We've all seen, and mocked, tuner cars that think adding 100lb of fiberglass body kit will add 50hp at the crank, but Switzer Performance is known for a different kind of tuning: the kind that makes serious power. Confining most of their work to Porsche's fine machinery, their latest example steps outside the bounds and gets into dangerous rivalry territory with the Nissan GT-R.

Behind the impressive power figures at Switzer is a different sort of perspective as well, however. Tym Switzer, the man behind the Switzer name, wasn't happy with the way most tuners were going about adding power to the GT-R. "One thing I was not impressed with was the amount of "fluff" parts I was seeing being distributed for the cars or the banzai-crank-the-boost with race gas tuning tactics that I was seeing," Switzer said on the company's news site.

Instead, Switzer had a plan of his own. "I knew that it was important to take a look at what the car was actually capable of and what was really going on within the platform as we tried to push it beyond factory performance limits," he said.

So how did Switzer manage to get a dyno-verified 626hp and 583lb-ft of torque at the wheels on pump gas and a stock transmission? By replacing the turbochargers with new Garret GT ball-bearing units, and adding a new higher-capacity intercooler as well. The new system, complete with custom plumbing, drops only 0.05 PSI over the whole length - incredibly efficient. Charge temps rose only 1 degree Fahrenheit, says Switzer, despite multiple fourth gear pulls on the dyno.

With the new equipment strapped on, Switzer used Cobb Tuning's Pro Tuner software to tap into the GT-R's ECU and develop a set of maps that truly unlock the potential of the car. Even with 626hp to the ground - an estimate 700hp at the crank - Switzer says the P700 GT-R is just as reliable and streetable as a stock car.

More fine-tuning of the car's output is in the works, but if the initial showing is anything to judge by, the war between the Porsche 911 and Nissan GT-R just got a little hotter.


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Hmmmm......the stock tranny seems to have had some issues with stock power levels. How is it going to stand up to a 50% power increase????

 

What broke the tranny was the brutal launch control.
It has had no problem handling high power levels.

Switzer is a very serious tuner. He should be a sponsor here and share his insight with us.

 

I feel I should step in here, a bit. I don't speak for Tym, but have known him a few years and he is, as you say, a very serious performance guy.

The software work done on Tym's tune was very advanced, by any standard, and builds power steadily. I know from first-hand experience that these are not the best numbers Tym pulled from this car, and that the torque curved was massaged heavily to make sure the tranny didn't get needlessly over-worked.

As noted on the GTR forum: you can shred the clutch/trans. in any car if you drive like a noob. In most cases, if the customer has already found Switzer, they know what they're doing.

I'll talk to Tym about sponsoring ... in the meantime: Switzer P700 GTR: Godzilla Gets Over 700 HP!

 

YouTube - SPI P700GTR RoadTuning