New Mine's Exhaust - How It Looks and Sounds Installed, and a Question

So a quick post to show everyone what the new Mine's titanium exhaust sounds like installed - and then a question. (Taken at Nismo, super impressed with the cold start up, so quick! And yeah the engine was cold so a lot of black exhaust, looks like we may need to fine tune that):

Compare with the Tomei Expreme (taken at Mine's so please excuse the street noise):

Obviously, the Mine's exhaust looks great - but it also looks like it sticks out just a bit too much? I thought so too, so I called Nakayama-san to confirm.  He told me that unfortunately, because of the diffuser - which although i told them they could modify as needed - but they did not - and its brackets, as well as the oversized differential cover - they ended up putting a 10mm spacer between the cat and the exhaust.

In other words, the tip of the exhaust sticks out about 1cm more than it would otherwise.  I was told that this would just pass shaken, because its furthest point is aligned with the rear bumper's furthest point.

So question for my readers - should I go back and ask them to cut the diffuser/replace with the OEM diff cover, so the exhaust is shorter by 1cm? Or maybe just 5mm?

Second question - should I keep the carbon exhaust shield, or remove it? It already might be starting to peel off, but I do not want to use the Nismo version which uses rivets. So I may be resigned to continuously cleaning that area...

But what was the car doing at Nismo? Upcoming final post of the year soon!

BONUS - here is a nice photo of the CRS (Clubman Race Spec) R33 GT-R (Yep, it has been upgraded to CRS status). Why? Because it was sitting there, looking nice! Enjoy!

New Mine's Silence-VX Pro Titan III Exhaust! (Mine's Visit, Part 1)

Sitting pretty at Mine's after a bunch of new parts!

So I have to admit to not posting much these past few months, because of course I was planning a few things for my car.  Of course I am busy at work too, but that excuse gets overused.

In any case, as I hinted in this post from September,  there are some newer parts at Mine's that I have been interested in lately that I think will help to further improve the car (yeah, it never ends...).  One of these of course is their new Silence-VX Pro Titan III exhaust:

Courtesy of Mine's

So even though several years ago, through connections at Tomei Powered, I was lucky enough that my car was used as the jig for their Expreme Ti full titanium (off-road spec) exhaust system, and further lucky enough to have my car featured in their catalog, it was time for a change.

So that's my car representing the 33s!
Courtesy of https://www.tomei-p.co.jp/catalogue/ti-gtr/

Change in that there was nothing wrong with the exhaust. It was just loud. Very loud. Clearly designed for the racetrack such that I could feel how free-flowing it was.  Unfortunately some shops in Japan (like Nissan Prince Tokyo Motorsports Division and Nismo Omori Factory) will usually refuse to work on cars that do not have JASMA certified (and thus street legal) exhaust systems.  Never mind it was always a problem starting up my car on an early weekend morning in order to go for a nice drive.  As readers know, I ended up installing not just an electric valve to try to muffle the sound for in-town use, I eventually even installed an aftermarket exhaust bung as well. This allowed me to get down to close to street legal levels, after which Omori Factory kindly chose to not make a big issue of the legality of the exhaust...

In the past, I had told the guys at Mine's that there was bound to be demand for their titanium exhausts from 33 owners, which until recently were available only for 32s and 34s. So I was pleasantly surprised to first get a phone call from Takayanagi-san of Mine's giving me a heads up that they had developed one for the 33 due to popular demand, and then thrilled when during my earlier visit to Mine's Nakayama-san promised me that I would be one of the first, if not the first, r33 customer to have this new titanium exhaust installed! 

Flash forward to a few weeks ago, when we had arranged for me to drop off the car.  For posterity, I wanted to record what the Tomei sounded like, so...

And then of course Nakayama-san again took my car into the famed garage.

And then the fun began!

So it seemed like I was the only customer that day - yes, I felt special, like this was a historical moment! In any case, I wanted to test fit the new exhaust, just to see how it looked.

While a couple of the Mine's mechanics began to prep the 33 so they could unbolt the Tomei from the car, Nakayama-san gleefully opened up a very long box.

And pulled out a very large, very beautiful piece of art!

Look who happened to be in the neighborhood.  Of course he had to take advantage of this instant so

He was mumbling something about Speedhunters. I guess we will eventually find out if this photo gets published on SH.

I'm no pro, but here is my photo taken with my Sony Xperia 1 Mark III:

Another angle:

Very tasty!

Meanwhile the other mechanics had jacked my car up, and were trying to figure out how to remove the diffuser.

A few bolts here and there, and voila!

After which it was relatively easy to remove the Tomei exhaust, and temporarily install the Silence-VX

I say temporarily because, unfortunately there seemed to be a clearance problem caused by both the diffuser brackets and the extra oil capacity rear diff cover. 

Realizing that this issue wasn't going to be solved in the next few minutes, and because I had asked Mine's to install some other tasty bits, I then decided to go home and save a few hundred yen by hitching a ride with Mr. Dalle Carbonare to the nearest train station.

In my next post, I'll discuss some of the other parts that got removed and the new ones that got installed. Stay tuned!

Long Overdue Visit to Mine's... oh and yes does the Nismo Airbox give performance gains?...

So after I installed the Nismo Carbon Fiber Airbox, I was looking for an excuse to drive the car to see if I could feel any difference - after all, if Nismo is recommending an ECU rewrite, this is not simply a cosmetic add-on, right? (YES! See my analysis below).

Because it's too much of a hassle to get a new ECU (even though I've been meaning to actually - someone send me one!) I decided to simply unplug the battery and let the Mine's VX-ROM reset itself to learning mode - I figured that the velocity stacks would increase airflow, which means that the ECU would adjust fuel and spark accordingly - in theory having the air flow in more quickly would be similar to the effect I had when I experimented with creating an air inlet that gave a ram-air effect.  So hopefully, even if the VX-ROM wasn't able to take full advantage of the increased airflow, it should still result in a noticeable difference. 

So last Saturday, after having called ahead a week before (highly recommended during these crazy times), I drove down for my appointment at Mine's at 1pm.  You see, every summer Mine's has their Summer Sale where they offer some parts on sale as well as zero percent financing for their more expensive items - such as engines.  That's how I was able to afford my Mine's engine way back in 2007 - I'm not rich like some people! Anyway, I had been promising Nakayama-san (the engine Takumi) and Takayanagi-san for years (when meeting up with them at Nismo Festival) that I was over due for a visit and a few new Mine's parts.

Flash forward 14 years, and I figured it was time to have Nakayama-san take a look at my car and make sure everything was still up to their high spec.  I unfortunately once let someone who didn't know how to drive very well take a quick spin in my car, and the engine's quickness surprised him - meaning he did not shift quickly enough, causing the engine to redline. So at the very least I need to get that checked out (hopefully the Mine's engine is over-built and thus idiot proof...)

Anyway, despite the traffic it was a quick drive down to Yokosuka, where Mine's is. After having endured a summer of very mediocre rental cars on my trips - Kia Optima, Toyota Corolla (JDM), Toyota Corolla (USDM) and Mitsubishi Mirage (JDM), it was SIMPLY AWESOME to take the GT-R for an extended drive. They simply do not make cars like this anymore, I felt so connected to the car and the road, and with the rebuilt suspension thanks to the Omori Factory chassis refresh, it was like driving a new car.  The super responsive Mine's engine coupled to the Getrag is icing on the cake.

Walking into Mine's, it seemed not much had changed since my last visit. I think this engine has been displayed in the same spot for the last 20 years...

But actually, they did have a few new items on the shelves:

Actually these are officially Nissan licensed items... maybe except for that shift knob

Surfboard not for sale

Who wears these in public?

Very nice, except iPhone models only...

So after the usual pleasantries and a quick discussion with Nakayama-san and Takayanagi-san about what I was concerned with, as well the possible future upgrades I wanted, Nakayama-san had one of the techs clear out space in their workshop for my car. He jumped in my car...

And drove it over to their garage workshop: 

Once parked, he revved up the engine a few times.

This was apparently enough for him to get a general sense of how healthy the engine is.  The verdict - given how little I have driven over the past years - probably around a bit over 30,000km since the engine was built - he believes that the engine is probably fine, despite my stupidity in letting an incompetent redline the engine.  He also examined the engine compartment and noted nothing amiss, no leaks or imminent failures, which of course is always a relief.

Nakayama-san did point out a few areas which can now be improved - technology and techniques have improved in the last 14 years so likely I will be doing what I can to upgrade over the next few months.

After a few more discussions on upcoming parts - most notably Mine's is finally releasing a titanium Silence VX exhaust system for the R33 GT-R - due to customer demand! - I drove back home, enjoying every minute of it and wondering how the upgrades will further improve this car.

As for the Nismo Carbon Fiber Airbox - I do believe it ACTUALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE!  At high speed engine response was slightly more immediate - exactly how it was with the ram-air system, as well as how the car responded when I first installed the Tomei Expreme titanium exhaust (without any sound deadening inserts like I have in now - to keep the peace in my neighborhood).  A slight push on the throttle is immediately translated into an increase in revs, and the car thus seemed slightly more eager and alive.  However - I did not notice a difference at low speed, so if all you do is drive around in the city, this is simply pure bling.

So then, is it worth the price?  Hard to say - a homemade ram-air system is probably just as effective, and if you couple that with a completely free breathing exhaust like the Tomei (without baffles) then you might get the same effect, a more responsive engine.  But, we all know that many of us like to buy things on HOW THEY LOOK - and yeah it looks great. So in the end, I think you have to ask your wallet...

This device kept the peace in my neighborhood...

As I mentioned in my last post, I am going to take a break about fixing the issues caused by WORX Auto Alarm and instead, talk about a mod I made right after I got the car back.

As long time readers know, my car served as the rig for the Tomei Expreme Ti titanium exhaust.  One nice thing about offering my car was, I became one of the first (if not the first period) to have the commercial product installed on my car.

The exhaust is a masterpiece. And, if I owned my car out in the countryside with the closest neighbor a good kilometer or so away, it would cause no problems.

Unfortunately I live in a Yokohama suburb where I have neighbors to my left, right and across the (Japanese sized narrow) street. This means that every time I start up my GT-R, people notice. It also means that, if the Tomei is unbaffled, the noise is loud enough to wake the neighbors in the early morning or at night.

Clearly, I needed a solution, fast.  Initially, I simply used the bung that came with the Tomei. That, along with the Blitz E-ESC electronic exhaust valve, worked for awhile, until that eventful trip to WORX where somehow that bung came loose and was lost somewhere in Chiba.

So when I got the car back, I managed to park the car with the Blitz valve fully closed, but herein lies the problem. First, the valve is designed to close only when the engine is warmed up. That means that normally, starting from cold results in huge noise (ok, music :).  Second, I have to remember to manually close the valve to override the initial programming, which is probably not good for the engine.  In other words, a bung should be used, with the Blitz valve being a back up when ultra-silent running is needed.  While I could simply re-order the Tomei bung, I recalled a conversation with the guys at Nissan Prince Tokyo Motorsports about a superior product that was available from a third party.

A bit of research and I found this guy. Mr. Suganuma and his company, "SFC" (Suganuma Future Creation) - dumb sounding name, but very nice products, mostly all exhaust related.  I was interested in his "inner silencer" products like this one.



They come in different diameters to fit different aftermarket exhaust tips, and two color choices - the silver as above or anodized black. What's nice is that you can order the component parts separately, so if you lose a part or a part (like the muffling part) gets burnt/worn out, you can bring it back to "like new" condition quickly and inexpensively.

So I placed an order for a black anodized one in 112mm size (product number 117BK), and a few days later...

Cute, I guess? 

 So I unpacked it right away and found a thin steel tube covered by what appeared to be a thick fiberglass or similar sound baffling material. Presumably heat proof too.

The packing material is covered by silver colored paper (to protect during shipping I guess)

Of course, me being me, I have to clean out the inside of the exhaust tip before installing.

As you can see, it's a bit of a snug fit.

But of course, like most things Japanese, quality engineering means it fits perfectly!

Comes with these bits.

And the result? AWESOME! The car still sounds superb, but it's like everything was taken down 30-40%.  Yes of course for track days and Hakone touge runs I will remove, but for around town this is simply perfect.  In fact, it's so good I find myself not using the Blitz E-ESC, and I may end up removing it... we will see...

Ok next post will also be about a non-WORX issue, something I've been tinkering with for the past few years actually... stay tuned!

Carbon Fiber Bumper Exhaust Surround, Renewal

So if you've seen pictures of the rear bumper of my car, I've had this thin dry carbon fiber exhaust surround I found on Yahoo Auctions back in 2008!

With the newly installed Tomei ExPreme Exhaust

Obviously, the goal here is to protect the bumper from all the soot the RB26 engine spews out.

Long-time readers know that my car was used as the jig to develop the exhaust, and that this shot
  was used for their catalog

While it still looks great from a distance, I was becoming aware that the heat of the exhaust, as well as it's location on the rear edge of the bumper, was wreaking havoc on the carbon.

A close-up reveals these flaws.

But that's ok... it's much easier to remove and replace this piece, than to have the bumper touched up. In fact, I took the piece off before I had my car detailed, so that all the surrounding areas (and underneath) could be properly cleaned and protected.

 I then went back to find the vendor on Yahoo Auctions, 5000 yen and 3 days later:

Old one obviously the one not wrapped up.

Here you can compare directly. Camera angle shot makes old one on left look larger.

As you can see this carbon is really thin, but since it's not bolted on, replacement is an easy affair. Just take off the old one, clean the bumper (I had taken it off before the detail at RAPT), then simply slap back on using the double stick tape.

You can see the remnants of the tape on the old one on top.

Like this:

Truth be told the tape is old and I may need to readjust later

Make sure the area around the exhaust is clean:

A quick wipe with a microfiber towel, then

Peel off the backing of the double stick tape, then slap on making sure one edge slips between the bumper and the spat:

Easy!

Later, after a quick drive:

Can't even tell it's been replaced.

Oh, and I dropped into Nissan to order some minor bits so I will have another update on this blog soon!... stay tuned and thanks for reading!

Thomas Mangum's Midnight Purple R33 GT-R - Spec Check and Driving Impression! (Part 1)

So recently my friend and fellow R33 GT-R fanatic Thomas Mangum invited me to drive his Midnight Purple machine.  I jumped at the chance – it would be a rare opportunity to drive a high spec car (and one with the HKS V Cam, too!) and compare against mine. 

When I pulled up to his house, I initially took some photos before jumping into the driver’s seat.   Thomas seemed embarrassed by how dirty his car was, but that couldn’t be helped as it’s parked outside and as a daily driver a car cover doesn’t make sense (for most people...).   Nevertheless the car was in good shape, nothing a nice wash and wax wouldn’t fix.

Purple disc rotor caps to match the Midnight Purple car. Nice touch. F50 Brembos with Biot 2 piece rotors!
Wheels are ENKEI RS05RR in 18x11J(!!!) with offset of 16.

A bit of trivia about these wheels - these were one of, if not THE first, sets of the RS055RR that Enkei made for the Skyline GT-Rs. How do we know? Because when Thomas and I went to Tokyo Auto Salon  that year, we noticed that the displayed wheels had some stickers that these wheels did not have. When we inquired, we were told that the first batch did not have the stickers, and further all the ENKEI reps there said they had never seen or known of a GT-R with them before! (ENKEI later mailed him the missing stickers!)

Essentially this is a custom made front bumper - I've never seen another quite like this.

I recall when Thomas asked me if I had ever seen this front bumper before when it came up for sale on Yahoo Auctions a few years back... obviously the answer was no. It seems to be a very clever design, incorporating cooling abilities along with the front canard aerodynamic effect.  It apparently was a one-off design for one of the JUN Auto racing cars [thanks to our friend Matt Rearick who remembered seeing the same item on Yahoo, and the description!] which meant that Thomas had to get clever to incorporate turn signals in order to make it street legal.

AutoSelect Tower Bar. ARC Cooling panel (no longer made).
Aluminum catch tank and UK GTROC Aluminum fuse box cover

I'm proud to say I did my bit to contribute to this engine, as the fuse box cover was something I gave Thomas a long time ago... Note also the relocated power steering pump fluid reservoir.

Aha! V Cam. I can only dream at this point. With a NISMO surge tank too!

Yep. I was eagerly looking forward to how differently this car would drive with the V Cam, given the HKS 2530kai turbos the car is running.

Carbon fiber hood (or bonnet in the Commonwealth?)

He has some interesting custom mods so I took photos of those. For example:

Custom carbon piece to direct air towards the intercooler. If well done, stuff like this adds to a car's allure and personality.

I've already pointed out the clever use of side turn signals used upfront. Here's another custom application:

Another interesting tidbit - oil cooler located here!

Due to the design of the bumper, Thomas couldn't place an engine oil cooler in the usual place (that is, under the left front lights in the front bumper). So naturally, he put this Greddy one up front behind the grill to ensure lots of airflow. Reminds me of the old NISMO set up (albeit that was underneath and behind the front lip spoiler).

Speaking of spoilers:

Genuine NISMO dry carbon 2 piece blade. Looks like the previous owner liked to advertise that fact.

For the back, he found a used NISMO 2 piece dry carbon spoiler blade.  He restored it best he could but you can still make out where someone had applied a NISMO sticker. (and yes, the blue car in the back ground is the ISF I'm slowly modifying...lol)

90mm AMUSE titanium exhaust. 

Thomas' car is equipped with this Amuse R1 titanium exhaust, which obviously maximizes exhaust flow and doesn't even pretend to really have any "muffling" capacities. This thing is LOUD!

Thomas later sent me a list of the specs of his car. For example, some highlights of the engine/powertrain are:
- N1 block bored to 86.5, N1 oil pump, N1 water pump
- Carrillo rods, Mahle pistons (both save weight)
- balanced and straightened crank by NAPREC
- NISMO crank and conrod bearings
- NAPREC high response head kit (ported, etc.)
- NISMO 600cc injectors/NISMO fuel pump
- R35 AFMs
- Tomei Powered oil pan baffle/metal head gasket (1.2mm)/timing belt
- Trust/Greddy Type R intercooler
- Okada Plasma Direct ignition coils
- HKS hard piping kit
- Advance 130A alternator

This is all managed by a custom flashed ROM that piggybacks on top of the OEM ECU. Thomas estimates about 600 horsepower. 

So how does this all add up, really? I’ll give my honest (good and bad) impressions on how the car drove, as well as photos of some interesting interior bits, in my next post...