S14a Sleeper

[willh1985]

Heres mine new...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/13042008487.jpg

62,000 on the clock, completely standard. First port of call was a dyno run just to see how worth while my mods will be and what point I am starting from....
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/03052008552.jpg

It ran at 191bhp (166 @ wheels) @5816rpm. Not bad, seems to have lost a bit of power since new.

[Jonny Wilkinson]

Power does seem a bit low. Looks like a nice clean car though.:nod:

I like sleepers....What plans do you have ? :D

[willh1985]

Done a few bits so far, just posting them up, where my budget allows I'm gonna go for all out power. Thought about kits etc but really wanna go for the sleeper look, I know people expect 200's to be fast but still love the look of suprise on peoples faces as they wonder what on earth is under the bonnet.

[willh1985]

Time to replace that monstrosity at the back of the car, why nissan designed like that I'll never know. Opted for the Apex cat back as it seems to be a popular choice among you guys. You can see the difference over standard....
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/07052008562.jpg

Fitted to the car beautifully with no hassle, fair bit of ground clearance.
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/07052008563.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/07052008566.jpg

[willh1985]

Thought I may as well get the front pipe...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/28052008590.jpg
Fitted a treat once again. Can feel the power gains over the standard exhaust.

[BigD]

wernt they 195bhp from new ?

looks good :nod:

[willh1985]

Something like that, I bet not many people waste their money getting them dyno'd as standard though so the exact figure is probably not well known. It may have just been my car of course.

[Patrick.]

:wave:

What would be the difference?? 10-15bhp

Tomorrow another dyno run:D

Or replace the elbow first:thumbs:

[Lee11]

how much did the the whole system cost?

look's good:thumbs:

[willh1985]

Now for a few bargain buys, I'm not sure if you'll agree with my choices but I'm new to this and welcome any opinions.

First off I've plumbed in a boost valve for future use...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/19072008784-1.jpg

Then a gauge. Its working but I dont need it yet so its mounted under the bonnet, thought it looked pretty cool....
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/19072008787.jpg

The valve, gauge and filter cost £65 in total so cant complain.

[willh1985]

how much did the the whole system cost?

look's good:thumbs:

Whole system has cost about £450ish, well worth it.
Gonna have to dyno soon no idea what its running, more goodies first

[willh1985]

:wave:

What would be the difference?? 10-15bhp

Tomorrow another dyno run:D

Or replace the elbow first:thumbs:

Thought about the elbow, is it a worthwhile mod?

[willh1985]

Tonight I've been pretty busy, FMIC arrived, thought I'd try out one from ebay, I'l let you know how it fits/works etc...its looks the part anyway
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/22072008793.jpg

Had massive amounts of trouble getting it to fit without cutting anything. The result was it leaving this panel gap between the bumper and lights so called it a night and will start a fresh in the morning....
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/22072008795.jpg

[xborninthefight]

Good start there, the IC can take sometimes a little more time to fit.

[willh1985]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh, having a nightmare with this, didnt realise the battery tray was gonna take so much drilling. Looks like the washer bottle needs moving too. :annoyed::annoyed::annoyed:

[D1HKS]

from memory its juat a case of rotating the washer bottle about 90deg. IIRC the apex FMIC kit comes with a new bracket (i might be wrong, its been years since we did my mates 14a)

[xborninthefight]

You can try and heat the washer bottle up to bent, but there is a chance that it could go wrong. To cut the hole you could use one of those round things that you put on a grill machine ( cant remember what its called).

[Art in Motion]

Def need to use a gole saw. Heres when i did mine bout a few months ago http://www.sxoc.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?t=359167

and had a little problem after i fitted the intercooler. The car only running standard boost. Its all in that thread though.

Washer bottle- i took all bolts holding the bottle out. Got intercooler in and by bojery and witch craft (tie wraps...) got is secured in again!

[willh1985]

Right, I dont know where to start, what an absolute nightmare. Kinda got it done in a day. I say kinda, we finished (we thought) at about 9 in the evening so went for the mandatory test drive to see if i was worth the trouble. As soon as we got on to the dual carriageway and I put my foot down, one of the cooler hoses blew off. 15 minutes later and we were back on the move for all of about 30 seconds when another blew off. By half ten we had finally got it back on (the one right behind the bumper) and I decided to take it easy home.
Yesterday after a little under bonnet inspection, I found the horifying rproblem. The new cooler pipes hadnt come with a nipple on to feed pressure to the actuator so innevitably the turbo was boosting to god knows what PSI and therefore blowing hoses. I was very, very lucky. Anyway, heres a few pictures.

Got the cooler mounted quite nicely on the provided brackets...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/23072008806-1.jpg
Had to trim an inch off the rear of the bumper for clearance...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/23072008801.jpg
The undertray was also in the way so I cut that flush with the a/c rad...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/23072008810.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/23072008811.jpg
Then came the fun part...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/23072008800.jpg
Decided to grind the spot welds off the battery tray and then cut through the metal underneath for the offside pipe. It revealed a whole bunch of rust...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/23072008814.jpg
Unfortunatey I couldn't find a way of fitting the washer bottle in so thats gone for now...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/23072008816.jpg

Still more to do, I've still not fixed the problem yet so I'm stuck with driving like a grandad at the mo,

Here's the (kinda) finished product...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/25072008822.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/25072008823.jpg

[retardrift]

Lookin good.....

Any plans for coilovers or alloys??

Any other probs with the flea bay cooler??

[willh1985]

Its hard to tell at the mo cos the car's not running right yet. I'll be able to give a full report soon hopefully. Quite annoyed that such a crucial part of the design was overlooked.
Getting it remapped first, then coilovers.

[blue boy]

I hope that yo uhave a walbro fuel pump ready to go in as well?

What stage do you plan to go to in the end? Always good to have an idea as sometimes you can skip a stage like stage 1 and go to stage 2 as it saves buying a chip twice.

[willh1985]

I hope that yo uhave a walbro fuel pump ready to go in as well?

What stage do you plan to go to in the end? Always good to have an idea as sometimes you can skip a stage like stage 1 and go to stage 2 as it saves buying a chip twice.

Got the walbro, not fitted yet.
Spoke to an absolute legend last night, Steve at FC tuning. Told me all I need to know about what to do. Gonna get booked in with him to chip and re map the car. I'm very excited. :D

[ross86]

hey mate nice project i love the fact ure keeping it sleeper tho gd plan, def need to gett hat walbro in there before u do to much driving as u can cause yourself problems (DET) just an idea for u i mounted my washer bottle into the boot it depends how much u use your boot or whether u need to fit your bad ass stereo and subs in there lol but if not just link up the wires to run to the rear of the car then put in a line for the water.

I had removed my rear washer jet and wiper so i just used the water line which ran to the rear of the car and joined it to the line which comes fromt he original washer jets for the front.

quick and easy fix :thumbs:

gd luck with this project mate and if im correct i think the standard 200sx was running 197 by nissans books when it left factory if this is so then your first dyno indicates the car is running well for its mileage and age and has not been treated to bad

gd luck

ross

[Denial]

I'd say having the front mount intercooler visible through the bumper is going to undermine its sleeper look. Though, I wouldn't know what you could do to address this.

[Daz]

hey mate nice project i love the fact ure keeping it sleeper tho gd plan, def need to gett hat walbro in there before u do to much driving as u can cause yourself problems (DET) just an idea for u i mounted my washer bottle into the boot it depends how much u use your boot or whether u need to fit your bad ass stereo and subs in there lol but if not just link up the wires to run to the rear of the car then put in a line for the water.

I had removed my rear washer jet and wiper so i just used the water line which ran to the rear of the car and joined it to the line which comes fromt he original washer jets for the front.

quick and easy fix :thumbs:

gd luck with this project mate and if im correct i think the standard 200sx was running 197 by nissans books when it left factory if this is so then your first dyno indicates the car is running well for its mileage and age and has not been treated to bad

gd luck

ross
Good tip there on the washer bottle ross.

I'd say having the front mount intercooler visible through the bumper is going to undermine its sleeper look. Though, I wouldn't know what you could do to address this.

Powder coat it black :thumbs:

[japdrifter]

nice project mate...sleeper eh? love em...spray your fmic black!! you can do it yourself for a few quid...take the modified edge off of it!

[willh1985]

Not some bad ideas there lads, gonna have a look at the washer bottle in the boot mod later, I like that, cant remember the last time I used the rear jet. Not sure whether I could bring myself to spraying my lovely intercooler but I do know what you mean about giving the game away a bit. Might see if I can find a discreet and not tacky looking black mesh, that might work?

[japdrifter]

mesh looks tack imo tho...no need for mesh cause peeps will just try look at wats behind it..i deffo think spray it black that way peep wont tell the rad from the cooler...il be doing mine soon...black fmic on a black s13 ftw!

[Denial]

If your goal is to make a sleeper then anyone who knows what they're looking at will see that straight away. I'd spray it black if my goal was to make it as standard looking as possible. I guess it's upto you, and how far you want to take the look.


Not some bad ideas there lads, gonna have a look at the washer bottle in the boot mod later, I like that, cant remember the last time I used the rear jet. Not sure whether I could bring myself to spraying my lovely intercooler but I do know what you mean about giving the game away a bit. Might see if I can find a discreet and not tacky looking black mesh, that might work?

[willh1985]

I might have come up with a solution for hiding the cooler thats worth a try. Whats the biggest size in tights that you can buy? At least if i'm not happy with this I can pull it off. :sxoc:

[Daz]

I might have come up with a solution for hiding the cooler thats worth a try. Whats the biggest size in tights that you can buy? At least if i'm not happy with this I can pull it off. :sxoc:

Thats not a bad idea at all. I would of thought a normal pair of tights would stretch enough to give you an idea of what a black intercooler would look like.

[japdrifter]

will tights not just tear on the cooler??lol @ the idea tho

[Daz]

will tights not just tear on the cooler??lol @ the idea tho

Can't say I've ever tried it myself lol. Its a very cheap was of seeing if it looks good black.

Although you will get funny looks buying them. Can see you at the counter "They are for me car......honest" :sxoc:

[japdrifter]

''the tights are for my car honest!!'' lmfao haha

[willh1985]

What if I have to ask for help?

staff; are you lost sir?
me; no, I'm looking for tights,
staff; ok, for your girlfriend?
me; Not exactly, I need them fairly large, and black.

This wont look good

[japdrifter]

What if I have to ask for help?

staff; are you lost sir?
me; no, I'm looking for tights,
staff; ok, for your girlfriend?
me; Not exactly, I need them fairly large, and black.

This wont look good


hehehe....get on the case matey

[Art in Motion]

Lol get in.
Ya know if any1 does decide to do it post some pic's up please.
I recon it would look cool as fuk. Would try the tights idea but im too hungover to do owt today.

[japdrifter]

il stick to spraying mine lmfao....good thread tho il look forward to seeing this take shape

[willh1985]

Right... well the tights are on and I've got to be honest, it doesnt look too bad. You can only just see the cooler through them so it does the job. I should think plenty of air will get through and it should stop all the little bugs throwing themselves into it.

What do you think?

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/27072008824.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/27072008826.jpg

[s14_dave]

i would of just sprayed the intercooler black imo

[japdrifter]

that actually looks awesome!!!!!

[JC]

I think you would have been better off spraying the intercooler,you will be suprised just how much air those tights are going stop from going through the cooler & letting it do its job properly,also its pretty pointless trying to disguise the fmic as your car is hardly a sleeper anymore with that dirty great exhaust on it! lol

[willh1985]

I think you would have been better off spraying the intercooler,you will be suprised just how much air those tights are going stop from going through the cooler & letting it do its job properly,also its pretty pointless trying to disguise the fmic as your car is hardly a sleeper anymore with that dirty great exhaust on it! lol

I'm thinking of getting a trailor fitted to cover that up :thumbs:

[BBB]

In a few months the IC will have dulled down a bit anyway as the alloy gets shot blasted by road dirt and forms an oxide layer.

[Jonny Wilkinson]

Bit late for you now Will but I went with a rad-mount FMIC so it didn't stick out front and put a twin exit Mongoose on the rear as, although the outlets a slightly larger diameter than standard, its only a few mill.

[willh1985]

When I bought the exhaust I didnt really know which path I was going down, all I knew was that the standard one was super restrictive and pretty ugly so it had to go. The thing with the exhaust though, if they can see it, I've probably already flown past them so the cats out of the bag anyway. :D

[swiftmini]

looks like a similar fmic to what I bought, I modded the Brackets so it sits quite high. i am able to reattach the bumper undertray part, this is on a prefacelift s13.

tights look sexy, hide the cooler well.

are you certain the boost problem isn't the bleed valve, I had same prob and the went and Bought a greedy profec b.

cheers
kev

[willh1985]

looks like a similar fmic to what I bought, I modded the Brackets so it sits quite high. i am able to reattach the bumper undertray part, this is on a prefacelift s13.

tights look sexy, hide the cooler well.

are you certain the boost problem isn't the bleed valve, I had same prob and the went and Bought a greedy profec b.

cheers
kev

Well I seemed to have fixed the problem, I ran a boost line across to the pipe exiting the cooler which has worked, but, its only boosting to 8psi now instead of 10psi as it was before. Not too sure why.

[swiftmini]

it could be the extra capacity of the pipework and cooler or the colder charge. not too sure how this effects boost pressure readings.

kev

[japdrifter]

if intake temps were lowered due to the new fmic then boost would increase

[willh1985]

if intake temps were lowered due to the new fmic then boost would increase

But boost has gone down, gonna check it all out tonight, start again.

[JC]

if intake temps were lowered due to the new fmic then boost would increase
I doubt very much that they will be much cooler at all with those tights covering the intercooler! :wack:

[japdrifter]

I doubt very much that they will be much cooler at all with those tights covering the intercooler! :wack:


lmao....well compared to the standard wing mount intake temps would be considerably lower


i think you should have sprayed it will but then the tight idea is quite funny:thumbs:

[willh1985]

It was just a test, If I spray the cooler black it'll dissipate heat better than standard anyway.

[JC]

lmao....well compared to the standard wing mount intake temps would be considerably lower
Women wear tights to keeps their legs warm,thats what they are designed for,I can guarantee that air flow through the IC will be greatly reduced with them covering it & the IC will not be anywhere near as effective as it should be,even certain types of grill mesh can have adverse affects on radiators & intercoolers.

[japdrifter]

thinking bout it you got a fair point...

[Art in Motion]

But boost has gone down, gonna check it all out tonight, start again.

I had the same problem with mine when i fitted the intercooler. i disconected the actuator to see if it was that that was fooked. The actuator was fine plugged it back in and i wo back on my normal 13psi...Wierd:)

I left you a link to a thread about it earlyer. like one the 1st page of this thread. :thumbs:

[s13rab]

ha ha ha ha mate why in under good god did i stick tights on your front bumper ha ha

thats looks hideous ...just paint it matt black

[japdrifter]

i dont think it really matters wat kind of black it is lol!!^^^

[s13rab]

i dont think it really matters wat kind of black it is lol!!^^^

ha ha i agree just black :sxoc::eek::thumbs:

[willh1985]

ha ha ha ha mate why in under good god did i stick tights on your front bumper ha ha

thats looks hideous ...just paint it matt black

Mate, you wouldnt even know unless you went up and poked it. I'll try and get a clearer picture. Its badass. :wack:

[s13rab]

Mate, you wouldnt even know unless you went up and poked it. I'll try and get a clearer picture. Its badass. :wack:

ha ha but serious ha ha tights hahaha

ok get a better pic up lol :sxoc:

[Art in Motion]

Mate, you wouldnt even know unless you went up and poked it. I'll try and get a clearer picture. Its badass. :wack:

Ya know that pic in your sig of the green 200 that looks like its on 18" or 19" standard wheels. is that really a standard set a rims with a bit of air brushing or somet? They look really good!

On the FMIC colour thing thought it was just temporary...
To be honest its that dark under there ya wunt notice weather it was tights Covering it up sprayed, powder coated, dipped in amonium zink al leth ploura thide! n Glazed wi a dose a Satin Fabrajey To bring the correct shade of black to your acquired taste!

Tights are good, but getting air to ya FMIC is crutial, or you may as well a never bothered spending hundreds a £ buying 1.

[willh1985]

Ya know that pic in your sig of the green 200 that looks like its on 18" or 19" standard wheels. is that really a standard set a rims with a bit of air brushing or somet? They look really good!

Thats just me messing with the picture, I wish to god someone would make some larger replica wheels though, would look awesome.:D


Tights are good, but getting air to ya FMIC is crutial, or you may as well a never bothered spending hundreds a £ buying 1.


The tights are attatched to the bumper and dont even touch the cooler so I would hope are still be getting plenty of air.

[JC]

The tights are attatched to the bumper and dont even touch the cooler so I would hope are still be getting plenty of air.
:no: Think again buddy,doesn't matter what they are attached to,the fact is that they are completley covering the surface area of the intercooler & thus severely restricting the airflow through it & having a negative affect on the intercoolers performance ;)

[Art in Motion]

I wo gunna say. Them wheels look ace man! They'd suit it to ground if they were 18's i know ya shunt put 19's on but they would look even better!

Keep us updated wi this thread its gunna b good!!

[willh1985]

Its been a while, so time for a little update, allbeit it mostly bad news. :cry:

Since fitting the cooler I dont think my car has run right once, blowing pipes off and boosting to silly psi. I finally thought I had it sorted but the car just didnt seem happy. Then I started to notice the dreaded smoke...

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/th_16082008030.jpg (http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/?action=view&current=16082008030.flv)

'Knowing' (I use this word lightly), that it was blown turbo seals, I didnt hessitate to whip that out, send it off to be rebuilt and then refit it. Thought I may as well upgrade the manifold whilst I was there...

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/28082008864.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/28082008863.jpg

Smiling like a cheshire cat I was on my way. Unfortunatley, the smoking was back within a day and getting worse. After a thourough investigation, the smoke is actually coming from cylinder 1. So, my car is dead for now, gonna strip it down and rebuild it so that this NEVER happens again, but for the time being, my wallet is gettting a much needed holiday.

The good news, I've found a temporary solution... :wack:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x24/willh1985/13092008885.jpg

[bobbitt]

I think you would have been better off spraying the intercooler,you will be suprised just how much air those tights are going stop from going through the cooler & letting it do its job properly,also its pretty pointless trying to disguise the fmic as your car is hardly a sleeper anymore with that dirty great exhaust on it! lol
#


good point

[willh1985]

I agree, the sleeper idea is slowly slipping away. Its difficult to do, and with the plans I've got its gonna go out the window. Anyway, I'm gonna create a new category of sleeper, I figure that 'sleeper' is all about suprise, so If my car looks like a 250bhp 200sx, but actually has 400bhp, surely it'll have the same effect?