DSPORT Magazine

“Should have…could have…would have…” Our most recent trip to the strip with our Project GT-R proved to be full of both trials and tribulations. While many questions were answered, a number of new questions and concerns surfaced. Text & Photos by Michael Ferrara Persistence Pays The original plan was to […]

In our last installment of Ported & Flowed (October 2004), we mentioned that our next step would be to put the computer model to the test. This test would occur when we installed the ported cylinder head along with the camshafts on our GT-R. Then we would optimize the fuel […]

You’ve probably been told or heard from someone that “an internal combustion automotive engine is just a sophisticated air pump.” Here’s the truth. What you have been told isn’t entirely accurate. First, a pump is a device used to move fluids and it operates at relatively low pressures. Air is […]

Last issue, we said “when we get back on the dyno, we won’t be surprised to see 500-plus horsepower on 91-octane with a boost and power curves that we never believed possible with turbos so big. As predicted, we accomplished our mission with 505 horsepower registering on the dyno after […]

Giant peak horsepower figures made on race gas make for great headlines. Just the mention of a “1000-horsepower Supra”, “740-horsepower WRX” or “500- horsepower EVO” draws attention. While peak horsepower numbers are real and exciting to any enthusiast, these high- caliber numbers tend to distort the total performance picture. This […]

We almost forgot why our Project RH9 Skyline GT-R was our dream car. With a broken factory transmission, our Project RH9 GT-R went from its daily- driven, head-turning glory to a very-large obstacle in our garage. While obtaining another factory transmission would have had us back on the road in […]

Guess what broke on Project RH9? Another factory transmission. Old school Turbo readers might be seeing visions of another Project Talon in the works. To be honest, I’m picturing the same thing. Text & Photos by Michael Ferrara Back in the days, Project Talon chewed up every single available transmission […]

Call us a little crazy. No. Instead, just call us insane. As we continue to improve the performance of our Project GT-R, we also continue to raise our goals. In many ways, this project mirrors our experience with the magazine as a whole. We make progress every issue and we […]

Last month, we promised to upgrade the fuel system, do a compression check, do a leak-down test and more to figure out why our GT-R had made a step backwards in terms of power output. We were then going to strap the car back on the dyno and give it […]

The orders have been placed, but parts delivery for the GT-R is taking longer than expected. This downtime has enabled us to get back on the same DynoJet chassis dynamometer at XS Engineering to evaluate the performance of the engine with the smaller P13 turbine housings in place. As it […]

It’s the night before the biggest race of the year. The BFGoodrich Tires IDRC International Finals presented by ICEMAN Intakes is coming to Los Angeles and the DRAG Sport Project RH9 GT-R is going to be ready. The IDRC International Finals mark the biggest import drag racing event on the […]

It’s official. We think we accidentally built the most-powerful GT-R in the U.S. At least, it’s the most powerful one that we know about. The previous record holder was the nitrous-fed “Big Bird” from Motorex. Big Bird generated 654 horsepower at the rear wheels. Text & Photos By Michael Ferrara […]

Meet our DRAG Sport Project GT-R. This is a 1996 Nissan Skyline GT-R V- spec. Before the turbocharger upgrade that you are about to see, the car generated almost 380 horsepower at the wheels. That’s enough to run in the 112-116mph range in the quarter mile, with low 12-second elapsed […]