SUVs and 100kw pieces of cheese. Strangely, the most interesting vehicle at the moment looks like the new Holden Commodore tourer AWD. A Commodore VF wagon with RWD might be an option too. Are there any interesting gems out there that I am missing?

Unless it is a custom built stroked motor, there is no 2.8L motor. Its a 2.5L. If it was a custom motor it wouldn't have a stock turbo either.

Check the turbo for shaft play first. If that is OK, just fix the leak. If you want to go replacing the turbo, you'll be finding you need to do quite a few other things as well to make it worth it: exhaust, valve body upgrade if an auto car, FMIC, and tuning. If you need to swap turbos without the supporting modifications, Id ask about turbos smaller than the 21U hypergear high flow unit. That will keep the engine response and power curve close to stock - something that is an important consideration for a daily driven, heavy vehicle.

I'm looking for a repair or replacement of my driver's side sun visor. It will stay up, but not fully down and forward, meaning it sinks down an I have to awkwardly bend my neck to see under it. Are there any other basic nissan models that share a similar item, or even other car brands? It looks like a pretty simple item, 2 mounting screws and a simple rectangular shape.

Yes, connecting piggyback devices to sensors can cause a voltage drop on the measured device. I had this issue with analogue signals like TPS etc. Digital signals are not going to be affected in the same way however, as long as they meet their threshold voltages. You shouldn't assume that the analogue inputs will be "high impedance", in fact you would expect lower impedance inputs because they provide greater immunity against induced voltages, thereby reducing noise on your signal. For example my adaptronic ECU lists some of the input impedances as 20k. I would consider "high impedance" to be greater than 1M ohm. Ideally, you'd also like to know the source impedance of the 5v sensor reference, not to mention any resistances in the 20 year old wiring. If you can calibrate any device which is measuring a voltage, it doesn't matter too much anyways.

I've been running just about every superpro bush since 2012. Control arms, castor, steering rack etc. While they're fine and have been silent, if you can simply put in a new adjustable item with new bushes, do that. Don't bother replacing the bushes.

Update: this band-aid fix lasted 4.5 years. LOL Just had to do a reapplication of WD40 over the mechanism again, as it seems to be binding up again with cold weather. I'm still not sure how the release mechanism works, or what's causing it to stick. But considering how much work it is to remove it, I'm not taking it out. Unfortunately, this time the WD40 trick was less effective. I might have to do a few applications.

Ive now set up my own ignition retarding feature for when the auto transmission shifts under heavy load. I run about 13psi under full load, and I wondered what stresses are on the exhaust valve when the cylinders are being fired at 0 degrees advance. AFRs under full load are around 11.5 : 1. Should that keep the combustion temperature in a safe range for the valves? Or should I richen further while retarding the ignition? The retarding period lasts about 200ms, or about 10-12 combustion events per cylinder at most.

Everyone is going to have a different experience long term with their vehicle. All I can say is that my s1 auto stagea has provided 10 years of lugging duty with minimal hassle. Sure, it's required a fair bit of maintenance replacing wear and tear items, but has only broken down once in a decade. In regards to the electrical problems, thankfully the technology in the stagea is quite simple and so work arounds can be made for electrical problems. For example my tachometer blew (both the ecu pin and tacho driver in the cluster), and so I rebuilt the driver myself using off the shelf chips.

For the curious: I tried to reposition the balancing weight, however any widening of the shaft causes it to interfere with something. Eventually the solution I came up with was to shape a piece of metal to be tack welded to the very end of the shaft where it meets the transfer case end yoke. It was around 15g. I also zip tied the boot around the PRND cable to prevent the rubber boot sagging onto the shaft when there are bumps. But other than that it just clears the major solid obstacles - only by a couple of mm. A tentative test drive slowly working up to 100kmh seems to be a success. Can't feel any vibrations that could be obviously attributed to the shaft. No odd noises, nor evidence of the shaft making contact with anything. So in conclusion, R33 GTR shafts are NOT a drop in affair.

Hopefully this week Ill check out a workshop to see if they have any stagea or GTS-4 driveshafts. However I am thinking about experimenting with the one I have anyway to see if the balancing tab can be relocated. That still leaves the problem of the clearance between the 40mm shaft itself and the components on the transmission. What kind of clearances are acceptable or safe? Theoretically the shaft shouldn't move or have runout...but still.

What ECU, do you have a wideband etc? Do you have the ability to access and change the timing and fuel maps yourself? A couple of things spring to mind with a tune: 1) inconsistent and overly retarded timing in the idle load cells. 2) inconsistent and/or oscillating afrs in the idle load cells. Lean spots and retarded timing will prevent the engine from settling into a steady idle. The auxiliary air controller can start oscillating to prevent a stall, which then interacts with the above issues. Without measurements, its only a guess.

Have a search for attesa ECU codes. There's a flashing LED on the ECU which sits behind the passenger side interior trim, just behind the rear strut tower. It flashes when the car is running and there is an error code.

Bit of a brainfart describing it as a parking brake - I meant the PRND shifter mechanism. Where it connects to the box is very close to the transfer case (also where the driveshaft snags when you try to get it out), its also unmoveable. If the balancing tab was moved further down it would clear the PRND mechanism, but there's also a few other things that are extremely close. There's an electrical connector just past the PRND mechanism, and after that is a large banjo bolt. The clearance between the banjo bolt and the shaft is a couple of mm if that, they basically look like they're touching. The PRND mechanism has some give to it, allowing the driveshaft to turn, albeit with the tab tapping against it. I didn't notice it when I turned the wheels manually to inspect the installation, but it showed up when driving. You'd certainly notice if you snagged the balancing tab against the solid banjo bolt.

That's correct.

So despite common wisdom here, the transfer case to front diff driveshaft in the stagea is not guaranteed to work the same as the skyline GTR ones. As per the picture, the GTR one has a larger diameter at the transfer case end. Although the shaft itself fits in and just clears all the extra protrusions on the auto transmission (but it's REALLY tight), the balancing tab on the GTR driveshaft just fouls on the parking lock mechanism. Not sure if I want to engage in some prybar action just yet in trying to move the parking brake stuff. Just a heads up since I have not seen this issue documented here.

OK so. Back on the hunt for a driveshaft. I purchased an R33 GTR driveshaft with no play, however it doesn't work on an auto stagea. Well, almost works. The part technically fits in, but an R33 GTR shaft has a larger diameter at the transfer case side, and tapers down at the diff side - compared to the stagea one which has a constant diameter. One of the balancing tabs on the shaft is fouling against the parking lock cable. Meaning that the shaft technically cleared the transmission, but the extra ~1.5mm causes it to foul. Oh the joys. The cable (which is encased in a metal tube, which is what is fouling) is hard up against the transmission, so I don't think I can bend it out of the way. Stav, do you work at Trojan? I tried to call a couple of times - no answer today.

Ive used the polyurethane superpro bushings for years and they do help to make the rear end more controlled in cornering. I actually put them in to extend the life of the stock rubber bushings (reduced movement). But keep in mind that's a compliant material, not a solid metal collar!

Thanks guys. I purchased one on ebay before reading the replies here. Rust has very much set in at the transfer case side uni joint, so unfortunately catastrophic mechanical failure is always an option. Seems like water made its way into the joint, causing it to grind and open more of a cavity and allowing more contaminants to enter. Ill stick some boat grease on the next one.

Hi I'm looking for a place that can work on the transfer case to front diff driveshaft that is found on GTRs, GTS4s and stageas. The universal joints in them are permanent from the factory, meaning that it would require machine work to remove the old ones and hopefully fit some generic ones. I'm hoping for a place that has experience doing that and at a reasonable price.

Big thumbs up to Johnny's base map for the adaptronic. Ive been disappointed by tunes from "reputable" places. Adaptronic's base map can only be described as poo. Retarded poo. At least it shouldn't blow the engine unlike some tunes Ive seen from "tuners". To Johnny's map, I have added a few more degrees of timing in the cruise area and slightly more on the transition to boost around 93kpa. However from experience the fuel maps are not comparable, you'll have to do the hard yards with your own afr sensor to set the VE values.

Id be wary about fooling yourself. You really need to collect some data through a consult cable to see what the ECU is doing, and what the sensors are reading. Being quite a simple old engine, it doesn't have much of ability to vary things like throttle response, except maybe through timing adjustments. But Ive never seen the stock ECU do that other than when the coolant is cold, retarding timing for full throttle auto gear changes, and safety features like knock protection. The snow/power rocker switch seems to only affect the gearbox mapping. Start with the most logical thing. Throttle response starts with the engine. You need a good air supply, so check all piping, including intercooler, and throttle body to make sure they're not gunked up. Then check fuel delivery and ignition. You can check the base timing manually while stationary, but once youre on the move you need a consult cable to read what the ECU is doing. Some things that spring to mind: retarded timing can sometimes fool you into thinking there is more power as the turbo will spool up sooner/faster. While this might seem more exciting its still making less than optimal power. It will feel extremely gutless off boost. Again, you need to collect data to see what the timing is while on the move.

There's a time and a place for psychotic driving, and it's called Russia.

The video's gone. Is it hosted anywhere else?