Hicas

[siksII]

there is a good explanation of it in the review of the r34 GTR in car uk magazine, it works as djr81 says. steering the opp way on turn in is meant to make turn in feel sharper, although imo it just makes turn in feel wonky and unsettled. once in the turn, the wheels turn the same way, which is meant to make the car feel more stable mid corner.

Ill try to remember to scan and post up the article soonish. it clears up a lot of ideas about how hicas an attessa work.

[GreddyGo]

Cheer's for all the comments guys.

When I get a chance to drive it, i'll pay a little more attention to the behaviour of the rear end.

Cheers

Josh

[gts4diehard]

Maybe the R33 system is more noticeable than the R32's, I suppose it has to work faster to maneuvre the heavier body of a R33 than a R32 at a similar speed.

But in the 6 years in my R32 GTS4, with several track side excursions, driving on the limits of adhesion and beyond I never felt the 4ws doing anything that unerved or scared me. The time when the rear did feel dodgy was when the bushes got really worn(subframe and rear hubs) and then the rear felt like it was steering a bit on its own.

To me it seems unlikely that the Hicas is useless, most of the gear on a Skyline works well and better than a lot of other cars and I can't see Nissan putting it on their cars if it doesn't have a genuine benefit and why they would continue from the R31 to R34s. With my experience in my R32 it seems more likely that the cars that are behaving strangley re Hicas are doing so because the rear components are either very worn or a combination of suspension modifications has modified the HICAS response away from its original design.

[OGR88 R32]

in my r32 gts-4 i came out of a corner and planted it in 4wd and it kicked out like normal and usually the 4wd will strighten the car out but the hicas interfered and flicked the car back harder and harder each way till i slowed down to 20kms then it was fine ...next day it was gone and the car feels 100% better never had the problem sense

[djr81]

I think in general that people attribute more of the cars handling to the HICAS system than it really justifies. ON my R32 I didn't have a huge problem with it, other than in two particular circumstances:

1. Off camber turn in. In this instance the back end can get a bit light in any case. Having the HICAS add its little bit to the turn in can make it hard to tell the difference between the rear end sliding & just the HICAS working.

2. Mid corner phase change. Not exactly brown underwear stuff, but a bit disconcerting through long corners on the circuit when you are trying to maintain your line.

[Beer Baron]

yeah I never had a massive problem with it either. I think a lot of people complaining about hicas perhaps have hicas that is not functioning correctly.

[bobba]

^^^^^^

I thought hicas only worked above 70 km/h , i hope your not doing 70 down small streets

just the back wheels. lol.

more seriously, especially in the wet it is amazing how you can be lighting it up and it will limit how sideways the car will go. it feels like someone is pushing you straight from the side.

hicas may have a negiative aspect in particular circumstances but as someone who often drives my car pretty hard i say keep it, its more help than hindrance.

yes, i've been in an r33 that felt all funny through corners like the hicas was packing up... it was some bushes at the rear can't remember which ones.

Edited December 13, 2006 by bobba