Well Overdue an Update: 23/05/2022 w/Videos

Hi All, 

Its over a year since I updated the blog. Life has gotten in the way and I've been having too much fun with the R33. 

I'll post a more detailed updated soon but here is a quick recap since April2021

• Came out of winter storage in April2021 and straight down to TDP.ie for some work
• MeisterR CRD Coilovers & Damper Extension Cables fitted & setup
• Hardrace Front Upper Camber Arms
• Nismo GT LSD 1.5Way fitted & setup
• TDP.ie wheel alignment
• In July 2021 - Went to Armstrongs Body shop to keep things tidy on the paint side of things
• Passo rear light leak(common issue)
• Inner Wing / front window rust proof
• Arches rolled / sealed
• Rear 1/4 received some paint after the rolling of the arches
• Completed multiple trackdays - 5 to be exact and over 140laps with zero issues with the car apart from tyre and fuel usage! Really impressed and managed a new PB too. Plenty left in it though
• Also took part in RunwayClub in Aug2021 - high speed 800M runs. Had great fun but heat soak killed me again. 
• Drove the shit out of the car up until November where I had booked in for an earlier NCT. It failed the NCT on the brakes. On closer inspection, the front CL RC5+ pads were done(quite impressed with myself). Went to replace the pads but simply couldn't get the pistons back in. Totally seized. Dropped them down to TDP to get rebuilt which meant the R33 sat on axle stands for a few weeks.
• In Dec2021, I got them back rebuilt and we refitted them along with some normal Comma DOT4 brake fluid & Stoptech 309 Sports Pads front & rear - just basic setup for now
• The same day, dropped her into winter storage. This is where Larry the wizard did the works on the car & removed the CarPro ceramic coating and applied the new Titan Vulcan TX155 Ceramic Coating - have to say, its 10x better and the car looks so much cleaner even when its filthy :-)
• In April2022, came out of storage again and passed the NCT the next day even with the emissions. 
• Since then, some consumables like wipers but I have just been out enjoying boost when & where I can - hard with two little people & general life. 
• As of end of April2022 - the odometer is showing 159,248KMs

You might be thinking why I put just basic fluid / brake pads in it - well some will know I am making up a custom big brake kit comprising of Megane 4 RS massive Brembos and 355mm DBA rotors. Just waiting on the discs to arrive then back down to TDP.ie to assemble / make the adapters etc. 

Some pics below from my R33 adventures over the past year!

Warm up lap Spinout!

Nissan Skyline R33 GTST Launch & Acceleration over 800M

Stay tuned!

Update: 30/04/2021 – Nearly out of storage!

Update: 30/03/2021 – Nearly out of storage!

Excited to say that I'm picking up the car on Friday out of storage. Been there since last day in November. She is NCT'd and was running 100%(once all those issues got sorted). Have a list of jobs to get done for 2021 which will improve the car no end. 

Also half thinking of a big brake kit for the front made up of a Megane Brembo, bracket and GTR front disc brake.

My To-Do List for 2021 is decent so will get stuck into it once car is back. Here is the plan….

MeisterR CRD Coilovers & Damper Extension Cables

HardRace Front Upper Camber Arms

Wheel Alignment

Stoptech 309 Sports Brake Pads - F & R

Nismo Rear Lower Link Arm Set

Garage Whifbitz Skyline Bonnet Damper Kit

OEM exhaust hanger / bracket

Speedtek Brake Ducts

Nismo GT LSD 1.5way (PN#38420-RS015-B) - purchased and currently being shipped

More to follow so stay safe & stay tuned!

Update: 22/12/2020 – A Year in Review

 Update: 22/12/2020 – A Year in Review

Since the last update back in April 2020, I’ve had a lot of work done on the skyline to get some items sorted with it, but it all has proven quite difficult due to the Covid19 pandemic. I managed to finish my honors business degree and start / finish another diploma course also. With all that in mind, I only covered a measly 1600km this year which is disgraceful!

Once out of storage and after the restrictions lifted, the first thing was to refresh the tyres with some new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 - 235/40/18(95Y XL MFS) for the fronts & Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 - 255/35/18(94Y XL, MFS) for the rears. Fair play to Rowan Tyres as always.

Next up was to replace some tired HKS parts so I added a Nismo Shift Knob GT500 Soft Urethane along with a Nismo S-Tune Oil Filler Cap. At this point, the car was running ok but not as well as I wanted it to.  Stockpiled a bunch of parts such as:

NGK BKR8EIX Spark Plugs,

Mobil1 10w60 Extended Life Engine Oil w/Greddy Oil Filter OX-03,

Gearbox / Diff Oil Change – Mobil 80w90,

Link CAN Lambda Wideband w/Bosch 4.9 Sensor

And booked in with Robbie@TDP.ie in June to get them all fitted along with Link G4+ ECU check over. The Link CAN Lambda wideband was fitted and the Innovate LC-2 wideband was removed. This addition ensures more accurate wideband readings and allows the Link ECU to do its thing more effectively. At this point, TDP had to remap it to his satisfaction.

The results speak for themselves

Performance Details - TDP.ie Map / Dynapack - July2020

359.6BHP at the Wheels @ 6608RPM

395.5BHP at the Fly @ 6625RPM

372.4lbft of Torque @ 4841RPM

Peak of 1.4Bar on High Boost @ 3878RPM

It was discovered that the replacement#2 stock manifold had warped and cracked from the excessive heat build-up. It was temporarily welded up until a replacement could be found along with a stock heat shield.

Once replacements were found, back down to TDP in the July timeframe. While we were at it, my ChaseBays Powersteering AN Kit was fitted to replace a tired stock leaking power steering setup. Picked up the car, and instantly noticed it was randomly miss-firing or hesitation at any major throttle. After data logging it for a few days, TDP diagnosed a faulty trigger crank sensor. Essentially the wire had broken (unknown why) and that was causing the issue. 

With a new sensor ordered up but, in the meantime, I decided to get the NCT out of the way earlier than end of November. They failed me as minor things like surface rust on brake lines and a few other minor items. Dropped the car down to Armstrongs Bodyshop to take care of the items including leaky rear lights again and old seam sealer under the rear window causing a leak. All sorted now so worth it for the peace of mind.

So all this brings me right up to November timeframe where we drop the car down again to TDP for the faulty trigger crank sensor to be replaced. Once replaced, it was only then I could say it was faultless, ran so much smoother and the healthy 395bhp at 1.4bar certainly packs a punch for an old girl!

With winter looming, temps dropping and motor tax up along with the then current restrictions, I got Prestige Transport to drop the car down to Larry Kehoe in New Ross for winter storage until March2021. To say I can’t wait to get it back is an understatement. Now with college over and the kids a bit older, I should be able to get out a bit more in 2021 assuming we are restriction free!

My To-Do List for 2021 is decent so will get stuck into it once car is back. Here is the plan….

MeisterR CRD Coilovers & Damper Extension Cables

HardRace Front Upper Camber Arms

Wheel Alignment

Stoptech 309 Sports Brake Pads - F & R

Nismo Rear Lower Link Arm Set

Garage Whifbitz Skyline Bonnet Damper Kit

OEM exhaust hanger / bracket

Speedtek Brake Ducts

Nismo GT LSD 1.5way (PN#38420-RS015-B) - Need to purchase

If you have read this far, fair play! Some pictures below 😊

Stay safe & stay tuned!

Update: 19/04/2020 - Winter Storage & COVID-19 Impact!

Update: 19/04/2020

Not a huge amount has happened since last update apart from putting some more KMs on the clock. Have gotten used to the Nismo Coppermix Twin plate and its epic bit of kit. Performance wise, car was going well although sounds like an air leak somewhere but despite my best efforts, i couldn't find anything. The Vibrant 300 cel sports cat has made it that bit louder.

Car was put into winter storage before i could get a chance to do NCT due to a mountain of college work so went into storage and got a full paint correction and ceramic coating in the mean time. Was mean to pick up the car mid march. I had just taxed it for 3 months(305euro), got my disk and was about to go down to get it out of storage(approx 90mins away) and then the full lockdown hit here in Ireland so had to abandon that idea. Car is still sitting tucked up away in storage nice and dry and warm with a cosmos large indoor cover over it. Looks class.

I am worried about the lack of NCT though. Am seeing alot of cars being seized. Its out since end of Nov2019 but I have all the paper work to prove it was off the road and still in storage. I had NCT booked for 10th April to be fair but all that got cancelled also.

But over the winter months, i started to collect a few parts for my 2020 Jobs list on the R33.

2020 To-Do Jobs List:

BOV blanking plate
Link CAN Lambda Wideband w/Bosch 4.9 Sensor
NGK BKR8EIX Spark Plugs - 0.8mm Gap
Nismo Shift Knob GT500 Soft Urethane
Nismo Racing Radiator Cap
Nismo S-Tune Oil Filler Cap Aluminum
MeisterR CRD Coilovers & Damper Extension Cables
Stock cat back on for way overdue NCT
Stoptech 309 Sports Brake Pads - F
Nismo Rear Lower Link Arm Set
OEM Exhaust / Gearbox Rubber mount
Funk Motorsport Gold Heat Tape
Link G4+ 2020 Map

I am sure there are other bits and bobs to do and parts hiding away in the attic!

Unsure of when i'll get the car back now due to the virus lockdown but with college wrapping up in July, hopefully i'll have alot more time with the car going forward compared to the last 4 years!

As always, stay tuned!

Update: 31/07/2019 - Great Progress!

Update: 31/07/2019

Alot has happened since last update back in Feb hence the long post. Progress & forum updates have been slow due to college exams and moving into our new house along with the family expanding. I do love a challenge! I have bite the bullet and paid for image hosting via photo bucket so alot of pictures are about to be uploaded!

Since the work back in Feb, did some research around a suitable replacement clutch and I went with a Nismo Coppermix Twin Plate clutch - bit of an overkill for now but is perfectly suited for future plans :-) The old exedy stage 2 sports paddle clutch served its purpose over the last few years but was slipping with the added boost. Being a nismo part, you know it is going to be quality. However, with that in the RHDjapan shopping basket, nismo suspension arms and greddy oil filters also fell in accidentally. Order was paid for and shipped but unfortunately DHL hit me for a serious amount of customs duty to the tune of 380euro!!! which was tough to swallow but had to be done.

Old Exedy Stage2 Sports Clutch

Nismo Coppermix Twin Plate & Various Parts

Over the past few years, I have struggled to find a quality sports cat which, in theory, should be less restrictive then stock but still keep emissions down. I found an amazing welder on instagram who agreed to weld on some flanges to the Vibrant 300cel sports cat. As parts started to arrive, i also picked up a catch can and associated AN fittings and hoses. With all parts collected, it was time to head back up to Richard Bradley for fitting and setup again. The ask was to fit the nismo clutch, arms, oil change again, sports cat, setup launch control(hehe) & catch can etc

Big thank you to Gus for the help with transportation

Richard Bradley Prep

With it all setup, it made a bit more power. However it looks like the sports cat is still restrictive causing additional duty cycle to meet the power. A silenced decat is on the cards me thinks!

Performance Details - AutoExtreme Hybrid 450bhp on BradleyMotorworks Dyno

340BHP at the Wheels @ 6278RPM

370.7BHP at the Fly @ 6278RPM

329.2lbft of Torque @ 4787RPM

Peak of 1.5Bar of Boost @ 6278RPM

With the car setup now and running well all I can say is it is violent delivery of power lol. I managed to squeeze in a track day with Rob & the team at trackdays.ie. Completed plenty of laps and the car survived well until i generated a boost leak somewhere which put an end to the day towards the end which was good. Tyres took a hammering. Really do need better suspension to remove that lean and crack the 2:15 time. Alot more left in the car.

Trackday.ie 19th July Pics - no specific order

With the move to the new house, i have no cleaning gear with me so the car was manky especially after the trackday. I found a local mobil valet guy who was recommended by a neighbour. After speaking with him, he knew what he was talking about and used similar products to what i use so was an easy decision. Great results and delighted to have it clean again

Mobile Valet

Random Pictures

So what is next I hear you say? Well, got to get a silenced decat and get that fitted and mapped again and start the saving pot for some better suspension and see what happens :-)

As always, stay tuned....