The birth of a 520-hp Nissan Juke-R

Nissan's (and Renault's) Brazilian CEO, Carlos Ghosn, is always to looking to push the boundaries of automotive engineering. It would seem that he shares this trait with his engineers. 

What can be more innovative and exciting than trying to meld a Nissan Juke and a Nissan GT-R together? This what the Juke-R is all about: the ultimate compact crossover that's packing a 520-hp engine. Shoehorning a VR38DETT and the CBA35's drivetrain into this mini SUV is no mean feat!



Head on over to the Nissan JUKE Official Facebook page to find out more on this amazing project: http://www.facebook.com/NissanJukeOfficial

Review: Whiteline Performance Suspension

Since I'm a big supporter of Aussie made automotive products, I've decided to write a couple of short reviews on a few of them for the benefit of the Malaysian motoring public. Besides Whiteline, theres Haltech for your electronic engine management needs, Disc Brakes Australia (DBA) for rotors and Turbosmart for wastegates. The Aussies make pretty decent stuff and I'm using all those brands in my cars.

As some of you might have noticed, I am currently using Whiteline Performance Suspension bushes and sway bars on my GT-R.

I actually started using Whiteline on my cars since my student / working days in Melbourne, Australia. Great people to deal with over the phone and easy pick up at your friendly neighbourhood Pedders Suspension shop (they have a tie up with Whiteline). Pedders is a chain of suspension tuning shops which can be found in many Australian towns and major cities.

Anyway for everyone's knowledge, Whiteline suspension suspension products are actually manufactured in South Korea but design and testing is done at their facility in Somersby, New South Wales (near Sydney). Whiteline recently had their swaybars TÜV SÜD certified, so that they could be sold in the EU. They are pretty much up there in terms of quality seeing as European standards are quite stringent when it comes to automotive parts.

As with most automotive parts, a company's product is as good as how well it does in motorsport events. Whiteline parts are used in major events such as the recent World Time Attack Challenge (WTAC) that was held in Australia. A Whiteline equipped R35 GT-R took the number one spot in the Open Class category and several cars in the Pro Class (like Mercury Motorsports' R35) used Whiteline swaybars. Whiteline parts have also found their way into the rallying scene. WORKS Motorsport's Mitsubishi RalliArt SST participates regularly in Rally America, The Oregon Trail. Whiteline has been supporting the WORKS car with adjustable sway bars, alignment products, polyurethane bushings and aluminium bushings.

I'll leave with you some pictures of Whiteline's NSW facility. If you're looking to improve the handling of your car or wanting to refresh tired suspension parts, check Whiteline out as they cater to a wide range of makes and models, from Subarus to Volkswagens.

http://www.whiteline.com.au/ 

Heres one of their sway bar stress testing machines:

Sway Bar Blanks being fashioned on site for testing purposes:

This is their stockpile of swaybars at Whiteline warehouse / HQ in NSW:

R33 GT-R Update: Nismo Strengthened Rear Lower A-Arm and Cusco Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods

I actually installed these some time back but haven't had time to sit down and blog about them.

As some of you might well know, the GT-R is a 14 year old car and a lot of things get worn out as the years roll by. Hence, its imperative to refresh certain areas of the car, like the suspension, as it might pose a hazard to the driver and other road users. Its also a pain to drive around with a worn bushing or a less than functioning rear arm, as the car's ride tends to suffer as a result. More importantly, the GT-R's handling is much improved when newer and better suspension parts have made their way onto it's chassis.

Note the condition of the 14 year old Nissan factory rear lower a-arm - worn out!

This I can attest to after experiencing the before and after effects of something as simple as installing aftermarket adjustable tension rods. Its like night and day - suddenly you have the confidence to take corners at high speed and the car feels so much more controllable. The turn-in motion is also greatly improved and the car feels flatter as it pivots to where you want it to go. The rear also benefits from the strengthened a-arm plate as it's less affected by road irregularities and feels more planted when the car accelerates. 

All of this is multiplied in terms of driving pleasure as you get a sense of rightness about the car's condition and overall driveability. As I have said in previous posts, once you install one aftermarket suspension part, you'll be hooked and will have to the urge to change everything as a result of the positive effect they will have on your car.

The nice and shiny (and adjustable) Cusco pillow ball tension rod

The Nismo rear lower a-arm set looks right at home in the passenger side rear tyre well of my GT-R! :)

And so till the next suspension upgrade, I'll leave you with RHD Japan's description of the recently installed parts:

"The NISMO Rear Lower A-Arm Set - Strengthened R33 is part of the NISMO Suspension Link Series and were created by NISMO to provide true suspension performance for Nissan drivers. Included are the strengthened bushings to provide better feedback through cornering to make the vehicle more predictable. These are for true suspension performance, and are recommended to anyone using sport suspension and tires. The Nismo Strengthened Rear Lower A-Arms are a great way to refresh your vehicle`s suspension components by removing the aged arms that came stock from the factory. All units come in the Nismo silver color. These are stronger than the standard Nismo units because of an added plate on the underside to provide more strength against pressure and stress". - RHD Japan

"The CUSCO Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods Nissan stop the movement and flex that change the geometry on the front suspension under hard braking and cornering and drifting. These Cusco Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods help with stability and predictability when drifting or racing the car hard. They also improving initial turn-in response. They are designed to work with stock suspension or nearly every aftermarket system available". - RHD Japan

Worth Watching: World's Greatest Drag Race!

With an empty airstrip and eleven of the best drivers cars in the world, Motortrend puts on the world's greatest drag race. 

Read the entire 2011 Best Drivers Car story here:
http://www.motortrend.com/features/performance/1109_2011_motor_trend_best_drivers_car/

R33 GT-R Update: Carbing Air Diversion Plate

A radiator cooling plate is a device that helps direct air to flow from a car's grille straight to it's radiator. This promotes better cooling as more air flows through the radiator fins. The plate is installed between the front grille and the top section of the radiator. They are normally made out of aluminium but you do get some carbon fibres ones as well.

What normally happens is that, air escapes from the top of radiator instead of going through the radiator. Cooling plates help restrict the escaping air and divert it to where it really needs to go.

The results? It actually works! I've noticed that when the engine is fully warmed up, the water temperature reading is lower by 10% - 20% and this was after the Carbing Air Diversion Plate had been installed. Its amazing how something so small can have a positive effect on a car. Plus it makes the engine bay look that much nicer!

Why Carbing you might ask? Well...

Since the establishment of OKUYAMA Co.,Ltd. as an After-Market Auto Parts Manufacturer in 1977, Carbing has been developing various parts including Roll Bars, Strut Bars and Body Reinforcement Parts.

The company has their own motor sports team, “TEAM OKUYAMA”, that has been aggressively participating in Japanese domestic motor sport competitions like JAPAN NATIONAL DIRT TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP as well as JAPAN GYMKHANA CHAMPIONSHIP. Team Okuyama became Champions in Class D (unlimited modifications) at the JAPAN GYMKHANA CHAMPIONSHIP for 3 consecutive years (1988-1990).

They also became the Series Champion in 1993 with their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution I at JAPAN NATIONAL DIRT TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP. And in 2003 they were Champions again with their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III.

All of Carbing's modification parts have been developed/manufactured using the practical data that had been acquired in the above-mentioned competitions.

R33 GT-R Update: Defi-Link Display, Defi-Link Control Unit II & Defi-Link BF Boost Meter

Stock is best in my book. Thats the reason why I've been very conservative thus far with GT-R's outward appearance.

The same principle applies to the interior, as I'm not one to go bonkers on flashy gauges and large display LCDs. Nonetheless, I need to know whats going in the engine bay, in light of the car's new power output. Things like having an accurate reading of the RB26's oil temperature, water temperature, oil pressure and so forth, are crucial to ensure the longevity of the newly rebuilt 2.6L engine. But how do we avoid the problem of having too many gauges cluttering up the dashboard? Not only do they attract the unwanted attention of thieves, by having too many sensors drilled into your engines bits, it will create unnecessary stress points all over the block.

Enter the Defi-Link Display.

Defi-Link Display is a multipurpose monitor which provides information on speed, oil temperature, water temperature, oil pressure, fuel pressure, and exhaust temperature by connecting to the Defi-Link Control Unit II or the Defi-Link Control Unit.

Real-time digital information includes speed, oil temperature, water temperature, oil pressure, fuel pressure and exhaust temperature. Sensor sets need to be purchased separately to display the information on pressures and temperatures.

Vehicle performance data and peak values are placed in memory for 3 minutes, allowing examination of data after running the vehicle.
*Defi-Link Control Unit II has a 3 minute memory. Defi-Link Control Unit has a 40 second memory.

The Warning LED lights when the set warning value is exceeded for oil temperature, water temperature, exhaust temperature and engine RPM. The Warning LED lights when measured value drops below the set warning value for oil pressure and fuel pressure.

Defi stopped producing this particular display in 2010, so I was fortunate that my tuner sourced a unit along with some goodies; a Defi-Link Control Unit II and a Defi-Link BF Boost Meter. All three were in good condition and we got them for a steal. Even though Defi now offers a more advanced display, which is the Defi-Link Meter ADVANCE ZD, I don't really fancy the new look (garish gold backlight), it's is too big (awkward to mount) and I'm fine with having only two readings on display at any one time. The rev counter is a nice feature but not necessary and there's standalone products like Shift-I's Progressive Shift Indicator, which does the exact same thing.

Defi-Link Control Unit II is a necessary controller to install Defi-Link Meters, Defi-Link Meter BFs, and Defi-Link Displays. Up to 7 gauges and displays can be connected and controlled by one Control Unit II. Defi-Link System allows gauges and displays to be attached to Defi-Link Control Unit II with a single daisy chain wiring system. Driving data can be stored and can be replayed up to 3 minutes. Pause, speed play, forward, and rewind function can be applied during playback.

As for the Defi-Link BF Boost Meter, press the play button in the flash animation below and you'll be able to see how the unit activates once the ignition key is switched on:

And here is the end result :). Quite pleased with how things turned out as I hate the look of gauges scattered all over the interior. However, as I had mentioned earlier, it is necessary to know the parameters of your engine and the Defi device helps with this. So to reiterate, I've found the Defi-Link Display to be convenient since it's small and more importantly, allows me to monitor the GT-R's 'health' through a series of readings. They are essentially; water temp, oil temp, fuel pressure, oil pressure and exhaust gas temperature. Imagine if you had to get gauges for all of those things .That would be one heck of a lot of gauges. Also, peak / warning settings are a breeze to configure, and with the built-in warning feature, trouble parameters can also be set easily. 

Oh and lastly, it looks pretty darn good too, especially at night.

Vimeo and the GT-R Family

I never get tired of watching this vid, especially the part where all four GT-R generations are cruising down the street in line abreast formation.



And big up to Vimeo for the following reasons:

1. No spam

2. Professional content

3. Professional contacts

4. Sleek video player

5. Higher quality video in HD

“Vimeo is for people with a passion.
Youtube is for people who want fame and popularity.” – DoubleFilms

R33 GT-R Upgrade: Cusco Adjustable Rear Upper Arms

Suspension upgrades are like a bowl of delicious french fries. Once you start, you can't stop consuming / installing them. Seriously addictive. 

This isn't an act of superflous spending on my part, for as I have said in my previous entry, the rubber bushing on most of the GT-R's factory mounts are in a poor state and therefore need to be replaced. They have after all been on the car for the past 15 years! Hence, this is more of an exercise in necessity instead of greed.

Once I had swapped in the Sun Line Racing Front Pillow Camber Arms and felt an instant improvement in the GT-R's handling, I decided to plunk down some more moola on a used set of Cusco Adjustable Rear Upper Arms. Thanks to Eu Jin from JDM Auto Link for supplying the said item which looked near brand new.

So whats so great about the Cusco unit? Well, the overall benefits are very similar to the Sun Line Racing arms but I'll let RHD Japan explain further:

"The CUSCO Adjustable Rear Upper Arm Links Nissan will provide proper camber angle and improve you cars movement in hard turns on the track. Prevents irregular tire wear and holds tire to the asphalt, improving traction. The good alignment will enable better traction as well". 

 The Cusco rear upper arm and the factory Nissan unit - the bushing too was pretty worn out

The Cusco unit installed on the driver side rear wheel well

Remember what I said about suspension upgrades and how its hard to stop oneself from installing more? Well, I've ordered the following items and they'll be arriving some time soon from Japan :).

NISMO Strengthened Rear Lower A-Arm Set

"The NISMO Rear Lower A-Arm Set - Strengthened R33 is part of the NISMO Suspension Link Series and were created by NISMO to provide true suspension performance for Nissan drivers. Included are the strengthened bushings to provide better feedback through cornering to make the vehicle more predictable. These are for true suspension performance, and are recommended to anyone using sport suspension and tires. The Nismo Strengthened Rear Lower A-Arms are a great way to refresh your vehicle`s suspension components by removing the aged arms that came stock from the factory. All units come in the Nismo silver color. These are stronger than the standard Nismo units because of an added plate on the underside to provide more strength against pressure and stress". - RHD Japan

CUSCO Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods

"The CUSCO Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods Nissan stop the movement and flex that change the geometry on the front suspension under hard braking and cornering and drifting. These Cusco Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods help with stability and predictability when drifting or racing the car hard. They also improving initial turn-in response. They are designed to work with stock suspension or nearly every aftermarket system available". - RHD Japan

R33 GT-R Update: Sun Line Racing Front Pillow Camber Arms

In preparation for a drive up Fraser's Hill, a former colonial-era hill station in the state of Pahang (more info here via Wikipedia Travel), I sent the GT-R in for a suspension realignment.

I had noticed that the car would slowly veer off to the left when running in a straightline, in the absence of any steering wheel input. It turns out that my front upper camber arms were out of whack. The realignment guy said that the bushings on the factory arms were probably worn out and I believed him, seeing as they've been on the car since it left the factory in 1996! Thats some 15 years ago!

So the task for that day was to look for a replacement front upper camber arms, preferably adjustable ones. Why adjustable you might ask? Well for one, it allows you to set the car up for more negative camber and this is always good for track days. It makes it easier for the car to go around corners and it promotes better tyre wear. Some of you might recall that I changed all of my old factory suspension bushings to Whiteline ones, when I first got the GT-R. I should have looked at replacing the arms too, both front and rear. Chalk it up to inexperience!

Now I live in Malaysia, so GT-R parts are not that easy to come by. According to my tuner, the golden age of GT-R ownership in our fair country was some 5 years or so back, when parts were readily available. The R35 GT-R had not arrived yet and vendors heavily stocked up on BNR34 parts, which mostly are plug and play for BCNR33s. So without some effort, I managed to source a pair of used Sun Line Racing Front Pillow Camber Arms. Least I think they are Sun Line Racing units... After inspecting the arms, my tuner said that they were clearly of Japanese make and hence, were worth buying. Anyway, one can't be choosy when supply is short and time is of the essence. What was important was that the arms were adjustable, the rubbers bushing looked pristine and the pair were clearly of superior make.

Now whats so great about the Sun Line unit?

 Heres an excerpt from Nengun:

• R33/R34 model includes four stage camber adjustment, ranging from standard to about -2 degrees
• Camber adjustable highly accurate specific pillow ball

The alignment guy was spot on. These are my old, non-adjustable front upper camber arms. Note the very poor state of the rubber bushing:

Side by side comparison between the new and the old:

The GT-R was sent back in for another round of suspension realigment after the Sun Line arms were installed. Upon taking delivery of the vehicle, I immediately noticed that the car would no longer slowly veer off to the left. Turn in and cornering had also improved - not really surprised, as the dilapidated factory ones were probably slipping, due to the very poor state of the rubber bushings. 

So I was very happy with how things turned out. So happy in fact, that I decided to get Cusco Adjustable Rear Upper Arms and Tein Tension Rods after the Fraser's Hill drive. Will write about these two mods in my next R33 GT-R update.

I've been officially bitten by the aftermarket suspension mod bug!

R33 GT-R Update: Nismo 320km/h Speedometer Installed

 

Being an old car, the factory R33 GT-R speedometer needed replacing. There were certain tell-tale signs - some of the gauges weren't really all that accurate (the water temp needle for example) and the backlight wasn't as bright as it used to be or should be.

 Nismo to the rescue

Seeing as the car is now capable of reaching higher levels of speed (thanks to the newly rebuilt forged engine), it was time to install Nismo's version of the GT-R speedometer. The reasons being that the max speed limit on the Nismo unit is not stuck at a boring Japanese 180km/h and the rev counter goes all the way up to a whopping 11,000 rpms. Now I'm not sure if I'll abuse the car and push it to those limits, but at least the speed needle won't be bouncing off the 180km/h marker anymore.

And last but not least... When the sun goes down and your sitting in the dark - you turn the ignition key and flick on the headlight switch - at that very moment, you just can't help but feel a sense of satisfaction and pride. It's almost like driving a brand new car, which is true to a certain extent.

Big shoutout to Miguel from NeweraParts.com for helping me with this upgrade.

Spare Engine Rebuild Update: Haltech Platinum Pro

Yesss!!! My Haltech Platinum Pro Plug & Play R33 Engine Management System (including a 3 bar map sensor) has arrived from Australia!!!

 
Decided to switch from my Apexi Power FC with Commander to the Haltech Platinum Pro, due to the following reasons:

• User definable X- & Y-axis for fuel, ignition and boost
• 32x32 high res mapping
• VE Tuning (Volumetric Efficiency)
• MAF (no longer have to balance air fuel mixtures correctly)
• Advanced intelligent knock control
• CAN communication (really works as promised!)
• Closed loop idle control
• Speed density (more power)
• Launch control 
• N-VCT (Nissan Variable CAM Timing Control)

Thats just a few of the Haltech's features. Full details: http://www.haltech.com/store/index.php/plugin-ecu-kits/platinum-pro-kits/platinum-pro-plug-in-nissan-r32-33-skyline-kit.html

The Power FC is no longer in production and is technically a 10 year old technology, reliant on AFM readings (which is a pain to balance for twin turbos) plus it only has 20x20 resolution, does not have a ignition cut feature (fuel cut only) = limited tuning features when it comes to modified higher horsepower engines.

Spare Engine Rebuild Update: Tomei Poncams

The rebuild is going well and I've sent in my Tomei camshafts + Pulleys and a N1 Water Pump in for the final stage of the project. Looking forward to how the cams perform as not only will they improve response and overall performance but the poncams will also have a positive affect on the R33 GTR's exhaust sound.

And why Tomei? Tomei Poncam camshafts are designed as a "drop in application", so no dialling in required as the nock-pin has been pre-set. The Poncams are also designed to work with the standard valve springs and offer the best drop in performance gain for both street and track use. No machining is required at all.

Tomei manufactures several camshafts for the RB26 engine, the most mild being the Poncams. Designed as an upgrade when compared to stock cams, the Poncams fit all generations of the RB26 engine (R32, R33 and R34), and come in three types, Type A, Type B, and Type R. The differences between the Type A and Type B Poncams are limited, with the Type B version featuring 260° of lift on the exhaust, compared to 252°. This slight increase in duration means more air can enter the cylinders at higher RPM. The downside to additional duration is that low end power is sacrificed, as the turbochargers typically can not move enough air at lower engine speeds. The Type R Poncams were designed by Tomei to cater to those who wish to remain "street legal" by Japanese standards. This means decreased duration for better emissions, as well as compatibility with stock or aftermarket catalytic converters.

Type A camshafts are suitable for engines that will be using stock or larger bolt on turbochargers. Type B camshafts are for engines that will be running N1 turbo chargers or full aftermarket turbo kits. The Type R camshafts should only be used when a car retains the factory catalytic converter, or when you wish to upgrade to an aftermarket catalytic converter.
 
Tomei Pon Camshafts + Pulley Set: Nissan BNR32/BCNR33 RB26DETT Duration IN 260, EX 252, Lift 9.15 (Pon Cam + Cam Pulley IN & EX) 143036 A Type + 153027 Cam Pulley.

Excerpt from nengun.com about the Tomei Poncams:

Tomei presents the popular poncams. Generally, engine tuning is to modify the torque characteristic of engine by changing cam duration timing and height of the cam lift, so as to gaining maximum torque and horse power. However, when tuning the engine strictly, it should be carried out with the idea of securing effective area of the valve not only by duration timing and height of the cam lift, but also by through improvement of its intake efficiency. High valve lift allows huge amount of air to flow in, yet it mechanically damages the system and gains friction loss. Also, wide cam duration will deriver great power at high RPM, but it gives rough engine character at low RPM too. Tomei have worked to get an ideal well-balanced profile of camshaft and succeeded to give it 1.3 to 1.5 times more effective area than regular camshafts.

Spare Engine Rebuild Update - Tomei Forged H-Beam Conrods

Apologies for the lack of updates but its been a busy month for me and I've been waiting on a particular part to arrive. In fact, its the last piece of the engine rebuild jigsaw puzzle. I'm referring to conrods as it was the only other forged item that I wanted for this rebuild. Lo and behold the official spiel (summary courtesy of Nengun):

Usually, to give con-rod buckling strength and light weight character at the same time, H-beam or I-beam profile is applied. Tomei have applied a H-beam profile for the connecting rod for NISSAN RB, SR, CA, VG engines and succeeded in gaining high buckling strength while reducing the weight. Tomei produces con-rod's using a forging mold with the main bearing hole in its large end, so the 'metal flow' runs along con-rod's entire body. And with a use of special materials, they have succeeded in producing con-rods with extreme intensity and durability. 

Naturally, I got standard RB26 stroke conrods as I'm not stroking the spare engine. Thanks to my good friend Glenn Trollope of Chasers Motorworks Melbourne (good luck at the World Time Attack dude!), I was able to source the conrods in record time.

So that ends this update as the crank is being balanced but I'm hoping the engine will be ready before the end of May. Theres also the Nismo bearings that need to be installed and those had arrived sometime last month, courtesy of a fellow Skyline owner (thanks Nain!). 

Here are the bearings:

Can't wait for all the parts to come together. Watch this space.