Nissan Skyline R34 GT-T

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