NISMO 40th Anniversary - up close with the NISMO 400R

So if you've been paying attention, Nismo turned 40 on September 17, 2024.  To celebrate, Nissan made sure the gallery at Global Headquarters showed off some of NISMO's best cars. 

I meant to say, Road cars... as there were several race cars on the gallery floor as well.

In particular, these three!

So in the heritage section next to the Nissan/NISMO gift shop, these 3 cars were lined up for inspection. Of course, I focused my efforts on the middle one.

As I approached it, I decided to take photos of it from all angles. First the left front:

Then the right front:

And of course I wanted to get a closer look at the hood/bonnet bespoke made for this car.

I think the need to ventilate tells you something...

And a shot of the front wheel arches - needed to comply with Japan road laws as wheels and tires cannot stick out past the body. Add on fenders allow just a bit more width to the tires.

Another angle, I was trying to get a shot of the brake caliper.

and a less interesting shot of the left rear wheel

Of course, while so close I had to check out the interior. Even though regular 1996 GT-Rs had passenger airbags as standard, the 400R did not. Interesting...

Oh and I must check out that back. Wait, speaker grills? This thing had a stereo?

Stereo yes, but not the Kenwood Sound Cruising System

And of course I need to check out the quality of the carbon fiber. Couldn't touch it, but I am sure it is dry carbon. And the weave is 1x1 square, just like those old Nismo B pillar stickers....

And while back here, I MUST get a better view of that badge. Cool, but to me not as cool as "GT-R"

And let's not forget to get a rear quarter view photo.

Need to enjoy that sticker...

And the obligatory front quarter view to finish.

Oh, and look who I found, this 34 owner, admiring the greatest road going GT-R of all time...

Admit it Dino, you love it...

Thanks for viewing this post.  It did not feel right to have all these photos on my phone for only me to enjoy. Let me know if any questions!

The Making of "The GTR Run Tokyo" by HartnettMedia (and my role in it!)

 A few months ago, my friend Dino contacted me - "hey you want your 33 to become the most famous 33 in the world?" with "Pennzoil wants to do a little something, so I am working on a project"

Of course, I had no idea what he was talking about. But the end result was this:

Ok so here is some background information.

First, Dino and Alec had me show up VERY early to the Hakone Turnpike. That is where Dino introduced me to Ben Hartnett and Chris Hofstaetter.  The guys drove a Nissan Serena minivan that Nissan had lent them, and Dino of course came in his 34.  A few minutes after I arrived, Sudo-san pulls up, NOT in his 32, but driving a flatbed truck that carried his 32! 

Then our first challenge of the day - it turned out that the original section where Dino and Ben wanted to film was closed to the public - apparently Ferrari Japan was renting it out for their own video shoot! Undeterred, we took some side roads and found some other good places.

Then, we had to also find a place for Sudo-san to park his truck where he could unload the 32. But after that, the magic happened.  

Here are some photos I took while waiting to be told what to do and how to drive.

Closer up, but without Mt Fuji in the background.

After a few back and forth scenes, we parked. This is where we tried to choreograph getting into our cars at the same time. Clearly, we are neither actors nor coordinated.

Same shot, I was experimenting with the exposure setting. Was hard to balance getting the background to show while keeping the foreground coloring accurate. 

Trying another angle...

Around noontime, I actually had to go back into Yokohama as I had meetings at work. Lucky for me, the cars were running out of gas and so we headed into Atami to get gas.  It was then when I decided to not bother driving back but have Chris take over - turns out he is a 33 fan so was THRILLED at being able to  drive my car.  All the evening shots of the cars on these roads, that is him driving, not me!

And of course, having been dropped off at Atami station as they went to look for a gas station, I  took this train back into Yokohama:

But of course, this was only part of the plan.  The next day, Friday night, I found myself driving my car at night, meeting up with Dino and crew at a Parking Area outside Tokyo.  Somehow, several random Japanese Skyline GT-R owners were also there, so we invited them to tag along and include them in the night filming.

All I will say is, it was FREEZING cold... which made for great turbo boost of course. But the Japanese guys were super excited about their luck, and one youung guy just happaned to be an avid Ben Hartnett fan and was literally gushing with joy at being able to shake Ben's hand and take a photo with him.

Ben and Alec plotting

Yep, we have seen this 33 before... original LM paint, too!

Lots of waiting. It reminded me of the one time I was an extra in a movie.  Many retakes, from various angles, with most of my time spent waiting.

Staying inside the car to stay warm!

Obviously no shots of me actually driving at night since of course I was boring and followed all the speed limits, driving in a safe, controlled and mature manner, as befitting my job and position in society. Right...

Anyway, we called it quits at about 0500 just as the sun was about to come up. I can see from the finished project that a lot of what we did not make it into the final cut, but that is to be expected in the editing process.  Still, I had fun and it really is nice to be memorialized in this way by a real professional cinematographer.

Thank you Ben, Dino, Alec and Chris!! Hope to meet up with you guys again soon!

OEM Look LED Series 3 Headlights by VELENO! (@Tokyo Auto Salon 2024) - Part 1

Happy New Year friends!

Having seen some social media posts (and an advert in last month's GT-R Magazine) about a new product from LED specialist Veleno (working together with Nismo Super GT racing driver Tsugio Matsuda) - namely a completely new Series 3 (kohki) headlamp unit incorporating LEDs for both low and high beams, this year I decided to make the 90 minute train ride from Yokohama to Makuhari Messe in Chiba where Tokyo Auto Salon 2024 is being held this weekend.

I quickly made my way to the Veleno booth, and finally saw Matsuda-san's R33 GT-R in the flesh! I've seen this car in GT-R Magazine, as well as on YouTube (with Matsuda-san driving in it) so it was cool to finally see it in person.

But looking more closely, I was really surprised to see that IF this car had the new LED units, it did not look like it had LEDs in there at all.

Ok here is a close-up. 

I asked around and was introduced to Nakakuki-san of Garage Chikara, who was co-hosting the event (turns out that Nakakuki-san owns a Series 1 R33, is an R33 GT-R fan, and has long been itching to upgrade the headlights on his 33 to LEDs - so this project made it happen!) with Reiz Trading (the company that sells the Veleno brand bulbs). This answers why Veleno did not come out with LED headlights for the 32 or 34... 

So - and I will update in a future blog post with more on the back story about how all this happened, but meanwhile, here are the particulars that Nakakuki-san shared with me. I am also following up on some technical questions as well, so if you have any, please do leave a comment and I will follow up on those too! For example, I was told by Nakakuki-san that both bulbs for low and high beam are H8 bulbs, but the Japanese website states the high beams are H11. And yes, I know that they are very close to the same form factor and that there are slight differences, but what is the actual situation here?

Anyway - first, an English language website (for ordering) is coming in the near future - probably next month. So yes, you will be able to order and purchase these units from outside Japan, and yes they will have no problem sending these out by international post. No need for a middleman service.

Second, the projected run is about 200 sets initially, but if there is more demand then of course they will continue to produce more.  It is important to note that the current retail price is an "early bird" special, in that the high and low beam bulbs - valued at 66,000 yen (with Japanese VAT) are included for no additional cost. The units will be ready for sale sometime between March and May, likely during April. After the initial run, it seems the bulbs will be an extra cost.

Third, the harness for these kits is plug and play for Series 3, but the displayed red car is actually a Series 2, so obviously a retrofit is possible.  However, if you watch the demo video before, you will see that when the high beam is on, the low beams shut off, which is consistent with what the Series 1 and 2 OEM lights do - but NOT the headlights for the Series 3 cars, where the low beam stays on - because of the Xenon bulb. I will find out more details on whether any harness modifications are needed (but IIRC, he said there were not, so...)

I managed to capture these still shots during the video. 

Low beam - incredibly bright, although I wish they had kept one side the original Xenon for comparison

Blinding high beam! But low beams turn off just like the Series 3 OEM units

There were a few other cars on display too. There was a manual Z sporting a Nismo body kit (i.e. hint hint Nissan this is how the Z Nismo should be...) As well as this very clean Autech 4 door GT-R.

Turns out this Autech is also one of Matsuda-san's cars...

I still don't know what purpose this half clip served, other than to allow the models to sit down behind it.  

Oh and it was also hooked up to show off what could be possible, strobe light-wise?

Meanwhile, as I was talking to Nakakuki-san in the back, a crowd was forming outside - so when I looked out I saw this:

Models posing with the half cut. One way to draw a crowd I guess...

Veleno also had their other products on display, including the "Impact Blaster" which was apparently some kind of anti-bacterial ozone generator for your car...

Anyway, rest assured I do myself have a set on order already, and will post my impressions once I get them installed. Maybe do a video showing the difference between the LED and the Xenon (I know I am going to miss that "warm up blue" effect...).

Finally, this being Tokyo Auto Salon - well there are a bunch of other websites and social media platforms showing more content.  For me, this is a shot of how it looked when I first entered the main area of Makuhari Messe (the convention hall that hosts Tokyo Auto Salon). Me being me, somehow I found myself entering exactly where CraftSports (GT-R specialists) had their display...

Stay tuned for more updates!

I've Met Another Crazy Kohki KR4 Owner

Recently, a fellow R33 GT-R owner messaged me on this blog about how he had successfully used a BNR34 part on his car. Murray (Follow him on IG: kaizen.r33) currently lives in Okinawa, Japan, so when I found myself there for a couple weeks of special work, it was natural that we would meet up in person just so I could check out his car (his daily!).

Beautiful! Love the quasi 400R look, reminds me of my car. And the Nismo intercooler
venting is awesome!

Once we met up, of course I had to check out in person what he had tried to explain to me via email and photos about his mod using the BNR34 rear strut tower board, which being two layered (vice the single layer BCNR33 piece) provides more rigidity to the rear of the car.

So I could tell immediately that this looked different from the usual 33 part.  First, the Nismo Performance Damper appears (and is) shorter, but that is because its mounting points are different - you can see in the next photo (kindly provided by Murray) that compares the 33 and 34 rear boards - the 33 is one piece so the rear strut bar (and thus the Nismo Damper) connects on top, while the mounting for the 34 strut bar (and thus Nismo Damper) is a separate piece that lies on top of and bolted underneath the rear board.  Murray told me that because of the different lengths he had to buy a new Nismo Damper for the rear. Because Nismo only sells in front/rear pairs, he sold his new 34 front one on Yahoo Auctions.  

Additionally, Murray informed me that, compared to the 33 board, the 34 board has 4 extra recessed holes, probably M10x50mm in the standard 1.25 pitch. He says the Series 3/Kohki cars already have these holes drilled at the factory so he had no problems adding and tightening these extra bolts down. Otherwise, as I reported in the GT-R magazine article post, this part is a direct easy fit requiring no mods to either the car or the 34 board.

Murray reports he could immediately feel the difference - an increase in rear stability - and this makes sense as the 33 is longer than the 34 and thus I would suspect that an increase in rigidity here in this area would do wonders in how the car feels.  Certainly makes sense given how this 33 was used as the basis for improvements that would end up in the 34. Incidentally, I forgot to take photos, but Murray also has the S15 trunk bar installed as well, so the improvement I think might be noticeable in my car as well.

I am very, very tempted to do this mod! I will have to research the Damper issue- whether the change in structure is effective, etc. Ideally I want not to have to buy a new Nismo Damper...

But of course I had to check out the rest of the car.  I had already noticed that this car was running those beautiful Nismo semi-gloss LMGT4 wheels, and I could already spot some brake mods.

And yes we agreed on tire choice too - PS4S

These are ACRE Dustless-Real pads and Dixcel FS 6 slot rotors. He has the 400R fender flares but told me that Nismo no longer offered the ones for the front. I will have to look into this, but meanwhile we discussed how the Nismo R35 brake package does wonders for the braking ability of the car.  I think if Murray ever takes his car to Fuji Speedway, he will realize that the OEM brakes are the weak point of the car. I did advise him to stay away from adaptor brackets made elsewhere, unless he can overcome the shortcomings I found with the set I sourced from the UK. 

While still at the rear of the car, I noticed that Murray had also installed a BNR34 rear diffuser. But it looked different than mine. And it's not just the 400R rear bumper.

I forgot to ask if the red taping is reflective. If so, nice touch!

Turns out that Murray had the rear diffuser custom-made by CW-collective.  No photos from me as my knees were not cooperating that day (but check out Murray's IG), but I did notice how clean the exhaust cut-out was.  Murray did remark that compared to the OEM 34 version, he did not have a jack up point (so he has to use the arms), but otherwise the install was very clean.  And he even used the OEM 34 plastic fins, which is a smart move because they can get damaged when backing up (although I did not see any damage to the fins on his car).

One more interesting piece in the trunk area was this old-style Nismo badge that is no longer available.  I suspect that Murray and I may have been competing on Yahoo Auctions for the last few years over the same parts...

I also spotted this side turn signal that Murray says came with the car. Yes I have advised him to get it changed out for a more inconspicuous part.

Anyway a well put together and a very clean look that works! (despite the shaved off trunk lock - done by the prior owner of the car).

And the car has a replica carbon 400R double blade rear wing

Ok so let's check what's under the hood(bonnet!).

Hard to tell at this angle, but Murray reports the new HKS GTIII-2530s work really well. I also spotted the carbon fiber Nismo Omori Factory original air intake - great minds think alike?  Also hard to tell at this angle is the deletion of the OEM CAS for a more modern trigger kit, with the engine now controlled by a Haltech Elite 2500.  And yes that is a MASSIVE front strut tower bar! 

I also noted that he was running a non-standard front lip. Murray reminded me that this was also a Nismo piece, I guess my focus has been on other Nismo parts as it didn't register with me when he told me!

A better view of that massive Midori Seibi tower bar

From what else I can recall, Murray told me that he had gotten his Xenons redone with a much brighter bulb set-up, retrofitted with G5-BRT projectors from Lightwerkz Global. Additionally, he told me he is running a very interesting cam set-up - 290 on both intake and exhaust with 10.8mm clearance.  Sounds awesome, but he admits that the decrease in engine pressure was causing him some brake pressure issues; hopefully the Auto Select Large Capacity Brake Master Cylinder he is getting installed soon will mitigate the issue.

But wait - what about the interior? Hold on as this was, to me, the highlight of the tour.

First, I noticed the real carbon treatment on the dash surround. Not my taste as I like matte and not gloss but it worked well here actually. Then I noticed the Garage Yoshida sourced HVAC relocation kit, and the 2DIN screen.  Yep, been there, done that, except of course not Garage Yoshida. 

But of course, I then saw that the instrument cluster is the old Nismo option that has the center screen. Murray told me he sadly does not have the Epson EJ1 computer module that came with it - he is on the hunt for it. 

I would argue however that he does NOT need it. Yeah I know not OEM, but his current execution is WAY better:

And if that wasn't impressive enough, once past the welcome screen:

Here is a close up:

Murray says he was inspired by the R35's graphics when he configured this set up! I am very, very impressed with this!

I really think this is way better than the original:

I mean if you are going to Resto-mod... let's make it modern, right!?

But this wasn't his only interior mod. Check out his camera mount.

We were joking that maybe this gave some more body rigidity as well. Looking forward to whatever video Murray takes from this!

Lastly - and this is something new for me - as I learned something - is this OEM R33 cup holder.

No OEM foglights yet, but Murray is on the hunt for a set!

Ok here is a better shot of the cupholder, without the carbon fiber insert:

So it turns out that the R33 GTST had these cupholders.  Unfortunately for the GT-R, the G-sensor needed for the ATTESA system that is mounted underneath this space prevents this part from fitting, but if you have already replaced the old analog G-sensor for a digital one from Do-Luck or Midori Seibi, then this mod is possible.

So this is another Murray mod that I may have to try out! Not that I EVER drink or eat in my car, but maybe if I get this part I will allow a water bottle in the car... lol.

Anyway, my thanks to Murray for taking time out of his day to swing by and let me check out his car.  I'll close this post with a fantastic photo he took... and I do hope we will be able to meet up again soon!