Do you know what the hicas is for?? Look at Stuartthefish hicas explanation in the FAQ section this will help you understand it if you already don't.

A lock out kit will make the back end more predictable. Drifting or of you don't like hicas.

 

I removed hicas because it was cost effective the hicas is expensive to replace parts and has a lot of sensors and other parts prone to failure due to the age of most of them. Beware as power steering may be affected after hicas removal

 

yeh I understand what it is, I'm not looking to drift just have a bit more control of the rear end, I need to change my tires also but I have had 2 points of view with one guy telling me to get rid of it as its unpredictable and another saying if you do get rid of it, I will be drifting round every corner. so I have no idea, just looking for some experience as I am just new to the skyline.

 

Mate the car won't just loose control unless u boot it out? It may lurch or lean more on cornering.espesh at high speed swerve. In my opinion hicas is brilliant and many people who ind it un predictable probably don't ensure that hicas is working correctly. It is a expensive driver aid to maintain.

 

if it works fine and your not drifting the car leave it well alone however if its not working correctly just bin it and buy a lock out bar as it is a very complicated bit of kit and expensive to repair if you can find why its faulty

if it aint broke dont try and fix it

 

Start off by replacing the HICAS bushes as they are the common failure item,
JDM Garage do some solid bushes which are great quality. (£120ish for the pair but worth it)
After replacing your HICAS Bushes, replace the Hicas Tie Rods and Rack ends. (Rods £46ish from Nissan, ends £76 ish from Nissan)

See how the '33 acts after this,

If its still feeling a bit wobbly, Check to make sure you have no leaks from Power steering reservoir leading down to your Power Steering rack, a loss of pressure at any degree will vatly affect how the system works.

The R33 uses the "Super HICAS" system where its only hydraulic on the front steering rack, the rear rack (HICAS STEERING) is electronic

Another point to check is the Steering angle sensor (remove steering wheel its the Yellow ring on there which also holds the Airbag connector)

The last 2 sensors to check is the Pressure control valve (Located on the front rack) and the final sensor is the speed sensor

These are the components that make up your HICAS

Your Speed sensor once it reaches 60mph, sends a signal up to the steering control sensor to identify the direction of travel and also a signal to the pressure Control Valve to identify how much you are turning, the greater the speed your travelling, the HICAS ECU tells the Pressure control valve to increase signal to the HICAS rack to increase the amount of 4wheel steering.

If the wheels turn more than the sensor has indicated then the HICAS warning light will display,

There is also a self diagnosis you can perform on the HICAS which is displayed by the HICAS Warning light:-
Start the car up, turn the wheel sharply (roughly 20degrees) left and right (once right and once left is classed as 1 movement) do this 5times,
Then press the brake pedal 5times quickly, then once more to set it into Diagnostic mode.
Travel roughly 5meters under 10km/h (6mph)

once at a stand still, if you fully turn the wheel left or right and look back you will see the rear wheels also turn (this is a visual display that your HICAS is moving)

however the HICAS Light will flash constanly but quickly if there is no faults,

if there is a fault, 1 long flash identifies the 10 number,2long flashes = 20, 3 = 30
a short flash displays the *1 number

i.e

2long flashes,3short = 23

R33 Code list:

11 HICAS control unit
12 HICAS motor power supply not present
13 HICAS motor output not present
21 Vehicle speed sensor not present
22 Steering angle sensor not present
23 Steering angle sensor neutral or not present
24 Rear main sensor input not present
25 Rear sub sensor input not present
31 Parking brake sensor input not present
32 (Auto) Inhibititor switch input not present / (Manual) Neutral switch input not present
32 Engine speed signal not present

 

Chris I am pretty sure there are more sensors 2 of which are on the rear steering rack. I think the 33 also has a g sensor incorporated into hicas. Btw you can drift with working hicas.

 

As stu mentioned mate, The GTS-T does not have a G-Sensor, however the GTR's incorporated this into their slightly advanced system,

You can drift regardless of Hicas or not, its just about throwing the vehicle harder into a slide so that the rear end cant meet the needed angle for the rear wheels steering to pull the vehicle around straight again.

9/10ths of the problems do tend to lie with very poorly maintained HICAS Bushes, HICAS rods and ends, once these have been replaced then it is a case of going through the sensors if you still have a fault (use the diagnosis process to work out which sensor is bringing up a fault) i'm sure if you live local to one of the traders on here they will let you try one of the sensors to see if it corrects it....

My GTST always brought up the HICAS warning light at 10miles distance from start when there was a fault,

 

The g sensor isn't present on a gtst, it seems to only be on attessa 4wd cars like the gtr and maybe the gts4.

 

I wasn't sure stuart thanks. I would be interested to know your opinion of hicas as you seem to have more knowledge than most?

 

I'm happy with it to be fair, it's there for high speed stability in corners and it's not let me down. Those who ditch the setup are normally wanting to drift, and the hicas trying to straighten the car up again is counter productive. Either that or they think it's too much hassle trying to fix it.

But for a fast road car it's great so long as all it's signals are correct. The most common issues people get are down to bad sensor readings or worn balljoints. Having really wide wheels will probably have an impact too, and plenty of people on here go for as wide a wheel as possible. Instead I'm on standard r34gtt alloys. People say it's expensive to fix, but in reality it seems to cost about the same if not more to remove it...

 

It cost me no more than 200 pound to remove it I think it would of cost 5 or 6 to fix. I do like hicas for fast road. I was also fearful of it after it failed on me due to bad maintenance.

 

It cost me no more than 200 pound to remove it I think it would of cost 5 or 6 to fix.

What was wrong with it?

And IMO 18's are too big, mine handles much better now it's on 17's instead. I'm more interested in driving it than getting people to look at it. Besides, they still look anyway.

 

Cheers for your input guys. alot of good stuff there stuart thanks. must have taken a while to write out. Basically I just bought my r33 gtst, took it to the garage and was telling the guy that i was fishtailing when putting the foot down, he thought it may be hicas, but after a great.servise and belt change, he sorted out the tyre pressures and.the car is.so much better. He has told me.I have a solid car and one of the best condition skylines he.has seen . I just need bigger wheels. Am I right in saying for the gtst it its a stagger of 8.5 & 9.5. Im going to go for 18" alloys also.

 

Ball joints,steering angle sensor, speed sensor and there was 1 other thing I got on self diagnosis mode that I can't remember. I do regret not keeping it. It felt much smoother. Especially when I had to dodge a deer!

 

The balljoints are the only expensive part to get and replace, but removing the hicas costs about the same normally. The speed sensor issue will be down to how your speedo is converted, and a replacement steering angle sensor doesn't cost much either.

 

Steering angle sensor was 100 with no gaurantee it was working? Also I wasn't sure if ecu was prone to going I may put it back in future.

 

You should be able to get a second hand sensor for a lot less than that, it depends on who's selling it. The breakers on here charge the earth, hence why I don't buy from them.

I got my hicas control unit for just a tenner delivered for example.

 

Where do I find this value for money? I'm still new to skylines have had the csr 6month I that

 

Just got to keep your eyes open and not jump at the traders.

 

For me I need parts yesterday my impatience is like a illness I'm constantly fighting

 

I found my hicas warning light took much longer. I found a certain stretch of road that always illuminated it. The hicas is a stabillity aid and shouldn't need thrown any harder to make it drift as its traction you want to break not stability. After reading stuart posts I'm going to keep a eye out for the sensors at a reasonable price and also I am going to buy clocks to attempt his mph conversion

 

You shouldn't need to buy new clocks, just convert yours.

 

Great info here. My HICAS light came on today and I freaked out. I just wonder if the HICAS was removed in my car and replaced with lock bar kit but sensors and wiring is still there, will it still trigger the HICAS light?

 

Yes it would mate, have a look through my hicas thread when you get chance.

 

Thank you Stuart.