Stage 1 Modifications

With the "new layout" to the website,  comes the explanation and how to guide all in one.

Engine Performance

Stage 1 can take flywheel Hp up to approximately 300Hp. This is where you need to make the decision wether youd like a Drift Spec, Track, Drag or all rounder including everyday use.

First on the cards should be air filter and exhaust change for performance ones, as this will allow the engine to "breathe" easier.  Then an ECU reset is advisable, so it can re learn the new parameters for air fuel mixture. The ECU can learn the new settings over a long time without the reset.

To reset the ECU you should first warm the engine to normal operating temperature, and switch the ignition off at the key, remove the back boot trim panel to access the battery.
Undo the 10mm nut at the terminal clamp so there is some movement, then undo the 10mm x2 nuts that connect the earth strap to the chassis. Remove the Earth cable from chassis & battery, avoiding contact with any other metal.
Leave for 30 mins - 1hour and then re connect Earth strap to chassis & battery terminal, tighten all nuts so there is no movement from the clamp or strap.

Start the engine and let it warm up to normal operating temperature, and go for a drive. You dont have to "go nuts" as the ECU learns as you drive normally, and then head for a motorway or 70mph limit just to be sure it has done the fuelling correctly at top end.

These modifications took my R33 GTST to 294.9 Hp @ fly and 250lb-ft of torque @ rear wheels.

This can be increased by means of a "chip" or an ECU remap.

What is chipping about?

The chip is an electronic component with binary data on air fuel mixes, and is done with precision so as to get the maximum possible power safely, out of the engine. A chip in most cases is soldered in place of the existing part.

What is a remap?

An ECU remap is exactly that - the car is usually put on a rolling road, with sensors in the vehicle exhaust, and manifold vacuum lines, and the car is then run and the ECU settings are altered accordingly.

In my personal opinion, a remap is better than a chip.

The final output power will vary from one R33 to another depending on how well the engine, oil, turbo and cooling systems have been looked after by its owners.

Spark Plugs

A standard R33 GTST should be fitted with NGK PFR6G-11 Spark plugs, however if engine modifications have been made, it may be necesary to change the plugs for ones with either hotter, or colder heat range.

Whats this heat range about?

As you modify the engines breathing, this also means that the temperature inside the combustion chamber rises, and in some cases can cause detonation, or pinking.
Detonation is the result of the air fuel mix being ignited by the temperature inside the bore / combustion chamber, so when the piston reaches 15° BTDC there is no air or fuel to ignite, and therefore a pinking sound can be heard.

Back to Spark Plugs - Part of the spark plugs function in the engine is to absorb heat from the combustion chamber, and then transfers the heat to the cylinder head which is cooled via the water ways from the engine block, to cylinder head, through the coolant.

Spark Plug Guide:

P = Platinum
F = Thread size (14mm)
R = Resistor
5 = Heat Range
G = Design Feature
11 = Gap Setting (1.1mm)

NGK also suggested the following plugs for the Skyline R33 GTST with modifications:
BKR6 EIX-11
BK7EIX- 7B OR 7G
BKR6 EIX

About heat ranges:
The important part is to remember - 5 is the LOWEST HEAT RANGE, 6 in an INTERMEDIATE heat range, and 7 is the HIGHEST heat range.

And without going into the turbo side of horsepower, this brings Stage 1 Engine performance to a close. Stage 2 tuning will include Front Mounted Intercooler, Boost Controller and Uprated Turbo Charger. Although many people (including myself) do the FMIC and EBC modifications as part of Stage 1 - there is no wrong or right way of doing it.

Suspension

So far weve covered the engines performance, and braking, both of which are useless without the car being able to stay on the road while going into, round and out of corners for Track / Circuit & Drag events.

There are many options as to what you can get for the R33, for example coilovers - you can raise or lower the ride height as you go please with the Tein system, and you can also alter the dampers hard & soft settings, which has16 settings all controlled from inside the car.
Or you can get lowering springs, or down springs, which are fitted to the McPhearson Struts and usually lower the car by 35 to 44mm.
You can go lower than 44mm, but in my opinion this just makes the car handle worse in the wet, and will chew through the front & rear tyres badly on the insides due to the cars geometry setting.
A 40mm drop on the front and 42 on the rear seems a good choice so far, for myself.

Strut Braces

In my experience, great in the dry, lethal in the wet.
So what does it do? 
Without one fitted, as you drive along, and then enter a left bend in a road, the suspension struts can sway slightly inward on the drivers side, and outward on the passenger side (on a U.K. r/h/d car) and will give body roll effect.
By adding a strut brace you are effectively taking away that movement from the struts, which in turn stiffens the body so when you enter the corner at speed (in the dry of course!) you have more control over the cars movements as it will grip the road better.

In the wet however, it makes it difficult to recover from a spin out as the body weight cant be shifted  to regain control.

Steering

There isnt really much to modify at this stage, unless your going for the Drift setup.
Washers or Spacers are fitted to the steering rack to enable a few more °C of steering turn, and the Hicas system is removed and replaced with a Hicas Lock out Bar.

This brings Stage 1 Tuning to completion, and as mentioned before, the output power should be around the 280 - 320 Hp @ Flywheel

If you have any questions regarding Stage 1 tuning, send me an e-mail and I will provide as much information as I can.

I hope this is of help

Brakes

Stopping the car efficiently is just as important as getting the car to go fast.
Enzo Ferrari once said: "I make cars to go fast, not to slow down".
I say : "An R33 wrapped round a tree is f**** all use to me" (except donor parts of course)

Uprating the rotors (discs) and pads is definately advisable at this stage. There are many makes available, and companies such as Brembo and Tarox offer "big brake kit conversions" at the cost of a small fortune... half the value of your beloved R33 lol.
Alternatively you can stick to the "grooved & drilled" discs that are available, and are more than adequate enough.

If you want to uprate the calipers, then ideally you should use the master cylinder that came with the calipers. ie if you were to fit 300ZX calipers to your R33, you would also need to to fit the master cylinder off a 300ZX as the pressure in the R33's cylinder may not be strong enough to move all the pistons, which will be revealed with signs similar to brake fade, or the diaghram could split with the pressure, also giving signs of brake fade.

What is brake fade??!!

Its that time when you apply the brakes to stop suddenly, your foot goes to the floor and your bum starts twitching. Not the cars bum, yours. The car will carry on cruising showing little sign of stopping despite the pumping of the pedal in a desperate attempt to stop the car.
People also confuse brake fade with the wearing in of new discs and pads, regardless of being uprated or standard OEM parts.

Technically speaking, brake fade is most common when the cars brake fluid has such an amount of water in it that when pressure is applied to the brakes, instead of resisting the heat, the heat boils the water particles within the brake fluid rendering it useless until the brake fluid has time to cool down again.

What is water doing in the brake fluid?
Most oils are Hygroscopic - this means they attract moisture from the air, and once in the oil, it turns to water. This is why Brake Fluid should be changed every 2 years maximum

What DOT should I be using?
To put it simply, whatever DOT it says to use on the Brake Fluid Reservoir Cap - DOT 4 in this case.
Why not DOT 3, or DOT 5.1 Performance Brake Fluid?
The difference with the Dots, is the boiling temperature. Dot 3 is 140°C, and Dot 4 is 155°C.
And then theres Dot 5.1 with a boiling temperature of 191°C.
People are misguided into buying the Dot 5.1 "Performance" Brake Fluid, as this can do more harm than good. All the brake system components are suited to dot 4 fluid, such as the pistons in the calipers and the springs inside the brake (wheel) cylinders at the rear. With extra heat going through them, it may cause them to break down, and this will also give a brake fade effect.
The only time you should use Dot 5.1 is when all the brake system components have been replaced by "performance" ones or more durable ones that will take the added heat.