One man, one engine philosophy alive and well at Nissan
Hiroyuki Ichikawa is a humble bloke.
He’s one of only five individuals skilled enough to hand-build the potent twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 in the Nissan GT-R.
He’s a Takumi, or master craftsman, and Ichikawa cooly tells us he’s built around a sixth of all the 40,000-ish R35 GT-R engines produced to date.
He could’ve been forgiven for saying something like “Yo hey so I’ve built around 6500 GT-R engines and they all bear my name, so I’m a freakin’ engine-building virtuoso y’all!”.
But it’s clear modesty is ingrained in the culture here.
As we wend our way through Nissan’s gargantuan engine assembly plant in the sprawling Yokohama docklands, which assaults the senses with heat and noise, Ichikawa casually notes that he’s worked for Nissan for around 35 years.
And he proudly says he was chosen to be a Takumi engine artisan in 2006, when the current-generation R35 Nissan GT-R project started.
Despite the fact the big Nissan engine plant cranks out an incredible 900 engines each and every day, deep within the facility is Ichikawa’s office – a ‘cleanroom’ – where at the time of our visit, only eight GT-R engines are built a day.
And there’s not one robot in sight. Just Ichikawa and a couple of his colleagues carefully and methodically assembling Nissan’s most significant engines.
The five exceptionally skilled individuals who approach every step of the Nissan GT-R’s twin-turbo V6 assembly with the requisite discipline and precision marks them out as Takumi.
And like many artisans they mark their work once finished; each hand-made VR38DETT engine is fitted a plaque bearing its builder’s signature.
“As you can see there aren’t that many people that can work on these engines,” says Ichikawa as we enter the lobby of the cleanroom.
Nissan’s one-man, one engine philosophy ensures that each Takumi puts their name to their work (quite literally), signaling the builder’s – and Nissan’s – confidence in the finished product.
“Being able to work on one of the engines that represent Nissan as a company is something I’m incredibly proud of,” he says.
Factory fresh
Setting foot in the completely sealed VR engine room, the intense heat of the greater engine plant is gone, replaced with a calm, neutral ambience. The air temperature is maintained at 23-degrees centigrade all year round.
This isn’t to ensure the workers are comfortable – although it does help.
“This is to eliminate any chance of expansion or contraction of the aluminium parts,” explains Ichikawa.
“We need to maintain precision throughout the entire year, and therefore guarantee precision in all the engines,” he adds.
Changes in temperature can affect tolerances, he explains, as some aluminium components can expand by up to 15 microns, which about the width of an ant’s toenail.
There are other differences in the clean room too, such as the apparatus used. Air compression tools found on the main assembly line are not precise enough for the job, which is why electric nutrunners are used instead.
There’s another neat side-effect to using the more exact (but expensive) electric nutrunners: “It’s to eliminate contamination. Air tools increase the chances of dust contaminants,” says Ichikawa.
Talk about the Nth degree!
Power through perfection
The quad-cam 24-valve VR38DETT engine starts life as a cast-aluminium block, fitted with plasma-sprayed low-friction cylinder liners. These act like super-smooth armor plating as the pistons pump through their four strokes with incendiary ferocity.
Some of the other cool features of the GT-R engine that jack up the service bill include iridium-tipped spark plugs, a pressurised lubrication system complete with a magnesium oil sump and a pair of IHI RHF55 turbochargers.
Given the beefy bent six’s high power output and expected usage patterns – daily driver during the week, track-day apex animal on weekends and the likelihood for tuning – the VR38DETT must have adamantium-like robustness.
Peak power of 419kW hits at 6800rpm and Nissan knows the twin-turbo engine will be pummeled time and again, especially when owners use the launch control system to hit 100km/h in just 2.7 seconds – which even after over a decade still makes the GT-R one of the world’s quickest production cars.
This is why entry to workshop floor in the clean room is through a heavily sealed antechamber and why we don super nerdy (but cool) Nissan garb – shoes and smock. A cap is optional.
Once inside, it’s remarkably clean and quiet – a sanctuary compared to the intense activity of most engine plants. There are two Takumi going about their business in a slow, methodical fashion and every application of the nutrunner tools is electronically recorded and logged on a central server.
That’s now standard practice in a modern auto factory, but because the tools are electric not pneumatic, their torque is applied and recorded much more accurately, ensuring that every step of the assembly process is precisely meted out and measured.
This, ultimately, ensures higher quality, tighter tolerances, higher power outputs and improved reliability.
There is also a manual checklist that each Takumi carries with them, to ensure they dot all the ‘I’s and cross all the ‘T’s, and you can see the engine builders constantly referring to their lists.
Once an engine build is complete, it’s time to fire up the iridium spark plugs and ignite the engine.
“After engine assembly, they move [the engine] to the testing facility, which simulates as if they’re in the car itself. All engines are tested through this process,” says Ichikawa.
“Engine revs from 2000rpm to 6000rpm. We incrementally check how much power and torque the engine produces at various steps and only engines that clear the torque goals are shipped off to the Tochigi assembly plant,” observes the Takumi.
Chequered flag
Nissan’s VR clean room was created in 2006, when the R35 Nissan GT-R commenced production. Previous GT-R engines, including the fabled RB26DETT – a 2.6-litre twin-turbo that first graced the 1989 R32 GT-R – were also built within the confines of Nissan’s Yokohama engine plant.
Ichikawa’s favourite GT-R? The original Nissan Skyline GT-R, the PGC10 from 1969.
“Personally I like the really old Skyline GT-R, the Hakosuka GT-R, that’s my personal favourite,” grins the Takumi.
That vehicle was powered by an inline 2.0-litre six-cylinder about half the size of the current V6 and pumped out 118kW, which was a decent amount of poke at the time.
While the VR38DETT engine may have changed the GT-R recipe from an inline six to V6 layout, it is nevertheless used in several vehicles – including race cars in the Super GT Series and GT3 category.
In terms of road cars, Nissan’s stupendously powerful blown V6 engine has been bequeathed not only to the Nissan GT-R and its bonkers 441kW (600hp) NISMO GT-R sibling, but also the insane Nissan JUKE-R compact SUV, the 2014 Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge prototype and the 2015 Renault R.S. 01 concept.
When it comes to the GT-R, one of the beneficial side-effects of the intense attention to detail lavished on this unique engine is its stout nature – something its predecessor the RB26DETT was also famed for.
Although car-makers do not generally encourage engine tuning, Ichikawa accepts that the engines bearing his name and those of his Takumi colleagues, do get a lot of attention from aftermarket tuners.
“I believe the precision and accuracy and attention to detail does allow people to tune up the engines. And yes these are factors that lead to people to decide to make the decision to tune them up,” says Ichikawa, measuring his words.
“Each person builds an engine single-handedly and they pour their soul into each engine as they build it, so it gives us a sense of pride for each engine built,” he adds.
So what’s next for the hallowed Nissan GT-R? If the whole shebang shifts to a fully-electric powertrain to rival EV sports cars from the likes of Rimac and Porsche, it could spell the end of the clean room and of Ichikawa’s integral role.
We try to coax more info out of Ichikawa about the next-generation R36 Nissan GT-R, to figure out if it’ll retain a six-cylinder engine and/or add a hybrid module, but his answer to our question about hoping to work on the next generation model is met with a balanced response.
“Yes, if possible!”
As the Takumi continue their work on the GT-R engine for the foreseeable future, there is change in the wings. For example, soon we won’t be able to refer to the Takumi as master craftsmen – instead craftspeople – as the first female Takumi is currently working through her apprenticeship.
Times are changing but one thing we hope will never change is that signature on the engine.
“In the past there have been a few people who have visited this facility and told me ‘I actually drive the car you built’. I’ve had a few of those,” says Ichikawa with a broad grin.
Not surprisingly, he admits, they asked for another signature from the humble bloke who rarely dines out on his rock-star status in the automotive world.
Keyword: Made In Japan: How to build a Nissan GT-R engine