the Arcane Knowledge Thread
 

this can be an open thread to post any interesting facts that have gone largely unknown about skylines/ nissans:

*to begin*, i will start by saying that the lower control arm of the R32 skyline can be used on any S13 or S14, as it is the same length, allowing for the non-r32 balljoint to fit perfectly in the spindle.

i will post more factoids to this arcane knowledge thread as i discover more and more on my journey. feel free, anyone, to let the community know about any novel or interesting bits of information. :D

spt, maybe relocate this thread to general discussion?

evolutionary expose' --from HR30 to BNR32--
 

a brief way to trace lineage of skylines from early 80's, leading to the R32:

6th gen skyline:

R30

model and engine:
base: 1800 Ti --Z18 (I-4 )
2000GT --I-6
2800GT --I-6

DR30 --FJ20E (1981)

DR30 --FJ20ET (1983):

DR30-RS --FJ20E (145hp)
DR30-RS-X or "Turbo C" --FJ20ET (190hp)

HR30 GT-ES --L20ET
-------------------------

7th gen Skyline:

R31

model and engine:
base: 1800i --CA18DE (4 cyl - 1985)
GTS --RB20DET (1986)
GTS-R --RB20DET (1987, 210hp)
GTS-X --RB20DET (1988, 190hp, with HICAS)
-------------------------------------------------------

8th gen Skyline:

R32

*R31 GTS-R "became" the R32 GTS-t (RB20DET, 212hp)
(RB25DE, 180hp)

GT-R --RB26DETT (280hp); ATTESSA-ETS; Super HICAS
-------------------------------------------------------------------

(some models & engines have been omitted)

RB25 is a rounded numerical designation
 

-the RB25DET is actually 2498cc, close enough to 25 to merit the RB25 its name. :uppydown3

HP to kW and back
 

when reading casually about skyline power, americans are often confronted with foreign (metric) scales.

besides the easier japanese metric designation, PS, for HP, the euro-term "kW" never fails to get to me, as it is not the same as PS. so i offer this conversion:

-Horsepower to KiloWatts:
multiply Horsepower by 0.746 to get kW

-KiloWatts to Horsepower:
multiply Kw by 1.34 to get Horsepower


(and by the way, one kilometer is .6 of a mile)

:spit:

PS to HP and back
 

PS is the symbol for "pferdestärke," which is German for horsepower. the symbol PS is used in both the German and Japanese markets.

pferdestarke is the same as metric horsepower, ie, PS = metric horsepower.

to convert:

1 pferdestarke = 0.9863201 horsepower (international)

so, then, the "280ps" designation for the GTR is actually only 276.169628HP :smilie_th

first GT-Rs_the legend begins
 

the genesis of what we know today as the GT-R began decades ago, was manufactured for only 5 years, then discontinued:

between 1969 and 1973, 3 model types were offered:

--832 units of the PGC 10 4dr sedan --1969 and 1970
--1113 units of the KPGC 10 2dr --1971-72
--then, finally, only 197 units of the awesome looking KPGC 110, a new body style, emerged for 1973.

thereafter, a hiatus of nearly 16 years enused between the last incarnation of the supercar, and today's modern BNR32.

:D

the FICD solenoid increases idle when the air conditioner is turned on.

the coveted "z-32" brake swap (brakes from the 300zx), often done on S13-S14s (in conjunction with the 5-lug swap), is the same as the r32 gts-t brakes: the components are the same.

bear in mind, the z32/gts-t calipers are 4 x 30mm pots, while the r32 GTRs are 4 x 32mm pots. therefore, the z32s are NOT the same as r32 GT-R cals.

furthermore, the GT-R *v-spec* brakes are brembos.

Bathurst GT races and the R32 GT-R
 

let's go to australia:

--1990 and 1991---> jim richards won at bathurst, with mark skaife winning again in 1992; both in R32 GT-Rs. it was these victories that raised concern among the established V8 crowd:

the aussie produced V8 ford falcons and holden commodores were being beaten, perhaps embarrassingly so. apparently, this subverted any semblance of a "home-court advantage." times were changed ---- forever. additionally, the ford sierra RS500 was beating them, too. because of this, the GT-R was banned from ever competing again at bathurst.*
:smilie_th

for more on bathurst, go here:

http://uniquecars.carpoint.ninemsn.c...opDefault.aspx