Update: 18/11/2015 - Sports Cat & Emissions

Got the car back 2 weeks ago and its been going like a hot snot ever since

The wideband was installed & setup and will need a 2nd calibration soon also(after reading up on it, this is normal), also got a new battery, Link G4+ firmware update & rear wheel bearing re-grease & tighten(seemed to fix brake pedal feel)

Innovate LC-2 Wideband box

Innovate LC-2 Wideband installed

NCT(Ireland's National Car Test) was last friday but it failed on the emissions with the sports cat. They need a good bit of heat in them but was left waiting for a while so it got cold and they couldn't get it to pass.

NCT Exhaust emissions with sports cat

NCT#1

NCT#2

Beady!

New fat bastard draper 2tonne low profile jack - 35kg!!!

Sports cat removed for the moment, stock cat back in, retest on the 25th Nov

Picked up a CTEK MXs 5.0 Battery Charger to keep battery topped up over winter

Some underside shots - in relativity good nick to be fair

Clean HICAS / Diff

Underside of turbo with slight weepy return line(nothing major) - yes I know I am missing a turbo nut, will get that sorted, no impact anyway

Next steps: Car comes off the road for the winter at the end of Nov & i'll tinker with it over that time and put some money away for that elusive hybrid kit with ext wastegate

Stay tuned......

Update: 04/09/2015 - Engine Management Light

Still waiting on my wideband sensor / controller but in the meantime, I have been out for a few hoons and it is running better once you are over 3500rpm, below that still a bit lumpy etc

But once its fully warm, it goes like a hot snot, instant response. Can only imagine what an hybrid turbo would be like in it

Anyways, on my way back from a spin on Tue night, I came round a bend and the EML started to flicker in a sequence then I lost all power and pulled over & the engine died. Tried a restart but kept dying. Shit, limited mobile batt power, no torches & on the darkest road possible

EML sequence before the car batt died
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeYR-mlvGmA

shortly after that the duff car battery gave up & I was left with no power at all

Got it recovered(Thanks to Gem!) & typical it started fine coming off the trailer after I had attached my power pack to it

Next day I hooked up the notebook to it and discovered

Link ECU Fault Code

ECU Fault Code 26: An volt 6 below Error Low value
ECU Fault Code 74: Analog 5v Supply Error

An6 - NB Oxy(V) = 0.74 going up to 0.82

Link ECU Fault Code 26 & 74
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk_wCCydLEY

Spoke with TDP & Robbie was able to remotely connect to the ECU(once i plugged in my notebook) and check everything over and it was all ok. Error code was down to the duff lambda sensor & 74 was more than likely when the battery died on me

Cleared the fault codes and let it warm up with no faults. ECU & sensors are all getting all the power/ground they need. TDP reckon the fuel pump relay and/or the clifford immob might have caused it to cut the fuel pump

Will drop it down(was planning it anyway) to TDP next week to get the wide band in & calibrated, idle control cleaned and check the fuel electrical system.

Just after taxing it too!

Stay tuned.....

Update: 19/08/2015 - Time for a wideband!

Overdue update

Got the car back from TDP after nearly a month. They had to replace the VCT pulley with my original one as the 2nd hand unit was causing it to run like crap. TDP fitted it & made a few adjustments to the fueling, idle and boost map and it ran a good bit better but not 100%.

It was also discovered that my stock oem recirculating dump valve was also leaking(prob down to age) which was contributing to the overfueling. That has been partially blocked now which results in some awesome "chatter"

Had the car back 1 week and i gave it back to them as it wasn't running right at all I just wasn't happy with it. It was diagnosed as a faulty lambda(outside of normal spec) causing it to overfuel low down the revs. Once you were over 4K rpm it went like hell but ran like shit under that.

So I bit the bullet and have ordered an Innovate Wideband sensor & LC-1 controller that will work with the Link G4+ ECU to give me super smooth power, hopefully once its all setup & calibrated. put it this way, it better!

Have been out in it this week a few times while I wait for the wideband & it goes alot better but still lumpy down low(good bit louder with the sports cat in it now also). I can see the lambda on the Link software going out of spec so hopefully this will sort it all out as the wideband will work with the Link G4+ to self adjust

Not alot else has happened, have to get a few bodywork bits sorted out and get Elite Auto Clean(Ian) to work their magic on it when the above all gets sorted

Current Wishlist:

• Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 tires
• Hybrid turbo kit or HKS 2835pro s kit
• Larger injectors
• Nismo 1.5way diff
• Either Nismo or Exedy single plate clutch

I do love this view though, great place to be

As always, stay tuned....

Update: 03/07/2015 - Still not charging!

So we managed to fit the recon'd R33 alternator with little or no problems last Thursday, deffo do-able on axle stands but would be so much easier on a ramp

extra pair of hands is essential though!

Anyways, all in, jumped the car and it started with 14.0v on the multi-meter, thought I was sorted so went for a spin but the volts kept dropping but balanced out around 13.5v but the car runs like a dog with mis-fires etc, just like before so no change!

However, i stuck with it, checked all the fuses and wiring, all seemed above board. After running out of ideas, I had to give in so contacted TDP & dropped it down on Tuesday for them to work their magic

It is nothing obvious but hopefully its something simple

While all of this is going on, myself & herself are in the process of moving to another rented property(wedding first in September then will buy) so am fine for TDP to keep the car & sort it out

However, the new house has this so it makes me happy. Will actually be able to wash the car, work on it & give it some attention. Living in an apartment sucks when you are a petrol head!

New man cave

Will update once I hear what is causing the car not to charge, can't be much as I have replaced the alternator with a new one & a new battery.

As always, stay tuned.....

Update: 24/06/2015 - Recon'd R33 Alternator

Got my recon'd stock R33 alternator back last night. Fitting on Thursday hopefully.

Great service by Balfes in Dublin, would recommend them

Fingers crossed, fitting goes smooth. Cant wait to hear my RB sing again

Update: 21/06/2015 - Will I be 3rd time lucky with the Alternator???

Got the R34 alternator back but with the R33 case & pulley on it as all the measurements are identical fitting apart from the front case - different sized mounts

Spent the guts of 2 hours trying to fit it & get that dam spacer in & not going in at all

we took out the alt one last time & checked the bolt......

It was never going to fit!

Thanks to Carlo & Mike for the extra pair of hands

So for future reference for anybody reading this thread looking for help on alternators, an R34 alternator will not fit a R33 RB25DET engine as the mounts are different, even if you swap the cases

Father in law will drop the 2 alternators back down to Balfes today for them to swap back the case/pulley onto the R33 alternator & then recon that one

It has to fit then!

3rd time lucky!

Update: 16/06/2015 - Alternator saga!

So after discovering my alternator was dying, i thought it would be a smart to get a 2nd unit & get that recon'd letting me still tootle to work & back but my stock alternator had other ideas and just let go & wouldn't maintain the charge at all

Managed to get a 2nd hand replacement unit, nothing showed up after a week & then finally it was sent.

I sent it over to Balfes who had it recon'd & painted in stealthy black within a day.

Went to remove stock one last Saturday. nothing too difficult, just need to take it out from the bottom with an extra pair of hands as it can't come out from the top. Side by side comparison showed I had been sent an R34 alternator & not an R33

To say i was fuming is an understatement after buying it & then getting it recon'd(all in about 205euro). not impressed

Anyways, right now Balfes have the 2 alternators & will try to swap over the case & pullies as the R34 case wont fit in the R33 as the flanges are bigger. The cases physically look like they will fit

Risk is that the R34 alt is 150amps vs the R33 alt is approx 80amps - hopefully i wont start blowing stuff???

Should have it back this week to fit at the weekend & back on the road once again. Never ending but at least its done now

In hindsight, i should have just taken my one out & got that recon'd instead of messing about with a 2nd hand unit - lesson learnt

Any, some pics of the alternators for comparison

Stock R33 Alternator

Reconn'd R34 Alternator

Side by side comparison

As always, stay tuned.....

Update: 21/05/2015 - Dying Alternator

So after a few hundred KMs, I have a dying alternator. Not bad going for over 135,000km

Only getting 13.1v > 13.6v on idle. should be upwards of 14.2v > 14.7v

Have to jump the car daily now. getting a pain so did some reasearch & I can get an alternator recon'd from Balfes in Dublin for €125+vat

http://mylesbalfeltd.ie/

So i'll pick up a used alternator & get that recon'd & fit it. Hopefully will be back to normal then. Hopefully it wont take long!

Will also take a look at the plugs and drop the gap on them from 0.8mm to 0.4mm as recommended by TDP.ie

13.6v on idle

Wicklow Gap Sun in Ireland

Hot exhaust after run

Update: 10/05/2015 - Link G4+ Update & Dyno Graphs

Have clocked up 250kms over the weekend & to say I am happy is an understatement

Despite the stock turbo, the power delivery is brutal. So much faster than before. With the addition of the sports cat, there is alot more grunt, especially on boost. Sounds amazing though!!! Some lovely pops & burbles on 2nd/3rd/4th overrun

Managed to take a few pics, will get better pics at a later time

TDP Stainless Steel custom air filter pipe

Oil Cooler line routing

Oil Cooler sambo plate w/lines

Oil cooler position in front bottom left part of bumper hiding away - works a treat though!

Flywheel / Torque graph to correct scale

Torque(not to scale) / AFRs

Boost(0.9bar)

Torque(not to scale) / Flywheel power

Dyno torque / Wheel power

Random cockpit shot

Link G4+ ECU PnP being installed by TDP.ie

Next step is to simply to enjoy it & get Ian from Elite Auto Clean to give it a once over during the next few weeks

As always, stay tuned....

Update: 08/05/2015 - Got the car back!

Got the car back earlier this evening from TDP.ie

Wow is all I can say

Super neat job on the oil cooler, can't even see it, sports cat is in, squeaky belts fixed, brakes bled giving a marginally better pedal feel

But the big one is the installation of the Link G4+ ECU w/map sensor, boost control & CAS trigger wheel

The car is alot smoother to drive and has a good bit more torque than before

Bearing in mind my previous figure of 353bhp was at its peak 18months ago then the sensors started to fail. Last time it was dyno'd was at 342bhp back in December

New performance figures: 
309.3BHP at the Wheels @ 6700RPM
355.7BHP at the Fly @ 6700RPM
353.9lbft of Torque @ 4847RPM
Peak of 0.9Bar of Boost @ 5095RPM

Regardless of the figures now, it is seriously smoother to drive & with more torque and power for more of the rev range, it is a handful in the wet at least

TDP did mention that the turbo is tired so didn't push the boost past 0.9bar to be safe

Back with a skyline smile once again

Will try & get some vids/pics/graphs up over the next few days when I can

Stay tuned!

Update: 10/10/2013 - Nismo Fuel Pump Install

Well the Nismo Fuel Pump arrived but only after Irish customs hit me with €70 tax on the part!! A$$holes!

I wasted no time in fitting it. I had already removed the HKS fuel pump so it was an "easy" matter of fitting the nismo one. Step by step pics below

Notes:
Disconnect the battery first!

HKS vs Nismo Fuel Pump = Identical.....

Deep dark smelly hole of fuel!

Can just see the fuel pump holder here

The fuel pump goes in there, next to the battery in the boot

New Nismo non-return valve to keep pressure in the lines for longer

Once all hooked up to the top of the fuel pump parts, it wont move, it should be placed 260mm from pump, 55mm from top. cut the fuel line accordingly

Fuel pump going in, tricky - it is all touch/feel, you cant see anything!

You need to put the pump right at the back and hang it off the plastic hanger

Make sure you get the seal down nice & even all the way around, this can be tricky

Put on the lock ring and tighten it all up & connect up the lines/plugs

Fuel pump lid on

Check your pressure if you have a fuel pressure gauge. Mine is at 2 bar only because batt died as I took this picture. once batt charged, it should be reading around the 3bar mark

First start of RB25DET after fitting Nismo Fuel Pump

Nismo RB25DET Fuel Pump: Fuel Pressure Check

Needless to say I am quite happy with myself getting it working, took a while but got there in the end!

Stay tuned!