Nissan Silvia S14 - Tyranno Saurus Rex

Scratch that image of S14 Silvia drift cars from your mind. The small, lightweight Nissan FR sports car might be by far the most popular drift car in the world, but its potential spans far beyond smoking tires while traveling sideways. Hayashi-san at Garage Saurus is someone who likes to do things differently. His shop is one of the most established tuning garages in Japan and has, over the years, built some of the fastest and most extreme machinery in the country. Being primarily interested in drag racing has led Hayashi-san to push the boundaries of engine tuning beyond the limits of what may theoretically be feasible. This experience has led him to build extremely tough and competent street cars for his customers. But some years ago he decided to jump on the circuit-attack bandwagon and have a bash at doing something a little different. The result is the Silvia in these pages, the fastest S14 in Japan.

555PSGarage Saurus is definitely not into the showy side of aftermarket tuning. Their approach is somewhat different from others in this game. They set goals, research how best to achieve them and simply get down to the job at hand. You won't find Hayashi-san boasting in tuning magazines how his next car will blow the competition away. Far from it in fact. He and his team will just show up at an event and attempt their best. Pretty much what they did at the 2004 Tsukuba Lap Battle with the mighty BNR32 Skyline GT-R and what they did in 2005 at the same event with this S14. Winning the "FR" (front engine, rear-drive) class at the Rev Speed magazine organized event is no mean feat, but to post a time close to 57 seconds flat while doing it is another matter. A time like that is in GT-R and Lancer Evo territory. It's simply outstanding for an S14 to achieve these kinds of times and is a true testament to their quality of work and of course to the skills of the driver in question. The latter is none other than Nobuteru Taniguchi, one of the most skilled wheelman in Japan and probably the best at extracting the fastest times out of highly tuned machinery like this. So what's the secret behind the Saurus Silvia? They have the main ingredients for a fast circuit car: bucket loads of power and a reasonably light curb weight. The engine has been fitted with a fully balanced and fully forged Tomei 2.2 L kit. This adds a lighter bottom end and close to 200 cc of additional capacity to play with. The forged internals are capable of sustaining high boost pressures supplied by the Trust TD07 turbine, while the head allows the air and fuel mixture to enter at just the right speed and quantity to produce the massive 555 PS this little 4-cylinder puts out. Boost pressure is controlled by a Trust racing external wastegate connected to the same stainless steel exhaust manifold as the turbine. An HKS EVC-Pro is preprogrammed to assure the best possible boost curve. Keeping an eye on the A/F ratio is a Neko meter, while ignition and fueling maps are handled by the HKS F-Con V Pro ECU. On the intake side, Saurus has gone the unconventional route. In place of the single throttle usually used on such hi-powered SR20 applications, they have opted for the Tomei 4-throttle setup ( 48 mm) and a custom-designed and built intake plenum. This allowed for precise tuning, allowing for a more consistent A/F ratio to all 4 cylinders and smoother and fuller power and torque curves, just what you need in circuit racing. 1000cc injectors are fed by the two Nismo fuel pumps inside the ATL 30L tank.

An HKS sequential transmission allows Nob to use the engine's capabilities to the fullest with immediate up changes and lightning-fast downshifts. The OS Giken clutch and LSD are the final touches to a bullet-proof driveline. GAB suspension and adjustable Cusco arms have allowed for a fine tuning of the car's handling and behavior around Tsukuba while the BNR34 Skyline GT-R Brembo brakes have proved up to the job of shedding speed at an adequate rate. Advan RS 17" wheels are shod in Advan A048 semi-slick tires ("S" soft compound) for an extremely grippy setup. Being a dedicated circuit racer the Saurus S14 has been tuned to generate lots of down force at speed thanks to the huge carbon GT wing and the front canards, which help bring in more speed into the tricky last corner at Tsukuba. To create a more aerodynamic shape the S14 has been fitted with the smoother S15 front end, which is comprised of lights, hood and fenders. The interior, with only one seat, is functional to say the least. The instrumentation is made up of a Stack 8100 dash unit providing all the engine's vital parameters through the LCD display. The LCD readout of the Neko A/F meter is positioned where the ashtray used to be, while the HKS Circuit Attack timer is fitted in clear view on top of the center vents.