Finished, Sort Of*

[Tangles]

Need better cat-converter, this one is holding back 10kw and resulting in loss of boost at top end.

More tuning management, such as a fresh remap even (will speak to Toshi), would result in using more fuel top end and another 10kw.

Then the additional injector setup & tuning. Maybe better FMIC with a Greddy plenum.

206kw being held back tho.

Car:

1997 Series 1 Nissan Stagea RS Four Station Wagon

100,000kms, Automatic, RB25DET engine, Attessa awd

Silky Snow Pearl, Dayz body kit, twin sun roof

Fully serviced & tuned, fresh fluids throughout always, including diff / engine / gearbox / attessa awd / power steering / radiator / brake fluids, 100”km service including new water / oil pump, new belts, exhaust studs etc

Engine:

Ryco Z201 fuel filter & Ryco Z145 oil filter

Motul TurboLite 10w/40w engine oil

Greddy remote oil filter relocation kit

Davies Craig automatic transmission oil cooler upgrade kit, braided oil lines

MV Automatic shift kit & auto service kit

Koyo Radiator 24mm-thick upgrade kit

Splitfire coil packs

NGK BCPRE6 0.8mm copper v-gruve spark plugs

Bosch 040 fuel pump with direct battery feed at 13.8volts

Aerospeed adjustable exhaust cam gear pulley wheel

Nismo adjustable fuel pressure regulator

Nissan Z32 Air Flow Meter

3inch Just Jap Racing stainless steel single dump pipe system (turbo to cat)

3inch Racing Technologies metal cat high flow catalytic converter

3inch cat-back exhaust system with Kakimoto GTR Racing hi-flow straight-thru muffler

Cold Air Induction aluminium box w/ lid setup, foam internals, using standard snorkel air feed

Cold Air Radiator air guide (feeds radiator / pod / intercooler)

Apexi Super Induction pod filter

Apexi 'Hybrid' front mount intercooler, tube & fin and bar & plate, with custom return air feed pipe kit

Apexi boost gauge

Apexi SAFC Super Air Fuel Computer

Apexi SITC Super Ignition Timing Computer

Apexi Profec B spec-ii dual stage Electronic Boost Controller, set to 1bar and 1.1bar

HKS heavy duty 14psi turbo actuator

Sliding Performance water/oil cooled 360degree journal bearing Hi-Flow Turbocharger, Pirtek braided oil line

Rated 250rwkw at 1bar, 3yr old 15,000kms perfect condition.

Toshi remapped ECU chip

TW Engineering head port & polish job, fully rebuilt including:

* Cometic intake manifold gasket, intake collector gasket, & exhaust gasket

* Cometic Head gasket 1.2mm x 87mm

* ARP head stud kit

* EPP Intake & Exhaust valve seals

* EPP Intake & Exhaust valve seats

* EPP Intake & Exhaust valve guides

* EPP clear cam gear timing belt cover

* Tomei oil gallery restrictor orifice

* Tomei hi-lift valve springs ~8.8mm

* Tomei 256/256 poncam camshaft set

* Gates Racing timing belt kit incl. tensioner and idler

Suspension:

Bilstein front and rear suspension shocks, with ‘lowering’ circlips, using standard springs

Whiteline front and rear adjustable swaybars

Dayz adjustable engine swaybar

Whiteline front castor kit

Whiteline rear subframe alignment kit

BJR Graphic 17” x 7.5” +40offset rims with Hankook K104 Ventus tyres, 235/45/17

Brakes:

Maltech stainless steel braided brake lines, Front and Rear

DBA slotted front brake discs

Benidx Advance front and Heavy Duty rear brake pads

Audio:

Clarion stereo tape unit with 6-stack cd player + usb-mp3 adapter

Clarion amp mounted to enclosure for Clarion 10inch subwoofer

Pioneer 260w 4-way front door speakers

Eclipse 80w 2-way rear door speakers

Razin volt stabiliser kit

Car alarm

Parts to Fit & Tune – Boostwerks:

2x 700cc Sard injector external intake manifold setup

HKS AIC IV additional injector controller

Q45 90mm throttle body

Greddy Q45-RB25 adapter kit

* Greddy plenum, fmic & 4"cat ?

[mitchy_]

i wouldn't bother with the Q45 throttle body.. stock one will flow a lot more than 206kw

did you drop the exhaust to find out the cat was restricting 10 more kw?

[Tangles]

yes

yeah the plenum/throttle-body is mainly a pipe dream.

the ecu is still holding it back, as is the cat converter (tested), perhaps the fmic as well

runs so nice tho, but yes another 20kw to find

[mitchy_]

i doubt an apexi intercooler is holding back power

[RBPOWA-(TJ)]

how does the MV shift kit feel daily driving it around ?

[BigDirtyJase]

Well at least it's nice you've got your car back!

I ahve to agree with mitchy...i doubt the intercooler is holding it up (i'm no great expert)

[Tangles]

the intercooler is only 380mm long, made for 180sx sr20 & rb20's

although I doubt I'll be touching anything for a while, the only thing to look at is the cat

feels awesome on road, like a punchy 3litre, purrs while idling, and of course the shift kit is loving the mix!

very very nice shifts, ecu is km unlimited and set for a higher redline, doesnt miss a beat from 3000rpm onwards

happy with the mv auto shift kit without doubt, very happy with the engine too ! probably need a gt2835 tho

[_Ryan_]

how does the MV shift kit feel daily driving it around ?

i have a knox autos one if you wanna come for a spin

[Tangles]

went for a 2hr 200km spin over my old Hills roads

wow, very quick. the cams are the beezkneez

such a different engine

its an awesome package, heaps quick in the Hills unbelievably so !

[KiwiRS4T]

went for a 2hr 200km spin over my old Hills roads

wow, very quick. the cams are the beezkneez

such a different engine

its an awesome package, heaps quick in the Hills unbelievably so !

You seem to have a very improved package. You have bought a lot of gear and with the port and polish i would think you would expect quite a bit more power.

You have identified a restrictive exhaust and that should be straight forward to fix.

i think you need two things:

1. A computer

2. Some serious dyno time (for example do you need the adjustable cam gear with your poncams/ Has someone tried a number of different settings?

On the question of the computer the latest Link is suppose d to be able to handle autos -i haven't enquired yet but they have a lot of computing power and inputs and outputs. There are tuners and tuners and I am sure that just as In NZ there are some who can get a lot more out of the same car as others. There is no substitute for proven experience and there are a few who seem to stand out such as Anthony (Guilt Toy) or Dr Drift - you could try to talk to a few of their clients or perhaps there are others closer to you ( I am not familiar with the Aus scene) but 240AWKW should not be out of the question unless it is just the turbo holding you back. Anyway all your mods are sound and it is good that you are feeling the improvements in the driving.

[_Ryan_]

In Aus the ViPec seems to be taking off, and Trent at Status here in Vic seems to love them, they are pretty much the same as the link... and should be a fair bit better than his current mail order remap.

[webng]

Nice! Next cruise I'll have to come for a ride!

went for a 2hr 200km spin over my old Hills roads

wow, very quick. the cams are the beezkneez

such a different engine

its an awesome package, heaps quick in the Hills unbelievably so !

[Tangles]

Ive got everything here for 240awkw for sure

got to open up the cat converter exhaust restriction, there was a proven 18kw increase on the dyno with it off.

so, must sort that out asap.

and yes a properly ecu setup is also a must

but, so is a proper ball bearing garrett turbo, probably gt3071r-iw

as it is, with piggybacks and mail-order ecu plus Slide cheap hiflow, its doing all right I reckon.

top gear top speed .9bar and the engine is only at 3000rpm tho

in 3rd gear above speedlimit it really is punhcy, 3000 up thru 6000rpm is sweet as

can only imagine what a good turbo would be like, could see 40kw gain from 80kpmh plus Id say

the current turbo is letting it down above legal speeds, tested last night on various runs

under 120kmph and the machine is a street-dog!

there are various Pros and Cons to the current setup

the ecu chip has scope for more fuel, plus have the 2x700cc sard setup with HKS AIC-4, I reckon a big tuning session and a better turbo / catconverter would see that 235awkw with these current piggybacks. so many options, so little money. Once a proven auto ecu is out I'll sell all my electronics and go that way. Wont lose out $-wise in the exchange so its all good

slide turbo sell $600 buy gt3071r $1800

apexi safc / sitc / Toshi ecu sell $1000 buy ecu+tune $2000

hks aic-4 + 2x700cc intake setup sell $500 buy S15 JDM 480cc $500

decat $-

so, need another 2500 to sort it out - in the long run

will enjoy it for now, and play a bit more later on. out of budget and frankly very happy with the 36,000$ motor vehicle Ive built up over 4yrs (cost 18 plus mods,tunes,services) edit: 1k gear not fitted

[lachlanw]

WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR CLEAR CAM COVER FROM?

[Tangles]

internetzorz for the clear cover. looks awesome

raw brokerage should have some in stock, same as erics performance parts on ebay

[DaveB]

WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR CLEAR CAM COVER FROM?

That was the first thing I thought when I saw the pictures too lol!

Glad to see you got her back *at last* Tangles... and Boostworx have done another good job How are the turbo oil seals?

206kw is pretty damn impressive for a series 1 auto. I'm only making 185 on my series 2 with a full 3" exhaust/custom split/dump pipe and a hi-flowed neo turbo. Tuner said that it was the auto 'box sucking up all the power. Although I am running the stock side-mount intercooler.

Thinking about some poncams now... low - mid-range power sucks atm. and that beast of yours sure did sound smooth at 4,000 revs .

Edited January 17, 2009 by DaveB

[Tangles]

thanks heaps!!

ahh, 225kw without the cat, ... cant sleep, thinking:

going to hammer thru a 3" perforated tube thru the cat converter, to free up a bit of power

going to sell all the parts I still have hold of here, that will net a total of 1grand

once thats done I will sell the intercooler for $450 and the Slide turbo + oil line for $550 (turbo is perfect)

then I'll buy a larger fmic 600x300x76 (not return feed) complete ICS-Performance ecr33 kit for $350 and a garret GT3071r-iw for $1600 with lines

a tube will take the air from front left up into the pod filter, thru the hole currently setup for the return feed fmic

better induction over the 390x280x76 apexi return feed cooler, better flow to the pod filter from the snorkel + air-dam Dayz front bar

the cat converter will still 'perform' with a perforated pipe thru the guts, as gases will still be able to flow and mix with the internals while being less restrictive than current

the turbo will be 40kw better

and then it'll be tuning, and more tuning,

so as it is got to get some parts sold, such as :

NEW rb25 to greddy plenum using stock throttle body adapter kit - $100

q45 90mm throttle body - $150

2x700cc Sard intake manifold + HKS AIC IV addition injector controller - $500

stock cam shafts - $100

stock cam gear cover - $50

stock exhaust cam gear pulley - $50

stock turbo dump pipe & stock front pipe $50

& then the intercooler then the turbo

went for a rip again last night, so so awesome!! if you get poncams get the 8.8mm spring lifters plus a head gasket too. worth it definately.

I went for arp head bolts as well, plus obvioulsy decked out the head while it was all off. Poncams, springs & head gasket would probably suffice tho.

very very smooth, needs a better setup as outlined above for the tru potential to show.

[KiwiRS4T]

thanks heaps!!

ahh, 225kw without the cat, ... cant sleep, thinking:

going to hammer thru a 3" perforated tube thru the cat converter, to free up a bit of power

going to sell all the parts I still have hold of here, that will net a total of 1grand

once thats done I will sell the intercooler for $450 and the Slide turbo + oil line for $550 (turbo is perfect)

then I'll buy a larger fmic 600x300x76 (not return feed) complete ICS-Performance ecr33 kit for $350 and a garret GT3071r-iw for $1600 with lines

a tube will take the air from front left up into the pod filter, thru the hole currently setup for the return feed fmic

better induction over the 390x280x76 apexi return feed cooler, better flow to the pod filter from the snorkel + air-dam Dayz front bar

the cat converter will still 'perform' with a perforated pipe thru the guts, as gases will still be able to flow and mix with the internals while being less restrictive than current

the turbo will be 40kw better

and then it'll be tuning, and more tuning,

so as it is got to get some parts sold, such as :

NEW rb25 to greddy plenum using stock throttle body adapter kit - $100

q45 90mm throttle body - $150

2x700cc Sard intake manifold + HKS AIC IV addition injector controller - $500

stock cam shafts - $100

stock cam gear cover - $50

stock exhaust cam gear pulley - $50

stock turbo dump pipe & stock front pipe $50

& then the intercooler then the turbo

went for a rip again last night, so so awesome!! if you get poncams get the 8.8mm spring lifters plus a head gasket too. worth it definately.

I went for arp head bolts as well, plus obvioulsy decked out the head while it was all off. Poncams, springs & head gasket would probably suffice tho.

very very smooth, needs a better setup as outlined above for the tru potential to show.

At the power levels you have now your car will be going very well indeed so no need to do without food to get the last few kw but gutting the cat wil be free and result in a significant increase. At the year and mileage of S1 and most S2 Stageas the catalytic converter will be adding to emissions anyway rather than reducing them.

If you do go the whole hog ( new turbo) you will end up with (allowing 70kw for transmission losses) 310 to 320kw - serious power in a package with the Atessa, suspension and brake mods to handle it. An inspiration to us all!

[DaveB]

Yeah that sounds awesome tangles, I like your thinking! How ironic that the cheapest cat' is also the highest flowing

Would you mind passing on where you can get a 3071 and lines so cheap? I priced lines and fittings for a couple of options when I was researching the cost of my hi-flow and anything garett/hks/non-standard always cam out around 2,000 somewhere, hiflow was the cheapest I could find. ACS do their 3071 core upgrade for the standard turbo but that's even more expensive ($2,200?) and I heard, laggy.

$350 is a cheap intercooler option. However I have been considering, for similar money, a liquid-air intercooler setup; the lines would be shorter and potentially *much* shorter (depending on how much work I want to fit it) and the cooling capacity would be much better than a fmic, and should be much lower pressure drop too (say, less than half a PSI - perhaps as low as .2 PSI?) This is purely speculative... have you thought about liquid->air?

thanks for keeping us posted... it's always a good read

edit: PS What else did you have done to your 'decked out' head - just port/polish? Is that why it took so long in the workshop?

Edited January 18, 2009 by DaveB

[Tangles]

looking thru things at the moment

no rush, but will be upgrading the turbo and net the mid-240kw power/ phat~torque levels Ive been aiming for

not shitting on this slide highflow, a good little streeter like a journal knock-off version of the hks 2530, but all-in-all fricken good for $600 (oil/water/360deg~thrust/Stage-2 hiflow)

but a better turbo would surely see 30kw gains through-out the midrange and top end

something from garrett like the gt2876r (aka hks 2835), most likely a gt3071r (aka hks 2540), or gt3076r. hks 2540 looks the goods TBH.

cheers. +/-250kw would be very nice wouldnt it.

: no rush tho :

got to enjoy it as is. went out again thru the hills last night, thats 3 runs now.

top gear the turbo hasnt the puff to produce more than 3500rpm

3rd gear rips thru past 6500rpm and sounds glorious

1st gear isnt really needed, and 2nd is proper for corners