Now the title is obviously a very bold statement, however it is technically true. I appreciate my habitual eBay hunting landed me with an incredible deal on my 3.5” Japspeed system. But I still needed to find the right place to sell the cars old Milltek system, a great upgrade for any “stock” GT-R. Those of you who like to work on your cars may be wondering what it’s like to switch out an exhaust on the R35, I’ll be honest it went a lot smoother than anticipated. Once you’ve removed the almost endless amount of 14mm under-tray bolts and a lot of 10mm supporting bolts, you’re ready to start removing the carbon fibre tray and subsequent side trays. I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll keep moaning till I’m out of breath, the GT-R is to f***king big! It doesn’t fit anywhere and it’s a pain to get on a lift too, what should have been a job for a couple of hours ended up spread across a couple of days due to the cars inability to fit on a lift. My next fear from experience was down-pipe bolts they usually rot away to nothing yet still strong enough to snap and hold the exhaust firmly in place.

The Y pipe , downpipe bolts behaved themselves fortunately.

With various long bars, swear words and coffee my friend and I were able to loosen the entire exhaust off. The down-pipe bolts came slowly with a caramel like smoothness something so satisfying and relieving. Much better than the usual crack or bang as tension is relieved. Copious amounts of penetrating fluid saturated all the joins and bolts, oddly no two being the same size from section to section. Within 10 minutes I’d removed both the Y-pipe and centre pipe, immediately you could see the half inch increase with the new system.

The 3.5” system sprouts out of the carbon under-tray.

Unusually the most troublesome part of the entire process was one of the backbox hanging brackets, a supposedly 12mm nut that just refused to turn. After a “Snap on” 11m socket was mercilessly battered onto it with a lump hammer,it was able to turn and be removed with a ratchet. At this point a very heavy backbox hit me in the face, however despite my massive nose the exhaust was unharmed in the incident.

The full 3” Milltek system prior to removal.

Due to an injury I was unable to do a lot of the work and was primarily a spectator, albeit the odd bit of wrenching or holding something. I’ve been Incredibly fortunate to make a few friends in the automotive sector who A) love cars and B) liked the idea of working on a Nissan GT-R. Some mates rates later and a few cans of beer I’ve spent about £85 on labour to have the exhausts swapped over. Add this to the £500 purchase fee and you’re looking at one of the cheapest exhaust upgrades I think I’ve ever made. The Milltek exhaust is being collected on Wednesday for the sum of £700 after I’ve done a little polishing to make it presentable of course. I think £115 in my pocket a few extra BHP and better exhaust note make this one of the best trade deals ever , take that President Trump. The exhaust delivers a deeper note to the engine and cold starts you can actually hear now, it adds character to what can occasionally be described as a robotic car. I love how it drowns out the loathe-some tyre roar and the frankly terrifying knocks and whimpers from the dual clutch transmission. I feel it’s a good upgrade and I appreciate how fortunate I’ve been throughout the process.

A small sample of what holds a GT-R’s buttocks together.

The car is progressing nicely somewhere towards me being pleased with it. Next is my paintwork warranty which will make a good read in itself, it’s been approved yet my purse strings are being tugged regardless. The thought of being presented with a Nissan Micra for a week or so is somewhat laughable. Considering the GT-R’s power and road presence I’ve become accustomed to, however cheap on fuel so I’m torn.