Well I have a few sets of new King Race Bearings in stock now.  Unfortunately I only have rod bearings in stock at the moment but I have the mains on order and should be to me in just a couple months.

What I did want to show you though is what these bearings look like.  I’m very impressed with the finish they have and they come well packaged and look unlike any other bearing I’ve seen offered by manufacturers.   I have 2 assemblies currently in the shop now that I will be fitting these with.  Good things to come for sure.  I’m very excited to see how these bearings stand up to some heavy abuse.

King, a bearing manufacture has just released a new race bearing to the market for a bunch of applications.  What is nice is that it has an offering for the VG30 as well as quite a few other Nissan platforms.

I have been keeping my eye open for these for quite some time and its finally available to the public.  King bearings are some of the best in the world and I use them religiously in my race builds I offer to clients.  I’ve had nothing but success in using them and suggest them to others when they are in the midst of a bearing decision.  These new King Race Bearings however are beyond anything that’s been offered before on the market.   I am very excited to use these new bearings in a build I’m currently involved with.  King published some very interesting information pertaining to the new development and how it has improved bearing life and oiling ability through an engines cycle.  Below are some ques that set these new King Race Bearings apart from all others.

If you are interested in purchasing these bearings please contact me anytime.

Here is a video of the process in producing these new race bearings.  Very informative and pretty cool to watch.

A few years ago a customer contacted me about having a short block built for his Z32.  He was wanting to do a 9:1 compression setup for his street car.  He went back and forth about getting something done and finally decided enough was enough.  Plagued by issues from previous engine builds he’s had done to keep failing on him with low compression and oil control virtually non existent he sent his last build over to me for a complete overhaul.  I received the engine and was a bit terrified at what I saw.  With only 2000 miles his current assembly literally stopped dead in its tracks.  Rod bearing failure, severe detonation on 3 pistons to the top ring land,  inadequate piston to wall clearance…the list kept growing.

So I began to work hard on going through and finding out what needed to be replaced and so forth.  A new rod and crank were a must.  Thankfully the block was in decent condition to re-hone with proper clearance and move forward.  3 pistons had to be replaced as well due to top ring land deformation due to detonation.  The ARP main studs were of the wrong size.  The proper units needed were bigger in diameter at the shank to support the added stress levels so those were corrected as well.

We stepped up to King bearings with a dry film treatment as well as coating his 9:1 pistons with a full coating regiment.  During assembly I decided to upgrade the circlips to the all new Krammlox system which is a remarkable and VERY easy system to adopt and I would suggest it to be used in place of the standard circlip.

The crankshaft since it needed to be replaced was modified in house and balanced for the new lighter rotating assembly components.  Better oiling systems support more power throughout its life and this engine absolutely will need it.

The short block was honed out to proper specs and fully gone through to my standards.  Prepped and ready for its new internals the assembly went together VERY smoothly.  The customer pulled the trigger in updating his oiling system by way of doing the crankshaft but he also incorporated my new 8qt racing oil pan.  A total of nearly 10qts running through his engine to keep things well lubricated and running extremely cool.

The engine was sent off to the customer and he immediately went to work fitting his heads and other components up.  He got the car up and running in a mere 2 weeks.  All of this went in his newly acquired slick top.  I can’t say im not jealous because he’s done a remarkable job in restoring the car and putting in such a nice assembly.

After a few weeks he reported everything runs exceedingly well and VERY smooth.  He states he’s never ran an engine that has performed as well as this one has.  Its the details that set the rest apart from what you do and he now sees just how much detail goes into an EPR assembly.

Mod List for Engine Assembly:

JE 9:1 Pistons

Eagle Rods

King Bearings

ARP Main studs

EPR Spec’d/Prepped block

Krammlox

EPR Piston coating

EPR Bearing coating

EPR 8qt Racing Oil Pan

EPR Modified Crankshaft

EPR Ported Oil Pump

Wasn’t long ago I was called up from my good friend Alex H from N.M Imports about an R35 project.  I was curious about it and talked with him in great length about the proposal and plans for this project.  After our discussion I decided to take on the project to further advance my ability in other Nissan platforms.

As some of you may recall I had posted a blog entry on my site about this VRs arrival.  I listed the new rotating assembly details from GTC website and furnished some images showcasing the companies details on their stroker crankshaft and rod combo.  After receiving the goods directly from GTC work had begun.  A set of custom 10:1 compression pistons were ordered from CP.  HD wrist pins and their custom package THG rings were included.  New Kramm locks were utilized to retain the wrist pin inside the pin bore.

Since the original engine grenade itself into thousands of pieces into the bottom of the oil pan a new numbers 2 GTR block was purchased along with a new lower pan assembly and new oil pump.   I had to make a new tq plate to use on this block to hone the plasma cylinders correctly.  Simulating the tq and stress of the block to hone properly was VERY key in this assembly.  The plasma lining on these engine blocks are very sensitive so it took a considerable amount of time to properly hone the blocks cylinders.

Attention was put into the VRs cylinder heads as well to not only give it better airflow through the intake ports but the exhaust ports as well.  A race 3 angle valve job was performed.  Heads were then CBN surfaced and then moved onto the head stands to undergo some solid changes.  The intake ports were bowl blended to transition the valve job into the intake port and the exhaust ports were fully ported to optimize exhaust flow to the turbine housings for better boost and faster response.

The CP pistons were fully coated (tops and skirts) and the main and rod bearings were coated as well with a dry film lubricant application.  Everything was then measured for concentricity, oil clearance configuration etc.  Once final cleaned the engine began its final stretch home to being a new heart for this GTRs frame.

The was completed and picked up by Alex from NM IMports personally and transported back to his shop where he then began the grueling process of reinstalling all other components and getting the car up and running.  Currently the car is under a break in period to ensure good ring seal is present and all mechanical pieces are worn in properly. Dyno tuning sessions are soon to come once some new ID 2000 injectors are installed.  Some preliminary trial testing showed the increase in airflow and power this new assembly makes has already demanded more fuel.  More details to come once final figures are presented!

Mod list

GTC 4.1 Billet Crankshaft

GTC Forged Connecting Rods

CP 10:1 Compression pistons

CP HD Wrist Pins

New Numbers 2 OEM Nissan Engine Block

New Oil pump

New OEM Bearings

EPR Piston Coating Service

EPR Bearing Coating Service

Race 3 Angle Valve Job

Ferrea Dual Coil Valve Springs

Ferrea Titanium Retainers

EPR Cylinder Head Modifications

If you’ve been following my comparison posts you’d see a lot of valuable information given on quality and fundamentals pertaining to certain engine internal parts that I like to use or use on a regular basis.  The internet is filled with a considerable amount of misinformation and its important that I clear up a lot of details and myths so to speak pertaining to components and their use and features.

Today I’m going to be discussing the two main MLS head gaskets we typically use for the VG30 engine platform.  These two companies I’ll be showcasing the head gaskets from are Tomei and Cometic.  There are some pros and cons everyone needs to know and realize pertaining to each gasket and why they are better/worse than each other.

Tomei on left / Cometic on right

The first gasket I am going to discuss upon is the Cometic MLS Head Gasket.  3 layer in design and a dual (top & bottom) layer.  Riveted corner tabs to keep the gasket together.  Features a embossed compression bore area for added sealing ability and a full nitrile rubber coating to aid in creating and maintaining a solid sealing surface to both the decks of the block and heads.  As with all MLS gaskets they require a R/A of approx 55-65 for proper sealing.

The upsides of this Cometic gasket.  Its quite affordable, on average ranging from $145-170 for the set.  Primarily always in stock and readily available, these can be had very easily.  Come in a variety of bore dimensions and thicknesses and are most widely sold by aftermarket vendors.  Just as with all MLS gaskets these can be used up to a total of 3 times before the embossed areas are flattened/worn beyond use which results in having to replace the gaskets.

The downsides are that the compression bore area of the gasket is and open layer design.  This alone is a major concern for ensuring the seal is accurately done.  Unlike the OEM gasket which has a sealed fire ring, the cometics open layers offers up chances for combustion gases to find a breaching point in the compression area of the gasket and begin its assault on separating the layers and causing a compromised area in the seal under compression & combustion.  I’ve had this happen to me on 2 different occasions as well as many others resulting in the same failure.  Some have had great success but the number of failures pertaining to this particular gasket is more than I’d like to see and more often than not the a common cause of gasket failure.

Now moving on to the Tomei MLS gasket.  This is the premium gasket on the market bar none.  Between the two the Tomei is by far the better gasket for a few excellent reasons.  We all know the quality of Tomei, everything they produce in the industry for any import car they develop parts for is of the highest quality we’ve seen.  For that reason its to no surprise that Tomei would develop the superior head gasket for the VG30.

So whats good about the Tomei?  Well for starters its the ONLY MLS gasket on the market that has a sealed fire ring.  This is, in my opinion the most important feature of the gasket that sets it apart from any and all others.  It is fully embossed around all coolant and oil passages just like the Cometic, however, the middle stainless steel layer they use is a much higher quality steel than that of what Cometic supplies.  The smallest bore size available is in an 89mm bore and come in a variety of gasket thicknesses just like Cometic.  Tomei head gasket is also nitrile rubber coated to ensure proper sealing on both upper and lower outer layers as well.

Please excuse this image as I use this particular gasket when I hone my engine blocks.  This is showing the fire ring but on a used Tomei unit. 

So right from the start you are dealing with a different class of gasket construction.  The implementation of the fire ring is unique to the design much like the OEM composite gasket we’ve grown to love using.  The fact Tomei spent the time to add this feature into their gaskets shows true attention to detail in their gaskets.

**Higher grade stainless mid section of the Tomei Gasket**

**Embossed sealing areas throughout the gasket surface**

Being that this gasket has already superceded the Cometic variant, this gasket does have a downside.  Pricing for this gasket kit is around $465…yea I know…ouch!  It also takes approx. 2 weeks to ship in from Japan unless Tomei USA happens to have a few sets on the shelves, which isn’t likely.  So if you are up to invest into a higher quality product Tomei is the best choice for your build.  I swear by them over Cometic if customers inquire about which MLS gasket to use.  The manufacturing process in building the sealed fire ring into the gasket is more costly, the outcome though is a far better designed unit.  Even though the gasket does cost more you absolutely get a better made product that holds up a lot better than its competitor.

I’ve read on many forums and else where online that many ppl like to copper spray coat their MLS gaskets.  This is frowned upon for the simple fact that it the nitrile rubber coating isn’t given its chance to seal and the copper acts as a buffer layer to the rubber itself.  This can cause sealing issues between the head and block.  So I advise that you do not use copper spray on the nitrile coated surfaces.  You can however use copper spray on any and all composite gaskets.  I use copper spray on all my OEM composite gaskets and they seal phenomenally well using the spray addition.

So in closing I hope a few details have been explained well to you and I hope you understand and see the differences between these two gaskets.  As always its important for me to educate my current and future would be customers on systems/components that can better help them make more educated decisions about what products they choose and purchase for their application.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this comparison write up and I hope you’ve learned something new today.

VR38DETT…the power plant of the new GTR.  World renowned for being the most formidable V6 built to date and is giving the super cars of our day a big run for their money.  Its with no surprise that Nissan pulled back the books and really dove into the design and pushed the envelope to produce such a fantastic engine.

But like all engines, they do fail under unfavorable circumstances.  So necessity leads way to producing bigger and better aftermarket components.  Fast forward to some newer applications for the GTRs power plant and you see a plethora of newer rotating assemblies and advancements in engine components.

Recently I received one of these newer GTR engines that had an unfortunate outcome.  This particular VR had an internal falling out of sorts and completely and uttlery came to a halt.  In the racing world we call this engine vomit when the internals of the engine literally grenade themselves into a pile of rubbish at the bottom of the oil pan.  For us in the engine machining and building world we cringe when we see things like this.

Engine arrived for rehabilitation

So where do we go from here?  Well quite simple really,  we build from the ground up of course.  Using a brand new block from Nissan and some aftermarket components this setup will surely give way to some interesting power output.  With a judgement call by my customer to use a premium rotating assembly on the market by GTC Race Technology we have a solid foundation of beginning a new engine program here at EPR.  Coupled with the new GTC Rotating assembly (4.1L) outfit we are also pairing this assembly with CP pistons.  A true race inspired combination is going together.  Information regarding GTCs rotating assembly is:

VR Crankshaft & Conrods

GT-R EN40B CRANKSHAFT

Made from the finest, aerospace grade EN40B steel billet material. CNC machined on state of the art, 5 axis Mazak Integrex 300-IV CNC machines to exacting tolerances (.0001″). Every crankshaft features large radius journals that add rigidity for high horsepower, high boost, high rpm applications. Gun drilled, CNC ground oil holes feature a smooth surface for extra oiling, tear dropped for added oil scoop, cross drilled for priority main feeding to the rods and micro polished to a mirror finish for optimum bearing lubricity. All cranks are stress relieved, shot peened, magna flux inspected and nitrided (multi step heat treatment) for ultimate performance. Fully profiled counterweights are designed for reduced windage through the crankcase creating less oil resistance for better rpm potential.

• National defence level EN40B material, double melt for reliable super strength.
• Round All counterweight edges
• Enlarged centre counterweights
• Teardrop oil hole chamfer on both main and rod journals – improving lubricant flow in & out
• 5 Axis machined centre drilled oil holes gallery, providing all accurate angle and across each other. The high rpm drilling job providing super smooth oil hole inner surface supporting lubrication.
• V-Style drilled lightening holes, removing material but keeping pin strength.
• Precision grinned journals.  Followed by mico-polishing after nitriding
• Special surface treatment for overall crank, removing all sharp edge and blur.

R35 GT-R CONNECTING RODS

1. 100% premium AISI4340 chromoly steel
2. strict forge and heat treatment processed forgings, hardness of 35-42 HR C.
3. Aluminium/Silicon/Bronz alloy bushing
4. 3D software re-designed critical C-bore area, special CNC machining ensure smooth commection and free of sharp edge, significantly improved strength
5. Standard equipped with the best ARP Cust. Age 625+ bolts (260,000PSI)
6. Accurate sized and edge chamfered dowel sleeve for easy and accurate re-assembling.
7. Sunnen hone solution for all big bore and pin bore finishing.
8. Enlarged mating surface increase mating area strength significantly, and grinded mating surface makes re-assembling job accurate and easy.
9. Thread-end is blinded to same length as bolt
10. Radial grooved bushing crates an oil reservoir within PE improving pin lubrication.
11. Cap is designed thicker than beam to increase strength.
12. Special designed EP hole, establish arch form to undertake loading from BE.
13. Ribbed PE is standard feature to minimum PE distortion under interia load.
14.  The oil groove on the big end surface is the standard feature.

So be on the lookout for more details and updates in the near future with this build.  This will surely not disappoint you!

Newer products lend aid to better applications and setups.  With the new development of Garrett GTX lineup of turbos customers now have a better approach at making more power out of a smaller frame turbocharger.  I have a customer from Sweden who is doing some really nice things for his new build (VG30)  He recently stepped up his game to purchase some GTX 3071s with Tial SS V-band housings and Tial 44 External Wastegates.  These units will undergo a full coating treatment before being shipped out to Sweden.  I am very excited to see the outcome of these units once installed.  The power output and response should be well matched for his setup.

A time for change is here and with it a new ideal on true performance parts for the true enthusiast at heart.  I try to dedicate my attention to pure race design and proven techniques that are industry standard for the racing world.  With that in mind, it allows me to be creative and further the performance world for the engines I build.  The newest connecting rod on the market now available for the VG30 (Z31 & Z32) is now available.  This new connecting rod is made of billet aluminum and is the lightest connecting rod on the market offers to date.

Features are:

Proprietary Billet Material

Significant reduction on rotational mass (488g)

ARP 2000 Rod Bolts

Solid Beam Design

Doweled Bearing Cap

Serrated Cap Surfaces (added support & locating)

These are available now and are made to order.  Please allow 2 weeks for completion.  If you are interested in ordering or you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Its coming. ALL new billet aluminum racing connecting rods for the VG30. In 2 weeks these will arrive in and will be the first aluminum racing rod for the VG30 as a production part. These are ONLY designed for racing applications. Another step in the right direction for EPR with engine builds and components.

You want the best, you gotta deal with the best!

Its not everyday I get feedback from valued customers of mine. I can only think of the saying “no news is good news”. Today I receieved an email from a customer who was one of my first customers to have me build him an engine as EP Racing. I was very humbled to read his message and can’t thank him enough for his kind words and sincere tone in his email.

As for the build. I cant ask for anything better. If I had to, I would do it all over again no regrets. As for EP Racing as a company I trust them more than anyone. Even right down to the book with all the engine specs. I have never heard or seen venders that do that. That’s cool.  Still looking at getting more done from you

You did a great job on everything and a special thanks goes to you!