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Hi All,

I have had my 99 RS4 Stage for just over 18 months now and love driving it around. I have recently decided to invest some more money into the car to improve it.

I have searched and looked around the forums for as much information as possible however I feel that information overload has occured, so i'm not really sure what to do first as far as modifying my car goes.

It's also worth noting that in no way am I mechanically minded, so I normally don't install any parts or complete any of the modifications myself. I ahve never had the car tuned so I have no idea what kwaw I am getting.

So far i have changed the fuel pump to a wallbro and had a 100,000 km major service completed. Aside from that the car is completely stock.

My budget is $2K

- I don't want the car to be loud, i'm not interested in it being heard from the next suburb

- The smoother the ride, the better

- My aim is for 200kwaw

- I will eventually look towards aesthetic modificiations but at this stage i am interested in engine/driving modifications.

- I am located in eastern melbourne, so recommendations of workshops is also appreciated.

Thanks for all your information in advance.

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Hmm 200awkw. . . .$2k budget. . . you will be pushing it, but it could be done

Since your car is a series 2 Neo, the stock turbo, side mount intercooler and injectors and airflow meter can just make it.

Mods from stock as a miniumum will need to be full exhaust, boost control to get to max 14psi and ECU and tuning

Fit Nistune and tune $1000-1200, need to shop around

S/hand exhaust, 3 inch with hiflow cat and either spilt or bell mouth dump. $500 plus fitting $150-250

Maybe pick up a r33 exhaust for $200-300 and pay the extra labour to mod it to fit. Used stagea exhaust are hard to come by.

Boost control cheap bleed valve $20-100, but be prepared for boost spoke issues, not the best. Maybe s/hand electronic boost controller $100-200 but that require more labour cost to fit.

Labour is the worst killer. Ask someone on here who could help. It is amazing the value of a carton or 2.

If you could slip in a s/hand front mount intercooler kit for say $200 it would help

You will need good/new plugs, I only use cheap copper ones $15-20 set. Will need good spark, so coils need to be in good nic. If not, they could break down on dyno due to prolong heat build up etc, which inturn will cost you time and money to fix. Maybe find some cheap s/hand spares for back up $50.

Under 90db will be fairly quite, 92db sounds good when up it, 96db+ will be heard down the road.

Stick to a large rear muffler and front resinator to stay around 90db.

You are in Melbourne? Talk to Trent at Status Tuning, he knows his stuff.

Tuning is the most important thing,if you want things to last

Edit.

I assume you have a auto. I do not know too much about auto's so I won't comment, but you MAY have issues there with shifting etc.

Maybe budget down the track a new valve body upgrade form MV auto's in SA.

Auto may limit the power goal, maybe target 180awkw and any more is a bonus

Also consider new good front brake pads. You need to stop.

Edited by darrinspencer

Thanks for all of the information Darrin.

Yes the car is an auto.

If i increased the budget by another $500-$1k (total $2.5K to $3K), then would that help reach my power goal?

Also as a matter of priority should a full exhaust set up come first?

Basic bolt on mods like Darrin says should get you there or thereabouts.

Decent air filter, FMIC, full 3" exhaust, boost controller (turbotech should do the job $30), Nistune + tuning.

Fuel pump should be fine but it is an extra that can be worth considering even with modest power levels.

Labour is an issue for pushing your costs over your budget.

You might get away with the stock intercooler but you will almost certainly change it down the track so why not do it up front and get the best value out of the tuning/dyno time.

Thanks for all of the information Darrin.

Yes the car is an auto.

If i increased the budget by another $500-$1k (total $2.5K to $3K), then would that help reach my power goal?

Also as a matter of priority should a full exhaust set up come first?

If you increase your budget to $2.5k -$3k then you should do it easy.

Wolverine missed you have already done the fuel pump. You should consider doing the direct power feed mod to the fuel pump to max voltage and the max from the fuel. search the DIY section

Yes do exhaust first. Then up boost to 10-11psi max if no ECU changes. You will need a boost gauge as well in using bleed valve.

Everything listed so first is basically stage 1 mods to get the most out of the factory setup.

Stage 2 type mods will be, highflow turbo, bigger injectors, z32 airflow meter, auto upgrade, fmic if not done at stage 1. Normally do these upgrades when you have the money or the factory turbo blows. Be aware stage 1 mods will limit factory turbo life.

This should see around 250awkw and another $4-5k in cost with labour and retune

Tuning costs approx $150-200 hour these days with 3-6 hours needed. So get as many mods done at once before you get it tuned.

get a good flowing exhaust i have HKS silent $1000.00 there not too loud panel filter $100.00 nistune from fron trent at status tuning $850.00 turbo tech boost controller$30.00 ebay and a boost guage thats your $2000.00 GONE ..should give you around 170 rwkw...then $700.00 for a front mount return flow more for fitting and $1700.00 for new turbo+fitting then you may be looking at 200 awkw and another re tune so it looks more like $4500.00

If it were a S1 you would have no chance of making 200awk without a new turbo but with the neo engine and Nistune you can get quite close.

Yes do the exhaust first - full 3in turbo back (front pipe plus all the rest). Second hand gear is a possibility esp front pipe which is common with Skyline so look in the skyline parts for sale section of this website. Some Stagea owners wrecking writeoffs may have the rest.

The walbro will benefit from the conversion to full battery voltage ( you may not go any faster but it will last longer.... if you are not confident to do it tray of beers may get some member's help rather than pay auto electrician)

High flow panel filter in your stock airbox (e.g. Pipercross PX-PP1128)

Do you think you will want 250 awkw later? If so leave the smic in place because you will want a good quality front mount for that. if not keep your eyes open for a cheap turnflow front mount which can be fitted with minimum fuss.

The important bit is the Nistune chip and the tune - Trent from Status has a top reputation. Fit the Nistune, preferably an electronic boost controller set at 12 psi and get a good tune (do not skimp on this part - it could cost you your engine and on the plus side a good tuner will maximise performance).

Your auto should be fine with 200awkw (Don't be disappointed if you dont make the magic figure - with the above work your car should go much better).

If you have any money left and you haven't touched the suspension the best single thing would be to get a heavier rear sway bar (Whiteline BNR11XX 24mm or equivalent)

And next time you need some brake pads get some better quality ones and change your fluid to Motul RBF600!

PS and be sure to post up your progress when you get around to it -esp the dyno chart!!

not to hijack the thread, but whats the max boost the NEO turbos hold??? (average), hear that above 14psi they tend to fly apart veery quickly, so alot of people say run at 10psi max.

i dont know, i never tried and i am very curious to find out though.

or should one just upgrade the wastegate? hks or aftermarket spring to about 12psi? would eb pretty cheap, around 30-140 bucks depending on wastegate or spring

not to hijack the thread, but whats the max boost the NEO turbos hold??? (average), hear that above 14psi they tend to fly apart veery quickly, so alot of people say run at 10psi max.

i dont know, i never tried and i am very curious to find out though.

or should one just upgrade the wastegate? hks or aftermarket spring to about 12psi? would eb pretty cheap, around 30-140 bucks depending on wastegate or spring

10 psi is condsidered safe. 12psi should be ok. Do not run more unles you are prepared for a turbo failure.

You can get 12psi by manual bleed. RB20 actuator will give you about 10 psi. Electronic boost controller will give you better control.

Thanks for all the information, such a great forum for newbs like myself. I think I will start with the exhaust system as mentioned on here. I like the look of the HKS Silent exhaust, what other parts will I need for the full exhaust set up?

- A 3" dump pipe?

- A front pipe?

- A cat flow?

Sorry if this info should be basic knowledge, as mentioned earlier have only started appreciating the stagea and trying to gather as much info as possible.

Out of curiousity, what would the stock s2 neo auto stag be pulling kwaw?

a full exhaust is usually from the dump back.

but if you're going to the trouble of getting a mechanic to fit it, you should probably get a higher flowing dump pipe fitted at the same time - JJR has them for under 200 bucks. then your exhaust will be sorted for all mods going forwards. do it once, do it right.

and at a stab, the stock setup would be pushing 125-130awkw at best. with basic breathing mods you would get it up to 160rwkw in an auto, and a good tune and boost might get you to 180awkw......don't forget your auto will be costing you a lot of power.

mine is manual S2 neo and has exhaust, cooler, filter, electronic boost to 12psi and Greddy eManage and it can manage 205awkw, but no more with any degree of safety.

depends how serious you want to be, if you just want to get a bit more kick then spend your 2k on exhaust, boost control and tune.

if you know you'll get sick of the power quickly i'd say spend your 2k on exhaust, coole, boost, pump and 12V and a filter......any left over - put it in a piggy bank and save for ECU, hi-flow, coils, and injectors and shift kit (allow 3.5k) - then you'll be well on your way to 250awkw.

So I decided I will use this thread as a sort of blog as I begin to modify my stagea.

I have been looking around at different exhaust systems.

I think I am set on a HKS Hi-Power 409 Silent Exhaust

Along with a 3" cat flow - Undecided yet... any recommendations?

And a JJR 3" Bellmouth Front/Dump Pipe from Just Jap

Any other thoughts on the exhaust would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

So I decided I will use this thread as a sort of blog as I begin to modify my stagea.

I have been looking around at different exhaust systems.

I think I am set on a HKS Hi-Power 409 Silent Exhaust

Alng with a 3" cat flow - Undecided yet... any recommendations?

And a JJR 3" Bellmouth Front/Dump Pipe from Just Jap

Any other thoughts on the exhaust would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

For your power goals the JJR Cat will be fine and cheaper

If you do buy a JJR dump, just get a money back guarantee if it does not fit. It may or may not hit the floor.

HKS exhaust is a good pick

I was looking at this model on JustJap

https://www.justjap.com/store/product.php?productid=17316&cat=276&page=1

So I can scrap the above model? What are my other options?

Here you go, save you a couple of dollars

The x force dump fit, I use to use one

Cheap cat

Could use the exhaust and play approx $200 to get it modified to suit the stagea

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/346595-r33-gts-t-hks-silent-hi-power-cat-back-dump-pipe-hi-flow-cat-front-mount-18-350z-wheels-disc-rotors/

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