GT-RR Visits Tokyo Auto Salon 2017 (Part 2)

In our last post, we gave a partial recap of some of the greatest new GT-R parts displayed at Tokyo Auto Salon 2017. For this post, we’re going to continue our coverage with some of our other “must see” picks for the new year!

TOP SECRET:

TAS 2017 is considered by many as the “return of classic Top Secret;” the reason for this comes from the debut of their “VR32 Skyline GT-R.” The VR32 is an incredible mash-up of two of Nissan’s most popular sports cars, the R32 Skyline GT-R and the current R35 GT-R. With the entire driveline transplanted and retrofitted from an R35 into a heavily modified R32 chassis. Top Secret even went as far as fitting the interior and the entire carbon-composite front core support from an R35!

Top Secret Skyline VR32 GT-R:

 

Top Secret also had several R35 GT-Rs on display featuring a large collection of both their existing and newly debuted parts. They even had a brand new 2017 GT-R on display, which featured their first full replacement side skirt set for the R35 GT-R. Their silver WTAC-veteran silver circuit demo car was also on display, as well as several customer R35s, including the fully-tuned, custom red painted car pictured.

New Top Secret Parts for 2017:

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE TOP SECRET GT-R PARTS CATALOG ON GT-RR.COM


AIMGAIN:

For 2017, Aimgain again drew inspiration from the GT-R Nismo and GT3 race car when designing their revised GT widebody kit. Aimgain’s GT Line of aero parts are meant to transform the look of traditional sports cars by adding a unique “wide and low” appearance.

The 2017 Version kit adds some of Nissan’s newest design elements includes a GT3 / Nismo-inspired front bumper, front grille, and front lip spoiler. The remainder of the kit adds elements of Aimgain’s “wide and low” styling, including their side under spoilers (side skirts), rear under spoiler and diffuser set, and Aimgain’s unique wide body front fenders (50mm wider), and rear fenders(80mm wider).

Aimgain GT 2017 Version Widebody Kit:


PANDEM:

The bolt-on over fender craze has finally made its way to the classic R32 GT-R with the newest kit from Pandem (Rocket Bunny). Featuring massive front and rear over fenders, the kit adds some serious girth to the R32 chassis! Also included in the kit is a front lip spoiler and side skirt set featuring clean and simple lines. The primer grey demo car on display at TAS also featured the all-carbon fiber version of the optional Duck Tail Rear Wing, as well as a set of custom 6666 Wheels by Enkei, and a Greddy exhaust.

Widebody Kit for R32 Skyline GT-R:


ROWEN:

With the release of the facelifted 2017 GT-R, all the popular Japanese manufacturers jumped on the opportunity to produce new parts for the massively updated exterior. Rowen was no exception, keeping to their annual tradition of new aero parts for the R35. For 2017, rather than immediately jumping to creating an aggressive or wild-looking kit, consisting of replacement bumpers and the like, the designers at Rowen opted for a simpler, add-on lip kit to compliment the new GT-R’s already muscular aero. The kit consists of a front lip spoiler, side skirts, rear under spoiler extensions and a brand new rear wing and trunk spoiler combination. The black 2017 demo car also featured Rowen’s line of titanium exhaust parts.

Rowen World Platinum Aero Kit for 2017 GT-R Full Parts List:


CRYSTAL EYE:

Crystal Eye is known in Japan for their impressive LED lamp upgrades for various cars. At Tokyo Auto Salon 2017, they released their next generation of upgraded tail lamps for R35 Nissan GT-R. Crystal Eye’s Double Fiber Ring LED Tail Lamps feature a unique “finned” design with LED illuminated rings, turn signals and reverse lamps. The tail lamps are available with either classic red lens, or smoked clear lens for those that like the “blacked out” look.

Crystal Eye Double Fiber Ring LED Tail Lamps for R35 Nissan GT-RCrystal Eye Double Fiber Ring LED Tail Lamps R35 GT-R Bulletproof Automotive

Crystal Eye Double Fiber LED Tail Lamps for all R35 GT-R Model Years:


GT-RR Visits Tokyo Auto Salon 2017 (Part 1)

It’s that time of year again; one of the greatest aftermarket automotive events in the industry – Tokyo Auto Salon! Every year during the second week of January, vendors fill the halls of Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall with some of the latest and greatest aftermarket parts for the upcoming year.

Tokyo Auto Salon not only allows vendors to showcase and debut their new aftermarket parts for 2017, it also brings about some of the most incredible, iconic, and interesting car builds you’ve ever seen.

We’ve been fortunate to visit Japan at the beginning of each year to attend this massive event. Like kids in a candy store, we trek through the miles of floor space to see what awesome new parts are coming out for 2017 and trust me when I say, there are some AWESOME new parts that will released this year for just about every performance car owner on the market.

Some of the most iconic, well-known shops set up booth space filled with aftermarket performance, electronic, and aero parts that they’ve been itching to release to the public. Brands such as Varis, Top Secret, Kansai Service, RAYS, Yokohama, JUN and many more spend days doing meet and greets with clients, partners, and exhibitors during Auto Salon week.

Below we’re going to document some of our favorite GT-R projects and demo cars from TAS 2017, including all the latest and greatest parts released!

VARIS:

For TAS 2017, Varis’ booth featured three R35 GT-Rs which showcased a selection of new parts, including the world-famous Kamikaze-R Super Sonic, a new lip kit for the face lifted 2017 GT-R, as well as their newest collaboration with famed JDM Tuning Shop Original Ruduce!

The biggest release from Varis came with their full lineup of aero parts for the brand new face lifted GT-R. As many know, Nissan made some dramatic changes to the interior and exterior of the R35 chassis for 2017, and as a result many of the existing parts on the market were rendered incompatible. Although the GT-R’s new, more angular look adds a more modern look to the R35 platform, Varis always seems to know how to accent a stock vehicle to bring out its full potential. For the 2017+ GT-R, Varis created their new carbon fiber lip kit and a 2017-specific version of their popular cooling bonnet (hood) under their Magnum Opus line, as well as a unique rear wing which actually works with all years of the R35 GT-R.

Varis Magnum Opus Kit for 2017 GT-R Full Parts List:

 

Varis x Original Runduce Ultimate ’17 Version Kit for GT-R Full Parts List:

KANSAI SERVICE:

TAS 2017 saw Kansai Service’s reveal of their new, white 2017 GT-R demo car. Like several of the other major Japanese tuners, Kansai jumped on the opportunity to develop parts for Nissan’s major revision to the R35 platform for 2017. Kansai opted to address two of the most commonly modded sections of the GT-R with their carbon fiber front grille and front diffuser. Both pieces serve as direct replacements for their plastic OEM counterparts and add subtle styling to the sharp lines of the 2017. They also created a special, longer version of their popular tow hook to accommodate the OEM 2017 GT-R’s facelifted front bumper cover. Kansai Service also sourced one of Varis’ vented cooling hood exclusive for the 2017 and paint-matched it to their white demo car.

Kansai Service 2017 GT-R Full Parts List:

PHOENIX’S POWER:

Kansai Region-based tuner Phoenix Power is famous for their high horsepower circuit builds, including their world renowned blue R35 which ran the Nardo high speed challenge in 2013 along with Top Secret and Powerhouse Amuse. The debut of the 2017 GT-R was an opportunity that, like other GT-R tuners, Phoenix’s Power couldn’t pass up. At TAS, Phoenix’s Power brought out a modified 2017 GT-R, as well as two of their highly-modded, high-power white demo / customer cars.

Phoenix’s Power 2017 GT-R Full Parts List:

Phoenix’s Power CBA / DBA GT-R Full Parts List:


There was quite a bit more GT-R representation at TAS 2017, so stayed tuned for Part 2 of our recap!

 

Customer Install: Overtake Carbon Accents on Brian’s Super Silver R35

Our friend and local customer Brian dropped by yesterday to have a few Overtake parts installed on his Super Silver GT-R.

He picked up a collection of Overtake’s high-quality dry carbon fiber exterior accessories, including:

A couple of our other mutual friends and customers Peter and Andrew also happened to drop by to grab lunch! Both Peter and Andrew have black Black Editions.

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Custom Overtake Dry Carbon Racing Hood Project

Overtake Japan Logo
Not long ago we had a longtime friend/client from overseas approach us with a very special request for his GT-R. The client had ordered an Overtake dry carbon racing hood, which in and of itself is gorgeous as is; however he wanted something a bit more unique … something that would really take his build to the next level. He didn’t really know what but he knew he wanted something “special”. Knowing that we were well experienced in custom design and production of specialized parts, our client instilled his trust in us to come up with an amazing design idea and that’s just what we did.

OVERTAKE CUSTOM DRY CARBON x LEXAN RACING BONNET PROJECT - Front View

After being tasked to create a special hood, our carbon composites and special projects engineers went to work. We spent countless hours analyzing, dissecting, and rebuilding a few designs for the hood until we finally came up with something that tied together an old concept with a more modern design and execution.

We had the idea of making a display window out of Lexan in the center of the hood. We could have just cut a hole in the center of the hood and laid a piece of Plexiglas in the center of it, but that wasn’t good enough for us so we decided to build upon that idea. Instead of having a flat surface with a hole filled with some see-through Plexiglas, our engineers created an entire functional cowl from scratch to house the piece of clear Lexan. The cowl was designed to also provide extra ventilation by having small air outlet ducts which sit behind the raised portion of cowl.

For testing and fitment purposes, we installed the hood on our full Overtake dry carbon shop GT-R. You can see the gorgeous Amuse x Overtake SAIKOU Titanium Surge Tank sitting right in the middle of the see-through Lexan.

All in all, we’re happy with the way it turned out…

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Behind The Scenes – Nordring

This is going to be the first of perhaps many of our behind the scenes posts of Japan’s tuning shops (hopefully you enjoy them). Over the past 16 years one of our greatest joys has been playing an early role in introducing Japan’s tuning shops to the world. After nearly 100 trips to Japan over those years, and all these years sharing this crazy passion we have for GT-Rs I’ve gotten to know many of the shops closely and I’ve come across some great stories and background which fellow GT-R owners might enjoy. With internet content typically operating in bite-size pieces, here’s a bit more than usual. I hope it humanizes and makes some of these legendary shops understood and appreciated in new ways. Many of these shops have an “oversized” image but are often under 10 employees and are built around the same passion that unites us here in the community.

Suzuki-san GT-RR.com Behind the Scenes of Nordring Japan

I’ll start with Nordring and if you guys like where I take this, I have a lot of original content, stories and history with dozens of other small shops ranging from MCR to JUN to HKS Technical factory to Varis to Top Secret. Each one deserves its own spotlight but I’ll start here with a small shop run by Toshio Suzuki.
Suzuki-san, prior to opening Nordring, was at first a Formula 1 driver and then later was Nissan’s test driver and was responsible for the initial R35 iconic lap time at the Nurburgring that put the GT-R on the global stage and put all supercars on notice. His role was primarily to provide feedback to Mizuno san who at that time was head of the R35 GT-R program and prior was responsible for the R34 GT-R. Shown in the photos here is the original R35 GT-R test mule packaged into a CPV35 Skyline Coupe. That original test car resides at Nordring’s office and represents some of Suzuki-san’s iconic history at Nissan shaping the GT-R and his close ties to his colleague Mizuno-san.

Suzuki-san’s talents as a race car driver, test driver and chassis/suspension expert are unquestioned. As his age increased, he retired from racing and opened up Nordring which is named after the famous race track that he conquered time and time again in Germany. Knickknacks from the Nurburgring are all over his office, even the coffee set we drank from is Nurburgring branded.

Nordring’s start coincides during Suzuki-san’s friend Mizuno-san’s rule over the GT-R world. For those of us in the GT-R community that were involved when the R35 first came out, Mizuno-san and Nissan had a FIRM stance on not modifying the car. You could feel it when reading the manual and seeing a do not modify cartoon image, and you could equally feel it during the times I was at Fuji Speedway during the early R35 era Nismo Festivals when there was a ban on all modified R35 GT-R’s on display at the event. Unlike overseas, Nissan dealers in Japan are under tighter corporate control and there was a culture of fear that if you modified your GT-R Nissan would blacklist you. There was however a single company that Nissan recognized under warranty and at Nismo Festival, that company was Nordring and Nordring alone.

For all of the time and support Suzuki-san had given to Nissan, Nissan in turn supported Suzuki-san and trusted him with his upgrades for the GT-R under Nissan warranty and with dealer install. During these early years of Nordring, even despite our relationship with them, I had trouble ordering the parts directly for overseas GT-R clients who depended on our company to bridge the cultural and physical divide. For months and then years, Nordring would politely tell me to check back later since they were waiting on Nissan’s approval to sell overseas. Since Nissan had a hand in Nordring’s parts sales, the corporate giant also had a hand on distribution and had to personally approve any overseas sales route. During that time, getting Nordring parts was tricky and although we had our ways, it was not until Nissan loosened corporate dominance over Japanese tuning that Nordring could operate more freely without Nissan’s hand. Nissan’s corporate position about the aftermarket, warranties, and tuning in Japan changed when Tamura san replaced Mizuno san for the GT-R program by the way. This is a whole different story in itself, and a great one…but for another time. Anyway, in our opinion, Nordring did not need Nissan’s support to restrict the competition and in fact Nordring will always hold a number of key advantages, mostly due to Suzuki-san’s brilliance at circuit setup and knowledge.

Behind the Scenes of Nordring Japan by GT-RR.com
The Nordring brand and what it means currently in Japan:
Nordring is a small shop, that when you visit feels more like a hobby of a pro driver where he and his buddies can meet. The clients that visit are fiercely loyal and are almost always there for one defining thing – Suzuki-san’s expertise in setting up their car to handle amazing on the street and circuit. Suzuki-san was the trusted source for Mizuno and his team with the R35 and he carries that torch with a personal touch for his local clientele who love going to the circuit. Suzuki-san’s suspension of choice is the same as used on Mizuno-san’s R34 GT-R Z-Tune project and on Nismo’s Super GT cars, a high end coilover produced in limited supply by Japan’s Sachs Motorsports division. Although this suspension is favored by Suzuki-san and his clients, after Mizuno san left Nissan the later special Nismo projects moved from the special Sachs units to Ohlins dampers. Debate still rages on in Japan by purists over which rules supreme but Nordring clients go crazy for the Sachs, one story even has an N-Attack user removing his N-Attack special Ohlins to switch to the special Sachs 3 way coilovers. Aside from coilovers, Suzuki-san has been favoring Drexler differentials and has been utilizing the suspension and differentials along with his special alignment settings for many of the top drivers and GT-R owners in Japan. One theme with Suzuki-san is that he doesn’t compromise, everything is the best, price be dammed. Another theme is that his focus is on balanced tuning and vehicle dynamics, not simply on big power.

An interesting note is how Nordring is perceived inside Japan versus outside. Outside Japan, the secret sauce of Suzuki-san personally setting up a car with those special dampers and diffs is not really a possibility since he’s the one doing the work locally. An entirely different Nordring exists outside of Japan, one that involves their dry carbon parts. The story goes at that the owner of Challenge is a GT-R enthusiast and he developed a few GT-R parts for fun but had no outlet to sell them. Challenge as you probably know, makes the rear diffuser for all R35’s and makes the Nismo GT-R body panels, amongst other things. In fact, their big business is making Shinkansen/Bullet Train nose cones and a variety of other more lucrative projects. The aftermarket is not their focus (although I’ve personally been a user of Challenge made dry carbon parts since 2004 on our S2000 and they do dabble in aftermarket projects time to time). Anyway, Challenge has bigger tasks than to market a lineup of aftermarket GT-R parts and they found a partner in Suzuki-san to introduce these items through Nordring. Since Suzuki-san is an expert at suspensions, this was clearly no conflict of interest and in-fact rounded out the Nordring lineup well. For those Nordring clients overseas, odds are your Nordring experience is with the Challenge made Nordring dry carbon parts which are as expensive as they are beautifully constructed.

Going into the future, it is hard to say where Nordring is headed. I get the feeling from Suzuki-san and the shared friends we have that he is perfectly content going to the race track, hanging out with GT-R owners and setting up cars. It feels as much hobby as it does business and there is no urgency to grow big. He has already left his mark and now he seems to be enjoying himself. The international clientele can now freely get Nordring parts through Bulletproof (shameless plug) and through other authorized dealers, and although there does not seem to be many new parts on the horizon, the current parts are all timeless and well thought out.
We’ll share more photos and be happy to chat more on this. We certainly don’t know everything, but this is a rough and unofficial history from our experiences being a Nordring dealer and friend since the origin of the brand.

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