tangomatt

I think VHT wrinkle spray paint was used on Catch can and cam covers. The finish is non uniform and looks kinda cool. The car is certainly 100% completed! I will post dyno result and final pics of car on the weekend.

One of the surprises that I was alluding to earlier relates to myself being a wheel whore and the black and white storm trooper theme, well take a look at these: You gotta love the Japlish: Custom satin black finish- good to look at; a bastard to keep clean! Not as much concavity as a set of 18X10.5 +12: Nothing like a fat girth! Took over 6 months to get my hands on these This beast needs grip too: Latest release in Australia - Advan Neova Ad08 The grip exceeds that of Bridgestone RE010R and Hankook K107 by far. However, still not as good as R Spec tyres. Look at that aggressive tread design - flaming! Tread wear is at a respectable 180.

Thank you guys for feedback! I planned to replace stock strut bar with Cusco Carbon fibre ALC40 when funds permit. Also planned Garage Defend Carbon radiator cooling panel. Pity I don't have the driving skills like you guys to make the most of it! Yes, I am super 'anal'. Believe it or not, I polish the rear bar after a every drive, because so much soot and fumes get blown out the rear end. As the car is white, if the fumes are left longer than a few days, the rear bumper; boot; spoiler supports and rear light cover goes yellow. I sold the Nismo plenum to another fellow member. Beno said that the Nismo plenum is good for mildly tuned RBs; but for RB28 its actually going to reduce output! He measured the inlet and the Nismo one is smaller in diameter compared to the stock item. The chamber of the Nismo carries more volume though and therefore beneficial for standard capacity RBs.

Thank you for your comments everyone! Its been great sharing my build with you! Big Engine Update as we approach the finale of this build! I hope you like what you see - keep the comments coming Built engine finds its rightful home in the engine bay! Engine bay has been repainted gloss white. The original factory matt off white colour looks too dull. Main colour scheme is 'black and white Storm-Trooper' look. Engine cam covers and oil catch can painted in crinkled black finish; all hoses and attachments are black as well. A few words that come to mind to describe the engine bay: 'mean'; 'industrial'; 'military' and 'stealth'. Close up of crinkled paint finish. The paint is not uniformed in appearance and gives it a very unique look. It is different to the textured finish on say the Mines' signature purple or the Nismo S1; R1 red cam engine covers. Note 'HKS Power' logo on the V cam cover - looks tough! Detailed images of V Cam badge; V Cam solenoid, wiring and oil line input and HKS limited edition oil cap Other supporting accessories: Racepace custom Oil catch can and washer fluid combination, again in crinkled black finish. Hoses are neatly tucked away to be unobtrusive: Racepace spec custom PWR based 50mm radiator: Nismo Z Tune 100mm thick intercooler: SARD 700cc injectors denoted by the light blue colour on the injector body: Nismo Air intake duct: Nismo aluminum piping: I still have a few more surprises up my sleeve. (Hint - I am a wheel whore and the black and white Storm trooper theme...... )

You are right 9krpm, the two designs look almost identical. I am sure Beno must have drawn inspiration form something he has seen before. Thanks Sandeep. I will definitely be at the Show and Shine this year. I did give RB30 serious consideration. In fact I was very close to buying the RB29 engine from the Racepace R33 GTR when it was for sale a while ago, until Beno decided to purchase the whole car back for himself. I got a quote from RIPS as well for their RB30 bottom end, but in the end Beno advised against it even though he can install the RB30 for me no problems. The main issue of the RB30 is that it sits 25mm higher in the engine bay. Therefore alot of custom fabrication work is required. And also I needed to import the RIPS bottom end from NZ. I would have given RB30 more consideration if the High Octane bottom end was available back then before I started the build. Cheers Matt

Let's have a look at the engine with the Garrett -5s mounted with Tomei dumps and manifolds. If you look closely, you can just get a peek of the manifolds hiding under the factory heat shield: Exhaust: In order to make the turbos spool up hard and fast, Racepace really paid a lot of attention to the design of the exhaust and front pipes. The aim is to achieve higher flow than the stage one exhaust yet maintain similar noise levels. Racepace outsources their metal fabrication to an 'old school craftsman' with tens of years of experience in automotive racing industry and the quality of the mandrel bends and welding is a testimony of his skills Just look at those front pipes! Its a work of art how one of the pipes snakes around the other. This is a one off design that, according to Beno, is supposed to give a growl that is befitting of a RB28, especially at high revs. I can assure you he does not BS with his claims. From front pipes back, its 4 inch all the way with decent sized silencers for noise suppression. The exit is twin 3 inch pipes in raw metal finish which I am sure will age with heat for a more battle hardened look. I specified a twin pipe outlet, because I think a big single 5 inch outlet would just attract the wrong sort of the attention from the authorities. Besides the twin outlets fill the rear bumper cutout better for a more balanced look. The ground clearance is like stock, therefore no scrapping on incline driveways! Take a close look at the TIG welding. There is no need to buy a JDM exhaust when we have such skills and talents locally.

Pm sent re NUR engine.

Thanks for the information, AtomicBomberMan. I will inquire Beno about that again. I rather be safe than sorry; you can never be too cautious with these things. Cheers Matt

I almost bought an ATI harmonic balancer until Beno advised me to stick with the stocker. Again, the principle is don't buy anything that does not yield or translate to any direct 'real world' benefit. The focus on the build is street orientated. I don't think even some of the more hardcore Racepace circuit or Targa prepared cars have aftermarket harmonic balancer, but then again, I could be mistaken.

Ahh! Patience grasshopper! LOL You asked for it, so here's today's instalment... Engine fully assembled after many hours of meticulous craftsmanship and labour by Beno and the Racepace team. Beno said he does not know how to build an engine to a better standard than this as everything has been done to a high degree of accuracy and minimal tolerance. As for the head itself, its fully re-conditioned to Racepace 'secret' specs. Therefore there are no photos of the actual assembly itself. Note: Tomei Oil pump; new N1 water pump; Racepace 9 L circuit oil sump; and sitting atop the head - HKS V Cam! Next to come - Tomei dumps, Tomei manifolds and mounting of the Garrett puppies!

Found a photo of the new N1 block mounted on an engine stand: And out with the 'old' NUR engine: If there is anyone interested in a genuine NUR long block with low mileage, then please pm me.

Exhaust SOLD.

Thanks for comments guys. Let's showcase more parts: Garretts GT 2860R - 707160-5 goodness: Let's see how much boost these puppies can generate! Nismo Twin plate super coppermix clutch, rated at 640ps: I don't know why I did not take it out of the plastic bag for a decent photo Nismo AFM: Tomei Oil Pump: Sard 700cc injectors: So, that's pretty much a wrap up of all the parts for engine rebuild. Note absence of upgraded fuel pump, regulators, boost controller, fuel rail etc., as the stock items are considered to be good enough. Oh, actually I forgot the new N1 block, which I don't have any photos as the engine block was sent straight to machine shop.

Hey Ian, Actually the build is all complete! This is more like a retrospective build thread. I guess I am keeping everyone in suspense. The original NUR engine was kept as a long block and a brand new N1 block was purchased and machined. Cheers Matt

Hi GTRNUR, I am aiming for good low end response rather than peak power, that's why a pair of Garrett's 2860-5s have been chosen rather than a big single banger. I am aiming for over 400rwKw. I went for Step 2 because that's what Beno recommended. I know its a lame explanation. But every time I deviated from his recommendation I end up getting compromised result. Thank Roy. Sandown is definitely on agenda, maybe after a run or two at the drag strip first. I am still learning to launch the car properly. The problem is its not the thing to practice on public roads! Cheers Matt

Pictorial of more HKS goodness...Hmmm.... 2.8L Step 2 capacity upgrade kit rated 588kw: Forged Piston kit (nickel plated & piston surface has a final molybdenum coating): Note the valve relief pre-machined on the piston top H cross section connecting rods: Fully forged & balanced counter crankshaft: Sorry, I did not unwrap the crankshaft for some reason. The fully balanced crankshaft makes the engine feel much smoother at high rpms, even at idle the engine noise and vibration is minimal.

Hey Aaron, The issue I have now is that the car is too fast for me to handle safely, I get scared when I go full throttle. I wish I had driving skills like yourself, Chris and Jack. I need to learn how to drive the car! Definitely catch up. Cheers Matt

Hi Aaron, Your car now at $89k is an absolute bargain for what you get! Back then when I inquired you about it, you were a lot firmer with the price. LOL regarding the 'hot' parts.... I actually have good contacts which allowed me to get exceptional deals on JDM car parts, besdies the Aussie dollar at the time was in my favour. I must admit the labour cost was the killer. Don't forget your car has fully tuned suspension, drivetrain etc. which my car does not. The car is running well, I will post dyno graph soon. Matt

Hi mxfly, I had this discussion with Racepace prior to ordering the V Cam and Ben guaranteed 100% that he will be able to integrate it with the Power FC with no software of hardware technical problems, and guess what... the man delivered! I privately imported the HKS V Cam direct from Japan. I managed to find a copy of the installation and software set up manuals in English which helped a lot. Hi two_evil, I was a bit sceptical at first whether the V Cam will be compatiable with the Power FC, but the result has proven that it works very well. I was told that the Valcon does not talk to the Power FC at all, it merely acts as a piggy back computer changing the Cam angle according to engine speed in rpms. Initially I was going to buy the HKS f con v pro, but the cost is prohibitive and HKS will not sell you one unless you purchase direct from the Australian distributor and on top of that, no one can tune a F Con except the distributor in Sydney. I took a bit of a gamble to outlay the cash for all this V Cam stuff when I only had one man's word that he can make it work. It just shows how much I trust my workshop.

Pictorial of HKS V Cam unpacking: Special Intake Cam "V CAM" : 248° Valve Lift 8.6mm, Phosphate Treated: Special Intake Cam Cover (HKS POWER logo gives extra street cred): VALCON(V CAM Specific): Nickel Plated Duralmin Intake Pulley: Type A was chosen as car is intended to be street orientated.

V Cam = HKS variable cam on intake side for RBs Hey Aaron, It would have definitely been alot easier just to buy your car, but then I miss out on all the fun and excitement of building my own car to my own specs. In terms of cost, it ended up almost the same as the 'trade in' price you wanted for your car at that time One of my friends is interested in building a RB28 GTR, so I will try and convince him to look at your car if its still for sale! As for the exhaust, I had one made similar to what Ben has in his R33

Since someone mentioned brakes, below is a detailed pictorial of the AP Racing 6 pot front; 4 pot rear Formula Big Brake kit. Front caliper 6 pot CP5555: Rear caliper 4 pot CP7618: Size comparison: Front mounting bracket at an amazing 0.8kg and super strong Front 'Strap Drive' 2 piece slotted 355mm disc: Rear one piece cast slotted 320mm disc: Interesting to see that the front disc at larger diameter weighs less than the smaller cast rear disc. Ferodo Racing DSC 2500 pads (should've bought DSC3000 instead.. DOH!) Braided brake hose and tubing: Dot 5.1 AP Racing brake fluid: Final installed:

Just hold that thought..... Hmmm..... I like!

Hi Grant, The power output was achieved with standard fuel pump; standard camshafts; and standard injectors. Its surprising sometimes how good the factory stock parts work. The boost pressure was about 1.3 bar, with NO electronic boost controller, just HKS actuators and a factory solenoid with a bung in one of the hoses. I guess that is Racepace tuning philopsophy - keep it simple and achieve maximum result! (BTW I have no affiliation or financial interest with Racepace.) Cheers Matt Thank you for all comments and encouragement!

Unlike what the topic of the thread suggests, so far I have not shown anything about a RB28 or V Cam! Here's a teaser pic of what's installed (plus a few extra bits not shown): Details of parts list will be posted over the weekend.