These days I don't get to work on my own project cars or engines that often. My GT-R is parked at XS which is about 40 minutes away and my MA70 Supra is sitting in a garage about an hour away. I sold my FD and FC RX-7s, cut up my other FD RX-7, sold my MA60 Supra and DA Integra since I knew I was never going to get to them. Even when I don't have other stuff to do, it's easy to say, “Screw it. I'll do it next week.” because the cars are far enough away. I need to buy a house with a 12 car garage building right after I hit the Lotto next week. But between Peter and I, we've been working on the R32 GT-R off and on.
The first HKS GT2530 car I tuned was probably back in 2001/02 I think (Sean can chime in on this one probably). It was a Motorex car, but I can't remember whose car it was. Anyhow since then, XS has done 40 various builds on BNR32, BCNR33, BNR34 GT-Rs with 2530s (or Garrett -5s…same shit). In the rest of the world (UK and Japan specifically) that probably isn't many cars, but when you consider that there are probably less than 300 32/33/34 GT-Rs in the USA, that's more than 10% of the cars through one shop. Throw in the other cars with stock or Nismo turbos, GT-RSes, RX-6s, T78, T88, T51Rs, GT40s, etc. and I think its safe to say that XS has built and/or tuned the most GT-Rs in the country.
So through all of these past builds I figured out what I consider to be the best parts on the market for a stock engine car like mine (no pun intended). When I say “best” I mean performance vs. quality vs. value. Piece of shit China parts (ex. 1 & ex. 2) were never even a consideration. My game plan was to build the car around a stock engine with 2530s since they provide a wide power band with the right cams, optimized cam timing, the right parts combination, and good ecu tuning. It sounds like everybody else's build right? The only difference is that everything was done the XS way with attention to detail. Anybody can slap a car together, but the average dude probably wouldn't get the same results. It seems like few people (and sometimes shops) want to take the time and pay attention to the detail, but the fact is that it's ALL in the details. Or they spend too much time on the WRONG details. These are just observations I have made over the years perusing the many builds on the GT-R forums. I don't comment on forum builds anymore because it's like you're always the bad guy for pointing out wack shit after the guy spent 2 weeks and 2 grand trying to do something he absolutely didn't need to do but that he thought would be the bomb (e.g. fabricating all new intake and charge pipes out of stainless steel tubes with higher heat retention and with more bends than the factory system). A lot of what XS does on a GT-R build is not rocket science. It's a combination of parts and detailed labor that they have learned over the years. None of the little detailed mods to the parts will work wonders by themselves, but they work wonders in combination. Unfortunately if you want a professional shop to perform all these little details for you, it will be expensive since time is money. If you're a DIY guy, then hopefully this post can help you to improve or plan your build correctly.
While I am busy beating the shit out of this car all over Southern California (street and road race courses), I will be building a 2.9L at Cosworth prototype stroker in my off time (note: I am not a builder at Cosworth) that should be done around September because I seriously lag. I just finished deburring the block and my buddy Magnus is going to bore and hone it even though he doesn't know it yet. I'll ask Steve to work his magic with the valve job. More on the 2.9L later though. So for this particular build I am considering it to be temporary since I was planning to install the stroker engine, XS ported head, bigger cams, bigger turbos (size not yet determined), different transmission (also not yet determined), and Pectel SQ6M ECU in before the end of 2009. I figured it was just enough time for me to drive the crap out of the car for nearly a year with the 2530s and get bored of the power before the year is over.
For RB26 parts, I have always generally stuck to HKS and Tomei for aftermarket engine parts and Nismo for high performance replacement parts. Of course as the Cosworth RB parts trickle out, I will have to test the parts out for myself (nice bonus). These companies really spend a lot of time engineering and testing their products. However, when it comes to value you generally cannot beat Tomei. Tomei simply makes good stuff for the RB26 with excellent value. So I called up my buddy Eiji Mihara and gave him my shopping list of RB26 parts. Eiji arranged all the parts for me very quickly. This guy is ALWAYS reliable (especially if it involves girls). Below is my list of parts for this build including non-Tomei parts. Keep in mind the engine was 90% stock before this build with the exception of an HKS V-Pro ECU, RC Engineering 550cc fuel injectors, 90mm Do-Luck exhaust, and custom ARC/HKS/XS Oil cooler system. Suspension and chassis consisted of Nagisa Auto front upper arms, Nismo tension rods, Volk SE37K 17×9.5, and Tein coilovers.
LIST OF PARTS FOR MY STAGE 1 BUILD:
Tomei Expreme Exhaust Manifolds (tubular)
Tomei Expreme Turbine Outlet Pipes 76mm
Tomei Poncams Type-B 260°
Tomei Valve Springs Type-A
Tomei RB26 Adjustable Cam Pulleys
Tomei RB26 Oil Baffle Plate
Tomei RB26 Oil Pump
Tomei RB26 Oil Gallery Orifice
Tomei Uprated RB26 Fuel Pressure Regulator
Tomei RB26 In Tank High Flow Fuel Pump 276Lph
Tomei RB26 Strengthened Timing Belt
Tomei RB26 Stainless Exhaust Manifold Gaskets
XS Engineering GT-R Intercooler Core Assembly
Nismo Engine Mounts
Nismo Transmission Mounts
Nismo RB26 70mm Air Flow Meters x 2
RC Engineering 750cc x 6 Fuel Injectors
APEXi Power FC L-Jetro
Koyo Aluminum Radiator
Toyota FIPG Seal Packing Silicone (oil pan)
Cosworth RB26 Metal Headgasket 87mm x 1.1t
Cosworth RB26 Chiapparini Special Valve Job
XS Engineering RB26 Throttle Body Seal Set
XS Engineering RB26 Bronze Valve Guide Set
Nissan OEM throttle body gaskets (paper)
Nissan OEM intake manifold gasket (paper)
ARK Design MFD (Multi Function Display)
ARK Design ABC (Advanced Boost Controller)
Ogura Racing Twin Plate Clutch
KAAZ LSD 1.5 way (16 plates)
HKS Hipermax ProPerformer coilovers
Peak Performance rear upper control arms (spherical bearings)
Peak Performance pillow upper link (spherical bearings)
XS Engineering Custom Rear HICAS eliminator arms (spherical bearings)
Nagisa Auto Billet Front lower arms (sperical bearings)
Nagisa Auto Roll Center Spacers
Nagisa Auto Outer Tie Rods (spherical bearings)
D. Speed Clear Corners
Stock BNR32 Engine with 60,000km
Goal = 500hp at the wheels street/track ass kicker with power band from hell
This post is getting too long. Look out for Part 2 coming soon. In Part 2 I will explain why I chose every single part. Yes, it too will be a long ass post.
The trunk of the Maxima was filled to rim with Brim.
