Last Post of the Year (Really)!

Friends, on this last day of 2012, I am looking back and thinking about many things that I experienced this year. But mostly, how precious life is, how limited our time on this Earth is, and how important it is not to waste, or at least try not waste, a single moment of that time.  I hope we all can take a few minutes to reflect a bit on what 2012 meant to us, and how we hope 2013 will turn out to be.

With respect to this blog, I am always thrilled when people write to me with their comments – both good, bad, and constructive – or refer to this blog on internet forums and such - so thank you.  To get feedback when all I'm really doing is documenting my adventures with my car, is amazing. So thank you everyone who has spent time and energy reading this blog, and especially those who took even more time to leave comments.  I do have in mind some more interesting projects for 2013 and beyond, so please continue to visit here on occasion. 

Anyway… I hadn’t planned on being philosophical and this IS a car blog, so let me get back to business.

As I stated in my last post, I had taken my car to RAPT for some year end tweaks. Not only did Kabe-san finish early (I picked up the car Saturday, the only day recently it hasn’t rained!) but I am happy to report the car looks amazing.  That write up and the photos I will do in the new year, so stay tuned.  What really made me happy, however, is that Kabe-san noticed that my car wasn’t starting up as smoothly as he thought it should.  So, he did a bit of checking, and noticed that my spark plugs looked like this:

Now THAT is carbon buildup!!!

Yes folks, I will admit – I had not changed the plugs since I had the new engine put in at MINE’S, over 5 years and almost 30,000 kms ago! (then again, ONLY 30,000 kms? Huh?)

So what to do? Some quick research and I found out that NGK was preferred over Denso, and that there were mixed reviews on iridium vs. platinum.   And at this time of year, all the shops are closed, and ordering on the internet wasn’t going to get me new plugs anytime soon.  Oh, and naturally, I also looked at the Nismo website to see what they had, and yes they had Nismo branded NGKplugs… of course with the usual 200+% Nismo mark-up… ouch.

Luckily for me, Kabe-san has a few contacts at Trust/Greddy, and guess what. They ALSO carry NGK spark plugs – and without the huge markup (supposedly because Trust ordered a huge batch before there was a sharp increase in platinum prices…)  So anyway, these are what I now have in my car – their top of the line racing plugs, in #8 heat range:

Of course I paid much less than retail, too! 

The difference is very noticeable, the engine starts up easier, and actually sounds different (feels a bit smoother too).  So I’m pretty happy with the result.

As an aside, long time readers may remember these:

Thin copper washers in various thicknesses

The theory here is called “indexing” spark plugs – that is, using the washers to make sure that when screwed in, the plugs all end up facing the same direction – so the gap in each spark plug is aligned with the intake side of the cylinder head… the reason being that the electrode then doesn’t get in the way of preventing maximum spark/ air-gas interaction and thus the best possible combustion.  But now that I have the Okada Projects Plasma Directs installed, I don’t think it matters that much anymore, so I probably won’t re-visit this mod.

So anyway, just a reminder to everyone  out there doing beginning of the year maintenance – don’t forget the obvious!

Be safe, and I'll see everyone in 2013!

Some End of Year Tweaks

This year I have not had much of a chance to drive my car due to a super busy schedule (work, school, family, etc.) however I did try to improve my car with interesting mods in my spare time.  It’s now December, with less than 8 days to the end of the year, just enough time to get a few more things done. Some things I’ll do myself, but other stuff, I need the help of a pro.

So I took the plunge and visited Kabe-san at RAPT (you may remember them, they tinted my rear windows) last Thursday night.  Luckily for me, he is so busy at the end of year, he’s been burning the midnight oil, so I was able to drop off my car at 10:30pm last night.

Not only does he do windows, but he’s pretty much a jack of all trades, or at least knows people who can inexpensively and efficiently fix things all things car-related.

Here’s one example - I’ve noticed that, as the car ages, certain things wear out. One noticeable bit is the rubber molding around the rear window.  Check this out, see how it’s separated? And this happened on both sides.  

It’s mostly just ugly, but I was beginning to worry about water seeping in, so decided to have it fixed. Stay tuned for how this turns out (removal of the rear window is necessary, apparently...)

I’ve also debated about what to do with my front lip spoiler. From the factory, it came molded in black ABS plastic – makes sense, as when you scrape, there is no paint to scrape or crack, it simply scrapes the plastic away. However as I bought my car used, I had discovered that the previous owner had painted (badly) the front lip spoiler black, which led me to not only repaint it black, but also to, in the end, cover it with 3M Din-oc fake carbon fiber material.  The Din-oc actually looks pretty good, except in complex areas such as the air intakes for brake cooling. But, I think the Din-oc trend is now a thing of the past – bring on the REAL carbon fiber, everywhere!

Of course I had always meant to fix this, but what a pain. So, I’ve asked Kabe-san to fix it, although at the moment I’m not sure whether to go with semi-flat black, or body color. Opinions, gentle readers?

And speaking of carbon fiber – allow me to save everyone out there some money. These Nismo “carbon” B-pillar covers are possibly the worst product that Nismo sells.

If you’ve never seen one in person, don’t bother. Yes, they may contain real carbon fiber, but since it’s essentially a gigantic sticker… well, like any sticker it will someday peel off - in my case, after only a year! So these will have to go, and I will either revert to the original side sills or find real carbon replacements.  The issue with real carbon is that, the weave should match other bits of carbon on the car. At the moment, with my rear spoiler blade/end caps in carbon fiber, I would want any other carbon product to have the same weave, for consistency’s sake.

Finally – a sneak peak. These were waiting for me at Kabe-san’s garage last night. Anyone care to guess this is? Hint, the OLD Nismo logo.

If I don't get the chance to say so - Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! I DO have some car related projects to keep me busy during the break, we shall see how they go. In any case, see you all in 2013!

Another Modern Upgrade – and Likely a World’s First?

Thanks to my good friend Rei Kato at GENTEX Japan, I was able to acquire, and then (and more importantly) have GENTEX Project Engineer Yosuke Hashizume outfit my car with this: that’s right, a GENTEX auto-dimming mirror with not only a built-in digital compass but also a 3.3 inch LCD back-up monitor!

GENTEX, as many of you know, is a US company known mainly for its hi-tech rear view mirrors  (they also supply those electronic dimming windows on the Boeing 787s).  Most cars nowadays come standard with (or at least offer as an option) some kind of auto-dimming mirror, and usually the more expensive the car, the more features on the mirror as well.

It turns out that GENTEX Japan is located only 5 minutes from where I live, so it was easy to drive on over today to meet the guys and get the install done.  Hashizume-san told me he has, just this year, already installed over 100 similar mirrors to various cars – a lot of which are prototypes of new cars as well as personal cars of automobile manufacturer engineers and managers (i.e., those guys who make the decision to have their cars come with these hi-tech mirrors).  So clearly he knew what he was doing, I could not believe how fast he did the install (although he told me that this was his first ever GT-R install…and to his knowledge, the first ever 2^nd generation GT-R to be fitted with one of these mirrors!).

Anyway, the first step obviously was to remove the old mirror:

Leaving this ugly hole (anyone have any ideas as to what I could install there, or otherwise hide it?):

Then came the interesting bit – using what Rei and Hashizume-san called an “auto-clave” they used suction and high heat to glue a wedge to the windshield glass.  The machine looked like a mechanical tentacle with a sucker mouth at the end.

While the sucker mouth-thing was heating up the glass, Hashizume-san ran the wiring down from the headliner, through the A-pillar to tap into the fuse box on the driver’s side kick panel.  

He then ran the camera wiring under the floor carpet and back into the trunk (after we removed the rear seats), and then installed a rear view camera next to the one I installed that’s hooked up to my navi.

  

The nice thing about this mirror is that it has a built in LCD 3.3 inch monitor – to be used with a back-up camera. Now I already have a Pioneer back-up camera hooked up to my 7 inch Pioneer Navi screen, but it makes sense to have both the video view and actual visual view together – on the mirror only – when backing up.  When backing up usually I have to balance looking out both side mirrors, the Navi AND the rear view mirror.  And, as Rei pointed out, there are differences you don’t notice until you see both screens in action at the same time, namely the resolution of the GENTEX LCD screen is much crisper than the Navi screen. (I’ll try to post some photos later – watch this space).

There are other differences too. The GENTEX mirror has more surface area compared to the stock mirror.

It also has the built in compass and of course hopefully the auto dimming function completely eliminates the glare from cars with super bright lights who try to follow me at night. You may have noticed that this model mirror has three (3) Homelink buttons for automatic garage doors. Unfortunately I don’t have a 3 car garage (yet) but being an optimist maybe I’ll be able to use all three buttons someday.

Finally - one possible drawback is that it weighs about 600g compared to old mirror which is about 150g. So if you’re one of those types who is trying to engage in a weight reduction program for your GT-R, this is not a device for you.  Also, the weight also means the wedge really needs to be glued properly to the glass. But if properly done (and this is why this project could not be DIY), I think the utility is hard to beat.

Thank you again GENTEX Japan, Rei and Hashizume-san!

Interim Post – Some Recent Random Observations

Gentle readers, as I finally had a day off from work (national holiday today when I wrote this - Friday the 24th), I just wanted to post a few recent thoughts and observations involving my car that I had as they are all on scattered topics (not worth writing about alone), all in one writing.

Remember this install? The Nagisa auto brace:

While I was able to feel a difference immediately, I assumed that this type of brace was used only on older cars that were probably designed before automakers had access to supercomputers and hence could be improved upon with a simple bolt on.  But look at this, which I recently found in a current model year catalog for the Lexus GS cars:

Yes that’s right – an almost identical brace, in the same location! Presumably, supercomputers also agree that an efficient way to improve body rigidity even in today’s cars is by way of this type of bolt on brace. Amazing.

Going even further back – I had installed these underfloor aerodynamic devices

Daytona Ground Effectors. As I recall the car felt slightly more planted with them installed. Unfortunately with the addition of some underfloor Nismo bracing, these Effectors had to be removed as they used the same mounting points, but I continued to wonder what could be done to help airflow under the car.

Looking at this photo – taken from the same Lexus catalog as the photo above – shows that modern cars also use under chassis aerodynamic tweaks in order to improve airflow. Interesting. I’m sure that Toyota spent lots of money and lots of wind tunnel time to perfect these under chassis bits, making them minimally intrusive while maximally effective.  As I obviously I can’t replicate this on my car (unless someone wants to lend me a wind tunnel and a computer or two), I think the Ground Effectors may be the most cost effective way to go. So, I may have to rethink about their placement under my car.

Finally, I’m happy to report that I was finally able to take the car out for a full blast run, including a quick high speed run on the expressway, to test out the full breadth of the Okada Plasma Directs.  

In a word, awesome.  There is definitely a difference in how the car accelerates. Yes there is more power off the line, and also the engine revs up more smoothly and there seems to be more torque throughout the entire RPM range.  Not only could I tell there was a difference, it was enough of a difference that the new found acceleration was addicting, I was lucky not to get a speeding ticket that night.  Of course, part of the difference in engine performance might have come from the Tomei exhaust (which I uncorked) as well as the colder than usual air, but this would explain only part of the difference in response I think. So as I said before, a worthwhile addition, however get all of the other engine mods done first!

So what's next? Stay tuned...

A New Project - an R33 GT-R Toolkit, Part 2

 As I’m not a rich man, I have to buy my tools piecemeal, just like most other people (or maybe if I've been good, Santa drops off a nice set...). Especially when the tools of choice are expensive.

As I posted before, I’ve decided to outfit my car with high grade NePros tools by KTC, arguably Japan’s most famous toolmaker.  Last time I had ordered and received the ratchet wrench, extension, and a few sockets.  This time around, I ordered and received the following:

 Spanners in 8mm,10mm, 12mm, and 14mm sizes, and needlenose pliers.

Gorgeous! I really don’t want to use these tools! But in putting these tools into the KTC bag, I immediately realized that, while the bag itself is nice and compact (see my hand for comparison):

And I have relatively small hands too!

We have a problem – not enough space for the other tools I still want to get!

Yes everything I bought so far fits, but I still need a few more tools...

So this KTC bag idea ends up being short lived. So now, my quest includes a larger bag or case of some kind…one idea that I’m considering would be a small plastic or even aluminum case of some kind. If aluminum, a cheap one as it’s bound to get dinged around.  Either way, in order to keep the tools from moving around would have to have straps or maybe some kind of foam with cutouts in the shape of the tools… help this is getting out of hand quickly!

One idea -with tools that are akin to jewels, or high priced camera equipment, why not have them displayed in a foam lined case? Like this:

I suppose the challenge would be to find the right size aluminum case. And then figure out how to cut foam to fit? What do people think?

And then there is the matter of storage in my car itself. The R35 tool kit is designed apparently to fit into a space below the passenger footwell. So for my car, where to? Just throwing it into the trunk seems a waste, especially with the time and effort to put this kit together...

Next - I will finish getting the tools I think I need, and then decide on what kind of case/bag to go with...(and yes, "carbon" is tempting too...) Stay tuned!

Okada Projects PlasmaDirects...but Pre-Modified? (Part 2)

Installation:

 So when I opened the package, this is what I saw.  Six very pretty blue coils in the box, all wrapped in plastic, and then a dedicated harness for the R33 GT-R.  

There were other bits and pieces which you can see at the top. (which I did not realize were electrical connectors for the harness for until AFTER I finished wiring…) which I didn't technically need following the directions, but as I discovered later would have been the smarter choice.

Anyway, first step was to remove everything in the way – this includes the tower bar, and the rubber breather tubes that on my car are connected to the Nismo Oil Separator.  Once out of the way, it was easy to remove the 8 Allen bolts holding the center cover (the one with the Skyline GT-R logo) on. However, in order to completely remove the center cover, the wiring involving the transistor unit also had to be disconnected. Once this was done, I was finally looking at this.

The next step was to remove the old harness (carefully) 

and then the old coils, which I then replaced one by one with the PlasmaDirects – making sure to ensure that the coil orientation stayed true to the OEM coils. This is important due to how the harness fits.  Only two bolts hold each coil in, and you reuse these bolts with the PlasmaDirects. Here is a comparison of the old and new:

Once the new coils were in, the new harness was clicked in. Then, the real challenge began. The new wiring harness is supplied with the male pin leads already done up – so the idea is to for you to cut and install the female leads on the transistor side (making sure that you keep the numbers straight for each coil – hence the markings on the bottom of the transistor as shown).

Putting aside the fact that there is very little space to work on this, I decided that I wanted to solder the female leads to the wires, in order to ensure proper connectivity. 

About an hour later, with my fingers aching, I was done. I hooked the pins together, making sure not to mix up the wires (each lead comes with a number from 1 to 6 to ensure you don't), then affixed the nifty metal plate to the bottom of the engine cover, and replaced the cover.

So now for a quick drive.

Driving Impressions:

Turning on the ignition, the exhaust note was definitely different. Hard to describe, but sounded a bit raspier and also slightly quieter than before.  As I had disconnected the battery for safety reasons, and also to put the ECU in learning mode, I went through the recommended procedure for learning mode – idled for a few minutes, then turned on the A/C while idling.  The engine sounded fine, although when the A/C compressor came on, it seemed to make more noise than usual.  But what was amazing was, even though the car was still in the garage, the amount of stinky exhaust was much less than what I had noticed before. Of course it wasn’t completely clean burning, but instead of choking fumes threatening to kill me after about 90 seconds, it was more like 4 minutes until the same effect… I then hopped in and took the car out. 

Once actually driving – well the car seems to have more torque from the get go. Starting from a red light, the car seemed to want to leap forward.  I guess it felt like the engine was more “lively” so in essence I would say that there is definitely more torque on tap, which I could feel at lower RPMs.  Hard to say the car had more power, but the throttle did seem more sensitive to input. But with the car already making over 500ps, gains in torque at higher RPM were hard to detect.
This is consistent with the reviews in Japan (there are tons more but these are just those for the RB26 GT-Rs):

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/1546009/car/1144069/4673628/parts.aspx (definite reduction in smoke)

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/424045/car/338530/2151214/parts.aspx (cleaner rear bumper, quieter idle, more torque.) 

http://review.rakuten.co.jp/item/1/259645_10189374/1.1/ (no stress on engine at low and high speeds, should have bought earlier (note this is the non Jing version))

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/1112784/car/857889/3749746/parts.aspx (reduction of knocking, extend engine life, increase in power, increase in torque, increase in response, reduction of vibration, faster on boost, stable boost, no damage to plugs.)

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/305490/car/1079185/4591252/parts.aspx (crisp acceleration from start/low revs.) 

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/361225/car/265333/1291249/parts.aspx (less engine vibration, more midrange torque.) 

The 4, not 5 stars given by some all reflect the relative high cost.

Obviously I will have to wait awhile to report back on whether my bumper remains cleaner longer, and if there is an improvement in gas mileage - as well as a full drive report (ie continued high revs).  In the meantime, I will go ahead and say this is a worthwhile mod, easily installable but probably something that can be saved to the very last after all suspension, engine oil/cooling, exhaust, etc. mods have all been done.

Looking forward to people's comments! Placebo effect, or does this make sense?

Okada Projects PlasmaDirects… but Pre-modified? (Part 1)

So for the past few years I’ve heard about, read about, and researched this ignition device:

The Okada Projects PlasmaDirects - described as a replacement for the stock coils, but with increased performance, as described here on the Okada Projects USA website and specifically for the R32/R33 GT-Rs, here on the dedicated Okada Projects (Japan) website.

Here are some graphs taken from the Japanese Okada Projects website showing:
1) Difference in spark energy (black is stock, red is PlasmaDirects):

Normal spark

Spark is twice as powerful

2) Showing reduction in ignition noise

Showing noise

Reduction in noise

3) Multiple discharges

Only one discharge

Multiple discharges

For the R33 and R32 GT-Rs, as the amplifiers are contained within each of the Okada coils themselves, the PlasmaDirects, in addition to having more spark energy and multiple spark discharge, also do away with the transistor unit, which, being susceptible to early degradation due to the heat of the engine, is often a cause of ignition problems.

Here you can see the transistor unit, it's the grilled silver metal box on the back of the coil cover:

The Okada product itself seems similar to the direct ignition coils sold by Splitfire, which are priced less. Much less. While normally that would be an attractive proposition, I had heard and read about problems associated with this brand. And so, having spent LOTS of money for the Mine’s engine, there was no way I was going to risk being cheap this time. Research on the Okadas revealed either glowing reviews (all in Japan with GT-Rs) or “blah too expensive, not much difference” write ups on English language forums (for various other vehicles). But in any case, no reports of problems associated with the part.

Here ares some of those Japanese links:

http://skyline.chu.jp/gt-rmodify13.htm

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/443539/car/359964/3081019/parts.aspx

http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/317117/car/213148/2448992/parts.aspx

Consistent with my goal of bringing my car into the 21^st century, one thing I’ve wanted to do with the engine is to improve its efficiency, but maintain its performance. In the past, I messed around with a homemade “ram-air” system which I (placebo effect?) honestly believe made a slight difference in engine sound and pick up, but have not, to this date, experimented with spark or fuel.  And when I say “efficiency” – I am talking about gas mileage, cleaner burning, fewer hydrocarbons produced (standing behind my car with the engine at idle, one notices how poorly the fuel is burnt – especially as I think the sport catalytic converter may be on its last legs…)

So, having also asked around (and as my friend Thomas Mangum installed a set without any apparent problems), I decided that the next step would be these PlasmaDirects. Especially as he claims to run NO catalytic converter, yet his exhaust is not as “stinky” as mine!

Hence I began searching for the best price I could get on the Okadas, but soon discovered that well known tuning shop Jing TechnoEngineering (aka simply as "Jing-R") – claimed to sell an improved version of the PlasmaDirects -  having done something to the circuitry to improve upon the originals (unfortunately, their asking for price for their unit negated any discounts I could find).  Exactly what Jing-R did so is not stated anywhere, but the differences in this "kai" (改) version are supposedly as follows (translation below):

“Using the Okada as the base, Jing-R has pursued the basics of improvements in acceleration, response, and boost onset.  By increasing the number and strength of the spark, and changes to the timing, we were able to make following tangible improvements:

1)    Improvement to response

2)    Improved acceleration

3)    Improved boost onset

4)    Reduction in percentage of carbon build up

For 1-3, normally upon acceleration, needed additional fuel is injected into the cylinders, resulting in a high concentrate of fuel, but not all of it can be burned during acceleration and this unburnt fuel is can be seen as black smoke expelled from the exhaust. 

With more efficient combustion due to the PlasmaDirects, there is an increase in combustion pressure, which leads to quicker onset of boost, and faster acceleration.  As there is now more combustion pressure, there will be a change in the exhaust note.

As for 4), with a reduction in the percentage of carbon build up due to more complete burning at all engine rev levels, the life of the O2 sensor will be extended, and there will be less carbon buildup in the combustion chamber, the pistons, piston rings, and valves.”

Anyway so that is the theory. Just how different the standard PlasmaDirects are, compared to this Jing-R version, will probably be difficult to determine, unless someone has driven the same car back to back with both versions.  I found that for the price difference, and given all the glowing reviews I found on Minkara about the Jing-R version, that I would take a chance and go with this version - figure any little bit extra to help, right?

So anyway, had a few spare hours today, and the weather was right, so went down to the garage and did the install - but not before taking the car for one last spin to provide a baseline for comparison.

Stay tuned, my next write up will be on the install process, and then my impressions afterwards after I took the car for a spin.

A Small Cameo Role...

In the following video clip (that was filmed in late August, but finally released this past weekend). Which, in my opinion, is rather silly, but it was fun to meet Mr. Jay Leno (real nice guy!) and not only have dinner with him and talk cars, but later take part in shooting the scene in the clip. Also note Road&Track editor Sam Mitani as Jay's sidekick.

Thanks as usual to Dino Dalle Carbonare and Nissan for inviting me, as well as to my friends Mikku Nagata, Thomas Mangum, Dave Ireland, and Terrence Simmons for making time to join us with their cars that evening. I am happy to say we had THREE R33 GT-Rs to show off to Mr. Leno!

Note: I know this isn't the typical technical post many were expecting, but that will come soon. Thanks for your patience!

Visiting Do-Luck…and more ideas…

With the discovery that Do-Luck was literally 10 minutes away from where I live, it was only a matter of time until I paid a personal visit to Ito-san and Orito-san at Do-Luck.

As I had the morning off a few days ago, I decided to make the long overdue visit.

So I pulled up to Do-Luck at 1030 and found Ito-san and Orito-san busy working on a customer’s car. For those who have never been to a Japanese tuning shop, Do-Luck was pretty much like some of the smaller shops I’ve been to, like Mine’s and Robson.

I took some iPhone photos, but actually, Dino’s post on Speedhunters does a better job so here is the link..

I did manage however to get a close look inside at Ito-san’s Impreza, which was parked outside:

Check out the buckskin interior! Hmm... 

As well as their R34 democar that was up on the lift (amazing what ideas you can get from looking up, underneath!) Aluminum driveshaft, anyone? Ito-san claims they are better than the carbon fiber ones as they are more likely to be balanced properly.  Hmm… 

And here is the dyno room: 

After Ito-san gave me the quick tour, I inquired about one additional item that I had begun to become interested in after my experience with the Nagisa Auto brace, Do-Luck’s own Floor Support Bar.

Again with my research showing that the main mechanical difference between the R34 and R33 GT-Rs was body rigidity, this is one area I am definitely interested in improving. At the moment, I’m not convinced of the benefits of spot welding or injecting body stiffening foam, given the cost and possible rust issues. So for now, will keep doing my research, but was nice to see the Floor Support Bar up close!

Anyone out there with any experiences, good or bad, with body stiffening foam?

A New Project – An R33 GT-R Toolkit, Part 1

When I happened to be at Nissan HQ the other day, I saw that the gift shop downstairs carried this – The Nissan GT-R Snap-On Toolkit:

Nissan GT-R Snap-On Toolkit - note nifty GT-R logo!

Talk about a "GT-R Tax" - This compact set yours for only 60,000 yen! 
(Thank you to GTRBlog.com for the photos)

Actually, there is also an even more exclusive Limited Edition version (only 1000 sets made), that adds a socket set and ratchet, and a ratcheting screwdriver:

Only 160,650 yen! This one is still available to purchase from Nissan, by the way.  

Here is a very well written review, along with close up pictures of the tools themselves.

This reminded me that in fact, I had been thinking about putting together a tool kit specifically for the R33 GT-R.  And for a price that wasn’t going to be ridiculously expensive, but at the same time, I wanted the tool kit to have top quality tools. 

The R35 kit is comprised of Snap-On tools. Yes, I have some and they are gorgeous, well made… but oh so expensive. Is there an alternative?

Some research and I discovered these line of tools – the NePros series by KTC (Kyoto Tool Company).  For some reason they are not listed on the KTC English website but the entire NePros lineup is on the Japanese KTC website.  (I think “NePros” stands for New Professional Satisfaction??) Strange name, but top quality tools from Japan’s most famous and well regarded tool manufacturer.  These are some beautiful tools – for example their top of the line Nepros ratchet has a leather handle, and chrome mirror finish:

Perhaps a bit overkill, but nice nonetheless. Such a beautiful and quality tool BELONGS in my beautiful and quality R33 GT-R, right??

Oh, and here is a review by some tool nerds on the NePros brand:

Seems pretty well received, even by American tool freaks!

So I began to research exactly what sizes of sockets, wrenches, etc. I would need for my GT-R.  I opened up the engine hood, and started to see what kind of bolts were used in the engine bay. Then took notes on fasteners inside the car as well.

Turns out, that I really only need the following:

1)    Socket wrench with extension

2)    8,10,12,14 mm sockets

3)    Standard and Phillips screwdrivers (medium size head, 1 each)

4)    Standard/needle nose pliers

5)    Adjustable wrench

6)    8,10,12,14mm spanners

Also, to truly make this R33 SPECIFIC – that means that I would need to include the one tool that all R33 GT-Rs carry – and that would be the Allen wrench key to adjust the rear spoiler.  I wonder if I can find a chrome finish one, to match the NePros tools? 

In addition, I suppose you could try to match what the R35 kit has – an LED flashlight, white cotton gloves… but those I can get anywhere, really.

More importantly, I need a nice tool bag, ideally with the R33 GT-R logo, but as that doesn’t exist (yet) for the legacy Skyline GT-Rs, this soft sided KTC tool bag will have to do.

There IS a Nismo toolbag, actually, but it is not as compact as this KTC bag.

Anyway, with this project in mind several months ago, I had ordered the bag, but had not gotten around to begin ordering the actual tools... until the other day.

So here it is, this is what arrived in the mail the other day:

All Mirror Finish!

Simply Gorgeous!

So, in the following Parts I will add the remaining "required" tools and then explore what I can do to make this tool kit truly R33 unique, but also look like it came with the car! (Just thinking out loud - I wonder if there is someone who can make a custom R33 tool case? LOL).

Also, what other cars have a custom tool kit? I don’t mean those rudimentary tools that every car comes with, I am talking about ones with nice, expensive tools designed just for that particular (usually very expensive) car. It would be nice to see what they contain, as well. Does anyone know?

Would appreciate if someone can share their knowledge, in my question for the ultimate R33 GT-R Tool Kit!

Thanks in advance and stay tuned for more soon!