240sx12354 intro and current build

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 7:08 pm

My name is Evan, from Birmingham AL. This is my second 240. My first was a purple 95 and unfortunately had the brakes lock up going down a hill and ended up in a guardrail. Got a white 97 and now I am the closest I have ever been to being able to go KA-T. I was thinking SR, but I mean the parts for the KA are plentiful and its already in the car. Enough talk,heres what I have:

Bought the car in Carrollton, GA in December 2010 and had around 160k on it. It was converted from auto to manual. When I bought it, it had an OEM seibon carbon fiber hood, Silvia K's rear wing, JDM front bumper w/ turn signals, nismo headlights,nismo shift knob, Z32 front brakes with stainless steel lines, and some crappy aftermarket suspension. Here is how it looked minus the wheels. Only flaw really was the rear bumper had been hit and cracked by the tag, but it came with the JDM rear bumper, it needs paint but then its good to go. Also smokes after sitting but no other time, so I am pretty positive it is the valve stem seals. My previous 240 had the same problem, so for now I will just keep an eye on the oil level. 2nd grinds, looking to buy a new tranny if anyone has one in good condition.

I had a 95 that I had put some performance parts on, which were a works bell hub, quick release, NRG wheel, godspeed RUCA's, origin carbon fiber rear roof wing, and some ISIS coilovers.
Swapped all of that over to the 97 for awhile. I had enjoyed the ISIS coilovers for awhile but decided I wanted to try something different. I ended up buying a set of DMax coilovers and got talked into buying some peak performance tension and traction rods and a broadway mirror.
Bought a grill to replace the large whole where there used to be nothing.

Was decently happy with my car at the moment, except for it being a bone stock KA, until this happened.

My grandfather left for church one Sunday when I was visiting, and forgot my car was there. It wasn't even a trailer hitch that did the damage. It was a bolt on the bottom of the bumper of a old chevy truck. Anyway, insurance ended up covering it and got somehow ended up getting a carbon creations hood. It didnt fit correctly and instead of paying for shipping they had me destroy it and send them proof. Here is the proof...

Everything got sorted and received my Seibon hood from them.
Finally got my front Tanabe sway bar installed. Still need to replace all my bushings.

Bought a bottom mount t25 setup from a member on here, then came across a top mount t3 setup for sale from another member on here, and decided it would probably be easier to work on, so I snatched it. The setup ill be using on my 97 240 with 175k is as follows:
RB25 turbo
Top mount manifold
Huge FMIC
s14 intercooler piping
ARC bov
Z32 MAF
370cc injectors
knockoff HKS filter
custom exhaust from turbo to fake cat
All felpro gaskets including headgasket
Greddy oil catch can
Fidanza Flywheel
Spec Stage 3 6 puck clutch
Nistune type 3 board tuned for the above
Bought another KA that is OBD1 and will be taking the head off to use for my motor. Got it cleaned at had it trimmed for a flat surface. Supertech valve stem seals installed, and will hopefully be getting an s13 exhaust cam from someone.

The compression test on my motor currently in the 97 with 172k miles.
Cylinder 1:

Cylinder 2:

Cylinder 3:

Cylinder 4:

J30 diff I picked up from pull a part. Havent had time to install it yet.

Replaced the passenger tie rod boot and alternator belt @ 172k
Currently sitting
172k
Castrol 10W-30 High Mileage

WTB
Walbro 255
AEM tru boost solenoid

FOR SALE:
Huge FMIC
S14 KA-T IC piping/S13 SR piping (with couplers and clamps)
T25 turbo elbow
T25 Inlet
T25 compressor inlet
T25 oil return fitting with hose adapter
T25/T28 bottom mount tubular manifold for KA
KA/KAT/SR downpipe,fits stock setup
Gaskets for everything above,except downpipe
Origin Carbon Fiber Roof Wing
Apexi SAFC II
Autometer Carbon Fiber Boost Gauge with everything for hookup
Autometer Pro-Comp Oil Pressure Gauge
Autometer Pro-Comp Water Temp Gauge

Parts Left Until day of destruction
S13 Exhaust Cam
Walbro 255
S14 > S13 ECU jumper
Tune

Questions for you guys:
-If I am going to be running the nistune that is tuned for everything I am running, will everything be fine to drive 500 miles, most to Atlanta to get it re-tuned for my motor since I will be installing a brand new spec stage 3, if I stay out of boost?

-How do I go about wiring up the consult port on the s14 > S13 conversion harness?

-Will I be able to install an SAFC II, and other miscellaneous gauges such as wideband o2 into the conversion harness?

Any tips on things missing will be greatly appreciated. Trying for a small amount of boost, will be used as a daily.

Can anyone tell me why my photobucket pictures will not work on this forum?

k12ispl · Post by **k12ispl** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 5:30 am

its too much reading for me this morning, but it seems like whatever youre doing you must be doing it right, so good luck with everything and welcome to the forum !

Post by **airman** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 6:12 am

Haha yes definitely a lot to read in the morning but what can I say, I'm an engineer! I've got plenty of time to goof around, lol.

Anyways, so far from what I can tell you've got your head on straight. I don't know why your photobucket pictures wouldn't be working, that's what I use and it works fine for me. Perhaps you have an HTML link inside of your [img]code,%20which%20could%20be%20causing%20it%20not%20to%20work.%20%20It%20would%20need%20to%20be%20directly%20to%20a%20*.jpg,%20or%20something:%20[.img]http://www.domain.com/folder/picture.jpg[/img] (without the . in front of img]) in order to work.

Why are you selling your oil pressure and water temperature gauge? Those are the most critical gauges a turbo car can have [aside from an AFR gauge], and can save your motor from complete destruction if you're diligent in paying attention to them. I hope you still plan on using something! You will definitely want a wideband O2 sensor as well. I'm using the Innovate LC1 - works great with Nistune, just make sure you update the firmware on it. All of the issues you will hear/see (error 8, wildly swinging values, etc) is with the older, non-beta firmware.

I use Nistune and it works great with it. It's definitely a handy tool. Whichever way you go, just don't cheap out on gauges. They truly are life-savers.

If you think about saying "but I'm not going to be able to learn how to tune, so I can fix what I can with an SAFC on top of Nistune", slap yourself! An SAFC will scale values wildly and is NOT a good method of tuning. Learning to tune is single-handedly one of the most important pieces of knowledge you can have when owning a car like a ka-t. If you understand exactly what's happening inside of the engine between timing and fueling/etc, you'll never go broke going back and forth to a tuner. Of course, taking the car to a dyno and doing the finishing touches there is the best way to go, but if you have a -slight- clue what you're doing, it's not entirely required.

For wiring up the consult port, you'll need the female plug (gray I think?) If you talk to AutoVaughnPerformance (where I bought Nistune) he had a couple laying around that he sent me with my board. I would look into one of the SOHC > DOHC guides for advice on wiring in the consult port. Basically I've got the female plug sitting in my dash that I connect to when using Nistune.

For making a 500 mile trip, sure, that won't be a problem. You will want to do some basic changes in Nistune to get your cruising/idle AFRs correct before you get going. I would suggest reading a little bit on Nistune (there's a good discussion in the ECU tuning section on K and Latency values) before you get your hands dirty trying to figure it all out on ground zero.

Best of luck! We're here to help.

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 9:24 am

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 9:25 am

Well i am selling the gauges because they are mechanical. And when I read somewhere about how dangerous it would be if you had hot oil spraying all over the cockpit, but I guess you just have to be careful when hooking it up. I was going to upgrade thats why I am selling them, I might just use them. Seeing what offers I get. I will be using an AEM wideband air/fuel, and AEM truboost. The thing is I dont have the nistune software or license so I can mess around with it. Thats why im taking to ATL because the guy who had the nistune before me said it would be cheap to retune. I guess I should purchase a license and usb port thing so I can change things on my computer.Hmm..

Post by **airman** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:57 am

It would definitely be worth it to do so. There is no reason to buy Nistune to just use it as a "chipped ECU". All of the benefits lie in the realtime map tracing, DIY tuning, etc.

If you plan on using a z32 maf and 370cc injectors you would most likely run quite rich without making some sort of adjustment.

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:55 pm

So even if the ecu is already tuned for the maf and injectors, fmic, the whole setup that I will be running, It will still run way rich?

Post by **airman** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:56 pm

Okay well hang on, so you bought an ECU that has Nistune already in it that "was for" 370cc injectors and a Z32 MAF?

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 2:21 pm

Yes, I was planning on running a bottom mount setup and was unsure about the engine management, and did want to just use an SAFC II. So I came across a local guy who had a nistune board that was tune for 370cc injectors, rb20det turbo, 3 inch exhaust, fmic, atmospheric bov, z32 suck through MAF. I already had the injectors,maf, and it was a custom downpipe to the cat so i bought it as well. He ran this on his s13, and it is a nistune type 3 board, so thats why i need the conversion harness. Needless to say i have all the stuff the board is tuned for. Except I will be using an rb25 turbo and not the rb20 turbo it was tuned for. So im not sure how that will work..

Post by **airman** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 6:03 am

Well hell dude, if your setup matches his and you know HIS Nistune tune was good - might not be worth driving 500 miles to "re-tune" it.

Are you still in contact with this guy? Did he have the Nistune software? Maybe he can send you the *.bin (tune file) that was used and we can take a look at it and see if it's safe or not.

Of course, a wideband is STILL an ABSOLUTE requirement, and a knock-light wouldn't hurt either.

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:36 am

oh ya, I have an AEM wideband. Ya im still sort of in contact with him. But like I said the only difference is the rb25 turbo instead of the rb20

Post by **airman** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:19 am

The load readings would still work. Sure with both at 8psi, the rb25 turbo would move more air, but your TP would be higher and therefore in a different load column.

If you can, see if you can get him to send you the BIN for it (if he did the tuning himself). Did he not have the Nistune software or cable? Or did he just not offer it

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:53 am

This may sound stupid, but what is the BIN?I believe he had someone with the tuners license at a shop in Atlanta do it. Im going get in contact with him, so what should I find out?

Post by **airman** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:09 pm

A bin is the tune. For example, I would download the bin from the ECU, alter it, and send it back to the ECU. Think of like a Word document that contains all of the tables/etc that an ECU accesses in order to control the engine. That's the bin file.

If he didn't have the Nistune software or cable, then he most likely won't have the bin.

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 1:02 pm

so what would I need to do to have it running properly? So ill need to buy the license fee and the usb consult plug so that I can download bins and alter them for my setup?

Post by **airman** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 1:24 pm

Yep, but keep in mind you'd be looking at $300 for both unless the prices have come down in the past ~year. When I bought mine, the individual license was $180 and the cable was $80 or $100. I will say that the cable is just an overpriced re-branded/disguised serial > USB converter, but it was guaranteed to work and I generally dislike serial > USB converters so it was worth it to me - that and if it DIDN'T work, I wouldn't have to listen to support saying "Oh, well you should have bought the really expensive cable".

You can most likely still find them but there are/were plans on the internet on how to make a PLMS cable, along with other suppliers of them. Also, the Nistune license isn't REQUIRED to download/upload tunes (bin files) as there is other software to do so, but it's the only way that you can communicate with the board in real time.

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 2:21 pm

Alright, I guess I know what to ask for when Christmas comes around. Another question, on the AEM wideband. There are the white,blue, red, and black wires for the gauge. The black is ground, red is power, and white is for the engine management system you have. It says not to use the blue one. I am going to install the wideband on the car before I do any other modifications. But if I remove the o2 sensor from the lower portion of the stock header, what signal will the ECU be getting? There will be nothing running from the stock wires that are there...?

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 3:01 pm

Actually while im here, Ill also ask if I have a autometer pro comp ultra lite water temp and oil pressure gauge, but just the gauge itself. Where is a good place to get the rest of the hardware to hook all of them up. I already have an oil sandwich plate

240sx12345 · Post by **240sx12345** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 11:10 am

no one else wants to comment?

DeepSeaDynamo · Post by **DeepSeaDynamo** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 1:59 am

The upstream (closer to engine) O2 sensor is what is used for tuning, the downstream one is just there to make sure the cat is working, and there are several ways to fool that, but if you are using a tuned ecu then that part of the programming is probably already take out. Some widebands can be set to mimic the upstream 02 sensor, so you could use that. but you do need to run one 02 sensor.

Edit: Apparently I missed the post about your AEM wideband, pretty sure you want to wire the white wire into your ECU where the old 02 sensor was wired in.

Spike · Post by **Spike** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 6:18 am

Nice built so far, keep it up.

Lets see some pictures

YouTube Channel · Post by **supakat** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 6:27 am

airman wrote:Of course, a wideband is STILL an ABSOLUTE requirement, and a knock-light wouldn't hurt either.

A knock lite is a requirement as well. I would not drive without either. Please the lite can be used as an shift light.

240s-ex · Post by **240s-ex** » Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:10 pm

im moving this to the picture thread and will be adding pictures