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Esprit Dry Carbon Front Diffuser for Nissan GT-R
Esprit have remained quiet for some time now on the development front but they’ve been busy behind the scenes. This front diffuser is the result of some hard R&D on the circuit where they found the ideal setup for front aerodynamics could be added on with relatively little fuss. It’s helped them to some fairly impressive laptimes @ Fuji Speedway as well.
The Esprit front diffuser replaces the GT-R’s standard front undertray with a dry carbon item. The diffuser channels air into the wheel arches for brake cooling and extends forward to offer more front downforce.
Almost all teams competing with GT-R’s in motorsports are finding additional front downforce helpful. The way they’re gaining it is, by and large, by adding front splitters and canards. This elegant solution may be welcome to those not wanting to DIY. Retail price is set at $3995.
Link: Esprit Front Diffuser @ GT-RR.com
Boost Logic’s GT-R Standing Mile World Record at Texas Mile: 203.6 Mph
Boost Logic have built one mean Nissan GT-R here. To prove it they ran it in the Texas Mile over the weekend and cracked the 200 mph mark in the standing mile without breaking a sweat. This makes them the first tuner to do so and etches their names in history.
The GT-R in question mas clocked at 203.6mph (327.6km/h) at the mile mark and made 823rwhp @ 25psi on their 2WD dyno. They feel that this is just the beginning and with more work the car has even more in it down the straight.
Modifications to the Boost Logic black GT-R to get it down the mile so quickly are:
- Boost Logic Twin Turbo Kit
- Boost Logic Intercooler with 3″ Piping Upgrade
- Tial Blow Off Valves
- Boost Logic 4″ Midpipe and Exhaust System
- Boost Logic Jet Fighter Exhaust Tips
- Boost Logic Stage 1 Fuel System
- HKS AFK
- HKS EVC 6
- Haltech Engine Management Tuned By Tuning Concepts
- Cobb Tune to remove Speed Limiters and Rev Limits
- ADV 5.1 Wheels
- HKS Coilovers
Congrats to the guys and good luck on your future plans of cracking the 210mph mark!
Link: Boost Logic Website
Source: NAGTROC Forums
World Challenge 2010: Round One 7th Place Finish for Rivera in Nissan GT-R
Brass Monkey racing had a mixed bag of results this weekend for round one and two of the World Challenge 2010 series at St Petersburg. With both GT-R’s qualifying in the top 10 (7th and 9th) things were looking positive but just after race start the #96 GT-R of Steve Ott was hit by the #57 Porsche GT3 causing the GT-R to get airtime and break some suspension in the process. This put the #96 car out of action but Rivera in the other #97 GT-R was able to bring home 72 points with a 7th place finish.
In race two the #96 GT-R again came into contact with a Porsche but was able to keep going. Later in the race he pitted in with a flat tire from the incident but was back out on the lead lap. It wasn’t to be however because further into the race he impacted a wall breaking a wheel cause by what may have been a bent rear arm from the initial Porsche incident. This forced him to pit and retire early. Again Rivera continued on strong to finish in 8th spot for 68 points. A total of 140 points for the weekend for Rivera and 88 for Steve Ott.
TV coverage of the first two rounds is upcoming on the 18th of April on VERSUS and will be available on the world-challengeTV website after that time. We should hopefully be able to post some video of the action at that time.
For a full race report click through the jump for the media release from World-Challenge.com. Next up is the Streets of Long Beach Race on 16th – 18th of April for round 3 for 2010.
Update: Information regarding Steve Ott’s race weekend updated. Thanks to Nissan NA.
Source: World Challenge Website
Source: 2009gtr.com – Brass Monkey GT-R Runs Over Porsche During World Challenge Race
Images: Copyright SCCA World Challenge
Nissan North America Follows Japan’s Lead With Steering Lock Service Campaign
It’s officially official. Those of you with certain 2009 model Nissan GT-R’s could suffer from this steering lock issue that Nissan Japan had recently launched a voluntary service campaign to correct. As of last week it seems that Nissan North America began reaching out to those US customers with these vehicles to get them in for a pro-active replacement. The official wording of the TSB outline is:
CP 2009 GT-R; Steering Lock Unit – Voluntary Service Campaign
Nissan is conducting a Voluntary Service Campaign to replace the steering lock assembly on certain specific 2009 model year GT-R vehicles due to excessive oil within the assembly, which could cause the Body Control Module (BCM) to prevent the engine from starting when the ignition is cycled. This issue does not affect steering or engine operation when the vehicle is already running. See this bulletin for further detail.
So guys, if you’re an owner and you get this letter, get in to your dealer so you don’t get stuck somewhere. If you’re a second owner, see your local dealer to find out if you’re affected in case you don’t receive the letter yourself.
That this only effects early 2009 model cars leads me to believe Japan and NA may be the only regions effected. Nissan Australia didn’t respond to our inquiries to confirm this however.
Dynamic Autosports Hankook Gruppe-S Drift GT-R Project Update: Part V
Time for some insight into the interior work for our continuing series on the buildup of the Dynamic AutoSports Hankook Drift GT-R by Gruppe-S. This week the guys have the dash out to replace the gauge cluster and climate control / audio controls panels with carbon plates.
To go along with the dashboard changes the engine bay gets some love too in the form of a new Cosworth plenum for the VQ35 engine. The Cosworth intake plenum is designed to improve air flow and thus horsepower and looks amazing too. Too bad they haven’t built one for the VR38 yet, I could see that being popular for GT-R owners.
Only two weeks to go before this car is due to be competing in California at Long Beach for round one of the Formula D 2010. That’s April 9th and 10th people!
Link: Gruppe-S Official Blog
GT1 GT-R Driver Henry Moser Shows the Porsche Crowd a Thing or Two at Paul Ricard
As far as displays on why the GT-R is a great party pooper to take along to Porsche track days it doesn’t get much better than this. Take a GT3 world champ and GT1 racing driver like Henry Moser, give him the keys to your mildly tweaked GT-R and let ‘er rip. This video is the result.
Thanks to Philippe the owner of the car for the heads up and for giving Henry the drive.
You can see more of Moser’s skills when he pilots the 2010 GT1 spec GT-R for Swiss Racing Team in Abu Dhabi for round one of the FIA GT1 World Championships in just 20 days time!
Redline Time Attack 2010: Season Opener This Weekend at Buttonwillow Raceway
Redline Time Attack is back and this year is promising to be better than ever. Round 1 is this weekend at Buttonwillow Raceway and along with the time attack events there’s also a two day Battle of the Bands, Miss Redline Spokes Model Search as well as Show N Shine, video games and beer garden.
Most interesting to us of course are the GT-R’s that will be attending and competing in the event. Here’s Cobb’s GT-R that is now fully decked out and ready for Brian Lock to take the pilots seat.
The latest upgrades to the Cobb Motorsports GT-R include fitting an all new AIT carbon wide body kit and the OS Giken TCD spec rear LSD. The LSD upgrade has done wonders for the driveability of the car:
“My first impression was “WOW!” What a difference the TCD LSD made! As I started my first hot laps I could feel the difference in the rear of the car. Now the chassis just seemed to hunch down in the back and squirt out of the corners with no rear inside wheel spin at all. Plus it was much easier to use the throttle to help steer the car out of the corners. With the inside wheel spin gone, I could easily modulate rear slip angle with my right foot, encouraging corner exit rotation by feeding in just a bit more throttle.”
– Brian Lock, for COBB Motorsports
They took the car out to Cali Speedway to gather test data, the video and MoTeC data logs you can check out over on their blog. The bottom line is the car is way more controllable at the corner exit which is going to help them turn some even more respectable laptimes.
Good luck to Brian and Cobb for this weekend and all the other teams competing. We’ll be keeping a close eye on things and be posting up results as we hear them.
For more information or to read the full press release, hit up the giant red read more link below….
Thanks to Brandon from WebRidesTV and Gary from Cobb Tuning for the input and help on this.
Link: RedlineTimeAttack Website
Link: Cobb Tuning Blog
Tomei Poncam Camshafts for Nissan GT-R Now Available
Prior to Tokyo AutoSalon 2010 we had seen that Tomei were on the brink of releasing these camshafts for the Nissan GT-R’s VR38. We’re happy to announce that Tomei has released them and they’re now available.
The Poncams are designed specifically as a drop in upgrade to run with the completely standard valve train. They’re said to give VVT enhancements across the entire rev range. Exciting stuff, the feature list reads as follows:
- Made from special materials specifically for the VR38DETT
- Precision grinds
- Valve timing has been pre-set
- Compatible with the stock valve springs
- Best turbine response
- Variable Valve Timing compatible
- Stable idling
- Best overall balance
As we suspected earlier on in the year, the Poncams are quite a big step up for a drop in upgrade. The specs are:
- Intake; 256 Duration x 10.20mm Cam Lift
- Exhaust; 264 Duration x 10.50mm Cam Lift
You can pickup your set at your local Tomei dealer listed over on their website. MSRP is set at the $1600 USD mark.
Link: Tomei Dealers Worldwide
AMS 9 Second Quarter Mile Passes – The Video
The much anticipated video from AMS. These guys are a class act, they even edited together the video professionally.
Without further ado I’ll let the video do the talking!
Update: Looks like the guys have posted up details and pricing of the AMS SR850 Package that power’s this 9 second GT-R.
The AMS SR850 package for your Nissan GTR offers the most reliable bolt-on horse power available. This package was built off our successful SR750 program and offers stock-like turbo spool up while boosting power output to an astounding 850 horsepower on race gas and 750 on pump gas.
At the heart of the SR850 package are the custom AMS ball bearing turbochargers. Once installed these turbos appear stock yet provide enormous gains in horsepower and torque throughout the entire rev-range WITHOUT added turbo lag! It is a win/win situation that is unheard of industry provided by the latest in turbo technology.
For more information and pricing, hit up the link below:
Link: AMS Performance Website – SR850 Package Details and Pricing
FIA GT 2010: Sumo Power GT Announce Drivers for Second GT-R
As we get closer and closer to the first race of the season, Sumo Power GT have confirmed their full driver lineup for the 2010 season. Along with Michael Krumm and Peter Dumbreck who were previously confirmed back in February, Warren Hughes and Jamie Campbell-Walter will also drive the 600 hp R35 2010 GT1 spec car this year.
Both drivers got to take the GT-R for a spin this week at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk, England and immediately felt the potential of the new car.
Warren Hughes is a veteran GT racer who’s spent the past nine years in either GT or Touring car racing, won LeMans in the LMP2 category and entered another five 24 Hours of LeMans. A busy man no doubt and he’s excited to be on the team driving the GT-R.
“When I first heard about the FIA GT1 World Championship and the venues it visits I immediately wanted to be involved … Once I had been invited to test with the Sumo Power GT team I was really hoping that I would be offered a seat, so to finally secure a drive is a fantastic opportunity.”
– Warren Hughes, Sumo Power GT Driver
Jamie is no first timer either having spent the last 13 years racing in FIA GT, British GT Champs as well as five forays into the 24 Hours of LeMans race.
“I’m over the moon to be get the drive with Sumo Power GT this season and it’s great to be involved with a new championship and a new team right from the start. I’m looking forward to being back in a GT Championship, especially one which visits so many good circuits in so many different countries.”
– Jamie Campbell-Walter, Sumo Power GT Driver
The next outing for the new R35s and drivers is coming up at Silverstone Circuit next week during the last testing session before the teams pack up and head to Abu Dhabi for round one.
Link: Sumo Power GT Website
Link: FIA GT World Championships Website
Source: Planet LeMans
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