Autoblog

With all the news surrounding the Nissan GT-R V-Spec, the progress on the Godzilla tuning front has been largely overlooked. According to a recent article in Japan's BestCar magazine, the Amuse team has broken the 600 hp mark (at the crank) with a combination of a high-flow exhaust and a tweaked ECU. There were no details on how the GT-R's computer was hacked, but Amuse was able to up the boost to 18 psi, resulting in an increase in output to 602.73 hp and 576.95 lb.-ft. of torque.

However, tuners are beginning to question how the stock gearbox will hold up under the strain of additional output. MCR, which brought out its GT-R for filming of Hot Version 93, has been exacting its own brand of punishment on its tuned GT-R and is worried how long the transmission will last. It's not clear if the tranny woes are due to the clutch plates or something else, but it's been all but confirmed that dual-clutch gearboxes have an issue with additional torque since the friction surface is much smaller than on a stock (read: single plate) clutch. MCR's best guesstimate is that the stock 'box might only be able to hold up to the additional power for 12 months before problems begin arise. Now, we're particularly interested in how Nissan is beefing up the tranny on the V-Spec to handle its rumored 600 hp.

[Sources: GTRBlog, NissanGTRProto]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Nissan GT-R in detail.

Despite a slightly rocky start, the aftermarket in Japan has fully embraced the R35 Nissan GT-R. We've already reported on the trials and tribulations owners have faced when trying to throw on some new hoops or attempting to get past the Nissan-imposed 111-mph speed limiter, but as we suspected, both issues have been resolved post haste by the auto-obsessives across the Pacific.

HKS has begun selling a standalone speed-limiter defeat that plugs into the ECU harness and removes the 180 km/h governor, and, unlike other solutions from MINE'S and Amuse, it doesn't involve reflashing the ECU. However, the VAC unit isn't cheap at 120,000 yen (around $1,200 US).

Follow the jump for more of the latest aftermarket toys available for your Nissan GT-R.