Project DBA R35 Nissan GT-R
By Mike Kojima
Our Project GT-R was originally going to be an early 2009 CBA model. We had acquired a low mileage first generation CBA and were about to start applying the normal MotoIQ tricks when we got to drive a 2014 model second generation or DBA GT-R at a dealer and were pretty amazed at the difference in refinement and performance that the newer car had over the old car.
The CBA was no slouch at all but the DBA was much faster, handled noticeably better and was much more refined from a NVH standpoint. Most of the differences came about during the car’s mid cycle facelift in 2012 when the model changed from CBA to DBA. Even though most of the major changes happened in the switch from CBA to DBA, Nissan has been hard at work refining the GT-R and each model year comes with a list of continual refinements.
After our test we talked to our dealer (Connell Nissan) and they worked out a generous deal for trading in our CBA on a brand new 2014 DBA Black Edition in the rare Super Silver color. We love the car and our first mod isn’t some super trick part but an important one nevertheless.
The GT-R has a long nose with a lot of overhang. It also has trick aerodynamics that actually create downforce with a super low 0.27 coefficient of drag. A lot of this is due to the car’s flat bottom coupled to its low air dam. This air dam is damage prone and we had scraped it several times in normal driving. We wanted to protect the front end from serious damage that might occur due to dips and parking lot hazards.
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| The DBA GT-R has a redesigned front end that reduces the drag coefficient from a super low 0.28 to a really low 0.27. Unfortunately, this means a front end with a lot of overhang and a low damage prone air dam. We had scraped the air dam several times when driving already and decided it was time to be proactive and protect the front end from more severe damage, especially given that we plan to lower the car a little later. |
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| We obtained this skid plate from Stillen. The Stillen skidplate is made of tough, abrasion resistant and flexible polyurethane and installs in a matter of minutes. This will go a long way towards protecting the car’s front end. When you see some GT-R’s check out the air dams, chances are all of them will be damaged to one extent or another and the Stillen part minimizes this. |
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| The Stillen skidplate is held on with a mix of 3M automotive grade adhesive tape and screws. The 3M tape has a good grip and is used by OEM manufacturers including Nissan to hold on everything from trim to spoilers. |
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| We started our installation by cleaning the air dam with some wax and silicone remover. |
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| Next we test fit the part to make sure our fit was good before proceeding further. |
