“We wanted to take another look at the R35 GT-R”
There are many different types of cars, genres, and ways to enjoy tuning cars, but the most popular type of tuning car is the sports car. In this issue, we take a close-up look at the new Nissan R35 “GT-R” demo car created by PROSHOP SCREEN, led by Mr. Hiroshi Chiba, a leading computer tuning expert in the Tohoku region.
The aim was to create a specification that would not break down even if driven for a long time.
The Screen booth in Osaka Auto Messe 2024 was a joint exhibition with D2 Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of Taiwanese brake and suspension parts manufacturer D2. Screen is a partner of D2 in the development of parts, and has employed professional drivers Masahiro Sasaki and Shuji Maejima to develop these parts at Sportsland SUGO and other locations. Repeated tests are carried out and the data obtained is fed back to the home country. The results have been recognised and the relationship of trust has deepened to the point where D2 JAPAN now offers coilovers and brake kits with original settings. Of course, D2 JAPAN products are installed in the brakes and suspension of the R35 GT-R presented here.
The demo car on display is based on the 2017 Black Edition model. While we have built some very hard models in the past, such as a time attack version with over 1000 hp, this is a basic boosted-up version. Nevertheless, it features thorough countermeasures to enable continuous laps on the circuit.
The biggest concern when driving the R35 GT-R on the circuit is the cooling system. When lapping at a high pace, the temperature of the engine and transmission rises rapidly and the vehicle enters a so-called fail-safe mode where the output is forcibly suppressed to prevent damage. To prevent the car from entering this area, an HKS transmission oil cooler and a large HKS intercooler were first installed to stabilize the car.
On top of that, the intake system was replaced with an HKS piping kit to improve intake and exhaust efficiency, while the exhaust system was replaced with a Trust catalyzer and RH9 titanium muffler. Furthermore, the ECM was optimized to match the increased performance with EcuTek + Connect, bringing the specs up to over 700ps/109kgm while booting up.
As mentioned above, the suspension is set up with D2 JAPAN’s top-of-the-range Super Racing. However, the suspension is not a suspension, but an original set-up combined with HAL springs. Forged monoblock calipers and large rotors (F: 400 mm, R: 380 mm) are used for the brakes. The calipers are the latest black anodized specification.
The exterior is casually differentiated with the front lip, side steps, and rear underbody by Phoenix Power, and the dry carbon boot and rear wing by optional Track Edition. The result is a package that is “a bit nice” from the point of view of the normalist.
“We tailored this car to be a car that can be enjoyed from the street to the circuit, and that can serve as a model for customers to follow and make suggestions to them. Recently, some people enjoy mock races of around 10 laps at Sportsland SUGO, so rather than specifications that are far removed from everyday use, we have focused on the fact that the car will not break down even if used for a long time. We also wanted to ‘take another look at the R35 GT-R’. Maybe in three or five years, it will be 1000ps.”
Representative Chiba laughs.
Screen used to be recognized as a hard machine-making shop, but now, he says, they have shifted to making more user-friendly cars. The new demo car, the R35, is a tuned car that truly symbolizes this.
translated by DeepL
