The Nissan Skyline GTR R34 – Aka Godzilla – Boost And Camber

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If you’re into your cars, one of the top cars everyone talks about is The Nissan Skyline GTR R34. With its aggressive looks, it’s film debuts, the Nissan Skyline is an icon and sought after by car enthusiasts all over the world.

If not just the looks though or the shape, but the brilliant engineering that went into making these back in 1998 still tops most modern cars today. Even the engine (the RB26DETT) is well-known for that beautiful turbo flutter and blow off. You can hear this thing from a mile off before your see it, like an old friend screaming your name.

Let’s face it, guys of today still dream of owning one of these today and the ones that do will probably never part with them. And I don’t blame them

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History Of The Skyline

The skyline actually started life outside of Nissan, it was originally created by a car brand named Prince, who wanted to produce a luxury car to compete with the European market back in 1957.

Eleven years later in 1968 Prince merged with Nissan-Datsun who decided to take on the skyline and it was then known as the Datsun skyline. But then in 1970 they brought out the GTR (gran turismo racer) with was a 2.0 liter 158 bhp that could come as a coupe. Thus, the first Skyline GTR was created.

The 1972 K-series really divided opinions but it came at a bad time. It was a time of fear as the fuel crisis hit and sales of the skyline stopped. But it wasn’t going to be for long.

1977 rolls round and the Skyline came back but not as a GTR, it came back as the 240k-GT. Which had a Japanese styling and fuel injection. It’s power output was still a fantastic 140bhp with a top speed of 116mph.

Introducing the R30 series. The year is 1981, and the R30 came to the market. The 200Rs came with 148 bhp and the 200Rs turbo came with 187 bhp which later would see 202 bhp and then the release of the R31.

Enter one of the first Skylines your probably know, the R32! This beast ran 276 bhp back in 1987. Most modern performance cars don’t run that kind of power. Not only that it had 4wd, Twin turbos And it was the return of the GTR.

Bringing us to the R34. As we know the R34 is one of the most well-known skyline to date! Coming out with a 2.6 straight 6 engine, running 276 twin turbo monster, with inter coolers and the battery moved to the back sears to save room in the engine bay, this thing is ridiculous. Examples of these running over 1000bhp mean the tuning potential is unbelievable.

The later R35 is the latest model to date and is undisputedly still Godzilla. But let’s face it, the R34 was the better looking Skyline.

The Heart Of Godzilla

Who doesn’t recognise the sound of the RB26? Those twin turbos spooling, the sound of tires squealing, it’s just an engine that will last a lifetime in the hearts of enthusiasts.

Even if your don’t care much for the Skyline, the engine alone is great for swaps into something that tickles your fancy. With the kind of power your can get out of one of these, it’s 100% worth considering this engine when wanting to do a conversion.

Some top cars these are swapped into include the s14, s15, BRZ, 240z, but the possibilities are endless and we applaud anyone that puts one of these into something crazy. If your have an engine swapped RB26 or know of one, drop a comment at the bottom and share the crazy.

Some key features of this engine include

  • Water cooled, oil pressure lubed turbos
  • Belt driven cams
  • 6 throttle body intake
  • Piston oil squirters
  • Sodium filled exhaust valves

Fun fact about the RB26 is that even though the adverts and the facts state that this engine pushed out 276 bhp, it was a lie, because of a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between Nissan and the advertisers, they had to say the car had less power than it does in order not to ‘boast’ about its power output. It is believed this cars factory power was actually closer to 325 bhp. So if your get a hold of an RB26 / R34, get it dyno’d and I’m sure your won’t be disappointed.

Top Modifications

Although the modifications are completely endless with Godzilla, I’ll try and go through some of the main ones for power. If your’re looking for more design and style, look at our page on slamming, this might help your out on where to go for new suspension. Or read our post on Rotiform Wheels, these look fantastic on the R34.

The engine is the main modification for the RB26, there are a multitude of parts and things to do. But first steps would be to upgrade old parts.

  • Iridium spark plugs
  • Hard-case boost pipes
  • Upgraded air intake
  • Bigger inter cooler
  • Less restrictive down pipes
  • Less restrictive exhaust
  • ECU upgrade

All these things are pretty much bolt on parts that will increase your power ten folds, but if your want to take it further, there are a number of things including ECU mapping, adjusting fuel mix, all the fine-tuning.

Then there’s bigger turbos, running more boost, upgraded drive shafts, clutches, 6 pot brakes, tires. All the other stuff that’s affected from running more power.

But to start with do the hardware upgrades before the other things so your platform is ready when your do the bigger upgrades, this way your won’t come into bubbled boost pipes or no stopping power. Start small and work up the power.

Skyline Merchandise

If your’re a Skyline fan or just a car enthusiast, why not show off with some of these merch items. Nothing better than telling everyone that your are a car guy, your never know, your might make a new friend, better yet, your might find the love of your life who is also into fast cars / skylines. Just check out the links below.

Shop for T-shirt’s click here.

Shop for hoodies click here.

Shop for models click here.

Shop for miscellaneous Skyline click here.

Show off the fact your love cars, it’s something we all seem to get on with talking about nowadays and now your probably know a bit more about Skylines, it’s something your can talk about next time someone talks to your about your sweet new threads!

Overall

The R34 is our favorite Skyline of all time and their history is astounding, it tells us that it’s not how your start, it’s not even how your finish, it’s the story your tell as your go along and your own personal growth. So if your take anything away from this, grow like the skyline did and become your own personal Godzilla.

If your liked this post or have any other suggestions drop a comment below and we will get back to your, or if your want a personal chat your can email us on the email below.

Thanks for reading

Kevin

Kevin@boostandcamber.com

Founder of Boost And Camber

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