Amanio got an R32... finally. Progress / Question Thread

[Armanio]

Hey guys,
Finally got myself an R32 GT-R, super happy about the purchase.




Body is nice and rust free. Fantastic exterior. A (new to this body) rb26 was put in a year and a half ago.
I bought the car after having a PPI done, knowing it needed some work. Price was adjusted accordingly.
compression test was great, very even across cyl's

But:
she needed new suspension (more of an alignment, suspension isn't shot but I want to upgrade)
needed a new driver's CV
exhaust isn't the best job, needs a new gasket where cat should be, missing bolt
Needs new clutch master cylinder
Unsure about if / when waterpump was done
Brake fluid was like miso soup.

She's in for her first service since I bought her at Apex specialized here in Edmonton. Any body have experience with them? And are there any interchangeable clutch master cyl's with R32 GT-R's?
Thanks, look forward to contributing here as well as obtaining knowledge from the board.


....stickers have been removed from car. Will post update pics once she's nice and properly clean.

[GTR-Shayne]

How much did you pay?

[Ric]

Looks great. Enjoy!


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[Armanio]

Just got the first bunch of maintenance done, everything except for the Clutch MC. Anybody have to replace one of these? From what I've read it's quite an easy job, bleeding is typical (a bit of a bi***), how about the part though? Source a used unit? torontojdm has some for the 50$ range.

[Armanio]

Car's finally done after being at Apex Auto here in Edmonton for about 2.5 weeks.
Here's what has been done:
General inspection
New Clutch MC
New Valve Cover Gaskets
New diff pin seal (front)
Replaced upper rad hose (leaking)
Properly connected rear turbo vacuum and coolant lines (prev. owner error)
Oil (Engine, diffs)
Brake fluid (DOT4)
New Driver's side CV
Properly fastened exhaust and remated with new gasket (p.o. error)
Other misc. stuff.
Generally gave the car a thorough look over and gave it the TLC it needed.

Happy to spend the money on preventative maint.

[Armanio]

Currently looking for some summer wheels and rubber. PM me if you have/know of anything for sale. Not wanting to have to roll fenders.
I like:
BBS LM's and other multispoke style wheels
5 or six spoke rims.
In bronze or standard silver colour.

[Armanio]

Car is back at the shop.
Voltge dropped form 14 at idle to 10 (alternator presumably **** itself) and then progressively dropped until about 9 (as I was scanning for a safe spot to pullover.

I noticed that the HICAS light was the first thing to come on once the voltage dropped, I'm assuming because its computer is energy intensive. Hopefully this is all just due to a failing/failed alternator. Battery is new. Accessory belts are all good, so the belt did not snap to the alt, figuring the brushes are just worn. I had to trickle charge the car to start it after not driving it for a wek or so, so presumably it did not fully charge after the last drive if the alt. was dying.

[Armanio]

What do you guys use for new alternators on your R32's? Are new brush kits still available?

[topher589]

U can use the rb30 alternator , or the r33 but I will have to wire it.
AND , nice car ! Will you lock the hicas or keep it ?

[Armanio]

Thanks, yeah I saw that you can run the r33 gt-r alternator, it just uses a diff. style connector that you can wire in. It looks like I should be able to ahve this alternator rebuilt locally.

Thanks!
I'm planning on keeping HICAS for now... I have definitely read that people tend to delete it and run a lock-out bar. So far I'm keeping my car OEM+, so just light mods, but mostly maintenance and getting everything working perfectly before I take the next step and up the boost.

[topher589]

Great, maintenance on a skyline is a must if you want to keep it for a long time. Personnally I dont like the HICAS , one of my friend totally destroyed his gtr because the HICAS failed when turning at high speed. The car looks like a toast now..

[Skym]

I like (GTR).

HICAS is there to prevent understeer on 90 degree + corners (it's enough understeer with stock suspension to make car not want to turn in, which can catch you out if not expecting it). After removing HICAS, have to adjust the swaybar sizes to suit. Whiteline usually sells a bolt on kit, for when after removing HICAS, but there might be other options from Cusco, etc.

Can adjust castor, ride height to reduce this understeer, but it's best to dial it out properly with swaybars. With a GTR you don't want it to be tail happy, as it's harder to catch when rear steps out vs rwd car, due to the 4wd. A bit of understeer is needed and can use throttle to overcome it.

[Armanio]

After reading a bit more on it, it looks like the race spec cars did not have it installed. I may be deleting it soon then. I will most likely drive it for a summer and do a few track days as-is and see how I like it first. The consistency argument is valid, I could see this making the car less predictable at the edge depending on what parameters HICAS takes into account before adjusting the rear tire angles.

[Skym]

If resetup car properly without HICAS, it feels the same as with HICAS, just rear stays planted in the corners instead of wanting to step out easily when pushing to the limit's in the corners with HICAS. Basically the limit of grip is higher in the rear of car when cornering.

What I mean by rear is hard to catch when it steps out, is shown with this time attack R33 GTR at 5:34 -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IRjpZdIYE0

HICAS works if know how to drive with it. A Skyline just need suspension mods (race spec), semi slicks, stripped with a rollcage to get the best from a Skyline with HICAS. GTR benefits from 4wd adjustments (Field torque split controller or reprogram 4wd ECU). Bigger diameter swaybars, new bushes just enhances that.

Without HICAS you do feel a little bit of understeer when turning 90 degrees at traffic light's, but once go over 90 degrees with steering wheel on a tight corner, you encounter the major understeer problem. That's with stock suspension.

[Armanio]

How fast are you taking your left turns at traffic lights? I think you mean the turning radius is larger at low speeds.



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