Perfect Balance's cars | Small update| 05/03/14

[Perfect Balance]

I know that with Speed Flow, black is a no-cost option

I don't really feel like assembling my own AN lines, since I've never done it before and I'm not sure I want to risk doing something incorrectly and potentially causing an engine fire, so I was going to buy pre-made lines. Summit Racing has a thing on their website that you just input what kind of ends you want and what size and everything and they sell premade lines with crimped ends for around $5 more than it costs to make them yourself. But, depending on the length and whatnot, the particular line I need might not be made in all black, that's all. That being said I don't really care too much about it, so I'm not that worried, but given the option, I will choose black.

 

[Punknoodle]

Oh, it is actually really easy to make them yourself, they are pretty much impossible to stuff up. I had never seen them before, had the instructions in front of me and got my mate to watch me without giving me any input (he's a professional hose fitter) and he said I did it perfectly lol.

But fair enough man if its cheap enough to get them made. Plus you won't have to worry about making little aluminium plates to go in your vice and for your spanners so you don't scratch the anodising.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Oh, it is actually really easy to make them yourself, they are pretty much impossible to stuff up. I had never seen them before, had the instructions in front of me and got my mate to watch me without giving me any input (he's a professional hose fitter) and he said I did it perfectly lol.

But fair enough man if its cheap enough to get them made. Plus you won't have to worry about making little aluminium plates to go in your vice and for your spanners so you don't scratch the anodising.

Yeah I'd much rather pay an extra few bucks and get high quality pre-made lines that also have crimped ends on them. They're still about $100 cheaper this way than buying the 240sx specific kits that some companies offer.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Well, I've got a bit of an update. As far as the lines go, I started measuring things, and I didn't know what would be a good way to clear the engine mounts, then I found out I had the wrong fitting for the coolant neck, plus I would need new copper washers, and basically ended up that with everything I needed, it would be roughly $120 or so for the lines, and I didn't even know for sure what length they needed to be. So, out of curiosity, I started looking around online again, and found a DIF turbo line kit for $130, which is what the ISIS/Circuit Sports/Ebay lines typically go for, but DIF uses all Goodridge hardware, which I know is good stuff.

Soo, they weren't black like I wanted, but I got a good product for a good price, and honestly, you only see one of the fittings.

I'm still waiting for my plate for the valve cover, but in the meantime I decided to bolt on my exhaust manifold with the lines in place, and put the valve cover on. One again I apologize for the quality. Poor lighting + instagram hipsterism = grain.

On a related note, a Wiring Specialties swap harness is on the way as well, should be here tomorrow. Coming down to the final few parts here. I still need a radiator, intercooler, fuel pump, guages/wideband, 300zx maf, and a retune for the ECU. Other than that it's a bunch of little things like spark plugs and hoses.

 

[Punknoodle]

That looks awesome man, and the manifold looks really good too. I want it.

 

[speed junkie]

Looks awesome. Is the manifold painted black or is it just the lighting?

 

[Perfect Balance]

That looks awesome man, and the manifold looks really good too. I want it.

It's actually a cheap ISIS manifold that has cracked and been rewelded about 4 times. It came with the motor.

Looks awesome. Is the manifold painted black or is it just the lighting?

It's more of a dark brown. I tried cleaning it with a wire brush but it didn't really do anything. It's not dirty, just dark colored.

 

[Perfect Balance]

So, ordered a few more parts. Z32 MAF in the mail, got my Wiring Specialties swap harness. I'd post a pic, but it just looks like a box of wiring at the moment. Also got some 1 step colder spark plugs as well. From this point on, it's pretty much just gathering parts until I'm ready to swap. The engine is pretty much complete, so there's not much work to be done.

On a side note, I washed it today and took an instaquality photo.

 

[Anna+Reece]

This really is a clean car. I can't seem to remember, what wheels are those?

 

[speed junkie]

Nice. I'm just itching to drive my car and looking at these photos does not help.

 

[Perfect Balance]

This really is a clean car. I can't seem to remember, what wheels are those?

MB Competition in 17x9 +17. Cheap wheel, but they are discontinued now, so they gain a few "cool points".

 

[Perfect Balance]

So, another part showed up in the mail today:

300zx MAF. The factory one maxes out at ~250hp, which is probably more than I'll have, but the car needs to be retuned when you upgrade, and at $150 for another RS Enthalpy Rom tune chip, it's cheaper to just buy the MAF now and get it tuned once and be done. Plus it flows a lot better and looks a lot cleaner than the bulky factory unit.

Other than that, the car is kind of on hold for a bit, because I'm going to a drift event next week, so I want to make sure I have money just in case any issues arise. After the event I'll probably start tearing the car down and prepping the bay for paint, and maybe selling the KA to assist in paying for the SR swap.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Well, there was a drift event this past weekend. This is supposed to be the last event with my KA engine, unless something goes horribly wrong with funds or something. This is the first video I've seen pop up, and I have yet to go through all my footage, but here's a clip from a run. You can hear just how underpowered the KA is and how much it's struggling.

 

[nobuffalo]

Compared to what I remember from your last video you've gotten a lot better. If you can drift well with that little power you're gonna be tearing it up once you do your swap. 👍

 

[Punknoodle]

Cool vid dude 👍

 

[Perfect Balance]

Thanks guys. That was in no way my best run, so once I get my video together I should be posting it up. Some onboard helmet cam action.

 

[JrDarknes]

I cannot wait for the Sr to drop in D=

 

[Perfect Balance]

I cannot wait for the Sr to drop in D=

Me too man, me too.

On a related note, I finally got my coilpack covers. I got this one that I polished, and one that has a brushed finish to it. Kind of undecided which one I want to run, but I like the polished.

Intercooler kit and ECU Retune is also on the way. Still need a radiator, fuel pump, gauges and random miscellaneous things.

 

[Punknoodle]

Need to see pictures of the brushed look, I like the sound of it.

This ECU retune you speak of, is it something you can adjust to tune to your engine itself or is it a set thing?

 

[Perfect Balance]

Need to see pictures of the brushed look, I like the sound of it.

This ECU retune you speak of, is it something you can adjust to tune to your engine itself or is it a set thing?

I don't have any pics of the brushed plate installed, so next time I find some free time I might throw it on there and see what it looks like. The engine isn't at my house so it's a bit of a hassle to do.

The ECU already has an RS-Enthalpy board with a tune on it (although for a bigger turbo), basically a basemap. RS-Enthalpy specializes in Nissan ROM tunes, and considering I'm running stock compression, stock turbo, oem S15 injectors and an OEM Z32 MAF, I've got one of the most common lightly tuned setups out there when it comes to SR20 modifications, so basically, I'm running something that they've dealt with thousands of times before, so they've pretty much nailed the tune for it. So even though it is really a basemap, it should be damn near perfect.

Regardless, I'm still buying a wideband sensor to keep an eye on things.

 

[nk4e]

Well, there was a drift event this past weekend. This is supposed to be the last event with my KA engine, unless something goes horribly wrong with funds or something. This is the first video I've seen pop up, and I have yet to go through all my footage, but here's a clip from a run. You can hear just how underpowered the KA is and how much it's struggling.

<3 I so want to do this at least once with my KA..

 

[JrDarknes]

I swear if I had a lsd D:

 

[nobuffalo]

I would pay to have a go in a well set up drift car.

 

[motortrend]

I would pay to have a go in a well set up drift car.

💡 that sounds like a business opportunity

 

[Perfect Balance]

💡 that sounds like a business opportunity

It would be very expensive to get started, but theres already things like this around.


Anyway, my intercooler kit should be getting here tomorrow. I'm kind of out of money again after bills at the beginning of the month, but after I get paid next week I should be ordering a few more parts. I'm in the home stretch now so even though I still need some things, I've got enough of the parts now that I could have the engine installed and waiting on the last few components.

I still need a fuel pump, radiator, an oil pressure gauge, and as I found out today, an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. For years people have been slapping Walbro 255s into bone stock SR20 cars "without issues" so I just assumed the factory regulator was able to handle that amount of fuel. Come to find out today after doing some research, a Walbro 255 completely overloads the factory regulator and you end up with about 55psi of fuel, and the car runs rich. This apparently doesn't bother most people, but running rich = poor fuel economy, poor throttle response, and the turbo takes longer to spool running on a rich setup. I don't know how people are ok with it, but a high quality Tomei FPR runs about $120. Cheap enough for me to have a proper running car. (anyone noticed how certain Tomei stuff has become super cheap?)

So, minor setback, but again, this is stuff that can be installed once the engine is in the car. Those are the things I need to get it running, and then after it's running I need a few things like a boost gauge and a wideband o2 sensor, both for "insurance" so to speak. I also need minor things like radiator and heater hoses, but that's not a biggie.

The next step for now while the last few parts are rolling in, is to pull the old engine, hopefully sell it for some extra money to finish up the swap, and while I'm in there, fix a small rust spot on the strut tower (the only rust on the car) and clean and paint the engine bay. I'm thinking like a battleship grey with a clearcoat over it, don't really like the matte finish on engine bays, it looks like spray paint. These things will take a while, so I'm really trying to do this as soon as a get a good spot to work on my car. I don't want to end up having the parts sitting around waiting on me after I've been waiting so long for the parts.

Oh, and the brushed stainless coilpack cover definitely looks better. I will be swapping it out sometime.

 

[Punknoodle]

Sounds really good man, just be real careful where you get the regulator from, Tomei regulators are probably the most commonly counterfeited regulators on the planet - so your super cheap price may be for a fake one..

My Turbosmart one was about AUS$300, for reference.

 

[Keef]

If I had an LSD I still wouldn't be able to drift because my tires are too sticky. But if I had crappy tires I think it would do alright.

(anyone noticed how certain Tomei stuff has become super cheap?)

I'd guess because people aren't buying it and they're overstocked. Maybe people are just skipping that step or are getting the parts from somebody else so Tomei needs to cut prices to sell them.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Sounds really good man, just be real careful where you get the regulator from, Tomei regulators are probably the most commonly counterfeited regulators on the planet - so your super cheap price may be for a fake one..

My Turbosmart one was about AUS$300, for reference.

I would be buying it from an actual distributor I've been dealing with for years. I have no doubt in my mind that it's an actual Tomei product. Although its less than half of what yours cost. Even the Aeromotive or Sard ones are about half that. The Turbosmart ones I'm finding online are about $100 less than what you paid. I assume you bought yours a few years ago, or are aftermarket parts extremely expensive over there?

 

[Punknoodle]

Everything is more expensive in Australia man. Even though Turbosmart is made here I believe. Same with Haltech, I could have bought my ECU from the states and shipped if over for hundreds less than what I paid. But would have to send it to the states for warranty..

 

[Perfect Balance]

Ah ok. Yeah you would think Haltech would be cheaper over there.

Speaking of TurboSmart, I will be running one of their BOVs on my car that my brother in law had laying around.