GTR32

Hi Ustasa; sounds like you've been down this road, have you got experience with an exhaust made this way?

BBenny; All the other parameters check out OK, no dramatic change to O2 sensor or AFM v when switching to normal running/timing. Still switches @ exactly 61deg. Must be temp related; I've checked connections etc but not yet tested sensor voltage. I've also noted that timing goes to normal when decelerating ie 50km/h timing frozen @ 10 deg, decelerate and it advances to 20+ as it does when it's running OK over 61 deg. I'll keep looking...

Steve; I had Ohlins hard mount shocks and springs. They were way too hard and I got some standard units as a baseline so I could drive the car while I had the Ohlins set up dynoed - you know the rest. I sourced adjustable castor and camber bushes and pineapples from Whiteline, which made the car feel much better. That's all I did other than get a good alignment. The same approach worked for two other cars, both of which have good suspension given their design limitations. Unfortunately all set ups are a compromise, as you know. We ran radical camber angles on an AUSCAR but when we came off an oval circuit the whole thing had to be changed dramatically. If you want to get rid of body roll by all means go down that route, but if you eliminate body roll you might ask what trade offs you'll have to accept.

Steve; I'd like to suggest some caution here before you decide on anything. Not trying to state the obvious but the 'Japanese' approach might make your car drive, ride and handle like a Woolies trolley. Don't forget that they are chasing a 'look' also. Suspension can be like the mythological 7 Headed Hydra - cut off one head (ie problem) and two grow back. Given the integrated manner in which suspension has to work to perform it's role well, unless you really know what you are doing and can balance the whole thing properly - suspension is a black art, very few people can really do this well - you can spend lots of time and money and end up with a car that handles terribly. Even some commercially available 'packages' aren't as good as they should be. It's only by knowing where you are currently, where you want to go and how to get there that you can plan an approach and know it's for the right reasons, with money well spent. I did lots of research, found some people I trusted, had my suspension rebushed etc as required, got springs and shocks dynoed and found that I had to get new springs because the existing ones were were binding. Dangerous. New springs were designed specifically for my intended purpose, cost me about $300 to get the dyno and design work done. However, now I actually know what's there, what it can do and why. Money well spent. Not trying to tell you to suck eggs, just hate seeing people waste money. Can I ask why you want less body roll? Cutting out body roll all together, unless you're on slicks, can be problematic as far as I know. Cheers, Mark

Steve; Does the car actually transition to oversteer, or does it just seem that way because it stops understeering. Is the car lowered? Is it possible you're experiencing coil bind? I agree your sway bars are probably adjusted incorrectly, as previousy suggested. Try going softer on the front.

Lucien; That's the $64 question. No one I've spoken to can provide dyno data for their GTR dumps. Pretty disappointing that even now, when people are more aware than ever of seeing real results prior to parting with their money, dyno figures are so hard to obtain. When I fit mine I'll capture the results but N1s will be fitted at the same time so it won't be a direct comparison. It should be close however.

I agree it's probably to do with fitment and economy issues. The 7-10 deg conical trumpet shaped outlet might be ideal, however, I'd venture that whether it's trumpet shaped or straight conical or straight will make very little difference in the scheme of things. Gains in this area might be negated by compromises in others as often happens in a street car. Although a number of small gains can add up, the question then is one of $ and return. It appears that the trumpet shaped outlet is in fact ideal if you've got the room.

I've been doing some research on dump pipe design as I'm looking for options for an R32 GTR with N1s. So far I'm not keen on the HKS design due to the short dump pipe separation length. The CES ones I've seen appear to be similar. Only commercial units I've found that go close to being good in this area are Trust (see the JMS R33 GTR for photos) but the price is pretty savage @ $1500. Exhaust Technology in Adelaide swear by their big single bell mouth design. Unfortunately the dump pipe issue seems to be one in which there is a real absence of dyno testing etc for comparison between types. Clearly anything will be better than stock but where to from there? I found this - lengthy - article by a Garrett Engineer. Might be old news to some but I think even those with experience in exhaust design might find parts of it interesting, particularly his recommendation to use an increasing taper (7-10% included angle 'trumpet') off the turbo. Hope it's of some interest. You'll have to scroll some way down the page to find it. http://forum.wrxcom.au/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=...507&whichpage=1

I'm after a dash pad for an R32 GTR, must be in excellent condition. Prefer Canberra or Sydney for logistic reasons. Thanks, Mark

dairyboy: price is up to you, the asking price of Brembos varies somewhat (see Duncan's post above). Ultimate Performance imports have a set of 4 rotors and calipers on their website (or at least did when I last checked) for $2200. This is a dealer price, and also comes with a certain degree of warranty. I'm not suggesting this as a benchmark but it's the only one I can refer you to. Regards, Mark

Hi ecenshu, my thoughts (*) on what you've written are: A good setup for rough terrain(public roads) would be to have the car as low as possible with while maintaining maximum suspension travel. * Maximum suspension travel is relative to what you want to use the car for. How much do you need? You can have the car as low as you like provided your camber is OK and the available travel is sufficient. Height and suspension travel are related in the extreme sense, but actual travel will be different for a given spring rate and length, which is related to the next point. Also, go softest you can with the dampers and get the stiffest roll bars that you can put up with...however, there is a point where it is too soft and I think the standard damper rates would classify as the softest setting possible. *The dampers should be matched to the spring rate. If the dampers are too stiff the springs won't compress or rebound. I think if you used the stiff roll bar soft damper set up you'd get either over or understeer badly (?) depending upon the set up. Camber setting will also play a big part here. I don't believe roll bars should be used to do anything other than minimise roll and control over or understeer. The rest is up to shocks, springs, and alignment. I'm fairly sure that extremely stiff anti roll bars on their own will make the car a skate in the wet. Do you think my reasoning is flawed? My opinion is to get dampers that are closest to the stock settings and maybe a bit stiffer to minimise roll to a certain extent. Anti-roll bars should be the controlling factor for body roll as stiff suspension would only be useful for tracks because theres not too many weight transitions on public roads...I can only think of roundabouts and I can't picture a stock GTR suspension settings with stiffer roll bars not being able to handle them *You haven't mentioned springs here anywhere. Don't overlook them because they've got to be considered carefully. Body roll is only one factor, without it there can be as many problems as with too much as I understand it assists weight transfer and therefore grip as long as it's withn reasonable limits for the intended use.

Hi ecenshu; My R32 GTR rides about R370mm F360mm measured from hub to guard lip with standard suspension. 'Optimum' ride height will vary depending upon what you want to use the car for, however, I understand that less than 350mm measured as above will cause you to upset the dynamic aspects of the suspension. You'll also need to adjust camber if you go lower than standard. As far as I know the cops don't measure ride height, they measure ground clearance. The RTA should be able to assist with this, about 100mm sounds right. You might also wish to call Whiteline suspension in Sydney for advice. Regards

Purchased one of these recently from AutoBarn (best price I could find) and have just connected it up. So easy to use I didn't even need instructions. Seems like a great unit but I'll reserve judgement until after I've taken it on a decent run. Doesn't measure boost, which is a little disappointing, but I' guess that's what the gauge is for. Will advise further when I know more.

Hi Ken; Thanks indeed for this. Did you find out about clutch pack wear from experience? You wrote that 4wd is permanently 'on'. I thought that it worked by channelling more torque to the front, sooner. As opposed to having the 4wd permanently activated? Regards, Mark

Hi Ken; Thanks indeed for this. Did you find out about clutch pack wear from experience?

Bozz; Need it for a complete HICAS removal in an R32 GTR but have just got info from an excellent source that GTSt and GTR pumps are different. I'll be in touch

Hi Ken; To answer your question; everything really. Connections woud be a great start, but anything else you could advise on would be a great help also and very welcome. You wrote that you did have one. Could I ask please why you don't have it any more ie Were you unhappy with it or was it a matter of parting with the car? Regards, Mark

Does anyone know where I might be able to find an English manual for the ETC? I've looked on HKS USA but no luck. I'd be happy to pay someone to photocopy theirs if anyone is interested. Mark

Hi Bozz; do you still have this? Mark

Thanks Bangin; This looks like it could be just the thing. About $700 it seems, but Perfectrun won't return calls and no one else can tell me exactly how much it does. About 20 parameters apparently but can only find reference to 10 or so. I'll keep digging, thanks for the lead.

Al; thanks for the detailed post, this is great info. Regards

Thanks Steve and Penfold I'll look into it. Regards Mark

Thanks but with pairs so hard to find I think it could take for ever to find a single. Regards

Does anyone know if a device (other than a CONSULT unit) exists that will monitor a standard R32 GTR engine through the ECU as an APEXi HC does through a PFC? The HC enabled monitoring function is a great attribute of the PFCs and while I understand that there's a device (HKS/Greddy?) that will do basic monitoring ie temp, boost etc it is just that; basic. Would appreciate hearing from anyone who might have checked this out or maybe seen alternatives. Thanks

I'm searching for Brembo brakes for an R32 GTR. Please send me a PM if you have some at the right price. Regards