Duct Tape Time....

So it's true. Duct tape is perhaps man's second greatest invention, right after the wheel.

After my car was lowered, and especially after the installation of the Do-Luck roll center adjusters, I had noticed more rubbing by the front tires on the plastic inner fenders than usual.

This usually happens in tight quarters, making turns below speeds of 20kph. In other words, each time I leave my house in my neighborhood, I hear the awful sound of rubber against plastic (the fenders).

Anyway, last time I took the car out, I was surprised to see, that the front left wheel had worn though the "highest" point of the fender - revealing a 12mm bolt! This bolt holds the OEM blow off valve, or some part of it, in its position under the fuse box.

Obviously, not good. Rubbing up against plastic I could deal with, because the rubber tire isn't going to be damaged.  But now with a bolt sticking through, could this lead to damage to the tire?

In any case, I wasn't going to take any chances, so asked my Club R33 Facebook friends for some advice.  The ideas (all from first hand experience it seemed) ranged from taking off the fender liner and either removing the OEM blow off valve, or moving the BOV forward a few millimeters, to removing the bolt entirely, to replacing the bolt with a flat type bolt.

So last Sunday, as the weather was finally warm and it wasn't raining, I jacked up the car and removed both front wheels.

It had been such a long time since the last time I worked on the car, I had forgotten why the ramps were necessary....

Since "OCD" is my middle name...

On the left, clean wheel. On the right, a layer of brake dust. Yuck!

What I immediately realized that, in order to take off the front inner fender liner, I would have also remove my front diffuser, as well as the brake ducting, to access the bolts on the bottom.  So what I thought was going to be a simple 30 minute job was threatening to become a 3 hour task.

Feeling lazy, I decided instead that I would cut the plastic around the protruding bolt to see if I could see anything, maybe access the BOV that way.  At the same time, I started looking around the entire wheel well, and then discovered to my surprise that, not only had the tire worn out the plastic in front, but it had also rubbed through in 3 places BEHIND the tire as well.

The middle shows where the undercoating had worn through, showing the primer!

The left side tire, did not have the problem in front but had similar issues on the plastic behind it.  And, on both sides, the lower most tear on the rearside was because part of the chassis (maybe the chassis rail?) was behind the rubbed plastic, leading to the vertical crack seen here:

As for the bolt that started it all, I used my Dremel and cut a small square of plastic away, to reveal this:

Yes, not the smoothest of cuts but check out how much plastic underneath that
had already been worn down!

It appears that whatever it is bolted to, wasn't about to be easily manipulated through this square. So, recalling what Bobby Proctor of Zealou5 advised, I went out and got a flat headed bolt:

FYI, it's an "M8" size bolt

which then sits nice and flush, at least 5mm difference (no washers)!

Obviously, at this point I realized that the long term solution is either to remove the plastic liners, and bend back all the metal that is causing the plastic to wear, and the use a heat gun to mold the plastic out of the way of the tires - OR, it is possible that raising the car a few millimeters up front, would also accomplish the same thing without any metal bending.  I will have to consult Ito-san at Do-Luck about this next time I see him.

Anyway, until then, it was duct tape time.  So I first cleaned the plastic, then judiciously tapped up the torn plastic (both sides, outside and inside, and both front and back, left and right) using industrial strength duct tape, like this:

Of course, just leaving the tape as is after the repair is not aesthetically attractive, AND, we had the problem of where the undercoating had also been rubbed almost to the bare metal.  So, I sprayed these areas with some undercoat, in the hope and that it's better to lose undercoat first, then duct tape, THEN plastic. (so I forgot to take photos of how it looked AFTER I sprayed it.... sorry! Have to look closely to see the repair though!)

I also found that the lower most bolt of the fender liners was missing on both sides, so I went ahead and found bolts to replace those missing (this also cause the fender liners to stop flapping about so I'm happy).

In any case, while the car looks great with the lowered profile, I will have to figure out which permanent option is the better one, long term.  I haven't bothered taking the car for a drive yet as I'm sure the rubbing will continue so long as I don't do one of those two options. Stay tuned!

Ok So I'm a Brand W**re

I'm not a very good photographer, nor have I ever claimed to be even half good.  But, once in a while the subject looks good and the lighting is perfect.

Like this, taken with my iPhone 6 last Sunday. Enjoy!

Update - Protection for the Series 3 Front Lip Spoiler

One of the biggest problems, actually, with the Series 3 R33 GT-R (vs. Series 1 and Series 2) is the longer front lip spoiler.  Yes, it looks great, but it scrapes everywhere! (and it doesn't do much until you hit expressway speeds too...)

This OEM piece is made of ABS plastic (and came unpainted in its original black color), so it will not crack when the inevitable scrape happens - and by the way most of the time it's in those vertical parking lots (common in Japan) which require you to drive up, up, up to a parking spot... and then down, down, down to exit, at relatively steep angles, where your spoiler kisses the ground each time the ramp transitions from angled to flat, usually as you turn a 90 degree corner.

Series 3 kept by Nissan, showing the larger front lip spoiler, black ABS plastic
(Note this car also has the optional and now rare oil cooler kit with extra ducting in front bumper)

As a result, I absolutely hate driving my car to go to places like IKEA or Costco, where the parking lots are designed to pack as many cars into a small area as possible (I would even prefer mechanized parking over this, but I don't see those often, and sometimes my car is deemed too low to park in those pallets too...argh).

Anyway, once I got my front lip spoiler painted, I decided to get more creative to protect it.  Previously, I had tried to install a (Nismo) rubber strip that ran all the way across, and when that quickly peeled off (despite being bolted and glued on), I then tried thin aluminum strips which I bolted and glued on.  These also came off, and even got caught up under the car, causing a scratching noise that resulted in some pedestrians pointing and staring...

In any case, I had given up on this kind of extra protection, when I had a brainstorm.   My most recent effort involves rubber stoppers and some stainless screws which I found at my local hardware store:

To summarize, I simply used the same mounting points for the front diffuser using the pre-existing holes in the lip spoiler.   At each point, I lined up a rubber stopper and used an extra long screw to use the pre-existing holes.  When done, the underside of the front lip ended up looking like this:

But this was back in October of 2013!  Quite frankly (and yes I don't drive this car that much) I had forgotten about these, although the couple of times I recall scraping the front, I remember thinking "I wonder how those rubber stoppers are working? Oh well..."

Today however, I had a chance to look underneath when doing a minor project (to be posted soon), and found this:

The lip spoiler still looks good (ok it's dirty) but these rubber pieces worked as designed!  That is, they sacrificed themselves by being the lowest point on the front lip, hitting the ground/road first, and obviously lifting the lip out of danger's way!

So yay! Finally something that works.  Oh, and as for what I was doing working on my car, check back in a few days...

I Had An Affair!! Ok not really but... (plus my driving impressions of a 34 GT-R)

So for the past few months, in addition to my R33 GT-R (on the other side of the center wall), I've had THIS:

Living in my garage.  No, I haven't decided I have a sudden need for an R34 GT-R; my friend Ross in Canada happened to buy a near pristine KR4 (same color as mine!) zenki (1999) BNR34 at auction (with only 20,000 kms!) and needed a place to store it during the snowy season in Canada.  He would then have the car shipped to him in March, to arrive just about now.

Naturally, as a GT-R fan I couldn't say no, plus I had that extra space doing nothing.

Here's a video shot by Derek Wheldon of Pacific Coast Imports, who did the actual buying of the car at auction for Arneja Trading, the agent who imported it into Canada for Ross.

First order of business once the car was in my hands was to take the car to RAPT to get it properly detailed, and those ugly foglights removed.  Kabe-san, giving the car a once over, believed the car's mileage to be genuine.  However, he postulated that the car must have been left outside for much of its life.  Clues to this included some hairline cracks in the paint, some discoloration spots UNDER the clear coat, etched in rain spots on the glass and flat surfaces, and a badly cracked old style Nismo sticker on the trunk (as seen in the video).

As many houses in Japan don't have enclosed garages, this wasn't necessarily a sign of abuse; in fact given that many Japanese live in apartments, outside uncovered parking isn't unusual. In any case, I was confident that Kabe-san could either fix or minimize the damage, and 72 hours after I dropped the car off, it looked like this:

Amazing what a professional detail can do!

Weird black spot under the clear coat.... at least this is on the bumper, easily resprayed (you can see Kabe-san's reflection!)

Note yes that there are still a few places where a respray will be needed, but to me a respray is cosmetic and takes nothing away from the mechanical condition of the car, which is what is most important.

Anyway, once I got the car back from RAPT, I ordered a car cover, and put the car away for a few months.

Meanwhile, Ross had found out that my friend Dino Dalle Carbonare was looking to sell his Mine's BNR34 titanium muffler and Mine's BNR34 carbon wing mirrors.   A negotiation ensued, a price was decided - and then someone (me) had the brilliant idea that, since I have a long running relationship  with Mine's - why not get Mine's to install those Mine's parts? Plus, do a once over mechanical inspection to ensure the car was in good shape.  So I called Mine's and arranged for a little visit to do all this in early March.

So the day we went to Mine's the skies were overcast and it was drizzling...
just my luck, as it hadn't been outside since the detail...

On the way I had to get some gas... and the tires felt a bit soft for some reason...

Arrival at Mine's...yes despite being Italian Dino was there EARLY and I was 30 minutes LATE...

Some good company... that NSX-R was awesome!

The car gets pulled into the Mine's garage. World famous Nakayama-san (center) is ready to go

Last shot of the RSR muffler,
shortly before it was yanked off to be replaced with Dino's old Mine's titanium unit

When all the parts were put on, and the car given a clean of health - of course we had to ensure that people knew that Mine's did the work:

Mine's Takayanagi-san putting on the sticker....Turns out the sticker on my car was never offered for sale publicly...
found only on certain cars like their demo cars and a few select customer cars!  yay!

OK - now for what people really want to know - my driving impressions.

First, it wasn't my car, so I wasn't going to go crazy with it (and, as Nakayama-san at Mine's pointed out later, the tires were hard and cracked... could they be the original OEM tires?!! I knew they felt funny).  Second, I only drove in the city and the expressway. Third, it's hard to compare this 34 with my car because my car is tuned up both in power and handling - however I have tried to compare to what I remember when I got my 33 back in 2005 when it was near stock.  Also, this 34 had an aftermarket exhaust and suspension, so that may also have affected my perceptions.

First, the good. The engine, given how little it's been used, absolutely purrs. But, I also believe that build quality must have been better, as my car's OEM engine, with only 50,000kms on it, was not as smooth.  Clearly, there is also more boost off the line, which makes the car feel more peppy? In any case the engine felt "just right" -not weak, not overly powerful - for the job.  And this could have been the gearing as well - in any case, the car felt very easy to drive.  Also, the body rigidity was clearly better (I think mostly from the extra rigidity in the C pillars/roof area), and yes the car does feel a bit smaller than the 33.  At expressway speeds, however, the 33 is a better drive - a bit more stable, although I think the 34's underbody aero does a lot to minimize the differences.  However, the 6 speed Getrag on the 34 sure is nice to have, as 6th acts as an overdrive to lower the RPMs at speed (and thus makes the engine and thus car a bit quieter).

Next, stuff that is not necessarily good and not necessarily bad.  I am not sure to what extent this is due to the narrow OEM tires, but the steering was extremely light, and also somewhat numb.  The car felt like a luxury sedan in that respect.  I definitely wanted more feedback, and would have preferred less power assist. But, it did make for extremely easy driving in the city.  So together with the gearing and the extra boost, Nissan DID manage to accomplish one of its goals, which was to make the car easier to drive than the 33, which was deemed fast enough.

Also, I liked the Multi Function Display - it was fun to fiddle with, but I am used to 3 gauges and so having only 2 there... but the ability to change the display is cool.  The MFD would probably be useful on the track, if it was preset to show the important stuff like oil temperature and boost.

yes, fun in the beginning but do I really need all that info?

Lastly, the bad.  For the price of the car, Nissan really cheaped out on the interior of the car. The car's interior is much more plasticky than the 33. Yes the 33 is plastic too so it must be a different type of plastic. The seat fabric too, even though the seats are desirable from the perspective of having two harness holes, the fabric itself felt cheaper vs the suede-like material in the 33.  Continuing on the interior - the gas level and engine temperature gauges in the gauge pod are huge, compared to the 33. Frankly they were distracting to me, I much prefer the cleaner 33 gauge pod (plus, the straight down and 90 degree needle positions on the 33 give that car character... in the 34 they are like just like any other car...)

Meh... just doesn't look as good, sorry. And does a stock 34 really rev up to 9000?

Subjective, I know, but somehow it just looks better

So there you have it - my impressions of the 34 vs the 33. Clearly, these cars are very similar - and it makes sense as the engine and chassis are fundamentally the same.  The differences, both good and bad, are minor, and nothing that money can't fix or improve.  Again it would have been nice to see the differences on the track but that wasn't going to happen, hence my picking on relatively superficial aspects of each car.  Hopefully sometime in the future I will be able to drive a 34 similarly tuned to the specifications of my car, so I can do a direct comparison!

In any case - a week after the Mine's visit the car was picked up to be put onto the ship. Thanks Ross for trusting me with your car - I certainly hope you enjoy it!

Still looking good for the trip overseas!

The Mine's Titanium Exhaust and decal look good!

I wonder what will end up in my garage next?

A Moment Of Silence...

This morning on Facebook I learned that one of the biggest fans of the R33 GT-R, Alexander Gorodji, had suddenly recently passed away.

Many of us, myself included, never had a chance to meet him in person, but his legacy will live on in this:

If you haven't read it yet, highly recommended. One of the few books/articles out there that doesn't denigrate the R33, or in fact any of the cars - it's written properly, meaning that it shows how awesome each of the GT-Rs were for their particular era.  Written by a true fan of all the cars, I think.

Sean Morris also has more information about Mr. Gorodji here.

Rest In Peace, fellow R33 Otaku.

Breaking News! NISMO Omori Factory to Develop a BCNR33 Demo Car

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends and All R33 GT-R fans,

Something close to the unbelievable has happened... maybe all of our efforts and patience has paid off!?

So my friend Paul Miller told me that the latest GT-R Magazine (Vol 121, March 2015) was now on sale, with a BCNR33 on the cover.  Following what appears to be the general trend (or perhaps they are responsible for it?)  the magazine's recent focus up until now was the R32 and R34, and then when the R35 was released, a few successive issues on the R35, so naturally I haven't been a big reader lately. (Although, I will admit the magazine started in 1994 and thus covered the 32 and 33 in depth back then.)  Plus, all the products they feature for the cars all have the GT-R tax so that annoys me as well.

Needless to say, I was surprised that GT-R Magazine featured the R33 GT-R so prominently...and the title... "The Truth about the BCNR33: 20 Year Anniversary Special Project."

This issue features several stories on the development of the R33 GT-R, for example the goals of the engineering and design teams. I plan to scan in (and maybe translate or at least summarize) those pages later, but many of the photos are the same as can be found in the "I Love R33 GT-R" Mook from which I also sourced my research on how the R33 GT-R improved upon the R32 GT-R.

There are also some interviews from notable figures such as Niikura-san at Mine's, Mukai-san at HKS Kansai on what they think of the R33 GT-R, an editorial from racing driver (and test driver for the 400R) Takayuki Kinoshita, and reflections by R33/R34 chief product engineer Kozo Watanabe.  Also a spot light on current Nismo driver, Tsugio Matsuda who owns a red R33 GT-R, silver 400R, and just recently bought a white 260RS.

Anyway - what got me excited was the following article, and the topic of this post.  This news is too good to keep in Japanese only, so here is the article, found on page 38-41  (my rough translation of the article follows- also sorry for the iPhone photos, did not have time to properly scan):

Nismo Omori Factory 

BCNR33 20th Anniversary Project

Aiming for a 21st Century GT Car

Building the Supreme 33

Nismo Omori Factory has, in celebrating 20 years from the birth of the BCNR33 Skyline GT-R, begun work on a new project.  With the concept of a "Grand Touring Car," they will make a demo car from the ground up.  

This will be the first time ever Omori Factory tries this on a BCNR33.  

Also, it is rumored that it is possible a new 2.8L spec RB engine will be created. 

What kind of machine will this be? A magnificent project is now, beginning.

Article:

A new plan to celebrate its 20th anniversary; emphasis on "grand touring"

Nismo Omori Factory - the "head temple" of Nismo's direct sales pro-shops.  Omori Factory has now embarked on a new project for the BCNR33 Skyline GT-R, which has seen 20 years from its release.

Readers of this magazine should remember the BNR32 Skyline GT-R project we followed all last year. The theme of that project was, "by refreshing [Japan speak for rebuilding] the BNR32 demo car,  to return the knowledge gained in some form to owners."  

Specifically, the plan for the machine was "a grand touring car for adults" and so the demo car's track focused spec, was changed along with its rebuilding. Also, with Nissan Motor Company's complete support, they were able to conduct "chassis torsion rigidity tests" on the almost completely stripped down chassis.  By conducting a test that is normally done when the car is new, they were able to check the body rigidity.

What resulted from the above test was the "carbon aluminum honeycomb kit menu." By installing this they were successful in greatly improving the body rigidity, and racing driver Seiji Ara who test drove the car was shocked at the result.

Also, as a grand touring car emphasis was placed on quietness, which lead to the development of the "floor sound dampening kit menu." So this project can be said to have resulted in a "21st century BNR32" giving rise to a new direction for Nismo Omori Factory's second generation GT-R menus [Japan speak for a series of optional parts].

So, in the BCNR33's case, in what particular direction will this project take? Nismo Omori Factory's Mr. Yusuke Mori, who will be the key man for this project, says the following:

"We are not at the stage yet where we can talk about what we do in particular, but with respect to this BCNR33 as well, we will be completely rebuilding it, and checking on the supply of OEM parts.  Also with regards to the machine itself, we would like to aim for "adult grand touring car" like we did with the BNR32."

The BCNR33 has, amongst the second generation GT-Rs, superlative grand touring abilities. So this advantage will be improved upon. What kind of spec will a reborn "Heisei-era" grand tourismo be? We eagerly look forward to this.

On the other hand, the "coach" for this project, Nismo Omori Factory's Mr. Masao Sasaki, says this:

"When I transferred from the racing world to the business world, the BCNR33 was the most exciting. I was allowed to participate in parts development and testing as well as the 400R. There were so many new discoveries.  I still remember thinking "the huge difference between a racing car and a production car" for example on the weight of the drive shaft."

For this project, Omori Factory purchased a BCNR33 as the base (see details below). The enthusiasm for this was more than the usual.  Also this time, in addition to the rebuild they will be investing in a new engine. While still at the planning stage, at present time it is anticipated to have a capacity of 2.8L.

"As a grand touring car, we should at least have an engine with increased capacity, one that can go on long drives at high speed with ease.  We would like to aim for that kind of spec" says Morita.

When one thinks of a 2.8L BCNR33, we always envision the 400R, though?

"While the capacity would be the same as the 400R, this will have a different flavor from that machine. In any case, we would love to promote a new item to BCNR33 owners."

page 40:
Purchased a 33 as the base for the demo car. Begin development on a new engine!

To inaugurate this project, Nismo Omori Factory purchased a BCNR33.  This is the first BCNR33 demo car for Omori Factory since they opened in 1997.

The car chosen as a base for the demo car is a 1996 (chuki, Series 2) V-spec.  Color is the rare dark grey pearl (and the car's odometer shows 91,000 kms).   This is not a stock car, as it has an aftermarket engine oil cooler, coilover suspension and mufflers, etc.  On the day of the photoshoot, our first impression was "other than the body color, at first glance an ordinary BCNR33." Sasaki-san describes the story behind its purchase.

"We elaborately checked the condition of the under chassis, confirming there was no rust. It wasn't excessively tuned, and didn't look worn out; these criteria were also deciding factors."

The day of the photoshoot the engine had already been removed, and looking into the engine bay, we did not see any rust or evidence of a large accident.  As a foundation, this specimen is fantastic.

Sasaki-san, as the coach for the previous similar project, supported Morita-san who decided on the specifications and the actual construction.  Morita-san is actually a mechanic who knows how to "drive" having owned an ECR33 Skyline and then an M35 Stagea.  We can expect great things from his future activities.

So, what kind of schedule will be followed? Also, like in the BNR32's case, will a new menu (of parts) be created? Morita-san says:

"This time, we will work on the engine too, and so the work is anticipated to take longer than last time. While checking the availability of OEM parts, we are thinking about how to mix items we have already developed, with items that will have to be newly developed. We imagine a schedule where we are not rushed, and can take breaks and look back."

According to Morita-san, expected completion date would be fall of next year [this was at the time of the photo shoot so I think this means 2015? I will find out from Nismo...lol].  Of course, during this time not all work will be focused on the BCNR33, new items for the BNR32 and BNR34 will continue to be developed in parallel.  The (Nismo Omori Factory demo) BNR32 that we covered up until the last issue, still has to get its suspension sorted out.

The work that has been scheduled in the near future, will be a complete dismantling of the body, with a complete repaint.  The body color will be changed to the same as that on the BNR32 demo car, that is, the R35 OEM color of "dark metal grey." With this, all of Omori Factory's demo cars will be the same body color.  Lastly, Sasaki-san says:

"The BCNR33 has superior high speed capabilities, and is superior in space utility to the BNR32 and BNR34. It is a GT-R with extremely magnificent potential.  As Nismo Omori Factory, we are aiming to create a package that can be properly called a Grand Touring Car. In any case we will not likely have another large scale project like this for a while.  Please look forward to the result."

Finally - the BCNR33 Skyline GT-R 20th anniversary project has begun. Will the new engine's name be the "RB-X GT3" in homage to the 400R? Will the exterior be kept standard, or will it be outfitted with Nismo aero parts? Will there be new parts developed, like the "Carbon Aluminum Honeycomb Kit Menu"?  As GT-R Magazine we are all consumed with interest.  We plan on reporting, in parallel, the body rebuild along with the new engine development. Don't miss it!

Page 41:
The Theme of this Project is "Grand Touring Car"

The Chosen Base Car is a Series 2

First photo caption: The new demo car is a 1996, chu-ki (Series 2) V-Spec. Mr. Yusuke Morita, in charge of the project, said "before beginning work we test drove it and the condition was not bad."

Under the three photos: The interior, other than the HVAC controls having been moved, is mostly stock.  Amazingly, it has the optional knee pads. The odometer shows 91,000 kms, this appears to be actual. The above right photo shows the seat removed, but the floor is also very clean. Below the trunk, there was no rust apparent. The engine bay showed aftermarket air cleaners and an engine oil cooler that fits behind the center grill.

Bottom right two: The Key Men of this Project
(left) Nismo Omori Factory: Mr. Masao Sasaki.  Following the previous project, Sasaki-san again assumes the role of "coach" this time.  He will be the advisor for determining this project's concepts and the development of new products. He has special memories with regards to the BCNR33.

(right) Nismo Omori Factory: Mr. Yusuke Morita.  He is a Nismo Technical Master.  For this project, he will be in charge of deciding the specifications and doing the actual work. He has experience in heavy maintenance, including chassis rebuilding, on dozens of BCNR33s.

Bottom left, thin red frame:  Seat Covers for the BCNR33, expected sale date in mid February.
In addition to the seat covers now available for the BNR32, plans are to offer this for the BCNR33 as well. These will be designed to match the interior of the BCNR33.  Details in the next issue.

First Post for 2015: Sound Clip of the Blitz E-ESC

First, Happy New Year Everyone! 2015 will be a good year for mods, I have lots planned so whether I have the time to do stuff will be the main problem! 

Second, I had gotten some requests for a video/sound clip of the Blitz E-ESC electronic exhaust valve in action.  Unfortunately it may be a bit hard to tell the difference due to the limited sound recording capabilities of my iPhone, but I think you can somewhat tell the difference. Incidentally, it seems MUCH more quiet from INSIDE the car, but that's probably because one gets used to the drone of the Tomei exhaust at engine speeds above 1200 (so basically all the time) and then all of a sudden when the car is at a light and the revs drop to 1000... silence (ok so it's relative but heck the wife was surprised...)

You will see from the video that what Ninomiya-san (who installed the E-ESC) told me is correct - basically there is no difference in sound from about 20% open all the way to 100%. There is a drastic difference however once the valve closes to 15% or less... here in the video you can hear, when the valve is open at only 5%, the engine sounds that remain at idle, and additionally you can also see that the exhaust smoke (it was really cold outside when I shot the video) diminishes as well.

Enjoy!