Miscellaneous GTI-R pics

This is the place to look for pics that don't readily fit into any of the other categories on the GTI-R Homepage website.

(click on any picture for a full-size view).

At last, a direct replacement for the defunct Nissan bumperguard is available from Australia.

(there are a couple of movies on the "Vids" page!)

Pillar-mounted boost pod as fitted to the Project Car

A certain Litchfield Imports demonstration drive" around Cadwell Park ... nice!

Some pics of the "Norris Designs Racer" at Castle Combe. Unfortunately the engine was overcooked during practice and never made the start. Which is why the engine is in bits.

Proud owner "Tich" from Birmingham sent these in.

Holger Berkmann's car ... I've chopped out the Ferrari's surrounding the car because they would only clutter the picture for everyone else!

NME servicing data - some might find this useful? (This is Rally spec NOT street/autobahn)

A very large frontmount done by Scott Finn in NZ ... it was donated by a MAN bus. Looks big enough!

Whiteline adjustable suspension ... Whiteline is an Australian source of tuning parts

... and how good it looks, fitted

Good news for UK owners with fingers and thumbs the size of a small battleship and no fuse extractor - Halfords sell a fuse extractor tool AND it fits the moulding on the fuse panel. Amazing!

Bog Standard Car - temporary replacement for the back box pending the Low Boost investigation ...

The replacement pipe was made and fitted by Powerflow in Newport - the pic says more. The power went from 185bhp to 195bhp. So the standard exhaust isn't blocked! BTW - if anyone thinks I've turned to the dark side on the Bog Standard car ... fear not, this is all reversible!

The low boost problem solved - and missing 42bhp found at last!

The Bog Standard car now gives textbook power.
Explaination - the Bog Standard Car had a plain tube instead of this one and produced only 185bhp at the flywheel. After 14 months of investigation and GBP300 of dyno sessions my thanks go to Owen Developments/Turbo Diagnostic Centre (Kingston Bagpuize Nr Abingdon UK) for helping to identify the problem (no-one else knew of the existence of this restrictor as at July 2000), to Chris Lloyd for the loan of his tube and to Ivan Tomic in Australia for moral and technical support when, at times, I was ready to give up/spend mega-money on what was only a GBP3 fix. Checking the Project Car I thought I'd look at the rubber restrictor tube it had fitted to it, to double-check against the tube that Chris Lloyd loaned me. It was identical, but on the Project Car the rubber tube was split through ... so I wonder how I managed to record a HIGHER boost figure on the Project Car than the Bog Standard car (0.76 vs 0.65 respectively)? It has to do with the freer exhaust and air filter on the Project Car. Proved when I took the exhaust back box off the Bog Standard car and the boost went up by about this figure (say 0.1 bar).

For a diagram of where this restrictor pipe lives see item 5 in THIS diagram

And here's the Nissan part number

Now for some reeeeely interesting stuff but BE WARNED - you MUST be sure of what you're doing otherwise DO NOT DO THIS ...

Tuners say that the standard GTI-R has a built-in, approx 1-bar failsafe to prevent "simple" overboost. So they bypass the relevant parts and can give you 1 bar for zero effort BUT a crucial part of the Nissan anti-DET system is bypassed. I won't go into any more detail.

Question - how to increase boost up to 1 bar yet still keep the Nissan anti-DET parts intact without spending lots of money on e.g., an aftermarket ECU upgrade etc? I discovered a very simple, cheap method of increasing boost to precisely what you need - up to the approx 1 bar Nissan failsafe - i.e., modify the restrictor. Put simply, a smaller hole in the centre of the restrictor will increase boost. I was told that 1.2mm enables an upgraded GTI-R turbo to hold boost. So, I tried soldering-up the centre of the restrictor, then I sent a 1.2mm bit down it and voila! 0.9bar boost. Cost? about 3p - the price of the solder ;-)

Naturally, this has not been done on the Bog Standard Car as it would invalidate the warranty.

On the face of it this looks very bad - but it's just a set of pics of the Project Car which is in for a full colour change respray:- I'll add more pics as the job progresses

Progress on the respray - week 2 and thankfully, no surprises found after stripping all the trim and repairing the minor dents.

Unfortunately, these photo's also serve as progress for weeks 3 and 4 :-( Still, on the bright side, I've been promised that in only 2 more weeks it'll be ready.

Here's the respray progress at week 5. It's the first time I'd seen the chosen paint on metal.
Showing the true colour is a real problem as you can see from the contrast from one pic to the next ... but it really is purple! PS - I wonder why they cut out the front of the bumper like that ... ;-) Still, not long now.

Fitting clear side repeaters? Instructions here ! Photo's follow ...

Exhausting stuff ...

Chris L's big 'un

Evan's dumper ...

... what a pipe!

Straight-through with a Big Can

Evan's "Ben Hur" wheels - I just love 'em!

Evan again - getting ??? more horses saddled up!<%}%>

Here's a tidy L reg example going for �7,400 ono (Today is 29 July 2000). Note the genuine Nissan strut brace and the mini-rollcage I've not seen on any other GTI-R<%}%>