RH9 R34

Question:

When your daily drive is a 2002 Porsche 911 turbo, what do you keep stashed in the garage for ‘occasional use’?
 
A – a modified Porsche

B – a Lamborghini

C – a Nissan

Answer:

Well, if you went with the underdog – C – you’re absolutely correct. Robert Marjan enjoys pedalling his Porsche turbo Monday to Friday but when he really wants to let himself run wild, he fires this machine into life – a R34 Skyline V-spec currently running 425kW at all four wheels!

Robert bought this immaculate and stormingly quick GT-R from a friend who had spent a lot of cash building it into a street/drag weapon. Robert had offered his input during the build, which saw the RB26DETT hung with a mouth-watering collection of brand-name go-fast goodies.

Intake and exhaust flow is virtually restriction-free thanks to a pair of HKS pod air filters and a huge 100mm Trust exhaust system. The standard Nissan ceramic turbochargers were also removed to make space for a pair of HKS 25/40 ‘chargers with internal wastegates.

Big boost pressure was part of the picture from Day 1 so no expense was spared with the fitment of an A’PEXi 6 inch thick Drag-spec air-to-air intercooler. A pair of Blitz blow-off valves is installed together with polished intercooler piping and silicone hoses.

In the early stages the engine was left untouched aside from a pair of aggressive camshafts and adjustable sprockets.

With boost pressure and power levels expected to go through the roof, a nasty big set of injectors and a high flow fuel system were essential. Six 1000cc injectors feed from a HKS rail working with a SX adjustable pressure regulator. Take a look in the boot and you’ll find a swirl tank providing a dependable supply of fuel for a pair of parallel Bosch Motorsport pumps. Braided stainless lines are used for the entire system.

Controlling this monster of a fuel system is a plug-in A’PEXi Power FC unit. This is configured with a larger pair of Nissan airflow meters and SplitFire ignition coils. The rev limit is set at around 9500 rpm. Boost pressure is controlled by a Blitz electronic system.

With the previous owner focussed on running some fast quarter mile times, the AWD driveline was beefed up with a Hollinger gearbox teamed with aftermarket diffs for maximum strength and traction. However, since coming into Robert’s possession, the car has had its standard 6 speed ‘box refitted along with the standard diffs – this makes it a much more streetable machine. A 4-plate OS Gikken clutch ensures there’s no driveline slip but pedal pressure remains manageable.

Robert tells us he was attracted to this car because he knew it had only the highest quality parts and had been properly tuned by the team at Sydney’s Croydon Racing Developments. But just to be on the safe side, Robert ordered an engine freshen up using JUN rods and forged pistons (keeping the standard static compression ratio) along with milder JUN camshafts. A 9 litre sump helps ensure engine longevity.

Boost pressure has also been eased to around 2.0 Bar (29 psi) and with conservative timing and fuelling, the car has recently punched out 425kW at all fours on Croydon’s Dyno Dynamics chassis dyno. The previous set-up saw over 500kW at the treads.

The suspension and brakes have been upgraded to cope with the extra grunt. The already impressive factory Brembo brake arrangement now employs slotted discs and Pagid pads, while the suspension is tightened up with adjustable coil-overs and an ARC front tower brace. Note that the R34 GT-R is also a much tidier handler than the R32 model – its active AWD system is much improved and controllable.

Robert admits he was also drawn to purchase the car because of its appearance – and who could blame him?! The rare purple chameleon paint (which has recently been freshened-up) is a real eye-catcher, as are the 18 x 9 and 18 x 11 Racing Hart rims wearing 255/35 and 275/35 Falken rubber. Other subtle touches are the carbon fibre mirrors, Nismo side skirts and front bar - and we mustn’t forget the Nismo Z-tune fluted bonnet that set back the previous owner a cool AUD$10,000!

Inside its pretty much R34 GT-R, which means there’s big bear-hugging seats and a trick LCD centre display for various engine parameters. The only change is a shift light and a Nismo 11,000 rpm tacho/300 km/h instrument cluster.

Robert tells us the engine has all the ingredients to run a 9 second pass but, unfortunately, the clutch blew when the previous owner made an attempt in its previous 500+ kW ATW guise. The best time it ever managed was a 10.8, which is way off its real potential. Robert guesses the car should currently run another 10 second pass given its less aggressive tune and stock gearbox.

But whatever the case, Robert isn’t too keen too push the limits of this car - he’s got another machine that he likes to push to its limits...

Did we tell you about the 8 second quarter mile Nissan 200SX that resides in the garage alongside the Porsche and Skyline?

Contacts:
Croydon Racing Developments                                                         +61 2 9648 4264
                                                                                                                    http://www.croydonautosports.com.au/