this is my stagea rs four i bought 18 months ago as a dead stock rb25 automatic :) it come with twin sunroofs, abs, 2 airbags, lowered suspension, greddy bov, anz 17" rims and a cat back exhuast.

heres a few pics how it come when i bought it...

previous history:

i pulled the rb25 and auto out

since then ive added the stock internal rb26 engine (from my previous car) and a manual conversion using a gtr 5 speed manual box with 4wd attessa.

the engine conversion was pretty straight forward and here is a dedicated page on the bits and pieces needed to complete it.

RB26 Conversion information

ill also add a page on how to do the manual conversion because the stageas never came in automatic before the series 2 1999 onwards models so parts needed to be adapted and the factory footbrake (instead of a handbrake) had to be removed as it sits right where the clutch pedal goes, and the master cylinder has to be recessed into the firewall, etc, so its not a staight forward conversion thats for sure.

initially the engine had highflow turbos, 3" exhaust, twin pod filters, autronics smc ecu, gtr intercooler, twin plate clutch, and 700cc sard injectors. engine made 360rwhp on 17psi on a 2wd dyno.

after a week of driving i managed to snap a rear axle clean in half and later found out the stagea rear end is off a ca18 silvia or something by the looks of the tiny axles and unijoints.

heres the snapped axle

this is the stagea uni joint/axle compared to a gtr one

so i got a full r32 gtr rear end cradle and diff complete

i installed the gtr lsd diff centre in the stagea housing,

next i put the gtr rear hubs on which are aluminium. (compared to stagea ones which are mild steel)

then i installed the r32 gtr rear calipers

i changed my current coilover bottoms to fork ends to suit the gtr hubs (stagea has eye ends for coilover bottoms same as gts-t).

next i had to use a gts4's long side axle and unijoints on the short side (both axles are different lengths which i found out after alot of stuffing around) as the stagea has a wider track than the r32 gtr and then get a custom length axle made for the side that needed a longer shaft. (40mm longer than gts4 one)

engine only last 1000km in the stagea and it broke a ringland off the side of piston number 3, which meant rebuild time. i was planning on some big power figures and decided on some forged pistons and rods and a set of hks 2530s or so. luckily while i was reasearching for the parts i needed i found a guy selling a full jun stroker engine setup rated for 800hp at the wheels (that was if a trust t78 was used). the kit uses a full counterweight billet stroker crankshaft, jun forged rods and jun forged pistons to bring the engine capacity upto 2700cc for added torque to spool up a big turbo setup. in the deal i got some jun high lift cams, titanium retainers, HD valve springs and some jun cam gears as well, plus a trust singe turbo highmount manifold, sard 1000cc injectors, hks metal gasket kit, jun oil pump and lots of other goodies.

heres the full list of the cars modifications...

Engine: RB26DETT

INTERNALS:

N1 block
JUN 2.7L stroker kit
JUN forged crank
JUN forged connecting rods
JUN cosworth forged pistons
JUN oil pump
JUN head stud kit
JUN big end stud kit
JUN high lift cams
JUN adjustable cam gears
JUN titanium retainers
JUN heavy duty valve springs
ACL race series bearings
HKS metal gasket kit
Tomei valve guides
Gates timing belt
n1 waterpump
ATI harmonic Balancer (rated to 1000hp)

INTAKE:

HKS T04Z (0.81) turbo
K&N pod filter with 6" inlet
Trust stainless steel exhuast manifold
custom 3" aluminium intercooler piping
HKS 50mm external wastegate

EXHAUST:

4" dump pipe into 4" exhaust, to 3.5" after cat
3.5" stainless steel mufflers x 2

FUEL SYSTEM:

sard 1000cc injectors
sard dual entry fuel rail
sard adjustable fuel pressure regulator
bosch 044 external fuel pump x2
Goss intank fuel pumps x2
3L aluminium surge tank
1/2' feed line to engine
3/8' return line to surge tank

DRIVELINE:

custom twin plate clutch
gtr 5 speed gearbox
GTR rear diff and axles
4.3 diff ratios

SUSPENSION:

bilstein shocks
whiteline springs
whiteline/arc swaybars

BRAKES:

R34 gtr v spec front 4 spot brembo calipers
DBA 328mm alloy hat slotted rotors
R32 GTR rear 2 spot calipers
DBA 300mm slotted rotors
brembo front brake pads
bendix ultimate rear pads
stainless steel braided brake lines

OTHER ENGINE BITS:

Autronics SMC ecu
Autronics CDI ignition amplifier
MSD coilpacks
nismo engine mounts
nismo gearbox mount
custom 9L baffled sump
Apexi Drag 600x240x140mm thick intercooler

Engine build:

once the engine was almost sorted i decided low mount singles wouldnt cut it anymore with all the expensive goodies in the bottom end and head capable of 1300hp and over 11000rpm. i decided a big single turbo was a better option for a couple of reasons. firstly twin highmounts would be a damn tight fit and hard to work on in the future, and twice as expensive to purchase. i choose the HKS version of the To4Z with the 0.81 housing for good response but still capable of around 650-700rwhp.

this was installed with the hks 50mm wastegate vented to atmosphere to upset the nieghbourhood when on full boost :)
custom water and oil lines were needed using braided lines and i removed all the old rb26 metal water/oil lines to neaten the engine bay up abit. i also added a 4" intake pipe and a flared end to suit the biggest possible K&N pod filter i could under the bonnet which uses a 6" inlet and 8" body for maximum flow.

the cooler piping is made of aluminium with a 2 and 3/4 inch silicone 90% bend off the turbo compressor outlet, and into 3" piping to an Apexi drag 140mm thick intercooler behind the front bar, then on the plenum side im using 3" piping to the factory gtr inlet plenum and the stock 6 throttle body setup is still retained.

fuel system is taken care of using a Bosch 040 intank pump feeding a 3L surge tank, then 2x 044 fuel pumps (external) feed the engine with a single 1/2'(-8) metal fuel line to a Y piece with twin -6 teflon braided lines into a Sard twin entry fuel rail and through 1000cc Sard injectors. From the rail it returns to the surge tank via a Sard fuel pressure regulator, then through -6 teflon braided line and into a 3/8' (-6) metal return line back to the surge tank setup. All the fuel system is mounted under the rear of the car.

some other engine additions include a n1 water pump to handle sustained high rpm (stock unit cavitates at high rpm). jun big end studs and jun head studs for added strength. jun piston rings are used and the stock oil squirters remain in place. engine compression is 8.5:1 and head gasket is a HKS metal drag and is 1.2mm thick. oil pump is a big JUN high flow unit to increase oil supply when its essential. nismo bearings are also used for better wear qualities compared to standard bearings. tomei head oil restrictors are added into the block for stopping excessive oil entering the head at high rpm.

the head is extensively ported on inlet and exhuast sides for more airflow

plus the addition of jun high lift cams on the inlet and exhuast. to support high rpm jun titanium retainers are installed with jun heavy duty valve springs to match. adjustable JUN cam gears are also added to optimise timing for maximum power/response. tomei valve guides have been used and both inlet and exhuast valves are standard sizes.

the driveline is upgraded using a gtr 5 speed and transfer case with a 800hp twin plate clutch used to ensure no slip when all the power is transfered to the ground.

as mentioned above gtr front and rear diffs have been installed for added strength and gts4 diff ratios are used for better acceleration off the line and earlier boost response. these are 4.3:1 ratios on front and rear.

suspension is setup for track work using bilstein coilovers and whiteline springs, plus a large whiteline swaybar on the rear and a ARC swaybar on the front for better cornering control and the car handles awesome without a hint of bodyroll.

brakes are r34 gtr front calipers and dba 330mm alloy hat rotors with r32 gtr rear calipers and 300mm rotors. front brake pads are genuine brembos and rears are bendix ultimates. ive also added a set of braided brake lines for better pedal feel.

additional extras not mentioned include an autronics smc ecu and a autronics 500r cdi unit firing a set of msd coilpacks.
engine and gearbox mounts are both nismo units to keep everything alot stiffer and firm. the engine also uses a 9L baffled sump for better oil control on the track and drag strips to avoid oil starvation. Recently ive added an ATI harmonic balancer for a higher rpm limit, which will now be set to 10 000rpm.

alot of the engine parts have been polished for a cleaner finish and shiny engine bay :)

heres a few of the latest pics...

on the drag strip im aiming for a 10 second pass but depending on how well the gearbox holds up i wont be holding my breath.

also note the stagea weighs in at 1690kg with a driver so it aint a light car thats for sure.

*UPDATE

engine made 417rwhp on 13psi boost with stock gtr intercooler, 3' dump pipe, 2.5' rear muffler and revlimit of 9000rpm. due to the restrictions above power dropped off after 7000rpm, so its definately got more in it on the same boost with these things fixed. next tune is for 18psi, and 550rwhp should be pretty easy to achieve. later on ill do the race tune with race fuel on 28psi and then 650rwhp+ is possible :) thats with the new 10 000rpm revlimit too.

heres a couple of dyno videos...

ive got a couple of power runs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6inpAVpV0Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQRha62rpJs

turbo and manifold glowing as it boosts up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pYofenKsxM

heres the last video i got, we turned the lights out to show the flames and glowing manifold after a big thrashing. the video doesnt show all the flames because the camera was too far round the side of the car but it shows a couple and then at the end the manifold after the 5 power runs or so as its glowing like mad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCCbwfbW44E

another couple of pics...

*UPDATE

after the previous tune we pulled the engine and noticed the block cracked on both sides, so an N1 block was purchased and machined for all the same pistons, etc.

FEB 07 - Car managed 585hp at wheels on 18psi and 605hp at wheels on 22psi on pump fuel with misfire issues so the run was aborted at 7500rpm or so. 650hp is definately possible with more boost and race fuel. After that tune the engine had issues and melted 3 pistons and is currently being rebuilt again using a new set of JUN forged pistons.

heres a few of the engine in my previous car (VL Calais)