I remember seeing the name 7racer on the GT-R forums from back in the day. Possibly before the car come out. I used to lurk on NAGTROC since word first came out that Nissan was for sure developing a new car that was to continue the GT-R legacy. I have not been checking in on NAGTROC like I used to but I do drop by from time to time. On one of my last visits I caught a thread by 7racer that turned out to be a pretty hefty build.
I let him know I was developing a car blog that focused on builds and asked if I could do a post on his car. He agreed and I even got him to give me a little background info on the car, from acquisition to where it stands now.
Words from 7racer…
“I got the car new in 09 when it first came out. I was on the waiting list for an R8, but Audi had this annoying wait list. I was looking to replace my M3 and have an upgrade to my track car, a 94 RX-7…that I loved.
Then came the GT-R. All the stuff that the magazines were writing about just couldn’t be true. The car was too heavy to perform that well. Plus at that time, it was kinda hard to get. Low and behold, a dealership in Arlington had 3 on the lot. A test drive later, a Black Premium was in my garage.
I knew I wanted to track the car, and for a black color, I knew after a week that I wanted to protect it. It was a HUGE PITA to keep clean! I went to a local guy who was working out of a airport hanger named Trey Pappas who was getting well known. I was just going to clear bra the car. He was driving me back home when I mentioned if he could do a flat black wrap. “Of course” was the reply and off I went with the different color changes through out the years.
When the car was flat black, I autocross it a couple times, but didn’t do many mods as it was a new platform and wanted to keep the warranty. Also, there were already stories about people needing to replace the transmission after too many launches.
As the years went by and the warranty becoming less of an issue, the car went silver with an homage to the prototype photos of the GT-R with “panda eyes”. I started tracking the car more at the road course and LOVED IT! So much more stable and capable than the 7…and SO MUCH SPEED!
I did minor upgrades as Jotech had someone who had a used set of Alpha 9 turbos around. Went with my favorite exhaust, the Akrapovic titanium exhaust with carbon fiber tips. At the time, I think I was the first or second in the US with the exhaust! That coupled with the turbos, I was flying around tracks and having a blast! However, with more power came more heat, and I upgraded to the Top-secret front fascia to help airflow into the engine.
That fixed the problem and prompted for the most popular color so far, the Avery night blue matte metallic!!!
The car was great but I was still worried about heat, so ended up ordering a CF hood from GT-RR, the Varis Semi Dry Carbonfiber hood (VSDC).
I loved the car and the set up (running Volk racing G12 Limited Edition 20×10, 20×12) set up.
However, I kept hearing about transmission failures for higher HP cars at the track. Particularly gears 3,4. I was looking to do a simple transmission build with Shep when Kenny at Jotech mentioned the HKS deal with a free HKS GT1000 kit with the purchase of the HKS transmission.
Well having 1000hp was way overkill and I didn’t need it!…… at least that’s what I convinced myself. A day later, I put the credit card down and ordered the kit.
I think I am one of the first with the HKS transmission.
With the build it was time to change colors again. This time…GREEN! LOL.
With the change and more HP, I was looking for more grip and stability on the track. I ordered the CF AMS trunk and had them reinforce it for the Aeromotion active wing. I got the taller 10″ uprights to put the wing more in the airstream ala the Nismo N-Attack package. Added front canards. And ordered custom wheels from Finspeed for the track so I could run tires square (help the car rotate and reduce understeer that I was feeling). With the square setup, try as I might, I couldn’t fit them under stock fenders, so the Top-secret wide fenders were added.
I already had upgraded brakes with the Weapon Grade Performance ZR1 carbon ceramic rotors, but wanted to stop all this extra speed from the HKS upgrade! In came new large calipers from Racing brake! Holy hell do these stop hard! I was so happy with the caliper kit that now I will be testing out the new Surface Transform CCX carbon rotors that Racing Brake is having made specifically to fit the GTR. I think I will be the first guinea pig on this.
With the build Jotech has been great!
4.3 Stroker motor to help low end grunt out of corners
Here is their build spec sheet… http://jotechracing….ig-wang-theory/
Flex fuel adapter from Gotboost is going in as well as a custom oil cooler and water jet front bumper support to help cooling.
I should have the car back this week from the wrap so I should have new pics of the green.”
For more pictures and info check out 7racer’s build thread over at GTRHeritage!
Thanks to 7racer and enjoy the car in good health!