Jump to content
SAU Community

How Does Nistune Work?

riley

By riley,
in Engines & Forced Induction

 Share

Recommended Posts

riley Collaborator

riley

Posted
Posted

everyone is telling me to get a nistune done on my 33, i know that its a computer upgrade to your standard ecu, and it unlocks more potential. what potential is that? do i need to change engine components or will it run on a stock standard engine? and most importantly is it a plug and play or do i need to take the car to a dyno to have it tuned like i would for an aftermarket ecu? any info would help. oh and how much does it cost to get done?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/388422-how-does-nistune-work/
Share on other sites
MrWindsurf Experienced

MrWindsurf

Posted
Posted

It's a piggyback board that is put onto your standard ecu, It's fully tunable and yes you will need to go to a dyno to get it done. Most places will charge around the $600 for an initial tune. Yes it will run on a stock standard engine.

riley Collaborator

riley

Posted
  • Author
Posted

It's a piggyback board that is put onto your standard ecu, It's fully tunable and yes you will need to go to a dyno to get it done. Most places will charge around the $600 for an initial tune. Yes it will run on a stock standard engine.

cheers thanks for that.

kitto Mentor

kitto

Posted
Posted

My question is, why do you feel you need to change to a programmable computer? Are chasing more power?

But yes, NIStune all the way as far as i'm concerned if you dont need all the extra features of an ECU such as a Haltech, Link, Microtech, Megasquirt etc.

GTSBoy Grand Master

GTSBoy

Posted
Posted

WARNING.

You cannot put a Nistune board into your R33 ECU. If you want to Nistune your car, you will need to get either an R32 ECU or a Z32 ECU and do that. There are differences between them. The R32 does not control your inlet cam. You will need to get a window switch of some sort to re-enable VTC on the inlet cam if you use one. The Z32 ECU, on the other hand, does control VTC, so makes that easier, but there are some other hassles with using a Z32 ECU on a 25. Your best bet is to google and read up the very many threads on this and other forums on these topics.

The main reason to put Nistune onto an R33 is to allow you to turn the boost up to 12psi (about the limit for standard turbo) and then tune out all the extra fuel that the standard tune puts in at that sort of inlet flow, and also to wind some timing back into it. The stock tune is horribly conservative. You will make more power and use less fuel.

Oh, the other reason to go Nistune over any other programmable ECU option is that to pretty much any cop it looks just like a factory ECU and they would actually have to open the ECU up and look inside to see that it has been modified. Pretty close to the only defect free ECU option available.

riley Collaborator

riley

Posted
  • Author
Posted

WARNING.

You cannot put a Nistune board into your R33 ECU. If you want to Nistune your car, you will need to get either an R32 ECU or a Z32 ECU and do that. There are differences between them. The R32 does not control your inlet cam. You will need to get a window switch of some sort to re-enable VTC on the inlet cam if you use one. The Z32 ECU, on the other hand, does control VTC, so makes that easier, but there are some other hassles with using a Z32 ECU on a 25. Your best bet is to google and read up the very many threads on this and other forums on these topics.

The main reason to put Nistune onto an R33 is to allow you to turn the boost up to 12psi (about the limit for standard turbo) and then tune out all the extra fuel that the standard tune puts in at that sort of inlet flow, and also to wind some timing back into it. The stock tune is horribly conservative. You will make more power and use less fuel.

Oh, the other reason to go Nistune over any other programmable ECU option is that to pretty much any cop it looks just like a factory ECU and they would actually have to open the ECU up and look inside to see that it has been modified. Pretty close to the only defect free ECU option available.

that was exremely usefull thank u. ya i am chasing more power, but from what ive been told my standard ecu is shitting itself. im replacing the engine as the engine has lost compression, and my friend is buying it off me. the problem then lies that if i put a new engine in, the ecu is going to give me shit. its overfueling on standard boost and at 12psi, im regestering all 12psi so there is no boost leak but it feels like im not hitting boost at all, it drives normally, no noises or missfires. but put on a dyno it has 140rwhp. so ive lost about 60-80hp somewhere. i thought it was compression (140psi wet) pritty much even. i know its low but everyone said i still shouldnt lose that much power, as well some one on here told me that the factory computer is set to over fuel itself when dickheads just up the boost without considering the AFR. and aparantly they tend to shit themselves or that specific part of the fuel map. i dont really know im still trying to learn.

Hanaldo Grand Master

Hanaldo

Posted
Posted

Yeh most plug in ECUs can use the stock cover these days. Can do the same with VIPEC, adaptronic etc.

I wouldn't go NIStune with an R33. Personal opinion. As has been said, go read some of the threads about all your choices, there's a gold mine of info here.

  • 3 weeks later...
Mitcho_7 Mentor

Mitcho_7

Posted
Posted

What do you guys consider an acceptable quote from a business to supply the nistune chip, mod a z32 ecu to support the nistune and then install and tune for an r33 gtst?

Im guessing i would have to supply the z32 ecu so exclude that from the cost...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Murray_Calavera
      HKS stroker kit step 0/1 or HKS GTIII 2530

      By Murray_Calavera · Posted

      @joshuaho96 Hmm considering the drama you've seen/experienced, have you looked into getting a built complete long motor shipped from Australia?  Considering the AUD is basically monopoly money when compared to the USD, at a glance this seems like a good option?
    • Shoota_77
      R32 GTS-t RB30 sedan

      By Shoota_77 · Posted

      Bloody Skylines, they put you through the bloody wringer! Stick at it! Stunning drag strip BTW! Where is it? Can see part of the name on the slip and probably should just Google it!
    • joshuaho96
      HKS stroker kit step 0/1 or HKS GTIII 2530

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      I mean the other day I had to walk someone through diagnosing why their timing belt was walking off the cam gears. At least one of the issues was a bent tensioner stud. Local mechanics have found runout on the CAS mechanism causing weird failures. I'm also no saint here I've documented some of the things I've had to learn the hard way. Something I discovered recently is that my CA emissions catalytic converters weren't even welded correctly to align the downpipe to the main cat and they tossed the support bracket that goes from the transfer case to the downpipe to support everything there. I spend a lot of time chasing down these decidedly unsexy problems and the net effect is it feels like I never actually get to the original objective (flex fuel, VCAM, oil control, cooling, etc).
    • r32-25t
      HKS stroker kit step 0/1 or HKS GTIII 2530

      By r32-25t · Posted

      At times with how you make everything sound, all I imagine Americans doing when they see a gtr is standing there looking at it and bashing it with a gun like how a caveman would with a club and hoping it fixes itself 
    • joshuaho96
      HKS stroker kit step 0/1 or HKS GTIII 2530

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      I think this is just a product of how the US market works for this stuff. Shops are expensive and there's no real way of knowing what kind of results you're going to get, people don't really have the institutional knowledge. I have heard too much at this point to really put faith in anybody "full service" except maybe DSport and they aren't really a full service kind of shop. If you go to the right place I have no doubt they'll get it right for you. Some locals have set it up right but the cost really is nuts and even now they're still fighting issues. And you know I'm a crazy person who thinks things like twin scroll, relatively short low-mount cast headers, PCV recirc to intake, recirculating BOV, right-sized for ~400 whp, MAF load, validating all of that to a standard comparable to OEM test programs, etc are relevant. For what it's worth, multiple local owners at this point have been stuck in a perpetual cycle of blowing a motor -> getting someone to rebuild it -> some missed detail causes the bearings to wipe and spin just outside of break-in mileage or drop valves or some other catastrophe -> cycle repeats. I usually only find out about this because I'm perpetually helping random friends with diagnosing car troubles, Skyline or otherwise. The single turbo stuff if I'm honest is mostly secondary, it just doesn't seem to achieve the numbers in the ~2000-3000 rpm region that I would expect given the results I've seen here or in Motive's videos. I don't really know what we're missing here in the US to be causing this. Lots of people like to emphasize the necessity of finishing the project first and foremost, but I'm not made of money and I can't afford to be trashing a 15k+ USD engine build with any regularity. Or spending my relatively limited garage time these days unable to triangulate problems because too much was changed all at once. Also, even if it isn't a catastrophic failure I would consider spending the cost of single turbo conversion with nothing to show for it to be pretty bad. 
×
×
  • Create New...