R35 GT-R - Built with a Tuner's Philosophy

The Nissan R35 GT-R boasts a virtual smorgasbord of specifications to drive car lovers wild. Comparisons of power figures, quarter mile times, lap times at the Nürburgring, wheel masses and other trivia could go on for days.

But have you ever considered the philosophy behind the much fabled R35 GT-R?

Image courtesy Nissan

The R35’s styling is strikingly Japanese, drawing on characteristics of Japan’s quirky culture; but if you look past its Japanese skin, you will see that there is aftermarket tuning in its DNA. The R35 is built much in the same way as aftermarket tuning houses (in Japan, Australia and elsewhere) built R32’s, R33’s and R34’s of yesteryear. Forged, lightweight, alloy wheels; upgraded Brembo brakes; higher output motor – the R35’s spec sheet reads more like a nicely upgraded car than a factory standard. In fact, those familiar with the infamous late night, top speed runs of Top Secret’s gold GT-R would not be at all surprised by the 300+km/h top speed of the R35.

A lot has been said about the difficulty of modifying the R35’s factory ECU. While it can be cracked, or worked around, this is not the crux of making improvements to the R35. The biggest challenge is that Nissan has already taken most if not all of the proverbial low hanging fruit and indeed some of the higher hanging fruit too. The R35 is a far cry from past performance Nissans where a simple exhaust, intercooler and boost upgrade yielded massive gains. Nissan’s engineers have spent a lot of time getting the most from every aspect of the R35 GT-R from chassis to engine. Therefore, any improvements will need to be equally well thought out.

So, how can we possibly get any more power from the new Godzilla? The simple answer lies in Nissan's marketing catchphrase of "the ultimate supercar for anyone, anywhere, anytime". No matter how good the GT-R is, it is still a compromise in different ways. Does a supercar need an 11 speaker Bose sound system? Does a luxury car need to run a sub 12 second quarter mile? Is it reasonable to expect the GT-R to dominate at the drag strip as well as the circuit? It all depends on your perspective.

Image courtesy Nissan

As a street legal, luxury supercar, Nissan have come close to perfection with the R35 GT-R. Nevertheless, there are areas where the R35 GT-R can improve if you set clear goals. For example, if you want to set a blistering sub 10 second quarter mile pass in your R35 GT-R, it is possible. In fact, the benchmark has already been set and will surely be improved upon. If you want to get better track times, then measures to reduce weight from the arguably chubby R35 would logically be the first place to look. Just want a streetable supercar? Then Nissan has probably got it right for you from the factory, but there is still room for improvement here and there.

With that in mind, we are going to try to get more performance from our new test R35 GT-R, focusing on making gains where the R35 can really shine – at the race track – while still maintaining its daily driveability. We will probably start with a titanium exhaust system and some simple weight saving measures. From there, an upgraded HKS 800ps turbo kit would be a good start, don’t you think?

Image courtesy Nissan

We will keep you posted with our progress towards improving our test R35 GT-R, including back-to-back comparisons. Best of all, any products we use on our test R35 GT-R will be available to you to use on your own R35 GT-R.

Stay tuned or feel free to contact us if you cannot wait to get your hands on an upgrade for your R35 GT-R