So you own a 4WD turbo do ya? Think that nothing can keep up with you off the line coz of that that all-paw traction? Well, Kingsley Head's got something to blow your can't-beat-me theory out of the water! His awesome Skyline GT-R can light up 'em up big time - it's as he says, you can spin any number of wheels if you've got enough grunt!
And, yes, his R32 has plenty of that. When we jumped into the passenger's seat with our trusty AC-22 performance meter, we could barely hold the thing secure under the sheer brutality of this car's acceleration. In our first run, the GT-R bogged slightly - and Kingsley let out a big "arrgh" - but almost immediately this monster grabbed us by the shoulders and threw us down the road. By the time I'd recovered from the G-Force shock, I noticed that the AC-22 was already flashing up the car's 0-100 time.
3.7 seconds!!
Damn, this car's quick! But annoyed by the bog-down launch, Kingsley hung a U-turn and tried another run. With revs hovering up around 5000 and the exhaust barking and banging every time he modulated the throttle, the GT-R lurched back and began to skew slightly sidewards with wheelspin. D'oh! Kinglsey had put too many revs into it this time - so he held it in a controlled all-paw scramble up to the 100 km/h mark once again. Its time - 3.8 seconds!
I wonder how much quicker it would've been if the ambient temperature wasn't nearly 35 degrees C...
And in fact just a few weeks later the Adelaide International Raceway dragstrip saw the GT-R reel off Australia's fastest GT-R time - just 10.8 seconds at 131 mph - and that was with a relatively slow 1.7 second 60-foot time....
Now while you might be thinking to yourself, "Oh yeah, but the McLaren F1 can do blah blah, or those GT-Rs in Japan can do X", bear in mind that this is a real streetcar that - literally - gets driven everyday. No argument, any vehicle that can crack 100 kays in the Threes is a kick-arse streetcar. Just go for a ride with Kingsley and that 0-100 time ceases to be an academic number to become a real world pop-your-eyes-out experience. There's truly nothing like it.
Now you'll be pleased to hear that Kingsley enjoys his GT-R to the fullest. In fact, only a couple of weeks after receiving its mechanical transformation, Kingsley said he had his best weekend ever. Why? Coz he sat the white-lightning GT-R on 320 km/h down Adelaide's Mt Barker Freeway! Yeee-ha! Yes. It is fair to say that he likes to extract all that he can from his cars. His previous vehicle - a fairly typically modified WRX - could be seen on many occasions - usually pulling monster burnouts... According to Kingsley, all he did was accelerate to around 80 km/h, yank on the wheel and pull the handbrake, and - simultaneously - disengage the clutch, rev up to the limiter and then dump it in 1st gear. Round and round she goes!
Somewhat inevitably, Kingsley's move from the Rex to the GT-R came largely motivated by the rate that the Subaru consumed gearboxes and clutches. Over barely two years, it totalled three clutches (one supposedly "unbreakable"), two gearboxes, a rear diff and the engine was beginning to consume oil very rapidly! This problem vehicle simply had to go. Compounding the decision was how impressed Kingsley had been after going for a ride in a 12-second Japanese Motorsport R32. His choice had been made for him.
After off-loading the WRX (plated "MR WRX"), Kingsley snapped up this white R32 Japanese-import GT-R for $39,000. It came complete with those 5-spoke 16-inch rims, an aftermarket 3-inch exhaust and a modified computer (giving a bit more boost). Now that last item is the fiend that reputedly caused some immediate troubles. After only 3 days of ownership, Kingsley says he gave it a big rev and - much to his surprise - the tacho went past 8500. On the way down from that rev, the engine was making a funny tick-tick... It turns out that it had broken a few valve guides.
Not too fazed by the mishap, Kingsley delivered the R32 to Allan Engineering for a whole lot more power. A hi-po rebuild was something that he already had chalked up for the near future anyway. Craig Allan says that their main goal for the build was to achieve useable power. That is, a good spread of torque with supreme response and reliability - not outright, peaky power. The list of mods they performed on the RB26 included porting the head (with most gain coming from the inlet side), fitting re-profiled standard cams (set to different timing) and inserting heavier valve springs to go with the standard valves. The bottom-end involved "cleaning up" the rods, fitting new bearings and high-boost tolerant 8.2:1 forged Wiesco pistons. A standard head gasket was retained.
Externally, a custom in-house exhaust manifold was fabricated from 1½-inch pressure piping, and this is used to mount a single large capacity turbocharger. The device selected is a Garrett roller-bearing GT30/40, which is rated at 700hp. Boost pressure can't stretch any higher than around 28-30 psi, but - just to be safe - a Turbonetics 42mm external wastegate is also piped in. There are no blow-off valves to admire, but check out that shining A'PEXi GT-spec intercooler!
An Autronic SMC programmable computer now takes care of the GT-R's engine management side of things. But - in order to keep the factory 4WD system in operation - this is wired in addition to the factory electronics. So - basically - the factory computer is retained to run everything, except the Autronic unit controls fuel and ignition. Speaking of which, at full noise the RB26 is a thirsty bugger. Craig says that fuel flow of around 5 litres a minute is needed to keep pace when it's fully wound up.
Accordingly, the boot of the Skyline is rigged with dual parallel Pierburg pumps fed by a high-pressure lift pump. Running further towards to combustion chamber, a standard pressure regulator is used in conjunction with Rochester/MSD 1 litre injectors. Craig says that these are actually a little on the large side and a little tougher to control accurately. Ignition is conducted by a capacitor discharge system, which - Craig claims - is necessary with any RB26 generating over about 500hp. A set of six high-energy coils is mounted atop of each similar-to-standard spark plug.
Interestingly, the Autronic management system has been set up to run with a primarily throttle position feed when there's vacuum in the manifold, while the MAP sensor takes control when the engine comes onto boost. This reputedly gives smoother running, as camshaft pulsing would otherwise confuse the MAP sensor.
After extensive engine dynoing, trying different cams and a heap of tuning - Kingsley has come away with slightly more power than he had originally bargained for. The Allans have managed to extract 615hp at 8200 rpm together with the desired fat torque curve. This was achieved running on 28 psi boost and with Avgas pumping through the injectors (something Kingsley replicates on the street). Even well down at 3000 rpm, there is still a stonking 400 ft-lb of torque on tap...
Upon dropping the motor back into the vehicle, a 7¼-inch triple-plate AP clutch went in to hold the RB's massive grunt - though Craig says the gearbox may be a little marginal, depending on how Kingsley drives it. He is aware of this possible weak-link - but you can bet that won't stop him from having his deserved fun!
One of the whole reasons why Kingsley bought the GT-R was for its strength. As he says, "the GT-R seems to be able to cope with the extra power a lot better than the WRX". Now - with fingers crossed - he won't push the gearbox past its limits while spinning those four 235/45 Yoko rubbers....
BTW - Kingsley's next question he'll ask Allan Engineering is "can you install a 100hp nitrous kit for me"...
Total traction? Ba'h who wants that!
Contact:
Allan Engineering
+61 8 8527 2266
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