"Official" Nissan R35 GTR thread

[bigk]

Steve Millen answers the Skeptics on the GT-R.. From Nagtroc.org


Steve Millen and the Nissan GT-R

Shinkaze: Mr. Millen when you drove Road and Tracks test, you got a 1:56 for the gtr and a 2:01 for the ZO6.

Millen: Thats right

Shinkaze: Car and Driver were unable to get that time, also their 1/4 mile times were significatly slower. Do you have a theory on why their times are off your times?

Millen: You know i saw the magazine just today. Their time in the ZO6 was similar in time to what i did, but the gtr time was much slower. I am curious about that because the time is the time. We timed it with a gps system to. I got a number of laps at 1:56 with the gtr. Maybe Car and Driver didn't know how to make best use of the turbochargers and 4wd and all that. They didn't take the car as quick as it can go around Buttonwillow. It was the exact same track config. that i drove around to so i was really surprised by that.

Shinkaze: One of the theories that's been put out there. Is that the Car and Driver car was on 91 octane and maybe your car was on race gas, putting the car on a more conservative fuel map, do you think there's some possibility in that the car isn't seeing as much hp on 91 octane?

Millen: I don't think so and i'll tell you why. I did another test recently with Road and Track magazine which is going to come out soon, probably within the next month. And we went to Willow Springs, we went to the big track at willow and went to the streets of willow the next day. And i drove a bunch of different sports cars, i think there was about 12 cars there, um and again the gtr was quite a bit quicker than the ZO6 and the Porsche um GT2.

Shinkaze: Quicker than the gt2, the standard gtr is quicker than the gt2?

Millen: Yes it was. You will see the test come out real soon. The gtr wasn't actually the quickest car in the test, there were 2 cars quicker. But you will have to wait till you see Road and Track magazine when it comes out. Did a real good time with the Viper ACR. Which is a very quick car especially on the Michelin tires. Somehow they didn't get all you can get out of the gtr at Buttonwillow. You know alot of people are misleaded about the gtr and they say how its easy to drive, and it is, it's very easy to drive upto about 80 or 90%, when you really wanna start pushing that car it's going to start slipping and sliding around on you, it's natural. Any car if your going really quick your sliding and moving the car. People getting really secure in the car and think there going quick, but you can go alot quicker.

Shinkaze: So the final question and this is the one that sets message boards aflame, is 7:29 on the Nurburgring achievable with this vehicle?

Millen: It was done, so ya know

Shinkaze: The message boards say oh the car it's a ringer, it's tweaked out, it's a vspec or something crazy. In your professional experience given what other cars have achieved, do you think it's achievable.

Millen: I believe the new ZR1 has gone around in 7:27, so i think that kinds of puts this in perspective. The most amazing thing about the gtr when i first drove it, was i couldn't believe how well it did everything, cornering and accelerating and so on. And at that time i said, if i was going to do a long distance race in a production car, this is the car i would want to do it in, cause you can do it lap after lap after lap. And you can use the curbs you can really use alot of the track were other cars you can't.

Shinkaze: So what about the people that complain about the 3800 lbs, it's rated at less than 500 hp, close to 500 just a little bit less, and yet the numbers it achieves at that weight and that power are just ridiculous. What do you think the magic is?

Millen: If you look at the acceleration times, like in the Road and Track test that we did, it wasn't the quickest accelerating, infact the corvette was quicker on the straightaways on the long straightaways it was faster. Cause it's alot lighter car. It's all about getting into the corners and through them and out of them, and the momentum you can carry with the gtr is amazing, thats were your getting it. That's why the cars so quick.

Shinkaze: Mr. Millen thank you very much for answering my questions.

[Steve Theodore]

He could have just said "I know how to drive the GTR whereas they don't".

[dacman]

Originally Posted by Steve Theodore

He could have just said "I know how to drive the GTR whereas they don't".

He's just that good Seriously, car and driver testing was a joke and its beating a dead horse. How did they go from a quick test to a dud. The car Millen was not quick in a straight line, yet he threw down lap times in the neighborhood of the Atom consistent with the REST OF THE WORLD's results. C&D is sucking on the M3's nuts.

[T66Dawg]

Originally Posted by dacman

He's just that good Seriously, car and driver testing was a joke and its beating a dead horse. How did they go from a quick test to a dud. The car Millen was not quick in a straight line, yet he threw down lap times in the neighborhood of the Atom consistent with the REST OF THE WORLD's results. C&D is sucking on the M3's nuts.

If this is the case then the GTR won't quite be as capable in the hands of normal people. It sounds like it takes a Steve Millen to be able to outperform the competition?!?!?!?

[Hellspawn]

Originally Posted by Hellspawn

ehh, I don't quite yet believe that all the cool technology of this car takes the driver COMPLETELY out of the equation...

muahaaha

[dacman]

Originally Posted by T66Dawg

If this is the case then the GTR won't quite be as capable in the hands of normal people. It sounds like it takes a Steve Millen to be able to outperform the competition?!?!?!?

Either that or Car and Driver isn't honest and isn't pushing the GTR to its limits as the rest of the world has, that wouldn't be surprising. Zee Germans are unbeatable in the end according to C&D

[TNH]

I haven't read through all of these pages, so spare me the bullshit if this has already been seen before.....

[raykwok]

anyone know how tune-able it is?

[JeremyBlackwell]

Multiple GT-R cars have been listed for sale with asking prices of $125k-$175k lately:
http://www.nissangtrclub.com/showthread.php?t=1044

Wild stuff...and I'm sure some sellers are getting it to be honest.

[Ocelot]

@ $100k over list

[T66Dawg]

Originally Posted by dacman

Either that or Car and Driver isn't honest and isn't pushing the GTR to its limits as the rest of the world has, that wouldn't be surprising. Zee Germans are unbeatable in the end according to C&D

Or maybe Steve Millen wasn't pushing the Z06 as much as the GTR since he profits from selling parts for Nissan's and gets Nissans before they are released to production?

I don't think either scenario is likely (C&D holding back or Steve Millen sandbagging).

[T66Dawg]

Originally Posted by JeremyBlackwell

Multiple GT-R cars have been listed for sale with asking prices of $125k-$175k lately:
http://www.nissangtrclub.com/showthread.php?t=1044

Wild stuff...and I'm sure some sellers are getting it to be honest.

I doubt anyone is getting much more than $30K over sticker.....

[PM-Performance]

Someone on my350z posted a dyno of their GTR already. 417whp and like 430 tq.

Vid below

http://s342.photobucket.com/albums/o...t=S7301805.flv

[mc_hammer]

Originally Posted by Steve Theodore

He could have just said "I know how to drive the GTR whereas they don't".

That doesn't fill as many column inches.

[conszx]

VIDEO: Split-screens the ZR-1 and GT-R 'Ring laps
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/11/v...t-r-ring-laps/

Cons

[marshallpre1]

Originally Posted by PM-Performance

Someone on my350z posted a dyno of their GTR already. 417whp and like 430 tq.

Vid below

http://s342.photobucket.com/albums/o...t=S7301805.flv

So you guys think BPU Supras have no problem keeping up in the highway? 417 whp in a 3900lb car. That's 400lbs more than us.

[PM-Performance]

Originally Posted by marshallpre1

So you guys think BPU Supras have no problem keeping up in the highway? 417 whp in a 3900lb car. That's 400lbs more than us.

The only factor I can see is maybe gearing and traction. But honestly a BPU Supra should not have any traction problems anyway. I think it would be a very good run and tuff to call. The GTR driver prob has more room for error though.
I am not as impressed with the numbers as I thought I would be. Again I dont know the dyno type though.
I thought I remembered reading these were underrated though and making their rated HP to the wheels in some articles on the test mules.
Bleh so much for that.

[T66Dawg]

Originally Posted by PM-Performance

The only factor I can see is maybe gearing and traction. But honestly a BPU Supra should not have any traction problems anyway. I think it would be a very good run and tuff to call. The GTR driver prob has more room for error though.
I am not as impressed with the numbers as I thought I would be. Again I dont know the dyno type though.
I thought I remembered reading these were underrated though and making their rated HP to the wheels in some articles on the test mules.
Bleh so much for that.

If this 417 WHP # is not an unually low # for a production GTR then a good running and well driven BPU Supra should be able to run with a GTR.

[Hurrakaine]

Originally Posted by T66Dawg

If this 417 WHP # is not an unually low # for a production GTR then a good running and well driven BPU Supra should be able to run with a GTR.

From a roll only.

Unless you had a auto, or if you were Ryan Woon.

It would take one hell of a good setup BPU car to take down a 120+ GTR at a stop light.

It would take on hell of any car to do it. Its hard to beat something that can be consistently fast with your grand mom driving it.

Bolt on GTR's will trap above 130, and run 10's.

That only represents another 10 mph or so improvement, and a second or so off the time.

A bolt on supra can see a almost 20mph increase and almost two seconds off its time. In time the GTR should to, seeing that it has bigger twins, bigger injectors (guessing) and a engine that is about 20% larger.

This is the new "supra" of the import community here in America. Across the pond they always seemed to favor the GTR anyway. As great as the supra is, I believe it will now play second fiddle to the GTR, and depending what Acura prices the next NSX at; that to. If the new supra does not come with forced induction, the GTR would probably remain at the top of the chain for ease of making hp.

[PM-Performance]

Originally Posted by Hurrakaine

From a roll only.

Unless you had a auto, or if you were Ryan Woon.

It would take one hell of a good setup BPU car to take down a 120+ GTR at a stop light.

It would take on hell of any car to do it. Its hard to beat something that can be consistently fast with your grand mom driving it.

Bolt on GTR's will trap above 130, and run 10's.

That only represents another 10 mph or so improvement, and a second or so off the time.

A bolt on supra can see a almost 20mph increase and almost two seconds off its time. In time the GTR should to, seeing that it has bigger twins, bigger injectors (guessing) and a engine that is about 20% larger.

At this point assuming its really a 120+ trapper. I thought this thing was gonna be a 450-470whp car from the BS articles for the past 2 yrs on it.
But again, there is still alot of speculation. Maybe the dyno is wacked and the loading is not set right, maybe its a shitty dyno and reads low, maybe the rings are not fully seated yet and this schmuck beat it on the dyno already. . . . who knows. Only time will tell.

Still not shabby numbers. Just not worth over 25K over retail worthy IMO for the power.

[Hurrakaine]

Originally Posted by PM-Performance

At this point assuming its really a 120+ trapper. I thought this thing was gonna be a 450-470whp car from the BS articles for the past 2 yrs on it.
But again, there is still alot of speculation. Maybe the dyno is wacked and the loading is not set right, maybe its a shitty dyno and reads low, maybe the rings are not fully seated yet and this schmuck beat it on the dyno already. . . . who knows. Only time will tell.

Still not shabby numbers. Just not worth over 25K over retail worthy IMO for the power.

I'd agree. With stock turbo cars, the variations in hp will always be more then in NA cars.

[T66Dawg]

Originally Posted by Hurrakaine

From a roll only.

Unless you had a auto, or if you were Ryan Woon.

It would take one hell of a good setup BPU car to take down a 120+ GTR at a stop light.

It would take on hell of any car to do it. Its hard to beat something that can be consistently fast with your grand mom driving it.

Bolt on GTR's will trap above 130, and run 10's.

That only represents another 10 mph or so improvement, and a second or so off the time.

A bolt on supra can see a almost 20mph increase and almost two seconds off its time. In time the GTR should to, seeing that it has bigger twins, bigger injectors (guessing) and a engine that is about 20% larger.

This is the new "supra" of the import community here in America. Across the pond they always seemed to favor the GTR anyway. As great as the supra is, I believe it will now play second fiddle to the GTR, and depending what Acura prices the next NSX at; that to. If the new supra does not come with forced induction, the GTR would probably remain at the top of the chain for ease of making hp.

It has yet to be seen if the GTR can trap 130 MPH with bolt ons. Just because a stock Supra can pick up ~15 MPH (from 107+ MPH stock to 120+ MPH in BPU form) doesn't mean the same will be the case with the GTR.

also not all GTR's tested are trapping 120+ MPH, so we need to see what the "norm" is when more cars end up in customer's hands.

As far as stop light confrontations, it's not as simple as you make it sound. The guy in the One Lap competition couldn't put the car in "drag" launch and keep it there. It takes a handfull of settings to get it there. So if you are at a red light and a Z06, Strong BPU Supra (mid 11's or better), Viper, ZR1, 997TT etc. pulls up to you and the light changes quickly the GTR is going to see taillights.

As far as the GTR's popularity in Japan and other markets, that's not all based on merit. The Cette has always been the most popular sports car in the US yet it was hardly ever one of the best, especially during the dark C3 and C4 years.

[Steve Theodore]

The problem with the "launch mode" was due to having to creep for the staging lights at the track. This won't be a problem in the real world since it doesn't matter where you pick as your starting mark, as long as you're already at a redlight.

I think the car will fair well in stoplight encounters personally, but more so due to DSG transmission and the AWD. Certainly any well launched car that you mentioned is also going to be stiff competition for it though!

Originally Posted by T66Dawg

...
As far as stop light confrontations, it's not as simple as you make it sound. The guy in the One Lap competition couldn't put the car in "drag" launch and keep it there. It takes a handfull of settings to get it there. So if you are at a red light and a Z06, Strong BPU Supra (mid 11's or better), Viper, ZR1, 997TT etc. pulls up to you and the light changes quickly the GTR is going to see taillights...

[Hurrakaine]

Originally Posted by T66Dawg

It has yet to be seen if the GTR can trap 130 MPH with bolt ons. Just because a stock Supra can pick up ~15 MPH (from 107+ MPH stock to 120+ MPH in BPU form) doesn't mean the same will be the case with the GTR.

also not all GTR's tested are trapping 120+ MPH, so we need to see what the "norm" is when more cars end up in customer's hands.

As far as stop light confrontations, it's not as simple as you make it sound. The guy in the One Lap competition couldn't put the car in "drag" launch and keep it there. It takes a handfull of settings to get it there. So if you are at a red light and a Z06, Strong BPU Supra (mid 11's or better), Viper, ZR1, 997TT etc. pulls up to you and the light changes quickly the GTR is going to see taillights.

As far as the GTR's popularity in Japan and other markets, that's not all based on merit. The Cette has always been the most popular sports car in the US yet it was hardly ever one of the best, especially during the dark C3 and C4 years.

Agreed for the most part, except the RWD cars would would have a harder time showing the GTR its taillights, unless the speeds reached kind of high.

I saw that they were having problems getting the transmission in "drag" mode or whatever. It makes me hesitant to say I would go buy this car and mod it because if transmission problems are going to arise in BPU conditions (which I have seen one case already) Nissan could simply void my warranty, leaving me with a huge repair bill.

Simply put, I trust a manual transmission more, and would prefer to have one. I am not sure what kind of raise I am getting in the fall, but at any rate within the next two or three years at the latest I will be pulling in over 100 grand. If I get a new car I really want to do my own shifting, I have never been impressed with auto transmissions and their ability to handle power, except for the TH 400.

[T66Dawg]

Originally Posted by Steve Theodore

The problem with the "launch mode" was due to having to creep for the staging lights at the track. This won't be a problem in the real world since it doesn't matter where you pick as your starting mark, as long as you're already at a redlight.

You may still have to fumble around when the one of the cars I mentioned pulls up next to you. While you are looking down getting the car on "launch" mode the light changes and the other car is already leaving....

2nd problem scenario for the GTR, you get it set. The guy in the Z06 anticipates the light and rolls a bit and the GTR driver notices this and follows suit and there goes "launch" mode.

All I'm saying is that it won't be as simple or as easy as some speculate.

Originally Posted by Steve Theodore

I think the car will fair well in stoplight encounters personally, but more so due to DSG transmission and the AWD. Certainly any well launched car that you mentioned is also going to be stiff competition for it though!

Agreed, unfortunately 90% of street races are from a roll as the chances of catching a Z06, Viper, Supra, GTR, 997TT, etc. etc. at a light with an open spot next to it is extremely rare.

Of literally hundreds of street races I have had in Mexico maybe 20 of them happened from a stop light.