“It makes HOW much power?” News Editor Lynskey asked, even though I had just told him the power figures Eric Ram’s 1998 P11 Nissan Primera was putting out to the ground. I sarcastically replied, “I’ll slow it down for you Big Tall three-hundred-and-sixty-two kilowatts at the wheels”.

“But it’s a Primera! Why would you do that?” he asked.

It’s a valid question: why the Primera indeed? After meeting up with Eric for a photoshoot, we put it to him. “I wanted a four-door after owning my old PULSS8 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R show car, and I think the P11 Primeras are one of the best looking sedans to come out of Japan at the price I wanted to pay,” he says. “Plus, of course, it meant I could stick with Nissan and use an SR20DET.” Eric’s story is one we hear time and time again: his car was a simple project that got away from him. “I guess you hear this a lot but it was only ever supposed to be a quick little project; it got out of control. It just kept growing and growing, especially once Arnie got a hold of it. After that, all bets were off and we decided to build something really fast.” The Arnie in question is the one and only Mr Nguyen of NTA Automotive. Arnie is without a doubt one of the best performance car engineers in the country, and the expert behind some of our finest vehicles, including Heat Treatments Racing’s world record-holding R32 GT-R drag car, his own FD RX-7 and many more. “I’m really happy with all the work Arnie has done on the car,” Eric says. “Everything he does is top quality, from fabrication to wiring and even motor building. It’s all perfect.”

Speaking of motors, let’s take a closer look at the particular 9000-plus rpm screaming example under the Primera’s hood.

Originally built for Eric’s Pulsar the SR20DET is an absolute powerhouse of a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder motor, and is absolutely bristling with exotic aftermarket gear. Down below, the motor is strengthened using Eagle rods, Wiseco pistons and Nismo bearings. Above the block sits one hell of a modified head. Spinning aggressive Tomei cams off adjustable Tomei gears, the head is a ported and polished aftermarket paradise. Oversize valves work with Tomei valve springs and retainers to ensure stability at very high revs. Lastly, a lash killer kit was also installed and replaces the factory lash-type lifters with solid lifter pivots, reducing the number of moving parts in the engine. Fewer moving parts means greater reliability essential when pushing out close to 600hp at the flywheel.

This massive power is achieved through the use of a Garrett GT3540 turbocharger sitting high up on a custom-made stainless steel exhaust manifold. The ’charger pushes compressed air through alloy piping and an A’PEXi front-mounted intercooler at 22psi as it makes its way up to the huge 80mm Nissan throttle body, usually found on the VH45DE V8 motor. The large butterfly opens up under throttle and allows the compressed air to flood into a custom intake plenum and onwards towards the head, where it meets 98RON pump gas supplied by a simple but powerful fuel system. Four 800cc Sard injectors mounted on a custom made fuel rail pump gas into the combustion chambers and are fed by a large Bosch Motorsport external fuel pump drinking from a custom surge tank in the boot. Once sparked by a Bosch igniter pack and accompanying coils, the motor purges its waste gases out through the stainless manifold, complete with Tial 46mm wastegate, and into a full 3-inch stainless steel exhaust system.

Although this is all top-quality power-ready gear, huge amounts of go are only available when the package is complete, which means a top-quality engine management system, in this case a MoTeC M400, and an experienced and capable tuner Arnie managed to achieve 362 kilowatts out to the front wheels thanks to years of experience tuning all manner of engine setups and the various computers that go with them.

Having this much power going only to the front treads must surely be a real hindrance to Eric, but he reckons it’s great fun. “I’ve always enjoyed the idea of a powerful front-wheel drive; they are lots of fun and absolutely animal out on the motorway,” he says. Interestingly, the Primera uses the factory 5-speed gearbox that came with the original nana-spec car. This is simply mated to a five-puck heavy-duty single-plate clutch and a Nismo limited slip differential, which apparently goes a long way to making the car driveable. Although power understeer must be a serious issue for Eric, the car handles very nicely thanks to a set of Koni adjustable race shocks and King springs, nicked out of the Team Kiwi touring car champs’ P11 Primera race car. Brakes have also been seriously upgraded, with R32 Skyline GT-R discs and callipers at the front and GTS-T discs and callipers out back, using braided lines throughout.

As you might expect of someone like Eric, the aesthetic side of his Primera hasn’t been neglected, either. Although still wearing its factory colour, the P11 has gained custom front and rear bumpers, Autech side skirts and a carbon fibre BMW M-style boot spoiler, giving the whole car a much more aggressive look helped along by the massive 19-inch Advanti Racing rims sitting high up into the guards.

Inside, the Nissan benefits from a huge audio system, new seats from a top-of-the-line Autech Primera, and a pair of GReddy gauges sitting in a custom A-pillar mount. The banging A/V system is a fairly serious affair and is controlled by a JVC touchscreen DVD head unit. Two pairs of Infinity Kappa components provide the high notes, while a pair of 15-inch JL Audio subs mounted in a custom boot enclosure rumble through the lows. These two Goliaths of bass are powered by a huge Rockford Fosgate Power 1000bd amp, while the fronts are run off a smaller Rockford Fosgate P450.4 amp.

Like many cars we feature in NZPC, Eric’s Primera is an animal that won’t please everyone, due mostly to its front-wheel driveline. The truth is, monsters like this one really need to be experienced to be appreciated, so if any of you FF-haters out there ever get the chance to go for a skid in a car like this, I suggest you do just that it might change your perspective. I know it sure as hell changed mine as we hit the motorway on-ramp. The boost needle rose, the turbo spooled and I was slammed back into the seat as though in free fall. Front, rear or all-wheel drive it’s irrelevant. Who doesn’t love that feeling?

1998 NISSAN PRIMERA (P11) – Specifications

Engine: Nissan SR20DET 2.0-litre DOHC 16V, Eagle rods, Wiseco forged pistons, Nismo bearings, HKS metal head gasket, oversized valves, Tomei cam gears, Tomei cams, Tomei valve springs, Tomei retainers, lash killer kit, HKS Super Power Flow air filter, Nissan Q45 throttle body, custom intake manifold, custom top-mount exhaust manifold, Garrett GT3540 turbocharger, Tial 46mm wastegate, A’PEXi front-mount intercooler, Trust/GReddy Type R blow-off valve, custom alloy intercooler pipes, external Bosch Motorsport fuel pump, custom surge tank, Sard 800cc injectors, custom fuel rail, Bosch igniters, Bosch coils, NGK leads, 3-inch custom stainless exhaust, custom alloy radiator, MoTeC M400 engine management system

Driveline: Factory P11 5-speed gearbox, 5-puck heavy duty clutch, custom flywheel, Nismo LSD

Suspension: Koni adjustable coil-over shocks/springs, King springs, Nismo sway bars, Nolathane bushes

Brakes: R32 GT-R front callipers, R32 Skyline rotors, braided lines

Wheels/Tyres: 19×7.5-inch Advanti Racing alloys, Toyo Proxes 215/35R19 tyres

Exterior: Custom front bumper, Autech side skirts, custom rear lip, carbon fibre M Series boot spoiler

Interior: Autech Primera seats, Momo steering wheel, GReddy oil pressure gauge, GReddy boost gauge

ICE: JVC touchscreen DVD head unit, 4x Infinity Kappa components, 2x 15-inch JL Audio subs, Rockford Fosgate capacitor, Rockford Fosgate Power 1000bd amp, Rockford Fosgate P450.4 amp

Performance: Dyno Power — 362kW @ wheels (22psi on 98 RON pump gas)

Words: Peter Kelly Photos: Dan Wakelin