bonzelite

japan:

the name comes from the two founders, Yoshikazui Tomita and Kikuo Kaira: the company, Tommykaira, is a master tuner of nissan/subaru vehicles. from what is known, the company began all-out tuning of complete cars in 1987, starting with mercedes benz automobiles.

the following year, in 1988, Tommykaira tuned an R31 skyline, and thus began a long association with nissan, often getting cars new, directly from the the manufacturer.

in subsequent years, silvias, cimas, z-cars, imprezas (subarus), more skylines, staegas, legacys (subie again), and more skylines, were modified.

each Tommykaira edition is rebuilt and modified at the factory, rebadged, and set up complete with a Tommykaira owner's manual in the glovebox. often, the car is autographed by the people who built it. Tommykaira then sells the cars directly.

produced in extremely limited numbers, a Tommykaira-tuned skyline is a rarity and highly sought after by collectors.

http://tommykaira.com/

bonzelite

nissan's first Cedric, the 71hp 4cyl, 1960-61 "30 series," was available with an electric razor that plugged into a socket under the glove box.

bonzelite

yes. that is "K." not Z. so, then, what is it?

for export in the 1970s, the C110 and GC110 Skyline was sold as the Datsun K-series, with models such as the Datsun 160K, 180K and 240K. the Datsun 240K was a renamed Prince Skyline --all Datsuns and Princes later became Nissans, and certain Stanzas and Bluebirds in the early 1980s carried both badges.

as we know, model-sharing goes on more than ever, as it has existed in the automotive industry for years. for example, the Mazda 3, Ford Focus and certain Volvo models are all pretty much the same car. as well, the VW Golf, VW Bora, Audi TT, Audi A3, VW Passat --are all built on a shared platform.

the Nissan 350Z, Skyline V35 GT350/Infiniti G35, Infiniti FX --all the same platform.

whereas back in the day (and not that long ago, actually), it was common to see rebadged cars of the same make, today it is very often the foundations and the parts that you cannot see that are being shared: not only is this done to spread a vehicle over a greater market share with varied identities, it makes R&D on a "new" vehicle faster, cheaper, and easier, as the main platform has already been developed.

bonzelite

in cam, or "bumpstick," lore, there are a myriad of factors contributing to the character of a profile, and its overall feeling during performance.

the motion of the cam and its lobes (and lifters traveling the lobes) --continually affected by driver input at the throttle-- may undergo a smoothness or suddenness of action, ie, "jerk," according to how fast the acceleration changes. this interval is expressed in units of inch/degree. jerk depends directly on driver skill. the less spikes in jerk, the easier on valvetrain components the acceleration is.

some instances of jerk are unavoidable, as in hard launching at a drag strip. in spririted/ aggressive road driving, ie, touring, power shifting can greatly reduce jerk.
in downshifting, heel-toe braking can lessen the effects of jerk.

bonzelite

the R34 GT-R features a chassis that is 50% (fifty percent) more rigid, and 75mm shorter than the R33 GT-R's chassis. however, the R34 is wider.

although technically possessing the same brake horsepower of "276/7" (unofficially it is closer to 320bhp), as the R33 GT-R, the R34 jumps from the former's 271 lb/ft of torque to the latter's 289 lb/ft of torque, due to increased compression, more aggressive cam profiles, and upgraded (and greatly less-lagging) turbos. these factors, along with a myriad of other lighter suspension parts, make the R34 GT-R faster off the line and just overall.

however, the R34 GT-R V-spec version is slower in 1st and 2nd, and heavier, than the R33 GT-R V-spec. the R34 V-spec more than makes up for this, though, once in 3rd gear and beyond.

bonzelite

perhaps most common, yet often unknown, conversion:

1 lb = 0.45kg

1 kg = 2.2 lb

bonzelite

this list will vary with region:

1. Honda Civic 1987–2000; 2002
2. Dodge Caravan 1991–97; 1999; 2000
3. Honda Accord 1986–97
4. Toyota Camry 1984–91
5. Plymouth Voyager 1991–97
6. Nissan Pathfinder 1987–95
7. Jeep Cherokee 1987–95; 1998
8. Acura Integra 1990–92; 1994–96
9. Dodge Neon 1995–98
10. Honda Prelude 1985–92
11. Dodge Dakota 1991–95; 1999; 2000
12. Oldsmobile Cutlass 1984–91
13. Ford Mustang 1987–92; 1994–95
14. Ford F350 1999–2003
15. Dodge Spirit 1990–94
16. Chevrolet Cavalier 1988–90; 1997; 2002
17. Plymouth Neon 1995–98
18. Jeep Grand Cherokee 1993–96
19. Plymouth Acclaim 1990–94
20. Toyota 4Runner 1986–89
21. Chrysler Intrepid 1993–97; 1999
22. Nissan Sentra 1987–90; 1992–93
23. Nissan 240SX 1989–90; 1993
24. Dodge Grand Caravan 1991–94
25. Toyota Corolla 1984–87

*of note: within our niche cult of the Skyline GT-R, i would consider that to be the #1 to-be-stolen vehicle, eventhough statistics ignore this car. upmost protection of the Skyline is to be heeded at any moment; layers of anti-theft devices are recommended.

bonzelite

a brief backstory:

July, 1989: One month after the R32 launch in Japan. The GT-R is covered, and a Group A version is pondered, the Australian press not realising the first 500 GT-R's built are in fact the homologation build run. The July edition of Wheels puts the GT-R on the cover and calls it Godzilla.

October, 1989: Gibson Motorsport takes delivery of four R32 GT-R road cars from Japan. Gibson Motorsport has been recognised by Nissan Japan for their efforts with the previous HR31 GTS-R Skylines. Gibson Motorsport are the only team outside of Japan to get GT-R's at such an early stage. Initial plans are to disable the HICAS 4 wheel steering system until the rest of the car is sorted. Due to homologation, they can run the cars either with HICAS or without.

The homologated weight is 1260kg, which is still heavier than the Ford RS500 Sierra at 1185kg. Gibson expects the first engines to have an output of 600hp – much more than the HR31 GTS-R's RB20DET-R which pushed out 460hp in 1989, and 370hp in 1988.

Fred Gibson flew to Japan in mid October with Nissan Motorsport Manager Paul Beranger, engineers Trevor Jones and Andrew Bartley to inspect the first GT-R race car built by Nissan Japan.

The Gibson team invest AU$300,000 - AU$400,000 in a sophisticated telemetry system in anticipation for the GT-R development programme.

March 1990: The GT-R is officially homologated for Group A racing on 1 March

June, 1990: Mallala, Australia

The GT-R race car has it's competition début at Mallala on 8 June 1990. Mark Skaife is the driver. The decision to use Mark Skaife was due to Jim Richards' points position in the Australian touring car championship – it was thought that having Jim début the new car would jeopardise him winning the championship if anything went wrong.

The GT-R used Japanese wheels that cost the Gibson team AU$2,000 each, and only last one race.

(excerpt from Obakemono Downunder)

*bear in mind that up until the final month prior to release, the press thought the new R32 GT-R would share a V-6 engine with the then-new Infiniti model line.

expect, perhaps, some surprises with the anticipated 2008 GT-R's release.

ajrichar

I have that race and the 1990 Oran Park finale on tape from the 1990 Season. Skaife broke a wheel hub in that race (I think) while leading so the team's decision not to risk Jim's championship position was a smart one. The car was not yet fully sorted, but its pace out of corners was astonishing, and completely smashed the Sierras...until it retired. It was however, an auspicious start.

I also have the less successful next round at Barbagello in Western Australia. Richards took the seat there.

The Oran Park round saw Jim hold onto the GT-R seat (they had only built one running car for use at that stage). It launched off the line and was never headed. It took Richards to a championship victory, although it must be remembered that the majority of the season was run with the old R31.

It's good that people realise that the car's success in Australian competition was every bit as much as its Japanese domestic dominance.

bonzelite

many thanks, ajrichar, for adding that bit of arcane knowledge. i was heretofore unaware of the prevalent use of the R31 in that year. good job.

it is good to see a fellow enthusiast who enjoys the Australian presence and contributions to Group A racing. i'm an American, but have gotten hooked into the history and stories behind Bathurst, international Group A, and its legends and lore.

it is important for others to understand the major cooperation between Nissan Japan and the Australians insofar as their collaborative development of the GT-R program. in my view, the GT-R, in general, was --and is-- an ongoing result of international cooperation inasmuch as it is a Japanese phenomenon.

feel free to contribute more.