choice modifications for fast road spec R32 GTR?? (stock bottm/top end)

[jimBNR32]

hi folks, im slowing gathering parts to build on my stock top and bottom end r32 gtr vspec...
this is my first skyline, however ive done a fair amount of reading on these cars before purchasing, so hopefully my queries are not too annoying!

now i already have some nismo afms, powerFC, sard 700ccs bought and ready to go on.
oil cooler, filters, hardpipes, teins, clutch, exhaust, boost controller all covered also.

im looking for something in the 400-420whp area, so 500crank hp. but decent spool up and not a turbo having to run at its max to get there. ideally something that can reach that level at 1.1-1.2bar with potential for more.
i have plans for a couple of track days a year, odd 1/4 event, but 95% will be road use.

turbo;
i had in mind some 2860-5 to get the power up there with not much boost needed?? from what ive found, these seem like quality turbos to go for in the 450-650hp range? minimal lag, but good top end, cheap-ish, easy to rebuild, wildly and easily available?

what about the Nismo RS580 street turbo kit?? need too much boost to reach my goal? good to have something rare, but are the -5s really the way forward? i had considered the -7s, (similar to GTSS?), but seems to reach 500crank gona need 1.4+bar? im not sure my stock motor would like these sort of pressures??

servicing;
for reliability, i thought its a good idea to get the cambelt swapped over, is it werth while doing this on such a low mileage example (29k miles)? i thought about cams and cam gears while the belt is off, but seems over the top when i have low power (for a rb26) in mind?? plus im not looking to spend like crazy!! nissan belt ok?
i have on the cards 10w50 titan PRO S oil, lightweight shockproof oil, not sure on diff and transfer oils??

cooling;
have a radiator upgrade on the cards, have seen a few makes around, ebay ones, koyo, mishamoto (the later 2 look the same as the ebay ones but cost more!) and of course the japanese makes. are the high priced rads really werth while??
what sort of sizes should i be looking at? 40mm? 50mm? 60mm?? i still would like to keep stock fans and shroud.
i heard theres 2 different sized temp sensors on the R32 GTR, mines a may 93, is this a 10 or 15mm sensor? some rad options state different sizes.
??

handling;
i also have on the cards the full driftworks hicas removal kit, as hear hicas isnt ideal for track and would guess fast road use??
whats the deal with the hicas light on the dash? do i need to remove any computers/ecus related to hicas?
suitable steering wheel boss to get so i can run a nardi wheel with no hicas?

fueling;
what pumps are good these days for this level of power, mainly for easy of install?? nismo? DW? 044?
ive heard its best to directly wire the pump to the battery?
i cant imagine FPR or fuel rail upgrade is needed at this level of tune?

anything else to consider?

am trying to keep things as simple, uncomplicated, reliable as possible...(and preferably not spend a huge amount, especially on parts that are really not needed for this level of tune).



i have no plans to pull the motor and go for the tomei oil pump and forge quite yet!!
am hoping seeing as its a 93 that any oilling issues would be kept at bay.


cheers
jim

[Xeno-Vibe]

Hicas doesn't need to be locked, its 4 wheel steering, people just remove it for more aggressive cornering, sliding out the tail and issues (leaking/ failure) which they dont want to pay to replace.

[jimBNR32]

Hicas doesn't need to be locked, its 4 wheel steering, people just remove it for more aggressive cornering, sliding out the tail and issues (leaking/ failure) which they dont want to pay to replace.

ive heard its alot more than for reasons to get rid of it. unpredicatable is what i keep reading.
none of the race prepped cars had hicas, its was always removed/locked.
there are many threads with pros and cons, lol

[Xeno-Vibe]

ive heard its alot more than for reasons to get rid of it. unpredicatable is what i keep reading.
none of the race prepped cars had hicas, its was always removed/locked.
there are many threads with pros and cons, lol

The unpredictability isn't of how the vehicle handles but when the hicas system will crap out as these vehicles are 20 years old.
Its faster with HICAS than without.

[jimBNR32]

The unpredictability isn't of how the vehicle handles but when the hicas system will crap out as these vehicles are 20 years old.
Its faster with HICAS than without.

so why was it removed in competition? i wouldnt have thought the reason was solely saving weight.

[gtrjon]

The unpredictability isn't of how the vehicle handles but when the hicas system will crap out as these vehicles are 20 years old.
Its faster with HICAS than without.

so wrong. dont listen to him. lock it out but the PROPER way with a driftworks kit and get rid of all of the lines and the ecu. i would cover all of your questions but there is alot of them and alot of info in this one thread. looks like your on the right track keep up your research and youll answer alot of your questions yourself

[bellis_GTR]

The race cars has fully tunable 4WD ecu. They have a controller to tune how it acts on certain tracks. After getting their 3 choices saved they have a separate controller for those 3 settings, probably rain/hot/cold that the drive can engage at any time.

Group A 4WD system is much more advanced than ours.

[jimBNR32]

so wrong. dont listen to him. lock it out but the PROPER way with a driftworks kit and get rid of all of the lines and the ecu. i would cover all of your questions but there is alot of them and alot of info in this one thread. looks like your on the right track keep up your research and youll answer alot of your questions yourself

only reason alot of questions as i didnt want to be annoying and start multipal threads, lol.
but yes the driftworks full kit would be on the cards.

[jimBNR32]

The race cars has fully tunable 4WD ecu. They have a controller to tune how it acts on certain tracks. After getting their 3 choices saved they have a separate controller for those 3 settings, probably rain/hot/cold that the drive can engage at any time.

Group A 4WD system is much more advanced than ours.

not entirely sure why the 4wd system has been mentioned, were talking about the hicas....
vspecs had revised ATTESA which is handy, but im certainly not talking about revising this system.

[Skym]

The HICAS is there to solve a understeer problem you get with stock suspension setup.

HICAS works at 70km/h?+ normally, but it also works at lower speeds if you turn steering wheel past 90 degrees. I found this out when I felt understeer while turning right at light's without HICAS and backs up what's mentioned, shown in R32 catalogue and was worse on a tight 90 degree + corner.

Here's the 90 degree+ steering part at low speeds in R32 catalogue (top left side in link below) and can see without HICAS the car understeers and goes wide in a corner -

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/tomosang/skyline/data/zenki/photo/z17.jpg

Here's the 70kmh?+ part in catalogue (motorway, as shown in bottom left corner of right side / page of link below) -

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/tomosang/skyline/data/kouki/photo/k15.jpg

Also HICAS turns wheels when changing lanes on motorway, which is shown in other catalogues that I can't find.

HICAS ECU looks at steering angle sensor behind steering wheel and speed of car. HICAS ECU is also used to adjust powersteering weight, so don't remove HICAS ECU unless you have a way to adjust voltage to steering rack to make steering lighter at higher speeds, etc. On GTR racecars they don't remove HICAS ECU. Also GTR HICAS ECU programming is slightly different to take into account the 4wd programming, suspension, etc (part numbers on HICAS ECU are different).

The other way they could have gone with suspension setup (without HICAS) made car unstable for a amatuer driver, more for a pro driver. Without HICAS and suspension setup properly (swaybars, shocks, springs, bushes, 4wd, etc), it is quicker in corners, as can exit corners alot earlier without fear of rear stepping out, but handles the same as it did with HICAS. From what I understand, 4wd on a GTR racecar is setup to work at lower speeds to pull out of corners, but at higher speeds it's 2wd to gain higher top speed. If play with 4wd settings on GTR dragcar, more rearward bias = higher trap speed while sacrificing stability.

With radiator I noticed most tuners use Tabata radiator on R32 GTS or R32 GTR in Japan (can use stock radiator shroud and is high quality) and some outside Japan are starting to use them -

http://www.tabata-r.co.jp/auto.shtml

As far as I know, radiator size is picked via using a formula. You would need to consult radiator manufacturer and ask, as they are the only ones that have the info required for formula. Or someone that deals with racecars (Sumo power in UK) should know the size to use from experience.

Sumo power -

http://www.sumopower.com/

I would fit new idler, tensioner mounting bolts, new cam + crank seals, new cambelt, new waterpump, new tensioner, idler bearings when doing cambelt. Do it once, do it properly.

Tuner fuelpumps are the easiest to install. I think Tomei is the easiest, as comes with fuelpump already mounted on cradle, new cover seal from Nissan, etc. Just remove old fuelpump, fit Tomei fuelpump, plug in, fit new cover seal.

On R32 you need to rewire the fuelpump due to old factory wiring.

Deatschwerks sell a hardwire kit to do this mod -

http://www.deatschwerks.com/fuel-pump-hardwire-kit

For the power you want, Tomei 260 duration drop in Poncams (change stock valve springs if done high km), N1 turbo's will be good for 550hp at engine. At 1bar it should be good for 460-480hp at engine (depending on what N1 turbo's you get, as R33, R34 use different size N1 turbo's). Cams allow you to run a lower boost level (increases hp of engine) for same amount of hp.

[jimBNR32]

/\
thanks

so are you for the hicas, or removed it on your own car??

given the car will mostly get used at 50-120kmph, it probably doesnt make sense for something that cuts in and out at 70kmph (the hicas) to be on my setup. it would probably annoy me too much and cut in and out where i dont want it.

i am swaying to the tomei fuel pump purely for ease of install.

what you say about doing other bits while cambelt is off, does make sense, my garage of choice doesnt feel its needed on a such a low mileage example, hence why im in 2 minds about what to bother with and what not to bother with.

thanks for info.

[Terrh]

I took HICAS out on my R32 GTR when i had the motor out to simplify the engine bay and lose weight. I bet I took 50+lbs of **** out between the p/s pump/bracket, all the lines, the heavy solenoid and the rear steering rack.

I bought an S13 hicas removal bar off of ebay for like 20 bucks shipped from china.

Driving the skyline hard w/ hicas is interesting, and very unsettling until you get used to it. Once you're used to it, it's fine.

As far as reducing understeer - I'm sure it does, but I'm not sure if the GTR actually needs that to happen. For an AWD car it's ridiculously tail happy, maybe getting rid of the HICAS would reduce that some. Especially in the lower gears I spend a lot of effort keeping the car pointed straight and none fighting understeer.

[Skym]

HICAS rack weighs around 5kg. With arms on each side = 7kg.

Removed HICAS years ago. I find a Skyline handles better without HICAS once you reset setup via using aftermarket suspension, swaybars, etc to dial out the understeer (instead of relying on HICAS to reduce or remove understeer). On motorway it's more stable in rear, but the corners is where it's alot better as grip levels are higher in rear (limit before it loses grip is higher). Also like said above you save some weight if change to non HICAS powersteering pump, remove hoses, etc.

Things like ride height, swaybars, alignment, etc can affect understeer, oversteer, so have to know exactly how to set it up to get desired result. That's where you consult a suspension expert. UK has some of the best in the business.

Only problem is the tuner pumps aren't cheap.

I learnt to do it all. Tried the cambelt only route and idler, tensioner bearings played up (they need to be replaced, as new belt puts more strain on them until it loosens up and when it has reached that point, it has done the damage to old bearings), then waterpump plays up later on, etc. Also the mounting bolts for idler, tensioner bearings (I think it's usually the tensioner bolt) are known to snap (could cost you a engine) after replacing cambelt, so best to replace them with new bolts. I was told bolts / studs on RB engine should be replaced every 10 years (didn't mention km travelled).

[GODDZILA]

Why don't you try the car on track with hicas a couple times, then lock it out. Then you can try it again on the same tracks to see which set up you like.
I found the hicas stabilized my car on corner exit. Without the hicas I couldn't put the power down. I've removed all the lock out crap and my hicas works perfectly. I consider it a big advantage. This is my personal experience.
I will be happy to settle all arguments on the track. Mosport, shannonville, cayuga, or grand bend, I like'em all.
Try both set ups then decide (my internet advise).

[TrevoR32]

I have had my gtr since 08 and only this year have decided to use the tomei lockout kit. does both the physical shafts and the ecu. havent put it in yet, but i am getting tired of the sweeping corners yanking me in. I do find it to be more unpredictable, and since im re doing susp. i thought i would try this route so many others have as well.

Trevor.