Steve

OK you win, you got the biggest one. I havent heard one person who likes the 2540.

All sounds good then:)

Unfortuneately no. The higher the boost, the higher the revs, the more severe the knock - the more damage that can be done in a smaller amount of time. Yes the stock management retards timing, and that isnt bad - it wouldnt be a bad idea to set up an ECU reset switch in the cabin, so you can 'retune' when conditions change, or do it the old way by disconnecting the battery. I have knock detection with my power fc, it also keeps a track of the knock volume, so I can see if its starting to get a bit high, and take appropriate action, such as backing off, turning the boost down, pull a couple of degrees of timing or get some tolulene for the tank - so its not as scary as you may think with no automatic knock retard in the ECU Bottom line, if you want safest, keep your car stock. If you want performance, just be careful, dont cut corners or try and push limits too far and all should be good:)

INASNT, thats ok, I got a new HKS 3037 for not much more than $2500:p The thing is that you can get a not so pissy 2835 for similar price, or 3037 - as Roy pointed out, you dont pay alot more for a larger turbo. I think even a GCG highflow is what $2400 exchange, with the current going rate on a good second hand RB25 turbo, thats nearly 3K for a highflow.

Sydneykid, yes please:) every bit helps.

Sydneykid, the prices I quoted isnt mates rates, discounts, etc And as I said, 3.5K for 2530 with bits needed to fit RB, including wastegate actuator. Must qualify, I am not 100% this is exact price, but I am pretty sure it is very close if not what they can be had for, if you buy from the right place. I agree that HKS are more expensive than garrett, but its a price I am more than willing to pay, for the extra. It costs alot of money just to milk a few extra kw out of a car once you start pushing things a bit, so IMHO, its money well spent. Bottom line is, what exactly are you after - if you are happy to pay a bit less, and perhaps not get the same performance, fine, nothing wrong with that. Personally, I dont mind paying a bit more (definately not twice as much) for something as important as a turbo - its the heart of a turbocharged car.

And another example, in WA you could get a car complied with atmo BOV, but no way they will accept it here - they make their own rules.

Have no idea, didnt ask This may be so, but it doesnt stop SAPOL defecting cars with stock BOVs (for their BOV), nor does it stop regency from telling people to remove or weld their sus. This is easy, local legislation states that cars must comply with ADRs AND local SA legislation - ADR3700/01 (emissions) state that the car must comply for 5 years or 80,000kms - Tpt SA say it must continue to comply - this is another little thing I am yet to understand, and Tim Ireland just said because it is older than 5years/80,000kms doesnt mean it doesnt need to comply to emisssions, so they choose to apply the same emissions for the life of the vehicle - nice eh, I could go on, but I wont bore everyone here. It would be nice if they issued notices here in SA, but AFAIK they dont. Even the police dont know what is legal and what isnt, so just send the cars to regency, regency inspectors dont know either, and if you disagree, you need to prove otherwise, the onus is on the owner of the vehicle Example: guy with a stock soarer, gets told to remove the black box under the dash, as it looked like it wasnt OEM to the inpsector - it was his cruise control module I asked Tim Ireland who should I address any issues to regarding problems I have with current policy - he told me the next in line was the Tpt Minister, and I am putting together a submission to that effect now, but this is a long drawn out process. It involves alot of research as I dont want it to be dismissed because of any inaccuracy on my behalf. Hopefully it will be ready for submission soon Road traffic act 1961 states Limitation of liability 163K. No person who does any act in pursuance or purported pursuance of this Part, or omits to exercise any power conferred under this Part, is under any civil or criminal liability in respect of that act or omission if the person acted, or omitted to act, in good faith and with reasonable care. the part referred to above is defects. Also, unlike NSW, here in SA a police officer or tpt SA inspector and pull any car over and thoroughly search it without needing cause - criminals have more rights than a driver. I dont really like it much myself. I have, as stated, been investigating different state legislation and application of ADRs. I am quite sure that I will be able to annoy a few people, but hopefully alot.

No challenge there sydneykid, I think everyone knows, including HKS that the 2540 wasnt their best peice of work - it is one turbo I definately wouldnt pay for. I am a bit confused though how you think it costs twice as much for a HKS than a garrett. You can pick up a HKS 2835 for 3.5K new with new hks wastegate, and that is from an australian shop (just not bd4s or gcg). And from memory (not 100%) a new HKS 2530 is similar in price too, with adaptors for oil and water lines.

Bigblockr31, which turbos to garrett make that outperform HKS?

Merli, one place that comes to mind is http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/sh...ead.php?t=28130 Steve-SST, who has played with many RB25s and RB26s, is quite adamant that they are the same in most cases, just some RB25s came out with weaker rods, but it appears from his posts that most had the same rods as RB26.

Just had another look, it seems that the R31 RB20DET has a more agressive inlet cam, at 248deg duration and 7.8lift - maybe this is the one the rumours you have heard is based on?

RB20DE inlet has a smaller duration and less lift than the DET, ie 232deg and 7.3mm lift vs 240 and 7.8deg lift. (edit: ie, not likely to get gains there) Exhaust cams are the same EXCEPT, the lobe centre angles are different (as they are for inlet too). These specs from the Tomei cam spec sheet on their website :http://www.tomei-p.co.jp/_2003web-catalogu...haft-specs.html I would hazard a guess that you would get gains from adj cam gears, this is based on gains from using them with RB25, so not really conclusive.

Then again, until Munro's car is up and running in its new trim, and records a better time than with the 2835s, it is one of austs top GTRs and with HKS turbos:p

Trust make killer turbos too.

I see where you are coming from now, what was I thinking, you have convinced me - HKS and garrett are the same! Why cant I accept it? because I have seen no evidence to that effect. So you believe I should accept it because someone tells me I should - WTF??? I only go off the experience of others that I trust, and have relevant experience, as well as my own experience. Not from staggering intellectual arguements such as the one you posted above. I dont just believe what someone tells me because they say this is so. I like some evidence first, if that is ok with you? Probably not, probably me just being a hard head. Example, garrett 3040, with 0.63 turbine housing, 1 bar boost above 4000rpm, hks 3037 with 0.61 housing, 1 bar boost around 3000rpm. 3040 had peak power around 6400rpm, 3037 just kept pulling to redline without a sign of slowing. Very similar setups. So why cant you accept that HKS turbos arent heaps better than garrett, why is it you insist they are similar? or are you just being a hard head.

Dean, glad to hear you got your car on the road again:) Yes it is that bad. So why does what I said piss you off? Doesnt really do any good just saying xxx really pisses me off without justifying it, or explaining it, so please do.

Would you be interested in selling just the endless pads?

Or just move to Qld, where they have rules that allow cars to be modified, or NSW, or just about anywhere else. And leave the narrow mindedness that plagues SA. Someone I know, as posted in another thread, when through a defect station with no emissions gear, 2 holes in the exhaust, engine and power steering fluid leaks (which were obvious) and a loose rear vision mirror. After looking under the bonnet the cop told her to fix the mirror, and have a nice evening. She noted around 10 imports pulled over at the same time, most she could see were receiving defect notices. Why did she get away - 22 year old commodore. My wife was told by a cop that my car is a target, he also explained (when questioned) that he would always pull over any imports because he knew he could get a defect. I really do believe that you have no idea how bad the situation is, or you just couldnt be bothered doing anything about it. I note you talk of legal action, and representing the magazine means you have to be careful. This didnt stop Brandy B Rhuba writing a scathing report on the new RAWS scheme, published in issue number 38 of HPI - why is it so hard to just do a comparison of different state regulations? And maybe point out discrepencies between federal and state laws? that would be alot more helpful than just saying remove the stickers (how many stickers do you have dean?) or remove the bov (something that is quite legal in other states), and as for exhaust tip? How exactly does a large exhaust tip make a car illegal? My problem (and dare I say it most modified car owners) is that it seems owning a modifying a car is severly frowned upon, with laws in place that make it almost impossibe to do legally - This is a bloody joke, last time I checked this was supposed to be a free country, where you could do what you wanted as long as it didnt adversely effect anyone else. Most other states seem to recognise this, but not the beaurocracy that is calling the shots with Tpt SA and SAPOL. SAPOL wont even investigate if your car is broken into, and stereo stolen, money etc, they wont bother taking the time to investigate house breakins, but they have all the resources in the world to set up defect stations and then target modified cars, and spend all the time in the world 'randomly' (yeah right) pulling cars over to inspect them. If you own a modified car it appears you are a bigger threat to the community than theives and vandals FFS - and your answer is 'remove the stickers' - there is something very very wrong here. Another thing is, how does such restrictive laws encourage people to make sure mods are carried out safely and legally? they dont, all they do is piss people off. At the end of the day, it just means people are going to do what they want, and not even try an comply with rules that cannot be complied with. This is a huge service to the community isnt it? But then again, bovs scare old people - far more than say, the average harley davidson's exhaust would - yeah right. Sorry for the long post, but as most people here would realise by now, regency and the rules here in SA really, really piss me off.

good luck with them. Unfortuneately they can give your car a full inspection any time they want, whether your in for 1 defect or 20 - thats the law.

Where is your evidence? I would love to see it. I have seen Garrett 'equivelant' turbos that could not hold a candle to HKS. The 2530 is a perfect example, 3040 is another. And what the hell is the point of remanufacturing a turbo, or redesigning it to achieve what you have outlined. I really do doubt you have ever had experience with a HKS turbo and a garrett equivelant. It seems to me that statements like yours are brandished around by people that dont know what they are talking about, and dont want to spend a few hundred dollars extra to get a good jap performance turbo, its certainly not 2000 more, unless you buy from the wrong place. But please, do post up the dynos of these garrett turbos making equivelant power to HKS ones at lower boost, you WILL find that a standard garrett turbo will NOT make anywhere near the same power as a HKS turbo as a rule. They will make similar power at lower boost, but where a HKS turbo comes into its own is A. it will keep producing power well beyond (revs) where a garrett equivelant will start running out of puff, and B. it (HKS) will produce alot more power once you start heading above 1.2bar. The above is generally true also of other big name Jap turbos too - or do you really believe that a garden variety garrett turbo is going to be better than a turbo with millions of dollars in R and D behind it. Enlighten us all please. And do lets see some dynos to back up what you are saying. Also, 'typical japanese' - typical japanese take something, then refine it to the point of being almost a work of art. Also, lets not forget who make garrett.

O2 sensor in etc menu enables you to select closed loop operation or disable it.

I changed my liscence over to SA, no questions asked. Most states require you to change your liscence if you move to reside in another state.

Quite certain the cams arent the problem:)

Basically, its wrong unfortuneately. I spoke to the head inspector at regency, he said the car must be stock. When pushed, he said it can have coilovers, but they must be welded to the correct height, as they didnt want anyone being able to change the height in 5 (not 15) minutes. I wasnt too impressed by this, but that was what he said, I have taken a record of conversation. another person I have spoken to, was told by a regency inspector that the stock suspension is best, and there fore it should only have stock suspension fitted! AFAIK, strut braces are legal as they are OEM option - but at the end of the day, they may knock it back if they 'think' it may be substandard, no comeback. You are quite correct, they do not have to accept an engineers cert, even if it is one that is recognised by them. I was told this by the Head of Transport SA. He told me that some engineers seem to know better than others what they like to see, and how they like things to be done. As for taking action, the road traffic act has a liability clause, which states that no person of tpt sa or sapol shall be liable as long as they acted in good faith - so no point taking legal action either:)