Daily Zenki, keeping it simple (pic heavy)

[nick_cal94 17]

Thanks, I'm not even sure how much all the parts cost me, I'd been collecting them over 6 or so months and tried to get as much as I could brand new. The labour from PZP was around $900.

[pimpin_calais89 2]

well done dude... Rocker cover looks wicked keep up the good work and you will have to take me for a spin now its manual !!!

[driftpig 0]

Wow rocker cover looks awesome👍. Did you paint it from cans? It looks insane. Where did you get the paint from?

[nick_cal94 17]

@driftpig Yeah didn't go too badly, yeah from rattle cans. It's a paint VHT make, called Anodized coat, two stage with the silver metallic base and then the red top coat, finished with a few coats of clear. Got the paint from work, Autobarn, but any of the major parts stores should have it. Duplicolour Metalcast is similar but I think the VHT stuff turns out better.

 

@pimpin_calais89 Yeah for sure man, I've been super busy with uni lately but I can try and come past yours when you'e free, or vice versa.

[Byah! 210]

Runs to Supercheap to get a stack of VHT paint

[volt_bite 140]

Duplicolour Metalcast is pretty damn cool stuff. Seen it done on brakes, very metallic and shiny.

 

But yeh, major probs on the cover!

[Munt. 727]

Absolutely loish

[nick_cal94 17]

Jeez, been a while since I touched this thread and hardly anything's changed. I'll put some pics up anyway

Acquired a genuine JDM Kouki wing:

 

Picked up these, STD Racing coilovers, lowered it a bit, still perfectly driveable as a daily and handles much better.

 

Got a set of Earls braided turbo lines from GKTech, took the opportunity to put in new MLS gaskets and S15 manifold to delete the EGR. Such a sheet job, do not plan on doing again anytime soon.

 

Also noticed my turbo to mani gasket had cracked? I couldn't hear it leak but looks like it might have started to, at least I don't think it had much life left in it. Also had a first look at the piece of sheet exhaust the previous owners had installed... that was just a huge lump of weld at the bottom of the dump inlet, there wasn't even that much room to accommodate the corresponding dump nut.

 

Exhaust was now added to the to-do list. I like genuine sheet though, so in the mean time I bought a new set of S15 floor mats from Total Nissan and a dash mat:

Before:

 

After:

 

 

Sticking with the OEM theme, I picked up a genuine JDM Kouki rear bar. I had it sitting in the shed for a few months before deciding to just give painting it a go. It went better than expected but it's far from perfect. Respray is in order anyway within the next couple of years, so I'm not too fussed about it, I'm just happy that the ADM reflector bar is gone

 

Before and after: The colour didn't match perfectly however, it's most noticeable under white flourescent lights, petrol stations etc. Interestingly though it's the same shade of red as the wing, which I didn't paint...

 

The exhaust was now rubbing on the new bumper, obviously couldn't have that so it was time to get the exhaust re-done. I had previously picked up a HKS Hi-Power catback from an R33 which was hardly used, and also a HPI stainless dump and dual front pipe off Israel a couple of months before.

I got Mettams in Morley to make a 3" mild steel catback section with the HKS muffler and mate it the HPI front section retaining the 3" cat that was on the old system.

Sounds heaps better, a lot deeper with a slightly different tone and also a bit quieter.

It sat a bit low though, as you can see in the pic, and had a lot of side to side movement. I was a bit surprised to see Mettams had re-used the old rubbers on the hangers, I would have thought they'd be replaced with new ones, but oh well.

I have since ordered new polyurethane GKTech hangers, which brought the exhaust up slightly and also got rid of most of the side to side movement.

 

Aaand that's it for now haha. This is probably a pretty boring thread compared to some, hopefully I'll start doing some proper sheet soon

Plans from here basically include a bit more suspension stuff, rear camber arms and tie rod ends have been ordered which will be here in a few days hopefully, then it's just install and alignment. After that I can finally start prepping the car to be tuned, aiming to get that done by the end of the year, but still trying to suss out what I need/what I don't need, longer term power goals etc.

Still on the hunt for Navan skirts & front bar and JDM Kouki pods, but exterior stuff along with wheels can wait a little while longer.

Edited March 20, 2018 by nick_cal94

[Dinna180 120]

That was not a boring thread, always good to see some one restoring a Silvia.

I had a red JDM kouki aero wing as well I sold start of the year. I can't wait to see the front end.

[nick_cal94 17]

Thanks man, it's slow going making it into the car I want, but it's getting there.

Actually I think it was me that bought your wing lol. Were you selling a heap of other red kouki parts at the same time?

[sr1200 0]

Nice additions to the s14 man. Will look mint once you piece together the rest of the jdm kit.

 

Also, how much did total nissan charge for the floor mats?

[nick_cal94 17]

Time for an update I think. Haven't touched this for a while

Camber arms and new tie rod ends went in, and I got the car aligned. The stock tie rod ends didn't have any noticeable play, but the boots were munted. However the car felt sooo much tighter in the steering after the new ends went in. Pretty stoked at how it handles now.

 

Finally got around to sorting go fast bits, ordered Nismo 740cc injectors off RHDJapan. I was considering a cheaper option like Deatschwerks or FiveO Motorsport, but I wasn't convinced of the quality.

Also picked up some cams, originally I wasn't going to bother as the only options seemed to be poncams, and I didn't want those unless I was going bigger turbo.

These however, are a pretty rare set of Greddy Easy cams. At 256/264 duration and 10.5mm lift, they seemed a lot better matched for a basic, stock turbo setup. Plus I've been looking for a set for ages and these were a good price, so I couldn't pass them up

Edited March 20, 2018 by nick_cal94

[nick_cal94 17]

Nice additions to the s14 man. Will look mint once you piece together the rest of the jdm kit.

 

Also, how much did total nissan charge for the floor mats?

Cheers man, floor mats were $115 I'm pretty sure.

[nick_cal94 17]

So the car went in to C-Red earlier this week to get the injectors, cams and a Nistune installed and tuned. This is where things get kinda weird....

Basically everything went pretty well, however I was expecting numbers around 250rwhp with the mods I have (injectors, fuel pump, fmic, exhaust, boost and cams). I knew my limiting factors for power would be the stock turbo and stock afm, however as I understood it, the stock T28 is good for 12-14psi with the upper limit above 15psi and the afm good for over 250rwhp.

Now I've also heard C-Red's dyno reads low, but... my car rolled off having only made 193.2hp on 10psi.... I'll upload the dyno sheet, but I was informed my afm is maxed and turbo will be out of it's efficiency range at 14psi, apparently even 12 is a stretch.

 

I'm not that fussed about numbers, and to be honest the car does drive well and I have noticeably better midrange and topend, but this was MUCH lower than what I was expecting. Plus the claims about the afm and turbo just don't seem right to me.

So I'm not really sure what to do at this stage... Do I take the car somewhere else and get it either evaluated or retuned? Or stay at C-Red and try and get more out of it with a Z32 afm (which I was planning on getting anyway) and just run it at more boost, despite what I was told.

 

Opinions/thoughts would be greatly appreciated, I'm still new to the tuning game so I'm not 100% sure where to go from here

 

Also, I plan to get the car compression tested asap just to make sure there nothing more sinister going on (I know, I should have done it earlier)

EDIT This may partially be my fault as I didn't really specify how much power I wanted out of it, I just wanted it to be as reliable as possible for daily driving...

Edited January 26, 2017 by nick_cal94

[datman55 16]

The boost seems pretty low to me, but maybe they kept it there due to the AFM? I'm not up to speed with AFM's on SR's, as I've never run one, so no idea what the limit is for them.

 

My S15 still has the stock turbo on it, and makes and holds 15psi no problem at all. I have a Power FC though, so no AFM. I haven't had my car on the dyno yet, and since I bought it with the current set-up I can only go on what the previous owner claimed. He said it made just under 300rwhp, which I can't see being right. If I was a betting man, I would think it is more like around 220-250rwhp. Once I get it to Andrew at Hyperdrive, I'll report back.

[JimmieJoJo 5]

If the boost is lower then thats where the extra power went. Say you were expecting 250ish but c red are known to read lower than other places that might be down to 220- 230hp on their dyno, like for like. Now add in that extra 4 psi and its probably good for 30ish hp extra and the numbers are not far off your estimate.

 

But in their eyes its probably not worth the extra effort on a stock turbo? Where they have it now it will be most reliable so I'd say you got what you had asked for.

 

Perhaps instead of chasing it up with them now consider what the end goal is. If its a better bolt on turbo and z32 afm it might be worth waiting till you get those bits and trying again. Rather than spending more money on tuning to only pick up bits and pieces.

[volt_bite 140]

Z32 AFM, wind up the boost and away you go

 

I think 300rwhp is a decent comfortable number, but it does all come down to driveability and what you want from it.

[kyle_340 527]

10s a bit low considering stocks only 7, wind that up a bit and as said you'll see a number closer to what you want

[nick_cal94 17]

Cheers for the replies guys! Yeah 10 is a bit low, I'd like it to be around 14, but I suppose the guys at C-Red were just going for safety and didn't put it up anymore.

I'll try hunting around for a Z32 next week and a few other things, but a retune probably won't be on the cards for a while, couple of months maybe.

[unkn0wn 33]

Stock t25 i wouldn't push to 14.

But a t28 should do 16 or so before its just blowing hot air.

 

a friend made 268 rwhp with a t28 / e85 and 15psi.

 

In theory the stock afm should be able to handle more power than 200hp.should do more or less 280 or so hp.

if your only going basic mods dont fall int the z32 trap, they are still an older element type AFM and still for reasons unknown have a heafty premium.

if your shooting low, got for a s2 rb25 afm - there cheap as frack, have the 3inch bellmouth you want for flow and can still get the HP your aiming for.

if you want something better look at the HPX style slot sensors, or the gtr slot sensors, much better for reversion and new the prices are compatible to a z32.

i run the nistune hpx sensor in my sr, good for something like 600rwhp in a 3inch tube and 1000 in a 4inch tube.

 

i know c-red are a good shop, but its worth checking the cam timing, i got stuck in a low power loop after getting my car mods sorted and it turned out the intake cam was of a tooth (retarded 10deg)

[Byah! 210]

what do the rb25 afm max out at?

[nick_cal94 17]

if you want something better look at the HPX style slot sensors, or the gtr slot sensors, much better for reversion and new the prices are compatible to a z32.

i run the nistune hpx sensor in my sr, good for something like 600rwhp in a 3inch tube and 1000 in a 4inch tube.

 

Hmm that HPX kit from Nistune is looking very appealing atm, NZEfi also do one for about the same price but with an oem r35 sensor. Although Nistune state the HPX can read 100kw higher than oem R35 in a 3" tube, so I guess HPX is the way to go?

 

I'll do a bit more reading on it but for the same price as a brand new Z32 from Taarks, looks like the best option, plus I guess new tech vs old z32/rb25 tech, more power support than I'll ever need, and finer tuning capability, might be a good idea to do it now, rather than in the future when/if I decide to go bigger turbo.

Edited February 3, 2017 by nick_cal94

[VFR15 5]

Not sure what it is like now, but when I needed an HPX AFM it was a struggle to get one.

Might be different now.

Also did I see this car at Cockburn Autobarn ? Or another nice s14 !

[nick_cal94 17]

Looks like you can buy them straight off the Nistune website, they sell the bung things for them too.

Yep haha would've been me, I work at Cockburn Autobarn

[unkn0wn 33]

yeah had no trouble getting mine + bung of nistune directly.