Bolt On Thread

[3Katz]

I had been umming and ahhing about whether or not to write things up as I go with doing a bit of work to my series II. I had decided not to as nothing I'm doing here is new or groundbreaking - everything has been done before and alot of you will have seen it all before, some many many times. I'm hoping the fact that it's all been done before will help with a recipe for success...

However I've really enjoyed reading the threads here and thought what the hell. I would never have bought an import if it wasn't for the great resource that is SAU, much less pulled one to pieces to put back together again so maybe I can contribute a little as well, if not at least maybe provided some mild amusement - hopefully on not too many occasions Also being used to much less techy stuff ie carbs and natural aspiration I'm finding the hoses and wiring quite full on, hopefully I can ask some questions here and if the resident gurus pop their heads in every now and then I might get some help. This car is full of bloody hoses and electrickery.

As with most projects I've started before they go through a few changes, initially I was going with an upgraded bolt on turbo, PFC and return flow cooler. This has changed and now I'm going upgraded brakes, top mount external w/g manifold, GTX 3076, FFP, GTR cooler, NPC clutch, different exhaust and the little bits and pieces that go with that. Nothing crazy and just bolt on stuff, so not a build thread by any means just a bunch of pieces to throw on. I would like to be seeing 300+kw at the wheels and will be running 98 initially and then sorting out being able to run both E85 and 98 as E85 is not that easy to come by up my way once you get out of town. One thing I haven't decided on yet is which ECU, I'm tossing up between a Link or a Vipec plug-in but will have plenty of time to decide on that later on.

I realise that for my power goals I didn't have to spend money on certain items and some of things I'm doing purely just because I want to. In saying that 300kw will be nice but I will be pushing the setup as hard as I safely can which of course will have alot to do with the tuner (I don't have one of those yet either).

So while I was collecting parts (some of you will recognise me as I've been a customer) I did get the brake stuff together first and finished that off some time ago. R33 GTR set up on the rear and Alcon calipers with DBA 355 disks on the front. Some pics for those that didn't see them in the 'what have you done to you stagea today thread'.

I got a bit done over the weekend and pulled the box and a heap of stuff off the engine, I marked the hoses and wires as I went and although I don't understand what some of them are for I can hopefully fit them to the new system somewhere. Engine bay before:

Engine bay after: (has clicked over 100k so did cam bellt, tensioner and idler pulleys, water pump and fitted adjustable cam gear)

There's quite a pile here... The car had had a little bit of work done to it in Japan, has coilovers, mines ECU, exhaust a few Defi gauges and had a Nismo clutch kit in it as well.

I've learn't plenty already the main ones being I reckon if you're collecting parts over a long time leave the turbo and ECU til last as something bigger/better/cheaper might pop up before you're done and if your engine work involves removing the gearbox at some stage do that first as it makes for a whole other access point for doing oil cooler lines, turbo lines etc. Besides it's a mongrel of a job so it's good to get it out the way.

That is all for now until I can get back into it. As with most of us work gets in the way, then there's house stuff etc etc. I will be doing what I can when I can and hopefully it won't take too long. I'm a bit fussy and like to have everything neat and tidy so will spend extra hrs to get things just right.

[KiwiRS4T]

Good stuff - you should easily make 300kw with the right tune. Why are you not sticking with the Nismo clutch? Don't sweat too long over the Link/Vipec choice - they are the same ecu. Maybe be guided by the agency held by the tuner and let him supply install and tune it.

[533 RYC]

Geez, you've really got stuck into it.

Good stuff Katz, will be following your thread.

Any questions, we're all more than happy to help!

[3Katz]

Good stuff - you should easily make 300kw with the right tune. Why are you not sticking with the Nismo clutch? Don't sweat too long over the Link/Vipec choice - they are the same ecu. Maybe be guided by the agency held by the tuner and let him supply install and tune it.

Yeah I still have to find a tuner so I'll wait and see what he reckons. The only reason I'm not using the Nismo is because I had no idea it had a decent clutch in it and had bought the NPC already. Not sure what the specs are with the Nismo but it felt great, would definately have given it a go had I known.

Geez, you've really got stuck into it.

Good stuff Katz, will be following your thread.

Any questions, we're all more than happy to help!

Cheers

[3Katz]

Ok, finally got a bit of time to tinker again in the shed. I got the intercooler mounted, I used a 34GTR cooler and set it on an angle (by the position of the mounts I'm guessing they're mounted on an angle as standard on the GTR) and a fair way back as I wanted two things - I wanted to be able to still use my a/c fan (will be tight might have to get a smaller one yet) and I didn't want to have to cut my Dayz bar. As you can see not too much had to be removed from the reo

I made some lower mounts from ally that bolted through a hole that was already in the chassis rail and let me use the lower mounts on the cooler

I made some top mounts and had them welded on as I can't TIG. It looks like I'm running the risk of fatiguing the top plate on the cooler but the lower mounts actually hold the cooler very firmly, these top ones are just to stop it rocking back and forth slightly and stressing the lower mounts. I could have got away with one central mount on the top but if you look closely the bolts fit nicely into little recesses already in the reo which means my Dayz bar will sit nice and flat and not rub on the bolt heads. If I was to do it again I reckon I'd make something to weld to the inside of the reo which would allow me to use the GTR cooler standard top mounts with little rubber bushes - oh well.

I fitted my manifold which went on beautifully, and just sat the turbo on the top so I could set the angle of the bearing cartridge to 20deg - which I read in an article supposedly by Garrett. Makes sense to me for thermal siphoning and also angles the oil drain slightly away from the runners on the manifold so that worked out ok.

I also fitted the new Koyo radiator which again fitted easily with only a very minor trim on the lower part of the fan shroud so the plastic didn't rub on the cooling fins.

I sat the inlet manifold in position so I could check out which issues I was going to have with the Q45. The manifold went on ok, had to cut a steel line which travels from behind the cam gear backing plate and send a manifold pressure/vacuum signal to the power steering pump! WTF... I'm guessing the power steering pump has some kind of valve on the back which changes the feel of the steering according to how much boost or vacuum the engine is making, maybe it makes it less twitchy when you giving a boot full? Ideas anyone? Anyway that is removed for now, I can always run a flex line later on to replace it if it's required.

I sat the tb every which way and decided I'm going to try to mount it upright as it sits in the photo, it fits ok sideways with the linkages at the top and I could probably even get the throttle cable to stretch over there but I prefer the way it looks sitting right way up, I'll need to get a new throttle cable made and knock up a bracket as well. I had to make my top radiator hose out of a couple of pieces of my old lower hose which was still in good nic to clear the linkages by enough to take into account engine movement on the mounts.

The next issue I have is I don't really want to cut through the top of the battery tray for my piping if I can avoid it. I'd like to go under the tray or if possible even go all the way under the chassis rail and back underneath my washer bottle. I realise through the top would be smoothest and most efficient air flow wise but I'm hoping to avoid having to cut if I can - not really sure why, but I'm going to see how it goes. To do this I need as short a t/b as I can get to start the bend early, Hypertune ones are much shorter and less bulky on the linkages as well, and the TBA ones are even shorter again. I have the Q45 already and it didn't cost me much so I'm going to shorten it by about an inch, to do that I'll have to carefully remove the water heating system including the mouldings and housing for the wax pellet, hopefully I don't hit any hidden galleries...

I could tack the i/c pipework up with some stainless wire and take it in to get TIGd but I'd like to have a go myself. Buying a set up for TIG welding is confusing as I'm not sure what I even need having never done it before, I think AC/DC is out of my price range which means I won't ever be able to weld aluminium which sucks - so a good little set for small stainless jobs is what I'm after I think, more research required...

[scotty nm35]

It's coming along nicely. You could send me the throttle if you needed a tight alloy bend welded to it, but surely there is a fabricator locally you could take it to?

I rarely cut holes in the body for cooler pipes anymore as cars are defected for much less down here. 2.5 inch piping will be fine for that power level, unless you want the 3 inch chunky look.

[KiwiRS4T]

I just used the stock throttle body - cut a little bit out of the fuse box - don't really see it when the lid is on.

[3Katz]

It's coming along nicely. You could send me the throttle if you needed a tight alloy bend welded to it, but surely there is a fabricator locally you could take it to?

I rarely cut holes in the body for cooler pipes anymore as cars are defected for much less down here. 2.5 inch piping will be fine for that power level, unless you want the 3 inch chunky look.

Thanks for the offer Scotty, I hadn't thought of welding an alloy bend to the t/b I was going to try to lobster back the stainless up to meet it. If that fails I'd definately take you up on that offer, I'm sure there are blokes here that could do it but I'd be much more confident sending it down there if you were keen.

From what I can gather the police are lighter here than they are on you blokes down south with defecting modified cars but if I can change it back to stock easy enough it may make life easier in the future.

I just used the stock throttle body - cut a little bit out of the fuse box - don't really see it when the lid is on.

With my power goals I could definately use the stocker as well - it's no 25/30, although I wish it was but I'm pretty keen to try the Q45 and have a go at fitting some 3" up to meet it. It sure is a snug fit with the huge fuse box and the battery in the way as well with these Stageas. You see other engine bays - they must be 33's or something and it seems like there's heaps of room!

[3Katz]

Ok, so it's been a while since I've added to this thread. I stacked one of my bikes and hurt my back a little which has slowed me up somewhat. I have done a couple of little jobs though:

I knocked the end off my Q45 as planned and removed all the water jacket stuff to shorten it up and allow me to use the TB right way up and not have to cut a hole in my battery tray or inner guard for IC piping. The hose stop ridges have now become the bits that will prevent the pipe and clamp slipping off under boost. I found that a Nissan Maxima cable will reach the throttle body well although the inner will need shortening slightly. The TB went from this:

To this:

As you can see it gives me just that little bit more room:

I also made an adaptor plate to attatch my R34 IAC valve to the R33 Greddy plenum. Every pic I've seen of one has been a little different and so is this one, I wanted to point the hose towards the IC piping to make plumbing nice and neat:

I drilled out the plates in my cam covers to baffle more than the stock items. I never had any oil in the intake pipe issues but I figured while it was apart I might as well do it. Here is the stock Nissan baffle:

Here is the drain hole in the baffle plate - opened a little with a screwdriver:

I got some E85 safe fuel cell foam and cut it to shape to fit in the cover. I think it's a good idea not to cut it too thick so it's not 'squished' in there. This will allow the foam to sit up on these little ridges then any oil caught is free to fall from the foam onto the plate and run unimpeeded to the drain holes:

I tapped the rivet holes out to 6mm to ensure a good bite and tightened the cover into place using loctite, finished up like this:

I fitted a bronze bush to the shifter:

And some NPC goodness, billet flywheel and plenty enough clutch. I found removing the box a bit of a bastard to be honest, it had to be twisted, rotated and shimmied untill it came free. I found putting it back in that the main problem is the cast ridges over the starter hump are what hangs up on the floor. I rubbed them back with a flapper wheel and made myself a board with a hole to fit my noggin in so I could see to line the input shaft up through the clutch fork hole. This worked a treat - one board and a jack front and back and it slid in flat as a pancake, no rotating or twisting required. I'd never come across a pull type clutch before, found it pretty interesting how it all goes together and works:

So that's about it for now. Been real busy with other things and finding I'm getting less and less time to work on the car. We'll see how the next few months pan out...

[3Katz]

Well unfortnately I can no longer continue with my plans with the Stagea, circumstances have changed and it will be turned back into a stock family wagon. All the performance parts will be coming off except for the coilovers, radiator, HKS exh. gear, NPC clutch and probably the brakes. I'm updating this thread to give you guys the heads up there will be some very nice parts coming up for sale in the classified section...

Including new -

6 Boost top mount split pulse single w/gate manifold

GTX3076R turbo - drilled and tapped for 1/8th exh. temp sensor

Turbosmart 50mm Progate black

Turbo beanie

4" BMC twin entry pod filter

Greddy inlet manifold proff. painted black

EFI hardware dual entry fuel rail black

XSpurt 1000cc injectors

Turbosmart fuel pressure reg FPR800 black

Turbosmart dualport BOV black

DW300 E85 compatible fuel pump

Splitfire coil packs

Nissan O2 sensor

Greddy thermostat sandwich plate and Speco 13 row oil cooler ready to fit with black fittings and black braided Aeroflow hose

SX 10 micron fuel filter black

Cusco BMC stopper - black

HICAS lock bar - black

Full set of amber DEFI gauges and controller incl. water temp, boost, oil temp, oil pressure, fuel pressure, exh. temp. and remote warning light.

Second hand -

R34 GTR intercooler - modified

Q45 throttle body - modified

Blitz Dual Spec R boost controller - exc cond. still in box

I'll be posting these up for sale in the classified section soon, not all will come up at the same time but keep your eye out if anything interests you. It's a shame I can't finish it as all it needs really is I/C pipework made, exhaust, and an ECU but thems the breaks I guess.

Cheers guys.

Edited September 20, 2014 by 3Katz

[KiwiRS4T]

Well I guess that's the upside of bolt-ons ...you can unbolt them as well although you will lose money on them - but not as much as selling the modified car!

[3Katz]

I agree 100%. There's no preventing losing money on the parts but the loss would be greater selling the whole modified vehicle. Besides the Stagea is a fantastic car and I'd like to keep it if possible. Of course it's going to sit in the shed partly disassembled untill I can work on it again...