In Two Minds About Upgrades...

[Marco-R34GTT]

G'day...

Finally I'm in a position to spend some moolah on the 'line.. Looking a squeezing a few more kw out of her (more fun) before I go onto handling, although, suspension/brakes/ect are all still very high on the list. I thought I'd just post this and get some feed back form those that have 'been there and done that'..

Now, firstly I'm looking at getting it intercooled.. Autoworx does the Greddy Spec-M kits for a grand installed.. Looks good to me, never been a fan of china kits. However, I've heard they are bar and plate, which is an older design for intercoolers... Is this true? It is worth even thinking about? Worse performance??? Also, I drive an R34, I've been told by some that I'll need to cut my fan blades/shroud and engine cover anyway, however others have told me you dont.. Has anyone here got any photos or reccomendations for their installation??

Secondly, exhaust, I've been trying very diligently to get a hold of a Kakimoto N1 mega, however, he lack of availability is making this an impossible option, I've now looking at either a Greddy PEII once again, or sourcing myself a Kakimoto Regu-6 muffler and getting Kermit to fit me a custom turbo-back... I've heard some wonderful reviews about Kermit's work, can anyone make any other suggestions... Also, what sort of cat coverter should I get? Catco? Metalcat??

I've got an Apexi PFC, Z32 AFM and plug, so I'm set there..

I've also currently got splitfires installed..

Few other points.

Pod filter or no? Box the pod or leave as is??

[Wogan]

Install the Greddy spec-M yourself.. it's really easy and you can pick up a kit to suit your car for 600-700 bucks... if you want i can help.

Pods are a great move to reduce resistance and flow retrictions on your intake, but definately box it so you can get some cold air in there!

I've got a hi-flow cat from Just jap ($160 delivered) .. crazy cheap but i'm happy with it's performance...

it all depends how much power you want... spec-m intercooler and the hi-flow cats from just jap are good, but you won't be preparing yourself for huge power.. if you just after a reasonable increase without chasing huge numbers then these are cheap and excellent options.

[inthisglass]

as you have probably heard in many cases you get what you pay for

i have a china cooler and im not happy with it

i plan on upgrading to a good quality one in the future

then again any FMIC will be better than the stock side mount

with the cat

take it out and get a large screw driver and a hammer

put it back in, looks like a stock cat but has no restrictions

if your set on getting a certain exhaust

dont settle for second best

you will always wish you bought the one you wanted..

get one of the apexi power intakes

if nothing else you get the cool suction noise

[NISZILA]

Hey Marco,

With intercoolers, I'm still not sure myself. I'm looking at getting a Blitz front mount, but still want to do some reading up.

For the exhaust though, don't get the front dump custom. Kermit will even tell you that. Get one of the stainless front dumps Just Jap make. They are pretty cheap and top quality.

With a cat. You can do Karls idea. Means good potential for flames out the exhaust, but doesn't sound as nice imo. Also, the illegal factor is not always a good thing. Either metalcat or catco will be good. Look up the flow rates for each and get one that flows the best. Less restriction the better.

Muffler choice is a bit more important than I first thought when I got a muffler for my R33. You need to decide how you want it to sound and how loud you want it to be too. This will determine the shape of the muffler. Important things are that it is a straight through muffler so there is less restriction. If you want it quieter and deeper, get an oval shape muffler. If you want it loud and proud get a cannon.

Cat back, get Kermit to do it. He does awesome work. I don't know if you looked at my R33's exhaust at all, but it was done by him. Top quality work. I'll scratch around for a pic and post it up.

Hope that helps

Edited July 22, 2008 by NISZILA

[NISZILA]

Here we go. Kermit's handy work.

I know he doesn't build the muffler, but I thought I'd throw it in there for good measure

[inthisglass]

hey marco

flames FTW mate

[32vspecII]

Now, firstly I'm looking at getting it intercooled.. Autoworx does the Greddy Spec-M kits for a grand installed.. Looks good to me, never been a fan of china kits. However, I've heard they are bar and plate, which is an older design for intercoolers...

- Bar and plate is not "older design" , tube and fin is not "better" there both different . and not really that different . an mspec will be perfect for your plans . you can fit it yourself , everything is included , brackets , instructions . there 650 supplied. get some mates and a carton , youll have it done by the end of the day if your not too bad

Secondly, exhaust, I've been trying very diligently to get a hold of a Kakimoto N1 mega, however, he lack of availability is making this an impossible option, I've now looking at either a Greddy PEII once again, or sourcing myself a Kakimoto Regu-6 muffler and getting Kermit to fit me a custom turbo-back... I've heard some wonderful reviews about Kermit's work, can anyone make any other suggestions... Also, what sort of cat coverter should I get? Catco? Metalcat??

- custom exhaust is always expensive . perhaps jap catback with china front/dump . also weigh up if its worth paying double or triple for an expensive cat over a xforce or just jap to chase a few extra kw , money better spent elsewhere . dont gut your stock cat , the 2.25 inch inlets are way to restrictive even with an empty inside . get an xforce 3 or 3.5 inch cat and gut that for flames or just decat pipe and police be dammed . peII is mild steel with stainless cannon . suggest fujitsubo for jap full stainless .

Pod filter or no? Box the pod or leave as is??

- pod . makes things tidier , especially with fmic piping and in the future possibly custom intake piping for your big turbo plans. dont box the pod yet as you dont know what else is going in that area yet , partition would be sufficient for the fussy

[bubba]

My 2c is steer clear of those Xforce cats, I have a 3" supposedly hi-flow and it's shiet. I only put it in to go over the pits.

[Magic]

Bubba I have 'hi flow' x-force cat. what's wrong with them? Guess all I can compare it to is stock cat and x-force so it's a bit hard.

The discussion about m-spec fmic's not fitting properly in the dirty4 has been brought up before and is debateable. It depends on the install.

Here is what me and a friend did (supplied by autoworx ). Note we did not cut any of the fan off and it cleared fine, just removed the 34 engine cover. The top of the cooler piping does hit and leave a black mark above where it sits under the bonnet. (due to heat?) But again I'm sure it can be made to fit, again it's all in the install...

Edited July 23, 2008 by Magic

[Shaunc]

G'day...

Finally I'm in a position to spend some moolah on the 'line.. Looking a squeezing a few more kw out of her (more fun) before I go onto handling, although, suspension/brakes/ect are all still very high on the list. I thought I'd just post this and get some feed back form those that have 'been there and done that'..

Now, firstly I'm looking at getting it intercooled.. Autoworx does the Greddy Spec-M kits for a grand installed.. Looks good to me, never been a fan of china kits. However, I've heard they are bar and plate, which is an older design for intercoolers... Is this true? It is worth even thinking about? Worse performance??? Also, I drive an R34, I've been told by some that I'll need to cut my fan blades/shroud and engine cover anyway, however others have told me you dont.. Has anyone here got any photos or reccomendations for their installation??

Secondly, exhaust, I've been trying very diligently to get a hold of a Kakimoto N1 mega, however, he lack of availability is making this an impossible option, I've now looking at either a Greddy PEII once again, or sourcing myself a Kakimoto Regu-6 muffler and getting Kermit to fit me a custom turbo-back... I've heard some wonderful reviews about Kermit's work, can anyone make any other suggestions... Also, what sort of cat coverter should I get? Catco? Metalcat??

I've got an Apexi PFC, Z32 AFM and plug, so I'm set there..

I've also currently got splitfires installed..

Few other points.

Pod filter or no? Box the pod or leave as is??

[NA_Goodness]

Dont gut the cat, cos you want a completely legal car. And you had a good reason for the air box, its a country car.

[Marco-R34GTT]

Dont gut the cat, cos you want a completely legal car. And you had a good reason for the air box, its a country car.

Why should the fact I do country driving make a difference in this regard???

[bubba]

Bubba I have 'hi flow' x-force cat. what's wrong with them? Guess all I can compare it to is stock cat and x-force so it's a bit hard.

Well the difference between no cat and the x-force 3" lo-flow POS, is chalk and cheese. Made my engine doughy and less responsive and the seat of the pants dyno told me it lost a good 30-50hp.

[Marco-R34GTT]

The top of the cooler piping does hit and leave a black mark above where it sits under the bonnet. (due to heat?) But again I'm sure it can be made to fit, again it's all in the install...

Any pics of this??

Anyone know of somewhere in Perth where I could get a decent Jap muffler & dump pipe???

Edited July 25, 2008 by Marco-R34GTT

[phenline]

save your money man invest it

[Stinky Rooster]

Why should the fact I do country driving make a difference in this regard???

I have a few mates into 4WDing and they all had this same issue. 3 of them went to "high flow" air filters and they were fine in the city, but caused problems letting crap into the wrong side of the inlet due to the bigger flow rate (coarser mesh) in the pods. Keep the airbox and use a K&N or equivalent panel filter, and ckeep an eye on the "clean" side of your airbox on long runs. You may be very suprised at what they actually let through (especially on the albany and great southern hwys)

[Marco-R34GTT]

save your money man invest it

I've already invested the lion-share of my savings, it is Skyline time brah!

[NA_Goodness]

Marko, you told me yourself that you wanted to keep the airbox so that rocks cant flick up and and damage the filter. Up to you though. Personally I'd say get rid of the air box and just the keep the under cover.

[-Dukes-]

with the cat

take it out and get a large screw driver and a hammer

put it back in, looks like a stock cat but has no restrictions

Yeah, thats a $5000 fine if you get caught with that on your car.

A friend did that on his 300zx. two holy cats X $5000 = $10,000 lul

[infamous_t]

Yeah, thats a $5000 fine if you get caught with that on your car.

A friend did that on his 300zx. two holy cats X $5000 = $10,000 lul

Errr... what? last time I checked the fine ($10K) is only applied to workshops that fit, not customers themselves.

How can they tell what was done wasn't due to age + blockage destruction?

Besides WA has no emissions testing like over east, except at pits... and if your dumb enough to go over the pits with no cats, well...