Author: tyndago

6. Cooling

CSF/Toprank billet endtank radiator for R32 GT-R
Cooling can depend on your ambient temperature and humidity. The hotter ambient is, the more humid it is, the less effective the cooling system is. On an RB26 there is a factory oil/water oil cooler. That cools the oil, but adds temperature to the coolant/water.  Oil generally runs hotter than water. Radiator, Hoses, Coolant, Anti-Freeze, Water Pump information. 

An RB26 is nearly oil cooled.  7 main caps, twin long cams, oil squirters, oil cooled pistons, turbos.  Heat is introduced into the oil, and that heat needs to be rejected via an oil cooler. Big, and many seem to be the RB26 answer.

You probably need to run an aftermarket oil cooler.  Bigger is better. If you are making a lot of power, then a lot of that power is turned into heat.

VP Racing fuel at Laguna Seca


7. Suspension

Suspension. There are lot of parts to suspension. Some people use the term to only refer to the coil overs/shocks, but there are also suspension arms that encompass the term. Most Japanese brand coil overs are over sprung and underdamped. What this means is the springs are really stiff, and the control of the spring is not where it should be. While that setup may be fine on very smooth roads, or very smooth tracks, here in the US, we generally have neither.

In order for you to be able to control the car, the tires have to maintain contact with the road/track surface. If the car is so stiff that the tire is bouncing up and down, and not contacting the road, you will not have control. There are many reasons not to over lower a car, or to make it too stiff. Stiffness does not equate fast or good handling. We see all kinds of Chinese branded coil over crap sold to unknowing young buyers. When you are young you might be able to live with shitty suspension, but as you get older, and have a chance to try out cars with hundreds of setups, you will probably much prefer a real coil over, vs some eBay crap.

As far as brands go, we like Ohlins. There are different levels of Ohlins, the newest are the DFV, or dual flow valve setups. Ohlins does a good job of matching spring to damping.

Ride Height : Don’t go too low. The suspension has to be able to compress to work and control the tire
Camber : The reason for camber, is not for you to fit the widest tire possible. Camber flattens out the tire as you are cornering. Too much camber negatively effects braking.
Toe : You have 10 of them. Or rather it is the direction the tire is pointing. Toe in, or toe out. Toe in make a car more stable, toe out makes it a little less stable. Toe being off is the biggest wear of a tire.
Caster : Shopping carts have casters. In a car it is self centering of the wheel, and steering effort related.

As far as adjustable parts go, if you don’t know what they do, and how they interact with how the car handles, you might not want to mess with them. There are plenty of ways to adjust how a car handles, based on how you drive, and tire pressures, but lots of people want every piece of adjustable suspension component they can get, then leave it all stock settings. Don’t be that guy.

Suspension and Alignment Settings : R32, R33, R34 GT-R
Suspension Parts : Nissan Skyline GT-R
R32 GT-R Chassis Bracing
MotoIQ : The Ultimate Guide to Suspension and Handling
Wheel Hop

8. Alignment

Alignment, corner balancing are both very important things in making a car handle well.  Most any shop can handle aligning a Nissan Skyline.  The OEM specs are above.  Once you get into a track car however, your alignment for the track, may/should be different than for a street car. Follow some of the MotoIQ information above to learn more about suspension and handling.  I use Smart Strings to align my personal cars, and race cars I work on. This allows for a much more precise setup.



Corner balancing is done for cars with adjustable suspension.  If you don’t have aftermarket coil overs then you won’t be corner balancing. If you do, then it is a critical step in making sure that the car is setup for the track.  If you don’t have the tools required, you have to find a shop that can help you properly corner balance your car. 
Understanding corner weights – Grassroots Motorsports
So on the Proform scales:
  • 3167 lbs R32 GT-R 1/2 tank of gas
  • 3336 lbs R33 GT-R with no gas
  • 3348 lbs R34 GT-R with 1/4 tank of gas
 

GT-R Alignment Specifications


BNR34
BCNR33
BNR32
Front Camber
– 0deg 50’  +/-45’
– 0deg 50’  +/-45’
– 0deg 55’  +/-45’
Front Caster
3deg 55’ +/- 45 ‘
3deg 55’ +/- 45 ‘
3deg 40’ +/- 45 ‘
Front Toe (mm)
2~1
0~2
1 +/- 1
Front Kingpin
15deg 20’ +/-45’
15deg 20’ +/-45’
15deg 25 +/-45’
Rear Camber
-1deg 15’ +/-30’
-1deg 05’+/-45’
-1deg 05’ +/-30’
Rear Toe (mm)
4~0
0~5.2
2 +/-2
9. Oiling
Pennzoil Racing 10w-60
This is a double edged sword.  If the car is stock, you aren’t on a crazy tire, and everything is in good order, then whatever the car has is probably fine.  However…
10-60 is what we have found to be the best weight for a heavy run RB26. 

Peter from Australia mentioned that I should let people know that the oil level should be filled to the bump/hump in the dipstick. We do talk about it in the basics and oil and filter change, but it might be missed.  This overfill may help keep your oil pickup covered in oil.  Very good idea for a near stock car that is tracked. Some pictures of oil pan level and that bump are here – https://www.gtrusablog.com/2019/08/rb26dett-oil-pan-testing-filling-it.html

Buy USA Legal R32, R33, and R34 Skylines at Toprank Importers!
Index and Start Page
Nissan Skyline Parts and Toys

 Nut and Bolt

Yes there is an entire book about nuts, bolts, fasteners, and plumbing
Nut and bolt is what we do to any car before we take it on track.  It is a critical step to ensure that you have the minimal amount of mistakes or failures.   You will hopefully save yourself a ton of time and effort if you just do some checking.  You really want to touch, poke, prod, and shake everything on the car prior to going on track. You will find loose items, and fix them before they become an issue.  Make sure you lift the car, and grab each wheel/tire at 12 and 6 o’clock and shake. Then grab them at 9 and 3 and shake.  You are checking the condition of the wheel bearings, tie rods, and other suspension parts. 
Nut and bolt involves taking wrenches, and other tools, and putting them on anything on the car that was touched, might fall off the car. So if you just replaced the brakes, then go back with a little clearer head, and double check them.   Often what we do on race cars, is use two people, each with a paint marker that goes around the car, and puts a dot/mark on each nut or bolt they touch.   Fast reference to make sure that you have the minimum amount of mistakes. We are all human, we all make mistakes, or miss a bolt. 
The best paint marker we have tried and used, is the 1.8 mm to 2.5 mm Posca marker in Pink.  Pink shows up on about anything.  Easy to see, not expensive at about $5 each.  Really worth it if you have things to mark. 

11. Tow Hooks

Tow hooks are required for most track day event organizers. They want a safe, defined spot on your car, where they can move it, if it becomes disabled.

12. Fuel

Run good gas in your car.   We could talk about octane, and octane requirements. But we just will say, run the good gas. Run the expensive gas.  If you are blasting around the track, not paying attention to things like boost, or temperature, good gas may save your engine. So that few hundred dollars in the good stuff, may save you a $5k engine rebuild.  If E85 is available, I recommend running it. 

E85 fillup for Brians R32 GT-R. Do it don’t look back. 

13. Modifications

These are entirely optional.  There are a metric fuckton of things you can do to a Nissan Skyline to make it preform better, or perhaps worse on track.  Yes really. You really can make it worse.  If you don’t know the hows and whys of a modification, you should seek some help, or guidance.  Aka low is good, so lower is better?
14. Track Instructional Videos

MotoIQ- Your First Track Day, What to Do and What to Expect
The Scion tc lined up for World Challenge touring car in 2009 at Laguna Seca