R33 Gtst Smic Upgrade To R34 Smic - Results (video & Pics)

[TALBO]

I've done a search already but can't seem to find if there is anything that needs to be modded (plumbing ect ect....) when changing a 33 SMIC for the 34 SMIC.

Is it a straight changeover, or is there some mods that need to be done?

Any help much appreciated.

[rev210]

STRAIGHT SWAP. NO MODS.

[TALBO]

STRAIGHT SWAP. NO MODS.

Thanks

[Bond]

Just to add i ended up pushing just over 235rwkw through my r34smic however after a few dyno runs it did get pretty bad heat soak. I had a thermo fan on it but that struggled to push enough air through such a thick core.

I have now put a front mount and it has gained a lot but there is more lag!! I think you would be crazy to run a front mount on a stock turbo just for the sake of having one. The response was so much better b4 and was more fun to drive as it had little lag and hit a lot harder (break traction but with less power). My car is obviously faster now (running around 250rwkw) but comes on softer.

Cheers

PS: I hve an r34smic for sale if anyone wants one

[R33GOD]

how does she feel with 250rwk bud?

i had her up to 260.

its scary

[gotRICE?]

Im unconvinced about this "throttle response" stuff.

I had an R34 SMIC on my R33, and the thing would be RED hot after giving it a bit of stick. The hot side, the core and the cold side. Heat soak FTL.

Went to a Blitz LM. Not an ounce of throttle response loss, and sweet FA turbo lag. Dont see the big deal. Plus, it stays cold!

[Bond]

Feels good with 250 but i want more lol. I'm still only running around 15psi so there is a little more room to play with.

Hey "Gotrice" are you running the stock turbo? If so would be maxing out around 190-200rwkw. When running 10-15rwkw more than that mine would only start to get hot on a dyno when it had repeated runs. Did you have any ducting to concentrate air on the cooler? There has to be a change in throttle response considering all the extra pipe and cooler that now has to be pressurised!

[R33GOD]

I still miss my old girl. you gotta bring her past so i can see her again

il show ya my new car too

[Ultimategtr]

just my 2c - I put on a 600x300x86mm fmic and i didnt notice any noticeble extra lag at all. However it did hit much harder in the top end.

R33 25t manual

[RBwhatever]

Im unconvinced about this "throttle response" stuff.

I had an R34 SMIC on my R33, and the thing would be RED hot after giving it a bit of stick. The hot side, the core and the cold side. Heat soak FTL.

Went to a Blitz LM. Not an ounce of throttle response loss, and sweet FA turbo lag. Dont see the big deal. Plus, it stays cold!

just my 2c - I put on a 600x300x86mm fmic and i didnt notice any noticeble extra lag at all. However it did hit much harder in the top end.

R33 25t manual

I too noticed zilch in the "throttle response" department going from r34smic to fmic. TBH once I fitted the fmic, I've never looked back.

[jaceR33Gtst]

OH good work! I've already put the 34GTT cooler in, and the turbotech controller... Got all the exhaust parts, but haven't fitted them.

When that's done, i'll shove it up to 10psi... same as you have. Hopefully it'll feel the same!

Can't play vids though =-/

Right Click and save target, they will play fine after you download them. wont play from the link though.

[Stevodm]

I did this mod today on a R33 S2 Auto. When I first read this thread I was a bit skeptical about the results, however, I must admit that it has made a huge difference. Although, I don't think it was all due to the larger SMIC 'cause the original was in pretty poor condition (had a leak) and I also found some of the hose clamps on the pressure side of things were a bit loose.

I must say that the turbo seems to spool up a bit quicker now and it also sounds alot better with the boost coming on earlier than it was and my 'seat of the pants dyno' tells me I've gained an extra 20 or so KW.

So to summarise...............I'm very happy that I did this

By the way. I'm also running a full 3" exhaust and MBC set to ~10PSI but still have the standard air box.

[datsfreak]

anyone done a dyno run before and after this r34 cooler upgrade?

[STATUS]

Waste of time.... it has only delayed the onset of heatsoak..... for a few mins

Anyone who thinks this is a good upgrade is on drugs....... you honestley get about 3/4 of a lap (two or three more dyno pulls) more before it is just as heat soaked as the stock unit.....

Edited June 12, 2009 by URAS

[paulr33]

Im unconvinced about this "throttle response" stuff.

I had an R34 SMIC on my R33, and the thing would be RED hot after giving it a bit of stick. The hot side, the core and the cold side. Heat soak FTL.

Went to a Blitz LM. Not an ounce of throttle response loss, and sweet FA turbo lag. Dont see the big deal. Plus, it stays cold!

this is exactly what i was eluding too before back at the start of the thread

sure the core might fit and it might feel cool and on a dyno it seems ok

but load the ass out of it on the street repeatedly and youll probably find the core is useless.

the end result is it just gets heatsoaked after a bit of a trash run and it then performs at a very low effiency level (ie bugger all heat drop).

for me, when i give me car a good trash run, its usually on the street, up some back streets etc

or it might be through some "streets". the main factor here is lots of load, constantly load, lots of boost

and repeated runs through and through. the outlet temp on the compressor side would be through the roof during these conditions

if that airtemp continues into the throttle body your performance will suck ass

and lastly, the cost of FMIC kits these days is cheap as chips

if the FMIC kit fitted was $1500 i would say stick with a SMIC change

but its such cheap, why would you bother?

theres a big debacle around fitting a FMIC and loosing heaps of throttle response

and gains LOTS and LOTS of lag. this is mostly hearsay and mythbusters ahoy type stuff

BUT

its impossible to retain the same identical response and same amount of lag

when you fit a larger core and all the extra pipework

its simply impossible. so most users when they fit a FMIC kit they up the boost

change their exhaust, do a tune, or do other changes at the same time and these negate the loss that you "miss" from the larger core and pipework

on my GTST i fitted a FMIC kit and made no changes

i noticed a touch of loss in throttle response (the time when you open the throttle to the time engine makes power)

and thats simlply physics. once you do a tune, up the boost, exhaust etc this tiny loss is completely negated and doesnt raise an issue

[Lachlan33]

I went from the stock 33 cooler to a front mount and noticed no ill effects. If you ever plan to upgrade your turbo then forget the 34 sidemount and just go straight to the front mount. Do it once and do it right.

[Torques]

Hello Sarkis,

I hope you're still around since your original post is 3 years in the past ..

I have the car that you have (had?), and the R34 SMIC is also here ready to go in.

Could you please tell me how to remove the front grill? (and what else has to be removed)

And does the R34 SMIC fit right in, or are there any modifications necessary?

How did the story with your car go on from there?

Did the Turbo eventually fall apart due to the higher boost?

Let me know, I'm curious to hear the whole story

Cheers from London ...

Hey Guys, thought to share this with you... i just installed an R34 GTT SMIC onto my R33 GTST and boosted to 10psi + ECU Reset

Current Mods: 3" Split dump + 5" S/Steel CAT + 3" CAT back exhaust + Turbotech

Results: Car comes onto boost MUCH smoother & revs to redline MUCH easier.. there has been a HUGE increase in pull through out the rev range especially in 1st and 2nd gear... Dyno would be nice, any one offering a free dyno pass? lol

Recommendation: Definitely worth the upgrade if you have stock turbo... Proior to this upgrade, the car felt held back and restricted, now the car feels much freer and has noticably unleashed more power... Throws you right back in the seat

Note: Prior to the SMIC installation, i flushed it with degreaser/hot soapy water and i couldn't believe the amount of black crap that came out! had to reflush about 4 times before it was 100% clean... then ran warm water though to get rid of the soap/chemical residue... i then stuck an old hair dryer in one end and let it sit there for 30min untill it was drip dry.. worked a treat!

Look at the size difference between R33 SMIC Vs R34 SMIC

Here is a couple short videos while driving home tonight, its just to show the smoothness of boost and ease of rev... (excuse the bad footage due to holding my phone while recording and driving) Hope you like!

video_0004.mpg

video_0003.mpg

Regards,

Sarkis

Edited September 3, 2009 by Torques

[gotRICE?]

Nothing needs to be modified to make it fit, its a straight swap.

Easiest way to put it in is to jack up the front, pull off the left front wheel and take off the inner guard. A few black clips floating around to undo and it will come out.

I ended up pulling off the front bumper when i did mine, but its a little bit extreme. I never thought of just pulling the inner guard.

The only thing you will probly need to do is replace the clips that clip the inner guard to the bumper with cable ties.

The R34 SMIC is taller than the R33 and sticks down a few cm lower, so the inner guard is kinda put under pressure, and mine with the standard clips, the clips popped, causing the inner guard to rub against the wheel. = smoke and melted plastic

And RE Turbo, 10psi is a pretty safe level to run all day in an R33. So i wouldnt worry about the turbo falling apart.

Most people say 12psi is ok, but 10psi is recommended if you want to be safer. But in saying that, some peoples turbos have gone at 7psi, some are still holding on at 14... Its luck.

Mines been on 10psi for about 12 months now, drag days, and 3 track days its still seems to be fine. Just on the track i tend not to push it for more than 2 hot laps before a cooldown. Even saying that on the back straight im generally not at full throttle and only rev to around 6500. Piece of mind on my part

Edited September 3, 2009 by gotRICE?

[Torques]

Hello to the new day and NZ ..

Thanks for the heads up ...

So What you're saying is that you just detach the grill on the left side?

Or do you remove the whole thing this way?

But I guess I got the picture and you have to reach behind the inner guard to get started.

As for boost pressure I agree ... it's definably safe at 10PSI .. and heard 10-12 would be alright too.

(but that's a discussion as old as the R33 ... right?

More importantly .. did you feel any difference due to the R34 intercooler?

I got the SMIC for a good price, and having just the standard turbo I thought it might be worth a shot

(A boost controller is on its way from Japan too ... so it might be playtime for me soon )

I'll keep you posted with some pictures!

Cheers from the past,

Andrew

Edited September 3, 2009 by Torques

[gotRICE?]

To be honest, i really didnt FEEL alot of difference when i installed my SMIC. (i got mine for an amazing price too, so did it just cos..)

But in saying that, my front bumper is a factory option that is kinda like a baby version of the GTR bumper. And the airflow to the SMIC is very limited. So even with the R34 SMIC mine got ridiculously hot and heatsoaked. So not overly fair to compare to others.

As you see, the only airflow is past the indicator, and its a very VERY small amount. Hence opting for a Blitz LM FMIC a little later.. also due to the trackwork ahead.

If i was you, id go for an R32 Actuator to run 10psi boost No messing around with bleed valves and controllers. Another straight bolt on for fantastic performance gains. Removes the R33 solenoid completely. Unplug it, unbolt the R33 7psi actuator, bolt on the R32, and away you got with a safe steady 10psi!