Okada Projects PlasmaDirects...but Pre-Modified? (Part 2)

Installation:

 So when I opened the package, this is what I saw.  Six very pretty blue coils in the box, all wrapped in plastic, and then a dedicated harness for the R33 GT-R.  

There were other bits and pieces which you can see at the top. (which I did not realize were electrical connectors for the harness for until AFTER I finished wiring…) which I didn't technically need following the directions, but as I discovered later would have been the smarter choice.

Anyway, first step was to remove everything in the way – this includes the tower bar, and the rubber breather tubes that on my car are connected to the Nismo Oil Separator.  Once out of the way, it was easy to remove the 8 Allen bolts holding the center cover (the one with the Skyline GT-R logo) on. However, in order to completely remove the center cover, the wiring involving the transistor unit also had to be disconnected. Once this was done, I was finally looking at this.

The next step was to remove the old harness (carefully) 

and then the old coils, which I then replaced one by one with the PlasmaDirects – making sure to ensure that the coil orientation stayed true to the OEM coils. This is important due to how the harness fits.  Only two bolts hold each coil in, and you reuse these bolts with the PlasmaDirects. Here is a comparison of the old and new:

Once the new coils were in, the new harness was clicked in. Then, the real challenge began. The new wiring harness is supplied with the male pin leads already done up – so the idea is to for you to cut and install the female leads on the transistor side (making sure that you keep the numbers straight for each coil – hence the markings on the bottom of the transistor as shown).

Putting aside the fact that there is very little space to work on this, I decided that I wanted to solder the female leads to the wires, in order to ensure proper connectivity. 

About an hour later, with my fingers aching, I was done. I hooked the pins together, making sure not to mix up the wires (each lead comes with a number from 1 to 6 to ensure you don't), then affixed the nifty metal plate to the bottom of the engine cover, and replaced the cover.

So now for a quick drive.

Driving Impressions:

Turning on the ignition, the exhaust note was definitely different. Hard to describe, but sounded a bit raspier and also slightly quieter than before.  As I had disconnected the battery for safety reasons, and also to put the ECU in learning mode, I went through the recommended procedure for learning mode – idled for a few minutes, then turned on the A/C while idling.  The engine sounded fine, although when the A/C compressor came on, it seemed to make more noise than usual.  But what was amazing was, even though the car was still in the garage, the amount of stinky exhaust was much less than what I had noticed before. Of course it wasn’t completely clean burning, but instead of choking fumes threatening to kill me after about 90 seconds, it was more like 4 minutes until the same effect… I then hopped in and took the car out. 

Once actually driving – well the car seems to have more torque from the get go. Starting from a red light, the car seemed to want to leap forward.  I guess it felt like the engine was more “lively” so in essence I would say that there is definitely more torque on tap, which I could feel at lower RPMs.  Hard to say the car had more power, but the throttle did seem more sensitive to input. But with the car already making over 500ps, gains in torque at higher RPM were hard to detect.
This is consistent with the reviews in Japan (there are tons more but these are just those for the RB26 GT-Rs):

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/1546009/car/1144069/4673628/parts.aspx (definite reduction in smoke)

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/424045/car/338530/2151214/parts.aspx (cleaner rear bumper, quieter idle, more torque.) 

http://review.rakuten.co.jp/item/1/259645_10189374/1.1/ (no stress on engine at low and high speeds, should have bought earlier (note this is the non Jing version))

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/1112784/car/857889/3749746/parts.aspx (reduction of knocking, extend engine life, increase in power, increase in torque, increase in response, reduction of vibration, faster on boost, stable boost, no damage to plugs.)

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/305490/car/1079185/4591252/parts.aspx (crisp acceleration from start/low revs.) 

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/361225/car/265333/1291249/parts.aspx (less engine vibration, more midrange torque.) 

The 4, not 5 stars given by some all reflect the relative high cost.

Obviously I will have to wait awhile to report back on whether my bumper remains cleaner longer, and if there is an improvement in gas mileage - as well as a full drive report (ie continued high revs).  In the meantime, I will go ahead and say this is a worthwhile mod, easily installable but probably something that can be saved to the very last after all suspension, engine oil/cooling, exhaust, etc. mods have all been done.

Looking forward to people's comments! Placebo effect, or does this make sense?

Okada Projects PlasmaDirects… but Pre-modified? (Part 1)

So for the past few years I’ve heard about, read about, and researched this ignition device:

The Okada Projects PlasmaDirects - described as a replacement for the stock coils, but with increased performance, as described here on the Okada Projects USA website and specifically for the R32/R33 GT-Rs, here on the dedicated Okada Projects (Japan) website.

Here are some graphs taken from the Japanese Okada Projects website showing:
1) Difference in spark energy (black is stock, red is PlasmaDirects):

Normal spark

Spark is twice as powerful

2) Showing reduction in ignition noise

Showing noise

Reduction in noise

3) Multiple discharges

Only one discharge

Multiple discharges

For the R33 and R32 GT-Rs, as the amplifiers are contained within each of the Okada coils themselves, the PlasmaDirects, in addition to having more spark energy and multiple spark discharge, also do away with the transistor unit, which, being susceptible to early degradation due to the heat of the engine, is often a cause of ignition problems.

Here you can see the transistor unit, it's the grilled silver metal box on the back of the coil cover:

The Okada product itself seems similar to the direct ignition coils sold by Splitfire, which are priced less. Much less. While normally that would be an attractive proposition, I had heard and read about problems associated with this brand. And so, having spent LOTS of money for the Mine’s engine, there was no way I was going to risk being cheap this time. Research on the Okadas revealed either glowing reviews (all in Japan with GT-Rs) or “blah too expensive, not much difference” write ups on English language forums (for various other vehicles). But in any case, no reports of problems associated with the part.

Here ares some of those Japanese links:

http://skyline.chu.jp/gt-rmodify13.htm

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/443539/car/359964/3081019/parts.aspx

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/317117/car/213148/2448992/parts.aspx

Consistent with my goal of bringing my car into the 21^st century, one thing I’ve wanted to do with the engine is to improve its efficiency, but maintain its performance. In the past, I messed around with a homemade “ram-air” system which I (placebo effect?) honestly believe made a slight difference in engine sound and pick up, but have not, to this date, experimented with spark or fuel.  And when I say “efficiency” – I am talking about gas mileage, cleaner burning, fewer hydrocarbons produced (standing behind my car with the engine at idle, one notices how poorly the fuel is burnt – especially as I think the sport catalytic converter may be on its last legs…)

So, having also asked around (and as my friend Thomas Mangum installed a set without any apparent problems), I decided that the next step would be these PlasmaDirects. Especially as he claims to run NO catalytic converter, yet his exhaust is not as “stinky” as mine!

Hence I began searching for the best price I could get on the Okadas, but soon discovered that well known tuning shop Jing TechnoEngineering (aka simply as "Jing-R") – claimed to sell an improved version of the PlasmaDirects -  having done something to the circuitry to improve upon the originals (unfortunately, their asking for price for their unit negated any discounts I could find).  Exactly what Jing-R did so is not stated anywhere, but the differences in this "kai" (改) version are supposedly as follows (translation below):

“Using the Okada as the base, Jing-R has pursued the basics of improvements in acceleration, response, and boost onset.  By increasing the number and strength of the spark, and changes to the timing, we were able to make following tangible improvements:

1)    Improvement to response

2)    Improved acceleration

3)    Improved boost onset

4)    Reduction in percentage of carbon build up

For 1-3, normally upon acceleration, needed additional fuel is injected into the cylinders, resulting in a high concentrate of fuel, but not all of it can be burned during acceleration and this unburnt fuel is can be seen as black smoke expelled from the exhaust. 

With more efficient combustion due to the PlasmaDirects, there is an increase in combustion pressure, which leads to quicker onset of boost, and faster acceleration.  As there is now more combustion pressure, there will be a change in the exhaust note.

As for 4), with a reduction in the percentage of carbon build up due to more complete burning at all engine rev levels, the life of the O2 sensor will be extended, and there will be less carbon buildup in the combustion chamber, the pistons, piston rings, and valves.”

Anyway so that is the theory. Just how different the standard PlasmaDirects are, compared to this Jing-R version, will probably be difficult to determine, unless someone has driven the same car back to back with both versions.  I found that for the price difference, and given all the glowing reviews I found on Minkara about the Jing-R version, that I would take a chance and go with this version - figure any little bit extra to help, right?

So anyway, had a few spare hours today, and the weather was right, so went down to the garage and did the install - but not before taking the car for one last spin to provide a baseline for comparison.

Stay tuned, my next write up will be on the install process, and then my impressions afterwards after I took the car for a spin.

A Small Cameo Role...

In the following video clip (that was filmed in late August, but finally released this past weekend). Which, in my opinion, is rather silly, but it was fun to meet Mr. Jay Leno (real nice guy!) and not only have dinner with him and talk cars, but later take part in shooting the scene in the clip. Also note Road&Track editor Sam Mitani as Jay's sidekick.

Thanks as usual to Dino Dalle Carbonare and Nissan for inviting me, as well as to my friends Mikku Nagata, Thomas Mangum, Dave Ireland, and Terrence Simmons for making time to join us with their cars that evening. I am happy to say we had THREE R33 GT-Rs to show off to Mr. Leno!

Note: I know this isn't the typical technical post many were expecting, but that will come soon. Thanks for your patience!

Visiting Do-Luck…and more ideas…

With the discovery that Do-Luck was literally 10 minutes away from where I live, it was only a matter of time until I paid a personal visit to Ito-san and Orito-san at Do-Luck.

As I had the morning off a few days ago, I decided to make the long overdue visit.

So I pulled up to Do-Luck at 1030 and found Ito-san and Orito-san busy working on a customer’s car. For those who have never been to a Japanese tuning shop, Do-Luck was pretty much like some of the smaller shops I’ve been to, like Mine’s and Robson.

I took some iPhone photos, but actually, Dino’s post on Speedhunters does a better job so here is the link..

I did manage however to get a close look inside at Ito-san’s Impreza, which was parked outside:

Check out the buckskin interior! Hmm... 

As well as their R34 democar that was up on the lift (amazing what ideas you can get from looking up, underneath!) Aluminum driveshaft, anyone? Ito-san claims they are better than the carbon fiber ones as they are more likely to be balanced properly.  Hmm… 

And here is the dyno room: 

After Ito-san gave me the quick tour, I inquired about one additional item that I had begun to become interested in after my experience with the Nagisa Auto brace, Do-Luck’s own Floor Support Bar.

Again with my research showing that the main mechanical difference between the R34 and R33 GT-Rs was body rigidity, this is one area I am definitely interested in improving. At the moment, I’m not convinced of the benefits of spot welding or injecting body stiffening foam, given the cost and possible rust issues. So for now, will keep doing my research, but was nice to see the Floor Support Bar up close!

Anyone out there with any experiences, good or bad, with body stiffening foam?

A New Project – An R33 GT-R Toolkit, Part 1

When I happened to be at Nissan HQ the other day, I saw that the gift shop downstairs carried this – The Nissan GT-R Snap-On Toolkit:

Nissan GT-R Snap-On Toolkit - note nifty GT-R logo!

Talk about a "GT-R Tax" - This compact set yours for only 60,000 yen! 
(Thank you to GTRBlog.com for the photos)

Actually, there is also an even more exclusive Limited Edition version (only 1000 sets made), that adds a socket set and ratchet, and a ratcheting screwdriver:

Only 160,650 yen! This one is still available to purchase from Nissan, by the way.  

Here is a very well written review, along with close up pictures of the tools themselves.

This reminded me that in fact, I had been thinking about putting together a tool kit specifically for the R33 GT-R.  And for a price that wasn’t going to be ridiculously expensive, but at the same time, I wanted the tool kit to have top quality tools. 

The R35 kit is comprised of Snap-On tools. Yes, I have some and they are gorgeous, well made… but oh so expensive. Is there an alternative?

Some research and I discovered these line of tools – the NePros series by KTC (Kyoto Tool Company).  For some reason they are not listed on the KTC English website but the entire NePros lineup is on the Japanese KTC website.  (I think “NePros” stands for New Professional Satisfaction??) Strange name, but top quality tools from Japan’s most famous and well regarded tool manufacturer.  These are some beautiful tools – for example their top of the line Nepros ratchet has a leather handle, and chrome mirror finish:

Perhaps a bit overkill, but nice nonetheless. Such a beautiful and quality tool BELONGS in my beautiful and quality R33 GT-R, right??

Oh, and here is a review by some tool nerds on the NePros brand:

Seems pretty well received, even by American tool freaks!

So I began to research exactly what sizes of sockets, wrenches, etc. I would need for my GT-R.  I opened up the engine hood, and started to see what kind of bolts were used in the engine bay. Then took notes on fasteners inside the car as well.

Turns out, that I really only need the following:

1)    Socket wrench with extension

2)    8,10,12,14 mm sockets

3)    Standard and Phillips screwdrivers (medium size head, 1 each)

4)    Standard/needle nose pliers

5)    Adjustable wrench

6)    8,10,12,14mm spanners

Also, to truly make this R33 SPECIFIC – that means that I would need to include the one tool that all R33 GT-Rs carry – and that would be the Allen wrench key to adjust the rear spoiler.  I wonder if I can find a chrome finish one, to match the NePros tools? 

In addition, I suppose you could try to match what the R35 kit has – an LED flashlight, white cotton gloves… but those I can get anywhere, really.

More importantly, I need a nice tool bag, ideally with the R33 GT-R logo, but as that doesn’t exist (yet) for the legacy Skyline GT-Rs, this soft sided KTC tool bag will have to do.

There IS a Nismo toolbag, actually, but it is not as compact as this KTC bag.

Anyway, with this project in mind several months ago, I had ordered the bag, but had not gotten around to begin ordering the actual tools... until the other day.

So here it is, this is what arrived in the mail the other day:

All Mirror Finish!

Simply Gorgeous!

So, in the following Parts I will add the remaining "required" tools and then explore what I can do to make this tool kit truly R33 unique, but also look like it came with the car! (Just thinking out loud - I wonder if there is someone who can make a custom R33 tool case? LOL).

Also, what other cars have a custom tool kit? I don’t mean those rudimentary tools that every car comes with, I am talking about ones with nice, expensive tools designed just for that particular (usually very expensive) car. It would be nice to see what they contain, as well. Does anyone know?

Would appreciate if someone can share their knowledge, in my question for the ultimate R33 GT-R Tool Kit!

Thanks in advance and stay tuned for more soon!

GT-R Magazine article on the Tarzan G-Box

Even though I was completely blown away by how my car's behavior improved during that demonstration by Do-Luck of the Tarzan G-Box up at Honjo Circuit - I just haven't had the time to swing by Do-Luck and pick up my own Tarzan G-Box (I should also apologize for the lack of updates to this blog... hopefully will get back to doing so on a regular basis soon).

However, this month's issue of GT-R Magazine had nice full article on the device, so I scanned and translated the article here for your reading pleasure.

Enjoy, and please let me know if you have comments or questions (the translation may not be 100%...).

Interior Dress Up - Robson Carbon Fiber

So back to some car mods…

A while back, I had visited Robson Leather and had made some inquiries. As many of you also know, in addition to their wonderful custom leather work, Robson also is known for their carbon fiber work – specifically, their carbon fiber overlay work where they take a stock trim piece, actually shave down the piece a few millimeters, overlay the carbon fiber cloth and then coat with varnish.  Actually, over a dozen coats of varnish.  The advantage of shaving down the piece, of course, is so that the dimensions of the piece do not change – most manufacturers of true carbon fiber pieces simply overlay without shaving down – resulting in pieces that look “bulky” due to the added, well, bulk.

There are other “carbon fiber” pieces out there as well – but these are pieces that are either painted with carbon fiber patterns, or even printed with carbon fiber patterns.

Here is an example of a piece with a printed carbon fiber pattern – yes, the OEM cover for the 3 gauge cluster.

And here is an example of a painted carbon fiber trim piece –again the same OEM cover.

OF course, the advantage of the painting/printing method is, it allows for pieces with structures and shapes that are not conducive to carbon fiber overlay to be “carbonized.”  For example - these gauge cluster covers actually have a small lip on the sides of the holes… and the holes themselves are actually not equal in diameter!

There is of course one more type of “carbon fiber” which is known as the “carbon fiber wrap” – that is, using 3M’s DIN-OC product imprinted with a carbon fiber pattern – and I’ve used this too.

But in the end, there is no substitute from real carbon fiber. Wet or dry, the real stuff is beautiful if done well.

And so – as one of my pet peeves about the R33 GT-R is how cheap some of the interior materials are, I decided to replace the most glaring problems, the imprinted carbon fiber trim.  The two pieces that are imprinted are, the plastic trim surrounding the main gauges (tach, speedo, etc.) in the instrument cluster, and yes the aforementioned 3 gauge cluster surround.

Here is a closeup of the imprint next to the speedo (taken from a close up of a Nismo gauge cluster).

This bothered me enough that I found, purchased and applied a thin carbon overlay - but not only did it now mismatch the stock 3 gauge cluster, it looked somewhat cheap.  

So I was thrilled when the main cluster surround came out beautifully - the top piece is the overlay, and the bottom is the Robson version.

However, the 3 gauge cluster one took some time, because of the difficult shape of the trim piece, as I noted above.  But in the end, it came out very nice, and any “flaws” I think can be justified by the hand made nature of the work! BTW - this was the first time EVER that Robson had attempted to carbonize this certain piece!

Installation is a straightforward affair – pop out the shift lever surround, unscrew the two screws holding the dashboard piece cover, pop that off being careful to unhook all the wiring, then unscrew the 3 gauge cluster and the main gauges. For the main gauges, gently pop off the clear plastic cover to open up the cluster, then pop off the plastic gauge surround itself (ie the item that got carbonized). For the 3 gauge cluster, the front cover is plastic, so pop that off and replace with the carbonized piece.  When done, reverse the above steps.


As for how the whole dash looks now - I'll have to show you in an upcoming post, as I've been so busy lately that I haven't seen my car in the daylight, and want to get a good shot of both pieces in the sunlight! Stay tuned!

PS I had mentioned in my link about my visit to Robson that I had conferred with them to do something unusual, something that had not been done before. That 3 gauge cluster trim was not it! Stay tuned