Dyno And Tuning: Sp Engineering 4wd Mustang Dyno
Owner: Elliot Grossman
Pros
July 07, 2008, marked the debut of the Nissan R35 GT-R to the U.S. market. This highly anticipated sports car no longer carried the traditional "Skyline" moniker, but is still the crown jewel of Nissan. The R35 is rated at 480 hp @ 6,400 rpm and 430 lb-ft of torque @ 3,200-5,200 rpm, using a 3.8-liter twin-turbo engine. Equipped with amenities found only in high-end vehicles, such as electronic traction control, ATTESA ET-S all-wheel drive, and Brembo mono-block calipers, the GT-R is a supercar, engineered to be driven on the streets.
Cons
Nissan engineers designed the R35 with tamper resistance in mind. From the supposedly "un-hackable" ECU to the more complex transmission and suspension system, many speculated that the mighty GT-R might be best left untouched.
Notes
The opportunity to power page a GT-R doesn't come by too often but when 2NR was lucky enough to cross paths with one owned by SP Engineering, located in the City of Industry, CA, we decided to make the most of it by testing an aftermarket exhaust, tuning solutions, and unleaded gasoline fuel options.
Pros
The HKS Legamax Premium exhaust system for the R35 was engineered with a unique "pretzel" design. This unorthodox design was specifically made for the GT-R, using large-radius bends to minimize exhaust backpressure while keeping exhaust gas temperatures down. Using full 304 stainless, the main pipe section is 85 mm in diameter and opens to four 119 mm tips at the rear. The HKS Legamax helps improve flow, while initial tests performed by HKS show only 1 dB increase in noise levels over the factory unit.
Cons
As with any R35 product, this HKS unit doesn't come cheap. Be prepared to pay a premium if you're looking to improve your GT-R's performance. But compare it to the Nismo GT-R exhaust, which sells for a whopping $15K, and you'll come to appreciate the reasonable cost of the Legamax.
Parts
Exhaust
Tools
Wrench, ratchet, extension, sockets
Installation Time
70 minutes
Notes
With our new exhaust system in place, we spun the dyno and found the Legamax had picked up a peak gain of 13 hp and 15 lb-ft torque. More importantly, the gains were shown across the entire power band. A gain of 15 hp and 20 lb-ft torque at 4,195 rpm was a good indication of how restrictive the stock exhaust was on the twin turbo engine.
Horsepower Gain
* 2,000 to 3,500 HP range: 2 to 3
* 3,500 to 5,500 HP range: 5 to12
* 5,500 to redline HP range: 15 to 25
Torque Gain
* 2,000 to 3,500 HP range: 9 to 8
* 3,500 to 5,500 TQ range: 15 to 20
* 5,500 to redline TQ range: 20 to 16
Horsepower Gain
* 2,000 to 3,500 HP range: -2 to 9
* 3,500 to 5,500 HP range: 22 to51
* 5,500 to redline HP range: 41 to 31
Torque Gain
* 2,000 to 3,500 HP range: -17 to 33
* 3,500 to 5,500 TQ range: 9 to 61
* 5,500 to redline TQ range: 37 to 16