This GT-R really was quite the “low” power build. It’s always fun when you get a call from a super smart guy that has built and tuned his own cars for years, requesting you to take on his own R35 project start to finish. I love helping people of all experience levels, but it certainly makes me feel accomplished when someone I feel really has a grasp on what it takes to build a high HP GT-R chooses us from start to finish with their project.
The goal was an animal of a dual purpose car that he could run on the circuit track and then turn up to make well over 1000hp at the drag strip and on the street. I wanted to build him something with super smooth power applications, quick but not too quick transient boost, and great reliability. High HP road race cars are tricky to get right. You want something that is going to spool quickly AND have quick transient boost response. Lots of people think those are the same thing but they really aren’t. At the same time you can’t build something that comes up so quickly that it shocks the tire in the middle of a corner while the power is coming in. Some of this is for sure in the tune, but the combination of the right engine, cam, turbo, and AR housing is equally as important as a very proper road race tune.
So for this build we spec’ed out a 4.1 stroker. We specifically built it with oiling modifications for the high lateral Gs the car is going to see. Then we did a fully custom spec port job combined with a smaller cam than we would usually use on an all out “drag” version of this build. As I said above, working out the combination to make it WORK for the client.
Let me branch off on this subject and add a little. Lots of people underestimate the importance of not only a shop with racing pedigree and history, but also experience with all kinds of different setups. What the community sometimes overlooks is that we fix, tune, diagnose, and help customers with every setup under the sun you can imagine… literally on a weekly basis.
From different engine combos, to cams, head porting, turbo kits, transmissions, tuning platforms… we see it all! We are blessed with continually accumulating a knowledge base with an incredibly diverse range. What that does for us is gives us what I feel is the widest range of experience of any GT-R shop worldwide.
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