Kiavash’s R32 GT-R: Simplicity’s for Suckers

Twenty years ago, Kiavash Shariloo started his romance with racing through drifting, and already he’d found a way to stand out. He was one of the few regulars at NCDA events in his 2004 STi - the first version of the STi here in the states with DCCD – the adjustable center differential which would enable easy throttle-oversteer.

The Blobeye was a hit. Not only a standout among the typical Silvias and Zs, the STi was genuinely quick and capable, and Kiavash’s infatuation with this tech-heavy middleweight pushed him to exploring its on-track potential by making it a dedicated drift car.

Without an interior or current registration, the Subaru spent most of its time hibernating inside his shop. In need of a fun road car, he tried a BRZ and then a Miata, but he missed the shove of a turbo motor and four driven wheels to harness it.

Once the 25 year rule hit, he imported a semi-stock 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R from Japan. “It wasn’t the first car I’d bought from overseas, so I wasn’t too worried; it’s not too hard once you get the paperwork in order. Once the shipping company has the information and the paperwork is correct, all you have to do is wait.”

Despite the reputation, Godzilla is more of a salamander by modern standards before it’s modified. “It takes a plug and play ECU and a few bolt-ons to get much out of these,” he began. At least it was then regarded as a tuning car — not an investment opportunity — and the modest price reflected it.

The Skyline arrived on American soil with a short list of basic modifications: sportier pads, off-brand coilovers, and a couple breather mods to liven up the straight-six.

The RB26DETT in stock trim feels a little lethargic under 4,000 rpm, but it responds well to the right modifications. Though his tuning plan started modestly, once Kiavash dropped the transmission to change the slipping clutch, he figured he’d go ahead and give the RB26 a new lease on life. “With the transmission out, I considered a freer-flowing downpipe to get some more out of the stock twins, but I decided to clean it up and go single,” he said.

With help from a 6Boost turbo manifold, a Garrett GTX3582, an Adaptronic ECU, a Walbro 455 fuel pump, and ID1000 injectors, his tuner extracted a healthy 530 horsepower and an 8,000-rpm rev limit. The delivery was fairly snappy, but the snail came on-song around 4,000 and pulled hard to 8,000.

Despite a late-stage turbo downsize, the accompanying improvements in head flow and higher compression helped net another hundred horsepower over the previous figure.

“That basic setup worked fine for the first lapping days at Buttonwillow; I had no overheating, the brakes were adequate, and it had plenty of power, but I wasn’t able to push it due to the alignment limitations. The car wasn’t adjustable and the mild setup made it a little too understeery,” he explained.

Running his own alignment shop makes it easier to get the most out of KW suspension.

Around that time, one of the ringlands broke, so Kiavash took the opportunity to begin a complete motor overhaul. This time, he filled the block with Carrillo rods and CP pistons, and fitted the head with a set of HKS Step 2 cams, Supertech valves on exhaust side, and JUN adjustable cam gears.

Those particular CP pistons were chosen for the fact that they bump compression to 9.0:1, which, when coupled with a smaller turbo hotside, improves overall response. ”My tuner said there was plenty of room in terms of backpressure, so I downsized. Now, it starts spooling around 2,200 rpm and carries all the way to redline,” he added.

As is his style, Kiavash spending had snowballed, but as a man who does the work on his cars himself, it made some sense. “I enjoy getting lots done at once,” he said. It would define the way this car would be built: in big bi-annual chunks.

To find some of that adjustability the first iteration of the car lacked, he swapped most of the factory arms for heim-jointed Ikeya Formula items. For the same reason, he deleted his HICAS system as it uses the ball-joints that allow for excessive suspension play.

The off-brand shocks had to go - they offered no adjustment. In their place, he installed a set of KW V3s designed, funnily enough, for a different car. Thankfully, the R32 and Z32 platforms share a lot of components, so these shocks fit up fine. “I figured the damping might be off, but since nobody locally had anything for the GT-R then, I took a chance. I haven’t felt the need to upgrade them yet.”

Then came a set of front calipers and rotors from a Nissan R35 GT-R, which only required an aftermarket adapter bracket from Green line Motorsports. With a set of Carbotech XP12s up front and XP8s in the factory R32 rear calipers, all he needed for an intuitive and reassuring brake system was the master cylinder from an R34 Skyline GT-R. Modularity is a wonderful thing.

Of course, all the work done to the footwork wouldn’t make much sense without a new set of shoes. “That’s when I went with Volk TE37s and Yokohama A052s – 295-30-18s. Thanks to the adjustments in the suspension, you can tuck them underneath the factory bodywork, though you do need a somewhat aggressive setup. Currently, I’m running -3 degrees of camber in front and -2 in back, and that’s after a little trial and error which showed too much at the rear wasn’t helping acceleration. With the GT-R, you want to prioritize acceleration off the corner, so standing the rear tires up reasonably straight to improve rear longitudinal grip helps a lot.”

Despite the suspension getting the necessary fettling to encourage hard lapping, the greater mid-range torque and response highlighted how the GT-R was still not quite capable enough in the slow stuff. “I was happy with the first few track days; it had good power throughout the track, the brakes worked very well, and I liked how stable the car felt at higher speeds. It was just in the tighter corners which required second gear that it would drift a little too much under acceleration. When I would attack Off Ramp, the torque would transfer to the rear too quickly and spin the rear wheels; it wouldn’t pull me out,” he explained.

To resolve this, he made two changes: replacing the factory front open differential with an OS Giken limited-slip differential, and tweaking the transfer case to ensure the front was playing a bigger role in putting the power down cleanly.

“There’s a trick with the transfer case that helps spread the torque distribution differently and shortens lockup time. Basically, you add a few more friction plates to the mix, bringing the total from seven to ten or twelve.”

This tweak, like the turbocharger alterations and the increased engine compression, have helped to make the car feel more responsive and sharp-edged — precisely what a car built just after the fall of the Berlin Wall needs to feel satisfying in 2025.

The latest modification was done for a similar reason. “The stock R32 GT-R gearbox is a weak point; grinding third and fourth gears is pretty easy. The Auto Gallery Yokohama Super Shift Mission 690 gearbox comes with double-synchos on all five forward gears, and shortens the first, second, and third ratios. Plus, it has a reinforced CNC’d centerplate to minimize the shifting problems due to the stock centerplate flexing,” he explained.

At this point, the car is mostly finished. “I’m content with where it is now. I think it would be silly to continue spending money on this car when I could get something newer and better made for track driving for the same money I’ve put into it,” he admitted.

Still, there’s some fine-tuning he plans on doing. Once his latest Haltech ECU arrives, he plans on retuning the motor and then returning to Buttonwillow to test the impact of the short-ratio gearbox. He says he’s mostly finished, but knowing Kiavash, he tends to install parts in bundles. Let’s see what else has arrived on his doorstep by the time the ECU shows up.

To schedule an alignment for your track car, visit Star Alignments in Berkeley, California.