"I wanted to build this myself and see where I could push the envelope without sacrificing drivability and comfort. At the end of the day, I like driving the car," explained Shubash, "The most unique feature is the Tomei Reytec ECU; it takes me so long to explain to friends and strangers that Tomei, in fact, sells a stand-alone that is MAP-based for the SR20. It was this product and all the other unique ones that were the root of my frustration, waiting for them to arrive at my doorstep from shops around the country as well as Japan. In the end, of course, it was all worth it."
Working under the hood and the car overall, Shubash always found himself generally pleased, but wishing the S15 was tuned to a more perfect setting. He tooled around with several setups and in two years, he found a level ground in which he felt the car was at its tuning peak. He then focused on the ride to complete the build. He installed a set of Ksport Kontrol Pro coilovers, Nismo bushings and motor mounts, and a Kazama Hicas Stopper kit. The factory wheels were replaced with 18-inch Rays Gram Lights 57 Pros with a deep dish in the rear that seems to run endlessly. Behind the Gram Lights sit Brembo calipers with Rotora rotors in the front and Brembo rotors in the rear. Project Mu B-Force brake pads run on all four corners, as well as SPL stainless steel braided brake lines. The interior includes a svelte set of Bride Euro II front seats that face a custom gauge panel for the Defi and Innovate wide-band gauges between the radio and climate controls.
Among his team who worked on the car, including the people at MTR Racing and Headgames Motorworks, Shubash often refers to the build as "good times" and it is telling that he was so taken with the concept of goodness. What was an ideal car on paper, he has built into a gargantuan presence. "There are so many SR20s floating around, but few are really completely done. It was a gradual build, but it was so much fun to do," said Shubash. It's difficult to imagine any tuner finding much unhappiness in Shubash's S15, and if they did, they shouldn't expect Shubash to do much about it.
Tomei Reytec
The Gratuitous Sidebar That Rhymes with VTEC.
So what's this hubbub about the Tomei Reytec? To get to the bottom of this somewhat enigmatic ECU, we hit up Riki Endo, representative of Tomei USA.
According to Endo-san, "This programmable ECU is very popular in Japan due to its convenient software setting, A/F ratio adjustability, and mapping the ECU is done with ease. We also provide downloadable data on our website for the user! Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to inform your readers about our Reytec system!"
No problem, buddy!
'00 Nissan Silvia
Output [hp]: undisclosed
Name.
Shubash Singh
Age.
30
Hometown.
Nashville, TN
Occupation.
Programmer
Build time.
Two Years
Feedback.
tripleJs15@gmail.com
Hobbies.
Outdoor sports and fishing
Quote.
"I wanted to build something unique, a car with all the creature comforts as a fine weekend car, maintaining the sexiness of the S15 while exposing the inner personality with real power."