[McLarenFan]

it may seem a bit funny that i'm asking this question since i dont have a skyline. But I'm in a process of looking for one(honest to god). so my question is....

what are the best bang for buck mods for a skyline (R33 prolly). The one that cost below 3000quid and enhance the driving experience. should i do the full intake outake mods? should i go for a bigger intercooler? or should i buy an ECU? maybe a suspension mod? mind you i'm not looking toward cosmetic change (the letter GTR on the back is enough to send shivers to the local Porsche owners) to make look more aggresive...

 

[SkylineUSA]

3000 quid,

1st Exhaust, the GTR basically is trying to expell it burnt gasses through a straw, well sort of.

2nd Air filter, Apexi Power intake is the only one, trust me.

3rd Boost controller

4th Intercooler

5th Oil cooler

6th Turbo Timer/Boost guage

Having these installed by someone else, should put you right around the 3 grand point.

 

[jae]

Induction, then...

It's the obvious stuff.

Induction kit (Apexi), downpipes, exhaust (Dual Drager - no bias here ). Note: Leaving the standard cat in place can help the low-end torque, and keeps it MOT legal.

Exhausts - go second hand. I got my Dual Drager from Middlehurst Motorsport for £250 + £20 delivery + VAT. A saving of £400+

Oil cooler for a non UK spec R33. Recommended but optional.

From this point, it depends what you want from your car. Talk to Abbey or similar over where to invest the rest of your cash.

With the above tweaks on a stock '96 R33 I have ruined several Porsche driver's nights. My best yet is an RS4. Caught him out & didn't let him get back.

 

[SteveC]

One important point which could save you thousands is..

If you get the breathing sorted out the car will boost harder, if you then uprate the boost (boost controller) to 1.0 bar, you will not be getting enough fuel and this will cause DET. this will over time screw the bottom end of the engine.

If you turn up the boost and get the induction/ exhaust sorted spend the next bit of cash on getting the fuelling sorted out by upgrading the ECU.

For 3K I did oil cooler, exhaust, Intake, ECU and Clutch.
on my car this yeilded 415 bhp and 307 lb/ft of torque.

The Clutch and oil cooler were sourced second hand and the plate for the clutch was bought new.

I have now added a boost controller. next will be the intercooler pipes and then turbos, injectors, fuel pump, head gasket, and the other bits to stop it all flying apart at 1.4- 1.5 bar.

it is a very slippery slope so if you buy parts make sure they are suitable for the biggest power you can imagine (where appropriate) so for the IC get the biggest you can afford, or you'll have to get a new one when you want to run huge turbos etc..

The list is endless.

/Steve

 

[McLarenFan]

the apexi intake system..... is this the one with the green sponge? i was told by my mate that K&N is better due to the low air restriction, he said the sponge is thick so it makes the air travels slower... how bout installing them BOV? what does it do if you dont have any (or little) engine mods done?

i notice you guys dont recommend suspension upgrade, only engine mods... how about upgrading the anti-roll system and improve the breathing? will it cost more than 3k on the whole?

 

[SteveC]

Depends on what you want from the car.

You'd be hardpressed to find anything wrong with the suspension on a std V-spec.

I have lowered my car but that was for aesthetics rather than my ability showing a flaw.

After changing them I did run a 1/4 mile in 3 tenths less though.

The current flavour is the Apexi induction kit. I use an HKS type.
K & N don't make a pod filter to fit as far as I know but they do replacement panels.
I read somewhere that the STD one flowed more air than a K&N so I don't think your mate is too up on that.

BOV's are covered in a different thread in the turbos section under dump valves. Don't go there, unless you want noise. you will gain no performance from them at the 1 bar levels of boost.

induction exhaust clutch ECU are the main ones to turn your car into a low 4 second to 60 mph car.
Mine did a 4.2 on a slight uphill gradient on the Banzai day.

hth
Steve

 

[Philip]

Leaving the cat in won't help low-end torque at all. The best exhaust after the turbo is no exhaust.

Phil

 

[Harry]

re induction suggest you read this by Scott -

http://www.gtr.co.uk/html/docs/ais.zip

 

[Smootster73]

OIL COOLER

is a must for jap cars in the UK.
it will cost you in the long run as you boil that oil over a long period of time.
I would go for oil cooler first before anything.
They were designed to run 112 mph without them... do anymore than that for long periods and say good bye to the bottom end and shells.

Nick

 

[jae]

Std cat & low-end torque

The replacement of the cat is a standard option for most set ups. It just intrigued me that SVS' monster R33 replaced the entire exhaust assembly except for the standard cat specifically for the low end torque.
Apart from that & a discussion with Abbey, I have no proof either way, but I'm happy with it.

 

[SteveC]

I would say that low end torque would be affected but only before you are running boost at reasonable levels.

Until you are at 4k revs the turbos are not really sucking too hard so the back pressure would provide a bit more torque like in an NA engine.

The real fact of the matter for me would be that the car isn't making much of anything low down in the rev range and if you are doing anything remotely drag like you will be pulling at least 5000-6500 rpm before you lift off the clutch, thus removing the requirement for low down torque.

I feel the theory is sound but practicality is a bit of a moot point.

Leave it on if you don't like it loud. remove it if you like flames and noise !! I put mine back on for the MOT and it sounded quet but performance didn't really notice on the road. This may be different on track but I have no experience of that.

I took it off again because I couldn't hear it too well and I like to listen to the Unfinished symphony by Johan sebastian Skyline

/Steve

 

[Philip]

Normally aspirated cars don't need back pressure either, unless they have a poorly-designed manifold.

Phil

 

[SteveC]

I was of the understanding that until a NA car comes "on the pipe" it needs back pressure.

But as a technical support engineer for telephone exchanges I am not qualified to back that up.

This is why we see turbo cars with huge exhausts and NA cars with smaller exhausts. I cant remember where I got this info though.

/Steve

 

[Scott]

On the asthetic side, I'd highly recommend a set on HKS lowering springs.

A lot less expensive than the full suspension kit at 320 pounds.

Helps get rid of that off roader look the std cars have.

Ride is very slightly firmer but looks the nut.

Finnishes off a good job.


Steve,

K&N do do a induction kit, but its only avalible from Japan.
Kiki at Option got me mine.

 

[Emre]

If you get the breathing sorted out the car will boost harder, if you then uprate the boost (boost controller) to 1.0 bar, you will not be getting enough fuel and this will cause DET.

This is the third time I've read this on this board. Where did you get told this...? Reading in the other thread titled "Stage 1 - Before and After" I am guessing it was by your tuner.

Every stock gtr I have seen runs rich with the factory setup. Even if you up the boost to 1.0-1.3 bar it will still not run lean. I am not telling you the chip you have written for you is useless but streesing the point that it wouldn't have been for running lean.

Back on the topic,
3000 pounds is roughly AU$9000. As i am not aware of the pricing of parts in UK i will put my alternative in AU$$$.

Front pipes and cat back exhaust $1500-2000
A pair of cam gears and installation $5-600.
Bleed valve $20-80
For the R32 you may opt for factory box modification.

With these, set up at 1 bar you should achieve 220 kw at the wheels which guesstimates to 380 hp.
Running 1.2-1.3 bar should yield 240-250 kw at the wheels which should be about 430 hp.
Keep $3-3.5k aside for a future clutch replacement.