# Litchfield's 2011 GTRs have arrived!



## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

They are finally here! :runaway:  

We had the first R35 in the UK so it seemed the right move to get one of the first new “Enhanced” 2011 GTRs 










I’m really pleased with the colours which look great in person, my first R35 was Black and the new pearl black is superb!  I was unsure about the Blue when I put the order in but I’m really pleased with the choice, pictures don’t do it justice and it appears to change complete as the light moves. Of course, with pristine new cars we want to keep the paint in perfect condition, I had a good chat with Robbie (Valet Magic) about paint protection and wrapping options so it’ll be interesting to see what it looks like in a few weeks time. 










First driving impressions are that the Nissan have made an effort to lift the interior quality, it feels much better with darker finish and carbon fibre. However as soon as you pull away you notice just how much better the revised suspension is!  Comfort mode is much improved and is now very smooth. Engine power delivery is excellent and I look forward to seeing what software and hardware changes have been made. Ecutek already have the ECU information to work on  :bowdown1:

Over the next couple of weeks we have a raft of testing work to do with the new car and we’re going to post a complete breakdown of the changes on the new car on our Blog and revised website  Once underway I’ll start a new thread with lots of detailed information. We plan to remove the engine, turbos and gearbox to see just what has been “enhanced” and insure our current range of parts will fit.

In the meantime if anyone would like to see the cars in flesh give us a call as they are available to view.

I also want to thank Andy and Tony at Middlehurst for their impeccable service once again. They really are the most informed of all the Nissan HPCs and a pleasure to deal with :clap: :thumbsup:


































Much, much more to follow 

Kind regards

Iain


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## Kizzz (Apr 20, 2010)

Wow looks good Iain, can`t wait to see your results.
P.S need to book my service soon

Kirun


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## Bajie (Dec 13, 2001)

Stunning!
That blue is fantastic. Best pictures I have seen of it so far.


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## JayJay (Apr 19, 2010)

I want the blue one


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## ziggy (Oct 25, 2009)

The blue is fantastic, my eyes were blue but are now green!


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## rb26 (Aug 29, 2004)

The blue colour is beautiful. It really suits the car:bowdown1:



Terje.


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Wow, that's an impressively chunky investment in your business Iain!
And sourced through the best HPC too, good choice.

May I ask why you've bought 2? Is one to sell on in time?


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## manjit (Dec 17, 2009)

I think I want one now , cant wait to learn about new developments


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## thistle (Oct 27, 2007)

Blue looks really nice in those photos.


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## sumo69 (Mar 31, 2008)

thistle said:


> Blue looks really nice in those photos.


+1

Wasn't that fussed about the blue but in those pics it looks WOW!! :bowdown1:

It will also be interesting to see whether the gearboxes have been upgraded!

D


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

sumo69 said:


> +1
> 
> Wasn't that fussed about the blue but in those pics it looks WOW!! :bowdown1:
> 
> ...


I really can't believe they've made 4k LC launches covered under warranty without beefing up some gearbox components despite a face to face denial by the gearbox guy at the Nurburgring!

The problem with the Japanese corporate mentality is that they seldom acknowledge past failures/weaknesses.

The only exception was Mizuno appearing angry that the 09/10 brake discs were prone to cracking. But I guess the inference was that that was down to Brembo and now he has personally had a hand in designing the 390mm discs for the 2011, they will be a lot better.


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

manjit said:


> I think I want one now , cant wait to learn about new developments


read the thread on trade-in values first:chuckle:

they do look nice though; perhaps I'll have a word with the missus


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

David, I'd love to say I bought two because I couldn't decide on the colour  but one will be going to a customer in March. It'll be his 5th R35!

Lots to do but the Gearbox will be out next week and will be stripped and compared to an older one we already have. Will take lots of pictures  Glenn for Dodson Motorsport is flying over to have a look and give us more GR6 training. We also have the engineers that have just designed the new McLaren and Lambo DCT gearboxes coming over as well 

We will also be completeing our Re-valved suspension testing as we'll have 3 different specs to try back to back which should be interesting.

Turbos will be sent off and documented to see if they really are different.


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

Litchfield said:


> David, I'd love to say I bought two because I couldn't decide on the colour  but one will be going to a customer in March. It'll be his 5th R35!
> 
> Lots to do but the Gearbox will be out next week and will be stripped and compared to an older one we already have. Will take lots of pictures  Glenn for Dodson Motorsport is flying over to have a look and give us more GR6 training. We also have the engineers that have just designed the new McLaren and Lambo DCT gearboxes coming over as well
> 
> ...


excellent; look forward to your results


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Litchfield said:


> David, I'd love to say I bought two because I couldn't decide on the colour  but one will be going to a customer in March. It'll be his 5th R35!
> 
> Lots to do but the Gearbox will be out next week and will be stripped and compared to an older one we already have. Will take lots of pictures  Glenn for Dodson Motorsport is flying over to have a look and give us more GR6 training. We also have the engineers that have just designed the new McLaren and Lambo DCT gearboxes coming over as well
> 
> ...


Wow, a proper research project, fantastic!
Don't suppose you're stripping the engine to see if they've fitted better rods? :chuckle:


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

We thought we'd check on Nissan's parts system to see if they use the same part number for the Rods and Pistons 

We did even more detailed work on the original car. I have spread sheets with all kinds of data on temps for the car on track and Autobahn. Some of it can be seen here: Litchfield

This is probably the most fun part of the job


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## R35Bren (Apr 4, 2008)

On the forefront as always!

Very impressive, I hope you're keeping one for yourself and don't forget about us guys with the 'old' car!


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## Bennyboy1984 (Jul 26, 2009)

Lovely cars there, do you think Top Gear will be doing another special on this new version like they did with the original? Be a shame not to put it round their track...


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## Boosted (Jun 5, 2008)

That blue is gorgeous


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## Jacey Boy (Apr 24, 2005)

The seats and the blue look stunning, but those wheels are just WRONG, they ruin the car imo, the previous style is much nicer....opcorn:


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## Ja5on (Nov 18, 2009)

the blue is stunning


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## GTRSTAR (Nov 26, 2009)

The Blue looks umm, Lush!

I dont think that youll find too many surprises underneath the shiny new exterior, very nice none the less.. :smokin:


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## waltong (Apr 11, 2008)

I'm lovethe blue but those wheels are just plain ugly!


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## mindlessoath (Nov 30, 2007)

cant wait to hear what those engineers think! btw any chance you guys can send the roms to cobb and ecutek


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## Arcam (Jun 30, 2009)

I will be particularly interested to see where the "extra" transmission oil capacity has come from and whether the Forge cooler kit will still fit without modification.

This is truly great work from Litchfields, thanks Ian :thumbsup:


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## Come on Geoff (Sep 13, 2009)

*Well done Iain*



Litchfield said:


> one will be going to a customer in March. It'll be his 5th R35!


Any interesting stories behind one person buying five r35's?

The best pics I've seen of the new r35, really shows off the paint well. Love your comparison research Iain well done. Looking forward to the results.


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## Chris956 (Apr 11, 2010)

Where has the original thread gone ???? I posted as number 2 and BOBEL posted as number 3 but both posts have gone ????????????

I notice that this thread is a different number to the original aswell ... WTF is going on as this was the original thread :
http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/147515-litchfields-2011-gtrs-have-arrived.html


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## Henry 145 (Jul 15, 2009)

Please let me know when exhausts have been tested and signed off...I want for mine please!!


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## ANDY400R (Mar 28, 2008)

Chris956 said:


> Where has the original thread gone ???? I posted as number 2 and BOBEL posted as number 3 but both posts have gone ????????????
> 
> I notice that this thread is a different number to the original aswell ... WTF is going on as this was the original thread :
> http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/147515-litchfields-2011-gtrs-have-arrived.html


Chris there are two threads running that started the same, one in GTR chat (this one) and one in the traders section under Litchfield, you posted in that thread orginally. I dont know why two indentical threads get started, wether this is by design by the OP or wether this just happens when a trader posts in his own section, but it only seems to be with trader posts, I have noticed this several times.


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## Chris956 (Apr 11, 2010)

Very strange but thanks for clearing it up . I thought I was going mad.


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## prashan (Aug 16, 2008)

Hi Iain - looking forward to your feedback..already preparing to ditch my 612 and return to my 2nd R35


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## Steve (Sep 21, 2001)

Now you guys know why I chose Iain to buy my car from and for him to look after it !!! 

Been telling you all for ages ! LOL

Again, well done Iain, see you soon 

Steve


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Steve said:


> Now you guys know why I chose Iain to buy my car from and for him to look after it !!!
> 
> Been telling you all for ages ! LOL
> 
> ...


Hang on a second. You're trying to take credit for Iain going out of his way to get an early 2011 GT-R? You know, the car you've persistently slagged off in every thread on this forum?

You are too funny! :runaway:


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## Steve (Sep 21, 2001)

No David, all I am saying is when Iain does something - he does it properly and that is why I trust him and his judgement and didn't go down the Cobb route and have stayed with Iain and Eckutec etc - nothing to do with you trying to put the "new car" slant on it !

My car was one of the ones Iain is refering to when he was the first with an R35 and did more R&D than others including HPC's


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## *MAGIC* (Oct 21, 2009)

Oh boy that blue is sweet Iain.

Look forward to seeing you soon.

Robbie


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## mickv (May 27, 2009)

Seems an odd colour, that blue. In most pics it looks quite dark and flat, but in some of Iain's photos with a bit of light on it it looks absolutely spot on, when you can really see the richness of the colour and the matallic glint. Looking forward to seeing one in the flesh with a bit of sun on it.


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## geminimeg12 (Feb 16, 2011)

*The Blue*

Impressive...that blue color GTR had been missed very very very very much all these years. That Blue Color was the Original Blue the Nissan Skyline GT-R34, BNR 34 Vspec II wore debuted in 1999


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## E5.UNICORN (Jul 17, 2009)

I was saving my pennies for the GTC speed but when I see the blue one it make me doubt what im gonna do:runaway:


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

The colour looks really good in daylight but it is really hard to photograph

We've done a lot of work on the cars now 











We must admit we were a little cynical about this new “enhanced” GTR and thought it was just going to be a typical manufacturers face-lift. Lot’s of PR hype, a new colour, change the lights slightly but no real substance. We’re pleased to be wrong!










The original GTR was beautifully engineered and all of these enhancements are just that, enhancements. Nothing has been fundamentally changed because nothing was really wrong with it in the first place but there are a huge number of small improvements which add up.










The weekend and early part of the week saw us getting more driving impressions of the car back to back with the original. We didn’t bother testing the performance as the engine will be given a little time to settle and the weather was poor. 

The new suspension is excellent, the chassis feels sharper and yet the ride quality is much improved. Comfort mode is really good. It’ll be interesting to see what the new damper and spring rates are to make such a marked difference but it makes us wonder how they didn’t come to these settings originally or again when NISMO revisited it with their, greatly improved, Club Sport Bilsteins. Perhaps this change to ride comfort comes from the way the new Dunlop tyres interact with the new dampers.

Another possibility could be the raft of changes they have made to the chassis stiffness which is allowing the suspension to work better. The obvious change is the small Carbon Strut brace (currently £3,500! in the UK or $1,874 from the US) tucked at the back of the engine bay which doesn’t look like it would improve rigidity by that much. But then we noticed the little bracket under the scuttle panel adding more support. Even the bracing that exists on the original car has received extra mounting points to increase their strength. 











It’s this attention to detail that is so impressive. :bowdown1:





































At the rear of the car the undertray has more ducts to cool the gearbox and diff then the original cars (MY10 cars have similar ducts). These are aided by the new rear diffuser which has no restrictions to dragging the heat away. It even has a more pronounced lip to gain a further aero benefit.



















Nissan claim the exhaust is larger but the only change is a slightly larger diameter on one of the 90 degree bends on the rear silencer. Our blue car now features our Milltek Y-pipe and rear Silencer exhaust (Race version) which we’re happy to see fits perfectly.










What is frustrating is that even though our Consult III has the latest updates it would not fully communicate with the new Engine ECU and the transmission ECU is not even displayed  After some more work with our other tools we have here we now have access to the key information but it looks like we’ll need to order the Consult III Plus (ouch  ) to communicate with the car with just one computer.










We have downloaded the engine map from the ECU and ECUTEK are now working on it, it appears that Nissan have changed the ECU processor so it might take a bit of time to gain full access. ECUTEK will have our ECU by the end of the week and, hopefully, they’ll have it cracked before the engine goes back in. 










More information to follow shortly as our friends at Alcon arrived to have a look at the new brakes to confirm what has been changed and how our current discs and kits fit. We have also removed both engine and gearbox. 

Iain


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## Chris956 (Apr 11, 2010)

Proper busy you lot .... well done and keep the updates coming.


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Great info Iain.

I drove the UK press car on Wednesday and it was quite a revelation.
Really quite punchy above 5k and feels genuinely quick even compared to a Cobb stage 1.

But what was interesting to me was driving them back to back, I thought the pick up and low down response on my 16k mile 2009 (back to fully stock trim now) was slightly sharper/more aggressive below 3k.

Steering is lighter, but has more feel, although the very sharp, almost nervous reaction to tiny inputs from dead centre has been filtered out.

I'll do a detailed write up on Auto-Journals.com and a version for here too.
Just waiting for the photographer to send his finished pics through.


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## Chris956 (Apr 11, 2010)

A comparison like you have eluded too would be great David of the new one compared to a cobb`d stage 1 2009 car.


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

You have hit the nail on the head David. Any car that runs Camber angles of a 1 degree 40 like the original GTR will feel twitchy in a straight line. The beauty of running more caster like the 2011 car is that they can reduce the static camber and therefore the nervous feel off centre as there is now a bigger tyre contact point on the road. Once the steering wheel is turned the extra caster then creates more Dynamic Camber to improve front grip. We've being doing similar things with the Subaru handling kits for years.

We have the lower arms off and Powerflex will look at making a new rear bush kit so we can retro fit these to the original cars. We also have Forge looking at chassis strengthening parts.


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

Hi Ian,

Any idea if the rear undertray / diffuser will fit an 09 car?


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

It should do but we're going to try over the weekend.


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## imattersuk (Nov 28, 2008)

Excellent work Iain, I look forward to the launch of lot's of retro fit upgrades for the 2009 model in order that you may empty my wallet further


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## Grimblin Gibbon (Jul 16, 2009)

Was looking at mine on Saturday and the Blue seems to have a very suttle flip to purple visible at certain angles.
11 Days and counting!


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

Litchfield said:


> It should do but we're going to try over the weekend.


I'll have one, if it does


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Litchfield said:


> You have hit the nail on the head David. Any car that runs Camber angles of a 1 degree 40 like the original GTR will feel twitchy in a straight line. The beauty of running more caster like the 2011 car is that they can reduce the static camber and therefore the nervous feel off centre as there is now a bigger tyre contact point on the road. Once the steering wheel is turned the extra caster then creates more Dynamic Camber to improve front grip. We've being doing similar things with the Subaru handling kits for years.
> 
> We have the lower arms off and Powerflex will look at making a new rear bush kit so we can retro fit these to the original cars. We also have Forge looking at chassis strengthening parts.


Glad to know my driving analysis skills are up to scratch!  Yes that's exactly what it felt like, that there was less camber than my 2009 on track settings, and yet it resisted understeer very well (pulled 1.2g on a roundabout!)

Biggest difference in road driving is the better ride. I reckon it's more compliant in Normal than the 2009 is in Comfort, but less underdamped.

It would be interesting to see if the turbos are the same size, because the very slight reduction in "snap" at low revs almost feels like they are larger...

Bushes have already been uprated, and another lesser known improvement you might want to have a look at is a polished and teflon coated inlet manifold.


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## Steve (Sep 21, 2001)

Again well done Iain, will see you shortly


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## Naranja (Dec 4, 2008)

Great stuff but, how are you getting on with the 3 flash, 'lane changing' indicator function?


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Oh just remembered one very important improvement they've made, which I noticed: if you're in R mode and switch from Manual to Auto or vice versa, it stays in R mode! 

Thanks for listening on that one Nissan. :bowdown1:


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

Will put some pictures of the turbos up soon  They have enlarged the Turbo intake but until Turbo Dynamics have a look at it on Monday we won't know if the internals have been changes as we expect.

Given the changes we have seen so far we guess that Nissan have made the Turbos slightly bigger. If they have enlarged the intake pipes slightly, improved the cooling and removed a few psi of back pressure with revised CATs and exhaust they can afford to run a slightly larger turbo with no downsides and plenty of benefits. That might explain the 50bhp claimed power increase for the modest boost increase. We'll soon know for definite


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Litchfield said:


> Will put some pictures of the turbos up soon  They have enlarged the Turbo intake but until Turbo Dynamics have a look at it on Monday we won't know if the internals have been changes as we expect.
> 
> Given the changes we have seen so far we guess that Nissan have made the Turbos slightly bigger. If they have enlarged the intake pipes slightly, improved the cooling and removed a few psi of back pressure with revised CATs and exhaust they can afford to run a slightly larger turbo with no downsides and plenty of benefits. That might explain the 50bhp claimed power increase for the modest boost increase. We'll soon know for definite


Yes and the very slight increase in lag I noticed. You wouldn't know unless you literally drove one straight after the other and the extra oomph of the 2011 above 5k is very impressive.

So we should see some very quick stock turbo 2011 cars shortly...


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## E5.UNICORN (Jul 17, 2009)

David.Yu said:


> Oh just remembered one very important improvement they've made, which I noticed: if you're in R mode and switch from Manual to Auto or vice versa, it stays in R mode!
> 
> Thanks for listening on that one Nissan. :bowdown1:


Thank god, someones actually got a brain.


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

That’s the plan David although the fuel system is exactly the same so cars will need bigger injectors and MAF housings as before 










Before we pulled the engine and gearbox out Alcon came down to look at the brakes on the new car. Alcon thought the original car was a touch under braked at the rear so the switch to larger front discs was a surprised. The Superkit Alcon developed on our car has slightly more rear bite which doesn’t seem to unsettle the car under trail braking so perhaps Nissan have changed the bias with the Brembos or are the larger discs just to improve reliability? 

From the initial inspection the Brake disc construction looks exactly the same but they have taken a front and rear away for a closer look. 










We tried refitting a 2010 Brembo brake kit and Alcon kit to check if anything else had changed but looking at how Nissan have fitted the larger disc has given us some exciting ideas for replacement discs on all models…. 










Both engine and gearbox have now been removed and we’ll be taking a close look at them next week


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Re the brake bias, I think the rear of the 2009 can get quite unsettled under hard braking, particularly over bumpy surfaces, so more rear brake bias would potentially make that worse?

One of the things they've said they've done is increase rear damper stroke to prevent it running out of travel under hard braking.

And yes the main reason for the different front discs is that the originals cracked too easily, a point Mizuno looked really annoyed about.
He claims to have had a hand in the design of the new discs and is proud of the fact they weigh no more than the smaller originals and are supposedly much more resistant to cracking.

Certainly the cars we were in at the Ring showed zero signs of cracking even though we were being passengered at sub-8 minutes with no cool down before stopping.

The press car I drove (which was the same one I passengered in at the Ring with Suzuki-san) still had fine looking discs with no cracks. 
Of course we have no idea how often they are changed...

Are you saying that the existing aftermarket discs won't fit the 2011?

One other very interesting thing, I just saw a Tweet from Terry Steeden that the service intervals for the 2011 have been increased to 12 months/9k miles!

And gearbox/diff intervals to 30k miles! Under normal usage, I'm guessing.
Will make a massive difference to running costs and shut up the Porsche fanbois to an extent...


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

If thats the case they'll be the first drilled brakes I have seen that don't crack outside of the MOVIT stuff. We're weighing various parts tomorrow and the brakes are one of them.

The aftermarket fronts won't fit as the caliper spacing isn't right but the bell design is the same.

The servicing intervals sounds like great news for owners :thumbsup: We'll have to see what the new cars service schedule/requirements is like as we've not had our service books yet.


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

I'm sure they will crack eventually under hard track use, but they should be vastly better than the earlier ones judging by the state of the ones at the Ring.

Looks like AP, Alcon and co had better get redesigning pronto!
BTW, thinking about it, wasn't it obvious they weren't going to fit seeing as the new ones are 10mm bigger?


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## Chris956 (Apr 11, 2010)

All of this is good news for us Gen 1 owners as I am sure that the changes will cascade down to us via the service schedules. I for one like the idea of the R mode not changing when going from Manual to auto and vice versa , surely thats just a software update. If the same fluids are used I can see no reason for the earlier models to adopt the same longer service intervals. We shall wait and see.


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

Sorry david should have been clearer. We fitted the old kit as one unit to prove the hub etc was the same. In the picture you can see the 2011 Caliper swung out of the way.


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## Henry 145 (Jul 15, 2009)

Glad exhaust from milltek fits...need to order one please


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## EvolutionVI (Sep 6, 2005)

Awesome work from Litchfield:wavey:


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## w8pmc (Sep 16, 2010)

Tis indeed awesome work. So looking fwd to reading the results.


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## coops63 (Aug 1, 2010)

Had a 6k service at Litchfield yesterday for my Gun Metal MY10, saw the MY11 x 2, Blue and Black in the workshop, the blue Litchfield car on the ramp being dismantled, i was a bit sceptical, but after seeing them in the flesh........very very nice, damn!


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## misters3 (Jun 23, 2008)

Blue looks great in those photos

And great work from Litchfields. You need to open a Scottish branch 

Amazing level of detail.


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## Kilted GTR (Jan 8, 2011)

misters3 said:


> And great work from Litchfields. You need to open a Scottish branch
> 
> Amazing level of detail.


Agreed!


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

so does the rear diffuser fit?


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

sorry the mating points to the new rear diffuser are different. It looks like you would need this as well to install it onto a 09/10 models.

Lots of new photos and information to post up soon


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

So the whole lower rear bumper assembly is reqd?

Have been looking at the 2012 parts on Courtesy.


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

yeap, You will need at least the lower section of the rear bumper.










There is also a new breather from the Fuel filler neck. I say new because I have not noticed it on the MY10 models before.


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

New breather probably addresses filling issues.
They really have thought of everything!

Well nearly everything. I can't believe there isn't room on either the instrument binnacle or massive MFD for a permanent outside temp gauge!
How many cars don't have that?


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## Stevie76 (Dec 17, 2009)

David.Yu said:


> New breather probably addresses filling issues.
> They really have thought of everything!
> 
> Well nearly everything. I can't believe there isn't room on either the instrument binnacle or massive MFD for a permanent outside temp gauge!
> How many cars don't have that?


Yeah one thing I miss.....prefer to have speed up rather than the temp....cant think of any other decent modern car now that does not perm display outside temp.


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## bazza_g (Sep 10, 2009)

Chris956 said:


> All of this is good news for us Gen 1 owners as I am sure that the changes will cascade down to us via the service schedules.


Wishful thinking I fear :chuckle:

Great work from Litchfields, taking it apart is like unwrapping a massive christmas present :thumbsupsmilie:


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

The attention to detail is stunning! Clearly, like the first car, this is a labour of love for the Nissan engineers. In fact what they haven't changed has been just as interesting. *I'll try and put up some info about the engine and gearbox tomorrow


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## bobel (Jul 26, 2010)

Hoping your going to tell us that the gearbox and engine internals are unchanged! Really interested to see the results of the software comparison too. Keep it coming your a legend!


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## s2gtr (Jun 30, 2001)

David.Yu said:


> New breather probably addresses filling issues.
> They really have thought of everything!
> 
> Well nearly everything. I can't believe there isn't room on either the instrument binnacle or massive MFD for a permanent outside temp gauge!
> How many cars don't have that?


Hi David,

My 59 Nav car has the temp as an option near the trip gauge? Is that not enough?

Dave:wavey:


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## Steve (Sep 21, 2001)

s2gtr said:


> Hi David,
> 
> My 59 Nav car has the temp as an option near the trip gauge? Is that not enough?
> 
> Dave:wavey:



Yup, so does mine David !


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## imattersuk (Nov 28, 2008)

s2gtr said:


> Hi David,
> 
> My 59 Nav car has the temp as an option near the trip gauge? Is that not enough?
> 
> Dave:wavey:


I think most people use the digital MPH display as the speedo is as much use as a chocolate fireguard, that leaves the outside temp display buried as an option to toggle through to on my car but not have both displayed ?

I agree it should be an option on the MFD


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## Henry 145 (Jul 15, 2009)

Sat in 2011 today...sears feel much more supportive...like carbon trim and black instead of silver by gear/handbrake...MFD appears to have better resolution and crisper graphics...overall felt car had more of a quality upmarket feel to it...well done Nissan... Can't wait for mine...looks great in White...glad I choose it !


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## Stevie76 (Dec 17, 2009)

imattersuk said:


> I think most people use the digital MPH display as the speedo is as much use as a chocolate fireguard, that leaves the outside temp display buried as an option to toggle through to on my car but not have both displayed ?
> 
> I agree it should be an option on the MFD


2nd that....speedo is beyond useless really....cant hardly see it.


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## Chris956 (Apr 11, 2010)

Why do you need an outside temp gauge on permanently ? Seems strange to me as you are sat inside. You can set it as an alarm warning if your worried its getting too icy outside.


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## JohnE90M3 (May 31, 2010)

Litchfield said:


> David, I'd love to say I bought two because I couldn't decide on the colour  but one will be going to a customer in March. It'll be his 5th R35!
> 
> Lots to do but the Gearbox will be out next week and will be stripped and compared to an older one we already have. Will take lots of pictures  Glenn for Dodson Motorsport is flying over to have a look and give us more GR6 training. We also have the engineers that have just designed the new McLaren and Lambo DCT gearboxes coming over as well
> 
> ...


 I really have to hand it to you guys, enthusiasts! the best by far.:bowdown1:


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

Sorry to those that having been asking for more updates but we have been flat out this week.

The Great news is the Ecutek boys have cracked the new ECU  :clap: The ECU uses a new processor with a larger 1.5mb ROM file (from 1mb). The new ECU also has a number of other features that we will be testing very shortly.

















Forge Motorsport have been over to see how the product they make for us will fit on the new car. Everything looks good but the new front driving LEDs will require the Gearbox Oil Cooler to be repackaged slightly 

Below are some pictures of the new cars Gearbox. From our initial inspections it looks exactly the same, the gears are the same size and the circlips are identical. We thought that with the new Warranty friendly launch control system would mean upgraded parts. But what it shows is that the gearboxes are extremely strong in the original setup and Nissan believe they got it right first time around  


























Gearbox Selectors









Gearbox Solenoid pack

















We think that despite the incredible acceleration stats that new Launch control keeps tighter control on how the car launches to insure it can***8217;t be abused and therefore stops the over stressing the gearbox internals.

Nissan have changed the baffling on the sump and the design is something Forge will look to mimic in their new CNC Billet sumps  They have also reduced the height of the drain plug by about 4mm which in theory will reduce the oil capacity.










At the beginning of the week we had a visit for the British company that has designed the new McLaren MP4-12C and Lamborghini Dual Clutch Transmissions and this was fascinating :bowdown1: They know the Borg Warner components very well and it felt like we learnt more in 2 hours than we have in the last 2 years!. We hope to work more closely with them in the future on GTR projects :clap:

On Monday we have Glenn from Dodson Motorsport coming over to give our technicians more detailed training in repairing and upgrading the GR6 :thumbsup: Dodson are responsible for the gearbox component fitted to the world***8217;s fastest GTRs so we***8217;ll leave the gearbox stripped for Glenn to cast his expert eye over it  










The circlip on the end of the smaller cog is the one that some early cars had problems with when they were launched.

More info soon


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## ANDYR35 (Sep 1, 2008)

Amazing work Iain.......now hurry up and open a place in Scotland!!


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## WoREoD (Apr 27, 2008)

Henry 145 said:


> Sat in 2011 today...sears feel much more supportive...like carbon trim and black instead of silver by gear/handbrake...MFD appears to have better resolution and crisper graphics...overall felt car had more of a quality upmarket feel to it...well done Nissan... Can't wait for mine...looks great in White...glad I choose it !


Glad my white one looks good - cant wait until Tuesday....


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## bobel (Jul 26, 2010)

This is very interesting on the gearbox really expected that they had changed the gear dimensions at least to make them stronger, and had upgraded the circlip design, really does show how sturdy the original is, hopefully the new launch control can be flashed to older models!


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## paul__k (Dec 8, 2007)

> They have also reduced the height of the drain plug by about 4mm which in theory will reduce the oil capacity.


The 2011 gearbox capacity is reduced to 9.4 litres from 9.7 litres on the previous models.


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## Zed Ed (Oct 24, 2007)

Nice work Iain

Love the gearbox stuff.

Look forward to views from owners on what they have done to the software.


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## sharpaye7 (Feb 16, 2011)

Hey iain great work, keep it coming. 

Can i ask, do you believe any of your findings so far can be implemented in the existing car?


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## ChuckUK (Jan 1, 2009)

Excellent work Iain, your efforts are making us older vehicle owners realise we made the right choice


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## imattersuk (Nov 28, 2008)

Excellent news on the gearbox. I can't help thinking the object of this detailed strip down and inspection process is to design an upgrade package for 09/10 cars ?

Stage 2 plus a revised easier to live with suspension set up would make it a very attractive alternative to taking the hit on trading in for the new model at an average cost to change of £28-30k !!!!!!!


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## Stevie76 (Dec 17, 2009)

Top work Ian.....will get my 10 model booked in for 6 month service with you next week.


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## Turbotwo (Jan 28, 2011)

Fantastic thread !


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## bobel (Jul 26, 2010)

So the gearbox has less oil capacity, but is mechanically identical yet can endure longer service intervals??, surely a reduction in oil quantity means the average shear and temperature shock is actually higher as it's over a lesser quantity, Nissan have really got no leg to stand on here! Unless this new magical software is dramatically reducing oil degeneration, LOL


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## Arcam (Jun 30, 2009)

It was great to meet you, as well your team & Glenn from Dodson Motorsport today Iain, I can see now why your customers keep coming back, a real credit to you and what Glen doesn't know about a GR6 transmission is not worth knowing!

Thanks for your hospitality and the time you took out to show me around as well as lunch, much apprecaited


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## Steve (Sep 21, 2001)

There you go Eddie, told you, you would be impressed !!!! Hence, now you can why I did what I did with my car and Iain's expertise !


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## Arcam (Jun 30, 2009)

Steve said:


> There you go Eddie, told you, you would be impressed !!!! Hence, now you can why I did what I did with my car and Iain's expertise !


No arguments from me on that score Steve


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## nova5 (Jan 16, 2011)

Just a thought, has anyone considered if Nissan has changed the metallurgy used in the gears? could that explain why there's no obvious visual changes?


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## Arcam (Jun 30, 2009)

nova5 said:


> Just a thought, has anyone considered if Nissan has changed the metallurgy used in the gears? could that explain why there's no obvious visual changes?


I had considered it and discussed it with Iain and Glenn, but without a full analysis of the gear sets etc it would be pure guess work, the testing would be expensive considering how many moving components there are inside a GR6.


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## Jaw_F430 (Apr 14, 2009)

Impressive stuff here from Litchfield's:clap:


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## bobel (Jul 26, 2010)

Just a thought but if you contact a local scrap merchant or engineering firm and see if they have a Handheld XRF, they'll be able to analyse all the components very quickly and for very little cost, used these at work myself and they give instant breakdown of composition, very cool tool you may even find a crowd willing to call round and do it for a few quid like I did, just a thought!


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## nova5 (Jan 16, 2011)

*Bloody hell!*



bobel said:


> Just a thought but if you contact a local scrap merchant or engineering firm and see if they have a Handheld XRF, they'll be able to analyse all the components very quickly and for very little cost, used these at work myself and they give instant breakdown of composition, very cool tool you may even find a crowd willing to call round and do it for a few quid like I did, just a thought!


They're clever, wasn't aware of that tech but :clap:it seems ideal for this job,.,..


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## sumo69 (Mar 31, 2008)

This is one of the best threads this year!

It appears that Nissan were telling the truth - no upgraded parts for the gearbox so just a software reflash it is like the Cobb can do!

D


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## OldBob (Oct 18, 2010)

What a great thread...engineer heaven!


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

Great to meet you too Eddie and I hope you start to enjoy the car more as the miles add up  

I can safely say our brains are at GR6 overload!  Our Technicians spent 3 days going through the various gearbox components in great detail and learnt a huge amount :thumbsup: :clap:

















Glenn competes in a lot of endurance racing in his GTR race cars so it was fascinating to chat about all the little engine and chassis tweaks they need to make to cope with the sustained heat and abuse  Yesterday we also had another customer arrive to work on his car who is at the top of a F1 engine team so it was a very interesting day! :bowdown1:









Dodson have lots of exciting new products coming soon which I will start a new thread about nearer the time. We will also add a more detailed gearbox section to our website shortly. 

The Gearbox has not appeared to have changed from the later MY10 boxes and even then they only have some very minor updates that any manufacturer would implement over time.

I can however understand Nissan increasing the servicing intervals on the newer cars and not doing it retrospectively, although perhaps they should have communicated it better to remove the obvious frustration. Along with the other changes to the car it is a natural point to adjust the service intervals.

Milltek have one of the scanners that can read metal makeup as they have used it to check competitor systems and quality in general. We did not think it was worth using it on any of the gearbox parts as important things like some of the internals oil paths, solenoids and the Transmission ECU have changed over time. 

Why Nissan chose to reduce the oil quantity is a mystery. It is not a big enough drop to really make a difference to temps etc so we can only assume it is to aid servicing. When you drain the oil you do not actually remove all 9.7 litres (you need to remove the sump for that) so maybe the slight reduction means you do not have to break into another bottle of transmission fluid? 

Nissan said that the intake was different on the MY11 car and the turbo had a different part number. Along with the Chinese whispers of Spec V size turbos we looked forward to seeing what they had changed. 

The turbo intake pipes to the turbos are about 5mm larger. The turbo compressor cover has larger porting to suit. 


























Internally however the turbos are exactly the same as before  There was nothing wrong with the originals but we were looking forward to a higher power potential. What it does show again is Nissans amazing attention to detail :thumbsup:

Below are some pictures of the Standard GTR turbo compared to a standard VF34 roller bearing turbo and our popular Billet Compressor Wheel version.

















































You can see how much larger the Compressor and exhaust wheels are in relation to the original item. Using the Billet wheel means we can run at sensible boost levels as it flows really well and the lighter weight insures the response is like stock  

The details for those interested are:
Compressor Wheel Dimensions:
Standard GTR IHI Turbo Compressor wheel 43.35mm Inducer, 56mm Exducer
Standard VF34 IHI Turbo Compressor wheel 46.45mm Inducer, 60mm Exducer
Litchfield Billet VF34 IHI Turbo Compressor wheel 53.13mm Inducer, 71mm Exducer (+ Extended Tip design for further flow increase  )

Exhaust Wheel Dimensions
Standard GTR IHI Turbo Exhaust wheel 9 blades, 50mm Inducer, 40.30mm Exducer
Standard VF34 IHI Turbo Exhaust wheel 11 blade, 54mm Inducer, 48mm Exducer


Iain


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## bobel (Jul 26, 2010)

amazing work! this kind of information is absolutely brilliant, really interesting that the turbo's are the same and intakes have been slightly increased, this is lending huge weight to the argument of the long term ability of the gen 1 cars to be reliable at 500+ bhp:clap::clap::clap:


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## jackg (Feb 1, 2010)

Great work Iain et al.

I pick my new one up next week and was hoping the turbo's were bigger as I'm loathed to change them but looks like I'll have to put bigger compressor wheels in after all.

how are you getting on with 105db track friendly exhaust?

Jack


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

New exhaust should not be any loader than the original system so should suit most trackdays. We'll try and get a car over to Bedford to see how it gets on at there. 

I will put some more pictures of our new exhaust system up soon but in the meantime I thought it rude not to fit the new Milltek downpipes. They are made from 321 Steel with extra thick flanges and new pressed steel collectors for smoother exhaust extraction. These are the final prototype parts so the central join will be gone as the pipes will be a one piece mandrel bent.


















































The car is going back together now so hopefully it will be up and running by the middle of the week and I can start tuning  :clap:


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

Looks great Iain. How much wider than the OEM one is it?
Any chance of a track legal but free flowing system to go with it?

A decatted free flowing system that is under 98dB static would be every UK track dayer's dream!


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## tomgtr (May 24, 2008)

Hahaha, happy to see that the guy from TCC who will upgrade my box hopefully was rather close to the action!!!!


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## bobel (Jul 26, 2010)

Any more updates on the MY11 ecu or engine, or other little tweaks that have been made?


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## Arcam (Jun 30, 2009)

Iain, did you get around to measuring the pads to see if they are the same size?


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

David, the new Milltek exhaust is aimed at improving flow without increase noise. Hopefully this will give guys looking for big power the right compromise 

Bobel, there are loads of changes to the ECU and map but the main difference to power is the increase in boost pressure.

Eddie, the pad is the same size but they have reduced the thickness of the disc from 34mm to 32.8mm and reduced the Air gap. We are not really sure about the exact reasons behind this (there are many) but it probably accounts for why the weight is roughly the same as the original discs.

We can now offer an upgraded 400mm Alcon brake disc with Aluminium Bell and fitting kit for the original Brembo Calipers on MY08-MY10 and MY11 models  These will be here shortly and in time for the trackday season. I expect these to retail for £495+vat per disc.

We're about to offer some special deals on brake upgrades/replacements.

Regards

Iain


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## bobel (Jul 26, 2010)

Cheers Ian, what boost are the MY11 running out of interest?

So essentially it's a lot of small changes that amount to the overall improvement.


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## Steve (Sep 21, 2001)

bobel said:


> Cheers Ian, what boost are the MY11 running out of interest?
> 
> So essentially it's a lot of small changes that amount to the overall improvement.


 and a lot more money !!! LOL

Good to see you again today Iain. Keep up the good work and I can't wait to start the "other" work on Scarlet !


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## bobel (Jul 26, 2010)

Steve said:


> and a lot more money !!! LOL


Yep hard to justify a trade up, don't blame anyone for going for one but I don't feel the least bit like I'm missing out my having a MY09


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## Steve (Sep 21, 2001)

After driving my "old" 2008 JDM R35 GTR 200 miles today with the Iain Litchfeild modifications I just know that as nice as the new car maybe, it aint a patch on what I've got ! Love it and will probably keep it as long as I have kept BEUT for ! (that's 13 years and counting !)


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## _shaun_ (Jan 16, 2007)

Great thread - I assume the car will be put back to one and you'll come with it on Sunday to Robbies?


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## vxrcymru (Sep 29, 2009)

Ian,

Are there any ECU mapping tweaks you think you could apply to your mapped 2009 & 2010 cars given what you have learnt from the 2011 ECU? 

Or would any tweaks require fitting a 2011 ECU?


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

Shaun, I hope to be at Robbies on Sunday but Jenny is currently 6 days overdue with our second child so plans are a little up in the air at the minute :nervous: 

The MY11 is different and I'm sure it will lead to improvements all round as engine mapping techniques/software is a continuously evolving.


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## _shaun_ (Jan 16, 2007)

Litchfield said:


> Shaun, I hope to be at Robbies on Sunday but Jenny is currently 6 days overdue with our second child so plans are a little up in the air at the minute :nervous:


Thanks for the advice today Iain and again hope all goes well:thumbsup:

Will let know know any other updates.


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## Guile (Jul 23, 2011)

Thank you for this amazing thread. :thumbsup:

According to InsideLine:
"There are two new structural braces ***8212; one carbon-composite brace mounted along the firewall between the shock towers and another dashboard-support member which is part of the car's body structure and is oriented vertically on the inside of the firewall."
2012 Nissan GT-R Full Test and Video

Is that what this picture is?:









Have you come across this second brace that they speak of?


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## Litchfield (Feb 26, 2008)

Yeap it is on the other side


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## KingOfTheGT-R (May 21, 2011)

I dunno why but I ain't feeling daytona blue.... maybe better in the flesh?


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## Steve (Sep 21, 2001)

Na, Red's the way to go, as for strut braces, why all the fuss ? you can fit "aother" one to the "old" car !


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## Guile (Jul 23, 2011)

Steve said:


> Na, Red's the way to go, as for strut braces, why all the fuss ? you can fit "aother" one to the "old" car !


yeah but I'm saying you can't fit the ones behind the firewall to the "old" car.
no big deal I guess.


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## Peter10654 (Nov 19, 2003)

I know the thread is old but thanks a lot so far.. Good information about the DBA 2011 GT-R


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