Pure Carbon Bling... Despite What Nismo Says...?? (*UPDATED!*)

(Updated Install Instructions, see below)

So after selling a few things on Yahoo Auctions, I realized I had saved up enough to spend some money on something which normally I would write off as complete bling. Nismo's carbon fiber airbox for the BCNR33/BNR34, originally introduced on the BNR34 Clubman Race Spec demo car back in June 2017. 

What a great way to make money for Nismo, right? With an eye-watering retail price of 612,150 yen including tax!

But Omori Factory claims that their airbox actually has design improvements over the OEM airbox.  For example, not only does their airbox have more volume, but it uses velocity stacks which in theory increase the air flow so much that the ECU has to be remapped! Further, their supplier is apparently a takumi who has supplied Nismo and Nissan with carbon fiber parts for their Group C and other racing cars over the past 20 years...in other words, these are not mass produced but carefully handcrafted items by someone who probably knows what he is doing...

Of course, if you simply want the carbon look, I have seen others who have created their own carbon fiber air boxes which appear to be copies of the OEM box, just in carbon fiber and priced much less.

But as it happened I was able to get my hands on one of the Nismo ones - I figured what would I have to lose by installing one in my car? Improve the looks, at the very least right? It would be a good match for the Nismo carbon fiber air inlet pipes and the Omori Factory air inlet snorkel I recently had installed.

Ok so first thing is to open up the box. 

For those interested, here is the parts number for the 33/34

Fairly standard wrapping given the price...

Wow! Very nice. Almost blinded by this beautiful carbon fiber!

So here is the bit that costs an extra 500,000 yen...(the Nismo plaque inside!)

Actually, these are what is supposedly the technical improvement:

Exactly how? Keep reading!

Next step was to remove the OEM air box in order to do a proper side by side comparison. A few clips and bolts and don't forget the side vent, and it is a pretty easy job.  The only trick is to loosen the bands connecting to the MAFs, and remove the airbox with the MAFs still attached.

Here is photo of both airboxes in the engine bay:

If OCD like me, you can see that the carbon is different for each piece...

So here is the inward side of the airbox, after the MAFs have been removed.

Before installation of the velocity/venturi stacks

Installation of the velocity stacks is easy - you use the bolts that attach the MAFs to the airbox.

After installation - shame the velocity stacks are hidden because they are gorgeous to look at!

Close up - oops forgot to remove the tape there...

In comparison, the OEM airbox simply has these rings with the nuts for attaching the MAF bolts

Of course it was Dino who reminded me that I should weigh everything to see if there was a weight reduction benefit - after all, this IS CFRP vs. ABS plastic!

So yes, a weight savings of 197 gms!

And on the inboard side:

Ok this is strange. CFRP is heavier by 67 gms!

So a total weight savings of 130 gms! Not sure if this is really enough to write home about...

Hard to tell here, but it appears to my untrained eye that on the filter side, there seems to be slightly more volume.

You can also see that using the level, the carbon fiber box is slightly taller, thus also suggesting more volume. 

OK, so it seems like there is more volume, slightly less weight, and then possibly some increased air flow due to the velocity stacks.

Not surprisingly, installation is fairly simple, the only care point is to make sure that the MAFs are bolted on tightly to the carbon airbox and therefore also the velocity stacks inside (also watch out for the very thin O-rings on the MAFs side).

Here is how it looks with the MAFs attached. Note how one MINE'S plaque on one MAF is ready to give up (fixed up with some superglue)

I took the opportunity to check how dirty the filter is. It wasn't!

Yeah, I guess I don't drive the car much huh.

Next I turned my attention to the spot where the parts would go back in - and noticed that there was a thin layer of oil and dust so...

Of course I had to clean that all up.

Another view of the MAF side of the air filter box. You can see how the velocity stacks protrude inside.

On installation, everything was a very tight fit.  Of course had to make sure to tighten up the bands connecting the hoses to the MAFs.

Compared to the OEM box, the Nismo carbon box only uses one bolt up front to secure it (OEM used 2).

And on the other side, it initially appeared that the holes did not line up properly. (BUT SEE UPDATE BELOW PLEASE)

But this turned out to be rectified if I loosened the front side and all the clips first, and bolted down this side first. However, I also noticed something...

I found some sponge rubber with a sticky backing, and cut to size.

This way, I can bolt down and be reassured the carbon won't be scratching the engine bay paint. 

I'm pointing to this latch - tolerances are so tight here that you need to make sure the loop is already inserted towards the hook side (but not fully locked) before closing the other clips. 

OCD in action - just in case there is ANY rubbing, I taped a piece of rubber to the edge of the airbox closest to the air inlet pipe.

And here is the completed result!

See, all 3 carbon pieces look different...why...??

So will this carbon airbox actually make a difference in the car's performance? In my next blog I will reveal my findings, as I took a quick road trip down to Yokosuka to visit some old friends. Stay tuned!

UPDATED INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS!

So Nismo Omori Factory contacted me this morning with apologies - after viewing this blog, they realized they had neglected to inform me about one VERY IMPORTANT STEP.

Which is, to RE-USE the rubber and steel spacers on the OEM airbox:

These things

To remove - Very carefully remove these metal inserts - I used a plastic interior panel removal tool so I wouldn't scratch or tear the old rubber:

To ensure smooth OEM fit, I removed the rubber foam I had earlier attached.

Fit is 100% - and yes, this the correct positioning - I checked before removing from the OEM box, AND I contacted Nismo to verify.

Which means the side on the bottom, that touches the body are these metal washers? But doesn't it look like the top one had some kind of rubber coating from the factory?

So my solution - Tessa cloth tape!

Upon reinstall - wow this fits SO MUCH BETTER!

So of course, I complained to Nismo as well - for something costing this much, why not throw in some new rubber washers? I am ok with re-using the metal cores, but honestly how much does 3 rubber washers cost?  Their response was that this is technically NOT a Nismo part, but an Omori Factory limited production run (they apparently don't make much of a profit on these). Hence no instructions, nor the extra bits one can expect to find in an official kit. Still, I wonder...

Anyway, for anyone out there who might get this kit, I hope these FULL instructions are useful!

Custom Car Covers - Thank you Bitelblack!

So while I was overseas and my car was at Nismo Omori Factory, our friend Dino recommended I reach out to his friends at Bitelblack Cover Car Custom and inquire about a custom car cover.

I know - I have a fully covered and insulated garage - why would I need a cover? Well, if you have OCD tendencies like me, the answer is - to keep the dust off so the car always looks 100% super clean, of course.

Yes, I could alway buy a cover in Japan, but nothing I found really fit the bill -  they are either super expensive and do not fit snugly,  designed for outdoor use, or they are cheap and do not fit well either.  I wanted something strictly for indoor use, and so I was looking for a stretchy kind of lightweight material that would show off the car's curves. Did not have to be waterproof, or protect from UV, etc. 

If you check out the link above, you can see that Bitelblack does some pretty crazy car covers, with some printing stuff onto the car cover itself like headlight, windshield, etc. to make it look like the car itself! (which I was not interested in, obviously - keep it simple!)

Anyway, once I got back, shortly thereafter this arrived:

Opening it up, I found this:

I had ordered one in grey, and one in black, with the black supposedly being the more premium cloth. The other option I had asked for was the R33 GTR logo on the front and back, where the actual badges are, as well as the Skyline lettering on the trunk valance and the ClubR33 logo on the side to replicate placement on the rear quarter window of our Club sticker, as many of our club members have done.

I first used some quick detailer to remove all the dust that had built up over the last 2 weeks since I got the car back:

Unretouched photo taken with my Sony Xperia 1 iii. 

Yes, I am enjoying the camera feature on this phone. Much harder than on the iPhone to get a great photo, because very little correction by the software

Then, I tried on the grey one.

Very nice fit! And thin enough to see details like the outlines of the headlights, etc.

So I thought the SKYLINE lettering (in the correct font too!) might be a nice touch...

And the Club logo is spot on perfectly replicated!

Except unfortunately not located exactly where I wanted.

Then, the black one.

Due to the color, can't see the detail outlines as well

Unfortunately it also had the same problem with the Club logo being located not exactly where I wanted.

And I guess I should have asked for the SKYLINE lettering to be closer to the background color... or maybe just in outline form?

In addition to these minor issues, I also noticed that the GT-R logo font was slightly off. Take a look at this LED sign I have in my garage, made by Kusaka Engineering. You can study the small differences amongst the 32, 33 and 34 logos - once you memorize you can be a true nerd like me. 

So, given the very competitive pricing, I have to say I am fairly happy, even though the product could be better.  I think if the Club decides they want to offer this to members I can measure how much the logos should be shifted up and forward, and I can also try to educate Bitelblack on the proper log. As for the thickness, I really could not tell the difference.

This is how the backside of the cloth looks btw.

Meanwhile, these color coordinated carry/storage bags were a nice touch:

What to do you all think?