Hi Guys I'm New, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Get Someone To Work Out What The Hell Is In This Car?

[Kinkstaah]

Hi Guys

If you dont like newbies asking retarded questions then this is most likely not the thread for you. Yes, I did use the search option, too.

Right, now that that is out of the way... I recently purchased a 2000 R34 4-Door skyline and had some (a lot, actually) of questions about it, as after the fact I've found a few dodgy things, sadly a little too late after buying the car/didnt have the "knowledge" I have now about this kind of thing.

The car is/was originally a R34 GT NA (4 door), which has had either a turbo added to the NA enginer, or has had a RB25DET engine put in. As I know very little about these things, I am unable to determine which of these has happened.

I also don't know what ECU the thing has in it either, whether it is a Turbo ECU or a NA ECU. When I was initially inspecting the car, it did have a pretty severe performance issue as well which was daunting. This was apparently "fixed", but I am a little skeptical as to how it was actually fixed. (it certainly was noticably improved compared to what it was before the "fix"). I'd say what he did but my own lack of knowledge may get in the way.

It also seems to have a bit of custom piping and a POD Filter, and I'm told it isnt possible to put a stock airbox back on without changing some piping around due to the snorkel. As it has a FMIC also, it's in violation of victoria's lovely EPA laws... which I dont think I can fix without changing the piping. It also has an aftermarket BOV, which I have been told once, vents atmospherically, and once that it doesn't. I have no idea personally. It may as well be a can of tuna to my eyes at this point. It has no boost controller, or even the stock boost solenoid, so I believe it's running at just 5psi, yes I read that thread about two stage boost removal and had a look

If you're read this far I'm sure it sounds quite dodgy. What I'm looking for is to see what this car actually has running in it..what parts of it are from a GT and which parts are GTT, or something else. I'd like to relax when driving past police, in addition to not having the rather whiny noise especially as I'm lead to believe it doesnt really help peformance (feel free to correct me)Given all the above, I have this feeling it'll probably need a tune, too, or possibly a different actuator that can handle ~10psi (again Ive been told a R32 or GTR actuator can do this.. but youve probably noticed I have very little idea..)

What I'm looking for is a place, in victoria where I can take this thing, get the info I am looking for and perhaps source the parts (if needed) to get this thing sensible. It may already have the correct turbo parts, but id like confirmation, and I'm happy to pay a nice knowledgable person/shop to do it.

Does anyone have any recommendations of where to take it? Preferably somewhere with good attitude that wont try to take advantage of an enthusiastic car newbie.. and any (any?) idea of a kind of cost that could be involved. Obviously this depends a LOT on what needs to be modified.

This is where I say wow, what a great forum SAU is, I read it all the time at work, would totally pay $70 for a sticker, omg you guys are the best on the planet.

In all seriousness, Ive never seen such an active forum full of people who can construct a sentence and treat people with respect, and I've been on the internet way, way, way too long.

Thanks for reading my novel.

[OMGGTR]

Im not 100% coz im not the most knowledgeable guy here but!

step1 would be chek ur engine no. to the info plate on the firewall to see if the engine is out of another car.. if the engine no. is the same then Vwolar! u have urself a Turbo strapped onto a n/a

in this case ecu will be aftermarket

if its a rb25dett most likely stock ecu or also aftermarket

put up a pic of ur engine bay would help the guys susing it out for u

[bombtrack]

Nice reference to Dr Strangelove

As above, check your engine number, pull the passenger kick panel off and check the model/serial/etc on the ECU (havent seen a stock one for a while so I cant remember what to look for to identify it - I'm sure someone on here knows).

Get a stock BOV. Aftermarket BOV is unnecessary for your application and will more than likely cause engine stalls.

I wouldn't worry too much about the POD/FMIC... it isn't legal, you're right, but in a lot of cases it's the least of the defect problems. What you can do to lessen the problem is buy a black aftermarket air filter housing/box. Plenty of places sell, and you can even get em in carbon fibre... mmmmm.

R32 GTR actuator is a relatively common mod and info can be found on SAU.

[Ruffels]

post up your vin number and i'll run it through nissan fast for you so you can cross reference some details you already know about your car with what the program spits out.

[Basti]

well good to see you've done your research. get rid of the aftermarket bov and get a GTR one. bolts on and is an upgrade over standard. fully re circ so legal too (if they notice the difference). the actuator isnt the gtr one, use the r32 gtst. its a good mod, and again, near impossible to tell its been swapped.

post the vin, and also put up some pictures of the engine bay. to get the car legal with regard to intake, you'll have to either go back to stock airbox and get a return flow cooler (plus weld up the hole under the waser bottle which is a defect too) or go back to stock with your cooler. i'd do the former personally, as you are wanting to run more boost anyway, and make more power.

[Let Me Drive]

mate where are you located ill be in hallam area monday if you would like some one to look over it.

[htial]

I'm sure the guys at RE Customs in Springvale could give it the once over and tell you all you need to know... ...And then give you an idea of the costs to fix it up...

[Charles89]

Or if you are in the SE area, I can pop by if you want.

[W0rp3D]

Firstly you said you dont know if your bov is plumb back or not, does it go pssssh when you back off? if it DOES NOT then its plumb back, contrary to the advice above if aint broke, dont fix, also you need to get an airbox in there, if a cop drives past and see's the fmic and then hears the induction noise there's a good chance your screwed, you said that you cant do it because of the fmic piping, thats another problem, if the piping goes along the top of the radiator then most likely someone has cut a hole in your inner gaurd for the piping, if a knowledgeable cop spots that you will need to get an engineers certificate for it.

All of these little things are a give away to a cop and may get you pulled over, the biggest fear with you getting pulled over is that if this car comes up as a non turbo and you have a turbo then your screwed, it will have to be returned to being non turbo or do all the engineering and epa work to make it legal as a turbo, if you bought this from a car yard in the last 5 days (may be longer im not sure) you are still in the cooling off period and can take it back for a refund.

If you wish to meet some of the people from here and have them look at your car and possibly tell you a few things about it there is an SEI cruise posted in the cruise section for this sunday.

Edited September 4, 2009 by W0rp3D

[Kinkstaah]

First of all, thankyou for all the replies

I'll do my best to answer the points people have brought up..

Im not 100% coz im not the most knowledgeable guy here but!

step1 would be chek ur engine no. to the info plate on the firewall to see if the engine is out of another car.. if the engine no. is the same then Vwolar! u have urself a Turbo strapped onto a n/a

in this case ecu will be aftermarket

if its a rb25dett most likely stock ecu or also aftermarket

put up a pic of ur engine bay would help the guys susing it out for u

I know for a fact the engine in the car has been changed, it doesnt match the engine number that's on the plate. Which is fine, I actually knew this before the same, Vicroads records has a different engine number for the car compared to what is on the plate too. The number on vicroads matches whats in the car, so that's some small comfort. I'm told it's a turbo engine, but I dont know why someone would do this in the first place then run at at 5psi, I would have thought someone doing a job like that would be hungry for more than 5psi, but I could be wrong.

Nice reference to Dr Strangelove

As above, check your engine number, pull the passenger kick panel off and check the model/serial/etc on the ECU (havent seen a stock one for a while so I cant remember what to look for to identify it - I'm sure someone on here knows).

I'll have to have a look for this, though knowing me I'll probably end up detonating the car in an 80's style movie explosion, I'll find a way. Hence the request for more learned people to have a look lol

Get a stock BOV. Aftermarket BOV is unnecessary for your application and will more than likely cause engine stalls.

I did some reading about this before I posted the thread, and yes - I do notice the odd stall to the point where I'm now an expert at getting the thing going quicksmart. My major worry is this, getting a random stall at a bad time then becomes a safety issue, maybe for more than just myself.

I wouldn't worry too much about the POD/FMIC... it isn't legal, you're right, but in a lot of cases it's the least of the defect problems. What you can do to lessen the problem is buy a black aftermarket air filter housing/box. Plenty of places sell, and you can even get em in carbon fibre... mmmmm.

R32 GTR actuator is a relatively common mod and info can be found on SAU.

I have a friend who has a R33 GTR, would this actuator work? We had a look with it, and we thought in theory it *should* work, but didnt feel too comfortable pulling it all apart and putting it all back together again, incase it didnt fit right, and I didnt have hours at the time..

Firstly you said you dont know if your bov is plumb back or not, does it go pssssh when you back off? if it DOES NOT then its plumb back, contrary to the advice above if aint broke, dont fix, also you need to get an airbox in there, if a cop drives past and see's the fmic and then hears the induction noise there's a good chance your screwed, you said that you cant do it because of the fmic piping, thats another problem, if the piping goes along the top of the radiator then most likely someone has cut a hole in your inner gaurd for the piping, if a knowledgeable cop spots that you will need to get an engineers certificate for it.

Luckily the FMIC isn't visible from the outside, the car looks very stocky which I suppose is in my favour. But I know if they pop the bonnet it's going to be lots of questions that I honestly can't answer. I'm trying to avoid this

The best I can explain in a forum about the BOV, is that when I back off it doesnt PSSSH overly loudly, unless I'm doing something like 75kmh in first gear, and even then, only briefly. It isnt the kind that I have heard around town that hiss when doing about 20kmh.

It does have a little bit of a flutter, though, at any other speed.

And here's a pic of that engine bay. I have a bigger pic if anyone wants it, this was resized as I had to send it to my email as a MMS, as I'm lacking the cable at work.

As you can see it looks like a f**king mess. Oh the ability to go back in time, this is my first car in Australia (previously lived in the USA for my driving life..) hence all the queries about laws and such and such.

And thanks again people, the reason I wanted to take it to a place is for peace of mind, and the knowledge that I have paid someone for their time and expertise (and perhaps a one stop shop for expertise/random parts that may or may not be needed..)

[Let Me Drive]

man take the car down to re customs and get ray to have a look and a dyno run to see whats the problem wont cost much and he will tell you everything you need to know

[scotty014]

that is strange. your intake across the top of the engine looks way different than mine. im no expert but if its running low psi and the layout looks way different then my r34 turbo and also i used to have a N/A r34 and i can remember what the engine look was, i have a feeling that engine could of been N/A and had been turbocharged.

edit: also would you be able to get a pic of your intercooler set up it looks like it is a turn flow like mine.

[...]

unless I'm doing something like 75kmh in first gear, and even then, only briefly.

What??!!

[MUFASA]

Might be able to clear a few things up in here:

Firstly the engine is still anyone’s guess, be it a Turbo or Non-Turbo engine, all we know is, it’s got a different engine number to what the car left the factory with and it's got a turbo strapped to the side of it.

Secondly the piping is different, as it’s using the NA inlet manifold, hence why it looks so different.

This begs the question, what sort of ECU is it really using (turbo or non turbo), because from my understanding, only the Turbo’s have the extra butterfly for the Traction Control, so will a turbo ECU work with a non-turbo inlet manifold.

The BOV seems to be internally plumed as all the hoses seem to be connected (just think it’s using a very heavy spring), hence the flutter on low boost.

And lastly who is this friend you speak of with a R33 GTR, he sounds like every girl’s dream man.

[scotty014]

Might be able to clear a few things up in here:

Firstly the engine is still anyone's guess, be it a Turbo or Non-Turbo engine, all we know is, it's got a different engine number to what the car left the factory with and it's got a turbo strapped to the side of it.

Secondly the piping is different, as it's using the NA inlet manifold, hence why it looks so different.

This begs the question, what sort of ECU is it really using (turbo or non turbo), because from my understanding, only the Turbo's have the extra butterfly for the Traction Control, so will a turbo ECU work with a non-turbo inlet manifold.

The BOV seems to be internally plumed as all the hoses seem to be connected (just think it's using a very heavy spring), hence the flutter on low boost.

And lastly who is this friend you speak of with a R33 GTR, he sounds like every girl's dream man.

thats what made me think it was a N/A engine because of the inlet manifold, and a few other little things. i cant wait to find out the answers to this now lol.