Journey to a drivable 1000bhp?
1000bhp. Ridiculous! Will the car make the numbers? Right now, who knows?! Well how the hell did I get to this point?
Always loved Skylines and was lucky enough to have an R32 GT-R over a decade ago, when they were considered the unsophisticated poverty spec model (LOL!)
Took a break from the scene for a while to concentrate on other things although regularly checked in on here to see where my car had got to. Then just over 4 years ago managed to pick up a 2010 R35 GT-R. Absolutely love the car and like many of you, not only had some amazing driving experiences but also built some incredible friendships.
I bought the car as a stage 4.25 as I knew I wanted the power and when I found the car I eventually bought I knew it was the one. Stage 4.25 is an amazing level of tune for the R35. Nice and responsive and theoretically reliable. I did a few tweaks to make it perfect (smooth out a glitch in the rev band and to tune for 600lbs). You really don't need any more, so how did I end up here with a big build on the verge of completion?
My car is at 78k miles. I look after it, but ultimately it has 600lbft of torque and on occasion I like to properly use it. I'd seen a few engine failures over time and knew I wasn't prepared to spend £10k on a blown engine repair for ultimately no gain. So I thought when the opportunity comes I will spend a bit more and make a decent jump up in power.
I wanted to do it a year or so ago but I had a gearbox issue that was thought to be syncros. It wasn't in the end but whilst the box was open I opted to modify it at that point to handle a future increase in power. I knew I wouldn't need 800+ lbs of torque as I wanted the car to be really drvable and good on the street with the occasional sprint. I also personally believe it's those sorts of torque levels where the rest of the car takes a massive pounding. All that said I did enjoy a spot of drag racing in 2017 as my local drag strip was likely to be closing (Shakespeare County Raceway/Long Marston). The drag racing was amazing by the way. I got to race some incredible machinery (including a god damn dragster - albeit not a big block one, but still...! What an experience). And again, made new friends.
So I went for a Dodson Extreme first gear and shaft, uprated Syncros, billet baskets and a Litchfield superstock clutch. My theory being that should be good for 750lbs. I guess we will see with the clutch and the gears. Car runs sweet as a nut with these mods.
Well.... An opportunity came about which I have taken and my car is currently undergoing a build and should be ready in the next couple of weeks. I have made some tuning and spec decisions which are not so common in the UK and I thought I would put up a project thread to share the journey and document some of the choices.
I never intended to hit 1000bhp (as that would be stupid, right...?!) but as the spec came together it was too tantalising not to. I do however want to ensure the car remains drivable and capable on the road and not just fast 'down the pub'. I do need to retain my GTRDC TDOAR sprint champion status after all...
ENGINE
I've gone for Litchfield Sport engine. The 2018 spec has some seriously lovely head work done to it. Reinforced head, ported and gas flowed but also copper valve seats and guides which are supposed to dissipate heat several times better than stock. they are also very shiny Also 'special' inlet and exhaust valves (LOL @ what special means but advised as being even more durable). It comes with LM spec cams. I don't know duration or lift I'm afraid but they apparently idle nicely and allow the car nice road manners.
It's extra expense over just a rods and piston build but with my torque objectives in mind I knew I needed the car to be able to rev. I also think having extra rev band with bigger turbos is important and will allow more flexibility when pushing on. My new rev limit will be 8000 /8500 depending on how it all comes together.
Some head pics
I'm not swimming in surplus cash so of course did consider other engine builders but eventually settled on Litchfield as I like their product and know the 2018 engines (and probably earlier) come with a number of little known improvements to things like the timing chains, VVT seals and other nice little touches. I also like the team there which is important. It should be a solid and reliable package.
Some pics of the engine:
TURBOS
My aim was a car that had a good but sensible torque level around 700lbft but could rev and make decent power. I knew I needed bigger turbos to enable this but I didn't want a lag monster or something that had terrible transient response. Everything I read about the EFR's made me want them. With the Litchfield manifold even more so. But they are so much money I didn't see them in my future. I was however very lucky to be in the right place at the right time when Rocky (G2 GUV) was considering a change from his EFR setup to some MASSIVE Boostlogic turbos. Rocky is a proper gent and really helped me out, and this has enabled me to get my hands on his Litchfield EFR 7663 set up. A bonus being that he had recently had them refurbished so they should be in great condition too. These come with the Litchfield manifold and mean the turbos are still in their native housing which is great for top end flow.
Now, some of you may realise that this is in fact the LM1200 turbo kit! This is the bit where my approach to tuning differs to the norm. Most people get turbos where the max HP is pretty much what they want and then run everything they can get from them. Nothing wrong with that but I am really keen to get a nice flat and LONG torque curve. These turbos can knock out 900lbs in the mid range but I just don't want or need that. I do however want 700lbs at 7500 / 8000 rpm. I think if it pulls off, the driving experience should be mega. With the car feeling faster and faster as it goes through the rev band. I also think with 'only' 700 lbs that the car will be really drivable
It's a gamble going for big turbos like this but the EFR spool is meant to be sensational. Lowest possible lag and amazing transient response so I hope the car is drivable and not just a laggy dog that's lacking in torque! My research suggests they should be fully on song by 4k rpm and pull hard through to 8000rpm or just over. This is around 1000rpm slower than stock but significantly more area under the curve from that point on. Hopefully!
I have more to write which I'll do soon. This will cover intercooler choice, fuelling and additional mods I've opted to go for. Plus the inevitable snags that come along when undergoing major surgery.
Feel free to comment or question anything.
1000bhp. Ridiculous! Will the car make the numbers? Right now, who knows?! Well how the hell did I get to this point?
Always loved Skylines and was lucky enough to have an R32 GT-R over a decade ago, when they were considered the unsophisticated poverty spec model (LOL!)
Took a break from the scene for a while to concentrate on other things although regularly checked in on here to see where my car had got to. Then just over 4 years ago managed to pick up a 2010 R35 GT-R. Absolutely love the car and like many of you, not only had some amazing driving experiences but also built some incredible friendships.
I bought the car as a stage 4.25 as I knew I wanted the power and when I found the car I eventually bought I knew it was the one. Stage 4.25 is an amazing level of tune for the R35. Nice and responsive and theoretically reliable. I did a few tweaks to make it perfect (smooth out a glitch in the rev band and to tune for 600lbs). You really don't need any more, so how did I end up here with a big build on the verge of completion?
My car is at 78k miles. I look after it, but ultimately it has 600lbft of torque and on occasion I like to properly use it. I'd seen a few engine failures over time and knew I wasn't prepared to spend £10k on a blown engine repair for ultimately no gain. So I thought when the opportunity comes I will spend a bit more and make a decent jump up in power.
I wanted to do it a year or so ago but I had a gearbox issue that was thought to be syncros. It wasn't in the end but whilst the box was open I opted to modify it at that point to handle a future increase in power. I knew I wouldn't need 800+ lbs of torque as I wanted the car to be really drvable and good on the street with the occasional sprint. I also personally believe it's those sorts of torque levels where the rest of the car takes a massive pounding. All that said I did enjoy a spot of drag racing in 2017 as my local drag strip was likely to be closing (Shakespeare County Raceway/Long Marston). The drag racing was amazing by the way. I got to race some incredible machinery (including a god damn dragster - albeit not a big block one, but still...! What an experience). And again, made new friends.
So I went for a Dodson Extreme first gear and shaft, uprated Syncros, billet baskets and a Litchfield superstock clutch. My theory being that should be good for 750lbs. I guess we will see with the clutch and the gears. Car runs sweet as a nut with these mods.
Well.... An opportunity came about which I have taken and my car is currently undergoing a build and should be ready in the next couple of weeks. I have made some tuning and spec decisions which are not so common in the UK and I thought I would put up a project thread to share the journey and document some of the choices.
I never intended to hit 1000bhp (as that would be stupid, right...?!) but as the spec came together it was too tantalising not to. I do however want to ensure the car remains drivable and capable on the road and not just fast 'down the pub'. I do need to retain my GTRDC TDOAR sprint champion status after all...
ENGINE
I've gone for Litchfield Sport engine. The 2018 spec has some seriously lovely head work done to it. Reinforced head, ported and gas flowed but also copper valve seats and guides which are supposed to dissipate heat several times better than stock. they are also very shiny Also 'special' inlet and exhaust valves (LOL @ what special means but advised as being even more durable). It comes with LM spec cams. I don't know duration or lift I'm afraid but they apparently idle nicely and allow the car nice road manners.
It's extra expense over just a rods and piston build but with my torque objectives in mind I knew I needed the car to be able to rev. I also think having extra rev band with bigger turbos is important and will allow more flexibility when pushing on. My new rev limit will be 8000 /8500 depending on how it all comes together.
Some head pics
I'm not swimming in surplus cash so of course did consider other engine builders but eventually settled on Litchfield as I like their product and know the 2018 engines (and probably earlier) come with a number of little known improvements to things like the timing chains, VVT seals and other nice little touches. I also like the team there which is important. It should be a solid and reliable package.
Some pics of the engine:
TURBOS
My aim was a car that had a good but sensible torque level around 700lbft but could rev and make decent power. I knew I needed bigger turbos to enable this but I didn't want a lag monster or something that had terrible transient response. Everything I read about the EFR's made me want them. With the Litchfield manifold even more so. But they are so much money I didn't see them in my future. I was however very lucky to be in the right place at the right time when Rocky (G2 GUV) was considering a change from his EFR setup to some MASSIVE Boostlogic turbos. Rocky is a proper gent and really helped me out, and this has enabled me to get my hands on his Litchfield EFR 7663 set up. A bonus being that he had recently had them refurbished so they should be in great condition too. These come with the Litchfield manifold and mean the turbos are still in their native housing which is great for top end flow.
Now, some of you may realise that this is in fact the LM1200 turbo kit! This is the bit where my approach to tuning differs to the norm. Most people get turbos where the max HP is pretty much what they want and then run everything they can get from them. Nothing wrong with that but I am really keen to get a nice flat and LONG torque curve. These turbos can knock out 900lbs in the mid range but I just don't want or need that. I do however want 700lbs at 7500 / 8000 rpm. I think if it pulls off, the driving experience should be mega. With the car feeling faster and faster as it goes through the rev band. I also think with 'only' 700 lbs that the car will be really drivable
It's a gamble going for big turbos like this but the EFR spool is meant to be sensational. Lowest possible lag and amazing transient response so I hope the car is drivable and not just a laggy dog that's lacking in torque! My research suggests they should be fully on song by 4k rpm and pull hard through to 8000rpm or just over. This is around 1000rpm slower than stock but significantly more area under the curve from that point on. Hopefully!
I have more to write which I'll do soon. This will cover intercooler choice, fuelling and additional mods I've opted to go for. Plus the inevitable snags that come along when undergoing major surgery.
Feel free to comment or question anything.