MiNES

Its Friday and its raining,and Ive 90mins of travelling ahead of me to the very outskirts of Yokohama city, almost in the countryside. But I dont care. Im going to visit a tuning shop that are world renowned. Although the company name doesnt sound much to the average person,it will have any Japanese car enthusiast,any Gran Turismo/Forza or Enthusia player, and in particular anyone even remotely knowledgeable about Skylines feeling light headed and weak at the knees. It is none other than MiNES


They are not a huge company and their premises are not that big. Like most tuners you walk into the reception area and there is a trophy display,but none of these are for styling,every one is for Time Attacks and Tsukuba in particular. MiNES are only interested in performance, if you want your car to look good go elsewhere!. After a brief introduction I was given a quick tour by the very enthusiatic Nori san who spoke excellent English, aswell as meeting company president Niikura san who was very pleased and surprised that someone had come to visit from Ireland! Like a lot of Japanese tuners they dont realise that they are known globally
1 of many Revspeed Tsukuba Time Attack trophies,the most prestigious Time Attack in Japan. Although MiNES only compete in the street class (full interior,no rollcage,road legal tyres etc),their R34 GTR sets times that are comparable to more highly tuned cars in the more modified classes
Where the magic happens - the engine build room. All the engines are built by hand using many of MiNES own components. They also have an in-house engine dyno

The Legend - 1 of 3 MiNES R34 V-Spec N1 demo cars. Considered by many to be the ultimate street legal GTR. All about performance,unlike VeilSide there is no body styling at all,the BBS alloys and the uprated AP Racing brakes are the only real external giveaways of what potential this car has.

Under the bonnet it all looks rather normal,the carbon covers for the airfilters on the right being the only difference to a stock R34 GTR. But its internally within the hand built engine where all of the modifications lie, with many of MiNES own parts used,camshafts,baffle plate,their own VX-Rom ECU to name a few. MiNES suspension and handling upgrades have also been applied


They also offer complete engines to upgrade your car. Like all tuners in Japan they can tune your car to suit your budget, so whether its just a new ECU,exhaust and air filter or an uprated engine and handling package MiNES can do it


The Z33 (350Z) is their newest democar and has been kept normally aspirated unlike many tuners who turbocharge them. The R34 is a customer car and the next car is a Nissan Fuga,a luxury 4 door saloon but with the same engine as the Z33. Like all Japanese tuners they are eagerly awaiting the new GTR in 2008

Thanks to Nori san,Niikura san and Nick Martin for his help with directions