S13 Update: Dyno'ed at 411.71whp and 453.43 torque @ 1.45 bar!

Very pleased with the results.

411.71whp and 453.43 torque @ 1.45 bar.

Thanks largely to the Garrett GT2871R + Tomei Cam 270 Procams + JUN high intake manifold with a 80mm throttle body.

Love it! Just right for the street and the track! =)

S13 Update: Nearly Track Ready

The S13 is nearing completion - and not a moment too soon. For this Saturday, I'll be attending a closed track day at the Sepang International Circuit :).

With the engine rebuild completed, I shifted my focus to the car's handling. The S13 was still running stock sway bars. After installing a full set of Hard Race suspension upgrades (pillow ball tension rods, lower rear arms, rear camber kit etc), along with Nismo bushings and solid sub frame collars, the old bars just wouldn't cut it. The rear felt very solid and the front somewhat weak. This might affect turn-in and promote understeer. As such, it needed stiffening and the stock bars were just too skinny. That's why I opted for a full set of front and back Cusco stabiliser bar kit. They arrived from Japan and here is the reason why they are going onto the car:

Cusco Stabiliser bar kit for front - (P)S13. 28mm diameter (Standard is 24mm). 131% stiffness comparison.

Cusco Stabiliser bar kit for rear - (P)S13. 18mm diameter (Standard is 16mm). 114% stiffness comparison.

Along with the Cusco bars, I ordered Nismo Braided Clutch Hoses for both the S13 and the R33 GT-R. Compared to the factory stock rubber hose, stainless steel mesh was adopted by Nismo for a much lower rate of expansion. The Teflon interior of the pipe provides a low pipe frictional coefficient and smooth flow volume characteristics, for more direct clutch operations. So in other words, there is no room for volumetric expansion. Not only will the Nismo braided clutch hose firm up pedal feel but it'll also make the clutch function precisely, by not allowing the hose to swell and lose pressure.

Now all that's left is to upgrade the car's suspensions. It's currently running JIC high lows and as some of you might know, you need fully adjustable suspension for the track. I'm looking at buying a used set of Aragostas but at the sametime, quite keen to see what RCS - Radical Chassis Solutions - can do for my ride. It's headed by Nanda Kumar, who has some 15 years of experience in rallying. According to a review by Tom of Zerotohundred, Nanda was trained by Lotus Engineering and has served as an engineer there for some years. So, he probably knows a thing or two about suspensions, and handling, of the Lotus kind.

More updates to come, so stay tuned :).

S13 Update: Engine Upgrades

My Silvia S13 Coupe rebuild project is coming along quite nicely. In fact, after the engine respray, the car has slowly been upgraded with better external parts (note the pictures above and below).

The first to arrive was a brand new Garrett GT2871R turbo, good for 460hp. The reason why I picked this particular unit instead of a larger one like the GT30, was because the GT2871R represents Garrett’s largest turbo available in the T28 series frame size. Based on the popular “Disco Potato”, the GT2871R includes a 71mm compressor wheel coupled with the NS111 quick-spool turbine wheel. The magic of the GT series turbochargers resides in the turbine and rotating assembly, which rides on dual ball-bearings. 

The end result is a pretty responsive turbocharger, which can also flow large amounts of airflow resulting in decent midrange and top-end power. Ideal for track and gymkhana work. Do note however that I will eventually get a GT3071R but only after I get a hang of the S13 on the track.

Which leads me to the next upgrade - a set of four Power Enterprise 800cc Top Feed Injectors. In light of my intention to upgrade to a GT3071R in the near future, I have opted for these large cc injectors as a future proof measure. And why Power Enterprise (PE)? Well it's partly because I've used their injectors in past with my R33 GT-R rebuild and from what I've heard, Sard DENSO makes them.

Next up, we have a fresh-out-of-the-oven TurboSmart Comp-Gate40 external wastegate. It's Turbosmart's new 40mm external wastegate (measuring only 99 mm in height) is designed to fit into tight engine bays with it's new smaller actuator housing.

The Comp-Gate40 has all of the good features you would expect from a quality wastegate: cast stainless body, anodized hat and base, stainless heat shield to protect the diaphragm, a ultra high lift diaphragm, cast stainless body clamps, stainless weld flanges etc. TurboSmart is heavily involved with rotary engines in Australia and turbo rotaries can produce exhaust gas temperatures approaching 1900 degrees F. Now how's that for product testing? Anyway, here are some other features that are worth knowing about.

Locking Ring
The Comp-Gate40 does not use allen screws around the perimeter of the spring hat. It uses a trick "locking ring”. The benefits of the locking ring are no more stripped allen screws, no more stripped hat bases, much easier spring changes, spring changes in less than a minute and an overall reduced height wastegate which allows greater flexibility of wastegate placement.

Reduced Package Size with no Sacrifice in Gas Flow
The Comp-Gate40 is only 99mm (3.89”) tall, but still has .582” of valve lift. It also only measures 74mm (2.91") at its largest diameter making the Comp-Gate40 probably the smallest wastegate on the market.

Unique Rotating Cap
The spring hat can be indexed in 12 different positions allowing for greater installation flexibility. The rotation can also be done in less than a minute by only loosening the locking ring. This really does make things go quicker during the setup of a new custom installation.

All in all, the Comp-Gate40 should work perfectly right out of the box. Be sure to apply some light grease on the locking ring threads if you're installing one.

I think I might be using a couple of Comp-Gate40 wastegates on my other ride, the R33 GT-R, maybe with a Full-Race twin scroll exhaust manifold and a BorgWarner EFR turbo but that's all in the future...

Last but not least, the final piece to the rebuild puzzle is a spankin' new Haltech Platinum Sport 1000/2000.

Personally, I think the Haltech Platinum Sport 1000 is packed with more features than any ECU in it's class. It's capable of controlling sequential injection on 2 and 4 cylinder with semi sequential 6 and 8 cylinder applications. With 8 channels capable of controlling injection and ignition duties, the Haltech unit is able to support most modern engines with multi-coil ignition systems, as well as conventional distributor ignition systems.

Here are some of the Platinum Sport 1000's features:

• Soft cut rev limiter
• Closed loop boost control
• Stepper motor and BAC/IAC closed loop idle control
• User-definable mapping points
• Anti-lag launch control with rotational idle
• Wideband closed loop 02 Control
• 8 additional user-definable inputs
• 4 additional user-definable outputs
• Tuning via TPS with Manifold Correction
• Numerous Correction Maps
• Onboard Data logging
• Windows Software

Well, thats all for now. The engine and car are actually ready and have been subjected to mandatory on-the-road tuning, but that will be covered in a future entry. Cheers.

S13 Update: Engine Rebuild

With the R33 GT-R nearing where I want it to be in terms of performance and appearance, I've decided to focus my attention on the S13 Coupe.

As such, the car is currently underdoing an engine rebuild. It will be sporting a new turbo, forged pistons, intercooler and a whole lot of other performance parts. I am targeting for the rebuilt engine to make 380whp to 400whp. I'm looking for useable power and not large hp numbers, seeing as this car is meant for the track. I might upgrade to a Garrett GT30 in the future (for top-end power) but I first need to familiarise myself with the car and its handling characteristics.

To this end, the following parts have been requisitioned:

• Garrett GT2871R Ball Bearing Turbo
• Tomei Cam 270 Procam
• Tomei Valve Spring
• Tomei Cam Gear
• Tomei Rocker Arm Stopper
• Trust Type R Intercooler (GT-R spec)
• Titan Retainer
• Supertech 86.5 Forged Piston Set
• Cometic Metal Head Gasket
• OEM Rebuild Gasket Kit for SR20DET
• Turbosmart Ultra-Gate38
• Jun Intake Manifold
• Custom Banana Exhaust Manifold
• Custom Exhaust System

Some of the parts have arrived while others will be brought in according to when they are needed (like the turbo for example). From time to time, I will be posting up reviews on some of the rebuild parts.

At this moment in time, my S13 has had it's engine bay resprayed and the car is currently being fully rewired. The reason for this is that the rebuilt engine will be controlled by a Haltech Platinum Sport 1000 Engine Management System (EMS). The rewiring is also for peace of mind.

Stay tuned for future S13 Updates!

The Tomei parts have already arrived

The SR20 taken out and the engine bay being prepped for painting

My S13's engine bay has been repainted white! :)