Question Time

[iamhe77]

Quick question as I can't decide.

My next mod is going to be the last one for a while, so out of the following, which should I do and why;

1. Suspension - (New) either Bilstein, Nismo or Kenstyle (although they look a little soft)

2. Brakes - Z33 Brembo's (lightly used) - front and rear calipers, pads & rotors

3. ECU re-program (not sure about price, but should be cheaper than option 1 or 2) and possibly (again, depending on cost) larger custom front mount 'cooler

4. Nismo bodykit - (not a priority atm, but would look ace in Peal blue with my rims)

Currently have;

3" dump back exhaust

HiFlow turbo

Nismo LMX5 rims

1. Suspension - stock - a bit floaty and allows body roll

2. Brakes - stock

3. ECU - stock

4. Stock RS body - no damage (except for a couple of small dents on the roof - a large tree branch fell on my car )

Or should I buy a ride-on mower? 1.1ha (2.8acre) is a lot of area to push mow.

Edited January 19, 2009 by iamhe77

[66yostagea]

(1) Get the mower

or any of your 1 2 3 or 4.

Not a hard decision.

My mate has a Harley Davidson golf cart. He has just fitted a turbo. He now gets to the greens faster than his balls?!!!!!!!!!

[QWK32]

ecu for sure. with a 3" exhaust and a hiflow turbo the thing probably needs a good tune. also with a tune you should get better fuel economy and wont be spending as much money on fuel, which mean you will be able save more money for the other upgrades

and just have a look in the paper and see if anyone is giving away a couple of goats, those things are like a 24/7 lawn mower.

[iamhe77]

(1) Get the mower

or any of your 1 2 3 or 4.

Not a hard decision.

My mate has a Harley Davidson golf cart. He has just fitted a turbo. He now gets to the greens faster than his balls?!!!!!!!!!

LOL. Thanks for making my decision so clear!

I would love to see the golf cart, sounds ace... Now if only I could get in a good round of WhackF*ck this weekend...

ecu for sure. with a 3" exhaust and a hiflow turbo the thing probably needs a good tune. also with a tune you should get better fuel economy and wont be spending as much money on fuel, which mean you will be able save more money for the other upgrades

and just have a look in the paper and see if anyone is giving away a couple of goats, those things are like a 24/7 lawn mower.

Yeah, it runs as rich as Bill Gates at the moment. A tune would be great.

Been joking with the wife about goats as well... May cause a bit of an issue with my dogs though.

[andy65b]

Didn't you watch Top Gear UK last night....... All about what mods actually made a difference to performance.

Brakes = no gain, in fact slower.

Suspension = gained about 2 seconds a lap

Injectors, inlet manifold = about 2 seconds a lap.

Given that I would be tossing up between suspension & ECU tune. The upside of the ECU is that once you spend the money you will be saving money each week to do more mods.

Go the ECU tune.... IMHO.

Cheers

Andy

[iamhe77]

Didn't you watch Top Gear UK last night....... All about what mods actually made a difference to performance.

Brakes = no gain, in fact slower.

Suspension = gained about 2 seconds a lap

Injectors, inlet manifold = about 2 seconds a lap.

Given that I would be tossing up between suspension & ECU tune. The upside of the ECU is that once you spend the money you will be saving money each week to do more mods.

Go the ECU tune.... IMHO.

Cheers

Andy

Yeah I did see it.

I was actually saying to my mate that the suspension should have been first (did you see all that body roll?!?)... but why didn't the F1 Honda wing do anything? I can't believe it!!

(actually I can, excessive rear down force on a FWD street car has never made sense to me - gotta love those Honda boys with their GT wings)

hmm, a vote for the ECU from a Bilstein owner... interesting

Cheers, Andy.

[andy65b]

hey.... don't take the vote as a mark against the Bilstein's.

I looooovvvveeee the shocks and sway bars and this car is a delight to drive. There is definatley no regret but if you have to choose and order for mods and looking what you have already done I would say make that turbo and exhaust really sing.

I still have not modified the mechanicals of my car at all yet. The plan is;

1) front brakes (only because I already have them)

2) cat back exhaust

3) Front dump (not sure on this yet, see how the finances are holding up)

4) ECU tune

5) 19 inch rims

That is the wish list anyway. Mind you the kids are at me to get the DVD headrests first....

[rb26stagea]

I'd go for suspension, personally, as it will address some of the other aspects you want to improve, and it seems to be the only item you have an actual complaint about (too floaty). It will also potentially lower the car, so it will improve the visual appearance (not as much as a bodykit, but it will look heaps better), Braking (marginally, but still a potential improvement), and performance, as it will improve cornering speeds (if you're a spirited driver). It will also feel so much more sure of itself, it'll be like driving a different car, if set up properly.

The only drawback is that it will make you want to do the tune, because it will feel underpowered compared to now: you'll want more poke!

Just my 2 cents' worth...

Oh, and ditch the mower idea: it will cost way too much to get it up to the Stag's performance level! Push mowers are coming back into vogue anyway...

[iamhe77]

Thanks for the replies guys.

hey.... don't take the vote as a mark against the Bilstein's.

I looooovvvveeee the shocks and sway bars and this car is a delight to drive. There is definatley no regret but if you have to choose and order for mods and looking what you have already done I would say make that turbo and exhaust really sing.

I still have not modified the mechanicals of my car at all yet. The plan is;

1) front brakes (only because I already have them)

2) cat back exhaust

3) Front dump (not sure on this yet, see how the finances are holding up)

4) ECU tune

5) 19 inch rims

That is the wish list anyway. Mind you the kids are at me to get the DVD headrests first....

Didn't take it as a mark against the Bilsteins. At all. Ever.

R33 GTR Brembo upgrade? Pics & thread please (much cheaper than Z33's Brembo's)

Are you looking at the same exhaust combo that NRVOUS has? There are heaps of cat back's out there.

I'd go for suspension, personally, as it will address some of the other aspects you want to improve, and it seems to be the only item you have an actual complaint about (too floaty). It will also potentially lower the car, so it will improve the visual appearance (not as much as a bodykit, but it will look heaps better), Braking (marginally, but still a potential improvement), and performance, as it will improve cornering speeds (if you're a spirited driver). It will also feel so much more sure of itself, it'll be like driving a different car, if set up properly.

The only drawback is that it will make you want to do the tune, because it will feel underpowered compared to now: you'll want more poke!

Just my 2 cents' worth...

Oh, and ditch the mower idea: it will cost way too much to get it up to the Stag's performance level! Push mowers are coming back into vogue anyway...

Thanks for your 2 cents mate.

What you say makes sense, and yes, I am a spirited driver - when I don't have the wife or 95kg's of dog roaming around in the car.

Only issue is that with my exhaust combo, the piping sits about 1/2" lower with stock ride height. Subtract another 1" and the speed bumps on my way to work look pretty scary.

Ditch the mower idea? But I will be living 1 minute from the Speedway.

.... and I always want more poke

Edited January 20, 2009 by iamhe77

[andy65b]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Didn't take it as a mark against the Bilsteins. At all. Ever.

R33 GTR Brembo upgrade? Pics & thread please (much cheaper than Z33's Brembo's)

Are you looking at the same exhaust combo that NRVOUS has? There are heaps of cat back's out there.

R32 calipers on the front with the group buy RDA slotted front rotors. Meant to be Hawk pads but this has turned into a bit pf a nightmare so not sure what will go on at the moment. Should go on late Feb after I get back form OS.

I am looking at the Legis exhaust but not sure where to go for the front dump. There is another one being sourced that I am waiting to see.

[iamhe77]

R32 calipers on the front with the group buy RDA slotted front rotors. Meant to be Hawk pads but this has turned into a bit pf a nightmare so not sure what will go on at the moment. Should go on late Feb after I get back form OS.

I am looking at the Legis exhaust but not sure where to go for the front dump. There is another one being sourced that I am waiting to see.

You could look at the QFM A1RM performance pads (~$190 F&R from jetpilot1986). Have a set on order and have heard nothing but good things about them.

Can't recommend or not recommend them though as I have not tried them.

Looking forward to though.

Front pipe? You could look at a Kakimoto, dunno about prices with exchange rate so poor.

You will need to keep the stock dump though as the Kaki pipe does not have a cat.

It does give the Legalis a much nicer sound though

Edited January 20, 2009 by iamhe77

[Tangles]

#1 and #3

[sleeper393]

ECU , ECU , ECU , ECU, ECU ,ECU ,ECU.

BUT WHICH ONE , LET ME KNOW CAUSE IM LOOKING AT AN ECU WHEN I FINALY PICK MINE UP !!!

Edited January 20, 2009 by sleeper393

[pixel8r]

Shift Kit!!

nah seriously out of the options you listed I'd go with suspension - it'd probably make the biggest difference to your drive...so long as its still comfortable.

If you are happy with the current suspension then maybe look at the ecu - since this will translate into some good fun

only problem is that if you increase the power too much you may need better brakes as well?

Edited January 20, 2009 by pixel8r

[danwatt]

who's doing ecu re-maps anyway ? I would go the re-map

[sleeper393]

yes me too , i've been waiting on all the word on when these custom edits for m35's will be ready , is this a go for the ecu re-tune

[iamhe77]

who's doing ecu re-maps anyway ? I would go the re-map

Tony aka NRVOUS is trying to tee the re-maps up with his tuner.

Read more here: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...t&p=4261862

yes me too , i've been waiting on all the word on when these custom edits for m35's will be ready , is this a go for the ecu re-tune

That is what I am waiting on. Price too obviously.

I have an eManage Ultimate with Universal Harness sitting in my Garage atm, but I like the idea of the Stock unit re-mapped.

Regarding suspension.

What difference would aftermarket springs make if the shocks were worn? *dumb ass question I know, but still...*

Edited January 20, 2009 by iamhe77

[andy65b]

Regarding suspension.

What difference would aftermarket springs make if the shocks were worn? *dumb ass question I know, but still...*

You would probably bounce even more. It is the shock that slows the rebound and compression of the spring. I would look at the shock and not the springs if you have to choose one.

[_Ryan_]

dont do springs before shocks!!! they go pop and car rides badly...

IMO, Do shocks, then mower, then ECU, then brakes, then kit...

What area are you in too be on that much land

[KiwiRS4T]

Definitely the Bilsteins (and swaybars if you can manage). On the highway your average speed will be way up through not having to slow for corners so much and also save on brakes and petrol through not slowing down and speeding up. Stagea brakes are not their weak point anyway unless you want to go racing. I can't see these ecu remaps coming out any time soon just get second hand SITC and SAFC in the meantime. And get some sheep you can eat them at Christmas.