HKS GT600 Kit for R35 GT-R - A Landmark on the Way to the "Speed Region of the Limit"

You might recall that HKS invited us to "the speed region of the limit", which we determined would be somewhere north of 800hp for the Nissan R35 GT-R via the HKS GT800 kit. We have accepted the invitation to this other worldly place and we are well on our way in our test R35. But, along the way to the GT800, we thought that we would stop off at a landmark - the GT600.

I thought about teasing you slowly with every detail of the modifications involved in the GT600 kit, but instead I will just hit you with the dyno sheets. Our standard R35 GT-R made 296 kW (397 hp) ATW in stock trim on our Dyno Dynamics 4WD dynamometer.

We started here...

Followed this map...

...and ended up here.

Fitted with the HKS GT600 kit, our R35 GT-R made 379 kW (508 hp) ATW. Keeping in mind that this power was measured at the wheels and accounting for transmission losses, HKS certainly delivers its promise of 600 hp at the engine. In fact, this is probably a little bit conservative and I would expect this combination to make slightly more than 600 hp at the engine. Nevertheless, the forces between rubber and road are what count. In this regard, we have made an improvement of 28%! Furthermore, the odd flat spot in the power curve has disappeared. For the record, the first (stock) power run was recorded in 4th gear; however,  we needed to record the second (GT600) power run in 3rd gear because the engine was hitting the rev limiter in 4th gear before it reached maximum power.

Where to next? How far can we go?

It will probably take me a few posts to explain everything that is included in the kit as well as compare the HKS parts to the stock Nissan ones. I can tell you this - most of the parts are shiny, but none of them are there just for looks. Stay tuned!