Camaro Z/28 vs Nissan GT-R

[quagmire]

Think it is a giant mismatch of epic proportions? Only on the straights....

The GT-R is probably easier to live with as a DD, but as a track car the Z/28 is amazing.

[MrRoboto]

Please stop using the word 'epic'

[gtron]

z28 is ugly

[See5]

Originally Posted by gtron

z28 is ugly

Looks better than the GT-R and really anything in the BMW lineup save M6/M6 GC. That's just me though...

[MediaArtist]

z28 is a special car. Very impressive.

[gtron]

Originally Posted by See5

Looks better than the GT-R and really anything in the BMW lineup save M6/M6 GC. That's just me though...

i enjoy the gt-r. not the best looking but still looks better than the z28 imo.

[drunkenup]

Originally Posted by quagmire

The GT-R is probably easier to live with as a DD, but as a track car the Z/28 is amazing.

but who would DD a GTR if they had the choice? these are both weekend cars by anyone's measure.

personally I'd take the Z/28 with its V8 and manual over the car that sounds like a vacuum cleaner

[hellrotm]

The Z28 is purist car. A different experience than a GTR.

I saw a white Z28 a couple weeks back at a show, it look very good/aggressive in person.

[pgviper]

I don't understand why everyones comments are on looks. Who gives a shit, they both look great in my opinion but as we all know, that is all personal opinion.

I think the z/28 is an engineering marvel in its own respect. It brings a suspension system NEVER used on a production car. The most advanced technology in braking out there. Neither of which the GTR has. It's racecar feel with a bare interior, huge front tires that are practically slicks is something that nobody has every seen on a car below $100k and that is what makes this car awesome. Ya it may be a porker but so is the GTR, the GTR actually weighs a bit more. The LS7 is an engine that responds easily to mods, similar to a FI engine so drop $10k on intake, heads, cam, LTH, exhaust and a tune and you will be sitting at a nice 550 rwhp. As for interior, seriously who cares. You shouldn't be foolling around with nav or setting up a bluetooth when driving this car. You should be taking in the experience and enjoying life through all of your senses.

On the other hand, the gtr has a TT-V6 that is a masterpiece in itself, hand build just like the LS7. It's ATESSA awd system is probably the best out there and most track oriented since it is a true rear biased system. Dual clutch auto is notorious for insane shifting speed but at the same time can result in a lack of driving pleasure while yielding faster lap times. It has a bit more features on the interior but at well over $100k we would all expect that. The engine also responds extremely well for mods but for any car in its price realm, these can be a bit pricey escpecially when compared with an LS7. On top of all of this, we have all the R&D that went into making the heart of this monster beat. The electronics that keep this thing glued to the ground are simply unmatched by almost any other car out there and the lap times exist to prove it.

So at the end of the day, these two cars excel in completely opposite ends of the spectrum while having one similarity, that they are absolute track monsters. Would I take both, hell yes. Are there cars that we probably all prefer over both, hell yes. But for what they are, and what they are built to do, nobody can deny that Chevrolet and Nissan have achieved their goals plus some.

[CirrusSR22]

The full article also compares it to the 911 Turbo S and the Z/28 beat that too. I assume another video will be out soon in that comparison.

http://m.motortrend.com/roadtests/co..._r_comparison/

[gtron]

i'm surprised nobody has brought up that chevy is a huge motor trend sponsor and they also favored the chevy volt over tesla.

... just saying

actually, i couldn't help but look into this more so i looked for nurburgring numbers rather than the track and driver they used.

2014 Camaro Z28: 7:37.40
2013 Nissan GT-R: 7:19.1

source:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/go/news/...urburgring-lap
http://www.caradvice.com.au/199112/2...me-in-history/

[CirrusSR22]

The Z/28's Nurburgring lap was 2+ minutes in heavy rain.

They are different tracks too. I'm sure the longer straights on the Nurburgring helps cars like GT-R that are insane on acceleration. Barber is shorter so the better-handling Camaro gets the benefit there.

[DieGrüneHölle]

Haters going to hate.

[DieGrüneHölle]

Originally Posted by gtron

i'm surprised nobody has brought up that chevy is a huge motor trend sponsor and they also favored the chevy volt over tesla.

... just saying

I bet other mags would and will get quicker times with the Z28.

Looking forward to seeing its Laguna Seca time.

[gtron]

Originally Posted by Blipit_

Haters going to hate.

this guy says the same thing:

Originally Posted by Blipit_

I bet other mags would and will get quicker times with the Z28.

Looking forward to seeing its Laguna Seca time.

i agree. i like to have multiple opinions before i make mine. i admit that i lean toward the gtr because i've always admired it.

[TXSTYLE]

So what it eeeked out a miniscule better track time...?

The GT-R has: Navigation, A/C, insulation, and oh yeah, a fracking RADIO!

I mean GM had to even remove the damn Xenons too in an effort to save weight? Why not make the hood carbon fiber or the front splitter or even rear wing?

Shit simply ain't practical even in the slightest. I appreciate what they've created: a bonafied TRACK ONLY car.

$75k???

No thanks.

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

More Carlos Lago, less Johny Lieberman

[hellrotm]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

So what it eeeked out a miniscule better track time...?

Put those Trofeo R tires on a warm track on a summer day. Seconds would come off that time.

[CirrusSR22]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

So what it eeeked out a miniscule better track time...?

The GT-R has: Navigation, A/C, insulation, and oh yeah, a fracking RADIO!

I mean GM had to even remove the damn Xenons too in an effort to save weight? Why not make the hood carbon fiber or the front splitter or even rear wing?

Shit simply ain't practical even in the slightest. I appreciate what they've created: a bonafied TRACK ONLY car.

$75k???

No thanks.

On the practical issue. This GT-R has no back seat and was the worst car to drive on the backroads - OFF the track. That's the impractical one.

Also this tested Z/28 did have A/C and a stereo. It's an $1,150 option.

Why not more carbon fiber? Cost.

The GT-R is a "Track Edition", yet at $117,000 it doesn't even have track appropriate carbon ceramic brakes.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by Rev ///Me

More Carlos Lago, less Johny Lieberman

I wish they could merge their personalities and skills. Lagos has above average driving skills and typically does a decent job of communicating the driving experience, but his spoken vocabulary isn't that engaging or descriptive. It usually consists of: "this car [turns, brakes, drives, etc.] really really really really [well, poorly, amazingly, etc.]." The guy loves to use the word "really" along with basic adjectives a little too much for my liking.

I like Lieberman's ability to discard your typical spec-sheet, bench racing format and focus on the tangibles and intangibles that actually matter. He's also very enthusiastic. Unfortunately, he's not the best at relaying a car's driving behavior and he's honestly not that great of a driver.

Every reviewer has their pros and cons, though.

[swanson]

Originally Posted by Rev ///Me

More Carlos Lago, less Johny Lieberman

Not for me. I'd rather listen to Lieberman any day over boring ass Lago.

[-Wingman-]

And I'd rather listen to Chris Harris over the both of them.

Ok, it's no surprise the Z28 beat the GTR here. The Z28 is strictly a track car, while the GTR is not, despite the one MT used being Track Pack Edition. Which btw is a sorry excuse for what Nissan calls a track version of the GTR. I'll paraphrase what Chris Harris says about the Track Edition GTR and that is, there isn't a long list of equipment for the Track Pack because there's barely any shit added on top of the base GTR.

The only thing that bothered me about this Head2Head was how biased the review was in favor of the Camaro. Someone earlier mentioned how Chevy sponsors MT. No surprise there. This reminds me of the review they did of the Cadillac and Lexus. Anyways, the review seemed too much like an advertisement for Chevy. They constantly talk about the inclement weather to make it sound like the GTR is going to win. They make the Track Pack equipped GTR sound like it's similarly assembled like the Z28 (which is not the case because the Z28 is a proper track car). And they spend significantly greater time with the Z28.

MT tends to overlook a lot of things in reviewing, especially in their Head2Head. I like their 'Ignition' segment more because there's less chance for them to be biased. Otherwise, Chris Harris still remains the best, most objective automotive journalist in my opinion.