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When you take your car to a shop, and the car is your ongoing project, and you have a bunch of new parts that you handle with kid gloves – “you're kidding!” is the initial reaction when it is suggested that you 'hacksaw' your new turbo. That is because my vision was limited – the hot side piping always comes up and over the manifold. In almost every scenario I have reviewed. So, that was the plan until AES Auto showed me the unfettered vision. After I got over my fear of making a significant modification to the turbo outlet, I really like the results. Not only does this clean up the piping and provide greater room in the engine bay, it shortens the hot side piping by at least 45 cm/18″. Of course, Paulo also had to adjust the custom hoses that were sending oil and water to the turbo, as they would not fit the new orientation of the turbo. It opens up all kinds of room for a tubular exhaust manifold – more ideas.
The stock 444cc injectors simply could not supply the fuel needed by this engine which has been growing more and more thirsty with almost every upgrade applied. Next was the installation of Donkey Power Injection 750cc injectors. These and the ECU are the last things purchased in person from Will and Noreen Au-Yeung at PZ Tuning before the car left Ontario. DPI injectors were in use in both the PZ Tuning RSX and the PZ Tuning/Vibrant Civic so there was no question of their capability. These fit directly into the factory fuel rail with only some rewiring of the pigtails to bring them to life.
That brings us to the new heart of the NX GTi-R, a Haltech Platinum Sport 1000 ECU with harness kit to connect to the GTi-R's harness. After discussions with Will Au-Yeung and Sasha Anis, I decided that this was the unit to take the NX GTi-R forward. There are a few options for the computer that I considered and, once Paulo started working on it he suggested that AES Auto has had great success with EMU systems. However, he was quite comfortable working with the Haltech and was very pleased that the Haltec came with the harness adaptor kit. Up to this point the car has been running on a factory Nissan ECU with a GFB Electronic Boost Controller. While this was working and my AEM wideband gauge has been showing no issues, the peace of mind and knowledge that the engine is now tuned and that there are maps for various boost levels is simply good to have.