[ecksreturns]

Originally Posted by adc

1----According to its new owner, a real problem also seems to be the lack of available trained technicians (only one in the DC area?) or of performance shops comfortable working on this kind of car (what with the iffy warranty issues and all). My friend would like to swap the tranny fluid for a better aftermarket one (apparently a lot of GT-R owners do this) and do a brake flush, but he is reluctant to go to the same perf shops he used before in the area.

2------ Turbo lag and engine response. Lag felt about the same as the 335i, but once the turbo kicks in at least the AWD ensures you aren't spit out into the countryside. Engine response felt on par with the 335 as well, in other words good (but not as good as the 911 S or the M3, not by a long shot). Come to think about it, I was expecting a little more from its engine given all the press accolades.

The things I disliked:
3------- The steering - I thought it was way too light and zero feedback. Given how quick the rack was and how good the turn-in, that was quite a let-down.

4-------- The brakes - I think in this particular car, the pedal felt soft (especially from big speeds). Perhaps a bleeding is required, or better pads?

Very thorough write-up and an excellent one at that! I have edited and highlighted certain aspects of your post and would like to chime in/add-in a few things I have experienced with my GTR, as I own both the GTR and the M3 amongst other cars.

1 - Maintenance of the car is indeed a problem because Nissan has appointed only select dealers from their gamut of North American/European and other dealers ,as HPC's or High Performance centers that can officially service a GTR. I think this is somewhat silly , because it causes various service related issues , especially keeping in mind the OCD Nissan warranty issues. And yes , a swap of transmission fluid is also recommended , as it ensures the transmission noise is reduced and the trans temps remain low , even when pushing the car.


2- I agree with you on the Turbo lag but I am not convinced with your comparison of the engine with NA 911 S and M3 engines. Turbo lag on a stock GTR is present and is annoying. It persists below 3k rpm. Once the car is modded properly , the lag is gone and the difference is that of night and day. However , it cannot be compared to high revving flat 6 or smaller V8's.

3 - I somewhat disagree with the steering issues. Having owned and driven the e92 m3,audi R8,aston martin DBS,LP560 Gallardo and other cars , I find the steering of the GTR the best I have ever experienced . But I say 'somewhat disagree' because I feel the weight of the steering should indeed by increased by about 5 - 10 %. It is perfect otherwise. It comes alive when the car is at speed and is very compliant for daily use.

4- I think for a stock GTR , the brakes are excellent!

Originally Posted by graider

good read man. but i think your comparison is not really apple vs apple. can you drive a 997.1 turbo and then compare it with the gtr. turbo cars won't have throttle response of NA, awd won't be as fun as rwd especially in steering feel.

what i mean is if i'm going iin with the mind set for a rwd, manual, and na car, i will skip right past the turbo or gtr.

Absolutely correct!

Originally Posted by alms211

Thanks for the review --- good read and quite interesting. Did you happen to hear all the "sounds" and "noises" the GTR supposedly makes?

It does indeed make many noises , that range from brake squeal (even when the brakes are warm) to transmission clunks and exhaust rattles. But nothing too loud or intense to cause any distress. And this is coming from someone who is OCD about un-natural noises.

Originally Posted by stevehifi

but the real question is: if you had a choice between your current m3 and the GTR... which would you choose?

If I were given the opportunity , given that I had to choose only one and stay with it for a while , I would choose the M3. The high revving V8 rwd with a 6speed stick is a very very very tough combination to be beaten by a torque monster like the GTR, especially given the fact the R35 doesn't come with a stick shift.