Leading the path to big horsepower from the VR38, we’ve found many parts that aren’t up to the task of reliably delivering performance beyond Nissans original benchmarks. Upon a resent teardown we noticed some abnormal fretting of the flywheel in the areas where it mounts to the crankshaft. This particular failure can be seen when tearing down the engine, but it also could be the reason for the engine teardown. This fretting requires replacement of the crank and/or flywheel in most situations. It goes without saying, this is a very expensive repair.

A joint venture between T1 Race Development, ARP and Titan Motorsports resulted in a custom designed and manufactured fastener to better cope with the higher torque loads requested in our GTR applications. The new fasteners are produced In ARP’s 2000 material with a black oxide finish, and require a 12 point ½” socket for assembly. The ARP 2000 material has a much higher tensile strength of 220,000 PSI versus the stock bolts rating of 140,000 PSI. The increase in tensile strength allows us to administer a higher torque spec of 140ft/lbs. We also recommend applying Blue Loctite for added insurance, it’s important that the Loctite only gets on the threads of the bolt, and not between the flywheel and crank, or bolt head and flywheel.