Fitting a Nissan 180SX Intercooler & Vertex Frontbar

Hi

We have just fitted an intercooler and a Vertex fibreglass frontbar to a 180SX we have in stock. The frontbar has been sent for painting so I only have photos of the fitting of the intercooler at present but will post photos of the frontbar when fitted.














Most of you are probably aware of the huge difference an intercooler makes to a turbocharged car. As air is compressed (by the turbocharger), it increases in temperature thus reducing performance. An intercooler is fitted to reduce the temperature.















As you can see by the diagrams below, without an intercooler there would much less power gain due to the enormous heat generated by the turbo. Heat is the arch-enemy of any motor. This is the main reason why intercoolers are a vital part of any turbo kit. An intercooler is essentially a radiator tuned for high-volume flow rates and the increasing density of the charge as it cools. Lower air intake temperatures are safer for the motor, making air-to-air or air-to-liquid intercoolers vitally important. It is also crucial that they are mounted, so as to maximize air flow and promote efficient cooling.
The range of forced induction and the presence of spent exhaust gasses cause motors to generate enormous amounts of heat. An intercooler uses ambient air temperatures in the front of the moving vehicle to chill a core. The intake air temperature drops as the forced air from the turbo passes through this core. The resulting compressed air allows more air volume to enter the motor. The more air you can compress while keeping it at the same relative PSI, the more air you can force into your motor-providing more power and efficiency.
A cooler engine will exhibit extended longevity and generate more horsepower. In addition, an intercooler protects against the expanding or warping of internal motor parts, which can lead to internal damage. Reducing the heat also decreases the tendency of the combustion process to knock (detonation).

More photos soon of the finished project.

Paul

Skyline R34 from 0 to 200kmh in 9.25 seconds!

Hi

A reader of my blog sent me a link to some Google Videos recently regarding great import car videos. There is one of an R34 Skyline accelerating from stand still to 200kmh in 9.25 seconds! Another has an R34 GT-R up against a Porsche over a standing quarter mile with the Porsche beating it to the line... I suppose that's what happens if you spend 3 TIMES MORE AND HAVE 420PS COMPARED TO 280PS AND WEIGH 20KG LESS!! Goes to show that you don't have to spend over $200,000 to get great performance!
Anyway check them out at http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=label:impreza. If you come across anything that may interest my blog readers please pass it on.

Is your R32 Skyline running rough?
On another topic, we had a 1993 R32 Skyline GTS-t in stock and had some rough running issues. The car would sometimes run fine and then have a missing problem. First we pulled out the spark plugs an checked and gapped them but they seemed OK so I wasn't confident that thats where the problem lay... it wasn't the spark plugs. We then thought that maybe a coil had decided to commit suicide so found a good one laying around the workshop and went about swapping each coil in turn to try and find the dead one. We found that the number 4 coil plug wasn't connected properly and that seemed to cure the missing for a while however it returned on a second test drive. I then remembered a problem I had with a Nissan Cefiro not so long ago where the pins on the module were badly corroded so the 2 plugs that connect it to the wiring harness couldn't make a good connection. I cleaned them up with a small file and contact cleaner and it cured the problem. As this was also an RB20 engine with the identical ignition module, I did the same and voila!... hasn't missed a beat since. So, if anyone out there has an RB20 with rough running problems don't waste time like we did... clean those pins up first and if that doesn't work then try the spark plugs and coils. (for those who don't know, the ignition module is that black box on the top of the engine at the back with 2 plugs connected to it)

My Skyline
I have just fitted GT-R Brembo brake calipers and rotors to my R33 Skyline GTS-t. Even though the standard GTS-t calipers and rotors are great, you just can't beat BIGGER! With 324mm rotors on the front and 300mm on the rear and weighing 200 kg less than a GT-R, I am sure they will be fantastic! Will let you know how they perform.

thanks for reading this blog... more soon.

Pauls car import blog

Hi, I'm Paul from Autoworx and welcome to my Car Import Blog.

As I have been importing cars for over 7 years, I often get asked for advice about imported cars, the car importing process in Australia, and about car modifications. This got me thinking that a blog would be a good forum to discuss imported car topics and to allow comments in these posts from other high performance imported car fans like myself. I plan to use this blog to talk about imported vehicles like Nissan Skylines, Toyota Supras, Nissan 180sx', modifications you can do to your car, importing your own car to Australia, and related topics like motor racing. So if you are a high performance import car enthusiast please post your comments when you have something you want to say about the topic being discussed. I hope to post something of interest to you every week, so please bookmark this site and come back regularly.

My own Import Car



For my first blog I thought you may be interested in what I have doing to my own 1996 Nissan Skyline R33 manual turbo coupe with modified RB25DET engine. I am in the process of getting it ready for motorsport events such as motorkhanas, hill climbs and time trial events. So far modifications include:

Apexi front mount intercooler
Apexi Power FC ECU
HKS Super Sequential blow offvalve
Stainless steel pod filter
3" mandrel bent exhaust
12lbs boost on standard turbo
Coil over suspension
17" Volk racing forged alloys
Yokohama Advan tyres 235/45 front & 255/40 rear
Front & rear strut tower braces
Recaro seats
Short shifter
Warnbro hi flow fuel pump
Half roll cage
Full body kit
Brake booster support
Braided brake lines
Front & rear sway bars
1.5 way LSD racing differential
GT-R Brembo brake calipers and rotors front & rear
And one of my favourite mods, a NISMO digital dash with LCD monitor display including:

• 240kmh speedo
• 9000rpm tacho
• the LCD display screen has a scroll through function with information screens including peak speed, rpm, power, torque, G forces, economy, maintenance, trip, travel and graphs.

Over the next few weeks I will take more photos of each screen to give you a better idea of what it can do. These instrument clusters were an option in Japan for R33's but very rare due to the expense.

I have had the car dyno tuned and it is currently pushing out 292HP at the rear wheels. In my next blog I will be talking about further engine mods as I am trying to achieve around 350 - 400RWHP which is quite conservative for the RB25DET engine as I am going for reliability, not huge horsepower.

Performance Exhaust Systems
I am often asked about the advantages of performance exhaust systems. Although I did write about this in the December 2005 Autoworx Newsletter, many people didn't get this Newsletter (and I haven't got aroung to archiving the Newsletters on the Autoworx website yet) so I thought I'd post it on my blog for those who missed out.

Performance Exhausts
Because your car has a team of horses baying to be unleashed, especially turbo cars. Stock exhaust systems are designed simply to provide a conduit for spent gases to move from your engine to your tailpipe - no more, no less. On the other hand, performance exhaust systems are engineered to maximize your engine's exhaust flow, giving you:

- Serious horsepower and torque gains
- Distinctive, growling exhaust tone
- Improved fuel economy

The problem with stock exhaust systems is that they are not optimized for the best possible flow. Car manufacturers spend much more time thinking about the shape and placement of your air vents than they do planning your exhaust pipes. What's the result of their neglect? Your motor has to work harder during coombustion, which robs you of valuable horsepower, torque and fuel economy. A performance exhaust system will harness the potential power that your engine is wasting because of its inefficient stock exhaust. A bolt-on performance exhaust system improve your power by:

- Reducing drastically the restrictions in your pipes
- Increasing the puny diameter of stock pipes
- Improving engine scavenging

Restrictions
Just as the word implies, a restriction in your exhaust system is anything that slows the continuous flow of spent gases from your engine to your tailpipe. Poorly bent pipes are the leading cause of power-robbing restrictions. In order to cut corners wherever they can, auto manufactures use a second-rate bending technique known as "press" or "crush" bending.
This type of bending is quick and easy for the manufacturers, but it causes massive restrictions in your pipes because it reduces the pipe's diameter. This may not sound all that dramatic, but picture this: what happens when a busy freeway goes from 5 lanes down to 2? Horrific gridlock! The same thing happens with your exhaust. The waste gases slow down when they hit a press bend, which clogs up the whole system. In automotive lingo, this gas traffic problem is called back pressure.

There is, however, a more efficient way to form an exhaust system for your vehicle. Rather than using low-tech "press" bending methods, performance exhaust systems use a state-of-the-art mandrel bending process. When a pipe is bent using a mandrel method, a flexible rod is fitted inside the piece of pipe. This bendable insert stops the pipe from changing diameter during the bending process. What makes mandrel bending so much better? This consistent diameter is like an express super-highway for your exhaust, eliminating the restrictions in stock systems that steal precious power and torque.

Diameter
Besides how your pipes are bent, their actual size affects how much horsepower your engine can deliver to your power-hungry tires. One way to save on production costs is to use the smallest possible pipe size. While this keeps production costs down, it diminishes your overall horsepower and torque. One of the very first things you must do, if not the first, ito any turbocharged car (also normally aspirated)is to fit a mandrel bent, 3" (minimum) performance exhaust system... you won't believe the difference!

Thanks for reading this blog and please add your comments.