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My cat sick orange GTR

13K views 53 replies 16 participants last post by  adz87kc 
#1 · (Edited)
I've had a few modified cars since passing my test but never documented what's been done to them and whilst I'm not a skilled photographer and eloquence is definitely not my strong point, I figure I'd give it a go. So here goes. . .

Friday 13th July 2018 I took the plunge and bought my GTR. I traded in a W204 C63 for it and whilst the AMG was a great car I never really felt like I bonded with it. M156 engine is a masterpiece and sounded great but it kind of felt like you sat on it rather than in it and couldn't hide it weight when pressing on. It was also difficult to tinker with; opposite 'problem' with the GTR as you're spoiled for choice in regards to parts.

Here it was after getting it home:
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It was left standard (come with a Miltek Y-pipe from Nissan) for a good few months whilst I got used to how it drove only adding a couple of little things. Import racing BMCS, bonnet dampers, Forge header tank, 316 undertray hardware and I added some sound deadening. It didn't really need the deadening but I had the stuff and I quite enjoy doing it so went for it regardless.
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It made more of a difference than I thought it would. Covered the door skins and added some 10mm closed cell foam behind the door cards too. The boot is still to be done but that's the easiest bit to do.

Fast forward a few months to March 2019 and I managed to pick up a LM Superstock intercooler for a decent price. Fitted it in a few hours on the drive without any drama. Two people needed to remove the bumper without damaging the front wings but it's a simple job for anyone thinking about giving it a go themselves.
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April road trip through the highlands :)
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Fast forward to June 2019 and it was due a service. I did the man maths and figured it'd be more cost effective to have it tuned at the same time as the service (because reasons...) so, I did.
I called a few places in the UK and the best feeling I got was from ACSpeedtech. Andy had plenty of time to answer my many questions and didn't try and go for the hard sell so I went for it.
It got it's service and I had a few parts fitted:
ACS intakes with K&N filters
Speed density kit
LM AT Power 72mm throttle bodies
Asnu 1050cc injectors
And Ecutek v7 tune.
I decided against dowpipes at this time because I didn't want the noise, smell or MOT hassle and at this point of tune not needed.
Runs 1.35 bar boost and around 630/640 bhp if I recall correctly. It's pretty quick.


August 15th was my first ever track night with the GTR. Good group of guys, mostly friends of friends, were all spot on and it was mostly fast BMWs with a couple of Mclarens, 911 Turbo and some more track focused cars.

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The Datsun performed flawlessly. It got pretty hot quickly but I kept an eye on the temps and come in after a cool down lap each time the temps started to creep up high and the brakes didn't last as long as I thought they would before fading. I kind of feel I missed a trick because I never timed any of my laps! The guys there were lap time daft but It never even crossed my mind I was just enjoying the car and getting used to how it was on track. It was a great night and it even managed a solid 6mpg :-D

A few days later whilst washing the car I found lumps of Dunlop stuck to the wheels. Must've got a good amount of heat into them:
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September/October 2019 I bought some more parts.
Fitted a 90mm GTC exhaust in September which was totally unnecessary but sounds nice and will be required later if (when) I decide to go for more power. Again, a really simple job to do yourself on the drive.
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#2 · (Edited)
October I managed to pick up a new set of wheels. TE37 Ultras.
20x10 ET30 and 20x11 ET15 for the rear. Not the most aggressive fitment you can get on a GTR but I figured the 11J would meant less unsprung weight (not that i'd notice) but mostly meant I can get away with 305 rears rather than comedy sized tyres.
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The R888r are coming off and going onto the OEM wheels when the Dunlops are done. On the TE37s I'm going to try the MPS4S. The wheels aren't seeing salt so not going on until spring time.

Black Friday come around so I bought more unnecessary parts that I talked myself into.
KW sleeve kit and a set of wrinkle finished HKS SSQVs. When fitting the SSQVs I decided to do some cosmetic engine work to so off come the inlet collector and upper boost pipes. I considered the Nismo engine cover (Nissan PN 14041-89S0A i think if anyone is after one) but went for a removable coating instead should I decide I wan't to change it again.

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KWs are a good bit firmer than MY17 suspension but they won't shake out your fillings. They also allow corner balancing so that's why I went for them rather than the Eibach Pro kit. At this point I think full coilovers would be wasted on me.

And here's how the engine looks for now:
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That's all for now. A good start.
Next up:
--- forged bottom end, some mild head work and new turbos (either hybrids or full frame). I've yet to decide who is going to do the work but I have 4 quotes to go over which is plenty to think about.
--- discs and pads better suited for track
--- MPS4S for the Rays
--- New silicone joiners for the TB > upper boost pipe
--- cosmetic exterior carbon
 
#3 ·
Brill write up and pics buddy. Great effort on getting elbows deep and doing that yourself. Looking forward to seeing how the build progresses.
 
#4 ·
coo, nice work mate.. some sweet mods going on!
 
#5 · (Edited)
I was hoping to have the car in for a build this month but due to the current situation we're all facing, it's going to have to wait. But needs must.
I can still work on the car at home :)

I've been looking at supporting mods for the build. Intercooler I'm still on the fence about but hoping the LM Superstock will work for now. I've got my eye on a couple from the US- Sheepey racing and a Rampage fabrications core. Both get good reviews on GTRLife and are reasonably priced.

Today however (and following a trip to A&E last night due to super unleaded in the eyes...) I fitted a new fuel system.
The ANSU 1050cc injectors I have will be fine at the power levels I'm aiming for but the fuel pumps needed looked at. I was for getting drop ins and leaving it there but I managed to get a LM high flow 360 system delivered in less than 24 hours so went for that instead.
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I also bought a license for EcuTek TCM. I was tired of the car laboring at low speeds and sometimes manual isn't welcome. Only driven a few miles on it but seems better than the MY17 TCM software even if its just holding 3rd a bit longer at town speeds.

Next up- use the rest of the Dunlop RFs and fit my MPS4S to the TE37s/R888r to the OEM Rays.
 
#7 ·
Thanks (y)

Originally I was for fitting an ETS kit with Garrett GTX2867R turbos but the seller couldn't get the turbos in a timescale that suited so I've let that idea go and now planning on EFR6758 in stock manifolds. The way it drives is key for me rather than a big power figure so hopefully the Borg Warner units hit the spot.
 
#12 ·
Another Black Friday come and went so I took advantage of the sales and the fact that my build still hasn't started yet.
I decided to get the last of the inlet parts that were on my shopping list and some other supporting mods.

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JCR inlet manifold

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AMS race intercooler. Decided on the 4.5" thick version so that the crash beam didn't have to be modified.

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AMS air oil separator to try and keep the inlet free of oil blow by. I figured that with the forged pistons that'll be going in that there may be more blow by than OEM pistons so this was a no brainer.

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GotBoost 3" chargepipes. I had the v band flange replaced (actually welded on top as the HKS flange fitted in/on it perfectly) with flanges for my HKS SSQV blow off valves and had them powder coated black.
 
#13 ·
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Quaife front ATB type differential.


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Billet front differential housing

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PRL front differential bearing housing and air pump blank plates.

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Radium fuel rails and their fitting kit with FRP, lines and boost referenced fuel pulse dampers. This kit runs the rails in parallel (deadheaded) and gets rid of the restrictive OEM fuel transfer pipe at the front of the rails however I've got -8ORB to -8AN male fittings for the front of the rails and plan to order a fuel transfer hose from BMRS (Pro black DR specifically) and run the rails in series.

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HKS stopper head gaskets, exhaust manifold gaskets and exterior carbon parts for the front of the car.
 
#14 ·
I also picked up a rear wing from LM. It's nice bit of kit and well worth it just for blocking out the headlamps from the cars behind at night. Might have it refinished with gloss lacquer to match the HKS carbon or sell it on and order a gloss one from Mine's Japan.
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The fittings that come with the wing from LM were a bit underwhelming so these were replaced with countersunk screws and anodised orange washers. I also hated the silver cap nuts when I spotted them in the rearview mirror so these were replaced with 304 steel caps finished in black.

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#17 ·
My car is currently being built and whilst it's in bits, a new exhaust is being fitted to better match 90mm downpipes.

I had a set of MY17 titanium tail pipes sat in the garage so I had a go oxidising them.
I borrowed a brazing torch and setup my 'workbench'.

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All was well until I run out of oxygen. The piece in progress started to get covered in soot but wiped off no problem- new bottles en route; to be continued. . .
 
#20 · (Edited)
It's been a few months since the last update but I finally got the car back from being built in July and I've put some miles on it.
The way it delivers power is great. Transient boost is instant when in a normal gear. I'm sure at 40mph in 6th you could floor it and there'd be no boost but in real life driving it's not an issue. There's dip in the dyno plot but so far, I can't feel the dip in power and it serves a purpose- to keep the transmission in one piece until I have it built.
As it stands just now it made 910bhp @ 1.3barg

Mahle custom VR38 3.8 piston set
Callies custom VR38 3.8 rod set
ACL race rod bearings
ACL race main bearings
King race thrust bearing
GSC conical valve spring kit (inc seats)
GSC billet S2 camshaft set
GSC inlet valve set (oem diameter)
GSC exhaust valve set (oem diameter)
GSC uprated inlet and exhaust valve guides
HKS head gasket set
ACSpeedtech custom G30-770 full turbo kit

The exhaust has also been replaced: 102mm stainless steel. I wanted a larger bore for headroom later on when the transmission is built and the new downpipes are 90mm rather than the usual 76mm so seemed daft to go from 2x90mm DP > 90mm Y pipe back. Also, there's less ground clearance with a 102 and I figure it'll be easier to have repaired when it bottoms out on bumps in the road.
 
#35 ·
Very nice mate i just got a bog standard car had it for 9 days i put a ypipe on it ive fell in love with the car cant imagine it much faster 😂😂🙈 i dont no much about building them etc and i cant help but ask if im too nosy tell me to GTF 😂 how much did al that fancy gear and the build cost you and what power has it got ???
 
#24 · (Edited)
Chassis:
I've never really got on with the MPS4S that were fitted after OEM Dunlops but now running them at 34psi has made a difference. Superpro caster bushes have been fitted up front whilst the engine was out- the caster change isn't as dramatic as other users online claim but it's there. I'm sure the Quafie diff is doing its thing too but so far, I can't single it out.

No pictures but Eibach ARBs have been fitted. No dramatic change in handling but another subtle improvement. Front is a half hour job, the rear was a right pain due to the droplinks. Ended up having to have them replaced:
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Next change for the chassis is the suspension. I feel like the adjustment of the damper setting in car is a distraction and I'm always reaching for the switch to see if the car 'feels better' on road surfaces with the 3 options so I'm going for a passive setup:

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#25 · (Edited)
The JCR inlet manifold is still to be fitted. I'm not sure it'll add anything to the power at this point but it looks too good to leave it in the box. The Radium fuel pulse damper on each rail were fouling the plenum runners so I plan to either fit an external FPD between the rails and the fuel pressure regulator or fit a FPR with a built in FPD. Either way, it's going to require a change to the fuel system- plan is to fit a return to tank system anyway. The Radium setup just now is deadheading in the fuel rails. Normal running is fine but upon initial startup the engine needs a couple of extra cranks before it fires up.
The next fitment issue with the JCR manifold is with the ATPower 72mm throttle bodies. The opening on the JCR manifold where the TB bolts onto is designed for OEM TB so is too narrow for 72mm.
A machine shop has made up adapters to fit the two together and it should work nicely:
76mm upper boost pipe > 72mm throttle body > tapering down to OE opening (~63mm)

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Which leads to the next fitment issue- I instructed the engine builder to weld a boss into the upper boost pipe for the air temperature sensor however they instead tapped the OEM inlet manifold and fitted the sensor there. Not a huge problem but I'll need to have the upper boost pipes modified again to accommodate the sensor and perhaps also have the path changed slightly to compensate for the additional angle introduced with the throttle body adapter.
And finally, the mounting plate where the JCR manifold attaches to the cylinder heads is thinner then OEM manifold so its likely that the rails will need spaced out to ensure a proper injector seal is achieved but will assess upon fitting.
 
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