Leaky Fuel Lines

Pic 1: The source of the fuel leak

Just discovered my fuel lines are leaking! It was pretty bad to the point it's continuously dripping fuel from the lines joining the Tomei Fuel Regulator. I wouldn't have know if I did not pop open the hood the other day to try on fitment of a new part that I have just procured. What part is this? Well, let's leave that for the next entry shall we?

Anyway, back to the topic, fuel leaks are seriously dangerous! Thankfully that the ER34's exhaust manifold is on the other side of the engine. If it's right underneath the leak, the ER34 would have went up in flames! Yikes!

Just got all the lines replaced with better quality items and hopefully, it'll last me for many more years to come. What went in is Unigawa Fuel Hoses featuring an external heat resistant textile yam which sort of looked like the weaves of carbon fibre. It has an internal diameter of 8mm and an outer diameter of 14mm. The lines are designed to handle working pressure of up to 10 bar/15psi thus it should be mighty sufficient for the job at hand.

Pic 2: New fuel lines

Pic 3:New fuel lines replaced the old ones

Pic 4: New fuel lines replaced the old ones

Carbon Fibre Air Diversion Plate

Pic 1: Carbon Fibre Air Diversion Plate

I've always wanted an air diversion plate for the ER34 but have never really gotten round to get it done. What's an air diversion plate?

Well it's basically a piece of panel that prevents air from escaping through the top of the radiator. With these fitted, it will force more air through the radiator to reduce engine temperature. Simple solution for more effective cooling. Plus it looks really good too when you pop the hood up.

Not many brands cater to the ER34 and most of it is finished in aluminum bar a small garage in Yamato, Japan that produces a carbon fibre version. Unfortunately, the price is pretty high too.

So it has been left as it is for years until one fine day an interesting opportunity came by. A carbon fibre air diversion plate came up for sale at a pretty reasonable price. Without much hesitation I grabbed it even though I was unsure that it will fit properly on my car. I was afraid that the non-standard front bumper would somewhat hinder the fitment.

And it turns out to be not a direct fitment. I've got to relocate my horn and also fabricate a new mounting bracket for my Trust Oil Cooler in order for the carbon fibre air diversion plate to fit snugly. Not a very big deal but some amount of work there. The front bumper was never an issue.

So yeah, here it is installed on the ER34. 

Pic 2: Carbon Fibre Air Diversion Plate installed.

Pic 3: Carbon Fibre Air Diversion Plate installed.

ER34 in Astro Channel 304 Jia Yu

Pic 1: The Director setting up the camera

Recently, the ER34 was involved in filming a short Chinese New Year 'greeting spot' to be aired on Astro Channel 304, Jia Yu. Jia Yu is a Mandarin and Cantonese based channel aired on Astro (All-Asian Satellite Television and Radio Operator), which is a Malaysian pay television service.

Basically what will be shown is that a bunch of people from IPC and yours truly doing a group Chinese New Year greeting in front of the camera. The cars served as a background for the shoot. It's a relatively quick shoot lasting only half a day.

A mix of cars were present comprising of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII, Toyota Celica, Mazda RX-7, Nissan 350Z, Nissan Skyline R34 GTT, Ferrari F430, Aston Martin Vantage, Mitsuoka Le-Seyde, Honda Integra DC5, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, and two stunning stretched Hummers.

Do check it out on Astro Channel 304 as it will be aired repeatedly during the Chinese New Year period. See if you can spot the ER34 and me. Hehehe

Here's some photos from the shoot.

Pic 2: The cars on one end

Pic 3: The cars on the other end

Pic 4: Camera track for the rolling shot

Pic 5: More setups

Pic 6: The ER34 is the sole Skyline representative

Pic 7: Shot from the rear

Pic 8: 8 wheeler stretch Hummer

Pic 8: 4 wheeler stretch Hummer

  

New Brakes On The ER34

As promised, here's a couple of shots of the ER34 with it's new brakes on. Read my previous post here to know more about the new setup.

Pic 1: The ER34 with its new brakes on

Pic 2: BNR34 Front Brembo Calipers with BIOT 345mm Floating Rotors

Pic 3: BNR34 Rear Brembo Calipers with 300mm Rotors

BNR34 Brembo and BIOT Brake Upgrade (Front & Rear)

If you have followed this blog for sometime, you would have recalled that I fitted in a set of Endless 6 pot brakes on the ER34 for a wee bit of time before it was removed (Read here and here). The issue was due to the minute clearance between the calipers and the inner wheel. Too small of a margin for me to feel comfortable with. Better be safe and paranoid than sorry later on eh? There were just two options for me then, switch to a new wheel with bigger clearance (i.e. TE37s) or remove the brakes.

I choose the latter and had since sold the set of Endless 6 pots. It now resides in a cool looking S15 Silvia. :(

Pic 1: The 'new' set of brakes for the ER34

Fast forward a year later, I'm now dabbling with brakes again. Via JDM Auto Link, I have managed to get a set of pretty rare BIOT Front Brake Offset Kit. This kit consist of a set of rotors and brake brackets to complement the BNR34 Brembo calipers.

The BIOT Brake Offset Kit is not an affordable kit either. Just the front rotors and brackets alone cost upwards of JPY 160,000. Yeap, BIOT parts is not your run-of-the-mill items, they are at the top of the ladder in terms of performance and quality.

For the rear, I'll slot in the stock R34 GT-R Brembo brakes. That would do unless JDM Auto Link can source me a set of a BIOT Rear Brake Offset Kit that would bring the rotors up to 322mm. :P 

The set of brakes that I procured consist of:-
1) BNR34 Front Brembo Calipers
2) BIOT 345mm Floating Rotors
3) BIOT Front Offset Kit Brackets
4) BNR34 Rear Brembo Calipers 
5) BNR34 Rear 300mm Rotors

Pic 2: The front set of brakes. BIOT Offset kit with BNR34 Brembo calipers

Pic 3: BIOT 345mm floating brake rotors

Pic 4: Super clean set of BNR34 Brembo calipers

Pic 5: Super clean set of BNR34 Brembo calipers

Pic 6: Super clean set of BNR34 Brembo calipers

Pic 7: BIOT Offset Brake Kit Brackets

The set of BIOT brakes enables the ER34 to move up from its stock 310mm brake rotors to 345mm rotors. That's a nice upgrade in term of size. How does that improve braking?

A bigger rotor has more material in it so it can absorb more heat. More material also means a larger surface area for the pads to generate friction with, and better heat dissipation. Larger rotors also put the point of contact with the pads further away from the axle of rotation. This provides a larger mechanical advantage to resist the turning of the rotor itself. To best illustrate how this works, imagine a spinning steel disc on an axle in front of you. If you clamped your thumbs either side of the disc close to the middle, your thumbs would heat up very quickly and you'd need to push pretty hard to generate the friction required to slow the disc down. Now imagine doing the same thing but clamping your thumbs together close to the outer rim of the disc. The disc will stop spinning much more quickly and your thumbs won't get as hot. That, in a nutshell explains the whole principle behind why bigger rotors = better stopping power.

Put quite simply, bigger rotors give you more surface cooling area, so they will stay cooler.

I just got it installed and is mighty pleased that the brakes fit in the wheels nicely. The clearance between the edge of the caliper and the inner wheel is just perfect. The front brakes fill up the wheel orifice nicely. I'm pretty happy with the outcome. 

Oh btw, it's not a direct fit per se. The BIOT Offset Brake kit will require some grinding and shaving of the Brembo calipers and also the knuckle. Nothing too major but just make sure it's done properly. Picture 9 shows a part of the knuckle that have to grind off.

I'll post up some proper pics of the brakes on the car on my next update. Will get some good shots done up and share with you guys.

Pic 8: Rear BNR34 Brembo brake set

Pic 9: BIOT Offset Brake Kit Bracket Installed

Pic 10: Front BIOT Offset kit with BNR34 Brembo calipers

 

Pic 11: Rear BNR34 Brembo brake set test fitted

 

  

Carbon Fibre Rear View Mirror Cover

Pic 1: Carbon fibre rear view mirror cover

Just got some bling for the ER34. Via JDM Auto Link, in came a nice carbon fibre rear view mirror cover for the ride. Basically, it's a snap on cover on the existing rear view mirror. So instead of showing it's beige colour via the front windscreen, it now is displayed proudly in carbon fibre.

Small little thing but I think it should look better when photos are taken from the front of the ER34.

Pic 2: Carbon fibre rear view mirror cover

Pic 3: Carbon fibre rear view mirror cover installed

Pic 4: Carbon fibre rear view mirror cover installed

107,000km Service & New Silicone Hoses

Pic 1: Fresh oils into the ER34

The ER34 has just undergone it's 107,000km service. Fresh fluids in the form of Torco SR1 10W-40 went in together with an original Nissan oil filter (Part No. 15208-53J00).

At the same time, did a small little bit of sprucing up the engine bay. Covered up the holes on the firewall where the heater lines goes to with nice silicone caps. These are no longer in use as the heater lines have all been removed during my stage II upgrades. At the same time, also covered up the unused hole where the original fuel regulator used to be.

Small touches but good enough to somewhat tidy up the engine bay a wee bit. :)

Pic 2: Torco SR1 10W-40

Pic 3: Silicone caps on the heater lines on the firewall

Pic 4: Silicone caps on the heater lines on the firewall

Pic 5: Silicone caps for the old fuel regulator line