A Quick Visit to RAPT Again

So why am I here today? The truth is, I needed an excuse to take my car out, get the engine warmed up as I am going to do an oil change in my garage later today. At the same time, made some inquiries about some interior detailing I may have done... Stay tuned for why!

Ok, ok... actually the real reason is so I can test out the Blogger App for the iPhone. Works well I think!

Another Modern Upgrade.... Wiper Blades

Well with this recent cold weather, I'm not too inclined to go out and work on the car. However, last time I washed my car (after the visit to Midori Seibi and Do-Luck) I noticed that the wiper blades on my car, were a bit dodgy in that the metal ribs that run along the sides of the rubber blade itself were working themselves loose. This would then cause the blade itself to come loose from the frame. Like this:

 So even though I don't drive much, if at all, in the rain (basically unless I get caught on the way home), I was worried that, if for some reason I had to use the wipers, then Murphy's law would mean that the rubber blade would slip, and then then metal frame would scratch the glass (and numerous attempts to fix this problem by forcing the metal rib back into the rubber had not been successful). So I had to figure out a way to fix this problem.

Solution:

There seem to be several brands of these new one piece wipers that replace the frame and fit the car. But (at least here in Japan) Bosch seemed to be the only one that had a specific listing for my car, and had items that reflected the different sizes left and right, for their top of the line Aerotwin wipers. Plus of course the aerodynamic nature of these wipers was cool, especially as the OEM driver's side blade frame has a small built in spoiler just for that purpose (to prevent the wiper from lifting off at speed). The design also promises more evenly spread out wiping ability, and the rubber blade itself is easy to replace.

These are an easy install, they come with an adaptor (Bosch calls it "Quick-Clip") that allows retrofitting to most cars by attachment to the U-shaped wiper arm end. However, here is a tip for our cars - the instructions state that the cover can be opened up to let the U arm fit over the internal clip - this is not true on our cars. Due to the curved nature of the wiper arm, the covers have to be gently forced off (after insertion of the arm), then the U hooks over the clip, then the cover can be snapped back into place. Like so:

I was also going to take this opportunity to re-paint the wiper arms, as the original flat black paint had been rubbed off in some spots - except it's just too cold and I wasn't about to start spraying black paint in an enclosed garage... so that small project will have to wait for warm weather.

Anyway - here is a before picture with the OEM blades (excuse the mess in the garage...):

And here it is, after fitment of the BOSCH wipers:

So what do people think of how they look on the car... a bit too modern perhaps? OR subtle enough that it works? I'm sure their superior performance alone justifies them, but in my opinion they just look a bit weird...the OEM mini spoiler was actually kind of cool.  Also, I wish there was a way to keep them half hidden under the hood.

Oh, and what should I do with the rear wiper? Same thing? The question here is, does it need to be aerodynamic in nature as well?

New Page - NISMO R33 GT-R Catalog

I've added another page - the Nismo R33 Skyline GT-R Street & Motor Sports Parts options catalog. Putting aside the ridiculous Nismo pricing as well as the parts themselves (which I cannot believe were cutting edge at the time - 17 inch wheels, anyone?) there are some pretty interesting parts, such as the combo radiator/oil cooler as well as the oil cooler with a separate water tank (swirl pot).

Also some interesting tidbits such as - that titanium strut tower bar cost only 69,800 yen at the time (!) and also came in an aluminum version; and the assorted motor sports parts they sold (but were not street legal!).

Anyway, check out the page... I may have to see what other catalogs are out there that I haven't posted yet!

First Ever Visit to Midori Seibi (and dropping into Do-Luck)

So the day after a freak snowstorm hit Tokyo/Yokohama, I found myself using my car as a snowplow...most of the roads were clear, but some side streets (like the street I live on) still had snow in the middle of the road, so I drove slowly, praying that Kabe-san at Rapt did a good job on painting my front lip spoiler...

Anyway, the UK GTROC guys are in town, and since Midori Seibi is only a few kilometers where I live, I drove out there to meet them.  I arrived a few minutes before they did, so took the opportunity to take a few pictures.

When the guys arrived, they checked out the requisite Midori demo cars - both the R35 and R34 were there. But I started to chat with the senior person there (both Uchinaga-san and his wife were not there), who turned out to be their son! AND, it turns out he is a quite a fan of the R33 GT-R... in fact, he owns one and gets asked all the time about why R33 vs the others as he's well known in the industry. He knows more than me, and immediately pointed that the criticism about the longer wheelbase of the R33 was nonsense (the R35 is longer than any of them, and its performance is superlative) and the sad fact that when the R34 was introduced, these new and "better" cars apparently were not successful in the N1 series races and the teams had to revert back to the faster R33s. He was also kind enough to show me a couple of unique one-of-a-kind mods he did to his car:

1) Replacing two of the three gauges in the center 3 gauge (Nismo) cluster with modern (i.e. digital) replacements! Uchinaga-san told me that he did this himself in his spare time.  What do people think? Note he kept the front torque meter but replaced the oil and boost gauge with two temp gauges. His goal was that, if you knew nothing about R33 GT-Rs, you would believe this was stock equipment. I have to agree, it is very slick...

2) He also did the same to the main instrument panel (I apologize for the blurred picture, I was so excited) where he replaced the stock oil pressure gauge with a modern Trust one in white.

He also was kind enough to check out my car, and give me a few pointers, which I will have to work on in my spare time.  Just to save you the suspense, he recommended one way to freshen up the engine bay (such a pretty engine, those faded XXXXX really detract from the clean look), and also taught me a bit about how to properly ground the car.

So two new projects just by visiting Midori Seibi! Awesome!

Also, I am pleased to report that Midori Seibi continues to work on a couple of new parts for our second generation GT-Rs.  Not sure when they will be released, but he said to check GT-R Magazine for details.

As Do-Luck is on the way home, after the GTROC guys and I parted company, I stopped by Do-Luck to just say hello to Ito-san - which of course turned into a couple hours discussion about various car stuff. Turns out he too is working on some new stuff for the second generation GT-Rs, so we will have to wait to see what develops. Ito-san also gave me some suggestions on what I should do next on my car - both in the handling and the engine department.

So stay tuned, this will keep me busy this year...

Race Driver Akira Iida and His Preference for R33 GT-Rs!

Just a short video clip where Iida-san takes a modified R33 GTR for a spin at Ebisu circuit, and explains why the R33 is his favorite of the second generation GT-Rs.

Akira Iida, by the way, recently set a new record for lapping Nurburgring in a production car.

Things to watch for in this clip (besides the girl, obviously):

1) What kind of hood/bonnet does this car have? Would it look good on my car? (hint: this is related to some aero ideas I have)

2) Suspension set up. If Tsuchiya is saying that weight transfer to the front isn't happening, are the spring rates too hard up front? I wonder what it is? (I was thinking of having my Ohlins DFVs rebuilt soon...)

3) I thought it was funny that the car has a nice Alpine stereo and separate tweeters up front...

Apologies as this video is not directly related to my car, but it did give me some ideas.

Thanks to Facebook friend Nadz Asyraf who posted this link to the R33 GT-R Facebook page on January 1.

Enjoy! And stay tuned, I DO have some mods coming up soon...

New Look for 2013

Happy New Year!

Ok, so for some people these may only be subtle changes, but for me they are pretty big, as the car has been pretty much untouched body-wise for the 7 years I’ve owned it. So this is how my car looked when I picked it up last Saturday (hood open as spark plugs had just been changed) from RAPT.

First, and most obviously yes I had the front lip spoiler painted body color, KR4.

As a reminder when I bought the car, I discovered that the previous owner had painted it black, and that black paint had begun flaking off. So it was always a matter of painting it (or wrapping it in 3M Din-oc) – I just had never thought it would look good in body color, preferring the black or carbon look. So what do you all think?

Second, as at least one person guessed from a previous post, yes, the car now sports Nismo 400R side skirts (complete with very cool functional ducts for brake cooling). 

Here is a close-up of the side scoops (lit from below):

Honestly, I am still not sure of this look, because I think the stock side sills actually give the rear more “flare” than these do… on the other hand these Nismo side skirts are taller and wider than stock, so give the car a new look. 

From certain angles (like above?), the car looks smaller than it did before, I think.  Plus, the functional side scoops are tempting me… shall I go for rear brake cooling, or some oil coolers?

Lastly, a repair. As I mentioned in that previous post, the rubber seal for the rear window had begun cracking and separating, so a new rubber seal was needed. Happy to report, that repair went perfectly, car now has a brand new seal around the rear window. Some peace of mind for me.

So what’s next? A couple of projects are still sitting in my garage, calling out for completion… I get the feeling 2013 is going to be a busy car year...

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!