Brake Upgrade Part 2 - DBA 4000 Series Rear Brake Disc

Well I finally got my DBAs. They originally landed in Bolehland Capital as far back as January but work and other commitments kept me from delivering them to Penang for installation till now. One of my favourite bands is an acoustic duo called the Kings of Convenience. How about Kings of Procrastination? Haha...

Anyway add RM60 for Pos Laju and this arrived @ my doorstep.

The DBA part number.

Opening the box revealed the following. Each disc gets its own box and part number. Non-swept areas on the disc are painted for corrosion resistance.

The following one pamphlet serves as documentation for the disc

So why DBA 4000 series apart from the price premium (~1.8K for a pair of one piece solid brake discs)? You can read up on the advantages here. To summarize:

• Thermographic paint markings for heat monitoring - But then DBA states the following in the pamphlet "Warranty of DBA product void when use in any form of motorsport". I don't see any reason why one would want to monitor the heat range of their brake rotors on a daily driver street use car. For the hardcore anal retentive?
• Innovative Kangaroo Paw ventilation design which runs cooler - A moot point as the rear rotors on a Slowtra are solid and non-ventilated.
• Suitable for specific production car motorsport use - Main reason why I got the 4000 series instead of the regular DBA Street Series Slotted. And of course some subtle poisoning sorry advice from Bro Jacko helped me on the decision to go for the 4000 series.
• The unique 6x6 Wiper Slot is designed to efficiently clear gases, dust and debris, resulting in a cleaner disc surface for better braking while maintaining maximum friction - Looks cool too!

Picture below shows 2 of the 3 (green, orange and red) thermographic paint markings

Installation was done at my regular TCEAS in Prai. I expected this to be a no-brainer direct bolt-on job but unfortunately then ran into issues. Picture of the disc/rotor installed

Picture of disc, caliper and brake pad without shims installed. As posted the pads are Stoptech 309 Compound which have been sitting in my study's cabinet for more than 4 months! When the mech tried to bolt on the caliper to the pads and disc the caliper body would not clear the disc and pads due to sufficient width/clearance. The new disc with new pads was proving too thick for the caliper to accomodate even though the caliper pistons where fully recessed. I tested with brand new stock Hitachi pads and same problem. The workaround was to install the pads minus the anti-squeal/rattle shims. With some pad wear I should be able to later reinstall back the shims. I guess this is the reason why 10mm rear brake disc thickness is specified for year 2000 USDM Sentra B15s and 9mm for 2001 onwards.

Upon bolting everything back another issue was discovered. The rear right hand (driver) side handbrake was not working. The toggle lever on the caliper was not engaging or releasing the parking brake when the handbrake was engaged/disengaged. This means I only have the handbrake on one side of the Slowtra. The TCEAs technician tells me my caliper and handbrake cable are probably screwed. Sigh... Anyway the decision was to go ahead and bolt everything back together pending replacements. I am deciding if I should just bring in a brand new caliper as the caliper that failed came from a half cut together with my rear beam and brakes. Ditto handbrake cable. These lasted me 6 months but like most half cut parts the actual service life is unknown.  I did not have any issues with my handbrake till the latest dismantle for the brake disc and pad install. Am still troubleshooting and will report out on the fix in upcoming post.

Picture of everything with my rims installed. Being the same size as stock the new disc still looks small though the slots add some fierceness :)

After a couple days of driving and bedding-in the increased in braking performance is glaringly obvious. Yes, even with just the rear disc and pads with the front brakes still bone stock! Pedal feel is surprisingly firmer probably due to less brake caliper piston travel as the previous pads were pretty worn. Brake dust is to be expected more than the stock Hitachi pads though not by much. I did not notice any major increase in brake noise without the brake pad shims installed though will expect more noise once the pads begin to wear and increasing clearance. I now need to fix my handbrake before moving on to the fronts.

Works and New Tyres Installed

After a long three month wait I finally received a call from Goh Swee Hin on Tuesday. "Your rims are here". I promptly made arrangements to install them on Wednesday to lay to rest all those corny "your rims must be undergoing extensive tests for radiation hence the delay" jokes. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize if I unintentionally offended anyone. My heart goes out to the Japanese people in lieu of what happened recently.

These greeted me on arrival at GSH. "17" should be self explanatory.

Closer inspection of the packaging label reveals the rim/wheel size and specs. For some reason my crappy Olympus camera decided to screw up the colour turning everything a pinkish hue. As can be seen above the box should be white. MGM stands for "Matt Gun Metal".

One box holds 2 rims. Here's one of them. These are the real deal and not some crappy knockoff from the current land of knockoffs. You know where I mean. Fantastic casting and finish quality! Unlike my Rays Gramlights 57S the decals are all already applied to the Work Emotion CR Kai.

These were also in the box. Every rim gets a certificate!

I was initally going to go for Federal 595 RS-Rs but the kiasi + logical side of me prevailed. The Slowtra is still a daily driver and the thunderstorms nowadays is beginning to take on more and more typhoon like intensity especially on the Penang Bridge. Wet grip and handling is critical! I settled on the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TTs after discussion with Mr Goh whom recommended them over the PRC made Goodyear F1 Assymetrics. Tire Rack also highly recommends these tyres and the review can be read here. The SP Sport Maxx TT came in first when compared to the famed Continental ContiSportContact (CSC) 3, Advan Sport and Pirelli PZero Rosso. Picture below of my tyres.

The Dunrop SP Sport Maxx TTs feature kevlar reinforced sidewalls which should hopefully result in a stiffer sidewall and ride compared to my now previous tyres - the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 (PS3). While the PS3s gave excellent grip in both wet and dry conditions I really don't dig the soft and numb feeling sidewall. Speed rating is "Y" or 300km/h for my size - 215-45 17". UTQG is 240 while traction is rated "AA".

Me old rims and tyres awaiting to be delivered to a Bro. Please come and get them real soon.. :)

Picture of rim + tyre installed. Am retaining my old Rays lugnuts as the rims are gonna be off plenty more times to install my brakes, coilovers, etc. The problem with big rims is that the stock brakes now look puny! This will change soon though.

You know the tyre manufacturer wants the country of manufacture to be known when it is embossed on the outer sidewall as opposed to inner sidewall for many Tom Yam Land made tyres.

Bling blue anodized lightweight aluminium valve stem and cap. I prefer the understated black ones from Rays as these have practically proven to be thief proof.

Despite being the same width and offset as my previous Gramlights, the Works have more meat and the design of the spokes means there is even more clearance for big brake calipers. Hope my new rims will clear my new brakes as-is without a spacer. One can even run extended length lug nuts without these sticking out like pimples like my previous rims.

The Slowtra getting its alignment done. I'll publish the alignment data in another post.

I've driven for 50+ kilometres the past two days and the initial feel, ride and handling are pretty good. I do not detect any increased tyre roar/noise despite the wider width. Dry grip appears to be as good as the Michelin PS3s. However without the power from the new engine to exploit the tyre's performance I'll be hard pressed to tell. And yes, the sidewalls are stiffer giving a more reassuring ride and more feedback. Have yet to drive on really wet roads so can't report the wet handling at this point. Will provide updates in future. Steering feel appears pretty good and again it feels like I've upgraded my suspension. Pixs of the Slowtra with new wheels and shoes. Pardon the wet sideskirts. I just hosed that a bit after driving on a typical sandy, muddy half wet half dry Penang road after a downpour an hour or so before.

I initially wanted to go for bling blue anodized Work RS lugnuts to match the valves but now feel black looks better. What do you think?

The SP is for Sale

Its a sad sad day for me and I'm sure Bro Mugil is having a pretty tough time too. The SP is for sale as Mugil is planning a new career outside of Malaysia hence has decided to part with arguably the fastest, trickest, bestest Putra in Bolehland. Details of the SP here. The spec list of the SP alone is a couple pages long and even then all the passion, work and bst involved is not fully covered. Bro Mugil has taken the SP even beyond what I originally envisioned. Truly an astounding build and car.

Those interested are requested to contact Bro Mugil at at 012-335 0607 or email mugil@troxmal.com.my.

Wilwoods are Here!

My Wilwoods have finally made it to Bolehland. Picture of the package.

Slow striptease. Package opened to reveal contents.

The mounting brackets. These are CNC machined.The SL6R caliper is radial mount unlike the more conventional lug mount Wilwood Dynalite and Superlite. Radial mounting results in a stiffer caliper.

Box for the pads. "7416" is the pad shape/configuration. The 7416 pad is same as 7420 pad except thickness is 16mm as opposed to 20mm.

Stainless steel braided brake lines.

And here comes the big parts. Calipers + Rotors. If you need to ask these are for my front brakes only. Rears will make do with DBA 4000 series rotors and Stoptech 309 compound pads.

The rotors. These have a diameter of 310mm (12.2"). There are 6 slots per rotor. No cross-drilling as these will crack when subjected to track day torture. The centre bells are aluminium alloy which will really lessen the mass when compared to a one piece rotor. Downside is higher cost.



As mentioned previously the thickness is 28mm or 1.1"



The SL6R caliper or Billet Narrow Superlite 6R Radial Mount Caliper to give it it's full name. Each caliper is CNC machined from a piece of forged aluminium alloy. Piston sizes are 1.62", 1.12" and 1.12". There is no rubber seal as these will only melt when subjected to consistent and intense heat energy generated under heavy usage. Calipers are also available in red but again @ extra cost.

I would like to thank Bro Mugil for all the help rendered. Wouldn't have been able to do this without all the assistance rendered. Thanks Bro! Owe You One! Now please excuse me while I go find some quick relief..

Tyres for my Works

My Works should hopefully be here by next week and I'm currently contemplating tyre choices. My choices are currently limited to three of which two are max performance tyres but still considered daily driving road tyres and the other is as close as you can get two a semi-slick or the Advan Neova AD08 or Falken Azenis. Oh and budget is bout RM500 per tyre max so don't ask me to get the AD08. Tyre size is 215-45 17".

Let's talk bout the max performance tyres first. These are:

Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric. While the reviews on these tyres have generally been excellent the size I want is made in the PRC. My tyre supplier adviced me not to go for PRC ones. The made in Germany ones are 225-45 17" but these (gulp) cost RM600+

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx TT. These are made in Japan and like the Goodyear F1 Assys are also assymetrical in design and feature Kevlar fibre reinforced sidewalls.

And now for the extreme performance and near semi-slick the famed Federal 595 RS-R. I can get these @ pretty reasonable price but '09 stock and there are exactly four left. The new 2011 stock is expected to cost substantially more and way above my budget. Threadwear is quoted as a wallet busting 140 but one can never compare UTQG ratings from different tyre manufacturers. A tyre from another manufacturer with the same rating can be softer or harder. However one things for sure, compared to the above two tyres the 595 RS-R will give more dry  grip and steering response but at the expense of NVH, tyre wear and wet weather grip.

All thoughts, comments and feedback are welcomed!

Wilwood Here I Come!

Just got this via email a couple minutes ago from Brian @ Fastbrakes. Am speechless!

"Your kit is all ready to ship, finished brackets yesterday"

After more than 2 months including the design spec stage am now close to realizing my front brakes. This is what I'll be using:

• Wilwood Superlite SL6R (Billet Narrow Superlite 6 Radial Mount) calipers
• Coleman Racing 310mm X 28mm (12.2" X 1.1") 2 piece rotors with alloy centre bell
• Wilwood BP20 brake pads
• Brakes hoses, adapters and caliper mount brackets, etc.

Now I have to get the parts delivered. Then will have to test mount with my new wheels to ensure these clear the caliper else will have to order a hubcentric spacer kit with extended length lugs. Oh and hopefully I will not have to upgrade my brake master cylinder. This one's a big bummer which I'll blog about in due time. Stay tuned.

JDM QG18DE Engine Kosong

Something I got a while back. A decent condition JDM QG18DE. Pardon the not so good pictures which were taken by my Bro Jacko. Ignition coil packs appear to be different from the local MYDM variant.

I specified a cable throttle variant rather than try add more complexity into the mix with Nissan's drive-by-wire electronic throttle body found in later variant QGs.

Side of the engine showing the cam sensor.

JDM Pitwork Oil Filter. Look at how close the oil pressure sensor is to the oil filter. Methinks this is going to complicate an oil cooler via oilstat/sandwich adapter installation. The oil filter is at the back of the engine beneath the intake manifold btw.

That's all for now. Waiting for engine to be taken apart  for some TLC bath wash and to replace all seals, bearings, innards, etc. What colour should I paint the cam cover?

Nissan QGXXDE Piston Dimensions and Engine Capacity

Picture below extracted from the N16 EM "Engine Mechanical" section of the service manual illustrates the different piston diameters according to grades. The stock piston is a cast piston.

The diameter of the piston will be slightly smaller than the cylinder bore to compensate for heat expansion, etc but generally cast pistons can run tighter piston to bore clearance compared to forged pistons. The stock piston is available in 0.5 to 1mm overbore diameter direct from Nissan. Go larger at your own peril!



The piston skirt or "a" dimension is as follows:

QG13 = 47mm (1.850")

QG15 = 43.5mm (1.713")

QG16 = 44.5mm (1.752")

QG18 = 45.1mm (1.7756"). Interestingly the USDM B15 QG18DE piston skirt is stated as 42.3mm (1.665")

Piston Pin Outer Diameter: 18.989mm to 19.001mm (0.7476" to 0.7481")

TCM states engine capacity for N16 1.6 as 1597cc. Here's how the engine capacity is calculated:

QG16 piston diameter = 76mm or 7.6cm

QG16 stroke = 88mm or 8.8cm

This means piston bore area = 7.6cm X 7.6cm X Pi or 3.14159 / 4 = 45.3645596 square cm

Volume of 1 cylinder therefore  is bore area X stroke = 45.3645596 X 8.8 = 399.20812448cc

As the QG16 has 4 cylinders this means total engine capacity = 399.20812448cc X 4

= 1596.83249792 rounded up to 1597cc.

You can calculate what a 0.5mm or 1mm oversized piston will give u but consider that the 4mm of larger piston on the QG18DE will only give you 1769cc.

QG18 piston diameter = 80mm or 8.0cm

QG18 stroke = 88mm or 8.8cm

This means piston bore area = 8.0cm X 8.0cm X Pi or 3.14159 / 4 = 50.26544 square cm
Volume of 1 cylinder therefore is bore area X stroke = 50.26544 X 8.8 = 442.335872cc
Overall engine capacity = 442.335872cc X 4 = 1769.343488 cc or rounded up to simply 1769cc

Now if I go 1mm overbore what would my capacity then be?

QG18 1mm overbore piston diameter = 81mm or 8.1cm
QG18 stroke = 88mm or 8.8cm
This means piston bore area = 8.1cm X 8.1cm X Pi or 3.14159 / 4 = 51.529929975 square cm
Volume of 1 cylinder therefore is bore area X stroke = 51.529929975 X 8.8 = 453.46338378cc
Overall engine capacity = 453.46338378cc X 4 = 1813.8535cc or rounded up to simply just 1814cc which means that you are still @ 1.8 litres.

So why can't I go larger than 1cm overbore? Consider the fact that there must be sufficient surface area between each cylinder for you to do that. For a modern compact 4 cylinder transverse engine there is typically little space. Especially more so the QG18 where 1mm even looks like a wee bit too much with 0.5mm a safer bet. Go too much overbore and you might actually bore into the water cooling passages or there might not be enough surface area for the head gasket to seal properly. So for those guys who like to talk about larger pistons in forums the answer is you can try going slightly larger piston but it will have little difference on the overall engine capacity. This applies for "small" capacity 4 cylinder engines. Of course if you have a 7 litre V8 its a different story. If you want more capacity your best option would be to increase the stroke via a stroker kit but do consider the fact that the QG16/18 is already an undersquare engine (stroke > than piston bore) hence further increasing the stroke will just impede the engine's ability to rev. And since a stock QG already does not like to rev this option is a no-no (at least to me).

Nissan QG18DE Connecting Rod Dimensions

Pls note this is Chap Saw. I'm not responsible if your dimensions turn out to be not true though I'm 99.9999% sure they are as these were taken of the service manual and assuming your engine is a Nissan QG18DE. Pls have your engine builder to properly measure your rods to be 100% sure.

Centre Distance (conrod length) mm(in): 140.45 - 140.55 (5.5295 - 5.5335)
Rod Stroke Ratio: 1.597 (88mm stroke)
Bushing Inner Diameter (small end) mm(in): 19.000 - 19.012 (0.7480 - 0.7485)
Big End Inner Diameter mm(in): 43.000 - 43.013 (1.6929 - 1.6934)
Side Clearance Standard mm(in): 0.200 - 0.470 (0.0079 - 0.0185)
Side Clearance Limit mm(in): 0.52 (0.0205)

QG16 and QG18 runs the same conrod. QG13 to QG15 too if the service manual is to be believed. The difference is in the cylinder bore/piston diameter. It also shares the same conrod dimensions as the previous gen GA16DE engine. The stock conrod is a forged steel item and relatively strong for the engine's stock power output. Piston dimensions to follow.

Have a Great Chinese New Year Everyone!!!

The EFR 6258 is Here!

Pixs tell a thousand words. These are the first two in Malaysia from what I know. One for me and one for a Bro.

This is what my Bro Jacko whom helped to pick up the snail has to say bout the EFR - "LOL... you guys better chia me good dinner. I had to lug both your turbo to my unit. Luckily they were very light as compared to other turbos

Firstly good news. The water and oil ports are all M14 x 1.5 as described on the installation guidelines. You also do not need an oil restrictor as its already build in (SMART!). Turbo is top notch, even my turbo guy that sees turbo day in and day out commented that its very beautiful and will flow better than any GT28 variant. The compressor housing is bigger than the stock evo7-8 and maybe same size as the evo9. That explains the 400hp potential. The compressor wheel is a billet item and will last longer than the car if nothing touches it at 100,000rpms. Other good things I see is that the shaft is thick, casting is top quality and turbo spins very well!! The compressor housing can also be rotated 360deg as its being held by Vband clamps and the actuator can move with it. Very impressive. You guys made a great choice. To the untrained eye this may look like a small turbo.. but look closer and it will smoke the rest... The quality is very good better than Garret and any OEM turbo of course.

Bad news is that you have to get the 3" Vband clamps for the turbo as my turbo friend does not have them in stock now. But plenty in Ebay. Other than that you guys are pretty much set and ....... oh and also the expensive dinner with me :P"

Looks like many sleepless nights ahead for me. Sweet turbo dreams...

Deatschwerks 600cc Fuel Injectors

These arrived just in time for CNY. Packaging pictures

So why Deatschwerks? Well these are 100% drop-in for the QG/QR series engines. No need to muck around doing research on which fuel injectors fit the QG or trying to adapt injectors to an engine. I've seen some people trying to fit Impreza WRX injectors with not too impressive results.The last thing anyone wants leaking is petrol onto a hot engine.  The other plus points of the Deatschwerks injectors are:

• Flow rates and set balancing done in-house
• Flow balanced to within 1-2% with flow report included for every set of injectors
• High impedance coils to match OEM ECU
• Excellent spray pattern and atomization for excellent idle and tuning
• Technical assistance and tuning data available via phone or email
• Deatschwerks already supply many US pro time attack teams. Nothing beats the technical know-how and experience.

Picture of the contents of the package. Apart from 600cc Deatschwerk injectors are also available for the Nissan QG/QR engines in 380cc, 440cc and 800cc capacities. 600cc is more than sufficient for 350+ horsies. Deatschwerks even took the trouble to include synthetic PTFE grease with the injectors.

The flow report of my injectors

The fuel injector up close. Manufacturer is Denso

Next up would be my fuel pump upgrade. The upcoming Deatschwerks DW300 series looks promising!

My Rims and Tyres are Sold!

To a Bro whom will soon be putting these on a Waja.

My Rays lugnuts are still available. I have a used set and a brand new set. Both are 16 pieces only and available in any colour or shade so long as it's black :)

The Search has Ended: Work Emotion CR Kai

OK.. my search for 17" rims/wheels have ended. I have ordered 17 X 7" offset +42 Work Emotion CR Kais in MGM (Matt Gun Metal). The wheels should be arriving in March. In the meantime here are 2 pictures taken from Work's website. First one with anodized blue lugnuts while second with black lugnuts.

These wheels are heavier than the Gram Lights I'm currently using or even the 5Zigen FN01R-Cs I was originally intending to get but the increased strength will do me well with Penang's famed potholed roads. Besides I can lose weight elsewhere like the brakes :)

Fuel Injector Sizing

Both RC Engineering and Deatschwerks offer detailed websites explaining how to select the proper injector size for the target horsepower you are aspiring to achieve. And if you're too lazy for manual calculations both offer an automatic calculator for injector sizing vs target horsepower. Note: for your injectors to function reliably please ensure your duty cycle is not over 75% at maximum load (RC states 80% as the danger point, Deatchwerks states 90% while Andrew says 75% from personal experience. You decide. Duty cycle is the amount of time the injectors remains open in relative to the amount of time it is closed. 0% means the injectors are not in use while 100% means the injectors are switched on or opened ALL the time.

RC's Fuel Injector Sizing Calculator
Deatschwerks Fuel Injector Sizing Calculator

And so what are the size of stock QG16 and QG18 injectors? The honest answer is I don't know. I've gone thru the service manuals for both N16 and B15 yet came up with nothing. Maybe I need to read in more detail? A search on the great big place in the Matrix - the Internet actually,  revealed that stock QG18DE injectors could be 240cc. However one person claimed 180cc which frankly to my opinion is too small but one cannot imagine what TCM is capable of doing especially since the experience of knowing that they (TCM) fitted a puny gearbox to the N16 manual version. Guess I'll know once I dismantle and test flow the stock injectors.

I do know that for the power I'm aspring and my engine spec I will require 600cc to be on the cautious side. Those that have maxed out injectors till failure will know the very painful and expensive consequences. Have ordered Deatschwerks 600cc injectors which have been shipped as I type this.

BorgWarner EFR 6255 Discontinued... NOT!

A little (well actually a pretty big one that is closely linked to the BorgWarner Manufacturing Plant) bird just told me that BorgWarner has no plans to discontinue the production of the EFR series 6255 at this time.

I have already ordered my 6258 which should hopefully be here by the end of this month. Stay tuned!