As time goes by and big power GT-Rs get more plentiful more and more tuners are running into the same old pesky problems. In fact, whenever you see horsepower at these levels this problem tends to rear it’s head. That is flaky air flow sensors, air flow sensors that lack resolution or airflow sensors that just max out way earlier than needed.

To put this problem to bed AMS have tackled it head on;

The AMS Nissan GT-R upgraded MAF sensor was designed to eliminate the driveabilty problems with big horsepower GT-R’s. As with any GT-R, once you start to reach the 800HP threshold, driveablity problems occur. AMS diagnosed these issues and quickly sorted out a solution. Thanks to our tuner Chris Black, we now have a MAF sensor capable of handling big power and big amounts of air. Kiss your P0700 codes goodbye! Stop dealing with rough driveablity problems if you are running Greddy 20G’s, big bolt-on turbos or full turbo kits. These Mass Air Flow Sensors are designed and calibrated to handle big power!

These babies are good to handle airflow levels up to 1200bhp and are retailing for $999.95. Hit up the AMS website linked below for the full details…

Link: AMS Website

Originally appeared on and © GTRBlog.com. 2010. | Read comments.

Well we did mention that the SpecM name was tentative and today we’ve heard another rumor from sources close to Nissan that the R35 GT-R “Gentleman’s Edition” will launch in the Japanese market as the Nissan GT-R Egoist. While the name seems insane to us it’s not too far outside the bounds of Japanese naming schemes so that we’d completely rule it out.

The SpecM nameplate is likely to be kept in markets outside Japan however so don’t completely cross it off your wish list just yet…

On the topic of rumors from sources close to Nissan Japan, here’s another we’ve just heard. Those folks hopeful that 520ps is the new peak power figure for the 2012 GT-R might be surprised to learn they can expect to be dissapointed. After seeing this figure making its way around blogs and forums one might start quoting it as fact by now but to this date no figure has appeared either officially or leaked. In the true spirit of it not being over ’til the fat lady sings, we’re now told by our reliable sources that 530ps – 540ps is more accurate.

I’ll leave that last one out there…

Originally appeared on and © GTRBlog.com. 2010. | Read comments.

As mentioned in our previous Spec-M Exposé the 2012 Nissan GT-R is set to arrive on the scene shortly with so many changes that Nissan had to go out and revise the chassis designation bumping CBA-R35 in favor of the new DBA-R35 tag. While we touched on the cosmetic changes in part 1 of this post we didn’t delve into the more technical changes yet so here goes.

Aero Updates

Aero changes to the front bumper, rear diffuser and rear underspoiler mean that the 2012 GT-R slips through the air with even less drag than the already impressive 2009 model. As mentioned previously, these changes help it lower it’s co-efficient of drag as well as increase downforce in the rear by as much as 10%. The rear vents also assist in keeping rear underbody temperatures lower meaning less heat transfer from the GT-R’s hot exhaust into the critical areas like the GR6 transmission fluid and rear differential.

Nissan took the opportunity with the rear diffuser/underspoiler rear design to build in a rear Euro mandated fog light using an LED strip along the bottom edge in the center.

Chassis Updates

As well as aerodynamics, street and circuit handling in the 2012 GT-R is going to benefit greatly from some key chassis stiffening updates in the DBA-R35. Strengthening members are added to the front area under the dashboard (highlighted above). In the engine bay, new bracing members extend from the rear of the strut towers to the firewall.

As well as increasing chassis rigidity by adding new key metal – the GT-R engineering team has improved the manufacturing line to improve GT-R build quality and panel fit consitency for every car built.

Suspension Updates

Again showing that the Nissan GT-R engineering team is focussing on driver feel, they’ve gone to the extrordinary length of changing the suspension geometry on the DBA-R35 model. The changes to the front suspension lower arm move the stabiliser bar further out and change the shock absorber lever angle. To go with these changes up front is a castor angle change from 5°35 to 6°00. In the rear, Nissan has tuned the roll center.

All around, Nissan’s update to the suspension to adopt an aluminium free piston design as well as spring, damper and valve rate changes mean the suspension is able to more quickly adapt to changes in surface and direction. The net benefit is a more stable and more responsive feel with even more feedback to drivers than ever before.

Brakes, Wheels and Tires Updates

Nissan’s experience with racing over the past few years with the GT-R has taught them that more stopping power is always better. To that end they’ve upped the front rotor size on the DBA-R35 from 380mm of the CBA-R35 to 390mm.

As mentioned already, the DBA-R35 will debut with a new design Rays forged aluminium wheel each 3kg lighter than the outgoing type. These wheels will come in two new colors Hyper Blue Black and Hyper Titanium. The new Rays wheels feature improved knurling to help further with reducing tire slip on the rims themselves.

To fit these new wheels are updated versions of both summer tires already being fitted to the GT-R, namely the RE070R R2 from Bridgestone and the SP Sport Maxx GT 600 DSST CTT from Dunlop. Both are touted to improve grip and increase sidewall stiffness, something very important in a heavy awd vehicle such as the GT-R.

Part III to come soon where we’ll cover the remainder of the DBA-R35 changes including interior and engine changes, so stay tuned…

Originally appeared on and © GTRBlog.com. 2010. | Read comments.

For the third year running the Nissan GT-R has taken out top honors in Western Australia’s QUIT Targa West Tarmac rally as Peter Major takes out the Competition Modern class and outright first for 2010. His R35 GT-R sped him to a 51 second victory over tarmac legend Jim Richards in his formidable Porsche GT2 which finished second. A tough position for Richards though as he was sandwhiched in by another GT-R of Peter Rullo and Simon Iseppi who were just 25 seconds behind by the end of the rally in third place.

“We’re over the moon the car was fantastic it did everything we wanted it to do. It was great racing against Jimmy (Jim Richards), you know he’s going to come hard and no matter what he does he’s going to be fast. You never know how hard he’s pushing so we just tried to stay on it and stay as quick as we could, luckily we were able to keep that gap we gained in the first leg”

- Peter Major

Back in the Modern Challenge class the GT-R is also proving it’s the tarmac rally weapon of choice as Mark and Andrew Conacher took their R35 to a class victory while Robert Darrington and David Abetz in their R35 followed them up by just 1 minute. Both GT-R’s were 8.5 minutes in front of the nearest, third place competitor in the class.

Major victorious at QUIT Targa West 2010
Peter Major has won his first QUIT Targa West Competition Modern crown holding off Jim Richards to take the outright rally win in Perth today.

Major and his co-driver Kim Screaigh (Nissan GTR 35) took top spot on the timing sheets from Richards midway into Leg 1 and continued to stretch their advantage across the final two Leg’s of the tarmac rally, ultimately taking victory by 51 seconds.

continued…

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Originally appeared on and © GTRBlog.com. 2010. | Read comments.

Some more updates on the World Challenge GT build.

Fuel safe was able to build us a custom 30 gallon fuel cell based on our CAD drawings that we sent in to them. Today they shipped us the shell for some test fitting. This cell when complete will house two high volume pumps to feed the updated power plant.

We also got our hands on some very unique suspension pieces for the GT-R. As you can see they offer a much wider range of adjustment compared to their stock counterparts.

Here we have a before shot with the factory components installed

And now some after shots with the new suspension hardware.