EDIT – 12th Febuary 2003
She has been sold!!! Best of luck to Wroestar!

Abbey Motorsport and Prospec Motorsport gave me great pleasure in allowing me to gate crash their party, and oh what a party it was. Met an incredible amount of people and often no doubt upset others by way of going off on tangents with new guests, such was the interest in the Abbey Stand as seen in the pictures.

A thoroughly entertaining day, god was kind by providing us with probably the last sustained moment of sunshine this year. It was also a great opportunity to show off the new trick parts on the car. Most of the time, people were very impressed with the changes in looks. Other thought, thought it looked tacky and weren’t happy with the different coloured panels.

I keep saying, but what a boring place this would be if we all thought the same.

Ahh, I’m like a purring kitten at the moment. I have eyes only for this now.

Latest additions today are:

Carbon Mines spoiler
Carbon Mines wing mirrors
Carbon Nismo bonnet (purrrrr)
Volks Racing TE37’s
Mines Eibach springs

Umm, umm….

My prayers to the god of carbon fibre have been answered.

Using the camera has become a more enjoyable experience for me and perhaps may show in the results. I have often been the believer in the school of thought dictating that ‘expensive cameras maketh not the better pictures’. I have been forced to respect the work of professionals who make a living from such pursuits. Looking into the monthly Car magazine, I am consistently impressed by the standards that the magazine achieves by way of quality.

Notable moments:
Ronnie and Gary’s 700+bhp monsters making mincemeat of hotrod dragsters. Pulling 11.05 on the 1/4 mile is an incredible feat and testomony to the performance of these cars.
The jet powered car that sounded like god giving the earth a hearty, cold, bitch slap.
The burnouts. My clothes reeked by the end of the day.

Not all memories are made of instances like this, but it’s close. I have experienced the best roads of my life in Germany. Mountain passes, roads embedded into timeless valleys, tree lined lanes amongst vineyards and most memorably, the autobahn. Speed cameras aren’t rare, but they reside in areas that deserve them, such as schools, busy intersections etc. The freedom to drive is ever passionate and the roads welcoming. Germany is bred on limitless motorways, it’s inevitable that their population lunch at over 100mph and this liberation shines in the people. A proud nation, rightly so too. Responsible for one of the strongest economies in the world, Germany has amassed a brilliance of engineering excellence, from it’s automotive institutions to it’s world class architecture. Wind generators of titanic scale decorate the landscape in a demonstration of technical know-how amongst a backdrop of beauty that would rival a Canadian forest. Over the crest, though, one is staggered to see a castle built into the side of a mountain.

But the main reason for our visit was the 24h Nurburgring race featuring the last ever attempt of glory of the Falken Racing Team Nissan Skyline. Arriving en masse to the ‘Ring on a commercial day like this in 6 Skylines is an experience to behold. With only 3 Skylines in Germany, the GTR is a truly rare sight. When 6 of them arrive in a gleaming array of Bayside Blue and HKS Hypers, then the Germans do nothing but drop their frankfurters and wail ‘oh mein gut!’. The messiahs had arrived.

After finding a nice parking area in the press car park (courtesy of some blagging by yours truly), we eventually realise that we aren’t the only special cars in town. A vast array of cars both litter the car park and also please the crowds by performing drive by’s. Dodge Vipers, Ferraris, 996 Turbos, etc. etc. I was even privileged to see a new Audi RS6, a new addition to my wish list.

The Falken team were only able to place one car out of the three on the grid, reason unknown. It was very impressive watching the cars at the end of the pitstraight brake from 180mph to 20 into the hairpin. But as exciting as the daytime racing was, it paled into insignificance when we returned late at 2.00am to watch the night driving. With only their headlights and memory to guide them, the skills that were being demonstrated by the drivers were staggering. If you’ve never watched a night race then I recommend you do so immediately, it was one of the highlights of the weekend for me. A very respectable 5th place earned and a higher position lost out basically due to a 30 minute pitstop with brake problems.

After a photoshoot with GTR magazine of Japan, we were witness to a certain Midnight Purple R34 development car with 600bhp. Me thinks a little company is out there to break the ring record.

Verdict: Motoring Nirvana.

The ride has been promised, but I’ll not hold my breath!

Some great areas of interest on the way, including a historic school and the infamous railroad crossing which heralds the start of the crystal clear 2 km straight, the B660 is one of the nicest roads within sane travelling distance. But beware, it’s also a terrifying drive. We drove past the scene of a serious accident we were involved in and I for one felt a chill down my spine as we recognised the skid marks that wrecked a similar day out last year.

New wheels went on today, I think they look awesome. They’re 19″ Rays Volk Racing, with a blue inside rim, looks the proverbial canine genitals. I’ve noticed a little increase in tramlining, but I plan on buying some trackday wheels also.

What do you all think?

With the new Mine’s ECU and oil cooler, the car was in absolute tip top condition all day and didn’t miss a single heartbeat. 3rd trackday on same standard Brembo and same Continental tyres kept bank manager happy also. Despite beautiful hot weather, the tyres performed very well, even after a few laps of oversteering abuse round certain hairpins. Others were not as economical, with brand new sets of tyres going in a matter of hours. But then full on powerslides were never recommended as part of a healthier lifestyle. Full fat ain’t half tasty though.

For such a large track (Gran Turismo circuit is 3.14 miles long) it is very easy to become lost in your own little world, and unless you’re very fast or very slow, then you’re unlikely to pass another driver unless it’s in a cool down lap. Also, cone etiquette is appalling, with cones splattered everywhere, it often became a slalom course. I called the ‘cone hotline’ a few times.

This time, we placed a total of 3 cameras in the car. One externally on the front grill (which gave an awesome impression of speed) and two in the car, one facing either direction. The video’s need editing and will be available to download soon.

Meanwhile, I urge anyone who hasn’t done a trackday to give this one a go, Bedford is the best amateur circuit in the UK, with plenty of run off and great all round visibility. In the dry, it’s a total safe zone. In the wet, it’s an absolute hoot.

I talked myself into t frenzy earlier. I needed a decent night time drive. What better company than a 400R.
Please forgive the quality of the pics. Next time, I shall use a flash!

The convoy was, as ever, a hillarious display of macho pride, with leapfrog being the game of choice. Whoever got to the front played it’s turn to slow down and allow everyone else to overtake, et ad infinitum. Funniest moment was coming alongside Mark Kahn in his Impreza and seeing his car decked out in full roll-cage with rear mounted camera and a crash helmet on! Lot’s of laughter later and flameouts later, we arrived at an already buzzing scene and enjoyed the sunshine while it lasted.

I strongly recommend you experience the joy of taking 3 skylines and some Impreza’s amongs other highly tuned Japanese machinery through the Dartford Tunnel. The noise is just insane with decat exhausts and highly strung engines dictating a beautifully orchestrated symphony.

Ahh, the pains of missing summer, roll on…roll on.

I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve walked away from a cancelled Run What You Brung day. I should have known better, but the prospect of driving up in convoy with upto 50 like-minded fellow petrolheads puts all sorts of temptive suggestions in my head, smell of octane, burnt clutches and cheesy grins galore. Cossie boys providing plenty entertainment throughout, with burnouts and powerslides at every opportunity (an amusing spinout happened twice at organised service station roundabout), every party needs a Ford Cosworth to balance the fun.

Never seen such a mass of Pulsars and Sunnys, but they are always the heart and soul of a drag strip race day, with at least 2 dropping its guts on the start line.

Worth the drive out, as always, an excuse to use up some petrol.

I am keen to find out how David ranks the three evolutions of the Skyline after having extensively driven both on the day. The magazine comes out in beginning February.

The photo’s are some of the best yet (although Shin is more than responsible) and I have high resolution versions if anyone wants.

0 degrees ambient temperature ensured insane power last night with most of us peaking at over 0.1bar over standard. The abnormally high boost pressure induced a 103 degree oil temperature reading on my car, so we pulled into this car park for some pictures too.

Some fantastic fireworks from both Shin’s 540BHP Mines car and also my Blue. Where Shin was creating a lovely smooth, almost caressing flame out of his exhaust which smothered the back of his car, I was generating explosive bangs which I could literally feel through my seat. I’ve developed a method now which will pretty much guarantee a firework display on demand. A nice show piece and yes I know, extremely childish.

Also attracted a fellow Pulsar GTi-R en route who was pretty suprised to see 2 GT-R’s and a STi parked up on the side of the road.

Lingering memories:

Shin’s Mine’s demo car
Absolutely monstrous. With an alleged 520 BHP, this was without doubt the fastest R34 I’ve been in in that power range. As Shin says, “It’s not about power. I’m not interested in figures. What makes it for me is the application of all its components and the driveablilty”. With replacement Mines carbon propshafts and flywheels, low down pick up was drastically superior to anything else I’ve been in with that much power. Quite often you find that when going for big power figures (470BHP+) compromises are made in low down real road drivability with the turbo only really assisting the engine above 4000rpm. This Mines car had none of these compromises, foot down in 3rd gear at 2000rpm proved astonishing pick up. Running a stage 2 Mines ECU, the car also looked the part with a full repertoire of Mines carbon exterior goodies, such as the spoiler and wing mirrors. It’s cars like this that prove my theory that less is more. A decently sorted 400bhp Skyline will, in real road conditions, be substantially quicker. Where can you hit 6000rpm in 3rd in central London?
Details on Shin’s company are on his website: http://www.prospec-ms.co.uk/

Paul’s UK R34
Take a standard (!) UK Middlehurst car in silver, send it back for a 550 BHP conversion and a full Nismo bodykit and you end up with a truly juicy car. Decked in Nismo wheels, side skirts and Nismo front bumper, the car lost a lot of it’s clean lines in place of more aggression. A perhaps more suited character for this car. Looked awesome and sounded great too. Top chap too =)

Grasshopper waiters
Quite often felt like I was in an episode of Twin Peaks. Strange people.

Camaraderie
Outside of the SIDC (Subaru Impreza Drivers Club), this level of friendliness has not been evident for a while. No apparent competitiveness that is also very active in SIDC.

Just being a Skyline owner
But then this is what it’s all about, eh?

Makes owning these cars so much more enjoyable when you can see it put smiles on the faces of others too. I’m happy that we are also approachable. I have often thought about this and tried to be as social as possible. Quite often you come across a fantastic car that is being driven by an asshole. Classic case:

TVR Tuscan had just been released in the UK. When filling up with petrol, said car pulls up next to me in adjacent pump. Car looks absolutely superb.

Me : “That is absolutely stunning mate, superb!”
Him : “Yeah, it is isn’t it” (whilst walking off)

This was said with the smuggest face you’ve ever seen. I would also like to point out that he was in a Hawaii shirt.

I started the day apprehensively at first. I didn’t want to turn the virgin GT-R into a tragedy so I made a very strong point of taking it easy throughout the course of the morning. It was about then that I realised the oversteery nature of the car. Not that it was a handful, merely it presented itself to me with 2 options. Either I went in with my ‘racing line’ mind, where every corner counted and clipping the apex’s was integral to good lap times. Alternatively, I became ‘hooligan’, with power oversteer a right foot prod away. I subscribed to the latter school of thought, treating every tight corner like a scene straight from Bullit.

The car has amazing track behaviour, with the underbody aerodynamic carbon fibre tray splitter doing well to make sure the car remains absolutely stuck to the ground by commanding airflow to the right places. Coupled with both the active and 4 wheel steering enabled me to maintain precision control at all times. There were occasions where I went in gently into fast corners where I could feel the rear steering into the bend in unison with the front. Confidence inspiring stuff. I was a little goofed at having forgotten to play with the adjustable spoiler to see if it made any difference. I’m sure it would have reduced the oversteer a little, but perhaps at the cost of understeer, which brings me to the front. I have never driven a car before that refuses to acknowledge understeer totally on the track. The Evo 6.5 and 7 is fabulous on the road with understeer off the menu, but put them on a track and the insane speeds they encourage make understeer an unavoidable problem. Not in the GT-R. Perhaps the size of the tyres, but it was utterly amazing. Point and click at it’s best.

Luckily, I had the foresight to change my tyres to something a little cheaper than the soft S02’s (£350 each!) and changed them to the superb Continentals which I sourced extremely cheaply at £330 a set. The tyres were hard compound so were superbly suited for the dry track conditions. Also, coupled to the oversteery nature of the GT-R, they offered fantastic longevity over what the S02’s would of given. There was a little scrubbing and bubbling towards the end, but they were fine for at least another 2 track days.

I tried to be gentle with the brakes. Although the car comes equipped with standard Brembo’s all around, they wouldn’t of survived harsh abuse on a track. Still, they performed fantastic and by the end of the day, where I thought I would have warped the discs (this isn’t a light car) they were just as good as new. Mitsubishi should take a leaf out of the Nissan book. Very pleased.

All in all, a superb day incorporating a fantastic array of motorheads, cars and that great smell of octane, brakes and burning rubber. I look forward to the next day out.

Look out for video’s soon, I have lots of footage which I am currently capturing.

It’s a nice feeling having sold the car to someone you know. These little reunions are quite amusing but one day, I’m gonna hide his keys.

The actual event at Santa Pod was, as ever, great fun. Luckily, the weather held out but by the time the cars were into the running schedules, we left for the Watford meet at the Pub. In hindsight, we wished to have stayed there longer throughout.

One thing I have learned since buying this car, although easy and hugely rewarding to modify and tune, the aftermarket parts available are not cheap. There are some fantastic things available for the car, some useful (Greddy intercooler for £1100) and some not so useful (upgrade to the Multi Function Display Kit £1000). The key is actually having a target to where you want to be. If I continue to shift my goal posts, not only will I never reach a target, but the car will refuse to reward me in my constant quest to better it.

To start with, I want to be able to put my car on the track. This will include free-flow exhaust, brake upgrade and oil-coolers. Abbey promised to fit me a Trust downpipe and cat replacement unit (I already have a Nismo backbox and centre section). The results of this are fantastic, both sound and turbo responsiveness have been markedly improved.

Before, whilst the car made a suitably gruff noise, it did feel a little restrained. Now, it is so loud, I actually have been forced to drive with a little sympathy when overtaking, such is the brutal volume of the powerplant. There are points when passing not only the 4000rpm point, but also at 7500rpm where it climaxes into a scream which sounds not unlike certain Italian exotica. It really is addictive. Fuel consumption has dropped dramatically, but this is down to my selfish nature and my compulsive 1st and 2nd gear bursts. Near any low built walls (many Subaru owners will understand this) the reply from nearby brickwork is music. A welcome change from my 2 previous cars which, although powerfully vocally, had as much character as a big-end bolt. Not only am I rewarded with a singing exhaust now, but also a pyrotechnic one. I have missed the pops and crackles of a slightly rich engine (Evo’s ECU is so clever it compensates all changes and makes for a very efficient car, stealing it of any mischief), but now the Skyline lets off pops and bangs of such ferocity, I can feel the explosions through my feet and my arse. Great family fun.

I have also been granted access to an extra 0.2bar. The car has always been fast, now it’s trying to cost me my license. It’s SO fast, things like overtaking are over literally as soon as they’ve started. This thing has unbelievable power bearing in mind its 1600kg weight. Abbey Motorsport now hazard a guess at about 380BHP, perhaps 400BHP even. It’s a different kind of speed though. Very different to the Evo and Subaru’s (although, dare I say it, faster – much faster), the car is no longer suited to the quick 100m sprints from the lights to the bottom of the road, because by the time you’ve hit 100 metres in the Skyline, you’re only just starting to cook. Gears are so long you can just sit in 2nd in town, enjoying the music from the engine and the exhaust. 3rd is easily good for 100MPH (allegedly!) and we’ve still got three gears to go. It is a gargantuan car, country lanes are now a frightful experience. Where the Evo would revel in those tight twisty and slippery conditions, I force the Skyline to tiptoe, even subconsciously braking into the hedge when other cars approach, such is it perceptive bulk. But where it looses ground on the tight (and dangerous) B road, the Skyline now comes into its own on A roads. Long, sweeping, wide continents are a good start. Joining motorway’s from sliproads have never been so much fun.

I’ve booked Donington for next month. I hope it will give me a good opportunity to learn the car and open it up to its full potential, something I haven’t really been able to do on roads.

Let’s hope I don’t fail the sound tests.

In terms of driver appeal, it certainly excels. For such a large car to feel impossibly nimble is a feat in itself, defying it’s gargantuan size with lithe movements and the grace of a feline. Even so, you are still wary of the bulk you are commanding and I have always sensed a demand for respect from this car. I had a fantastic drift moment on one of my favourite roundabouts. Although it took me entirely by surprise, it was a fabulous, almost dream like moment which sent all 4 wheels spinning out of the exit. However, I still fear it, for if one end decided to overtake the other, then I cannot say that electronics, however complex and ingenious, will champion the might of the laws of physics. You simply cannot ignore the mass of metal that is the R34.

I am still learning this car (naturally, I am only on my 2nd day of ownership) so there are a lot of academic and theoretical assumptions being made on my part. I look forward to taking it onto a track day. I should imagine it would be supreme on a track day, because although up to 60MPH, my previous Evo acts faster (more of an event, maybe) the Skyline makes good use of its extra turbo and larger capacity by igniting itself into another atmosphere once triple figures start to loom. Its top end acceleration is brutal, and because of its 8000RPM red line, you always feel that you give up way before the car starts moaning.

There are some fantastic driver aids on this car though, from its HICAS 4WS to the complex, yet hugely satisfying centre console digital display read out, you know the car is always trying its damned hardest to make sure that the driver is having a fab time.

I’ve a lot to learn, and teach, about this car. But I’m going to learn to walk before I try to run.

Now, who does the best downpipe?

In terms of driver appeal, it certainly excels. For such a large car to feel impossibly nimble is a feat in itself, defying it’s gargantuan size with lithe movements and the grace of a feline. Even so, you are still wary of the bulk you are commanding and I have always sensed a demand for respect from this car. I had a fantastic drift moment on one of my favourite roundabouts. Although it took me entirely by surprise, it was a fabulous, almost dream like moment which sent all 4 wheels spinning out of the exit. However, I still fear it, for if one end decided to overtake the other, then I cannot say that electronics, however complex and ingenious, will champion the might of the laws of physics. You simply cannot ignore the mass of metal that is the R34.

I am still learning this car (naturally, I am only on my 2nd day of ownership) so there are a lot of academic and theoretical assumptions being made on my part. I look forward to taking it onto a track day. I should imagine it would be supreme on a track day, because although up to 60MPH, my previous Evo acts faster (more of an event, maybe) the Skyline makes good use of its extra turbo and larger capacity by igniting itself into another atmosphere once triple figures start to loom. Its top end acceleration is brutal, and because of its 8000RPM red line, you always feel that you give up way before the car starts moaning.

There are some fantastic driver aids on this car though, from its HICAS 4WS to the complex, yet hugely satisfying centre console digital display read out, you know the car is always trying its damned hardest to make sure that the driver is having a fab time.

I’ve a lot to learn, and teach, about this car. But I’m going to learn to walk before I try to run.

Now, who does the best downpipe?