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More Upgrades For Lee’s R32 Skyline

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Performance,r32
by Alvin G @ 2:44 pm on January 8, 2021

 

We met Lehan in the summer of 2018 when he came to Z Car Garage with his newly acquired (KH2) 1991 Skyline GTR. After learning that these cars can be made smog compliant, he found this car locally (originally imported by our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers) and picked it up right away. We replaced the clutch and flywheel with an OS Giken TS2CD setup, replaced the rear main seal and fresh clutch hydraulics.

 

To fix an intermittent misfire we installed R35 coil packs ( a common RB26 upgrade) and replaced the front CV axle boots. Lehan’s goal for this R32 has been modest:
“I’ve changed the wheels and exhaust to more of my liking, replaced worn rubber parts and trim pieces, and added some Nismo bling. My goal with the car is to keep it looking mostly stock, but update the drivetrain to more modern tech, hence the Haltech ecu. In the future I may replace the 30 year old turbos but keep it to a modest hp gain, and replace the Attesa G-sensor with a digital unit. I will probably keep the HICAS system just because, and learn to drive with it on the track.”

 

Haltech ECU and Tuning

 

In March of 2019 we installed a Haltch Platium Pro Plug-in. It was set up to run MAP-based with the Haltech WB1 single channel wideband 02. We are huge fans of Haltech engine management. Rob performed street/dyno tuning tuned on 91 octane with baseline numbers of 260hp/253tq and with the Haltech making 337hp/280tq at the rear wheels:

 

Enjoy the dyno video!

Stoptech Big Brakes


All 90’s Nissan sports cars can benefit from larger brakes and Stoptech has got you covered. Another Norcal Skyline member Kurt W also had Stoptech brakes installed at ZCG, and he highly recommended them. Lehan’s R32 received ST40 calipers with 332mm rotors up front and ST22 caliper with 328mm rotors at the rear.

 

A few pictures of the brake installation:

 

The brakes look great behind the BBS wheels. During the brake upgrade we replaced all fluids: both diffs, tranny and transfer case.

 

Lehan took the R32 to a track day it performed admirably. He did experienced high oil temps, another common issue when tracking these cars. A new oil cooler will be installed next. Over all he’s please with the Skyline’s upgrades:

“Every visit to fix or update something just makes the car more awesome to drive. It feels much more lively and torquey after the tune. Best part is I can drive it as hard as I can knowing it’s been tuned safely and backed by modern engine management. It’s a similar feeling with the StopTech brakes on track – without it I would not have been able to push braking points. The steering feel and overall composure of the car is top notch, especially after the tune. I’m very happy with the car as is, but definitely looking forward to any future mods.”

 

Enjoying The Ride

 

Lehan has been driving the R32 everywhere including the track and autocross. We spotted him at the inaugural Fuel Supply Co. gathering earlier last year.

 

He even made it out to the Norcal Skylines Matsuri, an event we were lucky to attend 2019:

 

We love helping our local Norcal Skyline Owners repair, improve and enjoy their cars.

“It’s been awesome working with Rob and ZCG, and I’m really happy with all the work they’ve done. This is my first car with significant modifications, and I liked that Rob doesn’t push to have it done in a specific way. I also appreciate Rob’s effort to ensure the car is as best as it can be. I noticed some rubbing the week before a track day, and he was able to check that out on short notice, and offered to help if anything came up. True to that, I texted Rob about high oil temps the day of and he replied right away. I’m getting an oil cooler installed early Jan before the next track day.”

Thank you Lehan for your support and we look forward to working with you! More pictures in the gallery below:

…[read more]



Mike’s 1991 Nissan Skyline GT-R

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Performance,r32
by Alvin G @ 5:53 pm on June 30, 2020

 

Mike R acquired this gunmetal (KH2) 1991 Skyline GTR last August from our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers. It goes without saying, if you are in the market for a vintage Skyline (or any JDM car) IVI is the place to go.

 

Z Car Garage is familiar with the Norcal Skylines group and fellow Skyline R32 owner Kurt W. referred Mike to us in addition to an endorsement from Top Rank:

“One of my main concerns in purchasing a 25+ year old vehicle that was never manufactured in the US, was support. Who can work on this thing to perform maintenance and upgrades? I spoke with Top rank about it quite a bit prior to purchase and they had recommended Z Car garage. The car was in great condition and mostly stock when I got it. With the goal of being an all around fast street car, I started acquiring parts and placed a call to ZCG to start the first round of upgrades.”

 

Chassis

We discussed installing a big-brake kit, suspension, Haltech and a few others issues we handled for Mike. Here is the Project Mu 4-wheel big-brake kit:

 

We also installed the Ohlins DFV coil-overs, shown below are the stock R32 calipers:

 

 

With a few modifications the Project Mu kit was installed:

 

Some close-ups of the Project Mu setup:

 

We adjusted his coil-over setup and set the ride height followed by corner-weighting the car according to his weight. Further suspension mods included Whiteline Sway bars, Cusco strut bracing and SPL titanium HICAS eliminator kit. All interior panels were trimmed for a clean finish with full alignment services.

Performance

Mike was also interested in replacing the factory ECU so we upgraded to a Haltech Elite 2000 with the R32-plugin adapter. The full installation also included a wideband controller and smoke-testing the car in preparation for dyno tuning:

 

Greddy FMIC:

 

The Haltech combined with Apexi intakes, Nismo downpipe, Tomei Titanium exhaust, Greddy FMIC and PRP R35 Coil kit, netted 340hp/284tq at the wheels with Rob’s tuning on 91 octane:

 

Enjoy the dyno video below:

 

 

Since his last visit, Mike has added R34 GT-R Seats, and a sweet set of Volk Racing TE37 SL custom gloss black wheels (18×10.5 +15), wrapped in Michelin PS4S tires measuring 265/35/18.

 

Mike also relocated the battery to the trunk to make space for a Leaskspec radiator overflow tank and Radium dual catch can setup:

 

In addition, a Haltech IC7 digital dash was added to monitor vital engine parameters. The IC7 dash ties into the CAN box of Elite system:

More Power

 

Mike has been happy with the upgrades we made but like many of us the desire for more power inevitably hits:

“The car has been running flawlessly and the goal with these mods is to support the addition of a single turbo kit that Zcar will be installing this August. The turbo kit consists of a Full Race Twin scroll T4 manifold that will be mated to an EFR 8474 turbocharger.  Twin Tial 44mm external wastegates will bleed off the excess exhaust gasses.”

 

Along with the turbo kit, we will be adding: PWR radiator, Samco radiator hoses, Tomei Type B Poncams, fuel pump, Radium fuel rail, fpr, ID 1050X fuel injectors, along with a custom intake and custom intercooler piping with a Tial q50 BOV. The goal for this round of upgrades is 500whp on low boost and 91 octane fuel.
“All of the work performed at Zcar had exceeded my expectations so far (and I’m very picky). Looking forward to the start the build and make some power of the next few months.”

We really enjoy taking care of many Norcal Skyline owners.  Welcome to ZCG family Mike and thanks for trusting us with your R32! Enjoy The Boost until you return!
More pictures in the gallery below:




TE Tuesday: Kurt’s R32 Skyline GT-R

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Performance,r32
by Alvin G @ 2:12 pm on August 27, 2019

 

Kurt W is a Nissan enthusiast having owned a 350z that we worked on back in 2008.  Last year he acquired this (KH2) R32 Skyline GT-R from our friend Sean Morris and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers. It goes without saying, if you are in the market for a vintage Skyline (or any JDM car) IVI is the place to go.

 

Kurt visited Z Car Garage for minor sorting and a series of upgrades we will document in a future blog post. Recently he came in for installation of 17″ VOLK TE37V wheels with Bridgestone RE-71R tires:

 

The wheels frame the Stoptech Big-Brake kit( 332mm front and 328mm rear) nicely. Love the dish on these!

 

Electric Avenue

 

Kurt also called us about lowering his Tesla Model 3 and for the first time an electric vehicle came to ZCG for modifications. A full KW coil-over suspension setup from MountainPass Performance was installed:

 

The Model 3 received a full alignment. Note the weight/distribution!

 

Kurt’s R32 will be back at the shop for some exciting power upgrades stay tuned for a full report!

 




Pall’s R32 Skyline GT-R

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Maintenance,Performance,r32
by Alvin G @ 1:27 pm on April 23, 2019

 

Pall K acquired this Pearl Red (AH3) R32 from our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers. It goes without saying, if you are in the market for a vintage Skyline (or any JDM car) IVI is the place to go.  We love the gorgeous paint color and Volk TE37SLs:

 

Pall brought the R32 to ZCG for a full inspection. We found one of the CV boots torn and he had some Nismo stainless lines for us to install.

 
 

We checked the timing, changed the engine oil, transmission fluid and installed the new brake lines front/rear:

 
 
 

Full alignment, and the Skyline will be coming back for a clutch service:

 

Pall enjoys driving his R32 and even made it to the Norcal Skyline Matsuri last month:

  
 

We really enjoy taking care of many Norcal Skyline owners.  Welcome to ZCG family Pall and thanks for trusting us with your R32!




FOR SALE: 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Performance
by Alvin G @ 8:31 am on April 18, 2019

 

This 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R has ~86k miles and holds full California-emissions compliance. In fact, it was actually the first car to do so under the 25-year rule through Sean Morris and his team over at Top Rank Importers.

 
 

With up to date maintenance, a clear title and current registration this R32 is ready to be enjoyed. Extensive photos and history can be found on our For Sale page HERE.




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