Not returning to normal and preserving it, but enjoying the car play in progress

“Garage Active” is the only specialty store in Kyushu that proposes unique style GT-R customization such as chassis and twin chassis. The shop is a one-stop shop that meets users’ needs with hard tuning, full restoration, and other services based on its many years of drag racing experience. We introduce some of the GT-R owners who share the company’s originality in machine design. The man featured this time is Mr. Koyama, who purchased an R32 “Skyline GT-R” two years after new and has maintained its two-digit license plate number.

He gave up on the idea of beating the GT-R with a 180SX and purchased a stock, fast BNR32

The Nissan R32 “Skyline GT-R” is still extremely popular among car enthusiasts. Such a famous car of the Heisei era has already passed 35 years since its birth and is a fine historic car in the eyes of the general public. However, in light of its recent popularity overseas and the soaring used car market, there is a growing number of people who prefer to keep their cars as-is and preserve them. Takashi Koyama, however, is going the exact opposite way. He is enjoying ongoing customization.

“Since I got my license, I have been modifying the engines of all my cars to bring out their hidden performance. Especially with the 180SX, I was determined to beat the GT-R, so I fully tuned the 2.2L engine, but perhaps I pushed too hard and it suddenly stopped on the highway. After this incident, I decided to stop tuning the car, but I could not get out of the fast car. I chose the BNR32, which was my rival and the one to surpass.

A visit to Garage Active led him to make a comeback to tuning

We were lucky enough to be told by the dealer representative that they were letting go of the Skyline GT-R, and we immediately decided to buy it. He welcomed a brand new 2-year-old 1992 BNR32 as his new car.

For the first 15 years, he only tailored the visuals to his liking and kept the engine itself stock. However, the car was sent to Garage Active, a GT-R specialty store that would later become his doctor, for an extended period of time due to electrical problems. Unable to wait for the car to be finished, he started coming in and out of the shop more often, and his fate changed.

“I recollected that about 80% of the cars in the store had had their turbines replaced. Every time I looked at those cars, my senses were numbed. I found myself unable to suppress the desire for speed that had become ingrained in my body. Then, President Sakamoto whispered to me, “Maybe the turbine is worn out. I was finally disillusioned when President Sakamoto whispered to me, “I think the turbine is bad. I decided to enter the world of tuning again.

We ordered a car that would be comfortable to drive around town and would not break down, but even so, the power output exceeded 600㎰, and once again we were amazed at the high potential of the GT-R.

Because of the good results of the drag race, he started to build a full-scale competition car!

Another turning point was his participation in drag racing. President Sakamoto invited him to his first race, and despite having no experience at all, he suddenly recorded a time of 10.6 seconds. People who are not familiar with drag racing may not understand this, but no matter how fast the tuned GT-R was, it was not possible to achieve this time in a 600㎰ car without weight reduction, and in his first race.

Representative Sakamoto saw this and approached him about participating in drag racing. He also won the series championship in his first year. Mr. Koyama had a talent for drag racing.

This good result made him want to aim higher, and he built a full-fledged competition car with the R33 GT-R, which led to the retirement of the R32 from the world of racing. However, perhaps due to years of heavy use, the engine itself developed cracks and had to be brought back into the shop. During the overhaul, HKS’ latest crank angle sensor and other components were incorporated, and management was reviewed.

We want to compete in drag racing not for time, but for pure driving fun.

The transmission was set up with an OS Giken sequential that can withstand drag racing, and the engine was boosted to 750ps with a displacement increase to 2.7L and a single turbine from HKS’ GT III-5R.

Without sacrificing the stock styling of the exterior, a wide body kit was installed to increase the overall width by 80mm, and the favorite deep-rim WORK Meister S1 wheels were installed (this is the 8th set in total, with 295/35R18 tires). The car is a one-of-a-kind vehicle in terms of performance and visuals.

“I love all the GT-Rs from the R32 to the R35, but the R32 is exceptional. I can’t say enough about its stern face with a glare on it. Although I have retired from competition, now that the engine has been perfected, I would like to participate in drag racing once. I want to enjoy it purely as my car, not for the time,” says Koyama.

It has been almost 30 years since he got it, and his passion for the BNR32 is still going strong.

translated by DeepL