Stock Gtr Turbos Or Upgrade?

[GT-R32]

First issue, minor one. I planned to do exhaust first. Which will consist of 570cfm cat converter and then 3inch from there back. Is this OK to be driving around with this untuned? I have come from rotaries which are very sensitive to this sort of change... but they are MAP sensored. I guess I am somewhat paranoid. Do I need to reset the factory ECU? How do I do that...?

I am doing exhaust and tune. Boost restrictor is already gone. Considering horrific stories of catastrophic failures when it comes to stock ceramic turbine wheels, I would like to check before I do exhaust and tune the condition of the stockies. Is this possible?

Or...

I am considering an upgrade to N1s, 2860-7s or GTSSs. Price pending... My car is stock. What do I need to do in order to upgrade? I know it has been covered, but am after specifics when it comes to boost control, fuel pressure regulation, cam gears etc. as I plan to fit everything myself and finally have it street tuned. Are cam gears necessary etc? Stock boost control OK? Fuel system up to it?

Cheers

Matt

[sewid]

First issue, minor one. I planned to do exhaust first. Which will consist of 570cfm cat converter and then 3inch from there back. Is this OK to be driving around with this untuned? I have come from rotaries which are very sensitive to this sort of change... but they are MAP sensored. I guess I am somewhat paranoid. Do I need to reset the factory ECU? How do I do that...?

I am doing exhaust and tune. Boost restrictor is already gone. Considering horrific stories of catastrophic failures when it comes to stock ceramic turbine wheels, I would like to check before I do exhaust and tune the condition of the stockies. Is this possible?

Or...

I am considering an upgrade to N1s, 2860-7s or GTSSs. Price pending... My car is stock. What do I need to do in order to upgrade? I know it has been covered, but am after specifics when it comes to boost control, fuel pressure regulation, cam gears etc. as I plan to fit everything myself and finally have it street tuned. Are cam gears necessary etc? Stock boost control OK? Fuel system up to it?

Cheers

Matt

Firstly - You do not need to make any changes to anything after fitting an exhaust.

If you upgrade the turbos:

- Cam gears not necessary.

- Stock boost controller not really - you probably want to get something you can tweak. EBC is a worthwhile investment.

- Fuel system requires an upgrade. Injectors and pump.

- You will probably be best served with a full ECU replacement on top of that

- New clutch preferably something stronger than stock.

- Dump and front pipe exhaust upgrade.

I recommend:

- Nismo 550cc injectors or SARD 600 - 700cc depending on what you want to do next. The Nismo 550cc/SARD 600cc are better if you plan to do nothing else. 700cc if you plan to go further later, eg big cams, maybe bigger turbos later on.

- Nismo fuel pump. Direct fit item. More than your average Bosch in terms of cost but worth it in my opinion.

- Apexi Power FC - goes without saying the easiest drop in ECU replacement with tuners everywhere.

- Nismo Super Coppermix twin plate clutch. Great clutch to use every day. The twin plate is easy to live with. Only $1800 delivered from Nengun

- HKS/Tomei dumps and front pipes. Expensive but works of art. Tomei's dumps are even nicer than the HKS items but do not split wastegate exhaust from the main. Personal choice here. Even JustJap items will do the job just fine and save you money.

Overall I would go the GT-SS's out of those three turbo choices for they are probably the smallest upgrade you can get and if you want the car to respond like a stock one yet produce an easy 280kw at low boost levels they're great. The N1's make more power but it doesn't sound like your after a huge amount of power.

[GT-R32]

Thanks heaps for the info sewid. I should have said, my car already has a clutch and I am definitely doing Power FC as well as exhaust. It is the turbos I am not sure of doing yet. But for reliability I feel I should... just working out a plan of attack.

Do I 'need' the dumps and down pipe? Or is it just preferable? Same for the fuel system upgrade?

ETA: I am not chasing huge power, I would love anything over 280kW but it is the reliability factor that I want most. Hence my choice of smallish turbos. When it comes to price, the 2860s are hard to beat and people have said awesome stuff about them...

Edited May 7, 2007 by GT-R32

[sewid]

Thanks heaps for the info sewid. I should have said, my car already has a clutch and I am definitely doing Power FC as well as exhaust. It is the turbos I am not sure of doing yet. But for reliability I feel I should... just working out a plan of attack.

Do I 'need' the dumps and down pipe? Or is it just preferable? Same for the fuel system upgrade?

ETA: I am not chasing huge power, I would love anything over 280kW but it is the reliability factor that I want most. Hence my choice of smallish turbos. When it comes to price, the 2860s are hard to beat and people have said awesome stuff about them...

On a R33 you should do the dumps and front pipes in my opinion. They are sorta narrow cast dumps. On the R32 they were worse. On the R34 they are stainless and pretty great from the factory. You could source some second hand 34 dumps if you are strapped for cash.

If you are upgrading turbos then yes these are in the 'need' basket unfortunately. The stockers will fit on but you're selling the turbos short by leaving the stock items there.

FYI, I also have GT-SS's. I chose that turbo for almost the same reason you are thinking of changing turbos. I was afraid while pushing my car that the standard turbos may give way one day and take the engine down with them. Now there's a million ways to skin this particular cat and it's pretty personal which route you take. I'm just going to vouch for the GT-SS's as a great upgrade from stock turbos when you want to make a decent amount of power without losing much of the standard response. Of course nothing is going to spool as fast as a small turbo with a ceramic exhaust wheel that's why Nissan put them in but you can get close with a well designed BB turbo like the GT-SS.

Don't know about the garrets. I'm sure they're fine too. I've not driven any cars using them though so won't comment.

[Beer Baron]

good advice from sewid who has done it all. the only thing I'd add to 'reccomended' part of the list is cam gears. they are not 100% needed, but can net an easy 20kw in the midrange and a few up top too. so for the money they are well worth it. do the timing belt at the same time.

and another thing. sewid pretty much has the set-up he described but with a few little extras I think, and having been in his car I can confirm it goes like buggery. very brutal acceleration. weapon of a car.

[Angus Smart]

the garret are fine for this! they are around $1200 each and would get you where you want to go!

but as said if your going to replace your turbos, its a must you do the dumps and front pipe! later on down the track your going to do this! and its a big job and probably cheeper for you to get it done while replacing turbos

[GT-R32]

Awesome advice everyone and very much appreciated. It is all coming together in my mind now. I am not strapped for cash, but don't have huge expectations for power. Hence I was after a minimal set up. I'll do it all if I plan to go the new turbo route, now it's just deciding if I want to fork out $4k or play Russian Roulette with the stockies...

[GT-R32]

Another quick question sorry, there is a Power FC for sale second hand in the trader with some other bits... but no hand controller. Are all hand controller the same? For instance I would be using one from an FD RX7 to tune my car.

[R31Nismoid]

Not all H/C are the same. Its series specific.

Try and get one with one if you can.

When they are ~$900 delivered from Japan, new with a H/C. The choice is easy

[GT-R32]

OK cool thanks for that.

I have learnt heaps today

Cheers fellas.

[Ronin 09]

i reckon that if you are going to do the dump pipes, might as well do the turbos at the same time.

they are painful (at least everyone who has touched mine tells me so).

and if you are not too concerned with shelling out a few more $$, I would do the turbos now anyway (unless you're planning a forged bottom end sometime soon).

$2500 now or $4000 (at least) for a bottom end + new turbos anyway makes sense to me.

[GT-R32]

I'll order the Power FC, and get the exhaust done. I am going overseas soon anyway, so I'll have time to decide on whether or not I go with turbos... if I do I'll get the dumps and down pipes done at the same time.

[Angus Smart]

if I do I'll get the dumps and down pipes done at the same time.

And turbos too

you will save either 12 hours of screaming, what the f**king and i hate nissaning to name a few. orrrrr

whatever someone charges these days to fit them! i think its rather pricey! but worth it give someone else the stress i say

[GT-R32]

And turbos too

you will save either 12 hours of screaming, what the f**king and i hate nissaning to name a few. orrrrr

whatever someone charges these days to fit them! i think its rather pricey! but worth it give someone else the stress i say

Definitely, if new dumps are being fitted to my car, it is because the turbos have been changed.

Power FC is ordered.

[GT-R32]

I am leaning toward the new turbos...

Quick question, is the Apexi Power FC boost controller sufficient? Wondering whether to order one too.