Category: Maxxd News

1000WHP BMW M4: BEYOND THE LIMIT

While this BMW M4 might look subtle on the outside, barely contained beneath the surface sits a seriously modded S55 developing an earth-shattering amount of power, creating a 1000whp BMW M4 monster.

Feature taken from Performance BMW. Words: Elizabeth de Latour. Photos: Brandon Fudge.

Is there such a thing as too much power? Ricky Nguyen wouldn’t say so because he’s built the most powerful M4 we’ve ever seen. That’s made all the more impressive by the fact that while the S55 is a serious powerhouse, to extract truly astronomical figures from it as he has done requires real commitment, and this car has been built to a scale and standard that are truly astonishing.

Ricky’s 1000whp BMW M4 build would be impressive regardless of how many modded cars had come before it on his motoring journey, but the fact that this is not only his first BMW but also his first-ever modded car makes this whole project and the incredible end result all the more amazing. So what drives a man who drove a Honda Accord as his first car to buy an M4 and mod it on this scale? “I have always been interested in BMWs as they don’t go out of style and last for generations,” says Ricky. “What makes BMWs special to me is their durability and longevity. Their body style is unique and still looks modern and luxurious even after newer models are released. They can be passed on from generation to generation and still run like the day they were driven off the dealer’s lot,” he says and he makes a good point. “The BMW E92 M3 was my dream car growing up as a kid. I always loved the M3’s aggressive body lines and sporty look as a coupé. A BMW M coupé is the car that I had to have when I could afford one; there was no other car that kept my attention like that,” he smiles. “I decided to buy my 2016 BMW F82 M4 because it had everything I was looking for in a BMW. It checked every box on my buying list: BMW, M performance, coupé, Mineral white, and being that is the first 4 Series M model was a bonus. I know it will become a classic, luxurious sporty vehicle that others will come to love and enjoy down the road,” he says.

Now, while Ricky did have some mods in mind for his M4, with this being his first BMW and with him never having modded a car before it’s understandable that he fully intended to take things easy and keep the mods mild. “My only plans I had for the car after purchasing it were to add an exhaust and downpipes, the simple bolt-on mods,” he says, and we can see how well that worked out for him… “The first mod done to the car was adding catless downpipes and an exhaust. Both were purchased from Fabspeed as they have their signature X-pipe design to eliminate the rasp of the OEM exhaust note,” he says. “The second mod I did was adding my M Performance carbon fibre lip and carbon diffuser. After adding the exhaust and carbon fibre exterior pieces, I felt like the car lacked power to match its appeal so I went with a custom Stage 2 tune with bootmod3,” and with just those simple mods Ricky already had a car that looked good, sounded good and went like stink, with the Stage 2 bootmodm3 taking power deep into 500hp territory. As far as a selection of starting mods goes, they definitely got the job done and the car remained at this level for a little while, but when Ricky made his next move things got serious, and seriously fast.

“Once I drove the car for another 5000 miles I felt that it could use a lot more mods so I purchased the following items and had them all installed at once,” he says and everything he bought took the M4’s power level from reasonable to incomprehensible in one giant leap. It took a hell of a lot of work but, damn, did it get results. “I bought Evolution Racewerks charge pipes, Fuel-It Stage 4 kit, Driveshaft shop axles and propshaft, SSP Spec-R clutch and transmission package, Pure Turbos High-Flow Stage 2 turbos, Burger Motorsports intakes, CSF front-mount race heat exchanger, top-mount cooler and DCT cooler, and a CarBahn Autoworks Stage 2 engine. All of these modifications were added just 8000 miles after purchasing the car and installing all of these modifications took about nine months,” he explains and that’s an incredible array of upgrades, but it’s the CarBahn Autoworks Stage 2 engine that really stands out because that’s what takes this build to a whole other level.

“The CarBahn Stage 2 engine was the longest wait as they had to upgrade a stock S55 engine,” explains Ricky. “I went with a CarBahn engine because it is a Steve Dinan engine, and the Dinan name has been tied to BMW since 1977 when he first started building high-performance BMW street and racing engines. CarBahn Autoworks addresses the two biggest issues that plague the S55 engine,” Ricky continues, “and the engine is also built with forged Carrillo connecting rods and forged CP pistons for excellent durability. Lastly, the engine’s compression ratio is dropped by 0.5 to accommodate a large increase in boost and the cylinder head is also ported to maximize airflow at higher rpm,” he continues. “Once the engine came in everything was installed at the same time since the entire car would be torn apart. This allowed for the car to have the least amount of downtime possible. As soon as these mods were done, the car was pushing 730whp and 750lb ft wtq; I drove the car around at this power level for about two weeks before I blew the clutches and transmission. I had a shift-rod error from too much torque causing the SSP Spec-R clutches to fail along with my transmission,” Ricky tells us but, as we all know, when something breaks that just means that you rebuild it even better than before, which is exactly what he did.

“At this point, I knew that I had another chance to rebuild my car – I was given a second chance to turn my BMW into what it is now,” he grins. The first item on the list was brakes, because while the stock items are probably the best M3 (and M4) brakes we’ve ever had, there’s still plenty of room for improvement, especially once you start upping the power to this sort of level. Ricky opted for a Brembo BBK with red calipers to deliver the perfect contrast against the white bodywork, with six-pot calipers up front and four-pots at the rear, both mated to 380mm discs, and this is actually his favourite mod on the whole car. “It allows me to go as fast as I want and still be able to stop as needed. Without the big brake kit, I would not be able to drive the car as spiritedly as I do,” he smiles. Next up, the clutches needed some serious upgrades to ensure they were ready for what Ricky had planned; “I sent the clutches back to South Side Performance (SSP) and had Kris make me custom clutches. I did not know my power goals so I told him to do whatever he has to as I plan on pushing at least 1000whp while daily driving the car. While the clutches and transmission were being replaced, Kratos released their KRAS55Bi turbos. These turbos are designed to allow the car to push a much higher amount of boost with less strain on the motor. Also, the turbos’ dual ceramic ball bearing aids in decreasing response time with its near-frictionless surface as well as guaranteeing long term reliability,” he says.

“While tuning the car with the previous Pure turbos, I ran into valve float with the stock valve springs. Valve float is a common issue now with the S55 engine as you reach approximately 7-800whp depending on your car’s setup,” Ricky explains. “With valve float occurring, we could turn up the boost as much as we want but no power gains would occur. It can also cause damage to the engine if not addressed in a timely manner. At this time, there were only two companies working on a valve spring upgrade for the S55 engine as it was unknown territory, because only a small handful of S55s were pushing the limits and boundaries as I was. HeadGames Motorworks was the first to have a complete, finished product and I went with their valve spring kit to solve my valve float issue. Once the valve springs were upgraded, it was time to bolt on the Kratos turbos and get it tuned.

“I went with Halim at HCP Performance as my tuner as he, along with the staff at Kratos, make a hell of a team and had my car dialled in within a week. While tuning the vehicle, I found a small boost leak in my Evolution Racewerks aluminium charge pipes and replaced them with Maximum PSI’s silicone charge pipes and their J-Pipe. I also ran into issues with the Burger Motorsports intakes so I modified the setup to be compatible with ASR Engineering’s intakes. I also installed a 4 bar Bosch sensor so that the car can run more boost than the OEM factory sensor. At that point, the rest is history,” he grins. “The car dyno’d at 995whp and 847lb ft wtq on pump E85 alone at 45 psi, and 656whp/580wtq on 93 octane at 27 psi with more left in it on the 93 octane tune. I did not dial in the 93 octane tune as I prefer the power that E85 delivers. I kept the torque down intentionally for the E85 pump map so that the transmission can keep up,” he adds.

Now, for most people that would be it, because 995whp is an insane amount of power, but Ricky isn’t most people… “After driving the car daily for five months, I learned a lot about it and its characteristics. I learned what it liked and didn’t like. I also knew that I left power on the table so I decided to do some more modifications. 995whp and 847lb ft wtq was not enough,” he grins. “I first contacted Mike at Evolution of Speed so that he could set me up with one of his CNC intake manifolds. I also upgraded my 950cc injectors from Fuel-It to Injector Dynamics’ 1050x injectors that flow 1065cc at 3 bar. Furthermore, I swapped out my spark plugs to Brisk’s QR08S Silver Racing plugs, which are one step colder than the QR10S I ran previously. I also contacted Kris at South Side Performance and I upgraded the stock DCT transmission pan to their DCT Billet Transmission Pan as well as their DCT Viton Transmission Pan Gasket and Stainless Steel Filter. The SSP Transmission Pan is CNC’d and has cooling fins to keep temperatures down while also providing an additional 2-litre capacity over stock. With more power comes more responsibility so I also installed SPL’s Titanium Rear Upper Links and Rear Traction Links as well as Fall-Line Motorsports’ Toe Link Kit.

“Since I upgraded to the Evolution of Speed intake manifold for extra fuelling, my mechanic Matt had to run some custom fuel lines so that it would be compatible with some of the existing Fuel-It components. With changes to the fuelling, that also meant I had to retune the car as well. I decided to go with my original tuner this time, Paul Johnson, otherwise known as F80Paul. He is extremely knowledgeable on the S55 platform as well as a few others such as the B58 engine,” says Ricky. “After everything was installed, we started tuning immediately and the rest is history. It took approximately two days to tune the car on the dyno for three different types of fuels. We first started with pump E85 with my ethanol sensor reading E80 then moved on Ignite Red (E90) and finally 93 octane. The car put down 960whp and 845lb ft wtq on the pump E85 map, 1005whp/863lb ft wtq on the Ignite Red map and 670whp/600lb ft wtq on 93 octane in the 90°F (32°C) weather here in Dallas, Texas. If tuning was done during boost season like when it was previously tuned my numbers will definitely be higher, and with race fuel alone the car is capable of up to +1163whp/983lb ft wtq as that is what Kratos made on their shop car. I always keep race fuel handy, so that if I do want to make more power on a particular day I just need to mix it in with the pump E85,” he smiles. We need a moment because the numbers being thrown around here are just insane. 1005whp is a completely abstract number that you can’t even begin to wrap your head around, and to have that much in a car that is still daily driven is just beyond words, really.

The question on our lips, and everyone else’s, is what is it actually like to drive something with that level of power, because it’s incomprehensible really. “I daily drive the car on the E85 tune and it is exhilarating to say the least,” he laughs. “When people ask me what it’s like driving the car around as my daily driver with 1000hp to the wheels, I tell them it’s just like stock but faster. The jerkiness with the DCT transmission from the factory is gone with the upgraded clutches and tuning. I have no issues with traction besides in first and second gear; given the right environment/factors, the car will catch traction in third gear, no later than fourth. The car is an absolute rocket and physically lifts when I smash the gas pedal. It looks and sounds like a luxurious, high-end performance BMW coupé: it is the ultimate driving machine,” he smiles and we don’t doubt that for a moment.

Often when we feature a car with this sort of power level it has the outlandish looks to go with it but, as you can see here, this M4 is incredibly subtle on the outside, and it’s a theme that carries over to the inside as well. While by its nature an M4 – and any M car – can never truly be considered a sleeper, this 1000whp BMW M4 is about as close as you can hope to get. “I decided to go with an OEM+, sleeper-style look for the car,” says Ricky. “I kept the engine bay looking as stock/OEM as possible. Every modification on the car was ordered directly from BMW’s M Performance line if possible. I was first running an M Performance carbon fibre lip but it cracked in half and flew off while flooring the car, so I then replaced it with an M4 CS-style carbon lip and secured it to the point where it will not fly off. I even got the quad exhaust tips from Fabspeed finished in polished chrome to make them look as close to the stock quad tips,” he says.

1000whp BMW M4 sleeper? You best believe it

We admire Ricky’s restraint and his subtle carbon additions merely serve to delicately enhance the car’s looks without drawing any unwanted attention, and the same goes for the wheels, which are far from flash, and the suspension, which has been set up to deliver handling and the perfect drop. “Given the fact that I went after an OEM+ sleeper look, I decided to go with something a little different than the usual wheel selections,” he explains. “I decided to go with Brixton Forged’s CM10 monoblock forged wheels finished in Satin Kingsport Grey,” and the intricate design looks so good on the M4’s shape while the colour and satin finish are a stunning combo. The wheels are wrapped in super-sticky Toyo R888R rubber, with 265s up front and 305s at the rear, delivering huge levels of grip and traction.

For suspension, Ricky chose a set of Öhlins Road & Track coilovers, which offer plenty of adjustment, allowing him to fine-tune his M4’s handling based on the type of driving he’s doing and their track bias is perfect for him as, while the M4 might be his daily, it also gets to enjoy some circuit time, while the SPL Titanium Links combined with the Fall-Line Motorsport kit helps him put all that power to the ground. Finally we come to the interior and, as with the exterior, things have been kept very subtle and stock in here. “The interior is very basic and stock-looking and I did all of the interior mods myself,” Ricky says. “I installed the M Performance Alcantara arm rest, DCT carbon fibre knob, DCT console trim, carbon fibre/Alcantara parking brake handle and stainless steel pedals,” and while that might be a modest selection of mods, these M Performance additions are more than enough to enhance the cabin’s aesthetics and make it feel just that little bit more special.

We feature some incredible cars here at PBMW but this 1000whp BMW M4 is truly something else. It’s not just the headline figure that is mind-blowing, it’s the work that’s gone into achieving it which is truly astonishing, with that engine taking centre stage and it truly sets this build apart. If you’re ever wondering what it takes to build a 1000whp car, this is the level of commitment and dedication that’s required. We love this car for many reasons, but we particularly love the way it combines insane power with incredibly subtle styling, because that’s something we’ll never get bored of. After nine months of building and an incredible array of mods, it is with both great relief and satisfaction that we can say this car is done and Ricky only has one thing on his mind. “My only plan is to drive it as much as possible and enjoy it so that all the time, effort and money was not put to waste,” he says with a smile and that sounds like a damn good plan to us.

Tech Spec: 1000whp BMW M4

Engine and Transmission:

3.0-litre straight-six CarBahn Autoworks Stage 2 S55B30, Kratos KRAS55Bi turbos, HeadGames Motorworks valve spring kit, Burger Motorsports intakes modified with ASR filters, Fabspeed catless downpipes and exhaust with polished chrome tips, CSF top-mount chargecooler, front-mount race heat exchanger & DCT transmission cooler, Evolution of Speed intake manifold, Injector Dynamics 1050x injectors, Maximum PSI charge pipes and J-pipe, bootmod3 software, custom tuning by HCP Performance, custom tuning by Paul Johnson. Seven-speed M DCT gearbox, South Side Performance custom DCT clutches, Billet Transmission Pan, Viton Gasket and Transmission Filter, Driveshaft Shop propshaft and axles, GTS DCT TCU flash, GTS diff flash

Power and Torque:

1005whp and 863lb ft wtq on Ignite Red (E90), 960whp and 845lb ft wtq on pump E85, 670whp and 600lb ft wtq on 93 octane

Chassis:

9.5×19” (front) and 11×19” (rear) Brixton Forged monoblock CM10 wheels in Satin Kingsport Grey with 265/35 (front) and 305/30 (rear) Toyo R888R tyres, Öhlins Road & Track coilovers, SPL Titanium Rear Upper Links and Titanium Rear Traction Links, Fall-Line Motorsports Toe Link Kit, GTS electronic power steering flash and traction control flash, Brembo Type 3 BBK with six-piston calipers and 380mm discs (front) and four-piston calipers and 380mm discs (rear)

Exterior:

M4 CS-style carbon fibre front lip, BMW M Performance carbon fibre rear diffuser and boot lip spoiler, Suntek Ultra PPF and Ceramic Pro Lifetime Warranty by Southwest Auto Detailing

Interior:

BMW M Performance Alcantara armrest, DCT carbon fibre console trim, Alcantara/carbon fibre handbrake handle and stainless steel pedal covers, BlackVue DR900S-2CH dash cam

Source

September 21, 2020
VR6-ENGINED PORSCHE 993: FLIP REVERSE

People have been fitting Porsche engines into Volkswagens for years, but Bradley Black’s turbocharged VR6-engined Porsche 993 proves it can work the other way, too…

Feature taken from PVW magazine. Words: Tony Saggu. Photos: Tate Chmiselewski

We know what you’re thinking… and yes, it’s a Porsche… and it’s in PVW. The “World’s Best Selling VW Tuning Magazine” has finally lost the plot, jumped on the hipster bandwagon and gone all craft beer and non fat Mocha latte Frappuccino on us. Sure it’s all VAG and the same suits in Wolfsburg are pulling the strings but really… a Porsche? Don’t they already have magazines packed with ads for expensive watches, personal plates and trendy tobacco for those cars? Hold on to your humidors though, there may be a method to this madness, read on, all is not as it seems at PVW Towers, this promises to be a tale with a twist… with a twist in the tail.

For those of us who still think a man bun is a chip butty with greasy bacon, and are not blessed with a pair of skinny jeans and a beard comb, the car on these pages may need a little introduction. Colonial customiser Bradley Black has bolted together a rather tasty and certainly controversial Porsche 993 – the 1996 vintage machine is no run of the mill Porker though. Those in the know will tell you that the 993 is something very special in the ranks of the Stuttgart stable. The mid to late 90’s variants of the 911 model line are not only the last of the much revered air cooled clan, but are generally reckoned to be among the best effort the company ever put out. For the purist posse owning one is a privilege and cutting one up is… well, just say our man Brad has probably got a band of slightly paunchy, middle aged Rennlist refugees out looking for him. Brad’s not bothered though, “I thought it would make a cool project,” he told us, “something interesting and unique.” Employee at Adaptec Speedware and co-owner of Eurotrash Apparel (along with fiancé Dinah Jean Volante), Black is based in Louisville, Kentucky, a locale that has the distinction for turning out a certain professional pugilist who, like our man’s project “shook up the world.”

Like a good many Porsche pilots, Brad started his VAG journey tinkering with the firm’s more proletariat products; early water-cooled Volkswagens of various descriptions with, as time went on increasingly exuberant engineering, “My buddy Zuk bought a Mk3 VR6 years ago and hearing that thing at full tilt had me hooked,” he recalled, “I’ve worked through lots of them since including a Mk2 with a turbo VR swap.” Predictably a string of Audis followed with each one more powerful than the last, the whole four ring thing was pushing all the right buttons in the power and style stakes, but there was something still missing. Brad was hankering for something outside the norm, something a little bit different. “I would find myself day dreaming of cramming a VR6 into an air-cooled Beetle and crazy stuff like that,” he told us, “but never really pursued it with other cars eating up my time and money.” Surfing the Web however soon saw dreams becoming plans as Brad began researching the outlandish idea with a little more seriousness, “After researching a bit I realised that they make an adapter plate to run VRs in dune buggies using a few different Porsche transmissions, I figured if I was going to do all that work anyway why not raise the stakes and just build a VR 911.” Finding a project car was fairly easy, you’d be surprised how many unfinished dream Porsches there are littering the Internet. “I found a promising looking ’73 911 with a 930 widebody conversion,” recalled Brad, “The guy was less than upfront about rust issues until after the deal was done though. I wasn’t happy and we needed to make this right. He says he also has a ’91 964 with no engine or trans’ but importantly no rust which would be perfect for this conversion. This chassis houses the beefy G50 trans’ that would be great for a VR6.” The 964 turned out to be a convertible with a less than professionally installed fibreglass hardtop grafted to it, though. “I never really knew what was “off” about it but after seeing a factory hardtop with the rain gutters I couldn’t move forward with it,” explained Brad. “Plans now were to find a wrecked car and see if we could make a deal for the complete roof and graft it on.” While researching roof options Brad stumbled on a liberally mangled 993 within a couple of hundred miles. The car was missing the engine, gearbox and a good many other bits and the front end was smashed pretty good but as a donor car it was perfect. “After talking with the guy it started to make more sense to maybe just fix it, recalled Brad. “Luck would have it that the 964 part numbers are the same as the 993 for the frame rail and lower structure and I already had a car at home with a good front clip. Cut up a cabriolet to save a coupe? I had no issues with it. After striking a deal for the chassis we were on our way with a truck and trailer to pick it up.”

Turning the pile of parts he had amassed into a verified head turner took Brad the better part of two years, well at least to get it on the road took that long, these types of projects are never really finished. The first order of business was to address the bodyshell, initially the idea was to replace the missing bits, repair the damage and straighten out the panels well enough to have a presentable driver. As the project has progressed though the rough and ready has given way to a more tailored and fitted look…although there’s no doubt the character has remained righteously rough and definitely ready. The exterior treatment is now modelled on the fabled Porsche RSR Rennsport cars which Porsche produced to terrorise tracks all over the world. This is no low calorie cruiser, Brad has built himself a fat fendered, track inspired main street menace. All four corners have received portly panelwork to house acres of race ready rubber, which flow into custom turbo style bumpers. With a widebody conversion a huge rear spoiler is almost mandatory and Brad definitely didn’t skimp in the downforce department, bolting on a GT2 bootlid to even out the wide boy proportions. Throwing in a pair of NACA ducted rear quarter widows helps to clear up any confusion that this is s light duty daily driver. With a perfect balance of beauty in the beast there could really have only been one choice of topcoat, “The car was originally Polar silver. I painted it black, no pearl, no flake, just black,” confirmed Mr…Black.

The tears, fears and general controversy and consternation has always been about what’s under those pristine panels though, it’s surprising how much hue and cry half a dozen cylinders can create if you just change the cooling source and configuration, bend the block a touch and throw in a little water and people lose their minds! “Installing a turbo VR6 was always the goal,” explained Brad, “I probably could have found a period correct flat six to throw in there, but where’s the challenge in that?” Tracking down a narrow angle six to stuff in the boot was certainly easier… and a fair bit cheaper than finding and funding a boxer to go back there. “I found a Mk3 Jetta for sale for $500 in a another city, recalled Brad, “I called a friend to go look at it, and after doing a couple of burnouts in it he reckoned it was stout enough for the project. I sent the money and gathered the engine later.” Though capable of roasting the radials the twelve valve six showed some signs of wear and rebuilding the lump seemed like wise insurance, the future promised healthy helpings of turbo boost and horsepower numbers north of 400 were planned. Getting the VR to fit in the back of the Porsche and actually work proved to be just as much fun as you might imagine. Acquiring a Porsche gearbox and mating it up to the block was the easy bit…they make a kit for that, but making all the accessories play along and finding a way to cool the motor presented a whole heap of challenges. “There was probably four or five different set ups I tried to get the cooling system to work properly,” lamented Brad, “but they all kept overheating. Running the coolant hoses through the body channels meant I had high and low spots so it created air pockets. I finally got it to work with a bleeder line off the head rerouted to the coolant pipe. It created the highest point I was missing.” Almost every part had to modified or custom made to fit in the confines of the small, shallow engine bay. Though more often found strapped to heavy duty diesel engines, a quick spooling Holset turbo unit was introduced to the six via a custom manifold, the pipe bender and welder also came out again to create a custom exhaust, “space was very tight and I initially tried a straight through exhaust,” revealed Brad, “but the volume even at idle was just not going to fly, so I was kinda forced to add a resonator.” Despite pulling the motor more than a dozen times and seemingly having to redo every single part more than a few times, a few months of sleepless nights and hard labour saw the combo fitted and fired up. “There were more than a few teething problems and countless shakedown runs,” explained Brad, “but I think I’ve got it to a point where its driving reliably and I can actually enjoy it.” A major concern was always that the VR6 would sit much higher than the boxer motor which would play havoc with the handling, the lower centre of gravity of the original engine has always been touted as a canyon carving secret. “That was something I thought about, but in practice the dynamics of the car worked out well, I think the fact that the VR6 is roughly 90lbs lighter than the flat six really helped the balance and handling,” Brad told us.

Respected Vermont based Porsche aftermarket parts fabricators and suppliers Rennline were commissioned to lend an expert hand in setting up the chassis. Once the nod had been given to a set of H&R coilovers, the firm set about bringing the underside together with a catalogue of their suspension parts including billet crafted strut mounts, control arms and strut bars. The finishing touch came in the shape of BBS E88 splitrims hung from each corner, “I lost count of the number of different wheels the car has been through,” joked Brad, “I always seemed to be building one set or another throughout the whole length of the project,” Rennline also stepped up to furnish the cabin with some of their custom made wares, a Momo tiller is attached to the column via a Rennline quick release hub and aptly named Rennline dash delete lives up to its description. Although Brad insists that the cabin is “barebones”; heating and AC have been ditched and ICE has been kept to a minimum, we reckon sparse but stylish might be a better description. Interior panels have been given the custom treatment by master of craft the Kip Love, blending a diamond stitch into the RS door panels which surround the black hide Konig seats. “I threw the dash together myself; it’s pretty basic with an assortment of Autometer gauges.” Brad revealed. Black’s beauty is a righteous reminder that a true enthusiast never forgets his roots, even though there has been a growing trend to attempt to gentrify the image of humble Dub owners; spice up their simplicity and add “class” to their common chariots, the diehard originals stay true to where they came from…Volkswagen at heart.

Tech Spec: VR6-engined Porsche 993

Engine:

12v VR6 with Holset HX35 turbo G50-01 with a Kennedy Engineered Products Stage2 clutch/flywheel combo

Chassis:

BBS E88 9.5×18” (front) and 11×18” (rear), H&R coilovers, Billet strut mounts, control arms and strut bar

Exterior:

Painted jet black with RSR body kit, GT2 wing, Turbo front bumper and NACA duct side windows

Interior:

Koenig seats and RS door panels. Momo wheel with Rennline quick release, Rothsport short shifter. Rennline dash delete, block off plates, air bag cover, race mats, foot guards, fire extinguisher, seat mount and quick release extinguisher mount. Autometer gauges

Source

September 18, 2020
NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R M-SPEC NUR: JADE WARRIOR

There were only 250 Nissan Skyline GT-R M-Spec Nur cars ever made, and this one is filled with enough rare and valuable parts to make any Nissan fan drool.

You know you’re obsessed with GT-Rs when you start a business to sell the excess ones you’ve bought. That’s what happened with Allen Cheng, founder of the legendary V-Spec Performance in Victoria, Australia. Starting off with a single Midnight Purple III R34, he soon progressed to owning so many he had to get rid of some, and having realised selling them could be a viable business, he opened V-Spec in 2011. These days, the business has grown to be what is undoubtedly Australia’s premier GT-R specialist sales outlet. One that, as well as similarly rare GT-R parts, also runs the Charge Speed Australia brand. Oh, and in case you hadn’t guessed from the images, they have an impressive workshop, too.

However, before they built this car, for all the company’s knowledge, expertise and ability to get rare cars and parts in, V-Spec didn’t really have much of a name for itself. Things had definitely improved after the signing of sales manager Simon Ong, who himself drives an R34 V-Spec II Nur and works hard within the community to promote the company, but V-Spec still needed a kick. So, there was only on thing to do, right? Yep, the team decided to build a proper demo car. Obviously it had to be something that would show off not just their ability to source some of the rarest and highest quality cars and parts the GT-R world has to offer, but also show that they could be unique and bring imagination to their work. The end result was this – their 2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R M-Spec Nur, complete with a range of wish-list componentry.

So, let’s talk about what they’ve done. Obviously, the biggest change from the norm is the naked carbon front end. Simon says the decision was taken early to go this route, as it would best show off the insanely expensive Nismo Z-Tune dry carbon body parts. “We obviously wanted to be different, and we knew that, with the price for one of these dry carbon kits, not many people in Australia were going to have them, so we wanted to go down that track”. Simon says the plan was to leave it raw too, but eventually they coated it with a layer of clear, which serves to make it look cleaner. The coating also leads to a rather weird tactile sensation, as the dry carbon has all the lumps and bumps from the raw weave that you’d expect, but the clear makes your fingers glide over them in a way your brain has trouble processing. There is no doubting the finish is unique though, and in our eyes, the mix of semi-gloss black front-end, Millennium Jade mid and rear sections, plus black accents from the Superior Sport carbon wing stays (one of the few non-Nismo parts, simply because Nismo don’t make stays) and super-rare 19-inch Nismo LM GT4 Omori Factory wheels, gives this car a whole new take on the traditional black-and-gold combination often seen in other builds.

It’s worth talking more about those wheels too, as they’re another example of V-Spec’s (and specifically Allen’s) obsession with finding low-volume and discontinued parts. Any hardcore Nismo nerd will know the Omori Factory LM GT4s are a limited-run part, complete with unique machined logos and made to celebrate the facility where Nismo, until recently, spent its entire life. However, perhaps only the real super nerds will recognise how rare these 19-inchers are, as while 17 and 18-inchers were recently reissued by the company, the 19s only came out once, so while numbers are uncertain, there are likely only a handful in existence. Simon says even tracking down one set was difficult, and any you find today will cost more than £3500 a set. Of course, Allen being Allen, he managed to find two sets, so he’s got spares if needs be. “He has one set of silver in the showroom, then he bought another pair from someone else, then another pair from someone else again. Then, because one of the pairs was already black and the other pair was silver, we had a think about whether we could get the black ones redone [in silver], but because it was too hard and too expensive, it was easier to get the silver pair painted black. So we have one set of blacks and one set of silvers. Because Allen’s such a collector and enthusiast, anything rare and discontinued, he’s gotta have!” Simon laughs.

The rest of the car is a treasure trove of rare, discontinued, or just prohibitively expensive, Nismo parts – all tracked down or ordered by V-Spec. The car came from Japan with a full R1 engine, giving it 500hp or so thanks to the better turbos, exhaust manifold, cams, a different tune and countless other things, but to ensure extra ‘Nismo-ness’, V-Spec also ordered the company’s dry carbon intake and intercooler piping. Behind the engine, the previous owner had already fitted a Super Coppermix twin-plate clutch, which remained in fine condition, so there wasn’t much point touching that, but V-Spec did go for a Nismo 4.11 GT LSD. As for the suspension, it came with Nismo sway bars and the entire Nismo Circuit Link set, so again, there wasn’t much work to do, but the Apex N1 coils were swapped for Nismo R-Tune ones to keep the theme going. The F50 Brembos it arrived with were set to stay, but a few weeks after this shoot we were told R35 items were replacing them instead. Interestingly, the rear bumper, which had the ‘Skyline’ logo shaved, did stay, but no one was keen on the wing-less rear end it arrived with, so another factory bootlid was sourced, along with a stock wing and Nismo carbon gurney flap. Of course, Nismo LED tails finish off the back-end. Finally, to rectify the prior owner’s other ‘interesting’ exterior design decisions, V-Spec ordered Nismo side skirts and rear pods to match the already-fitted rear arch extensions.

Keen eyes will spot there are two non-Nismo mechanical items on the car; an ARC Super Micro Conditioner radiator and a Power House Amuse R1 Titan exhaust. The radiator was put in because not even V-Spec could find a Nismo item before the shoot (long since discontinued and basically a unicorn), while the exhaust was a rather high-level placekeeper for a Nismo Weldina titanium model they fitted later.

Having finished the car and teased it on social media, the only thing left was for V-Spec to show it off for real, and for that they had the perfect platform – the inaugural GT-R Festival in Sydney. Trucking the car up there (driving it up would involve the hassle of removing the lip spoiler and finding a workshop close to the venue to re-fit it), they were sadly greeted by pouring rain for the first half of the day, but the stunned looks and large numbers of photos posted on both traditional and social media meant it had done its job regardless.

“All over Facebook people know our company now,” says Simon. “Soon after the show, we had someone travel from Sydney just to come visit us, because when we took it up to the festival, a lot of people saw it and now they know who V-Spec Performance is. So, the reaction was good. It did what we wanted – we wanted people to know who we were, become friendly with us and have chats, and we’ve achieved all that”.

In terms of how the car actually drives, post-upgrades, Simon says it drives pretty nicely, as you’d expect. Being a demo car, it doesn’t get driven around too much, but he says that the R1 engine “definitely feels more raw than your normal RB26”. “It feels more like a race car with that engine. Response is faster and it’s definitely more aggressive. Maybe it’s the cams, but it’s definitely aggressive. And with the exhaust on it, it does feel like you’re in a bit of a race car. It sticks to the ground like a good ‘un too. Especially because of the size of the wheels and tyres, it certainly grips. It’s nice and solid; it definitely feels high quality”.

Indeed, ‘high-quality’ is what both V-Spec and the demo car itself are all about. There’s no doubt the components on this machine are expensive, but as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. And in terms of V-Spec itself, you clearly get more than just the componentry; there’s imagination, the ability to track down rare items others can’t and the satisfaction that comes with working with passionate, hard-working people. That’s surely worth its weight in Millennium Jade.

Tech Spec: Nissan Skyline GT-R M-Spec Nur

Engine:

Full 2.6-litre Nismo R1 engine with N1 block, pistons, rings and exhaust manifold, Nismo exhaust manifold spacer, 0.9mm metal head gasket, R1 camshafts, Nismo main and conrod bearings, R1 turbos, Nismo large capacity turbo outlet pipe, Nismo 600cc injectors, Nismo 50mm heat shield, Nismo large capacity air flow meter, Nismo sump baffle, Nismo air filter, Nismo strengthened timing belt, Nismo throttle chamber collar, Nismo oil gallery plugs, Nismo ported and polished heads, balanced and blueprinted rotating assembly, R1 coil cover and Nismo ECU flash tune, Nismo oil cooler, Nismo catch can, Nismo dry carbon intake and intercooler piping, Nismo intercooler, Nismo air intake kit, ARC Super Micro Conditioner radiator, Nismo oil filler and radiator caps, Power House Amuse R1 Titan cat-less exhaust from front pipe back and NGK spark plugs, Nismo Super Coppermix twin-plate clutch, Nismo flywheel, Nismo clutch master cylinder, Nismo GT 4.11 LSD.

Chassis:

10.5×19-inch ET12 Nismo LM GT4 Omori Factory Spec Machining Logo Version wheels with 265/30 Yokohama Advan AD08R tyres, Nismo wheel nuts, Nismo Circuit Link suspension kit, Nismo R-Tune coilovers (f&r) Nismo sway bars, Nismo titanium front strut tower bar, Nismo rear tower bar, Brembo F50 four-piston front callipers (f&r) with 355mm slotted two-piece rotors and Dixcel Z-Type pads (f) and 330mm slotted two-piece rotors and Dixcel Z-Type pads (r), Project Mu G4 brake fluid.

Exterior:

Nismo Z-Tune dry carbon front bumper, fenders and under cover (painted clear), Nismo R-Tune dry carbon bonnet (painted clear), Nismo dry carbon splitter, Nismo side skirts and rear pods, Nismo rear wheel arch extensions, Nismo carbon B-pillar garnish, stock M-Spec diffuser with Nismo fins, Nismo GT LED rear lights, stock R34 GT-R rear wing with Nismo carbon gurney flap and Superior Sport carbon wing stays.

Interior:

Nismo GT shift knob, silver painted interior trim, new stock R34 steering wheel, Nismo Combination Meter gauge cluster, Nismo floor mats.

Feature taken from Banzai magazine. Words and photos: Chris Nicholls.

Source

September 17, 2020