When Chhay decided he wanted a performance car he didn’t mess about trying to
achieve amazing feats with mundane machinery - that’s for the ‘scrubbers’. Instead Chhay
went the whole hog from Day One and handed over the cash for the King of
Japanese supercars – the mighty Skyline GT-R.
With a conservative 206kW power rating, a 1480kg kerb mass (in early R32
form), active torque-split all-paw drive, sophisticated suspension and a proper
aero kit the GT-R showed that its reputation is built on solid ground. After a
while, though, the ability to waste other cars from the lights by several car
lengths soon grew tiring. Chhay wanted a gap more like several bus
lengths!
As you’re probably aware, the GT-R’s RB26DETT engine is stifled by a highly
restrictive exhaust in an effort to keep its output down to around 206kW. Chhay
popped the cork on the exhaust system, fitting a 3-inch mandrel pipe, teamed with
aftermarket pod air filters and a bit more boost. This transformed the car into
a real stormer but when one of the ceramic turbine wheels exploded in a big way,
it was just the trigger Chhay needed to go to the next level of commitment.
As we’ve established, Chhay doesn’t do things by half...
When that naughty turbocharger died back in 2001 Chhay decided to unload the
car at Sydney’s Advan Performance Centre. At that stage, Advan had only recently
spread its wings from New Zealand into Australia. What happened over the next
two or three years can only be described as a transformation.
With the engine showing a few kilometres and with big things expected from it, the decision was made to go ahead with a full-house rebuild. The crankshaft was balanced and micro-polished and assembled together with ARP rods bolts and 8.6:1 compression Trust forged pistons. The machined DOHC, 24-valve head was left almost untouched but was equipped with upgrade springs and retainers, Trust 272 camshafts and adjustable sprockets. A Trust 8.0-litre sump, Earl's 26 row oil cooler, custom catch can and an aluminium radiator provide the necessary support for this powerhouse. A full complement of braided lines and polished aluminium also give a great under-bonnet view.
The factory twin turbocharger arrangement was dumped into the spares bin and
made space for a Trust T78-33D turbo kit. This includes the big roller-bearing
turbo, a dedicated exhaust manifold and external wastegate assembly. The
external ‘gate bypass measures 45mm in diameter. Oh and, due to the extra gas
flow of the mega engine, the previously installed 3-inch exhaust was replaced by
a 4-incher.
The Trust turbo is fed by a single Trust pod filter that’s housed in a custom
aluminium enclosure. Charge-air heat is flung at a Trust Drag Spec front-mount
intercooler that’s an astounding 115mm thick. The intercooler plumbing kit and
‘phsst-ew’ noises come from a Type R atmospheric venting blow-off valve. The
factory six-throttle intake manifold is kept in service to maintain good
throttle response.
The standard R32 GT-R ECU is pretty slow and silly by today’s standards so a
fully programmable Link plug-in ECU was clicked onto the end of the loom. This
allows the twin hotwire airflow meters to be replaced by a restriction-free MAP
sensor.
Check out the under-bonnet fuel system and you’ll see six 720cc Trust
injectors, a custom rail and Sard pressure regulator. The other half of the
system – a 3-litre surge tank and twin Bosch high-flow pumps – are set out for
all to see in the boot.
Sparking the combustion process is GReddy ‘8 range’ spark plugs teamed with
Splitfire coils. The rev limit is set to around 10,000 rpm.
Since getting the car back on the road a few months ago Chhay has had no
problems with the OS-Gikken triple-plate clutch. The standard 5-speed ‘box,
however, hasn’t fared so well – fourth gear synchro is on borrowed time and the
rest of ‘em aren’t much better. Chhay is currently looking into an aftermarket
replacement gearbox. However, the rest of the all-wheel-drive driveline has been
holding up without any obvious signs of stress.
With 18-inch Work Meister rims and Yokohama 265/35 tyres crammed under those factory pumped guards there's a generous amount of grip for take-off - but it's not enough. When Chhay wants to dispose of a traffic light challenger he fiddles the Gizmo launch controller and braces himself. Does the launch controller really make a big difference, you ask? "Oooo yeah," nods Chhay...
The factory suspension arrangement recently got the biff to move up to a set
of Tein Flex adjustable coil-overs. Chhay has the ride height set a couple of
inches lower than standard. Beefier swaybars and a GReddy front suspension tower
brace also help out in their own ways.
The stock GT-R ABS braking arrangement is enhanced with DBA slotted discs and
Mintex performance pads.
So let’s quantify things. How serious is this ‘R?
Well, on Silverwater Auto’s four-wheel-drive Dyno Dynamics chassis dyno - and
barely run-in - the car has pumped out a stonking 420kW at the wheels on 2.0 Bar
of boost. This, we are told, was running straight 98 RON pump fuel. To put this
into context, a stock Subaru WRX makes about 105kW at the wheels - so you’re
talking four times the output!
Straight-line performance is anyone’s guess until Chhay gets a chance to take
the car for a jog down the quarter mile, but you’d be nuts to say 10s are out of
reach. With the right launch and adequate traction it could be well into
the 10s!
The R32’s interior has been upgraded in a method in keeping with the super
performance.
A Bride race seat keeps Chhay firmly in place and the engine’s vitals are
monitored via an array of Trust gauges. There’s fuel pressure, oil temperature,
EGT, air-fuel ratio and boost information a glance away. A Nizmo steering wheel
and 320 km/h speedo are also fitted. Oh, and there’s also an A’PEXi electronic
control system onboard.
The car does without the standard GT-R rear wing (it arrived in Australia
that way) but it does score a small lip above the grille. Chhay has also tinted
the windows as dark as legally possible, fitted clear side indicators and raised
the trailing edge of the bonnet. "It gets pretty hot around the engine," tells
Chhay. "The gap at the rear of the bonnet helps let hot air escape."
Understandably, Chhay has no further plans to modify the car – it’s already
making more than ample grunt. As mentioned, though, a stronger gearbox would
finish it off perfectly. The ability to launch absolutely no-holds-barred would
completely justify those cunning ‘ALL SET’ rego plates!
Yep, it’ll take more than a breathed-on family hack or shopping cart to
challenge this mutha!
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