Nissan Skyline R34 GT-T
Eat/Sleep/Nissan
Text and photos: Reinis Babrovskis
If you ever ask me what is my
favourite car I can answer without a shadow of a doubt – a Nissan Skyline and
it doesn’t matter which generation. It is one of the most striking designs with
one of the best engines human has ever made, so what’s not to like? It seems
that me and David share the same passion for it. After having owned 11 Japanese
cars and 4 German ones, David decided it was time for a change; what did he get…
another Japanese car – A Nissan Skyline R34 GT-T to be precise. David’s choice
for the Skyline was simple – “I love Nissans, their tuning potential,
reliability, driving experience and the feel it gives you”, David admits. There
is not much more I would like to add as I fully agree that even though the R34
is now 15 years old, it looks more modern and aggressive than any modern car
and the RB straight-six engine noise can be recognised from miles away.
Nissan Skyline is a cult car, hugely
admired in the petrol head society over decades and has been the star in many
computer games and movies, e.g Gran Turismo, Forza, The Fast and the Furious
etc. Nissan Skyline is known for the insane tuning potential,
superb traction and driving experience, hence the name has made history in
street racing and motorsport world.
The traces of the original
Skyline go back to 1955 when the Nissan Skyline was produced by Prince Motor
Company, until it merged with Nissan in 1966. Skyline was designed to be a
sports and executive car, designed and engineered by Shinichiro Sakurai who remained
a key influence on all Skyline models until his sad death in 2011. Over the years Skylines have been available
as coupes, saloons as well as station wagons, crossovers, convertibles and even
pick up vans.
As of 1972 the rear taillights
that cannot be mistaken with anything else became the trademark for the Skyline
model. There are currently 11 generations of Skylines; however, the latest
model R35 Nissan GT-R became a franchise on its own, known as Nissan GT-R.
The Nissan Skyline R34 was first
launched in 1999 and was in the production until 2002, with only 64 thousand
cars produced in the Musashimurayama factory in Japan. Only several countries imported
them thus making it a very desirable and rare car. R34 was available as a 4 door sedan or a 2
door coupe and was designed by Kozo Watanabe back in 1996. It was available
with the choice of 2.0l, 2.5l and 2.6l engines powered by a 4 gear automatic or
5 or 6 gear manual gearboxes.
David’s R34 GT-T version came
equipped with a 2.5l RB25DET Neo I6 turbo engine, producing 280hp and 343Nm stock
which was the latest of the straight six Nissan engines, running a 5 speed
manual gearbox and the powered by the rear wheels.
When deciding on the styling of
the car, he opted for a more subtle “street racing” instead of a track car
design. If the car wouldn’t stand out already, it is finished in a stunning radiant
red paintjob. The genuine Impul Aero body-kit is a rare sight on these and I
think it suits the car perfectly. To maintain the subtle style though not
forgetting about the aerodynamics the GT-R wing was added.
Many car journalists reported
that there was not really much between the GT-T and GT-R versions in terms of
the driving experience; putting it down on the smaller wheel size and softer
suspension set up on the GT-T model, so David’s car was lowered on Meister R
coilovers and placed on 18” Compomotive alloys with impressive size of 8J at
the front and 9J at the back, finished in dark grey and dressed in Goodyear
Eagle F1’s.
The interior hasn’t been modified
a lot, since the designers have done a great job already and David wanted to
keep it as stock and subtle as possible – he kept the seats and carpets, only
upgrades were a Momo steering wheel, along with an aftermarket gear knob. To
keep an eye on his turbo Apexi boost gauge and Apexi AVCR boost controller was
installed. Since the standard audio system is really nothing to get excited
about (I believe the engineers hoped that nobody would listen to music anyway
with that lovely engine noise) David decided to treat the car to Alpine head
unit and Focal front speakers powered by amp.
David has always focused on the
performance of the car, so the engine has had extensive work done to it as well.
The 2.5l RB25 engine has been tune by the respectable Bradley Motorsports.
Stage 4 hybrid BB turbo is behind this lovely boost, a Blitz front mount
intercooler and HKS intake is in charge of the cold air, while the hot air
leaves the car via Blitz Nur Spec exhaust system and downpipe and elbow.
We all
love our blow-off valves, so to make sure the whole neighbourhood hears that
the car is changing gears, it has been equipped with an HKS SSQ Blow-off valve.
Other mods include 500cc Injectors, Splitfire coilpacks, Walbro fuel pump, G4
ECU with AFM removed and much more. The power is delivered via Exedy paddle
clutch to the real wheels that can go sideways with the help of Cusco RS 2-way
LSD.
When asked about the plans, he
says: “Future plans are a new inlet manifold, top mount turbo – GT3076r, custom
pipework and external wastegate. The aim is to achieve 450-500hp before the
summer arrives. “
Technical Spec:
1999 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-T
2.5 RB25DET NEO engine
Radiant Red
Full Impul Bodykit
GTR Spoiler
Meister R Coilovers
18” Compomotive alloys – 8J Front, 9J Rear
Nismo GT-Pro 2-way LSD
Exedy Paddle Clutch
Japspeed Camber arms
Japspeed Traction Arms
HICAS lockout
Walbro Fuel pump
HKS Intake Filter
HKS SSQ BOV
Splitfire coilpacks
550cc injectors
Stage 4 Hybrid turbo BB core & T38 Turbine
Blitz front mount intercooler kit
Blitz Nur spec cat back, downpipe and elbow
Link G4 ecu with Map sensor/afm delete
Apexi boost gauge
Apexi AVCR black edition 1.2 and 1.4 bar
Momo steering wheel
Factory interior mats and seats
Alpine head unit
Focal speakers and Amp
Car History:
VW Polo
5 Nissans S14A
3 Nissan Skylines R33
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