R32 SKYLINE GTSt 4 Door
I have grown up, the stereo, sub woofer, shinny paint and the once big 15" wheels of my Gemini were no substitute for the power and ride of a Japanese Import. It was time for an upgrade. I was a bit sick of the grief and attention I was getting from the Fun stoppers, so I made the wise choice of going for a standard ride. Yep R31 Silhouette, no not an import, yet! But it was a good choice. I found myself a white over grey Silhouette and made the purchase. It was a nice neat car.
After a year just over a year of my incredibly reliable R31 I was missing the modified car scene, so with import cars becoming ever more popular I was getting sucked in. I was very keen on the Nissan import family, especially the 4 door variety of 32s, Cefiro's and Laurel's. I must say the R31 was a brilliant car it really was, it didn't have the power of an import turbo but the seats folded down so the snowboards still had a home in the back during the winter of 05.
I started looking around and very soon I did get one. Much sooner than planed it was exactly what I wanted, a 4 door, black paint and turbo, it popped up at auction for a good price, so I snatched it up. After a few more dollars invested and a lot of help by Montel our personal Skyline mechanic and mate, I had myself a nice ride on the road. The 32 is a good increase in power. From a 40hp Gemini to a standard R31 then to a 220bhp R32. It is a good upgrade and I have not looked back since.

The 32 is a good inclrease in power. From a 40hp gemini to a R31 then 220bhp from a R32. It is a good upgrade and I have not looked back since.

 

 

TIME TO TEST IT OUT
I was very keen to test it out and put the foot down for more than 3 seconds. So in April this year I joined Damien B in his 1600 at the Nissan Datsun Sports Owners Club sprint day at Sandown, I only managed a 1:41 but driving on a recovering shattered arm and running on standard boost pushing approx 175bhp I was happy enough with the 190+ down the straight.

Since then I have made a few modifications. I have fitted a stainless hi flow turbo manifold, changed the end canon muffler, fitted an intercooler with custom 2.5" piping, installed a DVD player then uninstalled it as I never used it. The latest and by far the best alteration was the recent Dyno tune I got at Independent Motorsport in Morwell.

THE TUNE UP..
Stuthi at Independent Motorsports managed to take my pretty much standard motor and turbo from 174bhp to 220.5bhp, all by making a small increase of boost from 7psi to now 11psi and a mild tune. The increase of 46.5bhp was a massive upgrade for little effort. This tune was by far the best thing I have done yet and dollars spent were well worth it. The new power curve still gets me excited. Because of the 2 litre motor the RB20DET is very low in torque and the lag can be felt when taken off and not on boost. But now with the tune the car no longer feels like a heavy car under acceleration it seems to boost up a little quicker and the difference is incredible.

BACK TO THE TRACK

With more boost and fresh power under the hood I headed back to Sandown in October this time with Sheel in his Crazy Gemini . Sadly I didn't get much of an opportunity as the 32 was suffering mild overheating issues and I was scared to push it too hard. I managed to better my time by just a little. More >>Sandown pics

After Sandown I go myself a GTR radiator and hoped that would fix the heating problems for the next and final track day for the year at Winton on the 19th of November. Sheel in the Gem, Damien in the 1600 and I all headed up, to Winton.

More >>sandown pics

WINTON
Well I have found a favourite track! Yes Winton is awesome and the R32 survived 35 degrees plus!. It did get hot under the hood but in comparison to the shambles back at Sandown it went well. I only managed 2 sessions as I lost a cooler hose in the warm up lap of the first session.
I managed to do a fastest lap of 1:55:50 running on street tires. I was very happy with that and I am confident I will improve dramatically next meet. More >>Winton pics

I have now fitted a Metalcat 3" hi flow catalytic converter. The power increase was noticeable.

32 RECORDED FOR PC GAME
Early December my R32 was recorded on a dyno by Soundwave Concepts to be used in an upcoming PC game. The Game title is unreleased but the game will hit the shops early next year. It was a pretty interesting experience. www.soundwaveconcepts.com.au

THE SPECS.....

Vehicle: 1989 Nissan Skyline R32 GTSt jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj n Engine: RB20DET (2.0L turbo) Increased boost to 11psi front mount intercooler Fuel and Ignition: Standard coils aftermarket Walbro fuel pump. Driveline / Gearbox: 5 speed manual, LSD diff, Brass button clutch. Brakes: Standard R32 GTSt brakes Project nu semi race pads Wheels and Suspension: Springs: Fronts: Tein Coil-overs Rear: Lowerd springs Wheels: 17x8" fronts and 17x8.5" Japanese Manaray alloy wheels. Tires: GT Radials al round. Exhaust: Hi flow stainless manifold 3" Dump 3" mandrell stainless exhaust. Metalcat' 3" stainless. Body: Standard black origonal paint, standard spoiler removed. Type M front spoiler. Interior & Stereo: MP3 player Front: Fusion 4" splits Rear: Kenwood 3-ways GTR center dash guages Future Plans: A nice set of 18" G-Games by Rays Rear coil overs Maybe even a RB25det to gain that extra torque. I am keen to put on some sort of front bar but I am very pick and finding one is a hard effort.

Tacked together the home made custom piping work for my new intercooler. This setup uses the standard intercooler holes into the engine bay. This is a far better option for two reasons.

1. I did not need to cut any extra holes on this side or the opposite side.
2. Thgis setup does not run any piping past the front of the hot engine, therfore keeping the air cooler.

 

A little closer to finished.