New Owner And Noob Of A 1990 R32 Rb20Det Gts4T 4 Door

[Aljo]

G'day everyone new to the forum and new owner of a 1990 R32 GTS4T 4 door.

I have a lot of learning to do and a great list of questions. So I hope I can get some help with all the small to big plans I have for my R32 and get some questions answered.

To begin I would like to thank everyone who takes the time to pass on their advice and opinions. I hope I can return the favour in the realm IT/technical support one day and even more so in person if you live in QLD Northside (Buderim Sunshine Coast here).

I am currently waiting for the workshop manual to arrive in the mail and hope that a lot of light will be shed on a lot of my questions. But till then here goes.

So to begin;

I am waiting for delivery of my A/F Ratio gauge and my boost gauge so I am looking to get all wiring run to the locations I will mount them.

I think I located the O2 sensor wire pin 29 on the ECCS here I check for 1v reading and fluctuations in the reading when I accelerate.

Please confirm I have the correct wire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpUKb2rBS4Q

What is this thing at the rear looks like, 4WS?

and these look like stereo related but what they are and what they do I do not know.

This forum doesn't allow endless editing so most likely you will see multi posts outside the allotted editing time frame. I apologise for those it annoys.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Aljo

[bunnyfart]

As far as im aware the GTS-4 has the equivalent of a GTR driveline (AWD) and that part would be the Attezza system that controls it. Ive never actually seen one in person so take my advice with a grain of salt.

I also have those control boxes in my r32 gtst boot so im thinking the hicas 4WS system.

[Aljo]

As far as im aware the GTS-4 has the equivalent of a GTR driveline (AWD) and that part would be the Attezza system that controls it. Ive never actually seen one in person so take my advice with a grain of salt.

I also have those control boxes in my r32 gtst boot so im thinking the hicas 4WS system.

Yes you are right same driveline as the GTR and I think it is called the ATTESA System based on my googling hehe thx for the direction.

Do these vehicles have All Wheel Steering?

Have you any experience with installing an Air/Fuel Gauge? Just need someone to confirm pin 29 is the right pin.

Thx for the feed back and input.

[bunnyfart]

personally id run it off the O2 sensor so im unsure of which pin to use

[Aljo]

personally id run it off the O2 sensor so im unsure of which pin to use

Directly off the O2 sensor, I should be receiving the workshop manual tomorrow so hopefully that will show me where the pre cat. O2 sensor is and I could test for continuity between there and pin 29.

[Truffles]

Directly off the O2 sensor, I should be receiving the workshop manual tomorrow so hopefully that will show me where the pre cat. O2 sensor is and I could test for continuity between there and pin 29.

Pre-cat O2 sensor is on your dump pipe, just after your turbo in the engine bay.

[bunnyfart]

Roughly 15cm from the back of your turbo it's a silver bung looking tng with 2 wires off it

[Aljo]

Sweet thx will look for it tomorrow thx

[blind_elk]

I think I located the O2 sensor wire pin 29 on the ECCS here I check for 1v reading and fluctuations in the reading when I accelerate.

Please confirm I have the correct wire..

Yes

[Aljo]

Thx guys.

I have confirmed pin 29 to be correct through continuity test. Middle wire in this plug same colour as pin 29, a little give away ;P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUxoesADudE

[Aljo]

So I had a really annoying buzzing noise especially load when accelerating turns out it is the Cat converter cover one of the straps has corroded lipped ends and not holding it on tight.

and while I was under there I noticed this was broken, what is it and what does it do?

this is what the drivers side one looks like

, is it serious?

[mad082]

don't expect the air/fuel gauge to do much other than A) look cool, and B) tell you if your o2 sensor is working properly. it will give you little indication as to whether the engine is running lean or rich as they are designed to operate in the working range of the o2 sensor, which is with an air/fuel ratio of between 14:1 and 15:1. this is what the engine runs at at light throttle (so when cruising at a steady speed). once you put your foot down a bit, the ecu ignores the o2 sensor and works of it's standard mapping where it will usually be down around 11:1. this will read as rich on the air/fuel gauge. even a reading of 13:1, which is generally considered quite lean (bad) for wide open throttle, will show up as rich on your gauge. those air/fuel gauges which work off the stock o2 sensor are by no means a tuning tool. if you tuned your engine off that it would only last a few weeks before it blew

[Aljo]

don't expect the air/fuel gauge to do much other than A) look cool, and B) tell you if your o2 sensor is working properly. it will give you little indication as to whether the engine is running lean or rich as they are designed to operate in the working range of the o2 sensor, which is with an air/fuel ratio of between 14:1 and 15:1. this is what the engine runs at at light throttle (so when cruising at a steady speed). once you put your foot down a bit, the ecu ignores the o2 sensor and works of it's standard mapping where it will usually be down around 11:1. this will read as rich on the air/fuel gauge. even a reading of 13:1, which is generally considered quite lean (bad) for wide open throttle, will show up as rich on your gauge. those air/fuel gauges which work off the stock o2 sensor are by no means a tuning tool. if you tuned your engine off that it would only last a few weeks before it blew

Only reason I am installing the O2 sensor and anyone should install one is to find the sweet spot of cruising efficiency imo. I know that they are by no means at all in any way off the 1v stock sensor reading designed or even meant for tuning. I will though keep an eye on it as I tweak the boost via a Turbosmart Boost Tee Controller Tap Valve too see if it will hopefully react the way I hope it will in which on stock boost the reading should still present rich at full throttle as I hear it is tuned this way to give longlife to the engine as a whole (safe tuning) but as I introduce boost it should lean out somewhat but I want to keep it in a safe range but I am not relying on it as a end all be all reading or main reading it is just to have the experience with it but mostly for cruising efficiency sweet spot. Thx for your advice and input. I am open to input and learning.

[blind_elk]

Pretty much regardless of the boost level, you will still see "rich" because the ECU calculates the air volume from the AFM, and matches the fuel using its internal air-fuel maps. Unless you have a turbo that can pull more air than the stock AFM can measure, you should never see the AFR go "lean" at WOT (on a stock ECU).

The change in voltage of the stock O2 sensor is extremely rapid around the stoichiometric point. In a matter of perhaps 0.1 voltage units (maybe even less), the AFR will go from perhaps 13:1 to perhaps 17:1, totally missing 14.7:1. This is why you will see the gauge dance around the stoichiometric point - the change is so rapid that the ECU cannot make fuel corrections quickly enough to maintain a stoichiometric mixture.

So, as mad082 stated, if you try to tune using a AFR gauge, by the time you have got enough boost that the engine runs lean with that boost, you will be on the wrong side of stoichiometric, and will very quickly destroy the engine.

[Aljo]

Thx for the reply and the info. The AFR gauge is mainly for efficiency sweet spot while cruising but was wondering if it may have helped with boost tuning at all which by both mad082 and blind_elk seems to be a frivolous endeavour.

Is there another way to make the AFR useful for boost tuning, installation of a better O2 sensor in different location, dedicated just for the AFR gauge?

Also what is the max PSI the stock ceramic turbo should be run at? I believe stock should be around 10PSI, correct? I want to save my money for a RB26DET(T) conversion instead of trying to get more from the RB20DET setup through spending money.

The RB20DET is ridiculously under power till boost comes on. The acceleration from idle to 3000RPM boost range is stupid damn 1.5lt moves faster, LOL, but once boost is on 200KM/H is easy to reach. Now I have to mention that it is the Auto 4 speed so if it was manual I am sure I could ride the clutch at high rev to get a better takeoff but that is not the case for me. I will be mod'ding the cat for high flow ( ;P ) to help with that. I hope that it helps the turbo spool earlier in he rev range and free up the engine. Basically at this point low cost tuning and tweaking is the order of the day. K&M air filter is another planned upgrade but not sure to change to pod or stick with the box. I understand the box shields the air intake from breathing in hot air from within the engine bay so I am leaning towards the box stock setup but I also know a well insulated pod setup is awesome as more air flow introduced by design but the shielding of the area can be expensive.

Anyways looking forward to your opinions

[kawasakirider]

Thx for the reply and the info. The AFR gauge is mainly for efficiency sweet spot while cruising but was wondering if it may have helped with boost tuning at all which by both mad082 and blind_elk seems to be a frivolous endeavour.

Is there another way to make the AFR useful for boost tuning, installation of a better O2 sensor in different location, dedicated just for the AFR gauge?

Also what is the max PSI the stock ceramic turbo should be run at? I believe stock should be around 10PSI, correct? I want to save my money for a RB26DET(T) conversion instead of trying to get more from the RB20DET setup through spending money.

The RB20DET is ridiculously under power till boost comes on. The acceleration from idle to 3000RPM boost range is stupid damn 1.5lt moves faster, LOL, but once boost is on 200KM/H is easy to reach. Now I have to mention that it is the Auto 4 speed so if it was manual I am sure I could ride the clutch at high rev to get a better takeoff but that is not the case for me. I will be mod'ding the cat for high flow ( ;P ) to help with that. I hope that it helps the turbo spool earlier in he rev range and free up the engine. Basically at this point low cost tuning and tweaking is the order of the day. K&M air filter is another planned upgrade but not sure to change to pod or stick with the box. I understand the box shields the air intake from breathing in hot air from within the engine bay so I am leaning towards the box stock setup but I also know a well insulated pod setup is awesome as more air flow introduced by design but the shielding of the area can be expensive.

Anyways looking forward to your opinions

Where did you get it up to 200? And no offence but I don't believe it gets to 200 easily once boost hits. A mate of mine just picked up an R32 GTST in awesome condition and it took like 11 seconds to get to 100, haha.

[Aljo]

Where did you get it up to 200? And no offence but I don't believe it gets to 200 easily once boost hits. A mate of mine just picked up an R32 GTST in awesome condition and it took like 11 seconds to get to 100, haha.

I picked up the car from Sydney and drove it back to Qld and I tested to see if it was speed limited and how it accelerated from stand still you are right 11-12sec to 100km/h (stopwatch timer on my Samsung Nexus) but it kept pulling hard 140, 150, 170, 180 gauge max's out but it kept pulling along & the needle kept moving past 180, gps speed app was reading speed (use it for speed runs on my 1/8 scale RC) 190, 200 and felt like it could have gone some more. When I say easy to reach 200KM/H I mean as long as you have a stretch of road it gets there very linearly and without a lengthy struggle which I know is due to the turbo boost providing the needed power. Mine is an auto and @ 110KM/H sits on about 3000RPM in overdrive so I expect high revs pushing solid boost prob helps it along but bad efficiency for sure. it revs to 7000rpm and redzone very easy and very quick once the boost is on and continues to do so as the auto shifts through the gears quickly no drop in revs below boost rpm. Anyways I will have to make a video of it sometime but I try to limit my luck pushing events to blue moon middle of no where straight a ways or a drag track day which won't happen for a couple of months.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Aljo

[Aljo]

Update - Fitted isolation solenoid and battery that will run my stereo system - car won't be able to start off the stereo battery as I didn't want to run a thick gauge wire through to front thinking to creat special jumper leads that plug into drycell if starter bat goes flat but eh see what happens lot's to do any ways.

Unbolted the steel plate that separated the boot from the cabin and cut off the hook that is required for the back seat to be re-installed. Then bolted that cut off part back on and used the left over plate to hold the battery down. I used rubber foam to level the tyre well and then placed an anti-slip mat then battery on the mat then another anti-slip mat on top then the steel plate is screwed to tyre well sides being safe to use the right length screws and the right spots so to not puncture the fuel tank I also placed a think piece of rubber foam spacer between the spare tyre hold down screw down and the battery and used a measured piece of steel pipe that the tyre hold down bolt goes through to stop the hold down bolt from bending the steel plate but short enough that pressure is placed on the battery, hope that makes sense.

[mad082]

ok so you are wanting to use the AFR gauge for adjusting the boost and checking the AFR? well what you need to know is that the stock ecu uses the o2 sensor to keep the AFR between 14:1 and 15:1 when cruising. no matter what boost you run, at cruising speed it will run the same AFR as it will barely be making any boost. so you can double your boost and it won't affect your fuel economy when cruising. it will however affect your fuel economy when flooring it.

also, unless you have an aftermarket ecu you can't do any tuning anyway. for proper tuning you need a wideband o2 sensor unit (which go for a few hundred dollars) and are a seperate unit from the ecu and stock o2 sensor. some aftermarket ecus still rely on the o2 sensor for what is called "closed loop", which is exactly what the stock ecu uses for cruise economy.

[Aljo]

ok so you are wanting to use the AFR gauge for adjusting the boost and checking the AFR? well what you need to know is that the stock ecu uses the o2 sensor to keep the AFR between 14:1 and 15:1 when cruising. no matter what boost you run, at cruising speed it will run the same AFR as it will barely be making any boost. so you can double your boost and it won't affect your fuel economy when cruising. it will however affect your fuel economy when flooring it.

also, unless you have an aftermarket ecu you can't do any tuning anyway. for proper tuning you need a wideband o2 sensor unit (which go for a few hundred dollars) and are a seperate unit from the ecu and stock o2 sensor. some aftermarket ecus still rely on the o2 sensor for what is called "closed loop", which is exactly what the stock ecu uses for cruise economy.

Yeah I always knew that increasing boost would not affect AFR @ cruising RPM. I was just hoping it would give me some sort of reading that differed from the stock rich reading when under acceleration if I increased the boost.

So ultimately the AFR gauge is being installed for me to find the sweet spot for my foot on the accelerator when cruising around, cruising efficiency was and is my main goal with the AFR gauge.

Thanks for the info on what I would require to do to make the AFR gauge a tuning tool, it is food for thought to include in my RB26DET future upgrade project.

Couple more photos. I have just finished cut, polish and wax this was a very dirty car and a lot of stains needed to be cut out but I got there and came up nice.

Meguiars medium cut & cleaner and Meguiars Ultimate polish glaze and Turtle wax awesome products.