When Nissan introduced the latest R35 version of its GTR Skyline models, the marketing push behind the car put a heavy emphasis on Nürburgring times and the techno-wizardry that led to the new GTRs on-track performance. The car did not disappoint many new owners on the track, but there was some room for improvement. Especially on the subject of mass.
At a portly 1720kg (3800lbs), even the most die-hard Skyline fans admit that the R35 GTR has a lot of mass to carry around a track – which motivated one New England GTR owner to contact Ohio-based tuning firm Switzer Performance. Tym Switzer explains:
The client had some pretty clear goals with this car. This GTR couldn’t be trackday special that would deafen you out on public roads. The client was looking for a car that he and his wife could drive out 2 or 3 hours to the track in reasonable comfort, fill it up with pump gas, set killer times lap after lap after lap, and drive to a nice dinner afterwards without issue. Basically, it’s a race car with climate and cruise controls, and that’s kind of a lot to ask!
They started with the company’s P800 kit, which replaces the car’s intercoolers, intakes, and turbochargers with Switzer components that increase the GTR-engine up to 800hp and almost 700lb-ft of torque.
Adding 300 more horsepower the car obviously helped its power-to-weight, but more importantly none of the components in our P800 package and our new cooling package, which this car also has, are any heavier than stock. When we built the kit originally we didn’t want to make the car any heavier than it already was, and with this car in particular we wanted to reduce the weight as much as we could, without sacrificing the ‘GT’ aspect of the GTR.
Switzer fitted featherweight carbon rotors from AP, which cut an amount of unsprung weight and rotating mass from each corner of the GTR, while improving fade resistance. Application-specific pads, high-temperature brake fluid and stainless steel braided brake lines round out the brake package with improved pedal feel and increase stopping power. Weight was also cut with the addition of a lightweight (ceramic-coated) titanium exhaust system, dry-carbon decklid, and lightweight sports seats from Bride.
We chose these seats because of their adjustability. You can be comfortable, still get to the back seat, and it’s not an extreme one-piece seat that’s not comfortable on the highway. They fit the project goal perfectly.
An overal weight reduction of 90kg (200lbs) was achieved. Further enhancements were a fully-adjustable JRZ suspension system, complemented by stiffer adjustable swaybars, an underbody diffuser, and an active-aero wing from Aeromotions.
This car is really an amazing collaborative effort. Everyone involved really came through on this build, and the data we got from JRZ and the brake guys at Stillen who import the AP rotors helped us tie it all together into a coherent package that is at home on the track and in town, too. All we need to do now is get it on the track with the client behind the wheel, and dial it in to his driving style – that’s what’s really important here, that we get it right for him and deliver the ‘track animal’ he ordered. Once he’s comfortable in the car, we’ve got a list of GTR ‘track records’ that we’d like to beat. I think this is the car to do it.
Switzer’s P800 and upgraded cooling packages are available through Switzer dealers. Interested? Please contact Switzer Performance for more information.
with this power he will kill r8