First Mods on a R32?

Motorex says that sometime in the next two weeks my R32 will finally be completely legalized, ready to take home. Finally!!! :biggrin:

The question I have is: If I'm aiming for somewhere in the area of 400 hp, and want to keep it with a lot of low end-torque and quick spool up, what should I be looking at? Basically I want the car set up ideally for road-course races or autocross. So what upgrades would be best for my car? And what brands would you recommend for the Skyline GTR? (like for the best fitting exhaust, intercooler, etc...)

Any help will be appreciated!

Twin HKS 25 35's, HKS FCON V PRO, any intake as they all perform about the same, downpipe, full exhaust, 880-1000 cc injectors, HKS or Tomei cam shafts (I recommend the HKS as they have adjustable sprockets + or - 4 degrees) ARC 4 Core intercooler, ARC radiator, ORC or OS giken twin plate clutch, and top it off with the suspension package of your choice ( for this and only this, I would stay away from HKS as many of my customers have been having rebound setting problems which create a terrible knocking noise)

For starters you can listen to those WHO think they know or ones that have actually done it.

For the power you are looking for you can achieve it pretty simply and cheap on the cost.
I would suggest getting another intercooler as the factory one is rated to just on that power level. A simple bar and plate 600x300x100 would more than do it. check are your local area to see what shops can make you up a custom one with tanks that will use the existing pluming.
Decent pod filters such as either Apexi, Trust, HKS. A good big bore of around 3 1/4 dia should be fine. If you can get your hands on Trust down pipes they are more than worth it or get a set made up from the turbo dumps to the exhaust.

It may pay you at either a fuel pressure guage or an exhaust temp guage to make sure you catch if the fuel pump packs up which is common on the R32's as they are getting old.

You can add either an aftermarket ecu or piggy back a fuel/ignition controler. You will need to adjust both to properly tune it. The rest of the engine is fine the way it is. Providing your turbos are in good condition you won't have to replace them. The factory GTR ceramic turbos are rated to 220hp each but you can squeeze a bit more with ignition timing and fuel.

I've gotten just on 450hp out of the factory turbos as noted in my signature. That is at 1.2kgs or about 17.4 psi of boost. Now while I would never suggest running it constantly that high, they will tolerate the odd blat. Get yourself a profecB boost controller. they are the best bang for the buck and will do fine. I've set min to .85kg low boost, 1.1 high but can adjust it up to 1.2 when I want to. They don't spike much at all about 1psi.

Thanks for the suggestion, Razor.

So there's really not much difference I take in the upgrade paths between a WRX and the GTR. Get more air into it, free up the exhaust, re-tune the ecu. Easy enough! But would you recommend, if I had the cash to do it now, upgrading the turbo's to something stainless-steel and upgrading the fuel pump to something more reliable?

Tell me, what do you think of this setup: Apex'i PowerFC computer with boost control, cat-back exhaust by whoever, Blitz K3 Turbo Kit with an SUS air intake, and Blitz Intercooler (there's not a shop anywhere in this part of the country that would even know how to custom build an intercooler. Nor would I trust one, even if they did.) Of course, complete gauge set with EGT, Fuel-Pressure, Boost, etc...

Here's another question: did you dyno-tune your R32, and if so, where'd you get that done? Since there's not a four-wheel dyno for thousands of miles around where I live, I was wanting to pick up my GTR from Motorex, get it tuned while I'm still in California, then have it shipped home. Suggestions?

You can always upgrade the turbos if it would fit your budget. Doing the fuel pump, well you and it also wouldn't hurt but bare in mind there isn't really too many better intank pumps. You should be able to source it through Nissan and they are very easy to change. The access is through the trunk.

I don't know anything about the K3 turbo kit. You wouldn't want turbos much bigger than the HKS 25-30's as lag becomes quite a bit, depending on the exhaust housing A/R ratings.

As far as Intercoolers go gee mate not sure what to tell you there. Trust, HKS, Apexi, ARC, etc are way over priced. To give you an example here in New Zealand EVERYTHING is fricking expensive. The brand name intercoolers start at like $1,500 USD where I got one made up in the South Island for under $475 USD.

Yes my car has been dynoed on a rolling road, and tuned at the same place. I'm fortunate enough to live about 2 miles from the tuners.
A quick fact for you. You don't have to use a 4wd dyno. Unlike the R33 and R34 GTR's the R32 do not have a preload on the transfercase clutch packs. There for pulling the fuse in either the engine bay or the small one on the fuse pannel in the lower part of the dash is fine. However in saying that I would never suggest driving it for extended periods with the fused pulled as it would begin to over heat the clutch packs up. Another option is to drop the front drive shaft from the transfer case if you are more comfortable about it. Until the place that I use got the 4wd put in he used to drop the drive shaft on all the 4wd Skylines.

The only reason I mentioned the mods in my last post is bacause these are EXACTLY the mods a customer of mine just did. He is putting about 450 HP at 1.2 bar, and his car is running like new. Before he did these mods however, he changed his head gasket and all his radiator piping, timing belt, water pump, thermostat,etc, just to make sure that the parts could handle the power increase. Befor you do any real tuning modifications, make sure to change belts and all the small stuff. this will help prevent any failures related to the increased power.

Oh, and if you would like some pics, they are readily available.
Razor: PM me about the intercooler stuff.

The only reason I mentioned the mods in my last post is bacause these are EXACTLY the mods a customer of mine just did. He is putting about 450 HP at 1.2 bar, and his car is running like new. Before he did these mods however, he changed his head gasket and all his radiator piping, timing belt, water pump, thermostat,etc, just to make sure that the parts could handle the power increase. Befor you do any real tuning modifications, make sure to change belts and all the small stuff. this will help prevent any failures related to the increased power.


while it is always better to over engineer than under engineer sometimes it does become very costly.
Doing the cam belt and waterpump should be standard practice unless you know exactly when it was changed last. The head gasket (factory) should be good for up to 1.35bar of continous boost. Anything beyond that it is and always will be better to be safe than sorry, I agree on what you are saying though.

Thanks for all the assists, guys! I'll keep you posted when I get the car, and how it's coming along. :)

This is some good info here! Going to work on these few mods first.

Is it worth it to throw twin Z32 MAF? If so, does it need to be retune?

yes it does need to be tuned. You will also need a way to tell the computer it has those afm's in it.

If you are looking for under 600hp there is no need to use them. They offer a wider band than the factory Skyline ones.

LOOKS:
1 lower 4 paintjob
2 mags 5 tint
3 custom kit 6 bonet scoop or CF
PERFORMANCE:
1 front mount intercooler
2 exhaust system
3 boost controller
4 HKS twin kit (if thats too much power just go with single kit)

If you end up taking my advife you probably
wont but just in case you should ask the
person who is going to carry out these mods
for extra engine mods like computer chips,
air filters,etc.
if you are willing to take this advice expect to pay over 40-60 k and use top of the range equipment make sure its very important.