K1 Rods Ready and For Sale!

After some eight months my custom K1 Technologies billet h-beam conrods are ready. Pictures courtesy of Greg V while I arrange for shipment.

Those of you following this blog will know that I had the rods custom manufactured as no performance conrod manufacturer with the exception of Pauter has off the shelf rods for the Nissan QG18DE. The K1 conrod is forged and strong enough to withstand the power I am expecting to make (~300bhp). Unless you are crazier than me and plan a >600hp QG18 these conrods are going to be all that you will ever need. Specs of the QG18 K1 conrod can be found here. Material is forged 4340 steel. Finishing is top quality.

The even better news is that my set is not the only set of K1 QG18 conrods in existence. Yes, there is another (only one more set) and these are for sale @ USD675.00 for a set of four. Price does not include shipping and any tax. Lead time is NOT eight months but the amount of time it takes to deliver the rods to your doorstep once you place the order and pay. Serious enquiries only pls contact me. The conrods will also fit the Nissan GA16DE.

Slowtra does it Doggy Style - Turbonetics Spearco Intercooler

Collected my intercooler and got taxed big time (40%) by our dear customs. "This is the lowest I can go! Spare part kereta memang mahal" said the customs officer all the while eyeing her prey like a natural born predator. She was not going to let me off this time as I had avoided tax a couple months back with my gear selector rods. She even mentioned "I've seen you here before". I wonder how automotive innovation and engineering is going to grow in our dear country when an enthusiast who is not making a cent out of his or her passion is getting royally screwed?

Anyway my intercooler is an American Turbonetics Spearco unit. When ordering the intercooler I mentioned that I wanted the intercooler from a certain famed Sentra time attack race car. Due to the shape and vents of the Slowtra's front bumper a wider but shorter height intercooler is required versus the more common narrower but taller height intercooler found in Jap performance cars such as the Evo. Picture below of the technical drawing. Spearco can make any specification intercooler to your drawings if necessary.

The Spearco intercooler is a bar and plate type intercooler. This is different from many Japanese aftermarket performance intercoolers which are of the tube and fin type. The most noticeable difference between a bar and plate versus a tube and fin intercooler is the header plate. The header plate is also where the end tanks are welded to. Tube and fin intercoolers utilizes header plates to seal the charge rows from the ambient rows. The header plates seal around the oval tubes during the brazing process and are generally around 0.125" (3.175mm) thick. However, over time and constant vibration the header plate starts to crack away from the tube. Per Turbonetics you will not find this problem with bar and plate intercoolers. The end tanks for a bar and plate intercooler are welded directly to the core. Tube and fin intercooler uses extruded tubes to carry the charge air across. The thickness of the tube ranges but are generally 0.020 (0.5mm) thick compared to 0.125" (3.175mm) solid extruded bar on the bar and plate intercooler. This increased strength comes at the expense of additional weight for the bar and plate intercooler. However the bar and plate intercooler in a given size or space will have more capacity and surface area. Efficiency of both (bar and plate & tube and fin) are about the same. So in summary which type of intercooler is the "best"? There's no such thing unfortunately in engineering. Everything is a compromise.

Picture below of my intercooler. My intercooler is 2-255 assembly part number with custom end tanks based on 2-203 core 3.5" (88.9mm) thick, 6.52" (165.6mm) height and 24" (609.6mm) wide. 640 cubic feet/min flow rate.

The construction is simply superb and I concur with Greg on the lovely quality of the TIG welds. Of course with quality comes higher cost. Paid RM2.5K for the intercooler at USD1 for every MYR3.2 exchange rate including shipping not including tax. Pokai!!! On top of that one inlet/outlet pipe flange is dented from the shipping hence also need to get that repaired :(

Compared to a conventional bar and plate intercooler, Spearco utilizes W.A.V.E. (Wide Area Vane Effectiveness) technology which is also used in the aerospace industry where space is a constrain and performance is critical. A Spearco W.A.V.E. core incorporates a complex network of highly effective vanes to regularly decrease temperatures by as much as 30 degrees Farenheit over conventional tube and fin cores. Spearco W.A.V.E. cores are also capable of withstanding pressure in excess of 200 psi. Spearco cores undergo a strict manufacturing process which require numerous cleansing steps to ensure a 100% braze throughout the entire core. Two close up pixs of the core.

Picture of my upside down intercooler with the Slowtra.

Here's how the intercooler looks like installed on Kojima's Dog III btw. Picture courtesy of MotoIQ.

Install to follow when my engine is ready not so very soon. Also undecided if I should use some trick W900 clamps/connectors from Adel Wiggins although this means I would have to chop off the inlet/outlet pipe flanges.

Lightweight ICE - Finale

I was originally going to totally remove the Slowtra's ICE and have the Slowtra's chassis squeaks, engine, wind and tyre noise as my only form of in-car entertainment but got talked out of it by the good uncles @ Golden. They basically convinced me having some music or at least the radio would be less stressful in Penang's many traffic jams. I settled for a used Steg QMOSII 120.2X. Amp is no longer in production and the parent company has gone under but who cares? Having used its brother the 105.4X a couple years back I can vouch for its impressive sound quality. A brand new Alpine PDX-F4 will cost more than twice what I paid for the 120.2X but I doubt it will better the Steg on sound quality. Furthermore the 120.2X only weights about 2.65 kg which is about half the weight of the TRU Technology Billet B2110 amp I was using. The 120.2X has the following specs:

• 2 X 120W @ 4 ohms
• 2 X 200W @ 2 ohms
• 1 X 400W @ 4 ohms bridged
• Efficiency: > 60% (at 11V, 4 or 2 ohms)
• Frequency response: 20Hz ~60Hz (-3dB)
• THD: < 0.05% (4ohms, max power)
• S/N Ratio: > 95dBA
• Damping Factor: >500

Picture of the amp installed.

I have also changed the interconnects back to Supra Dual using the Neutrik Profi RCA connectors. Sound quality might be slightly inferior to the Audioquest Sidewinder I was using previously but the Neutriks ensure continued noise free connectivity in the long run. Only downside is the Neutrik Profis cost about as much as a 4.5m pair of Supra Duals. Am only on front 2-way speakers - the excellent Focal 165K2P while head unit continues to be the Blaupunkt Bremen MP74.

Guess this ends my ICE journey for the foreseeable future as I concentrate only and only on making the Slowtra lose its nick. :)

Farewell Gift

No I'm not going anywhere. It was Bro Mugil who gave me these when he moved to Germany.

These are not kids construction toys but genuine Earl's aluminium wrenches. The short handles allow usage in cramped areas and discourages over–tightening. Wrenches are colour coded for quick size identification. Minimizes damage to aluminum alloy AN fittings. You can look up the sizes here.

Kinda felt like Frodo being handed a coat of mithril by Bilbo. These wrenches are not cheap mind you!. Needless to say this left me speechless in gratitude. Thanks Bro! If you ever need these wrenches back just let me know.

Convocation Present

Sitting, all dressed up waiting to receive my scroll and with nowhere to go nearly bored me to death hence decided to check my email. Got this lovely piece of gem from Greg.

"This is a thing of beauty. The welds are incredible. The box it came in was just too large. I need to get a box next week that will protect it and remain in size guidelines."

Picture below tells a thousand words...

This and the convo really made my day. More to follow once I receive the Turbonetics Spearco intercooler...

Convocation

It's been a real struggle balancing work, personal life, my studies and of course playing with the Slowtra these past 3+ years but I'll have to say it was worth every blood, sweat and tear. I graduated with an MBA in Supply Chain Management from UUM on the 1st October 2011. In comparison, the last time something like this happened more than 15 years ago was a walk in the park as I had nothing else to worry about then except passing my exams. I have a very very long list of people to thank for all the support, encouragement, advice and even rubbing some sense into me including my wife, family, current and previous bosses, friends, brudders, colleagues, etc. Won't bore this blog with details but you know who you are :)

Having achieved by academic objective I'll have to say I am pretty satisfied and look forward to really utilizing what I have learned.  However there is still one more thing I tend to dream about a lot. A motorsport engineering degree/masters from the likes of Cranfield University. Unfortunately I suck real bad in Physics and getting older by the day doesn't turn this into a strength. At this point of time this shall remain a dream but who knows? Life is full of surprises and like a box of chocolates you'll never know what's gonna come along with the chocolates.....

ARP Head Studs Here!

2 to 3 weeks turned out to be more than a month but me correct ARP head studs have finally arrived. Oh and Pos Laju charged me RM150 to air freight ten incorrect head studs back to the States :( Next time just use regular registered snail mail. Picture of the correct head stud.

The QG18DE requires 10 (there are 12 head bolts but the other 2 is non-load bearing) M10 (Metric 10mm) head studs. Price came up to 470+ smackers not including shipping and any tax for 10 head studs + same quantity washers and 12-point nuts. The reason the price is so reasonable is because I took the closest equivalent off the shelf head stud versus commencing the design and manufacture of custom head studs which would have cost me thousands of hard earned ringgit. Many thousands.

Per Greg (my supplier and boss of GSpec Performance) my head studs are same as the KA24DE. Here's another piccie. If you think you're going to make big power (>500hp) perhaps you can drill the block and try 11mm or larger diameter head studs. I'll stick to 10mm since I'm not.

Picture below shows the stock head bolt versus the ARP head stud assembled with washer and nut. The ARP head stud is about 12mm longer but I've confirmed with Toby there will not be any clearance issues.

As you can see from the picture above the thread length is the same compared with the incorrect head stud. Am working on ARP main bolts now which I'm hoping no praying will not be as problematic. Also need to order some fastener assembly lubricant.

Stripdown

Finally after some ten months work has started on my engine. Engine is in mint condition. During a phone conference Chief Engineer Toby was like "WTF! Your engine looks like it has less than 1000km". Pictures below courtesy of Bro Jacko who went walk walk around snap pictures for me as I am more than 350km away from the work being done. Thanks Bro!

Engine oil is clean and all the bearings are in great condition with no scuff marks or scratches. Picture below of the crankshaft. You can also see the stock main bolts and main bearing caps in the picture.

Per Bro Jacko engine must be from a Klingon warbird as there were some Klingon marks on the rods. Rod is very thin.. Toby mentioned "funny pistons are dished but stock compression is still high" (9.5:1)

Cylinder head being put through the degreaser for cleaning. The intake and exhaust ports are small! Like the ones on a Mitsu 4G13/15. This is a 1.8 engine mind you. Compare it to an engine 10 years its senior the famed Mitsu 4G93 and you can see the glaring differences in port size. Apart from the lower compression this is one of the reason why the QG18 makes 128ps (claimed) compared to 133ps (also claimed) for the 4G93. If you need to ask the larger valve heads are the intake ports. Some cylinder head development work is definitely required!

First need to build up the bottom end starting with some nice forged pistons. There is very little metal between the cylinder bores hence the QG18 is practically maxed out in terms of cylinder bore diameter. Have settled for only a 0.5mm overbore which should suit my 81mm bore Ajusa headgasket nicely. My K1 rods should also hopefully be here in October. ARP head studs are on the way (finally sent last week) and design work has commenced on the main studs. Also need to source for some decent bearings preferably performance coated or WPC treated. More to follow.

BC Racing BR Series Coilover Suspension Installed

Like my brakes me coilover shocks were also installed @ Northern Garage. Before installing I took some measurements of my ride height with the Nismo S-Tune shocks. Measurements were taken from fender to ground as stated in the Nissan FSM. Fronts were 640mm while rears were not equal at 650mm left and 640mm right. In comparison the B15 ride height is stated in table below

Installation was relatively painless. Picture below of the front coilover compared to the Nismo S-Tune shock. Weight for both were surprisingly the same give or take a couple hundred grammes.

Picture of the installed front. Rears are 1 kilo lighter than the Nismo S-Tune (4kg vs 5kg).

Picture of the rears compared to the Nismo S-Tune.

The front damping adjustment knob.

Rear installed.

Took quite a while to find the rear damper turret top as it is in a place where the sun don't shine. At one point had nearly all the carpeting and seats removed to locate the turret top. Once done it was a synch to bolt the damping adjustment extenders to the coilover damping adjuster knob.

Had to make slot holes in the carpet trim to be able to reach the damping adjustment extender knob without having to remove the carpeting.

Ride height can be adjusted without removing the front wheels but you will have to remove the rears (to adjust ride height). I settled for a 645mm front ride height while rear was set at 640mm after alignment. This is about 1.5-2cm lower than stock with 17" rims with 215-45 series tyres. Picture of the Slowtra with this ride height. Will go lower for track days but going lower for daily driving is just looking for trouble unless you don't do multi-story car parks nor have an abundance of speed bumps at your work place.

Damping was initially set at 6 clicks from full soft and then 5 as the damping settled. I also tried 7 and 8 clicks and while the Slowtra handled better my old butt preferred 5 clicks for daily driving especially with the abundance of pot holes in Penang and mainland roads.  At 5 clicks I would say the BC Racing BR is feels about 15% stiffer compared to the Nismo S-Tune. Haven't tried full soft but wouldn't be surprised if it ends up feeling softer compared to the S-Tune. With the stiffer springs I am having going full soft might not dampen the spring sufficiently during high speed though I have yet to try. I would say the BC racing BR does very well in terms of vibration and harshness. Even at 5 clicks there is very little dive during hard braking compared to the Nismo S-Tune. Body roll is minimized. Damping is very controlled with little hint of harsheness despite much stiffer springs. The rebound action is pretty quick and the car doesn't bounce around when riding over road undulation/uneveness. Corner turn-in is faster and the Slowtra's agility is really transformed.

Noise unfortunately is problem due to the abundance of metal to metal contact especially with spherical bearing top mounts. The rears in particular is prone to squeaking especially if the coilover is not kept clean. I am also getting something akin to a scrape sound when going over steep speed bumps from the front right (driver's) side. A call to Daniel from BC Racing Malaysia on this problem came with the recommendation that I should use Autosol on the piston rod. Errr.. The sound does not seem to impact damping hence at this point I'm still observing for further if there are other issues.

I would recommend the BC Racing BR RH series if you are primarily concerned with handling but have no grouch with noise. There is always the ICE to help :) The external build quality is as good as it gets (even better than the Nismo S-Tune) and likewise the damping with little evidence of low speed harshness compared with lets say early gen Hot Bits coilovers I was using once upon a time on my first car. One can feel the difference even with one click change in damping adjustment. The only problem is the noise though going to rubber top mounts would lessen it. Just don't expect stock like no sound. Can't have your icing and cherry to go with the cake.

Rapfix II Steering Quick Release and Short Boss + Momo Model 78 Steering Wheel Installed

I know I know.. Nine months is sufficient to make a baby but that's the length of time between me getting the Works Bell Rapfix II steering quick release and short boss, determining the steering wheel model and fitting the whole hog. Having a long Raya hol helped else it would have taken even longer.

Having contemplated the likes of OMP, Reverie and Sparco I still ended up with the one I am most intimate with - the Momo Model 78. For those that have been following me since the SP days will recall I used the Model 78 on the SP. The key feature that made my decision was the grip shape and contour on the Model 78. Oh and cost too with the Momo coming it at ~760 smackers from Demon Tweeks compared to (shudder) more than RM 2K for a Reverie carbon steering wheel not including shipping costs. Thanks Bro Mugil.

Compared to the airbagless SP installation took quite a bit longer at more than two hours. The stock steering wheel airbag module is held in place by two Torx bolts and an electrical connector for the horn and airbag activation. Works Bell supply the original Torx wrenches to remove the airbag. Picture of the airbag removed. Be very very careful when removing the airbag. Don't want any explosion...

Picture of the back (reverse) side of the airbag module.

After removing the airbag module, loosen one nut to remove the stock steering wheel. The stock steering wheel + airbag weights a ton compared to the Works Bell and Momo.

Start installing the short boss and quick release. Picture below of both installed. The dangling thing is the horn. Works Bell also supply the resistor circuit to ensure the airbag warning light does not lit up permanently. These guys have thought of everything and more to make the installation as seamless as possible.

I used the horn grounding plate from Works Bell rather than the one supplied by Momo. Momo has changed the horn button since I used the same steering wheel more than five years going to a smaller horn button that rest on the boss kit/quick release rather than on the steering wheel. I honestly prefer the "old" Momo Corse horn button. Picture of everything test fitted.

The Model 78 is bolted to the female half of the Rapfix II quick release via six titanium countersunk bolts from Baller Bolts. Picture of the steering wheel.

Close up. Ti bolts also available in blue, green, gold, purple and burned finished if you desire more bling.

Reverse side showing the connectors.

Lotsa fakes around so make sure you get from a reputable Momo dealer

Everything fitted.

Feeling is so much more precise than the loose feeling stock steering wheel although steering effort is slightly increased. Reach to the steering column stalks is slightly more than stock though manageable for me. Ladies might beg to differ though. Definitely less than on the SP with the much longer Momo boss.

And now for the classic trick race car wannabee piccie. Sorry couldn't help it :)

Seats are next as the Slowtra reverts from a luxurious leather interior back to plain old cloth. Right now the Slowtra can attack corners pretty well cept there is nothing to hold me in place. Try my best not to take another nine months.

New Rolling Stuff

Got new front wheel hubs. Ordered from Nissan USA but made in Sushi land. Part number is 40202-4M405. Pretty fab casting quality.

Rears later. Also got NSK wheel bearings. Figured I might as well change the wheel bearings when I press out the original 85K km hubs and wheel bearings. You can order the wheel bearings from Bro Nick over at the MY N16 forum. If you need his contact lemme know.

I also ordered aluminium alloy rim centre hub rings to replace the stock plastic ones. These are from Ultralite Wheels in the UK and are forged 7075 aluminium alloy. All N16s and B15s use a 56.1mm hub centre. My Work Emotion CR Kai is 73.3mm as can be seen below.

The Ultralite centre hub ring that fits is the one from 66.1mm to 73mm. Part number is self explanatory - YD-HR73661A.  Comes in a pack of four. Ultralite does not sell direct but you can easily get these from eBay. Available in any colour so long as black. Picture of the centre hub rings. Looks loads better than stock sunkist orange if you ask me.

Am still undecided whether to go for a slightly wider front track utilizing 10mm wheel spacers and longer wheel lugs. H&R make pretty decent ones that are a direct fit and with the lug pattern I want (4 lug 114.3 PCD).