[JEN]

Hello everyone,
Recently acquired a 2nd hand 99' R34 GTR (Not V-spec) in Hong Kong. No mods done on the engine or ECU but am already having an itch to do so.
My first question is whether the factory restricted speed of 112 mph (or 180 km/h here in Asia) can be remove by the substitution of the 320 km/h speedo meter as that was what one local tuner told me. I was under the impression that something had to be done to the ECU.
Sorry about my ignorance and look forward to your replies.
Regards,
J

 

[SteveC]

Speed jumper

Hi J,

There is a mod that the tuners sell over here called the speed Jumper which is some sort of de restricter and speedo mod that will de restrict the car and give you an MPH speedo. I suppose they could do the same thing but not change the speedo.

It is worth bearing in mind that if you de-restrict the car it is wise to get an oil cooler because the extra speed/revs will cause much more heat, Particularly on a track day.

The other way to go is a new ECU which can also give you a remapped boost level so that when you do the exhaust and induction kit you'll have about 350-400 bhp to play with.
(whatever power you have is never enough !!)

happy skylining.

Steve

 

[DCD]

You can fit an HKS speed cut defencer but as SteveC said it is more advisable to re-map the ECU and get 100% from your car and modifications. Those HKS thingies basically act as a bridge for the fuel cut at 180km/h. Sometimes they work fine but they can also cause problems.....
...go with the ECU option

 

[Skylining]

Speed limit

Jen,

I’ve got the original Speedo with a Speed jumper that I installed myself.

The hardest part was getting too the wiring at the back of the instrument panel.

I can’t remember the manufacture but I can check it at the weekend.

Now what happens is that the needle goes right past the 180-Kph mark but who cares how fast I’m going by then anyway.

By the way the Mph conversion done on most UK Skylines is technically illegal in mainland Europe. You should have Kph marked on your display as well.

Anyone know if a Mph Speedo with Kph marked off as well is available for the R33?

Paul.

 

[SteveC]

speedo

Paul,

You can indeed buy a pukka speedo I believe it is a nissan standard part and costs something like 380 +vat+fitting, so for the sake of that kind of money I'm going to go for the back lit set up that Ian has just had put in and the speed jumper put across for the mph conversion. (already at stage 1 so I don't need the delimiter)

hth

Steve

 

[Peter]

Paul,

There is a genuine Nissan mph speedo head (with small kph as well) available for about £200. Easy to fit, solves the speed cut problem and does not interfere with HICAS, etc.

Be careful of these chips which convert the signal from the speedo to mph as the one I had fitted interfered with the HICAS system.

Peter.

 

[Scott]

Speedos


Adding to what Peter has just wrote, I had 4 'Re-Calibrated' speedos
and all of them threw out me HICAS.

Eventually I insisted Middlehurst fit a Nismo 320 kph speedo and get
the face reprinter in mph, but with smaller kph on it aswell.

No problems since then.

 

[JEN]

Wow, this is pretty amazing - the speed and the amount of replies. Really appreciate your responses.

For informational purposes and which I assume will get the benefit of a fuller consideration by your collective expertise out there:-

The car came with Tien RA Shocks, Nismo Intercooler, ARC N1 Exhaust (too noisy for me though and it doesn't make friends with any of the neighbours), ARC Air Filter, Baz dump valves, some sort of ARC metallic piping (2) in place of the original black plastic one which goes into the right hand side of the engine and which is for the purpose of sucking in air (view from facing the car and looking at engine when you open the bonnet) and Nismo 18 X 10 J rims now with Bridgestone's 03s 265/35/18.
There is also an ARC something to do with oil reservoir (?) but its not an oil cooler.

QUESTIONs
I'll go with the ECU option but any recommendations for one that works with a R34 and without the drawbacks such as interferences with other electronic/electricals incl. HICAS etc. What is the induction kit for? I also do not require a big boost as the traffic over here is quite conjested on most roads. Rather, I need a more even distribution of torque & power. Suggestions welcome.

I should like to get the car up to but not much beyond 400 bhp (for now anyway) and yes, the oil cooler seems a must. However, there seems a need to scramble for space and I was told that the Nismo oil cooler for the R34 will be set at the front of the left front tyre and therefore it will have very long piping work and may reduce the efficiency of the pump. An ARC or HKS has been recommended but they were made for R33s as the R34 version has not come out yet. Any views or alternatives?

Also, anyone used the Nismo V.S.S Muffler? Any ideas on the extent it affects the performance?

Add iridium plugs a good idea too? What about the clutch? does the standard one need a replacement if I take it to 400 bhp?

I am not good with the technicalities of the car so bear with me and, to be honest, I haven't even looked under the bonnet of any of the cars I had before but as you will all know what I mean, the GTR is just something else.

Thanks for the help.

Jen

 

[SteveC]

options

Hi Jen,

The ECU upgrade will not mess with any of the systems on the car, The problem is caused by these mods which solder on to the back of existing boards.

It sounds like you should get the ECU changed then if possible get it on a dyno because with the mods you have you may well be up around the 400 mark.

Maybe an intercooler on top of the other bits and I'd have thought you'd be there.

No experience of that exhaust, sorry.

A lot of people do add iridium plugs at the point that you have got to, they seem to make the idle a bit less lumpy (especially when cold)

The clutch is entirely dependant on you and the way you plan on driving the car. if you are going to go for lots of drag starts then a good twin or triple plate is what you'll be requiring but for the odd fast start, drag meet and track day the Nismo single plate is a reasonable compromise, if you are not going to get lured into much fast starting at all then just upgrade when you need to.
I had to do mine recently from standard to the Nismo single plate.

hope this helps.

Steve

 

[Talat]

Considering the amount of money that has been spent on the car by the previous owner I am somewhat suprised that the speed restrictor is still in place. This may be a silly question but have you actually tried to cane it past 112 mph ?

Talat.

 

[Alan]

Exhaust

Hi Jen
I have a Nismo system fitted on my car coupled to HKS downpipes.(& De-cated)
It works for me.
Its not noisy at all untill you get above 5000/6000 then she has a quite high pitch noise.
Very unoffensive.
Best regards

 

[DCD]

Hi Jen,

I have the white faced Nismo dial kit fitted to my R34. No problems at all.
As for ECU I suggest you have a look at Mines VX Rom. I'm having this fitted to my car in November and I really do recomend it.
If you want to change the ARC system(..WHY?? ...sounds great!) have a look at either the Mines stainless steel VX muffler. You will find this gives a more reasonable db reading. Also worth a look is the full twin Weldina NE-1 system from Nismo. It is quite loud but sounds great.
As for the oil cooler...there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Nismo one. It does its job well and with the considerable pressure in the circuit it doesn't really make a difference how long the connecting hoses are. It was designed for the R34....and if there is a problem with it it's the price!!! I'm fitting an HKS one since it's a third of the price of the Nismo one and is almost twice as big. This also comes with an aluminium air guide system for a bit more money.
In your current set up you should already have n7 plugs fitted due to the higher boost pressure you are now producing with your exhaust. If not ...have them fitted

 

[Jimiroquai]

Hi Dino,

I wonder why you kept recommending Mine's VX-ROM to ppl, is it really good? One tuning garage in Singapore also recommended me this VX-ROM so now I realize this thing might be very good. IMHO a ROM is not really a good buy since it is a hassle to retune it for next upgrade ( has to resent it Mine's for retune ), i would rather go for things like APEXi Power FC since we can retune it anytime the next upgrade is due. Am i right? Or can you convince me otherwise Dino? Please advice me.

My Stage 1 is gonna be, intake + exhaust, straight pipe(decat), front pipe + ECU + boost controller + intercooler + iridium plugs and a probable blow off valve

My stage 2 will be camshaft + bigger turbo + injector + drive train upgrade + metal gasket.

Stage 3 ( not likely ) will be engine internals upgrade

I am mostly a cosmetic enthusiast instead of performance so i think i will stop at stage 2 if not at stage 1. However i would love an occasional trip to track days. I had only body kits and wheels + suspension upgrade so far on my car, i will post pics whenever i have time to take a photograph of my car.

The reason why i would go for the kind of Power FC is the staging that i planned, i dont want to wait to long for retuning and not being able to drive my car. Unless you can convince me otherwise i would stick to my Power FC although i am sure Mine's VX-ROM is one of the best ECU there is for Skylines.

Jeff

 

[MotoRex]

Cut wire #53. No more speed limiter...

http://forums.skylinesdownunder.co.nz/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3259&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

Check out the 2nd ,3rd pages...

 

[DCD]

Jimiroquai....if you seem certain you will stop at "stage1" as you call it(...I really do hate all this stage busines!!), what is the point of fitting a piggy back ECU? What is the point of fitting a programmable ECU if you are not going to touch it anymore after its been set up? Sounds a bit pointless to me.
Hence, I still reccomend the Mine's item.

 

[Jimiroquai]

Hi Dino, thanks for the reply.

I got your point. It is pointless to use a reprogrammable ECU if the next upgrade will never be carried out. I just like to keep my option open by choosing the Power FC. Can you give me reasons why you recommend me the Mine's VX-ROM if there is no 2nd upgrade? Are they somewhat way better than the Power FC?
You did not explain the retuning possibilities of the VX-ROM i.e is it possible? and if it is, what will be the cost Mine's charging for retuning?

Since you live in Tokyo, i would like to ask you about Checkerflag (tuning parts exporters/domestic) reputation. Looks like their price is very competitive. Check www.checkerflag.co.jp if you would not mind. I want to order some parts from them and probably will pick up the parts myself when i visit Tokyo for the Tokyo Motor Show.

By the way, will you provide housing for fellow Skyline owners who will be in TMS? Hotel is expensive in Japan, and travelling with you probably better for me since i do not speak any Japanese. I am not asking for a free housing ( i will pay for housing ) but i do prefer to travel with someone who speak both English and Japanese . I hope this request is visible


Jeff

 

[JEN]

Everyone,

Thanks for your input guys (SteveC, DCD or Dino, Paul, Scott, Talat, Alan, Jimiroquai or Jeff, MotoRex …). It took a while to digest all the info. as well as the research necessary.

Still like to know what “down pipes” and “induction kit” are or what do they do – the local tuner here doesn’t speak much English and it is more that probable that other tuners here would not be much better. Therefore, if I can tell them what these are or what they do, I should be in a better position to communicate with him.

Anyway, the understanding that I got from him is that I have the induction kit already and that down pipes are not required for the car because of the exhaust that is currently in use.

And Talat, I did take the car to 180 kmph and the ECU stopped the fuel supply. Didn’t like that sound at all! It happened not long after I put it into 4th Gear.

Maybe I should start a new thread titled “Stage 1 project”. See you there and any help then would be most appreciated. The move to stage 1 probably means a reprogramming the ECU to have the boost (amongst other things) tuned to 1.2 bar as opposed to the stock 1 bar now and the addition of a 320 km speedo. I was told that the ECU (part number I think is 23710 AA301) can be sent to Techcom for the reprogram. Anyone heard of them??

Best regards,
J

 

[Scott]

Hold your horses


Jen,

For now, if your car is stock, I'd forget the Programmable ECU and get the full exhaust done.

That means, Down pipe, (One pipe from turbo to Cat), replace Cat, (If ok in HK?),
and fit a good after market exhaust, (HKS Trust etc), all the rest of the way back.

I did this to my R32, (GT-R) and it went from a stock 310 bhp or so, to a loverly 370 bhp.

It not only goes better, but it sounds fantastic and has better throttle responce than before.

And I think I can still tinker with it a bit more before I need think about an ECU.

Happy tuning,

 

[stu]

Down pipes etc

Jen,

Check out the Abbey motorsport link on this site. They have a nice 'performance parts' section with pictures and explnantions of what everything does . Even I understood it and I know nothing when it comes to what goes on under the bonnet.

HTH