BLSTIC

$300 is enough to sort the airflow meter/ecu (using some jaycar items), but the remaining $300 isn't quite enough for injectors, exhuast, and things like the oil plumbing and other gear... I may have to bump up the budget a little. It's not ENTIRELY about money... If I lose a few hundred it doesn't really matter, I had my fun, and it's another thing to add to the list of cool things I have done...

New Zealand. I'm not interested in paying anywhere near that much. I would be happy to pay $400 for a secondhand turbo and manifold combo, but no more. Considering you can get brand new manifolds for $300 and almost any T3 for that much again...

Oh and my goal? To make the car faster and gain as much money as possible (or at least lose as little as possible).

Screw it, done some thinking. If I do anything (aside from selling the car) it's going to be the turbocharger. At the lowest cost and with reasonable wank value (and therefor sellability) and performance gain. Both DOHC options get dropped because of the cost, complexity, and unkown value adding. It should be noted that I'm not the slightest bit interested in keeping the car. The ultimate goal is an R32 with a most unconventional engine swap...

Mechanically the simplest is to turbocharge the existing engine, runing ~4 psi with water injection and no intercooler. Jaycar do some interceptor kits that will allow me to tune the engine for this relatively small amount of boost. Injectors and fuel pump may also need an upgrade... I'm guessing at around $1000 for this. Alternatively, I can put a DOHC head on it. It won't have the same amount of mid-range torque as the previous option, and it requires an aftermarket computer. But top end pull will be similar, it will be easier on the (auto) gearbox. Standard fuel pump and the injectors that come with the twin cam head will do. I'm pricing this around $1500 (depending on how much I can get an aftermarket computer for). Also, with the aftermarket computer and lower compression, the next step becomes sooo much easier Twin cam turbo. The ultimate in RB30 mods... Still do-able without removing the engine (depending on what needs to be done for the oil drain), and would cost around $3000 all up. However the combination of more midrange torque/higher redline would definately stress the gearbox. So throw in a manual conversion into the works and it's suddenly looking like $3800. That on top of the $1200 car costs leaves me with a car that cost me $5000 and is worth an unkown amount (how many RB30DET R31's have YOU seen for sale?) First up, the aim of the game is to do something cool, while at least not losing money. So I guess the big question is, how much is a car with each of these mods likely to sell for? Is a turbo R31 with more than $2200? An RB30DE equipped one worth more than $2700, and an RB30DET likely to sell for more than $5000?

Ok so we picked up this S13 for a song because the gearbox doesn't work. The car was confiscated for unlicensed driving so I know it was working when it was last switched off (6 months or so ago) If we leave it for a few days then put it in reverse it jolts (ie goes into gear) but won't drive for long at all (a matter of seconds). Today I dropped the pan and aside from the fluid being really old nothing looked out of place, and the filter still flowed. The fluid level was ok in park with the engine running, but I'm not sure any of the fluid is actually getting anywhere in the trans (otherwise it would work, no?). So has anyone experienced this problem before? What did you need to do? I can drop the valve body off and pull it apart for inspection, but I would rather not. thanks Ben

We have an S13 Sylvia in our backyard with a running sr20de and a non-running auto transmission. We also have a black-top SR20DET in the shed. The plan is to join the two, but we need a working turbo-spec gearbox... If you have one lying around and want it gone, call me on 0411 035 943. Any other parts such as intercoolers, dump pipes, and the like are wanted too. I'm in cairns (north queensland)

So it's not infinitely variable then. That kind of sucks. The NEO system must be variable though...

Seeing as there is no general tech section I thought I would put it in here, as you guys would get the most use out of it... I want to know how the variable cam timing system on the RB25's works. Ie is it switched or continuously variable? If it is continuously variable, does it have a position sensor (Like EGR systems do) or does the computer just guess as to where it is? And is it pulse-width modulated or does it use a stepper motor? If I know how these things work, I can probably make them user adjustable for mere cents...

Good to know it has a timing lock mode. I was hoping it did... On falcons there are two pins you jump on one of the diagnostic connectors to lock the timing. I must google the timing lock procedure... Thanks Ben

Ok I went to edit my previous statement and it let me start, then decided that I idn't have permission... I would like to clarify my statement... Sorry, I think n/a RB20's directly comparable to injected 202's in regards to power. Smoothness, response, economy, and torque spread they are f-a-r better at though (The RB...) It's entirely possible that the three n/a RB20's I have driven were dudds though, as two of them were in cars of dubious heritage (as in they have been set upon by clueless boy racers, and it showed in the quality of their 'build').

I drove a mates RB20DE Cefiro a while ago and it was gutless. As in worse than it should be (sorry, I think n/a RB20's only a single step up from a carby 202 in terms of power). I noted the cam angle sensor was in the full retard position. I thought this was sus so after the 'ear tune' method (holding it at 2000rpm and testing for best response) it ended up at full advance. I didn't like this either so I set it to about 75% and told him to run it on 98. The car ran a lot better but I really want to do the job properly... So what connectors do I have to jump and what is the base timing? The rest of the car is dodgy so I have no reason to believe the CAS hasn't been removed and re-installed incorrectly (meaning that setting it at 3/4 of the slot may not actually be right on this car). Thanks Ben

extrapolating from that the panels in each car collectively way far more than the engine. With a 49% wasteage (going into the block) you can count on not much extra iron being in there at all...

Easy to make a stopwatch reliable (maybe not accurate, but repeatable, which is all you are after for comparison), just practise. The easiest way to make the car repeatable is to not time the launch. Ie go from idle to redline in second gear, but only time from 2000-6500 (assuming a 7000rpm redline). That way you don't have the effect of launching, and you know you are at full throttle the entire time (because there is no guessing as to the exact time in the run the throtte was floored and then lifted again). You are also highly unikely to feel a gain in the 0.1 second region, which a stopwatch will reliably show.

They can rev that hard, but to make the SOHC engine efficient at that high rpm you need to have a fairly wild cam and a decent port job. And they are extremely harsh at those revs too, it's not really worth it. Remember they have a long stroke (99mm vs the rb26's 73mm), so piston speeds are getting up there as well (it's not just the head running out of flow that can stop them). I go by how much power the N/A version of an engine makes when considering what turbochargers to use (as power roughly translates to airflow in most engines). Ie an EF Falcon makes 157kw, an R33 GTS Makes 147kw, and the only twin cam RB30 (Tommy Kaira M30) makes 177kw. So the Falcon 6 is somewhere in the same league as RB's when you are talking about turbocharging a nearly standard engine. *edit: Oh, and I can't say enough about the EF onwards dual stage manifold. Get one if you are still running the EA-D manifold. You will need an rpm switch, a vacuum solenoid, and a computer that you can adjust the ignition timing on to suit the new runner lengths. Exactly what parts are you using? I'm a falcon nut and am thinking about doing something like this as well...*

*too big*? Remember the falcon engine is really stressing itself revving past 5500rpm... If you work out how much air the engines flow (as in litres*rpm) they are probably pretty similar.

stopwatch is to measure the performance gain. The ass dyno can easily be confused by lower bottom end torque feeling like a top end gain. A stopwatch makes sure that you are actually improving things. And adjusting the fuel pressure does not neccessarily mean raising it. Lowering it is classed as an adjustment as well.

I would hardly call that almost standard. About the only thing on the outside of the engine you haven't changed is the exhaust manifold... (ok and the airflow meter) Although it *can* be done with a stopwatch and a good ear for detonation, you probably aren't good enough to do that or you wouldn't have asked, I would take it to a dyno shop and get it done (along with whatever other tuning/expermenting you might need doing). Standard price appears to be $100-120 an hour, and for that you should be able to adjust fuel pressure, ignition timing, and cam timing (if you have adjustable gears) to get it spot on.

Water temp may be an issue. Some cars (when the wire is not connected) assume the engine is warmed up. If it's not, the ignition timing and fuel will be out until the car does warm up. *edit: Get the check engine light up. Once you do that you can read the codes and that will tell you what else the computer needs to see*

Don't skylines have a two-stage system where they run 5psi at lower revs, then 7.5 at higher revs (when the factory boost controller has power fed to it)? If so, your electronic boost control has probably replaced the factory system, and you get low boost all the time until you power your (aftermarket) boost control solenoid with your new fancy profec b gadget. You'll find 5psi is the wastegate pressure.

Ummm... Yeah... A guy called Ken (or was it Kevin?) Young did this ages ago. His program is called kalmaker and can completely and utterly reprogram any of the Australian GM-Delco computers. Google 'Kalmaker'. Alternatively the DIY-EFI crowd (Which can also be googled) can help you out. I'm subscribed to their mailing list, but most of the stuff goes over my head, I'm more interested in the mechanical side of their problems (Turbocharged 350 chevs using a holley 4 plate throttle body and a re-programmed computer that came off a 6 cylinder car are quite interesting things to read about).

Had an idea recently. I know some turbochargers have a small turbine housing for reasons of lag reduction, but this isn't always best for peak power because it means that there is a lot of pressure between the exhuast valve and the turbine. If lag wasn't a concern (as in you were happy to trade low end boost for a higher peak power) you would use a larger turbine housing, but sometimes cost is prohibitive or they are simply not available. I'm wondering about machining the outlet port of the turbine (not sure on exact name) larger to reduce it's effectiveness (by uncovering more of the turbine than is normally exposed). I'm figuring it should reduce the pressure drop needed to achieve a given shaft speed, while needing more flow through it, and so increase power. You couldn't do this too far (as there's only so much material there), and it isn't the best way to do reduce back pressure, but it should at least have an effect. Thoughts?

No. Looking at the spark plug there's a bit that comes up from the centre of the plug to the end (the end that screws in). About a millimeter away from the end of that is a tab bent over that comes from the side. Making that gap shorter is this name of the game today. Don't let them touch, coils don't like it if they do.

This is why god invented check valves. If you get one that has a 1-2 psi preak point it should be enough to cater for any angle you can park on. What sort of water injection do you have?

Nah I'm not still in school. Although I might mentally still be 15 (at times) I'm 22 and have done a few things with cars. Mainly auto-manual conversions and engine swaps (for identical engines and factory gearboxes though). But I am trolling for information before I go out and buy a long term project car (if I'm building an engine for it, it's going to stay with me for a while). Incidentally I found a picture of an RB25 head, and it does have squish pads. But they cover a very small portion of the bore (at least compared to engines like the later 20v 4A-GE's, and f-a-r less than most 2 valve per cylinder engines) so I'm not sure what to think.