some more shopping

well i was home from work sick today and decided to go for a drive as was a bit hot at home.First we went to Baby Warehouse (had Michele's sister and her child with me, Michele was playing golf with her new golf set for XMAS.) which was funny as we were walking around the store and the sales assistant was saying go to daddy!!!!! Then went to blacktown and Gasweld for a bit of a look see, lots of nice things there and picked up a tyre inflator for $25. (bunnings had one for $19.95 - bummer)

Then went on the way back to bunnings and went a little stupid, bought some car stands (see previous post) as well as a Makita Angle Grinder ($69 - Bargin) in preperation for doing some grinding on the car trailer, some ear muffs($15) and also a air blower($9.94).
Also picked up and industrial 45cm fan ($89) for the garage as it is getting hot in there ATM and michele won't let me air condition it....

Kingchrome Car Stands - $39.90 pair @ Bunnings

Bought some car stands from bunnings today, they had good quality kingchrome car stands for $39.90 a pair. Visiting Gasweld their own brand was $45 so these brand name ones were a bargin.

I have been using some SCA type ones and really they are not the best and a little unsettling so looking forward to being a little safer.

The gearbox bung - drain plug from hell

Some fuck arse workshop who last changed my gear box oil used super glue or something on the bloody bung and for the life of me i can't get it out. I have pretty much fucked it now and resorting to welding the cut down bolt i made up with the angle grinder onto the bung so hopefully i can crack it.

Used breaker bar, breaker bar with very long extention, breaker bar with hammer, wd40, blow torch and vice grips, vice grips hammer.

E85 on Fuel Filters

Well seeing as i was playing with the oil filters i cracked out my fuel filters from using E85. The first filter unfortunatly which was only used for 10ltrs was chucked out so the second filter had about 50ltrs through it give or take

I replaced it at the recent track day thinking there was an issue but as you can see there was nothing wrong with it.

The third filter (on nthe right below) was in the car for probally about 200ltrs of fuel or more with extended periods of E85 in the tank. You can see the difference as the E85 cleans and discolours the filter.

  

Nissan Oil Filter vs Ryco Filter

I cracked open a std nissan filter a while ago and honestly was surprised with the poor quality of it, after a lot of feedback was always to use the Nissan filters becasue they were better i thought i would cut open the next filter i buy and check out the differences between the two.

Here is some photos between the Ryco and the Nissan filter, personally i like the closer pleats and metal vs fibre ends.
I had to put a screwdriver through the ryco filter to get it off so you can see some of the damage it has caused.

 On the right is the nissan one vs the ryco on the left

 Nissan End of filter with anti drain back seal

Ryco end of filter,

 The two compared together

 my hack job and the springs, the Ryco uses a spring and the nissan a flexable plate, i like the nissan better in this instance.

 The fibrous ends on the nissan filter

 Ryco end

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas, having a well earned break for 4 days then back to work. Might tinker a little and post up some pictures.

New Diff Oil Again

Well the diff didn't work out 100% and i suspect it has to do with the cooking it got whilst buring round 100laps of Wakefield. I pulled the oil out and it looked fine which was a relief but the diff had gone back to being noisy again, i suspect becasue i did not measure the friction modifyer and only put half a bottle in the diff that there were some issues so this time i bought a more broader weight mineral oil with friction modifyer from Autobarn.

Trying to find something resonal in price that does a good job so we will see how it goes. Measured 2 ltrs out into a bottle then added the bottle of friction modifyer as it recomended a bottler for every 2 ltrs of oil.

Called Nulon 85w-140 Limited Slip Differential Oil with G70 Manual Gearbox and Diff Treatment. The oil is enought for two changes and just need to grab another bottle of G70.

Haven't driven in the car yet so we will see how it goes.

Wakefield Park on a Saturday deserted!!!!

noticed a few weeks ago a saturday and sunday wakefield park open day was coming up this weekend and thought after last times troubles it might be nice to sneak in a few happy laps before the years end.

Found out that some big motorcycle event had been canceled hence the open day so they were not expecting many cars due to the late notice.

Checked out the weather forecast and all looked well for a great day.

Rocked up @ 7:45am on Saturday morning and unpacked the tow car and took my car off the trailer to be greated by this.

There was noon else here, how great was this i was about to have my very own personal wakefield park for the day to myself!!!

Alas it was not to be with 3 small trucks each with V8's in them, a open wheeler and 3 other cars  V8/Evo/Utes ended up turning up at some stage.

I took with me 4 jerry cans and a full tank and ended up doing close to 100 laps, finishing off the A050's and managing a 1.05.04.
Also got to drive Michele's older brothers brand new M3 for a very careful hand timed 1.13 round the track.

COuld not run anything less then 3/4 of a tank of juice and had major fuel surge issues pushing 1.5g's round some of the corners. Also the diff rocked over 135deg's in temp which has me worried but car performed well for the heat during the day and the 100 odd laps i was able to do.

diff chattering fixed!!!!

Well i was a little sick today so I decided to stay at home for a mental health day.

I thought it might be nice to drive up to Hornsby and talk to Langs about my diff as for those of you that have seen the car driving around before the diff for as long as I know it is about as subtle as a brick through your window with a note saying have a very ****ing merry Christmas.

So driving in the guy nearly has a heart attack and says it's the worst he has ever herd!!!!

I was talking and my thoughts were something like uni joints flogged, LSD plates worn or teeth missing from the crown or pinion wheels but no... He said that the chattering is caused by the plates in the LSD gripping then letting go or sliding and it is amplified by the drive train.

He also suggested to not use a fully synthetic LSD oil as he suggested just sticking to a mineral based oil and adding "friction modifier"?

So i grab a bottle of friction modifier from him for $20 then head off to Autobarn an pick up some reasonable priced Penrite Sin LSD oil.

Get back home and change over the fluid in the car and add in most of the friction modifier(forgot to add the rest of the bottle as had by then filled it up to much).

Went for a drive around town and immediately made a massive difference!!!!!

There is still some noise don't get me wrong but nothing compared to what it was before. Apparently it should further reduce as the friction modifier works it's way into the clutch plates.

Anyway thought I would share my experiences with you and chuck up some photos of the products I used.

Also changed the motor oil and think i need to change the gearbox oil as well now, found the problem with the water sensor and it is a faulty resistor on the sensor - faulty or broken probally the latter then became a fault.

E85 power, car feels great.

went for a drive today with the butt plug in, decided to fill up the car and 4 jerry cans and whilst i was at it drop by the workshop and see how james was going with his car,

Traffic on VIctoria and then Paramatta road was a pain, saw a 180sx ADZ-180 but the owner didn't seem to want to look over and say hi?

Dropped in on the guys and quickly decided to take some happy laps, left the butt plug in and went up and down the road a few times. Very strong mid range but you could feel it at the top.

Puled out the butt plug and amazing stuff, thing pulled like a freight train and was very happy with how it felt.
Bring on the next track day.

10.5inch wide Volk CE28n's

This is what 10.5in wide CE28n's in look like, thinki like these more then the other ones but not sure what to buy as i will still need to run spaces with this offset on these wheels. Might allow easier to sell in the future as GTR offset,

Car all fixed and picked it up from Unigroup - 3 times....

Picked up the car this morning and showed Unigroup the camshaft and rocker, suggestion it could be a hydralic lifter problem but noted that on the dyno the car felt very strong and no sign of any missing or faults.

Was able to put a little bit more boost into the car and adjust the wastegate to bring it on sooner but it would only hold 17psi at peak boost. I think we are at about the most we can get out of the  GTRS and will need to go to a larger turbo.

Took the car for a drive and it feels strong, starting in 4th from 3000rpm it pulls good then as the boost comes further on you can really feel the surge ahead. On off throttle and blips it is quick to respond and generally the car feels really alive.

Drove out the road and realise after a call from Michele i had left my rego papers there so turned around and picked them up. I didn't havre lots of fuel in the car but thought i could make it to James to check out his progress and bum around for a bit but about 5min away from James Unigroup call to say i left my keys there.

Had to say a quick hello they go back to unigroup and pick up the house keys, i reckon i would forget my head if it wasn't screwed on!!!!

Made it back home ok but worried about how much i can get out of a tank of fuel.

Car still has a few knocks in the steering which i think is the rack as replaced the tie rods which were gone anyway. It could be the steering wheel simply not bolted on properly which i have had before but not sure.

Got to replace the wiring for the DL1 as it is to light duty and get interference as well as affected by head so now the water temp sensor is not working.

Also fit exhaust and fit oil leak - it never ends.

25th November 2010

dropped the car off at unigroup for them to look over the car and touch up the tune after the new cam has been installed.

New shoes

Today i checked out the cams by removing the rocker cover and all looked OK after a few hundred klm's, also replaced the tie rods and fitted the new wheels to the car.

Not sure about the wheels but here are a few shots, would be interested in any feedback

tie rod ends fail

Well it looks like the special rod ends that John got for me have not cut the mustard and are in need of replacement.
Rather then go for something similar again i am have got my hands on a set of new tein tie rods and tie rod ends from Martin for a great price so i will replace the entire thing.

finishing of installing the replacement exhaust cam

Finished off the install this afternoon with Andrew,

Tightening the cam gear onto the cam

 Now putting the caps back on over the cam

Installing replacement cam

Picked up the replacement cam and rocker arm this afternoon and Andrew came round and pull the old one out.
Aim was to put the new one back in but we could not get the cam pin out so he has taken it home with him tonight and will remove it hopefully...

Here are a few photos

Cam out and caps off

Shot of the springs and hydraulic lifter

Rocker that was replaced, the wear is quiet bad and a deep groove is aross the face of the rocker

Here are the fauly cam and rocker, you can sort of see the groove on the rocker a bit better. These cams have done probally 250klm max since new

Close up of the damaged lobe, on the right you can see the lip that has developed.

Trying to get the cam pin out to no avail, we heated the cam to try and loosen.

Installing the rocker arm stoppers for good measure

Close up of the rocker arm stoppers

hopefully we will finish it off tomorrow and crank her up, fingers crossed everthing is ok

new rocker arm stoppers on there way

order a set of rocker stoppers on the weekend and recieved them today.
On track to pick up the new cam and rocker tomorrow hopefully

Faulty exhaust cam up close

Took some pictures today of the cams and the scouring that has occoured on the number 2 exhaust cam.

Here is the number 3 cylinder on the exhaust side

And here is the number 2 cylinder, notice across the face it is quiet poor but on the left there is a lip that has developed from uneven wear.

Quiet clearly in this shot you can see the differences, left is perfect as it should be considring they have only been in the car less then 500klm and on the right is the damaged lobe.

running on 3 cylinders

Pulled the car off the trailer at home and it sounded like a boxer engine, totally devastated!!!!
To add insult to injury the jerry car i put on the driver seat the cap was not put on properly and it leaked over my seat leaving a pool of E85 on the seat then my bum as i had to drive if off the trailer.
Called Andrew who was already at home and he came round to look at the problem to work out what it was. He used his Oscilloscope on the number 2 injector and it was pulsing so that was not the issue although it could be pulsing and not sending any fuel.

We checked the compression and it was 40psi down on number 2 cyl - my heart sank.

When we pulled the spark plug out it was wet (at the track day it was dry so something changed in that time) It looked like fuel was getting into the cylinder so either that injector was putting extra into the cylinder or we had cleaned the blockage.

The only other thing it could have been was a broken or misaligned rocker that had moved around so we took off the cam cover and found that the exhaust cam lobe on the number 2 cylinder was badly scored.
After a lengthy call to Unigroup the thought process is that it is a porous cam fault causing the wear as there is no wear on the other lobes which could be from a blockage on the oil squirters. They are going to gring down the cam and see if there are any air pockets in the metal.

They are sourcing a replacement cam and rocker and Andrew will put them in and we can take the car back to Unigroup for further fault finding.

1:04.2614 around Wakefield then engine fail

Well woke early in cold Goulburn this morning after making a late run down from picking up the car Friday night. Was fortunate enough that Michele's dad lives there so had free accommodation and a nice big bed to sleep in.Made my way out and was the second person to arrive and started to unload the car off the trailer and the tools and spares from the car.

Cold start was poor and it took a fair bit to get the car started and needed to press the accelerator pedal to get it to kick over. Idle was quiet poor with it hunting around a fair bit so will need to get Unigroup to work on this.
Had the wheels i borrowed from James on the back of the car so pulled these off, sorted out th rest of the car got it scruitenered and signed on for the day.

First session was a passenger session and was sliding around the track with under then over steer everywhere, after about 3 laps and some heat got into the tires it started to grip up and with Eddy in the car it felt reasonable good. There was some transient hesitation on the on-off throttle application that started and felt a little wrong

Next session was the first timed session and the car developed a miss in the engine that was on and off, got one good lap in and smashed my PB record.
Managed a 1:04.2614
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?06/11/2010.WAKE.S3.Y

Next session it was even worse so bought the car in after a few laps and it sounded like it was running on 3 cyl - which it was.
I initially thought it was the fuel filter which we changed over and looked at the old one and there was nothing wrong with it.

Checked the num 2 cyl and pulled off the coil plug and it didn't make a difference so we quickly realised it was something else. Changed the coil packs - no difference, Changed the igniter and no difference.
Noticed the AFM was dirty so we cleaned that as well but no real difference.

Packed up the car and bought it home

Picked up the car - 261rwkw

Car was tuned today and a little disapointed.

Unigroup could not run more then 20psi on the car which i thought with the E85 you could run a lot higher boost. Similar cars are running increased boost and it is getting some hesitation when he try's to put more boost into it and we are not sure why.

I got there around 5pm and after talking to them we gapped the plugs down further to 0.7mm as it might be he boost pressure blowwing out the spark.

Got the bill and was asked to pay cash which i don't have that sort of money and i checked when i dropped the car off and i was going to use the credit card. All up $2650 but i remember before i worked out it was $2700 with the valve springs that we did not use on the car so might have to check the breakdown with them.

Here is the comporasion between the 98oct run with the vct problem and the final e85 run with the vct fixed. This is the lambada readings and there is quiet a dip at the start which Unigroup suggested the Power FC was a common fault, might have to investigate this further as it has not done it before and may be something else causing it.

Boost you can see i need to get a larger wastegate spring to hold higher boost and allow better control.