If you want to do well in street car-type drag racing, chances are you’re going to run up against a Nissan GT-R, or seven. The GT-R is fast out of the box, but many of the ones that regularly inhabit a drag strip are single-digit terrors.
For Lucas English, eights aren’t quick enough. This GT-R has routinely run in the sevens, but AMS’ Alpha Omega GT-R held the record with a 7.70 at 186 mph. Notice we say, “held,” as in past tense. English just reset the record with an outrageous 7.49 at 189 mph during the TX2K15 event at the Royal Purple Raceway in Houston, Texas. We don’t care who you are, or what you drive, that’s fast, and something you have to respect.
English says the GT-R makes in the neighborhood of 2,000 horsepower at 55 pounds of boost on English Racing’s dyno, and when he ran the 7.49, that was with 50 pounds, so there might be an even quicker run in the car if he can apply the power.
To make this kind of power, and run the number, the GT-R features an Extreme Turbo Systems’ (ETS) 4.1L engine, based off of the GT-R’s stock VR36 engine. The sleeved stock-block plays host to ETS CNC-ported heads, custom cams, a Boost Logic intake manifold, Greddy throttle bodies, ID2000 injectors, and a pair of Precision 72mm turbochargers. The turbo system is an ETS Top-Mount system, which allows for much larger turbochargers compared to the stock turbo configuration. One of the custom touches on this car is the fact that it uses a mechanical fuel pump, which feeds six injectors. Many of the fast GT-Rs use 12 injectors, but the ETS pump allows them to use the six and still make the power that it does.
Another amazing aspect of the car is that it uses the stock ECU, though via a Cobb Tuning access port. Also, the car uses ETS’ Super Race air-to-air intercooler, and not a water-to-air set-up. To extract the hot air, the GT-R uses an ETS 4-inch titanium exhaust. For a transmission, stock GT-Rs have the same set-up as Corvette, but with a dual clutch. This GT-R uses a Dodson clutch pack and gear set within the stock tranny. Shep Transmissions set up the clutch pack for the car, but ETS built the transmission in the car with a billet flywheel.
For the record run, the GT-R used an ETS Drag Wheel and Tire Combo, which consists of a Weld 15-inch wheel with a Mickey Thompson ET Drag slick out back. The front wheel is a Volk Racing TE37. Of course, a car this fast needs safety, as well. For that, the GT-R boasts an ETS custom roll cage.
ETS and English Racing work together quite a bit, like they did on this GT-R. As this car attests, the two are doing something right.