The Prince of Darkness - Nissan, Skyline - TunerZine.com

The Prince of Darkness
There's an evil lurking in the land down under

Posted:  Mar 24, 2008
Type:  Feature Car, Nissan, Skyline
Rating:  100%

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Photos: Chris Fatseas Words: Chris Fatseas

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“…The Devil sends the beast with wrath because he knows the time is short. Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is…”
(Iron Maiden, 1982)

~~666~~ 26. If you’re a die-hard heavy metal fan (or Satan) I know what I just wrote is sacrilegious, but no, I’m not sorry. How dark can the prince of darkness really be anyway? I’m guessing he’s fairy-floss pink, daffodil yellow or a chocolate brown colour at the worst. If you ask me, that sounds quite pleasant and strangely delicious. You see, there’s something much darker out there and it makes the guy with the horns look like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. There’s no other way to describe it, Jay’s black on black R33 skyline is pure evil. So forget the number of the beast, if you’re looking for a number to fear, make it 26. That’s the number this Skyline will be wearing this year as it laps Queensland Raceway.

It only takes one look at the car to know it has been built for track work. A fat set of semi slicks, and a bumper packed with an intercooler, oil cooler and power steering cooler are dead giveaways. At the same time, however, the car is far from obnoxious. Imagine James Bond politely tapping you on the shoulder and informing you he is about to kick your ass. That’s what the styling of this car does. It tells you there’s power under the hood without being an ass about it. So how much power is there exactly? Try 401 real wheel horsepower on 1 bar of boost. It’s usable power too, which just happens to be a big part of Jays tuning philosophy. He has always said, “if you cant get the power down there’s no point in having it.” To that end, I was surprised when he told me his 255 wide Bridgestone RE55s could hold that much power in first gear when they were warm. Grip isn’t a problem through corners either with a firm set of Tein Flex coilovers (with pillow top mounts) and Cusco strut bars doing there part to maximise grip and help keep the car planted.

Of course, getting power down to the ground isn’t just about the tyres or suspension, driver skill is also crucial. Jay knows this and, by participating in Queensland Raceway’s sprint series, he’ll be sharpening his skills behind the wheel all year. He’s not afraid to admit that he’s competitive when it comes to racing and his ‘game-on’ attitude is reflected in the cars cockpit. It’s like the sparsely appointed quarters of an underpaid receptionist; there are no fancy decorations, only business furniture. Once again, Jay’s tuning philosophy is responsible for the lack of creature comforts. He says he has, “known about the benefits of reduced weight for a long time,” and has, “tried to gain more performance from weight reduction.” With that aim in mind, the boot contents, rear seats, rear shelf and sound deadener have all been deleted. Further weight saving was achieved via a carbon boot lid and set of lightweight O.Z Racing Chrono wheels.

Given the cars reduced weight and power level you might assume Jay was finished with his project, but you’d be wrong. He is confident that by years end he will be ready for even more performance upgrades. In fact, he has already planned to take the car off the road for six months as soon as 2009 comes around. Jay told me the second phase of modifications will include, “a full roll-cage, complete engine rebuild, OS Giken cross mission gear set, a sequential shifter, widened guards and more”. Rest assured, you’ll be seeing this car again when phase two is complete.

Behind Jay’s big plans lies a seed of inspiration. He looks up to drivers like Mark Berry and Russell Newman and what they have achieved. Mark and Russel recently took the Australian built Hi Octane Racing R32 GTR to Japan’s Tsukuba circuit for a time attack event. In an Australian first, they recorded a lap time of 59.6 seconds and placed in the top 20 out of a field of 60 competitors. For those of you unfamiliar with the famous Japanese circuit, rest assured, that is one seriously fast time. Although Jay won’t be heading to Tsukuba anytime soon he shares the ambitions of his idols; to put his driving to the test and push his car to the limit. Still, some say ambition is a dangerous thing and, I agree – someone should tell the prince of darkness to lock his door, #26 is on its way.

SPECS

Numbers:
401hp @ wheels 7200rpm on 1bar of boost

Engine:
PWR engine oil cooler, with braided lines and Speed Flo fittings, PWR power steering cooler with high pressure blue hose lines and Speed Flo fittings, HKS TO4r turbo kit (turbo has a heat blanket), HKS 52mm external waste gate with screamer pipe, HKS S Type front mount intercooler, custom air box that take cool air from over the head light, Walbro 600hp intank pump, Sard 850cc injectors, Power FC, A’PEXi AVC-R electronic boost controller, HKS manifold, HKS 3 inch dump pipe, HKS 3.5 inch Super Drager cat back exhaust

Drivetrain:
Exedy 5 button brass clutch

Brakes:
Front EBC slotted rotors, EBC red stuff brake pads front, EBC brake fluid and custom braided lines

Suspension:
Tein Flex with EDFC, Cusco front and rear strut braces

Wheels / Tires:
17x8 / 17x9 OZ Racing Crono with ADVAN AO48 semi slicks 245/40 front, BRIDGESTONE RE55s semi slicks 255/40 rear

Interior:
Sparco Racing bucket seats, Issota steering wheel, Issota gear knob, Razo pedals

Exterior:
GTR front bumper, custom carbon fiber boot lid with Sparco boot pins, removed spoiler

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shiatsu

Name: Chris Beardon
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Location: Dallas TX
Member Since: Dec 10, 2007

turbo200sx

Name: jordan yoder
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Location: lynden WA
Member Since: Dec 10, 2007

NYZPILOT

Name: Chris J
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Location: New York... now Raleigh, NC NC
Member Since: Nov 21, 2007

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