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2009 Nissan GT-R: What's It Like to Live With?

Read the latest updates in our long-term road test of the 2009 Nissan GT-R Premium as our editors live with this car for a year.

Nissan GT-R 2009

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Introduction

There's no rest for the weary.

First an Audi R8 stormed its way into our long-term garage. Its all-wheel-drive system, single-clutch automated manual transmission and futuristic looks made it an instant favorite. But before we'd had a chance to fully savor the German-Italian hybrid, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR showed up with a more advanced transmission, a more sophisticated all-wheel-drive system and a higher fun-to-cost ratio. More substance than style, it appeals more to our rational love for speed than the prurient desires conjured by the Audi.

And now, only a few weeks into that test, we've bought something that makes the Evo look sluggish, simplistic and, well, attractive in comparison: a 2009 Nissan GT-R. Sure, we're a bit tired from the wave of adrenaline we've been riding, but for our dedicated readers we'll suck it up and spend the next 12 months putting 20,000 miles on Japan's 480-horsepower, all-wheel-drive sensation known colloquially as Godzilla.

What We Bought
Skyline. GT-R. Godzilla. It doesn't really matter what you call it. Nissan's high-tech hot rod has made a bigger splash on U.S. soil than Rodan being dropped into Lake Mead. And why shouldn't it? It's faster than the Corvette Z06, faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo, faster even than our long-term Ford GT. With a 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds, the 2009 Nissan GT-R is the quickest production car we've ever tested. Traditionally, this type of organ-displacing acceleration doesn't come easy; a trained driver, a safe location and a few passes are required to get every last drop of performance out of a vehicle. But with the GT-R, not so much. It's easy.

Of course, it all starts with the motor. An all-aluminum 3.8-liter V6 is matched with twin IHI turbochargers and tuned to deliver 480 hp. Attached to the new engine via a driveshaft built from carbon-fiber composite is a six-speed dual-clutch transaxle developed with behind-the-scenes assistance from Ricardo, which engineered the dual-clutch unit for the 1,001-hp Bugatti Veyron.

In Race mode (one of three user-selectable transmission settings), the shift action is almost imperceptibly swift. Then the turbocharged power swells and rockets the Nissan forward in a way previously only known to big-wave surfers and human cannonballs. Downshifts arrive with the quickness and predictability required to keep the car balanced in even the trickiest torque-transfer scenarios. The other two modes are normal, which Nissan calls Sport and Snow. We've yet to experience snow in the GT-R, but, man does it sound like fun. (Of course, we'd probably still set the transmission to R.)

In every transmission mode, the all-wheel-drive system can send as much as 100 percent of engine torque to the rear wheels but no more than 50 percent to the front wheels. When you combine this with the transmission options (including launch control) and 480 hp, Joe Everyman can replicate that 3.5-second blast to 60 in his driveway. Just be wary of the neighbor's house across the way.

Acceleration isn't the only area of performance in which the 2009 Nissan GT-R holds a testing record with us. Despite a curb weight of some 3,800 pounds, it nearly ripped up the asphalt in a stop from 60 mph of just 98 feet. Brembo makes the stoppers that help accomplish this feat, and full floating 15-inch vented cross-drilled rotors are grabbed by six-piston monobloc calipers in front and four-pot monobloc units in the rear. Specially constructed, nitrogen-filled Bridgestone RE070R tires (high-performance summer run-flats) do the dirty work on the pavement. The only way we can figure to stop this much weight faster is to drive into a wall and, even then it'd better be a big wall (momentum's a bitch).

The 255/40ZRF20 front and 285/35ZRF20 rear Bridgestones are only available for the Premium trim level of the Nissan GT-R. Also included in the $2,050 Premium package are side curtain airbags for the driver and passenger, an 11-speaker Bose audio system and heated front seats. There are also two manufacturer-installed items on our 2009 Nissan GT-R: an iPod interface ($360), and plush floor mats featuring a GT-R emblem (a staggering $280).

Total out-of-pocket cost: $73,165. Yes, we got it for MSRP. How? For starters, we started the search nearly nine months ago. We eventually signed a deal with Nissan of Cool Springs, a place that understands car enthusiasts that's in Franklin, Tennessee, some 2,500 miles from our office in Santa Monica, California. Within days of the official availability of the 2009 Nissan GT-R on U.S. soil, we sent Senior Editor Erin Riches to pick it up in Tennessee, and updates from the inaugural drive across the country will be posted in our Long-Term blogs.

Why We Bought It
Confused about the hype over the 2009 Nissan GT-R? Think of it as a Corvette filtered through the Japanese mindset. Not the Japanese mindset of tradition and duty, but the one of unswerving dedication to progress and a fanatical addition to technology. Whereas the Corvette has stuck to the same formula — front-engine V8, rear-wheel drive, fiberglass body — the Skyline GT-R has followed only the incessant drumbeat of the future.

Previous iterations of GT-R (née Skyline GT-R) used the twin-turbocharged iron-block RB26DETT inline-6. Want more specs on the RB286? Go to your local mall and find the first kid with a NOPI shirt or lowered Civic and just mumble that code. Like Indiana Jones fitting the long-lost key into a temple door, gears in his brain will spin and whir until a gold mine of specs and figures flies out at a rapid pace. But Nissan has no interest in compromising performance potential for heritage, so it has adapted its latest hardware to the GT-R's mission.

So now we have a twin-turbo all-aluminum V6, lighter and more powerful (and more adaptable to left- and right-hand-drive versions of this car's packaging) than the former iron-block inline-6. The new dual-clutch unit is quicker than the manual transmission that would have been the preference of traditionalists. But for those pining over a classic GT-R R34, just be glad the new car has arrived as a Nissan instead of an Infiniti.

Apart from the obvious fact that this is the first GT-R to hit U.S shores with factory-certified air emissions gear, this car gives us an opportunity to really test Nissan's new dual-clutch transmission. We know it's fast on the street and we know it's fast on the track, but we'll see how well it will hold up. The launch sequence has been passed from editor to editor in the office quicker than a virus, and who knows how many times we'll use it?

The next 20,000 miles are not going to be easy on the GT-R. A car that is supposed to beat the Porsche 911 Turbo should be prepared to haul ass for the long haul.

Keep up with the 2009 Nissan GT-R in our long-term blogs. Twelve months with Godzilla begins now.

Current Odometer: 3,752 miles
Best Fuel Economy: 20.9 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 13.7 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 18.0 mpg

Edmunds purchased this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.

Picking Up Godzilla

August 05, 2008

It's late afternoon in Franklin, Tennessee, when the airport shuttle van deposits me at Nissan of Cool Springs. The shuttle driver had trouble finding the place on his Garmin, which is odd since the dealership has been open for a year. Still, it looks sparkling new here. I look for our white 2009 Nissan GT-R on the showroom floor but learn it has already been moved to service for last-minute checks.

After I hand over all the paperwork and, more importantly, the big check for $73,165 (and 2 cents), I'm shown into the immaculate service reception area. It ends up being a dramatic moment because the room is empty all except for our GT-R.

I meet Matthew, a master Nissan service technician, who has taken all sorts of additional coursework to prepare for this day — the sale of the very first Nissan GT-R at Nissan of Cool Springs. He's ready to give me a complete tutorial on the car, but I end up being a know-it-all student since we've already driven this car. He does tell me that Nissan is recommending owners idle the engine for two minutes after each cold startup for the duration of the car's working life.

Instead, we drive over to the new Nissan Americas building, which conveniently is only a half-mile down the street from Nissan of Cool Springs. In addition to working on high-end performance cars, I learn that Matthew owns a Harley, which he rides in a pack on cross-country road trips. Cool. I also notice that the dual-clutch transmission is shifting a little more quietly under part throttle than the pre-production models we sampled.

After getting a few photos in front of Nissan's brand new headquarters (the GT-R's home away from its real home in Tochigi, Japan), I drop Matthew back at the dealership and hit the road.

There are 37 miles on the odometer. And I don't have to be back in LA for 4 days.

Erin Riches, Edmunds Senior Editor

I Can't Go Straight Home

August 06, 2008

I'm actually supposed to do this trip in 3 days, but 5 minutes after getting into our 2009 Nissan GT-R, I realize that's not happening. Granted, the GT-R's fast enough that I could probably do it in 2 days. But this is my first east-west drive across the United States — I want to take every highway in my atlas. It's also the longest amount of time I've ever not had to share a high-end performance car.

I immediately give into nostalgia and point the GT-R toward Memphis, because about 10 years ago, I went to college there. I'd forgotten how nice the roads are here, and the GT-R's ride quality borders on compliant on I-40.

I arbitrarily decide to keep revs below 4,000 for engine break-in, but I later read that Nissan recommends keeping it under 3,500 rpm for the initial 400 miles. And until 1,300 miles, you're not supposed to use full throttle and you're supposed to keep the suspension in "Comf" mode to allow for maximum travel, says the owner's manual. It's OK, though. Even half throttle provides considerable speed, and you can still see triple digits during closed-course driving.

By the time I roll up to the midtown Memphis Holiday Inn Express (friendly staff here, by the way), my luggage is cooked. Outside temperatures have been mild, so it must be the rear transaxle that's causing every carpeted surface in here to heat up. For the rest of the trip, my backpack rides in the passenger footwell.

The next morning I stop by Huey's, hoping this hamburger joint might be open, but no dice. Huey's is a chain in Memphis, and if you get sick of BBQ, it's hard to beat their juicy burgers, which my friends and I used to wash down with a pitcher of Michelob. This is the original store at 1927 Madison.

Next stop is 450 miles away in Bloomington, Illinois, which is most definitely not on the road back to California, but a person called Mom lives here, and the GT-R is keen to see all the summer flowers in the family garden.

Besides, Interstate 55 randomly becomes a closed course on the way back south, and on its straight, flat, smooth pavement, the GT-R briefly cruises in the 130s. Not the highest speeds we've ever recorded, obviously, but it's striking how comfortable the car is at this speed — completely unstrained.

Finally, we reach St. Louis. Although everybody tells you the Gateway Arch is the one place you must go here, that's a lie. The real place you must go is Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard, which is possibly the best ice cream-related product I've ever had. On summer nights, the line wraps around the building at the 6726 Chippewa location, but on this hot afternoon, I wait only a couple minutes for my custom cookie-dough-butterscotch-banana concrete.

One complaint: The XM Nav Traffic feature really needs Nav Construction logic. The decision to make the pilgrimage to Ted Drewe's comes last-minute, and the nav system routes me on to I-64/U.S. 40. Just as I'm about turn onto the entrance ramp, I see the cones and the completely deserted freeway with construction equipment on it. No wonder it's showing up green.

I end up taking a long, slow drive through the old-money suburbs of Ladue and Creve Coeur. Narrow roads, 25-mph speed limits and irritating drivers in luxury SUVs. At least the concrete ends up being the most delicious meal I've had all year. And break-in is almost complete.

Erin Riches, Edmunds Senior Editor @ 1,072 miles

R35 Survives a Storm

August 07, 2008

As soon as I cross the Missouri-Kansas state line and enter the toll section of Interstate 70, the 2009 Nissan GT-R and I are driving through a pretty terrific thunderstorm.

There's not much hail, fortunately, so the bodywork takes no welts. The flash flooding is considerable, though, and at times visibility seems like it's not more than a few feet in front of the Nissan's nose. Motorists are pulling to the shoulder. And the GT-R's Bridgestone Potenza RE070Rs, particularly the rears, are hard-pressed to find traction. I reduce speed (a lot) but still find myself countersteering every other minute. I don't know if I'd call these tires great in the wet. But given how much water is on the road, this isn't a fair test.

Finally, the storm is over and we enjoy this post-nuclear sunset near Topeka while waiting at the toll plaza. After nightfall, I roll into Hays, Kansas, planning to grab a room at one of its many chain motels. But everything is booked up by summer vacationers. I end up with the very last room at the Best Western in Waukeeney, KS, which is about 45 minutes farther west. Clearly, not everyone has put their summer travel plans on hold due to high gas prices.

I see a lot of husband-and-wife Harleys during my road trip west, but this is the only one with a side car. After they complete their pass on this stretch of I-70 just west of Columbia, MO, this couple politely moves to the right lane and he gives me a thumbs-up. (The camera is zoomed in this pic, so my following distance is more conservative than it appears.)

Before leaving Missouri, by the way, I give our Nissan GT-R one last fill of 93 octane, its preferred drink, according to the label on its fuel door. From here on out, it will have to make do with inferior 91.

Tomorrow, we'll cross into Colorado and find some twistier back roads.

Erin Riches, Edmunds Senior Editor @ 1,567 miles

We Both Like Colorado

August 08, 2008

Our long-term Nissan GT-R and I enter Colorado on Interstate 70, but quickly divert to U.S. 24 and I-25. We're headed to Walsenburg, south of Pueblo. We'll cross the state via the southern east-west highway, U.S. 160, which, judging by my atlas, looks like it has its share of twists, turns and elevation changes. Later, I have second thoughts and wish I'd picked twistier U.S. 50, but with a motel booked in Cortez for the evening, we have to press on.

The GT-R isn't the least bit concerned about the road selection. It loves the cooler mountain air, doesn't seem to mind that I gave it 91 octane in Colorado Springs, and is barely fazed by the altitude. We drop as low as 4,700 feet in Pueblo, but mostly we're traveling at 6,000-7,000 feet, and it still feels fast. I love the sound of the turbos — I don't remember them having as prominent a role in the soundtrack of the pre-production silver car I drove a couple months back.

Ride quality takes a turn for the crappy, though, as I-25 is pretty ugly through Pueblo.

I would cautiously recommend U.S. 160 as a good driving road.

The mountainscape scenery is superb and there's an excellent series of high-speed turns through the Rio Grande National Forest. At a moderate pace during a light thunderstorm, the GT-R exhibits almost no body roll, delights its driver with authoritative, rev-matched downshifts and outruns every other motorized vehicle on the road without breaking a sweat.

This national forest does include the headwaters of the Rio Grande River, by the way. And after the GT-R takes a peek into the valley, I do the same.

But the 160 also goes through a lot of small towns, nearly all of which drop the speed limit down to 35 mph. Combine that with a healthy population of vacationers towing trailers, and the pace can be infuriatingly slow when you're driving something like a GT-R. The upside is that it ends up averaging 20 mpg the whole time we're in Colorado. Still, next time I'll be taking U.S. 50.

One thing I've forgotten to mention yet is that the GT-R notified me it was ready for its first service at 1,030 miles. I later learned that this service is only required if you've been driving it on a racetrack, so after consultation with the crew back in Santa Monica, we opt to wait until I'm back in LA.

For good measure, I manually check the oil at 1,782 miles (though the car automatically does a self-evaluation at each startup) and find the dipstick right at the front of the engine bay. Nice. And I don't need to add any oil right now.

Although my backpack is riding up front with me, the cockpit remains comfortable and it hasn't yet begun to stink of fast food. I've been sitting in the seats for hours on end, and they're fine, too. Even the cupholders are adequate. In short, the 2009 Nissan GT-R is not a one-dimensional performance car.

Tomorrow we'll take Highway 145 to Telluride.

Erin Riches, Edmunds Senior Editor @ 2,144 miles

Cortez to Moab to Home

August 09, 2008

I have a problem with underestimating driving distances, and that's why our 2009 Nissan GT-R and I are facing the prospect of driving 950 miles in one day. It doesn't matter. We're still going to take Highway 145 north toward Telluride (elevation: 8,700 feet) and then cross into Utah on CO Hwy 90/UT Hwy 46.

It ends up being so worth it. The 145 is gorgeous on the approach to Telluride, with snow-flecked mountains rising from truly green hillsides. If only I'd had enough time to do some hiking. Here again, the turns are more sweeper than switchback, so the GT-R makes rapid progress until I have to pull over and ogle the scenery.

We've descended onto a high plateau and open rangeland by the time we reach Utah, and our arrival is made eventful only by the bullet hole through the Hwy 90 sign. I don't carry a gun. Also, I manage not to hit any cows, but the GT-R's wide mug murders 794,534 insects during our trip. (I gave it a self-service bath in Cortez to wash away some of the evidence.)

It's desert-hot by the time we turn onto U.S. 191, and again, I'm frustrated by lack of time for hiking in either Canyonlands or Arches National Park. Summer's not over, yet, though.

Getting back onto I-70 takes some of the wind out of my sails. The Utah stretch of this interstate is in terrible condition and the ride quality is just a hair short of intolerable — I feel every ripple and fissure in the pavement. I'll never again drive this road in our long-term GT-R.

Traffic is light, though (because, what do you know, this highway's a closed course, too!), which means there's plenty of room for the the Nissan to settle in at its preferred triple-digit cruising speeds. Yet, it never does worse than 18 mpg for the rest of the day.

Radar picks up significantly once we're on I-15, and I'm glad to have the Escort radar detector of long-term Audi R8 road trip fame. Ours is the top-of-the-line 9500ix and I've been using it the whole trip. As you can imagine, it quickly became indispensable, and conveniently, the GT-R has a seam between its IP and center stack panels that allows perfect nesting for the power cord. The relevant power point is just right of the steering wheel.

I've never used a radar detector before, but as you can imagine, this $500 model has a lot of features, my favorite being the audible prompts that tell you what kind of radar or laser you're about to drive into. Also, the Escort tells you when its GPS signal has been lost when you're driving through the mountains, so you know when you're on your own out there.

When we hit Santa Monica, California, at about 10:30 PM that night, the long-term Nissan GT-R has 3,096 miles on its odometer. I think the greatest compliment I can give is to say that I'd originally planned to make this a 2,000-mile trip (roughly the distance between Nissan of Cool Springs in Franklin, TN, and my house in LA). But I've gone and amassed over 3,000 miles and I've scarcely noticed. My back's a little sore from today's haul, but I could keep going, no problem.

I still don't know if I can love the 2009 Nissan GT-R, but I do like this car and I respect both its massive performance capabilities and its capacity to function as a real car that can be taken on a real road trip. Ride quality is still iffy, for sure, but choose your route carefully and you'll be happy in it. And for the record, I love the way this car looks.

Lowest gas price: $3.88 for 91 octane somewhere in Kansas. Highest gas price: $4.89 for 91 octane in Baker, California. Best value gas price: $4.00 for 93 octane in Columbia, Missouri.

Erin Riches, Edmunds Senior Editor @ 3,151 miles

Unmatched Service Experience

August 13, 2008

Nissan recommends the GT-R's first service at 1,000 miles. At that point we were still in St. Louis. So we decided to wait until back in Santa Monica to see the dealer. Not all dealerships are qualified to service GT-Rs. But it happens our local Santa Monica Nissan is one of them.

We called to schedule a service appointment.

"We haven't seen a GT-R in for service yet. Heck, we finally got two of 'em in the showroom just the other week. Bring it by anytime tomorrow. But to warn you, it's an extensive service so we'll need it all day."

Our service experience was truly unique. We're sure some of it was due to the novelty of being their first GT-R. But there was more to it. We really felt as though the red carpet rolled out for us.

At this location one service writer handles all GT-R customers. And only one service technician is certified to work on GT-Rs. Both walked over to shake our hand and introduce themselves when we pulled up. This has never happened to us before. And we service cars for a living. The writer proceeded with the normal check-in questions, but at this point we were already impressed.

"We are still waiting for our alignment equipment to arrive, so we can't check that for another week or two. But we will perform all prescribed inspections and confirm the engine and transmission are still calibrated to the correct factory specifications."

We handed off the key and wandered to the showroom where we spoke with a salesman.

"They shipped us two GT-Rs, but both are already sold. They were bought by Donald Sutherland and Andrew Bynum. He's that tall guy on the Lakers."

How old is Donald Sutherland now anyway? A GT-R? We are figuring he meant Kiefer. And we're also figuring he doesn't realize all of the Lakers are tall in comparison to his 5'10" stature. Regardless, he pointed us toward their two GT-Rs tucked safely in an adjacent garage. We snapped a quick pic.

Days out of service: None

Price: $179.58 (oil change and re-calibrations)

Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 3,903 miles

Friendly

August 13, 2008

You meet nice people when you drive the Nissan GT-R.

This car is not just an attention getter. It gets attention from the car enthusiast crowd.

Take, for example, Paul. I was out this weekend to buy some patio furniture. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot of a popular outdoor furniture store in Santa Monica, Paul was all over our GT-R. He's read everything about the car and couldn't believe an actual GT-R pulled into his parking lot.

It turns out Paul has one of only two Z06 convertibles by Genaddi.

I only had my camera phone with me so you can't see the beauty of his Corvette's red paint. But that's Paul in his supercharged Vette.

He let me sit in it and rev the engine so I could hear its sweet sound. Naturally, I let Paul sit in the GT-R, being such a fan and all.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor @ 4,226 miles

It's Stupid-Fast

August 14, 2008

Our 2009 Nissan GT-R is one sick machine. It looks like it might unfold into a giant robot at the first sign of trouble. And it's so fast that you can almost believe those signature round taillights contain afterburners or JATO rockets, or something.

But while driving around in my Clark Kent signature Oakleys, trying hard not to get pulled over while masquerading as CommuterMan (complete with regulation-issue Bluetooth headset), I couldn't help noticing that the 220 mph speedometer, glorious as that may be, is just about useless. In law-abiding citizen mode, the needle never-ever sweeps up out of the mud. Fully two-thirds of it is for show.

Too bad they didn't borrow the trick that Audi uses in Europe, specifically Germany. You know, that place where they have things called "Autobahns" where people can actually drive their cars into the dark depths of their speedometers without a secret identity?

Ah, but even here they understand the reality of the needs of day-to-day driving by mere mortals. Notice how the speedo hash marks represent increments of 5 km/h until 90 km/h is reached, after which the increment changes to 10 km/h. Since speedos haven't been cable-driven for several years now, this is technically a no-brainer.

Civilians don't spend very much time in those rarified upper reaches. But even when they do, speed doesn't increase nearly as quickly, so the numerals can be closer together. The lower end of this Audi's scale, where CommuterMan spends much of his time, is more spread out and more easily readable. And the most common speeds are right there at the top, where they are easily seen with a slight downward glance from the road.

Oh, but I forgot. The GT-R has a genuine digital speed readout that saves the day, so they don't have to bother with any of that stuff, right? Stands to reason.

Wrong. CommuterMan rests his case. The GT-R's speed-o-meter is just for show.

On the bright side, at least the tach gets front-and-center placement. And did I mention the GT-R is stupid-fast?

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 4,359...4,360...4,361...62...65...99 miles

Sounds Like A Plane, And Other Observations

August 15, 2008

First, a shameless plug. Over on our up-and-coming Strategies Blog, colloquially known as "The Edmunds Blog," a rather provocative Weekly Top 3 list has been posted that involves the GT-R. Topic? The best all-around sports car for $70,000. Go check it out, and tell us what you think. (I totally vouch for the Weekly Top 3 guy, by the way. Cool dude.)

And now, a few GT-R thoughts, based on one canyon run and one lunchtime cruise around LA.

(1) It sounds like a plane. You know when you're rolling slowly toward the runway, and you hear that soft whistling noise from the jet engines? That's what the GT-R sounds like when you're trundling along in traffic. And you know how the whistle turns into a half-growl/half-shriek when the plane accelerates down the runway? That's what the GT-R sounds like when you floor it. Some have complained that this car doesn't have enough character in its exhaust note, but I say, who cares? The thing sounds like an airplane. That's just cool.

(2) In automatic mode, the transmission just can't wait to get you into 6th gear. Under light acceleration, you'll be in 6th by like 30 mph. I did an experiment in our parking garage over a span of about 100 feet — I went 0-18 mph, and I was in 4th gear by the end. Which is fine (fuel economy, emissions, what-have-you), but quite remarkable.

(3) Three six-footers and one five-foot-two-incher can drive around town in reasonable comfort for an hour, including a few full-throttle blasts and some corner-hugging turns. Trust me; I was there. The (lovely and talented) smallest passenger was admittedly sitting behind me, so that I wouldn't have the steering wheel in my lap, but the two other six-footers sat one behind the other on the passenger side, and they weren't complaining. This may have been partially because they were getting a ride in the GT-R, but nonetheless — try that in any other sub-4-second 0-60 car.

P.S. A special shout-out goes to six-footer Ola for literally stopping traffic in downtown Santa Monica in order to make this picture possible.

Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 4,419 miles

One Sick Machine

August 15, 2008

Just this morning I was chided by an alert reader that my use of the word "sick" to describe our 2009 Nissan GT-R's awesome performance in yesterday's post was misleading.

"For a moment there I really thought your GT-R needed a doctor," was the exact text.

Well, anyone who has watched an episode of "My Name is Earl" knows that karma is a powerful thing. Perhaps I souldn't have been alarmed when the above dire warning flashed before my eyes as I merged the GT-R from the Marina freeway onto the 405 south with a downshift and a squirt of throttle.

It must be serious. After all, three warnings came on all at once: a big yellow warning declaring an "engine system malfunction," (which, in a double-karmic move, obscured the digital speedo I spoke of in the "sick" post), a "service engine soon" lamp and, worst of all, a triangle containing the dreaded exclamation point.

I finished the drive home since the words "visit dealer" and "soon" appeared, instead of "pull over" or "now". I was further encouraged by the normal status of the plethora of gauges that can be called-up on the navigation screen, four pages worth.

At home I have a ScanGauge, a useful device that plugs into a car's OBD port and, among other things, reads trouble codes. Some of the more benign ones can even be reset with the thing.

It told me that our GT-R was suffering from a classic case of P0455, which stands for "Evaporative Emission Control System Leak Detected." Oh dear, not that!

Relax, it's probably just a "loose, improperly affixed or non-conforming gas cap." It could also be an honest-to-god leak in the EVAP system itself, but I don't smell any fuel. In that instance, standard procedure is to remove and reinstall the gas cap, clear the code and drive it for another day or so to see if it recurs.

So, with the help of my ScanGauge, that's exactly what I've done. But it seems odd that the warning didn't come until 175 miles after the last fill-up — and that happened before I appropriated the keys to this beast, so I don't know how that last pit stop was handled.

Karma can be a real pain in the butt.

PS: The car will be at Cars and Coffee, 7:00 am this Saturday in the parking lot between Ford's Premier Automotive Group and Mazda North America HQ, near the Irvine Spectrum.

PPSS: No it won't. See comments below.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 4,511 miles

Looking Back

August 18, 2008
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Floor Mats Not Included

August 19, 2008

Since it seems as though lighthearted posts like Donna's photoshop job aren't welcome here, I'll get down to more serious GT-R ownership issues. There are only three options when it comes to ordering a GT-R Premium: an iPod connector ($360), a no-cost cold weather package and a set of $280 floor mats.

Yes, for $72,900 Nissan will give you a 480-hp sportscar that will do 193mph, but if you want an extra five-square feet of industrial grade carpet to wipe your feet on, it'll be an another $280. But wait, you get more than just the carpet as each patch of gray yarn is adorned with a gleaming, full-sized GT-R badge. The carpet alone may only cost $1.38, but add in those badges and the cost basis soars well into the $2 range. So in other words, we got hosed on the mats, but if anyone steals the badge off the trunklid we've got two very expensive spares.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 4,594 miles

Back to the Dealer

August 25, 2008

For the second time in a week our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R is back at Santa Monica Nissan to fix a problem with the car's evaporative emissions system. Atleast, we think it's a problem with the car's evaporative emissions system. The GT-R seems to be running great, but this warning light keeps showing itself sporadically. The first time it happened the dealer said it was the old loose gas cap problem.

Hopefully they have a real solution to the issue this time around. We'll let you know.

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief @ 4,993 miles

Four New Facts About Godzilla

August 26, 2008

Each and every time you start the GT-R it checks its own oil.

Its factory spec tire pressure is just 29 psi front and back.

Kids really do fit in the backseat. Forget about adults.

Under the passenger floor is this hidden compartment where important items like the tow loop is stored.

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief @ 4,999 miles

Back From the dealer

August 29, 2008

On Monday our Long Term Nissan GTR went back to Nissan of Santa Monica for a recurring "Check Engine" light. The first time we reset the gas cap and cleared the code ourselves. The second time we brought the car in, they read the gas cap code tightened the cap and cleared the code. On this, the third go around, we sat them down and told them to fix something or we weren't going to leave.

We couldn't just go in blind at this point, not with a car with more computer processing ability than Russia circa-1992. No, one of the neat things about this business is our Rolodex is bursting at the hinges with phone numbers, email addresses, fax numbers and blood types of engineering types at the manufacturer level. While we won't ask them to pull any strings, we have no issue calling them in to appease our own curiosities.

When we heard back from "our guy" he said that, given our symptoms, the Evap Vent Control valve was most likely the culprit, but the dealer would know more once they scanned the car. As much as we trust the guys over at Nissan Santa Monica, there's no sense in giving them partial information. I blacked out the pertinent names and associations and gave them a quick summary of the potential problem. They said they'd call when they had a diagnosis.

Sure enough when we got the call late that very same Monday we dropped it off, they had read the codes and the evap vent control valve was faulty. Good news was that the part was in stock and was being installed as we speak.

This is the part that perked up my ears. In stock? Why? I doubt they have a front license plate bracket for the car, but they have vent control valves? "In stock?" I asked. "Yeah, it's the same one for almost all of our cars. Never seen one fail before." Interesting.

Unfortunately, the car would not be available until the following day. He requested verbal confirmation that I authorized a tech to road test the vehicle. I didn't have any choice but to agree.

Tuesday morning came and I got an early call from Doug, the guy in charge of all GTR service and 300zx owner. "We're having a bit of an issue, Mike. The valve isn't talking to the car right. It should take 3-minutes but it's been 30 with no response. I'll call you when I know more. Sorry." Later that day he called with the good news that the GTR was fixed, responding correctly, road-tested and Nissan approved.

In the time between picking it up from Nissan and today we've put over 300 miles on the car, including 30 hard miles during our routine instrumented testing (results of that forthcoming). No warning light has appeared and the car feels as strong as ever.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 5,300 miles

Back to the dealer (again)

September 03, 2008

It's a good thing that Doug at Nissan of Santa Monica is a nice guy and that he's one of the most attentive and knowledgeable service advisors I've run across. I have a feeling I'm going to be seeing a lot of him in the next year with our GT-R.

We had two reasons for bringing in our Nissan this time. The first was pretty benign, the 6,000-mile service was at hand. The second issue was more serious; during our performance testing our GT-R was leaking fuel. Leaking may not be a strong enough word here. Trails of fuel raced from the fuel-door and the smell was overwhelming. There were no warning lights and no noticeable loss of performance. Nothing really except a bunch of gas being ejected from the car. The testing was thankfully finished when the fuel-purge began so we parked it, ate lunch, and then drove it home. On the way home, and for the next few days, the issue did not repeat. That doesn't mean that it never happened, though.

The car is at the Nissan dealership now, we'll let you know when we have an estimated time of delivery. One of the problems with buying cars this new and driving them with the frequency we do is that we're often the first people to encounter problems (we were the first GT-R to be serviced in Santa Monica — they didn't even have a price in their computer yet for the service when we went for our belated 1,500 mile) and the diagnosis is a learning experience for all involved.

Stay tuned.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 5,990 miles.

I Want Comf You Stupid Car

September 04, 2008

There's an infomercial I've watched a few thousand times for some counter top oven thingie. The guy says the contraption is so easy to use, you just "set it and forget it".

I wish our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R followed this philosophy. Every time I climb in the car I have to put the suspension in Comf (there are three settings) and the transmission in R (Race, it also has three settings). I usually leave its stability control system in its default setting, which does not display a light (it also has three settings).

This sucks. If I owned the GT-R I would want the car to remember how I like it to be set up. I would want to set it and forget it. But as it is, I have to go through the same ritual each and every time I jump in the car. Running errands on a Saturday, I can futz with those toggle switches a dozen times in just an hour or two.

It's quite annoying. I just ran up to the cash machine you stupid car, can't you remember I want Comf?

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief

MIA

September 10, 2008

(Illustration by photo guy Kurt Niebuhr)

10-days ago I dropped our GTR off at Nissan of Santa Monica to let them deal with a fuel leak we experienced during some *ahem* spirited driving. Once at the dealer the problem, predictably, could not be repeated and nobody in the GTR program had heard of it. Unlike some other issues we've experienced that the dealer couldn't replicate, Nissan decided to act on our complaint immediately instead of waiting for it to happen again. But as the problem couldn't be duplicated and they have no pool of information on this car from which to draw, they weren't quite sure what they were going to do. After several calls to Nissan brass in the States and Japan a solution was decided upon: Replace everything involved in the fuel / evap system from the driver seat back and ship it back to HQ for analysis. The parts were already in the mail when he called me. The car, they said, would be available the following Wednesday, today.

Well this morning I got another call from our local Nissan shop with more news. When the corporate techs (flown in to diagnose a sick godzilla) were removing the transaxle (!) to replace the fuel tank they noticed some moisture on one of the seals. They wiped it off and road tested the car in an attempt to replicate that leak. No dice. Following precedent set with the fuel system problem, they called HQ and were told to remove the transaxle and ship it back for analysis.

The new gearbox is already en-route, we should have the GTR back on Tuesday unless they decide to replace the engine while they're at it.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ ?,??? miles.

Gutless

September 12, 2008

Not going to tell you how we got past the iron curtain to get these photos of our Nissan GTR, but a bit of subterfuge was required. Enjoy.

Follow the jump for more

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

Still Not 100%

September 15, 2008

Late last Friday, we got a call that our GT-R was back in one piece and ready for the weekend. A full run down of everything that was done is in the works, but until then I volunteered to give it a test drive to see if everything felt up to factory spec.

It did. The car is still stupid fast and there were no new noises coming from the rear end. No sign of the warning light that started everything either. Everything seemed solid until I went to gas it up. The nozzle clicked off with the tank only half full and no amount of wrangling would get it flowing again. I tried two other pumps at different gas stations, but it was the same story. Needless to say, the GT-R went back to dealer. We'll keep you posted on its progress.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 6,108 miles

Fixed (again)(again)

September 24, 2008

After almost two weeks out of service, our 2009 Nissan GT-R is back on duty.

Follow the jump (and be prepared) for the full run-down of the fix(es).

Last Monday, Sept 15, our GT-R went back to Nissan of Santa Monica after only three days back in our hands. The trouble this time was, again, related to the evaporative system and the fuel system. It wouldn't take gas.

The following is taken directly from the Nissan GT-R's owner's manual. "REFUELING STOPS BEFORE THE TANK IS FULL The fuel tank pressure is higher when the vehicle is hot. If the vehicle is refueled when the vehicle is hot, the fuel pump may automatically shut off before the tank is full. This does not indicate that there is a malfunction. This will not happen after the vehicle has cooled."

This "quirk" results from the tank set-up, a saddle-bag design with two resevoirs and, obviously, only one inlet that sits atop the transaxle. As the temperature in the tank rises, the gases fill the void and limit the amount of fuel that can be pumped in.

The EPA frowns upon (read: won't allow) the free release of gaseous fuel. When working properly, excess pressure (as unburned hydrocarbons) are vented into a charcoal canister and dumped back into the system to be burned in the engine. This was where our car went wrong. A ventilation tube from the fuel tank wasn't venting. Pressure built up and wouldn't allow any more fluids to be added. (Air bubbles are nasty critters when they have nowhere to go.) In our situation, however, there was a malfunction. The vehicle had plenty of time to cool and yet the tank would not fill. Nissan of Santa Monica again flew out a specialist (wonder if they're regretting moving HQ out of California yet) to diagnose and fix the issue. The tank was vented and the seals were replaced.

After 5-fills, at least 2 of them on E, there has been no repeat of the issue. Though it must be said that we are still on break-in mileage for the new transaxle and the miles have been gentle. While we can't be sure of this, it stands to reason that this failure had something to do with our recent repair involving a fuel leak. For that repair the follow was replaced:

Fuel tank assembly

Charcoal canister (evaporative system)

Fuel filler tube

Purge control solenoid

Filler Cap

During this repair — one that required the removal of the transaxle — Nissan's techs found some moisture on the removed driveline parts. They cleaned the part, road tested the car and then, when it failed to repeat, requested to exchange the ($13,690 — according to Courtesey Nissan of Texas) part for a new one. This, they said, wouldn't add any time to the repair as they were still waiting on parts to arrive. We've never had any problem to the transaxle, but it wouldn't add any more time so we agreed. (This also prolonged our first transmission oil change, an event that, according to some at NAGTROC.ORG, runs about $1,000.) The only downside to this replacement, on our end, is the repeat of the initial 1,000 mile break-in period.

The final reason for our GT-R's absence was its six-thousand mile service. Total time for this was less than a day and cost $75 in 0W40; $6.95 in filters; $2.65 for a drain washer; and a whopping $248 in labor. Plus tux the total was $339.58. While the service was done the same day, we had to wait until the following Monday to pay for the job; Nissan didn't have pricing information for the 6K service yet. We were, apparently, the first.

Total time out of service was 13 days.

As I said in one of the other GT-R blogs, Doug at Nissan Santa Monica is one of the better service advisors I've had to deal with. He's attentive and he understands the complexity of the GT-R and the level of service expected from the owner of an $80,000 toy.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 6,200 miles

0-60 in 3.5 and 27.4mpg

September 26, 2008

With all of the hubbub surrounding the recent repairs on our long term 2009 Nissan GT-R we thought we'd bring things back around and focus on the point of the GT-R: going fast.

We ran our GT-R (our car purchased from a dealership, not a press vehicle) through all of our normal performance tests, 0-60, 1/4-mile, 60-0, slalom and skidpad.

Follow the link for the full details.

2009 Nissan GT-R Performance Test:

Acceleration:

0-30: 1.5

0-45: 2.6

0-60: 3.9

0-60 with rollout: 3.5

0-75: 5.5

1/4-mile: 12.0 @ 114.7

Comments: "Seems like both the driver and the car are working properly, but this isn't as quick as we've seen in the past. Launch is good, but 60 and 1/4 (times) are off slightly. Got noticeably slower the more we ran it. Quit at 4 runs."

Braking:

60-0: 108 feet

30-0: 28 feet

Comments: "Again, everything feels to spec, yet 108 is a long way from previous 98 ft best."

Slalom: 73.6 mph

Comments: "Suddenly the GT-R feels 400-lbs lighter in the slalom. The biggest challenge is not hitting cones (especially on the driver's right side). Discovered a counter intuitive trait this time: if it understeers, wood the throttle and let the computers take care of it."

Skidpad: .91 G

Comments: "All setting on full attack but it understeered its way to a .091G. Seems "off" to me."

Oh, about that 27.4 mpg thing. On the same day as this test I was charged with escorting a test car, ferried by trailer, on a 250+ mile trek. We were limited to Trucks with Trailer speed limits (which were occasionally ignored by my right foot) on California's 5 highway. The digital display read 29.5, but our calculations had it a bit lower; 27.4. Beats my best Z06 mileage (25.5) by a hair.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 5,000 miles

It's All a Blur, Really

September 26, 2008

It appears that our GT-R is back on form. Thanks to a little help from our Escort 9500i radar detector it set down a nice baseline for future OC to Vegas time trials yesterday morning. How does 266.3 miles in two hours and 54 minutes sound?

Actually, we did nothing of the sort. Only irresponsible hacks who care little about the safety of others would do something like that. So cool it with the comments.

Here's something that surprised us: The GT-R yielded 17.2 mpg over the run through the desert. Got 21.8 on the way home.

Not too bad, really.

Josh Jacquot, Senior road test editor @ 7,643 miles

Start This

September 29, 2008

Start buttons. Dumb.

Even in the GT-R.

Josh Jacquot, Senior road test editor @ 7,730 miles

Night rider

October 01, 2008

Shook hands with Godzilla last night, and had a brief, but enjoyable visit. This thing's good. I only experienced two freeway on-ramps to get just a hint of the handling, but it sticks like glue through the turns. If you probed the limits on a public road, you may find yourself on your head. The steering is good, but not great. But the acceleration at speed is amazing, the fastest I've ever experienced. If you mash the throttle on the freeway, there may not be a downshift but there's no drama; you're just gone. And you find yourself quickly going crazy fast. As Dan said, the speedo's useless, but there is a nice digital speed display so you can confirm the traffic citation.

The Polyphony/Xanavi display is fun to play with, but I wasn't about to take a pic while I was driving, so the two screens I'm showing here were when the car was stationary, hence not much displayed data. There are 11 different screens that show engine functions, lateral and longitudinal acceleration, torque distribution, driver's steering and pedal inputs, and some others. It's technically fascinating.

The 6-speed dual clutch transmission is excellent, but first gear is clunky and sometimes even throws you forward. Also, in first and second gears, there is some crunching sounds coming from the transmission. That wasn't pleasant.

But I love the styling. It's the only Japan car that I would call Bad. You know, like Tony Montana or Mr. Blonde.

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 7622 mi

Relentless

October 03, 2008

My first time behind the wheel of the R35 was long before we acquired our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R. It was almost exactly one year ago in Nurburg, Germany. Nissan had just set a 7:38 lap of the 'Ring, and I was there to drive the Zorro-masked GT-R and a Porsche 997 Turbo.

In Germany I drove a "PT2" car, which is Nissan-speak for a pre-production car. The word that leapt to mind during my first blast through the GT-R's gears on the Autobahn was "relentless." Even today I can recall the seamless and ceaseless flood of speed, a sensation magnified by the car's apparent indifference to the absurd digits being wiped by the speedo needle. No drama. Just speed.

Back in town, I experimented with the GT-R's different damper settings. No matter the setting, however, the ride quality was similarly relentless.

That brings us to today, and our long-term GT-R. This one rides better than that PT2 car. We can thank a few pieces of rubber for the improvement, and I'm not talking about the tires.

Basically, the powertrain of every production car rests on mounts, which are essentially soft rubber hockey pucks. Some of them are fancy fluid-filled deals, but they all do the same job: they connect the powertrain to the chassis while preventing unwanted noise and vibration from making its way to the cabin.

So what do they have to do with ride quality? In finalizing the GT-R in the months after I drove it, Nissan engineers had increased the durometer (stiffness) of the transaxle mounts. These stiffer mounts did a better job of keeping the transaxle from moving around during hard cornering. As a result, handling improved. With this single change, the car was faster.

Nissan then tweaked the shock absorber's valving, reducing damping force by about 10%. In isolation, these softer dampers would reduce the car's willingness to change direction. But coupled with the new transaxle mount, the net result, says a Nissan engineer, was that the car's ultimate handling capability stayed the same as the PT2 car I drove in Germany but rides better.

I'm here to say it worked. Our long-term car, while still very firm, breathes better over bumps than the relentless PT2 car. The change is noticeable. And while the GT-R will never be described as plush, the enhanced pliancy is welcome.

Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 7,758 miles.

Jetting off to Vegas

October 06, 2008

The first time I really laid into the GT-R was merging onto the highway Saturday morning. The absolutely effortless acceleration and jet-like engine aria were astonishing — I giggled for a good 30 seconds. Sadlier was dead on when he described it as like driving a plane. Actually, the last time I felt such a sensation was on a small private jet.

So when I drew the GT-R for the weekend, I immediately changed my plans and jetted out for 24 hours in Las Vegas.

Given the fact I live farther away than Jacquot does, I knew I couldn't touch his absurd time from the week before, but on a Saturday morning I figured I could at least set a new record for myself. Averaging around — mph and keeping pace with other cars, I got from Santa Monica to the Luxor in 3.5 hours. And what a few hours it was. Once you clear the god-awful Los Angeles freeway surfaces, the GT-R's Comf suspension setting becomes less ironic and I could actually enjoy the ride. The seats I initially lamented for pinching a little too much and not offering adjustable bolsters like in the G37, actually became wonderfully comfortable as the drive went on. My girlfriend (who is basically half my size) concurred that the seats were excellent.

Other than the suspension, I couldn't ask for a better Vegas car than the GT-R. Reason one is the turbo-6 doesn't blink at the countless inclines. Reason two is the ability to blow past the ExpeTahoeBurbans and dimwitted Priuses that diligently cling to the left lane. This was a bigger deal on the way back Sunday with much heavier traffic. Although I hate passing on the right (since it's not so legal), they leave you little choice with their complete lack of lane discipline. After giving them a brief opportunity to get the hell out of Godzilla's way, I yell out "Shake and bake baby!" and like a pilot pushing down on the throttle at take-off, nudge into the GT-R's jet engine. Holy crap it's fun.

And yet with such speed and fun, I managed 19.78 mpg over the whole trip (one tank each way, 18.5 mpg there, 21.4 back). That's pretty darn good considering I only got 20.2 mpg out of a Dodge Journey on the exact same journey three weeks ago. JDP could also only manage 17.1 mpg out of the R8 on the much flatter trip to Phoenix.

Given all this and the fact it has a useful trunk and lots of entertainment options, the GT-R is a phenomenal road trip car...as long as the road's good enough for Comf to actually mean Comf.

(I'll have some more GT-R trip stories this week over on Thoughts from the Curb)

James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 8,318 miles

Where's the Spoiler Delete Option?

October 08, 2008

The GT-R's spoiler may be functional, but it's also ugly. If this were my car, the first thing I would have done is find a way to remove the ungainly plank of plastic. Sure, it might make it unstable at 175mph, but I think I could live with that.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 8,327 miles

Separated at Birth?

October 13, 2008

Um, resemblance?

The ironic thing is the Cobalt's wing is actually bigger.

James Riswick, Automotive Editor

No Alignment Needed

October 20, 2008

During last week's sneak preview of the 370Z, one of the Nissan engineers in attendance asked to take a quick spin in our GT-R. He was curious to see if all the recent work we had done was up to spec. After a few brief runs around the block he gave a thumbs up to the transmission swap, but said he thought our alignment might be off.

Since we don't want any uneven wear on our very expensive tires, we took the GT-R to Steve Mitchell at M-Workz in Gardena to have a look. He's worked on more R35s than anyone in L.A., so if there was anything wrong he would know. After setting our GT-R up on his alignment rack, he checked the numbers and declared everything perfectly straight.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 9,437 miles

This is going to be expensive...

October 26, 2008

Noticed this gem just the other day. Guess what? No third-party suppliers of windshields for an '09 Nissan GT-R.

The order for a new one has been placed with Nissan of Santa Monica. Installation and curing will leave the GT-R out of service for a full day. We'll let you know the extent of the damage to our budget when the glass arrives.

EDIT: A close-up photo of the impact has been added after the jump. Click the image for full size.

Oh, and yes that is a fire extinguisher in the back seat....I'm not telling you why though.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 11,708 miles.

No Automatic headlights?

October 29, 2008

Seriously Nissan? 80-grand. Automatic transmission, keyless entry, iPod integration, NAV with real-time traffic, but no automatic headlights? It seems trivial, but I had them in my '95 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe and they should be present here, too.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

Support Vehicle

November 03, 2008

I was working on my "race car" all weekend and used our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R to schelp tired 15-year old mechanical bits to the shop. The GT-R's trunk is pretty large, but its small opening means creatively Tetrising the huge Rubbermaid container to get it to drop into the trunk.

Every so often I'd look up from our clapped-out beater — a first-gen Miata that we're building for the 24 Hours of LeMons — and see the GT-R parked amongst a fleet of Exiges that are being serviced by the shop's owner, Mark DiBella of MD Automotive. It was like gnawing on a rotting Slim Jim while standing in front of Ruth's Chris steakhouse.

Speaking of questionable food choices, we broke for lunch in the GT-R and headed to the In-N-Out drive-thru. When we pulled up, a few of the employees got all excited and started doing the GT-R dance. Wasn't until I unwrapped my burger later that I realized just how distracted they really were by the car. They forgot the bun.

Engineering Editor Jason Kavanagh @ 11,937 miles.

Getting its New Windshield

November 06, 2008

This morning our 2009 Nissan GT-R returned to its second home, Santa Monica Nissan, to get a new windshield. The estimate? $1,696. And we had to leave it overnight.

During it's stay, we asked to have its scheduled maintenance calender reset. As you can see it thinks the car needs service. Trouble is, it doesn't. We're off schedule because the car was serviced early when we had its transaxle replaced some time ago.

And such is life with a supercar.

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief @ 12,075

Is the GT-R's Transmission Really a Problem?

November 12, 2008

There's a considerable amount of internet chatter going on these days regarding the GT-R's durability. We've had our fair share of problems, but none of the issues have left us stranded - and that includes the transaxle that was replaced. It had a leaky seal that Nissan wanted to inspect more closely, but it never refused to work right.

That's noteworthy as most of the chat room bickering involves the transmission. We don't doubt other owners have had problems, but our experience has been considerably different.

For one, we bought the car at a dealership like everybody else and we never had to sign a waiver that said the warranty would be voided if we used the launch control system. If anybody else has, we would love to see it.

Since that time, we've track tested our GT-R twice, used launch control numerous times and ran it hard on the Streets of Willow road course during our GT-R versus ZR1 comparison test. The VDC was off and nothing broke. And this was on a car with over 11,000 miles on it, 5,000 of those miles since the new transaxle was installed. Drove it home last night and the car felt fine.

Again, we're not saying the GT-R doesn't have its problems, but when someone says they barely ever used launch control and suddenly their transmission imploded, you wonder if there's more to the story. We would be glad to hear them if people really want to vent, but for now we'll just keep driving our GT-R as hard as ever - "delicate" transmission and all.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 12,171 miles

2009 Nissan GT-R vs. 2009 Nissan 370Z

November 14, 2008

Sorry about the grainy pics, but a little elf just delivered a bright red 2009 Nissan 370Z with a 6-Speed manual transmission to our office. It will be at the Edmunds 370Z unveil party tomorrow night (I hope to see everyone there.) and track tested next week.

All good right? Not quite. Looks like I have a decision to make. A tough decision. Do I take the 370Z home for the weekend or our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R?

What would you do?

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief @ 12,427 miles

Screw the Warranty, Launch it

November 18, 2008

On Saturday morning I took our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R to the hand wash. I was going to display it that evening at our unveil party for the 2009 Nissan 370Zand it was in deep need of a bath. Of course, everyone at the car wash wanted to know about the car, including a nice man there to bathe his almost new 350Z.

He wanted to know how much faster the GT-R was than his Z, which by the way was rolling on heavy 19s. I told him the GT-R was much faster than his Z. That it wasn't even close. That the GT-R's speed was in a whole other dimension than his ride.

He wasn't buying it. "But they're both V6s," he said. "Same engine, how can one be that much faster than the other? My Z would be just as quick if I threw on a turbo."

I argued the benefits of the GT-R's special engine, dual-cluch transmission and all-wheel drive, but he wasn't buying. So I offered to take him for a ride.

Screw the warranty. I set the launch control and blew his mind. He had no idea a car could be as quick as the GT-R. Its performance was actually out of the man's limited imagination, beyond what he thought was possible. After three gears he begged me to slow down.

It was such a good launch I went back to the spot after I dropped the guy off at his Z. The GT-R laid a 23 ft. patch (look closely at the photo) with its rear tires before the all-wheel drive system caught up and send some of that power to the front tires.

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief

Caveat Emptor

November 23, 2008

Sorry for the delay in posting this, but there was a lot going on with the service and it took a bit of time to iron out the wrinkles.

Follow the jump for full details, this one's a doozy.

As always, easy stuff out of the way first: 12,000-miles in GT-R world is transmission calibration and oil change time. That runs $384.95, $300 in labor and $84.95 in parts. Air filters are also recommended at this interval and given the amount of time this car spends in the desert, it was an easy decision to drop the $85 (this price is for the filter elements only — still $15/ea more than Courtesy Nissan in Texas wants — because of an original price misquote here they threw the labor in for free. Expect that to cost more when servicing your GT-R.). After the recent fires we've experienced here in SoCal, though, we may need to replace them again sooner than we had wanted. That brings me to the first thing we did not have serviced; the in-cabin microfilter. But again, after these fires, we'll have to do soon.

The big thing here was the windshield. My usual contacts had no luck finding a GT-R windshield and wouldn't get one from Nissan. I could bring them a windshield, they said, but we'd have to buy it ourselves. Well, at that point it was easier just to have the dealer set up the appointment and that's what we did.

It took Nissan of Santa Monica about an hour to get a quote on the piece, but boy was it a good one; $1,300.43 for the glass alone. We're used to prices being a little higher in Santa Monica than they would be in Wichita, but wow...that's a big number. Oh, and that big number doesn't include the $$322.80 for labor on the swap. Take a second and compare that to the $1231.67 we paid to have the dealership replace the windshield on our 2007 Mini Cooper. That price included $725 worth of labor which leaves about $500 for the actual part. We didn't have much of an option as parts costs generally fluctuate very little between the dealers here, so we went for it.

The part came in about 5 days later and the install was performed the next day. They outsourced the repair to 1st Class Auto Glass, a local outfit we've used before with good luck. With a few warnings (don't go racing around, don't slam the doors, don't go to the carwash for 48 hours) we had our GT-R back the very same day but without $2,244.23 of our dollars.

But then we read the blog posting by GTRZ in a follow-up report. We weren't thrilled by what he had to say, "I broke my windshield also on my 2009 GTR. I had it replaced by Team Nissan (Oxnard, CA) for a little more than $1k and this included installation." *sigh* This got me calling around, again, but this time to competing Nissan dealers from Texas to Massachusetts and then back here to California. The most expensive, of course, was here and it was $960. The other dealers had them in the 8's. By this time we had already paid for the repair and I was more than a little pissed, so I called our service advisor at Nissan of SM and left a heated, but polite, message. When he returned my call he had already done some leg-work on his own and found that their prices were wildly out-of-whack with what others were charging. I was offered the choice of partial refund for the overcharge or credit towards a future repair, we took the check. They didn't have to do anything, but when it comes to keeping a GT-R owner happy they seem to understand the need for extraordinary measures. Gotta keep the conductor of the gravy-train happy during the tough times, right?

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 12,072 miles

More MPG Than STI

November 25, 2008

Dig this, hypermilers.

I recently ran a tank of premium through our 2008 Subaru STI. It was a 50/50 mix of highway and city driving and I averaged 16.5 mpg as you can see by the top photo.

A week later I drove through a tank in our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R. It was also a 50/50 mix of city and highway. But check the number. It wasted the STI, averaging almost 20 mpg.

Now, this is not a scientific comparison. In fact, the EPA says the Subie should get the better mileage. It's rated at 17 city/23 hwy, while the GT-R is rated at 16 city and 21 hwy. But it doesn't change the fact that in the real world, the wicked quick GT-R gets better mileage than the STI. At least when I'm driving.

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief

Not for Crybabies

November 28, 2008

Every time the 2009 Nissan GT-R's dual-clutch automated manual transmission rattles and clicks while cruising around town, it reminds me of the sounds made by a racing-type, non-synchromesh dog-ring gearbox. And when someone whines about this intrusion by the mechanical workings of the car, I'm happy. It means there's one less crybaby fascinated by the GT-R - and one more person who will find his way to the Lexus SC 430 that he deserves.

There's no sense complaining about the GT-R's ride quality. Or its shift action. Or the noise that the transmission makes. Or the way the rear wing looks on the rear deck. Or the way fuel will puke out of the gas tank when the rear differential has been heated up by hard use. Or even the fact that you're on your own when it comes to warranty coverage when you engage launch control for a fast getaway.

The Nissan GT-R is a fast car. It doesn't make excuses for being a fast car. It doesn't try to pretend it's a limousine or a minivan, a crossover or a commuter. It's exactly the automobile we've been asking for, a hard-bitten performance car.

It is not for crybabies.

If you're not up for the compromises in your comfort and welfare while driving this automobile, then you should be driving something else. It's a mystery to me that the GT-R should get so much stick for its eccentricities. It is as if the car is being forced to pay a psychological price for its affordable market price. Because it costs less than a Porsche 911 GT2, there are those who expect it to be as user-friendly as a Subaru WRX.

For me, the Nissan GT-R is a pure track car that through some sneaky legislative loophole is allowed to carry a license plate. It is a sports car, a civilian version of the Nissan-sponsored GT-R that just won the championship in Japan's Super GT racing series (pictured above). The GT-R is a racing car for the street, not a 480-hp Lexus. Its eccentricities are part of the price you pay.

The only way the 2009 Nissan GT-R could be better would be if it, you know, occasionally caught on fire.

Michael Jordan, Executive Editor, @ 13,500 miles

The Holidays With Godzilla

November 28, 2008

It only takes a few stints behind the wheel of the GT-R to figure out the best settings for its driver-configurable transmission, suspension and stability control systems. It looks pretty much like this: transmission switch in "R" mode, suspension switch in "Comf"and the VDC switch left in the middle. The result is slightly quicker reactions from the transmission (which is otherwise quite lazy for a sportscar) and a fractionally more comfortable ride. Oh, and it also means that the soon-to-be-defunct launch control setup is only two buttons away instead of three. Not that we would ever take such a risk.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 12,914 miles

Driving a Fast Car Slowly

December 01, 2008

I was reminded this weekend why supercars like the GT-R aren't all that great. They're too damn fast. As in, if I dip into even half of this car's capability, there could be jail time in my future. The GT-R is especially guilty of this. Unlike a hard-edged Viper or Z06 Corvette, the Nissan is so tame that going ridiculously fast feels quite comfortable. It made driving one of my favorite mountain roads this weekend a lesson in restraint. Maybe I should have taken the 1-Series instead.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 12,144 miles

How Fast Without Launch Control?

December 05, 2008

So how fast is it w/o using launch control?" asked Desmolicious. This was the first reply when Straightline broke the news that the 2010 Nissan GT-R would not be available with the launch control feature that helps the car get some pretty amazing times. Turns out that this sort of thing — electronically dumping the clutch on a 480-hp, AWD car with the revs way up — could do some pretty serious damage to the gearbox as well as the tires. "We just don't want to deal with the warranty nightmare anymore. It'll make the 2009 GT-R really special. It'll be the only R35 with launch control." Said a ranking Nissan Exec.

There's been a lot of speculation on the performance, but we have data loggers and test drivers and a closed test facility, we don't need to speculate. Last week we put our 2009 Nissan GT-R back on the starting line, this time without launch control. Follow the jump for the numbers.

With:
0-30: 1.61
0-45: 2.64
0-60 : 3.53
0-60: 3.83
0-75: 5.29
1/4 mile @ mph: 11.77 @ 118.63

Without LC:
0-30: 2.3
0-45: 3.2
0-60 : 4.0
0-60: 4.3
0-75: 5.8
1/4 mile @ mph: 12.3 @ 118.5

Comments: "After trying every combination of suspension settings, shift protocol, automatic and manual shift, and traction control, I tried a completely default run (Normal: shift, suspension, trac) and it effectively tied my all-R / Manual shifted run. Big bog out of the hole, but then it goes like stink."

The Blue line represents the GT-R w/ launch control, the red line is w/o.

There you have it. 4.3 instead of 3.83.

Let the GT-R bashing begin!

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 13,185 miles

Christmas is coming

December 08, 2008

I got an early Christmas present this weekend when I found that the Skyline GT-R was available. The acceleration is explosive — like a sportbike! And if you mash the throttle like an ape while making a 90 deg turn, it'll get sideways a bit. The only downside to the handling is that you get a lot of bumpsteer and it wants to follow every rain groove in the pavement — so you're constantly making steering inputs. We celebrated Manny Pacquiao's pummeltuous victory over the Golden Boy by cruising around a bit in the GT-R before going to a house party. My buddy asked me to pick up his girlfriend on the way so she could ride in the vehicle that he intends to purchase, instead of a house. Initially unimpressed, after experiencing a few brutal launches, she proclaimed, "You're not allowed to get this car!" I think they're still together. But that's how it is with the GT-R: men go bananas over it, women couldn't care less. I capped off the weekend by attending mass at the Los Angeles Cathedral (pictured). To thank the Lord for the GT-R? Nah, I got final exams this week and could use the help. When we sell this Skyline R35 sometime in 2009, the ad may read, "Driven occasionally to church on Sunday."

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 13,638 mi

Door Handles

December 10, 2008

Have we ever shown you the door handles on the GT-R? Ooh, fancy.

This is a very special car and it deserves special details.

We know Ed doesn't like the handles on the Audi R8.

What car do you think has the best door handles?

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Pretty in Pink

December 12, 2008

This weekend marks a first for me: It will be my first weekend with our Nissan GT-R with no strings attached. It didn't just come from having something major replaced. It's not on break-in miles. I don't have to drive it to the middle of nowhere to drag race a ZR-1 (okay, that wasn't so bad) or some other crazy, yet usually fun, work-related errand. Nope, this time it's just me and the GT-R for a whole weekend.

Well, there is one catch. Remember back in October when I dragged my girlfriend cross-country and back in our 2009 Ford Flex? Well, it's payback time.

My girlfriend isn't the typical shopping type. Instead of being a general fashionista with eyes on the world as a whole, she holds tight to a few select brands and buys their entire collection. Thrilling, I know. One of those brands is Tokidoki. An Italian designer with a love for Japan started the slightly insane lifestyle brand who's cult following was exacerbated by a collaboration with Hello Kitty. Again, thrilling.

The point of this story is that I've been forced asked to attend the Grand Opening of the Happy Six — the premiere retailer of Tokidoki wares — flagship store at Plaza El Segundo where the brand's founder and style director will be present. When I volunteered begrudgingly agreed to go, my only ray of hope was the GT-R. This is the GT-R's type of gig and I figured I wouldn't be the only bored guy dragged out on a Saturday afternoon.

So, if you're around Southern California and want to check out our GT-R, you know where I'll be.

Wow, that's a lot of pink. Maybe I'll just be down the road at Starbucks.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant.

The Beauty of All-Wheel Drive

December 17, 2008

I awoke this morning to the coldest temps in recent memory around here. Which, in Santa Monica, means high 40s, so yeah, not really cold at all. Still, the cool air seemed to have chilled the GT-R's bones a bit as it turned over a little more lazily than usual. I also noticed that the dashboard display screen took a minute or two to warm up like some old vacuum tube TV

That said, once everything was up to temp the GT-R had no trouble with the slick roads from last night's rain. Like Roman's pointed out earlier, you don't realize how insane all-wheel drive can be until you try laying down some serious horsepower on a damp, cold street. There was a slip here and there, but for the most part the GT-R could still muster a pretty serious launch. Not the mythical transmission-busting kind of launch, but certainly one that would leave a rear-wheel drive car wallowing in the Nissan's tire spray.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 14,067 miles

My dog has fleas

December 22, 2008

The Skyline R35 is absolutely thrilling to drive — each and every time I get behind the wheel. My friends who were lucky enough to get rides in it marveled at the explosive acceleration and amazing handling. One remarked that the acceleration produced a pressure feeling in his chest. Another said a downhill grade was like being on a roller-coaster. They were all howling like kids on Christmas day. But there's a downside to this pup: it attracts fleas.

Nearly everywhere I went, some guy wanted to race or look at the car from behind at a range of one meter as I negotiated traffic. Two guys wanted to race me on Sunset...in a Nissan Titan! No thanks — me and my passengers only laughed with disdain.

Myself and a few friends also took the GT-R into the canyons above Malibu (The 'Bu to you surfer dudes). It was there where we picked up some fleas (shown in the pic.) These pinheads (five cars in all) tailgated me for quite some time, eventually passing me (due to my moderate pace) by crossing the double-yellow line at ridiculous speed. Uncool. And illegal. Fortunately, no one got hurt — this time.

Unwanted attention — yeah, the Skyline gets that in spades.

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 14,450 mi

A Suspension Tune from Greatness

December 30, 2008

A week in the GT-R is like hanging out with Superman. Wherever you stop, people notice, and if stationary long enough, begin to congregate. Matronly types with no interest at all in automobiles put their hand near their mouth (as if the GT-R might overhear) and comment in unconsciously sultry tones on how fast the car looks. Small groups mingle on sidewalks to watch you pull away, witness to the jet-like roar as the car spools its turbos. All the while, you're ensconced in a bunker-like cocoon with fantastic seats. Beyond the ill-deserved attention, my wife specifically asked me not to bring this car home again. Why?

It was certainly not for the GT-R's chiseled good looks. This is a fairly massive coupe, but it deftly hides that bulk in a square-jawed way that grabs you as you approach the car. Favreau should have put Iron Man in this rather than the R8. In white, especially when approached from the front, its gaping maw does make it look like a whale shark has trolled onto your driveway. But in the darker shades, this is one menacing machine. Though I never got the chance to snap a photo of the two together over the holiday, a neighbor down the end of my block has a black GT-R (welcome to L.A.), and trust me, it's all ate up with menacing.

So what was up with the shun? My spouse's cruel request stemmed from the GT-R's suspension tuning. On SoCal's beautifully constructed concrete freeways, the expansion joint hop can make the GT-R a brutal penalty box over long freeway stretches. Granted, this is not a car tuned for freeway running, but in the spirit of other great grand-touring machines, this stands out from an otherwise impressive all-rounder.

The GT-R does feature an adjustable suspension, which helps calm what still feels like a combination of a brutal spring rate and overly aggressive compression damping. But even in the comfort mode, poor pavement will have the GT-R's stiff chassis transferring pounding impacts to the cabin. For all the time most owners will spend on the track, I'd happily trade the suspension's "R" mode for a silkier setting below the "Conf" notch. They could save the range of this setup, or an even stiffer one, for the upcoming GT-R V Spec.

This realm of suspension tuning is an area where the European manufacturers still seem to have an edge over their Japanese counterparts. Compliance combined with sporting control is the Euro's ace in the hole. Perhaps it's Japan's lucky emphasis on excellent road quality, but many sporting machines from Japan seem tuned in a test-track vacuum. We're always seeing GT-R mules flitting around the Nurburgring, but suspensions tuned for lap-time bragging rights often run counter to real world livability. While at the Nordschleife, they might want to hound some of the BMW crew.

This poor-pavement punishment is a standout anomaly, as the GT-R would otherwise happily serve as an everyday supercar. I can't say enough about the stellar, grippy seats, the tranny is responsive in manual mode and still works well in stop-and-go traffic, even the trunk is usefully spacious. Chassis feedback is limited as you really push this beast, but that limit is so ridiculously high, few will ever approach it on the street. Do you think if we could get some Japanese suspension engineers to apprentice for a while at BMW, they'd finally seal the ride/handling gap?

Paul Seredynski, Executive Editor @ 14,783 miles

Not Really Inconspicuous

January 05, 2009

This past week has been my first time behind the wheel of our Nissan GT-R. Before I started driving it earnestly, I thought that maybe — just maybe — the GT-R and I would be on the down-low. I mean, the GT-R's from a mass-market automaker, isn't red, isn't low to the ground and doesn't scream "exotic!" or "male member enhancer!" in the traditional sense. Maybe people would just mistake it for a G37 coupe or something?

Alas, that hasn't been the case. I live north of our SoCal offices in Fresno, Calif, which isn't too far off from being the "Midwest" of California. Even if people don't know what it is, they recognize it as something special. Having a GT-R here is like having Scarlett Johansson move in next door to you.

And this is probably how three prepubescent boys on their bicycles felt as they swirled around the GT-R yesterday after I had parked it at the local supermarket...

The boys seemed pretty knowledgeable about it and were taking pictures with their cellphones. I recognized one of them, Brian, who lives down the street from me. I was thinking about what it would have been like when I was about 10 or so to have an "exotic" appear out of nowhere. On a whim, I told Brian to call his parents and get the OK for a quick ride in the GT-R.

As he was getting in, he was saying, "This is so cool..." I gave him a quick rundown of the GT-R and queued up a display screen for him that shows turbo boost, throttle position and speed. Then we headed out of the parking lot.

I asked Brian what the fastest car he had ever been in was, and he said, "Umm, I dunno. A Mercedes, I guess." "Well, Brian, this is going to be a bit faster than that." I matted the throttle and the GT-R blasted down the road, without launch control but still very much on full afterburner. "Whoa," is about all that tumbled out of Brian's mouth.

I did it once more for affect and then brought him back to his friends.

There's one memory he probably won't forget in a long time.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 15,064 miles

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a GT-R

January 08, 2009

I've been looking over our 2009 Nissan GT-R posts recently and have noticed a frequent theme. Here are some quotes from my esteemed collogues:

"...it's so fast that you can almost believe those signature round taillights contain afterburners or JATO rockets, or something." (Dan Edmunds)

"Stupid-fast." (Edmunds)

"It sounds like a plane." (Sadlier)

"...the acceleration at speed is amazing. If you mash the throttle on the freeway ... you're just gone. And you find yourself quickly going crazy fast." (Austria)

plus...

"Relentless." (Kavanagh)

"[It's a] seamless and ceaseless flood of speed, a sensation magnified by the car's apparent indifference to the absurd digits being wiped by the speedo needle. No drama. Just speed." (Kavanagh)

"The absolutely effortless acceleration and jet-like engine aria were astonishing." (Riswick)

"After giving them a brief opportunity to get the hell out of Godzilla's way, I yell out "Shake and bake baby!" and like a pilot pushing down on the throttle at take-off, nudge into the GT-R's jet engine. Holy crap it's fun." (Riswick)

Yes, the GT-R really is superman (or Godzilla) when it comes to providing effortless speed. Here's my take on why so many of us have described it in this way:

Pervasive powerband

The twin-turbo V6's 480 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque seemingly reside everywhere. It's not like a high-revving Honda or BMW M engine, where all the power (and fun) is up high. Nor is it your typical domestic V8 that's all guts-and-glory down low but packs it in by 6,000 rpm. No matter what rpm you're at, the GT-R is ready.

Dual-clutch transmission
If you think about yourl shift speed with a manual transmission, there's that half-second (or whatever it is) pause of acceleration as you change gears. With the GT-R, there's no respite of action. Tug on the right shift paddle and the next gear clicks in, locked and loaded. The GT-R never lets up.

Yes, it sounds like an airplane
Well, sort of. There's that lower speed whine that Sadlier referred to. But when you get on it, there's some V6 snarl, too, plus a smidge of what sounds like tradtional Nissan VQ. The GT-R's soundtrack isn't silky, nor is it thrashy. Think mechanical more than organic (if any engine could be described as organic-sounding). I will say it's not a sound that tugs at my heart — I'm not going to be revving the GT-R just to hear it. But it is distinctive.

Oh, and the Nissan GT-R is fast. Faster than a speeding bullet.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor

Good Thing It Has Decent Range

January 12, 2009

....because otherwise I'd never reach my destinations. Our longterm 2009 Nissan GT-R still draws a crowd at every fuel stop.

I've learned to be efficient when refueling — get out quickly, have card in hand, avoid eye contact and return to the seat ASAP. It's the best bet when looky-loos are about.

Once cornered, though, does politeness suggest I engage them and risk prolonging my stop, or should I be curt and risk being the "a-hole driver of [your brand here]?" It's always a quandary for me.

This morning, it didn't matter. I was a relegated to bystander in my own conversation. Today I learned all about Raoul, who was refueling his Lincoln LS when I pulled up in the GT-R.

Raoul's a longtime Nissan fan who had never heard of the R35 GT-R. Didn't know the first thing about it. However, his curiosity was piqued when he spied its edgy lines and Nissan badge. He's well-versed in the R32-R34 Skylines and furthermore recounted his love for Nissans (he's owned eleven) which among them count three Z-cars, four 510s and two pickups.

I also learned that Raoul still owns various muscle cars stored at his mother's place, that he used to street race back in the day, plus his age and marital status. Fifteen minutes later, I realized I'd hardly put a word in edgewise.

I'm not annoyed, though. It was cool to see the GT-R rekindle the automotive passions of Raoul, the guy who just needed to get some gas on the way to work.

Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor at 15,619 miles.

Long-Term 2009 Nissan GT-R vs Gran Turismo Nissan GT-R

January 13, 2009

I had my first opportunity to play Gran Turismo 5 Prologue this weekend, which was the first version of the game I've played since GT3. Needless to say, it's a damned impressive feat of videogamery (as I'm sure many of you already know). Since I bought the game for my father-not-in-law (aka girlfriend's dad), I started things off for him. I purchased a Mini Cooper S and we began winning races and earning enough credits to purchase something better. I initially thought I'd get a 135i to see how the real and virtual versions compared, but then I noticed its price tag: 61,000 credits. The Nissan GT-R by comparison was a mere 77,000. A few extra races and we had the virtual key to a brand-new red 2009 Nissan GT-R.

After a few blasts around three different tracks, it was striking how well they nailed the GT-R — at least as much as a video game could nail a car. Also at least as much as I remembered the GT-R. To know for sure, I took our long-termer out for a blast through the canyon and formulated an Edmunds-style consumer-biased comparison test. Enjoy.

2nd Place: Gran Turismo Nissan GT-R

Where it Leads:
Quite simply, you can actually drive the Gran Turismo GT-R at the sort of speeds the car is capable of. In this way, the approximation is quite impressive, as the virtual version surges forth with the same sort of ridiculous thrust. However, I think I got our long-termer up to maybe 80 (km of course) on Topanga and that sort of velocity on that sort of road makes me nervous (because of Mr. Law, Mr. Squirrel and Ms. Slow-Ass Prius Driver). By comparison, I got the virtual GT-R up to about 153 mph on a serpentine Swiss road. There was nothing separating my speeding Japanese supercar from a 200-foot Alpine drop but a three-foot-tall wooden pole ... and for some reason I couldn't care less.

Also, the GT5 GT-R has a vastly superior ride to our long-term GT-R — in fact, I would describe it as positively couch-like. The gas mileage is also substantially better at infinity mpg.

Where it Follows:
The steering sucks. Oh sure, I got some feedback from the electronic rumble, but steering effort is vague and way too quick. That's probably because I'm steering via a little, hypersensitive joystick attached to a little buttoned boomerang, but seriously, this thing is dangerous. If the traction control wasn't on 8, I would have over corrected myself into countless three-foot-tall wooden poles. I could gradually get used to it as I saved myself with a bit of opposite lock drift at one point, but doing so consistently requires a gentle touch fine-tuned over way-too-many gaming hours. I greatly prefer the virtual steering of Mariokart Wii. No feel there either, but it's easier to control.

The brakes are also bad. No feel whatsoever. It's like you're completely on them or you're not. Still better than the Ford Edge and Honda Pilot.

The Verdict:
The Gran Turismo Nissan GT-R is certainly fun and an excellent approximation of the real thing but I just couldn't drive it every day.

Best For: People who live in their parents' basement, People who don't have $85,000, but do have 77,000 GT5 credits.

1st Place: Long-Term Nissan GT-R

Where it Leads:
Well, our long-term GT-R is an actual conveyance. I could take it to the grocery store, for instance. The GT5 GT-R has extremely limited passenger and trunk space — it has 0.0 cubic feet of interior volume and cargo capacity. That's just crap.

The real GT-R sounds like an actual GT-R. Sure, the virtual version features the same sort of turbowhine, but it also has a dominant growl that the real GT-R doesn't really possess. That's probably the biggest difference between the two — the GT5 edition just doesn't sound enough like a jet airplane. Either the designers were guessing at the sound, or they thought gamers would think the real noises sounded fake.

Again, the steering and brakes are vastly superior, as is throttle control. Much easier to drive smoothly without little jabby inputs. Having a wheel to steer with is a novel feature too — clearly a way of the future.

Where It Follows:
Our long-term GT-R is significantly less impervious to driving head-on into brick walls at 137 mph. The video game version just bounces right off them without a stretch. Our long-termer didn't fare so well. Pity.

The Verdict:
A much better vehicle in that it is an actual vehicle. It's let down only by its lack of complete indestructibility.

Best For: People with a sense of real-world adventure, people with more money than virtual credits, people who need to actually go somewhere.

James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 15,651 miles

Does It Have Character?

January 19, 2009

Even though I'm not driving our Nissan GT-R anymore, I've been thinking about what some previous commenters had to say about the car's character — or specifically the lack thereof. Here are my thoughts on the subject after my two weeks with the car.

First, I'll let you in on a little secret: this was my first time driving our GT-R, and to be honest, I wasn't all that pumped about driving it before I took the keys. Of course, I wasn't going to turn it down or anything, but most of the potential excitement you would expect wasn't there. I was tired from the years of GT-R hype, didn't particularly care for the car's styling and wasn't drooling over its performance capabilities. You could say I was "over" the car before I even drove it.

However, those feelings changed the more time I spent with the car. It didn't happen immediately — I remember a coworker asking me what I thought of the GT-R after a few days, and I replied, "I'm not sure." But as each day passed, I found myself looking forward to driving it more and more.

Is "character" the reason? Perhaps, but it's a different type of character than you might expect. This is Nissan's sports car that you can use everyday. I drove my wife and daughter around in it, and not just as a test but for real drives. I used it for mundane stuff like grocery shopping and picking up dry cleaning. I gave friends rides in it and talked to wide-eyed bystanders at gas stations. And, yes, I took it out one early morning to blitz my favorite driving road near my house.

I'd argue there's character from the car's technology, too, with the automated manual transmission (like it or not) and the configurable gauge display. It's the Japanese approach to the same goal Porsche sets for its 911 — the everyday sports car. It's fun and engaging to drive the GT-R because you can use it in so many ways, and it's never intimidating.

There's no getting around the fact that our GT-R still doesn't sound exceptionally engaging. (Perhaps an owner could address this with aftermarket components?) But as for the styling, I've decided that in a Manga sort of way, it has a look that's distinctive and different. And as for the stiff ride quality, I didn't find it to be particularly bothersome.

How do you want to spend $70,000 for a sports car? Corvette Z06? Stripper 911? Loaded Cayman S? It all depends on what you want. But the GT-R is far from bland.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor

Ford GT vs. Nissan GT-R — Beyond the Numbers

January 20, 2009

It's not every weekend I have access to both a Ford GT and a Nissan GT-R . In fact, I'd say it only happens about once a month.

But it did happen this past weekend, and I spent enough time in both vehicles to get a sense of their unique character traits. Thus, what follows is my completely unbiased appraisal of how these two supercars stack up.

First let's call out the obvious areas where these cars don't compare. The Ford GT is out of production, as it was only made for the 2005 and 2006 model years, while the Nissan GT-R recently went on sale as a 2009 model. Our site puts the current value of a 2005 Ford GT at $115,000 and the Nissan GT-R at $77,000 to $80,000. Reports of GT-Rs going for $20,000 over MSRP persist, while few Ford GTs (not including salvage title cars) change hands for less than $150,000, but let's just go with the prices on Edmunds to keep things simple.

In terms of acceleration, the best accleration numbers we've established for a Nissan GT-R are zero-to-60 in 3.53 seconds and the 1/4-mile in 11.77 @ 118 mph, but that's with launch control. Without LC (it goes away for the 2010 model year) the car pulled zero-to-60 in 4.0 second and 1/4-mile in 12.3 @ 118 mph. If you've been reading this blog you know the, um...questions surrounding launch control, so take those figures as you will.

The Ford GT initially pulled zero-to-60 in 3.7 seconds and the 1/4-mile in 11.8 seconds @ 124 mph. But after a supercharger pulley swap and ECU reflash the GT managed zero-to-60 in 3.5 seconds and the 1/4-mile in 11.6 seconds at 126.3. No launch control for the GT, but you do have to know the proper technique to get these times without overheating the clutch. And at 17,000 miles, the GT's transmission has never left it's place in the drivetrain.

Further testing of our long-term GT-R had braking performance from 60-to-zero mph in 108 feet. We never tested the long-term Ford GT for braking, but in our American Exotics Comparison Test that GT stopped from 60 mph in 115 feet. Slalom speeds? GT-R 73.6, GT 69.5. Skidpad? The GT-R pulled .91 Gs while the Ford GT in that comparison pulled .92 Gs.

I think it's safe to conclude that performance is pretty much a wash between these two cars. But if the GT-R offers that performance for $40,000 less it's gotta be the better car, right?

That's certainly what the spreadsheet suggests. And plenty of people "shop by spreadsheet" so those folks could buy a GT-R and call it a day. But for those interested in going beyond the numbers I'm happy to supply additional feedback.

First, if you're going to argue looks...well, good luck. That's like arguing over the best color for a bathroom. Too personal and too many factors at play. The photo above shows both vehicles. You make the call.

Steering feel? That goes to the GT by a wide margin. Just having AWD puts the GT-R at a distinct disadvantage, as the additional hardware — though great for grip — is usually terrible for transmitting road data to your fingertips. Audi and Porsche do an amazing job overcoming this in cars like the R8 and C4S/Turbo, but Nissan isn't there yet.

A similar story exists with braking feedback. The GT-R never feels like it won't stop. Actually it feels like you hit a brick wall when you stomp on the brake pedal. But if you want something less than "brick wall" deceleration it's not as easy to modulate with the GT-R as it is in the Ford GT.

If you've been reading about the GT-R you already know who wins the ride quality contest. This is ironic considering the amount of technology going on under the GT-R. The fact that you can put the Nissan in "comfort" mode and it still rides worse than the non-adjustable Ford GT makes no sense to me. Maybe it would if the GT-R was clearly superior in terms of handling than the Ford GT. It's not, so it doesn't.

Exhaust note advantage goes to the Ford GT, even in stock form (this GT has the Ford Racing exhaust, which thoroughly trumps the GT-R's truck-like groan).

Let's talk transmissions. The GT-R doesn't have a clutch pedal, so it's more traffic friendly and the "not-into-manuals" wife can drive it (in fact, she did for these photos). But as pointed out in a previous blog, the execution of this dual-clutch tranny is worse than in our $40,000 Mitsubishi Evo. Beyond it's shifting idiosyncracies, the GT-R's transmission results in some throttle-response lag as the computer registers throttle position and compares it to rpm, current speed and current gear. Basically, when you roll into the throttle you're often not sure exactly what you'll get back, especially if you're already moving (it's not as bad when you pull away from a dead stop).

Obviously the old-fashioned transmission in the Ford GT suffers no computing errors — it just does what it's told (plus it allows you to heel-and-toe).

The GT-R has a few other obvious advantages. The seats are more adjustable and comfortable. The rear seats technically allow for more passenger capacity, though my 8-year-old daughter can't sit behind me unless she sits, as she says, "criss-cross." The GT-R's audio/nav system is far more advanced than the Ford GT's factory head unit, though this Ford GT has an aftermarket JVC head unit that basically matches the GT-R's (nav, Bluetooth, satellite radio, DVD player, etc.).

The Nissan GT-R is easier to get into and out of thanks to its traditional doors and taller seat height. Entry/exit is probably the biggest strike against the Ford GT's daily functionality.

So performance is a wash. GT-R wins on cost and daily functionality. The Ford GT wins on pretty much every driving characteristic (steering feel, brake feel, throttle response, transmission interface, exhaust note) and — in my totally biased opinion — looks.

I guess it comes down to what matters to you most. If you want exotic-car performance on-the-cheap there's no denying the GT-R. And if you drive in city traffic or park in narrow spaces the GT-R is clearly the winner. If you want the complete exotic-car experience (not just the spreadsheet numbers) and enjoy interacting with your sports car the GT has it all over the GT-R. One thing is certain however, if you drive them around together looking for a photo location, you'll get plenty of attention.

Karl Brauer, Edmunds.com Editor in Chief @ 15,910 miles

Vroom for Four

January 26, 2009

We wouldn't normally associate a 2009 Nissan GT-R with Sunday brunch with Grandma and Grandpa, but that's precisely where we were going this weekend. So the four of us piled in.

Truth be told, there wasn't enough space for me to frame a proper picture of the resulting rear seat legroom. After all, this is a real car, not a cutaway used for catalog shots. Besides, the girls weren't in a posing mood. Shelby, our taller 12-year old, fit much better than 10-year old Sarah because her legs are long enough to allow her feet to hit the floor and her toes to slip under the front seat. And she wasn't stuck sitting behind me, either.

But a couple of interesting/weird points are nevertheless visible in this photo.

1) The rear seat belts go the "wrong" way. They pull from the inside to the outside. Not being out in the open makes the buckles hard to get at, especially for "big" people. But big people don't fit back here anyway, so it doesn't matter much. Still, it's an odd choice.

2) Those seats don't fold and there isn't any sort of pass-through, but the Bose subs are backed-up by an unseen vent that turns the whole trunk into a resonator. Couldn't really try it on Sunday morning, though. I didn't want to boost the bass of the Car Talk guys any more than necessary.

"Hello, you're on Car Talk."

"Hi Tom and Ray. I'm Dan from California. I need your help. My transmission is making a funny noise."

"So's my brother. What kinda car is it?"

"It's a 2009 Nissan GT-R. It all started after I used launch control to dust-off this guy in a Porsche..."

OK, I made that last part up; My call never got through and the GT-R's transmission noises are no more humorous than usual.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 16,198 miles

Redline! Redline! Redline!

January 27, 2009

Not long after Ferris Bueller charms Cameron out of the keys to his dad's prized Ferrari (cue the Yello song "Oh Yeah"), you can just barely pick out Ferris shouting "Redline! Redline! Redline!" as he mashes the throttle and bolts out of the frame toward downtown Chicago.

This morning, it was me doing the throttle mashing. But my exclamation "Redline! Redline. Redline ... Redline?" was not one of pure exuberance; I was counting the damn things.

That's right, our 2009 Nissan GT-R has four redlines. At least. And that's not including any temperature or pressure gauges.

Of course the twin-turbo V6 engine has a redline, and it's 7,000 rpm. But the GT-R also has redlines for steering (0.5 lateral g, as shown above), braking (0.4 longitudinal g) and acceleration (0.3 longitudinal g.)

Snapping any kind of picture at all of what happened when I exceeded 0.5 lateral g wasn't easy in the pre-dawn hours of my commute. Slow shutter speed + 0.7 lateral g = blurry photo. But at least you can see that the g trace-line turned red.

The trace resumes its normal white color as soon as the g level drops back down below 0.5 g a second or two later. This car isn't even close to breaking a sweat or squealing a tire at 0.5 to 0.7 g. Heck, the GT-R's limit is upwards of 0.95 g.

The massive 6-piston fixed caliper brakes that'll stop the car from 60 mph in less than 100 feet brakes will trigger a redline at 0.4 g — a level your mom might exceed if she catches a late yellow light.

And you only get 0.3 g of acceleration before that electronic "tsk, tsk" kicks in. Heck, the GT-R used-up 0.1 g of that while parked due to the slant of my driveway.

This all seems rather silly. If you exceed the engine's redline, you'll blow something up. So there's a rev-limiter to help keep you and your wallet out of trouble. Fine. No arguement there.

But these dynamic redlines seem like a layer of lawyer-excreted material added over the top of a gimmicky videogame display. Besides being set arbitrarily low, they're too far out of the normal line-of-sight to be of much use. If anything, I think these redlines will have the opposite effect:

"Watch this. Bet you I can keep it in the red all the way through this off-ramp." or "Watch this. Let's see if I can accelerate in the red all the way up this ramp on-ramp."

Splat.

Never mind the fact that there's no way to freeze the screen or record your stats to look at later for legitimate uses such as analyzing your GT-R's performance at a track day. You've got to get your buddy to snap a picture while you're in the middle of it.

I mean, who would DO that?

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 16,302 miles

Tired Front Tires

January 28, 2009

Our GT-R is down. No, the transaxle hasn't gone kapow, the front tires have. Check it out; both are corded on the inside edge of the tread. A Nissan engineer tells me he's surprised they lasted this long. "If they keep the suspension in the performance alignment settings, as you obviously have, most customers will get between 12,000-15,000 miles out of the first set of tires," he told me.

He's right. All GT-Rs are delivered with a performance alignment. It increases the car's grip due to a fair amount of negative camber, but it also accelerates front tire wear. There are less aggressive alignment settings that Nissan recommends, and your dealer will make the adjustment if you wish. We never wished. Our car has always had the performance alignment.

And now it is parked awaiting new front tires, which won't be cheap. Considering we just bought new rubber for our BMW 135i, this is not good timing.

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief @ 16,383 miles

Godzilla vs. PDK

January 30, 2009

As the economy continues to sputter, we here at the Long-Term Blog are turning our attention to burning questions that are in tune with these troubled times. Such as the following:

Which is better, the GT-R's dual-clutch automated manual transmission or Porsche's new PDK?

I'd like to leave aside the question of durability, since we've just reported that less than one percent of GT-Rs have experienced the infamous transaxle failure. But Nissan's eliminating launch control from future GT-Rs, so there must be something to it. As for PDK, it can weather 40 consecutive launches without issue, according to Porsche, and nothing in our experience suggests otherwise. Advantage: PDK.

The margin only widens at speed, where PDK proves utterly seamless in full automatic mode and serves up lightning-quick yet remarkably smooth manual shifts in "Sport." The GT-R's transmission is very good, but there's some perceptible thunking through the gears, and its downshifts aren't as quick as PDK's.

So there's your answer: Godzilla's good, but PDK's better. It's still no manual substitute, though, and never will be.

Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com

Should We Reprogram?

February 05, 2009

By now everyone and their mother knows Nissan is going to have its dealers contact all existing GT-R owners and ask them to voluntarily bring their GT-Rs to the store for a software change that affects the car's launching with its VDC system on and with it off. We broke that story on Edmunds a week ago (Nissan Reprograms the GT-R) and have been waiting for the phone call from Santa Monica Nissan ever since.

Remember, we bought our 2009 Nissan GT-R from a dealer, just like 1,700 or so other Americans did last year. But, the question is: Should we do it? We like our car just the way it is. Should we voluntarily have our long-term GT-R altered to better protect its pricey transaxle and ourselves from the possible repair costs?

I don't think we should. What do you think?

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief

Transmission Control Module Reprogram

February 09, 2009

(photo by Kurt Niebuhr)

"Do the reprogram."

"Come on, for the sake of investigative journalism?"

"Don't do it. You all are responsible enough not to ruin this car." ( Says you.)

"I vote no.

Use the car the way you bought it."

We went back and forth internally for about 5 minutes on this one. On the one hand, launch control is awesome, and with the GT-R it'll dig four troughs in the asphalt before shifting to 2nd and hitting 60 in under four seconds. It's a parlour trick we just can't get enough of.

But then there's every other reason we should get the transmission "recalibrated:" It's what most owners (probably) will do. We'll be less likely to blow up our GT-R. You get the idea.

The debate came to an end on Friday when we got the call from our local Nissan dealer that they had the update. This is despite the Letter to Dealers we published that said GT-R owners would be notified on the 16th. We jumped at the chance. It would allow us to get new performance numbers and let other owners know what to expect. It was a no-brainer at that point.

Turns out the release was available well before this (as some people have already run some quick times post-mod), but then pulled back and re-released. We're not sure what they did in that downtime, but owners who had it done prior to last Friday might want to check back with their dealership. We have the final release.

Our GT-R took the new tune without an issue and was in the care of Nissan of Santa Monica for about two hours. Ours was the first customer car re(de?)tuned.

The new transmission calibration came in lockstep with the new tires we had ordered from Stokes Tire Pros here in Santa Monica. A new set of Bridgestone Potenza RE070R size 255/40ZR20 showed up Saturday morning and were mounted that same day. The total cost was $853.90. The manual says that all four tires may need to be replaced at any time. Ours did not. The rears are still in great shape.

Stay tuned for post-recalibration test numbers.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 16,389 miles

Reprogrammed, Our GT-R Gets Quicker

February 11, 2009

Bottom line, the GT-R with the revised software will be quicker with the VDC on, but not as quick as it was before with the VDC turned off. Only a trip to the track will reveal exactly how performance will be affected.

This is what we wrote a couple of weeks ago in our investigative piece Nissan Reprograms the GT-R. This reporting was based on interviews with many members of the GT-R team at Nissan's headquarters in Nashville, TN. It was also wrong. Turns out the GT-R gets quicker with the VDC on and off.

How do we know?

Well, we had our long-term GT-R reprogrammed and then we took it to the track. Here are the results:

VDC on

0-30 mph-----1.6 sec.

0-45 mph-----2.5 sec.

0-60 mph-----3.6 sec. (3.4 sec. with one foot of rollout like on a dragstrip)

0-75 mph-----5.1 sec.

1/4 Mile-------11.7 sec. @ 118.5 mph

VDC off

0-30 mph-----1.6 sec.

0-45 mph-----2.5 sec.

0-60 mph-----3.6 sec. (3.3 sec. with one foot of rollout like on a dragstrip)

0-75 mph-----5.0 sec.

1/4 Mile-------11.6 sec. @ 118.9 mph

Test Driver Comments: "Best run with VDC off...but only by a few hundredths. Made a significant effort to warm tires to run w/ vdc off. Result is very little wheelspin. Technique is essentially the same w/vdc on or off: wood brake, wood throttle, achieve 3k rpm and lift brake. All runs in "A" Wheelspin will kill time (bog) w/vdc on."

That means the car is now quicker with the VDC on then it was with it off. We've tested our GT-R several times. The most recent was for a comparison test with the new Corvette ZR1 back in October. That day it ran these numbers with the VDC off:

0-30 mph-----1.6 sec.

0-45 mph-----2.6 sec.

0-60 mph-----3.8 sec. (3.5 sec. with one foot of rollout like on a dragstrip)

0-75 mph-----5.3 sec.

1/4 Mile-------11.8 sec. @ 118.6 mph


We also once tested our car with the VDC on for kicks. It was much slower than it is now:

0-30 mph-----2.3 sec.

0-45 mph-----3.2 sec.

0-60 mph-----4.3 sec. (4.0 sec. with one foot of rollout like on a dragstrip)

0-75 mph-----5.8 sec.

1/4 Mile-------12.3 sec. @ 118.5 mph

And so the answer is clear. If you have a GT-R, get it reprogrammed. It's free speed.

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief @ 16,595 miles

Smart key partially puked

February 12, 2009

The smart key on the Skyline R35 partially puked last night. I wasn't able to unlock either door with the door mounted switch — I had to use the remote key, which worked fine. The car started up, no problem, with the key in my pocket. Mike knows about it and will monitor.

This my first time to drive it after the reprogramming, and I got some wheelspin last night. I got away from a few stoplights somewhat quickly, but didn't floor the pedal, and the traction control came on. I definitely felt some wheelspin - I think maybe more than before the reprogram(?) But I have to check with Josh on this.

Oh yeah, the photo above has nothing to do with this blog. It's just an archived Jacobs shot that I didn't want to go to waste. It's suitable as a screensaver, don't you think?

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 16,909 miles

New Programming Could Be Trouble

February 18, 2009

So our GT-R is all reprogrammed and ready to blow the doors off anything on the road without so much as touching a paddle. Yep, that's right, you don't even need manual mode any more. Just leave it in "A1" and the thing will run 11s all day.

It's almost too easy. No, it's definitely too easy. I felt like dropping the hammer at every light this weekend. And why not? No launch-control mishaps to worry about right?

Well, not exactly. Our GT-R doesn't take off with the same clutch-shattering thrust it used to, but it's still not what you would call gentle.

Which made me wonder: Is Nissan digging itself an even bigger hole with the GT-R's new programming? Plenty of owners have already shown that they can't be trusted to know when to say when. Might this new form of launch control encourage more of the same? Shouldn't take long to find out.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, @ 17,039 miles

Angel/Devil

February 19, 2009

Thought for the day:
When I drive the Audi R8 I want to be good. When I drive the Nissan GT-R I want to be bad.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

0-110 mph

February 20, 2009

While We were out at the track retesting our re-tuned GTR I couldn't resist suction-cupping a camera to the GTR and doing a few launch control acceleration runs. For valid blogging purposes of course.

This is 0-110 mph in our 2009 Nissan GT-R using the new launch control. There are two runs represented with three videos. The in-car video was shot by Riswick who was riding in the backseat. That video was also shot at the same time as the run where my camera was stuck to the roof. The final video, the wheel shot, was a seperate run.

Follow the jump and enjoy.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

For every car guy

February 23, 2009

Yeeeeeeee-haaaaaaaaaw!!

I took the GT-R to the NASCAR race at California Speedway (below) this past weekend. Like everywhere else I haven taken it, the car was a hit. You see, the R35 doesn't know any demographic boundaries. Regardless of background, everyone loves it.

That is, every guy loves it. Although I got some thumbs up, parking lot shout outs, fuel station shout outs, and a few small parking lot gatherings as shown in the pic above — for whatever reason — all the fans were guys.

The R35: for every car guy.

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 17,377 miles

Stop Me

February 25, 2009

We all know the GT-R is quick as hell and stupid fast. But when you need to bring it back down, it also has tremendous stopping power.

Our GT-R is equipped with huge Brembo 15-inch disc brakes with 6-piston front and 4-piston rear monobloc calipers. Combine that with special high-performance Bridgestones and you can stop this bear from 60 mph in less than 100 feet.

Do you think Brembo makes the best brakes?

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor @ 17,460 miles

You're Kidding, Right?

March 05, 2009

As the GT-R sits cooling in the morning shade, I can't help but wonder about how others view this track bred street car. See, for the past two days I've been driving the GT-R in and around Long Beach, California and in that short time I've lost count of how many times someone challenged the GT-R to an impromptu street race. Here's a short list of the cars: Audi 1.8T Avant, Lexus SC??(does the number really matter), Mustang SVT Cobra, 5.0 Mustang, 2nd Gen RX-7, 90s Camaro Z28 and some kind of lowered Civic that looked like a reject from the VW "unpimp z auto" commercial.

Two theories have developed here in the office - 1) People are clueless and actually think their car has a chance and 2) These folks are enthusiasts, know what the GT-R is and just want to see/hear a Nissan GT-R go like stink. Which one do you think is accurate?

Brian Moody, Road Test Editor @ 17,788 miles

Time for Some Service

March 10, 2009


Our GT-R broke the 18,000 mile mark this weekend, an event which told the on-board information system that it was time for some maintenance. Actually, it gave us several alerts as the intervals can be adjusted to various mileage limits depending on how much you care about your GT-R.

Despite the repeated launch control take-offs, we do care deeply about our beloved GT-R. It'll get the proper attention shortly, probably just an oil change we're guessing.

Until then, we'll savor the fact that we have one of the highest mileage GT-Rs in the land.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 18,128 miles

Main Attraction in Podunk

March 11, 2009

For my quick trip to Vegas, there could only be one car to roll big in: our 2009 Nissan GT-R. It's also my first time behind its wheel so I was really nervous. And I know this will disappoint most of you but I kept my speeds pretty sane so my trip took about 4 hours with only one stop for gas and another quick stop to secure the hood of the car.

The hood was popped open when I had stopped to get gas 50 miles or so away from Vegas. I had pulled up to a gas station in the middle of nowhere. There were no restaurants around or anything, just this gas station. It didn't even have a Shell sign, just one painted on its roof that promised "Gas & Food."

I thought this would be a quick stop until a couple of 20-something boys stepped out of their F-350 and walked over to tell me that my car was hawt. "Is this your car?" one asked. "No, it's my work car. I work for Edmunds.com," I replied. "Ohhh, it's just your 'work car,'" they said. And then: "Does it have turbo? Is it Tiptronic? How much does one of these go for? How fast did you go? Do you mind popping the hood?"

So I popped the hood for them. Who was I to deny them a chance to check it out? Plus I was on the road all day, this was a nice break. Just funny though because even in the middle of nowhere this car still manages to draw crowds.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor

My Dream Road Trip Car

March 13, 2009

I was soo lucky to land the 2009 Nissan GT-R as our road trip car to Vegas. I usually HATE driving to Vegas, such a boring trip. But the GT-R's seats are comfortable enough for both the driver and passenger to withstand 283 miles and our car has all the amenities to make that long, boring slog to Sin City bearable. We had satellite radio so we wouldn't have to keep switching stations, seat heaters!, 480 horsepower for short bursts of speed to enliven things and the entertainment of watching fellow motorists drool at the car.

Before the trip I was warned that the suspension, even in Comfort mode, would still make the car shudder over road imperfections but it really didn't bug me as much as I thought it would.

On the way back home I asked my road trip companion if she enjoyed her ride in the GT-R. She did, especially because it was so comfortable as the seat sort of cradled her and the lumbar support pushed her in at the right spot so she didn't get an achey back. She did feel guilty that I had to do all the driving, though. Heh. Yeah, I think that I had a lot more fun than she did and that's saying a lot considering I usually find the road to Vegas so very dull.

I was fascinated by the power of this car which made me feel like a giant trying to pet a kitten. So much oomph that a couple of times when I wanted to pass slowpokes, I found that I had jumped to 10 mph faster in what felt like a mere second when all I wanted to do was get around them. Oops! Looked in my rearview mirror and they were now a faint dot on the horizon.

I had to watch my speeds on the 15, though, since there seemed to be a lot more cops out than usual. Such a bummer. Leaving Vegas, after Stateline there had to be a cop every 2 miles sitting on the side of the road with their laser speed guns pointed at traffic.

BTW what has to be the biggest plus about the interior of this car is the 9-cubic-foot trunk that can accommodate the luggage of two girls going away to Vegas for three days. That's pretty amazing for a supercar. Our Audi R8 had about 7 cubic feet of oddly shaped space in its frunk.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 18,717 miles

Video of the Multifunction Meter

March 14, 2009

GT-R's screen

Sorry for the super shaky video but my passenger was breakdancing while she was shooting this for me. If anything you can hear what the car sounds like at 70+ mph and see how "bouncy" the ride is.

If the screens are flipping by too fast for you, what we scrolled through, after the jump...

The functions and their descriptions thanks to gran-turismo.com.

Custom view 4 which we customized to have transmission oil temp, engine oil temp, coolant temp, boost, speed and acceleration pedal.

Acceleration: Shows the history graph of acceleration in the last 20 seconds. Has a turbo boost pressure gauge and level of accelerator opening.

Braking: Shows the history graph of deceleration in the last 20 seconds and speed as well as brake fluid pressure gauge.

Steering: Shows history graph of turning Gs in the last 20 seconds as well as speed and steering angle gauge.

Gear Position: Shows engine map indicator. "The current gear and the driving condition during shift up/down is displayed by the color which changes dynamically. The changes in color indicate a higher fuel economy as it turns blue, and more towards acceleration as it turns red." Current speed and gear position are also displayed.

Fuel Economy: "The ECO (fuel economy) level for the last 20 minutes is displayed in 10 levels. The upper small palette shows section fuel consumption gage, and the lower palette shows the current ECO level."

Stop Watch: Shows time measurements during driving. Main box shows section time which can be recorded with a button on the steering wheel. Also shows current speed and total measured time.

Driver's Notes: Ours was blank but this shows the MARK list, "which records intersections and highways that have been passed through automatically." It also displays the fuel gauge, remaining distance to drive and the distance already driven.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor

Smacked in Its Rear

March 17, 2009

See the two dark circles just above the Nissan GT-R's lower rear fascia? That's what happens when the Pontiac GTO behind you fails to stop in slow-moving freeway traffic.

The GT0's young driver admitted to being so taken with the GT-R, he rear-ended the car while trying to get a closer look.

The impact was minimal, but enough to leave two screw gouges and a light plate frame impression on the supercar's rear end.

Unfortunately, our local dealer reports there's additional damage under the skin as well.

Estimate for repair: $3,626.18.

Ouch.

Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 18,260 miles

Bargain Supercar Gets Expensive

March 26, 2009

Those of you 2009 Nissan GT-R haters out there, you're going to love this one. To the GT-R fanboys, well, sorry, this is going to be hard to make excuses for.

Last week we took our Nissan GT-R to Nissan of Santa Monica for routine service. We knew going in that this was going to be an expensive one. We'd been warned ahead of time that this service was not only an oil change (already expensive on these cars), but also a routine change of the differential and transaxle fluids.

Should be simple, right? Consider this: Automatic Transmission Fluid (GT-R specific) lists for $114.98 per quart. That's not a typo — maybe an accounting error on Nissan's side, but not a typo. Forget Cristal we're going to start seeing hip-hop videos with rappers pouring this stuff on the ground while throwing dollars in the air. Don't worry, though, we didn't pay that. We got a deal; only $84.24 each. What a bargain.

Once you regain your breath — lost either by laughing or screaming — follow the jump for the full break-down of this service.

(photo by UnderPressure and originally posted on the North American GT-R Owners club forums)

Now that we've all had a good laugh (or cry), here's the breakdown.

Transmission & Diff fluid change:

8 Quarts (Our car took just under 8. They quote 10 quarts, but the ammount used is rarely, if ever, that high. Honest dealers will tell you what your car took. Dishonest ones can easily charge you for the full 10.) of GT-R Automatic Transmission Fluid @ $86.24/ea: $689.92

3 Quarts of GT-R specific differential oil @ $62.02/ea: $186.06

Labor: $500

Oil Change:

1 Oil Filter: $6.95 (finally, something normal)

6-quarts Mobil 1 Synthetic 0W40 @ 9.38/ea: $56.28

Labor: $150

New Engine Air Filters and in Cabin Microfilter: (We could have saved a few bucks and done this one ourselves, but the car was already in the shop.)

2 engine air filters @ $52.86/ea: $105.72

1 Micro Air filter: $53.38

Labor: $115.00

The remote entry was repaired at no cost.

Our service advisor also noted that our right-rear tire had lost a strip of rubber on the inner edge, metal was showing. We have a set of tires already orderd from Stokes Tire Pros in Santa Monica.

TOTALS

Labor: $817.50

Parts: 1,101.31

Tax: 90.86

Total charge: $2009.67

Days out of service (including estimates for the repair): 4

As easy and fun as this is going to be to skewer in the comments, here's a side challenge (which we've also got posted on a white board in our office): What could possibly be in the GT-R specific oil to make it cost $114 per quart?

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 18,916 miles

More new tires

March 27, 2009

So our 2009 Nissan GT-R needs new rear tires. You don't think it has anything to do with the way we've been driving do you? This video is a prime example of what can happen when you put fresh tires on the front of a car and leave worn ones out back and go tearing around a skidpad. That's test driver Josh Jacquot's voice you hear over the radio at the beginning of the video. He's clearly a fan of this setup.

Total cost: $903.52 for a set of Bridgestone Potenza REO70R size 285/35R20. Stokes Tire Pros here in Santa Monica ordered them Wednesday, they showed up Thursday and were installed in about an hour (busy day).

Note the large strip of missing rubber.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 18,919 miles

When It All Comes Together

March 27, 2009

Some adventures start at unexpected times — like after a long day of testing cars in the desert. And then, through the miracle of the modern automobile, they gel into something truly great.

Last month, while returning from a one of those days, I made a few stops along California's Highway 58. Tehachapi pass, to be specific. Those who haven't driven this road at this time of year should know a few details. Heading East out of Bakersfield, the 58 rolls through green hills before winding its way into the Southern Sierra Nevada mountains. Between February and April there's often snow at the higher elevations. And on this particular day, the grass was covered with a bold, white blanket which separated it from the blue sky.

It didn't suck.

And niether did the GT-R, which annihilated the meandering highway all the way to Mojave. Here's how it looked.

Josh Jacquot, Senior road test editor

Chasing Grandma Through The Canyons

April 03, 2009

Alright, "chasing Grandma" isn't the right phrase here. "Following Grandma at a respectful distance so as not to freak out her pacemaker" is more like it. When I came up behind a Ford GT during a GT-R canyon run the other day, I assumed the driver would see the supercar du jour in the rearview mirror and immediately put the hammer down. Instead, we trundled along at 30-35 mph for three winding miles — no other cars in sight — until we hit the Pacific Coast Highway, and Grandma GT headed off toward Malibu.

Reminds me of when I got stuck behind a 996 911 Turbo while we were doing the CTS/Genesis comparo. I was piloting the CTS, and in this case the 911 driver actually made an attempt to set the pace, but I was still able to keep up at 7/10ths in my 4,000-plus-pound luxury saloon. When we reached the stop sign at Mulholland and Cornell, I rolled my window down to hear him accelerate away. Yep. Tiptronic. Figures.

Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 18,941 miles

Our Favorite Caption

April 17, 2009

Congratulations to Nomercy346 who came up with this weeks winning caption.

Honorable mention goes to:

"Do not transport dead bodies in this vehicle. Please use an appropriate vehicle such as a Ford Flex." (ergsum)

"Well, so much for the new car smell." (ergsum)

"Warning! Fashion sense disabled." (ergsum)

"Nissan GT-R: $73,165 (MSRP)

80's High School Reunion Outfit: $125

Making your old friend pass out in the back because you "Drove it like you stole it": PRICELESS" (DCuerpoJr)

"Caution: Use of rear seats to transport passengers is NOT recommended for American-size customers." (epbrown)

Good work, folks. Which one was your favorite?

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

You Write the Caption

April 17, 2009

Our vehicle testing assistant Mike Magrath found this picture in the GT-R owner's manual.

What do you think it's trying to tell us? Don't slouch? Don't be bored in the GT-R? Don't wear those pants with that shirt?

What have you got?

We'll post our favorite at 4:00 PM Santa Monica time.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Body Shop and More Service

April 22, 2009

After 5 weeks our GT-R is finally back in action. Almost. We took it in for service while waiting to schedule an insurance adjustor. Repairs to the rear bumper were finished after about a week at no cost to us. The at-fault party's insurance picked up the $3,500 bill.

But now its back to the dealer again. We are due for a scheduled transmission calibration and alignment. So we pulled from the body shop driveway back into the service drive at Nissan of Santa Monica. We will give you a summary of the service when it returns.

Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 19,000 miles

9-12 Month Transmission Calibration

April 23, 2009

As Mike Schmidt mentioned yesterday, our 2009 Nissan GT-R went straight from the body shop to Nissan of Santa Monica for service.

No, it wasn't broken again, it was just that Tuesday 4-21-09 was the first day our GT-R was eligible to have the transmission recalibrated under warranty. Nissan wants one calibration done at the 1,000-mile mark. We hit 1,000 miles somewhere in the middle of the country while bringing our GT-R back from Tennessee. That service was done at about 3,900 miles and remains the cheapest service we've had to date; they didn't have pricing available yet. But the next service is not based on mileage. Instead they mandate a transmission recalibration be done between the 9 and 12-month mark. Our GT-R, according to the computers at Nissan, started its service life on 7-21-08. Tuesday was nine-months to the day.

The transmission recalibration took a day and there was no charge. Before the calibration, first gear would bite suddenly somewhere around 1,500rpm. Creeping, backing and parking weren't easy, but they weren't as bad as in say, our single-clutch 2008 Audi R8 or Smart fortwo. Now, after recalibration the clutches start to grab around 1,100 rpm and gradually increase force as the revs build. It feels like a normal car now. For now.

The clutches get themselves out of line with miles and driver vigor, not time. Why this is a calendar-based maintenance and not a mileage one is beyond us.

Also included with this 9-12 month service is an alignment. We got the performance alignment because it's a GT-R. Tire life will be reduced. We're okay with that.

Days out of Service: 1

Cost: $0.00

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 19,002 miles

And That's Why Forced Induction is Cool, Son

April 28, 2009

Explaining forced induction to a youngster is like explaining the joy of motorcycling to your wife. Words don't work. You need first-person experience.

So after explaining supercharger/turbocharger boost to my 10-year-old son a couple weeks ago (with minimal success) I decided it was time for a first-person experience. Strapped into our Nissan GT-R's passenger seat I dialed up the custom LCD screen that displayed brake and throttle application, plus boost level, speed and G-force tracking.

After a short reminder of what the boost gauge was tracking ("This is the amount of air pressure being pushed into the combustion chamber.") I told my young Padawan to watch the throttle position and boost gauges. "You'll see the throttle gauge suddenly go from zero to 100 percent, and then you'll see the boost gauge follow. You'll also notice a change in the GT-R's forward momentum."

Like I said, talking about forced induction is one thing. Seeing it visually displayed on a gauge while simultaneously feeling it throughout your body is something else.

I'm happy to report that when it comes to understanding the benefits of forced induction my son definitely "gets it." And unlike the wife's opinion of motorcycling, he's not terrified by it.

Next on the lesson plan: Why lateral G-forces are cool.

Thank you, Nissan, for the helpful visual aids

Karl Brauer, Edmunds.com Editor in Chief @ 19,223 miles

Happiness Is a Warm GT-R

May 01, 2009

The secret to happiness is the driver seat of our 2009 Nissan GT-R. OK, that might be a bit over the top but it's why I have that extra bounce in my step today, that silly grin that I can't seem to wipe off my face.

Sure, I drove the GT-R to Vegas but I never drove it drove it. But last night I slogged through rush-hour from Santa Monica to Glendale and then had a pretty open highway on the way back in the later hours. And this morning the freeways were actually moving so my drive to work only took me a quarter of the time it usually does. This thing is fast and comfortable and smooth and powerful and ohhhh. And, sorry for the expletives, but OMFG. I think everyone should get a chance to drive this car and then just maybe the world would be a better place.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 19,464 miles

Award Winning

May 11, 2009

Oh yeah! The accolades for the 2009 Nissan GT-R just keep piling up.

Mike & Tas got married this weekend, and they had their reception at a bowling alley, where they sprung for free tacos and free lane & shoe rental. Attendees were invited to bring their unique or vintage cars to a car show to be voted-on by the other guests.

And, yes, our GT-R came home with a major award. How major? Why, it won the coveted "Long Hauler" award, of course. Impressive, Huh? Cleary. I drove the car all the way from Santa Monica, a whole 30 miles. Talk about dedication to your friends...

Yes, the "G" got beat out of the People's Choice by a cherry '57 Ford T-bird. Damn T-birds — who has a chance against one 'o them when grandparents are allowed to vote? That's stacking the deck, that is! And the Bride's Choice went to a numbers-matching frame-off restored '55 Chevy — the same one they used to get from the chapel to the reception. Talk about unfair lobbying for consideration!

But *sniff* I'm man enough to take it. I don't think I'll file an official protest. After all, the GT-R did bring home some hardware.

And good luck to you Mike & Tas. If your reception was any indication, you'll do just fine. Have a wonderful life together.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 19,945 miles

Life at 20,000 miles

May 12, 2009

We just reached the 20,000-mile mark in our 2009 Nissan GT-R. Some of our more memorable costs of ownership include a windshield replacement ($1,669), four new tires ($1,757) and the now infamous 18,000-mile service ($2,010).

Total cost to date: $6,560.25

Days out of service to date: 12

Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 20,000 miles

0-170 mph in 33 seconds

May 14, 2009

The video of this 0-170 mph run is on the next page. Turn up the volume. Of course this was brought to you by a professional driver on a closed course. And that hired hot shoe told me that the GT-R didn't even know it was going stupid fast. Besides a slight lightening of the steering above 150 mph the car is dead stable at this speed. Rock solid enough for me...I mean the driver to work the video camera with one hand and steer with the other.

By the way, the GT-R still had more than 20 mph left in it (Nissan says it is aero limited to 193 mph), although it's interesting to see how the acceleration slows about 150 mph. Watch the digital speedo. From zero to a buck fifty the GT-R is accelerating in 3 or 4 mph chunks. But above 150 mph, after it shifts 6th gear, its essentially rolling in single digits.

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief @ 20,295 miles

You Write the Caption

May 15, 2009

Welcome to my new house. The market has really gotten much more affordable.

Good thing, because I like to put all my money in my car. Look, it even has its own private parking spot.

Here's our caption: "Honey, I'm home."

What have you got?

We'll post our favorite caption at 4:00 PM Western Desert Shack time.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Our Favorite Caption

May 15, 2009

Wow. There were so many good ones, it took me forever to decide. Thanks to cuthgood130 for this week's favorite caption.

I also want to give a shout out to ergsum for so many good entries. Clever boy.

Here are the other goodies:

Look what Jimmy won on The Price is Right, Ma! (miniharryc)
"Deliverance" charge included! (ergsum)
Today we look at the life of an Edmunds intern. (ergsum)
This explains all those crop circles! (ergsum)
Sweet! It's got a Nismo gunrack! (ergsum)
'Oh give me a home where the GT-R roam' (stpawyfrmdonut)
This GT-R came "Wrong Side of the Track" ready! (ergsum)
Hunny i want a divorce...you can keep the house! (e10rice)
Shack 'n Awe (waynester76)
Honey, I sold our house to pay for my oil change. (zoomzoom97)
GiT-R Done! (vwthing1)
Photo for next month's cover of "Road & Shack" magazine. (ergsum)
I found the clipboard, but where's the GT-R damn it! (subaru123)

What was your favorite?

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

The Angry Refrigerator

May 19, 2009

There's only a small palette of colors for the GT-R and it looks bad in all of them, really. Our plain white car looks like some kind of angry refrigerator, as if The Brave Little Toaster had turned into a horror movie.

I think our only hope is to buy some contact paper and create a replica of the Nismo-prepared GT-R now being raced in Europe. This is Nissan's first factory-built racing car in a decade, and it's meant to be a preliminary effort to prepare for the FIA's GT1 championship next year. Gigawave Motorsport is fielding the car in four races, and it's being driven by long-time Nismo driver Michael Krumm and Gigawave's Darren Turner.

Though this Nismo car carries no. 35, it's not exactly an R35 GT-R. This is a 2,756-pound rear-wheel-drive chassis and it's powered by the Nissan 5.6-liter V8 that we know in the Nissan Titan pickup truck, only it's been tuned to produce 600 hp and 479 pound-feet of torque.

Looks pretty good, even in white. Maybe an angry refrigerator is a good thing.

Michael Jordan, Executive Editor @ 20,656 miles

Which Would You Rather?

May 20, 2009

What's the more disirable Nissan sports car? Is it the almighty Godzilla or the new Z for half the cost? Personally, after living with both I'd rather have an Infiniti G37 S Coupe. But that's not an official choice for the purposes of this blog post, so I choose the Z. It's more than half the car for far less than half the money. Plus, I'm amazed by the Sychro RevMatch system. It's an incredible piece of engineering.

So which would you rather?

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief

Trick Handles That Actually Work

May 20, 2009


It's been mentioned before, but I'll say it again: Of all the trick features in the GT-R, its unusual door handles still manage to stand out for their simplicity.

They sit flush, yet are still easy to use. Just push the right side with your thumb and pull the left side with your other four fingers. Seems so easy, but too many exotics get cute and screw up what should be a simple operation.

You might also notice the keyless entry button. It's also frighteningly simple, but like fancy door handles, it's an idea that's often executed poorly. In this case it works just fine and doesn't look horribly out of place either.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 20,887 miles

Plenty of 'R', Not Much 'GT'

May 26, 2009

I snagged the GT-R for the long weekend — score! Figuring that Saturday and Monday would be bad days for L.A.'s already notorious traffic, I limited those days to running errands and running down to Long Beach to play tennis, respectively. The real quality time would be spent Sunday, taking a day trip with my girlfriend to Santa Barbara, with stops at Calabasas (for Supercar Sunday) and Camarillo (for the outlets). I got my car fix at the former (saw everything from Jay Leno's 192? Bugatti racecar to a mint '67 Shelby GT 500) and some new Nike kicks for my gf at the latter.

Right about now you're thinking "Yeah, yeah, that's all very nice...what about the GT-R?"

Here are a few of my random thoughts on the nearly 500-hp supercar:

— Pulling away smoothly is sometimes herky-jerky (especially when the car is cold) no matter how carefully you modulate the throttle

— The tranny has no "creep", so parallel parking requires you to feather the gas ever so gently, so as to minimize the quirk noted above. A park assist feature would be nice too.

— The tranny is awesome, however, when you're hard on the gas, clicking off smooth shifts so quickly the fierce acceleration doesn't let up at all between gears. And there's no lag when you're flicking the paddles either.

— This car slingshots to crazy velocity like it has an afterburner strapped to the roof.

— Even with the adjustable suspension in "Comf(ort)" mode, the ride is just too stiff. On a road trip, I'd rather not feel the amplitude and contour of every bump in the road. I actually prefer firm suspension setups, but if you're gonna have an adjustable suspension, have some meaningful difference between Normal and Comfort settings.

— Pronounced road noise on coarse asphalt and concrete freeways.

— Awesome seats. Perfect blend of firm support and hours-in-the-saddle comfort. Plenty of proper lumbar support despite the absence of an adjustable feature.

— Incredible handling capability, nothing that weighs two tons has any business changing directions so nimbly.

— I averaged 16.5 mpg in mostly freeway driving, with some twisty two-laners and traffic thrown in for good measure.

— At first intimidating due to its power and bulk, the GT-R proved easy to handle, and is one of those performance cars that "shrinks" around you as you explore its considerable talents.

In short, the GT-R provides plenty of emphasis on Race, not so much on Grand Touring.

John DiPietro, Automotive Editor at 21,289 miles.

Talk of the Town

May 31, 2009

It's gotta be the most talked about car in the last two years.

For months before it's release, the search engines were buzzing with news and rumors about the new Skyline that was coming.

Well, as you know, it's not a Skyline, but it is the most hyped-up car in recent years. It wasn't just idle chatter. The 2009 Nissan GT-R has lived up to its reputation.

We like it, anyway. And even almost a year after it joined our fleet, it still gets "oh my god, is that your car" reactions from passersby.

Let's celebrate this killer machine once again. The 2009 Nissan GT-R is car of the week.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Stretch Goals

June 01, 2009

Much has been made on fanboy websites regarding the Nissan GT-R and the Corvette Z06. At first glance, a showdown makes sense: similar price point, power and performance.

In September 2007 in Nurburg, Germany, home of the Nurburgring, I drove a GT-R in PT2 pre-production trim. The GT-R had prior been photographed at numerous racetracks in such close proximity with a Porsche 997 Turbo that it might have been an appendage.

Still, I was curious. So in an interview with Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in the company's Nurburgring garage on the same trip, I asked if the Z06 was ever on their radar. He replied that in setting goals for and developing the GT-R, they targeted what they believed to be the highest expression of all-round performance, the 911 Turbo. Surpassing the 911 Turbo's performance would, then, eclipse all others.

But he never specifically addressed the Z06. My suspicion? The GT-R team had never considered it and that Ghosn had never even heard of it before I asked the question.

Subsequent drives in the GT-R have only reinforced this notion. The GT-R is indeed far closer to a 911 Turbo in character and driving experience than it is to a Z06. It is now obvious that all those spy photos weren't just about showmanship, and that any kind of GT-R / Z06 "rivalry" — despite all the attendant internet hand-wringing, chest-thumping and weenieism — has no teeth.

Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 22,461 miles.

Open Thread

June 02, 2009

Here's a little mosaic of the 2009 Nissan GT-R.

We've written a lot about this car. Heck, we even threw it a party.

Is there anything you want to know that we haven't covered?

Have you driven one? Write a review in the comments section.

Have you seen any on the road? Did you take a camera phone picture? You did, didn't you. Admit it. Was it one of us behind the wheel?

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Love the Driving Position

June 02, 2009

It was almost a year ago that I picked our 2009 Nissan GT-R up in Nashville and drove it 3,000 miles across the U.S. Yet, I still get excited every time I get in this car — as if I'm going to drive it again for the very first time.

And, you know, I think it's seating postion in the cockpit. This has to be one of the best resolved driving positions in any current-day sports car.

It takes a minute to get set up — with a single rotary-looking knob that actually functions more like a joystick as the main seat adjustor. And then there's a separate toggle button for the height adjustment of the front half of the seat-bottom cushion. The steering wheel has separate manual levers for both telescope and tilt (the latter moves the whole gauge pack up and down).

Once all that's done, though, it feels wonderful to sit in the GT-R. The steering wheel sits and fits in your hands just so, and the seat has you all set up to be looking ahead and making quick decisions about where Godzilla is going next. And all the controls are a finger's stretch away. And, when you're stopped in traffic, that special GT-R badge is right there in front of your face.

Erin Riches, Senior Editor

An Exotic Without the Baggage

June 03, 2009

Went to a local cruise last weekend. Good mix of new, old, affordable and exotic. After seeing a yellow Lamborghini Murcielago SV roll by, I got to talking with a friend about exotics, specifically Lamborghinis.

We both agreed that Lamborghinis have become a bit of a joke. Sure they're fast, make great noises and look like nothing else on the road, but you can't drive one without looking like a tool that's trying too hard.

It's one of the reasons I like the GT-R. It's not exactly subtle in the styling department, but it's not over the top either. You can drive it around without looking like you're starved for attention. It's a car that's impressive and unique to those who know what it is, but inoffensive to those who don't. And of course, it has the performance to go toe-to-toe with a Lambo any day of the week.

Then again, maybe we're just spoiled living here in Southern California. Maybe Lambos are still cool in Kansas City. Even so, I'd still rather have the GT-R.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, @ 21,515 miles

Great seats with a small quirk

June 03, 2009

Our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R has excellent front seats. They are both comfortable and supportive, with luxurious suede-like surfaces and leather trim. You can see in this shot the excellent 8-way power seat adjuster knob that Erin inexplicably left out of her previous blog pic.

Just above that seat adjuster knob is the seat heater switch, a strange location and difficult to find unless you remembered it or something.

The small quirk about the seat is that both sides of the bottom side bolsters connect through the base of the seat (seen in below photo). This extra material can be felt right at your tailbone if you have a bony butt.

It's only slightly uncomfortable, but I've never seen another vehicle with this type of bottom cushion seat styling.

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 21,600 miles

Midship Bullship

June 04, 2009

Pop the hood of our 2009 Nissan GT-R and you'll find the term "Premium Midship" stamped into the heat-resistant mouse fur that lines the underside.

"Midship" is shorthand for mid-engined, which of course refers to a car with its engine located behind the driver but ahead of the transmission and rear axle.

Here the Nissan marketing folks have stretched the definition, employing the term "Front Midship" (or FM, for short) to indicate an engine that's ahead of the driver but behind the front axle. Since the GT-R is so bitchin', they call it Premium Midship.

The reason it's a stretch is simple: Whether or not the engine sits behind the front axle is a highly debatable point.



The twin-turbo engine clearly sits in between and partially ahead of the top of the shock towers. OK, the towers are reclined back a bit because of the front suspension's caster angle. Maybe, just maybe, the forwardmost cylinder's mathematical centerline — not the entire cylinder, mind you — is ahead of the imaginary line that defines the front axle centerline. It would take 3D modelling software to know for certain, and even then, there's a lot of engine block and front cover ahead of the axle centerline.

However that turns out, the GT-R is not a mid-engined car.

"The Nissan GT-R is a front-engined car, you Plebes!! I'm the midship(man) here! Do you understand? Look at the next photograph to see what a REAL front-midship car looks like. Now drop and give me twenty!"



Implying that the Nissan GT-R is a mid-engined car by applying the term "midship" makes even less sense than applying the term "4-door coupe" to any 4-door sedan with a sleek roofline and bad rear headroom.   

That is all.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 21,624 miles

Suspension Walkaround

June 05, 2009



At last we come to the suspension walkaround for the 2009 Nissan GT-R. I've been holding off waiting for answers from Japan to a couple of clarifying technical questions. But I can't wait any longer. I'll point them out as we go along.

As you'd expect, the GT-R has a lot of interesting things going on, but much of it is obscured. To get at some it we'll have to take the GT-R to a real lift at a later date and remove multiple covers and undertrays that are not found on mainstream cars.

I know you didn't hear any of that because you were hypnotized by the humungous 6-pistom Brembo brake calipers and two-piece rotors. They're two piece because the rotor is pinned to a lightweight aluminum hub (black). But you need brakes like this if you're going to orbit the nurburgring in the mid 7-minute range and stop in less than 100 feet from 60 mph.

They brakes are so huge that they almost totally obscure the double control-arm suspension. But from here we can see an aluminum high-mount upper arm and the curved upper portion of the aluminum hub carrier.

We can just see the lower end of the Bilstein monotube shock aborbers (yellow) and the split fork that makes room for the drive axle on the way to the attachment point on the lower control arm (LCA).

I'll go into the difference between monotube and twin-tube dampers another time, but for now know that the single-wall construction of a monotube shock expels heat readily and provides a larger inner diameter that allows for a larger piston and valve assembly and higher gas pressures, which in turn allows them to generate higher damping forces, be more sensitive and be more resistant to cavitation (foaming).

The rear bushing of that aluminum L-shaped lower control arm is hidden behind a plastic panel, but before it disappears, it dips down to make rom for the steering rack and tie-rod ends (red). The GT-R's steering is mounted behind the front axle centerline because of the presence of front drive components and a generally crowded underhood environment. If that's the price I have to pay for twin turbos, I'll take it.

Here's a close-up of the close quarters that house the steering rack, which barely fits beneath the drive components that supply torque to the front differential. We'll have to wait for another day to strip off all the covers and undertrays on a real shop lift to show you the driveline.


Oh joy! More plastic covers. The Nissan GT-R has a lot of tight-fitting airflow management panels under the car and within the wheel wells. Here the large front stabilizer bar (white) emerges from one of them. And we get our first glimpse of the progressive rate coil-over spring (yellow) that surrounds the Bilstein shock.


This head-on view of the lower control arm shows the arm ratios for the coil over (about 0.65) and the stabilizer bar (about 0.5). The actual motion ratio of the coil-over will be lower-still because of the angle at which it leans inward.

So far, all of this is conceptually identical to the Infiniti FX-50 suspension. But the detail dimensions that represent the geometry (otherwise known as the hard points) are different, the tuning is different and I'd wager that none of the parts are interchangeable.

By now you're used to seeing the sloped upper arm that comes with anti-dive suspension geometry, so it's no surprise seeing that the GT-R has plenty of it. Look up and down the coil sping (black) to see that the coil spacing varies and that plastic shields appear on a couple of coils. Both are signs that this is a progressive-rate spring.

The weird part is the mysterious molded construction of the structural panel that the upper suspension bolts to (green). It shows mold lines and sprues as if it were cast or molded from a composite material. I'm still waiting for a definitive answer on this.

Here's a close-up of one of the attachment points for the upper arm.

Here you can see where the mystery panel bolts to the steel unibody (yellow). The top of the Bilstein shock admits the wire for the adjustable damping feature. Inside there's a needle valve that slides in and out of an orifice to vary the amount of shock oil that bypasses the valve. More bypass reduces the amount of fluid going through the valve, and that results in softer damping for a smoother ride (relatively speaking, of course). Less bypass forces more fluid through the valve and produces higher damping forces for more control.

There isn't any room for a stress bar between the two shock towers (yellow) so Nissan ran steel stiffening panels from the firewall to the frame horns, a move that accomplishes the same thing while it gives that bolt-on shock towers someplace to attach to.

It should be no surprise that the GT-R has a multilink suspension. This one has a Y-shaped upper contol arm made of aluminum (yellow) and three steel links (white, black and green). Yes, steel.

And of course if has massive 4-piston fixed Brembo calipers over two-piece rear vented rotors that block the view of most of it.

Bilstein monotube shocks with coil-over springs are used in the rear, too. The springs have equal coil spacing, which implies a straightforward linear rate.

The approximation of a lower arm is made by a trailing link that angles forward (green) and a short lateral link (white). The lateral link has a curious dent about midway along it's lower surface. At first I thought this might be rock or debris damage, but a quick check showed that the other side has the exact same indentation, which makes me think it's intentional.

Why? My theory is that it provides for controlled collapse in the event of a high-g lateral impact, like a curb strike. Not sure why the GT-R would need that, particularly, when almost no other cars have this. I suppose it might prevent subframe and unibody damage, but then I'd think everyone would do it. It might be of particular advantage in the event the damage occured at a track: a link replacement is an easier trackside fix than a subframe swap.

But I'm still waiting for Japan to tell me if my theory is correct.

The last link is the rear toe link (green) which basically makes sure the wheels point in the right direction. Like other such links we've seen, it's longer than the lower link, and that means the outside rear tire will toe in slightly as the suspension compresses, creating a touch of understeer at the rear as the body rolls in a corner (called roll understeer). After all, you don't really want the outside rear tire toeing OUT as you turn into a high speed sweeper. That's forklift behaviour, and it can lead to a sudden loss of control in a high-speed corner or an emergency lane change.

The circle indicates another view of the mystery indentation, and the yellow arrow points to a rear stabilizer bar that's skinnier than expected.

Of course it's all surrounded by aerodynamic panels.

Here's another view of that stabilizer bar (white). It mounts directly to the knuckle, via a bolt-on bracket. The resulting 1:1 motion ratio is a partial explanation for its tiny size. The shock absorber also bolts directly to the knuckle (yellow), so the dampers and springs are about as efficient as they can be, too.

The white circles show that the inner attachment points of the lower lateral link and the toe link are adjustable with eccentric cams. The former takes care of camber adjustment, and the latter allows static toe adjustment.

There's more than this. I have more shots of the brakes, tires and other assorted details, but I'll save that for part 2. Stay tuned.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ some forgotten number of miles.

Benchracing in Extremis

June 05, 2009

2009 Nissan GT-R + 2008 Chevy Corvette Z06 + El Mirage Dry lakebed = WEEEEE!

I mean, *cough cough*, this is serious business, no place for silly drag races up and down an abandoned stretch of desert.

Months ago, Edmunds and ran it head-to-head with a brand new Mustang GT500KR. Serious business. Very little fun to be had. So when we had more people necessary for a successful video / photo shoot than we had cars, choosing a support car was difficult. The Caravan was already booked. So was the Smart. Poor us. Someone (me) would have to take the GT-R.

Now, we still had to get some work done, so most of the day was spent flat-out in the big V8s, but with a Z06 and GT-R out there, together, we had to make at least one run. Wouldn't you?

Follow the jump for a second-by-second account and some graphs!!!

From my perspective in the GT-R:

:00 — Wait, how's the launch control work in this thing (it still had it then).

:01 — Will LC be too strong for the silt ?

:02 — Ahhh, the countdown's started

:03 — Found LC, brake floored, accel floored

:04: — That Z06 is going to spin out and crash into me on launch

:05 — Oh crap, flag dropped, release brake

:05.5 — What the hell? I let off the brake, why aren't I moving?

:06 — Oh dear God this is fast.

:07 — My eyes hurt.

:08 — My heart and lungs have just turned into a single organ

:09 — Damn, the z06 got out of the hole. I've still got a car length or two though

:10 — wow, fast shifts. Z06 will spin 'em if it rips off a fast shift. I've got this EASY

:11 — This is getting boring. I wish I had to shift

:12 — Is that Corvette getting closer. how does that "closer than it appears" thing works?

:13 — Yeah, Z06 is closing fast

:14 — We wave, side by side

:15 — They wave goodbye

:16 — I can't see through all of this dust

:17 — Whoops, gotta brake...almost out of lakebed.

And then we put the GT-R away to focus on some cars with torque. But we've never had a Z06 and GT-R at the track on the same day. Sure, we've ran ours against the ZR-1, but never a "plain-Jane" Z06. The numbers are close (as we all know from spec-sheet racing these two cars); 3.7 (Z06) to 60 Vs 3.5 (GT-R); 11.7 Vs 11.7. But take a closer look and you'll notice the trap speeds: 115 (GT-R) Vs.123 (Z06). I don't know if you're aware, but 123 mph at the end of only 1,320 feet is MOVING.

So with that I present a made up comparison test of the Z06 Vs the GT-R: 65- 121 mph. (The GT-R maxed out at 121.3 during testing or else I would've made the test-end higher.) Consider this as fodder for argument as these were on different days with different drivers, potentially at different tracks. But the idea is what counts here.

The blue line here represents the Z06. It accomplished this test in 971.72 feet at only 6.91 seconds. The GT-R as expressed by a red line, did the deed in 1,116.33 feet and took 7.91 seconds.

But what does the big daddy ZR-1 do in that made-up test? How about that Twin-Turbo Ford GT we tested?

Glad you asked! The ZR-1 trips 120 MPH in only 5.9 second and takes a scant 818.83 feet while the GT1000, once its done frothing its tires, hits 120 in 5.11 seconds in 702.55 feet. Ohhh, you want another graph? Sweet.

Light blue here is clearly the GT1000 while the green line is devoted to the ZR-1.

And now that that's settled we can all move on with our lives.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant.

Going Where No One Has Gone Before

June 05, 2009

I did it. I think I'm the first adult to have gone for a ride in the backseat of our 2009 Nissan GT-R. Editor Dan's kids, Scott O.'s kids and, I think, Karl's kids have sat back there and all editors have said that adults don't fit. But I've lived to tell about it; and yes, they do. OK, it probably helped that I'm short, 5'5".

But, it actually wasn't that bad. And I was sitting behind someone who's 5'9". But they had enough room for their legs and my knees weren't pressed against the back of their seat. Sure, when I leaned back my head was touching glass and I could look up and see the sky but it wasn't cramped back there. Definitely cozy. And I can fit my hand through the holes in the seat and poke the person sitting in front of me.

Not saying that I'd agree to a long road trip (I'd get car sick from the harsh ride), or even a ride cross town back there, but I wouldn't complain during a quick trip to the store.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor

Brake and Tire Walkaround Supplement

June 08, 2009

The 2009 Nissan GT-R suspension walkaround started to get long and drawn-out, so I decided to break it up. I took way too many photos for a single post.

Let's spend a bit more time on the brakes and tires.

Just look at those rotors! The ventilated air passages are big enough to put your fingers in. Don't, however, unless you want them severely burnt or chopped-off. Suffice it to say that air has no trouble finding its way through there.

Instead of being hidden on the back side, the GT-R's caliper mounting bolts (green) are easily accessed. Six-piston front-loading calipers have a very long pad slot, which would make them prone to flex and reduce their efficinecy if nothing was done about it. But here something has been done, in the form of two bridge bolts (yellow) that hold the center of the caliper together and make sure the clamping force goes to the rotor, where it belongs. Of course the bridge bolts have to be removed (as well as the usual pair of pins) in order to get the pads out.

Those with sharp eyes will notice that our pads still have some meat left, but they are getting thin. You might see a pad-change DIY post in a few weeks.

Another interesting tidbit is the external crossover pipe (white) that brings fluid from the inner half to the outer half. Sometimes internal passages are cast in the caliper body for this purpose, but these are cast solid for increased strength. This pipe should never need to be removed over the life of the car.



No internal passages also means twin brake bleed fittings (white). That's right, each half of this caliper needs to be bled seperately. You might also notice that these fittings screw into the same machined bungs as the crossover pipe in the last picture, making it look like left- and right-handed calipers are a simple matter of where they put the crossover pipe and the bleeders...

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But that's not the case. Six-piston calipers almost always have a leading pair of pistons (white) that are slightly smaller in diameter than the middle and trailing pairs (yellow). It has to do with making sure the clamping forces are balanced across the entire pad, and the trailing end has to work harder.

So these caliper castings are, in fact, left and right-handed. Instead, the symmetrical bleed and crossover port machining simply makes life easier for the machinist.

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The rear brakes also have an external crossover pipe and dual bleeders. Those who bleed their own brakes will have to go through the motions 8 times instead of the usual 4 times, and that means you're going to need to be real nice to the buddy you recruit to push the pedal for you.

Here you can see the clips that hold the ventilated and drilled rotors to the aluminum "hat". The clips allow a little lateral movement, which means the rotors will run true and will be less apt to create vibration when clamped by the caliper.

You'll also notice that this caliper has no bridge bolts spanning the pad slot, and that's because a 4-piston caliper's pad slot isn't long enough to create excess caliper flex.

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This would be a healthy rear tire size for a lot of cars. On the GT-R, it's a front tire. The rear tires are 285/35ZRF20 100Y.

Surprise! The GT-R's Bridgestone RE070R assymetrical run-flat ultra-high performance tires are not long-wearing tires. Who knew?

The last 4 digits of the DOT number are the date code; 1308 in this case. That means these tires were manufactured during the 13th week of 2008. That's probably the last week of March. Maybe even April Fool's Day.

The GT-R's front wheels would also do the ass-end of any hot-rod proud: 20 by 9.5 inches. 45 mm is the offset, incidentally. The rear wheels are 20 by 10.5 inches with a 25 mm offset.

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The front tire and wheel assemblies weigh 63 pounds. The rears weigh 67 pounds. That's the downside of rolling on dubs. While it's still a lot of unsprung mass to deal with, it makes more sense on a car like the GT-R. No one expects it to ride gracefully, so they can crank down the damping and use stiff springs.

Putting 20's on a luxury car, however, puts you deep in your own end zone. Makes those 20's run-flats, and you've really dug yourself a hole.

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Finally, a word about tire-black detailing treatments: Don't. Just, don't.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 21,650 miles

It's Special

June 08, 2009

When you live and work on LA's West Side, you see multiple copies of every exotic piece of automotive iron. For example, it seems that almost every time I go to a fancy restaurant or mall, I see someone's black 997 Turbo. They're plentiful here.

But that's not the case with the Nissan R35: it's rare. I've only seen a handful in LA (not counting car shows). I mean, if you're going to spend that kind of money, most guys are going to get something that impresses the ladies, one of the few things the R35 does not do. (I know: who cares.)

So I was quite surprised to come across this brand new black GT-R in the Costco parking lot, its regular-guy owner eating an In-n-Out burger in it. He said that the dealer in the Hollywood area (near the amusement park) wanted $100K! He told that dealer to take a hike, and ended up paying the $80K list price from a store in Orange County.

A couple of guys shagging the one million shopping carts in the Costco lot busted out their camera phones and also took some pics of the GT-R pair, as happy as kids on Christmas morning. And why not? Car guys know that the R35 isn't just awesome, it's Special.

Enjoy your new R35 Sean.

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 21,800 miles

Nissan GT-R as Arbiter

June 11, 2009

"One who has the power to judge or ordain at will."

A curious thing happens when I drive the GT-R: People who insist on being de facto speed regulators (either by self-righteous choice or through a total lack of situational awareness), traveling 62 mph in the No. 1 lane with a half-mile of clear road in front of them, no longer irritate me quite so much. The anti-destination league doesn't have a chance when I've got 430 torques at my disposal from a mere 3,200 rpm.

Chris Walton, Chief Road Test Editor @ 22,042 miles

Which Exotic Is the Most Exotic?

June 15, 2009

After a weekend of running pointless errands and squirting through freeway traffic, our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R found a friend at a local city park on Sunday evening.

Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 22,165 miles

Has a Display for Nearly Every Mood

June 16, 2009

In addition to its unreal sense of speed, smarty-pants twin-clutch transmission and sheer Godzilla presence, our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R is notable for its displays.

It has so many. And many of them feel like they're straight out of a video game — which is no surprise since Kazunori Yamauchi of Gran Turismo fame did consult on their design to the point that Nissan felt obliged to have Sony's Polyphony Digital logo flash whenever you switch over to the multifunction meter.

Though I don't use the displays for entertainment during normal driving, I like that I can nearly always find the information I'm looking for by sifting through the menus (though one turbo-obsessed passenger noted the lack of an exhaust gas temperature display). So here's the tire pressure monitor. Yep, monitors are federally mandated equipment now, so no big deal.

But this particular screen was so easy to get to and it kept me honest: The cold spec for all four tires is 29 psi, so there's no way I could have willfully parked the GT-R in our garage this morning without topping off that right front tire. Now it's done. And I feel better.

Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 22,175 miles

Forever Young

June 22, 2009

It's pretty rare that I'll get one of our high-demand long-term cars for a weekend. With a milestone birthday on the horizon, I requested the GT-R almost a month ago and Keymaster Schmidt came through. I wanted something that would recharge my batteries, so to speak, and this Nissan supercar did the trick.

According to the figures, this thing makes 480 horsepower — and I felt every single one of them. I've driven a bunch of high-horsepower cars, but I think the GT-R makes the best use of everything it produces — evident in its noticeable absence of wheelspin. Images of my youth and my favorite rollercoaster, "Montezooma's Revenge," came to mind. This rollercoaster boasted an aircraft carrier-like catapult system to launch riders with gut-compressing acceleration. The GT-R restored that youthful and maniacal grin.

Over the weekend I felt like an amusement park ride attendant, shuffling thrillseekers through the queues and ensuring they were properly cinched down in their seats. After feeling the initial rush of acceleration, nearly every passenger responded in a Tourette's-like litany of expletives. In the tight canyon roads above Malibu, I experienced levels of grip that I last felt in an open-wheel racecar with wings. Yeah, it's fair to say I love this car. So much, that this is now on the top of my list as a replacement for my current sports car. Thanks GT-R, you'll be one of my deathbed memories!

Mark Takahashi, Associate Editor @ 22,643 miles

The 24 hours of Vegas

June 30, 2009

I got a short notice invitation to go to Vegas last week.
Well, I did sign up for our long term 2009 Nissan GT-R for the weekend. That sealed it for me.

It's about 285 miles from my home on the Westside of LA and I got about 17 mpg roundtrip. It took 4 hours to get there, but 5.5 hours to get back on Sunday due to the horrendous traffic.

Although there is a great deal of road noise and some wind noise, the R35 is a superb tourer. It has supportive seats, but not at the expense of any comfort. While the ride is quite firm, even in the comfort setting, it's manageable. And power? No problem — you can slice through traffic like a katana sword.

I saw a black GT-R in front of a fancy hotel. It may have belonged an NBA star because we spotted D.Fisher of the Lakers and a few other players by the pool.

A few other notes:

1. I find the analog speedo useless, with the numbers too close together to read quickly with a brief glance. I prefer to use the digital speedo in bottom of the tach. (The speedo looks deceptively big and uncluttered in the photo.)

2. The fuel range readout is useful too, but you have to toggle through multiple displays including the digital speedo. I'd like to have the speedo and range available simultaneously.

About that fuel range readout...

It's helpful most the time, except when you're in the bottom of the tank, when you need it most. You see, the readout is pretty linear throughout most of the range and when you're moving along.

However, I had just less than a quarter of the 19.5 gallon tank left and saw that Barstow was just 15 miles away, with plenty of fuel stations. The range display read 60 miles. No problem, I thought. But then I ran into a big traffic jam due to an agricultural check just west of Yermo (that didn't show up on the navi traffic.)

We were goingly slowly, but still moving as the fuel range readout plummetted in increments of 10 or more from 60 miles to Zero in matter of minutes and a few miles. I exited at Yermo and asked a woman who looked local where the nearest station was. I stared at the fuel range flashing "----" while driving the few miles to the station, slowly with the AC off. My gut involuntarily tightened up as I pondered my pending late-afernoon desert stroll — it was a buck-ten ambient out there!

But I made it. The station was a brand name, but not the best quality fuel, so I added only four gallons. When I fired it up — the fuel gauge went to almost 1/2!

I guess that range readout is conservative. Anyway, next time I'm the desert, when it's down to a quarter tank (or more), I'm filling it — fuel range display be damned!

Thank God I didn't have to take the desert hike: it would have put a smudge on a nice weekend by the pool.

And the swimming pools at the Wynn and Encore are quite nice.
There just wasn't a lot of swimming going on...

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 23,550 miles

Bumpsteer

July 06, 2009

Our longterm 2009 Nissan GT-R has always had a noted tendency to sniff out cambers. Super-sticky, wide tires plus stiff sidewalls and bushings will do that. There's not much we can do about it.

But how do other manufacturers address the issue? Over the weekend, at a park in San Francisco, I encountered one solution that has a whole bunch of drawbacks.

See, they rent these quadcycles which you can rent to ride around the park. They have truly awful steering in every sense of the word. But these rickety contraptions also manage to have absolutely zero bumpsteer.

They accomplish this feat by having no suspension at all, so the steering geometry remains the same at all times. Barring the loose bearings and slop in the steering, that is.

A lack of wheel travel means the tie rod ends don't shorten or lengthen when the thing crashes over bumps. And this means no bumpsteer.

I was curious what made the quadcycle's steering so wretched when the GT-R's is rather excellent, so I started peeking around. Heads up, the rest of this really has nothing to do with the GT-R.

First is the cam that converts your steering inputs into wheel movement.

Due to the physics of the device, the steering is ultra-hyper-quick right around center, and slowest out at the steering stops, which you find when the inside front tire hits your foot.

Quick steering would be fine if there was any — and I mean any — on-center feel. And on-center feel comes in part from caster.

Would you guess that this quadcycle has zero caster? Yes, you probably would.

The result of this confluence of bad ideas is steering that is way, way too sensitive to overcorrections around center, and it goes unstable very easily. Gather up any speed and you end up in a steering death spiral, wobbling back and forth as you desparately try to not weave into the path of an oncoming E-class.

You just can't keep the thing pointed straight, which is pretty ironic considering it has no bumpsteer.

Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor at 24,661 miles.

What I Don't Like About It

July 07, 2009

There aren't too many things I dislike about our 2009 Nissan GT-R but after riding in it for over 800 miles I finally found a couple things.

1) It has the most annoying high-pitch squeaking which we have determined comes from the panel where the CD player lives. It kinda sounds like when you first insert a disc into a CD player — you know, that high-pitch squirrelly noise — but loud and continuous. We found that if we press the panel, the squeaking stops a bit until the imperfect road and the GT-R's stiff suspension set it off again. At one point, I just kept my hand pressed against the panel until my fingers hurt. It was just so annoying! However, I did notice that this squeak doesn't occur all the time, like during my short commute to work.

2) OK, this is more the nav's fault than the car's but when we were looking for the nearest gas station, the nav lead us to closed gas stations three times in a row. We finally just resorted to staying on a major road and driving three miles out of our way until we came across one. And when we were driving through McKittrick in Kern County in dire need of a restroom, the nav lead us to Chevron...oil rigs. Arrgh!

Other than that, I still contend the GT-R is a fine road trip car. Really comfortable seats that cradle you, satellite radio and responsive cruise control.

On an unrelated note, during a quick Starbucks stop in Salinas on the way back, I looked out the shop's window as I was waiting in line and watched a little bird jump into the just-parked GT-R's searing hot vent. It disappeared for a brief second while I bit my nails, and then emerged triumphant with a big, fat dead bug in its beak. In the picture, it's perched getting ready to jump further in. It must get a lot of food hanging out at that Starbucks right off the 101.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 24,661 miles

I Never Noticed This Before

July 09, 2009

Last night, I took off in the GT-R and realized my seat was getting kinda toasty. I didn't remember the GT-R having seat heaters. I looked around the center console for controls but couldn't find any. So, I figured they must be on the seat itself somewhere. Trouble was, I was driving on the freeway by now and couldn't really go on a button hunt. Even feeling around the seat controls, I couldn't find a heater switch.

I'm a hot seat lover, so I can't believe I never noticed that the GT-R has seat heaters. I guess I'm thinking about more important things when I'm driving Godzilla, like the acceleration screen. I love to see the curves on the acceleration screen.

When I finally got to a stop, I found them on the left of the seat in plain site. It's not exactly like they are hidden. Problem solved.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Good Feel

July 13, 2009

Our 2009 Nissan GT-R has my all-time favorite steering wheel.

Everything about it fits my hands perfectly. I love the way the perforated leather feels at the grips, the paddles are well within reach of my girl fingers, and the audio controls are convenient. And, of course, it helps me pilot the beast.

I think this car was made for me.

What do you like in a steering wheel?

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor @ 24,850 miles

Spotted

July 13, 2009

I like to take pictures of interesting cars I see on the road.

While I was driving our 2009 Nissan GT-R this weekend I spotted this VW Beetle in unapologetic pink. The white doors are really a nice touch.

I wonder how old this car is.

Do you think the GT-R will still be running in as many years?

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

My lottery car

July 14, 2009

Now touring the country is a revival of the musical "Fiddler on the Roof", a farewell for long-standing star Topol. With music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, the play is set in early 1900 Tsarist Russia. Wikipedia notes that the story "is based on Tevye and his Daughters (or Tevye the Milkman) and other tales by Sholem Aleichem. The story centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives."

One of several famous musical numbers is "If I were a Rich Man." Well, if I were a rich man — and at this point that means hitting the Powerball numbers (Oy Vey!) — I would purchase a Nissan GT-R.

Sure I could buy a Murcielago, Spyker, or something. However, driving a vehicle like one of those projects the image of a schmuck. It's been noted here before that the R35 carries no such stigma.

And how practical are any of those? Anywhere you park an exotic car you're going to worry about a lot of things — like door dings, negotiating driveway dips, getting keyed by some meshugana guy, or the the valet making off with your ride a la "Ferris Bueller".

You can use the GT-R as a daily driver. It's not a pain in the tuches like an exotic car.
Making a run down to the grocery store, Walmart, or the drive-thru at Taco Bell? It's no problem in the GT-R.

While the R35 is the easiest car to drive fast that I've ever been in due to the linear power, tremendous AWD grip, and excellent and incredibly easy-to-use dual-clutch transmission, comfortable touring is also a GT-R strong point, as I experienced in my mad weekend dash to Vegas a few weeks ago.

Say again? You won lotto and purchased which vehicle?

Mazel Tov!!

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 25,000 miles

Service due

July 16, 2009

Our long-term Nissan R35 wants an oil change — Pronto!
We will bring it in once the bank approves the loan for the service.

In other breaking news, the GT-R will soon be celebrating its 25,000th anniversary.
Perhaps we'll celebrate with a party at Chateau Oldham...

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Eval Engineer @ 24,960 mi

25,000 miles

July 20, 2009

Hooray! It was early August when we introduced you to our 2009 Nissan GT-R. 20,000 miles was never going to be a problem, not with this kind of allure, and not when we bought it in Tennessee and drove it back to L.A. 25,000 miles in just about 11 months is what we expected. What we weren't expecting were the repair costs: $7,098.07 so far. (Edit: We paid $71,900 for the car + maintenance brings the total to $78,998.07 — Still $51,001.93 cheaper than its main rival, the Porsche 911 Turbo, that stickers for $130,000.)

Oh, and just in case the static image of an odometer at 25,000 miles doesn't get your blood pumping, follow the jump for what is potentially the most boring video ever taken of a GT-R.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 25,000 miles

25,000 Mile Service

July 21, 2009

The good news is that we don't need to bring our 2009 Nissan GT-R to the dealer again until it clicks past 31,000 miles. The bad news is that we just brought our GT-R over to Nissan of Santa Monica for a service, the one ours alerted us to last week at 24,960 miles, that cost $537.82.

What does a GT-R owner get for his 500 bucks? Well, an oil change of course. As usual, that runs just over the price of a black market kidney: $227.52.

But this service had a new issue, one we hadn't dealt with yet; we had to have the coolant changed. Now, you can imagine what ran through our minds when we saw this in the maintenance book. "Coolant? They charged $86/qt for ATF; this stuff should be at least $145/gal." Turns out it wasn't that expensive, $21.65 per half quart for regular Nissan Long Life Antifreeze. (25,000 miles is long life?) But they managed to get some of that money back by having an overly complex drain/fill/drain/fill procedure where they're instructed to use a 30/70 mix of coolant/distilled water each time. $64 in parts + $230 in labor brought this part of the service to $294.95. Add in the tax ($15.35) and bring back the 227.52 for the oil change and we're safely back at our original fee of $537.82

As usual, the service was excellent. There were concerns that Nissan dealers may not know how to deal with owners of $80,000 toys, but they do. You drive up in a GT-R and the red carpet comes out....followed quickly by the credit card swiper.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 24,958 miles

Go, Girl Racer

July 22, 2009

At the first stoplight out of my neighborhood this morning I came up alongside a completely blacked-out Subaru WRX STI. Glancing to my right, I could see just enough of the driver to realize it was a very young, very pretty girl.

"I don't think so, sister," I thought to myself pressing my four-inch cork heel squarely into the Nissan GT-R's eager throttle, the Subie disappearing in my rearview mirror.

"Momma, did you remember to pack me an extra snack for after swim class?," asked a little voice from the supercar's tiny backseat.

And just as quickly I decelerated right back to reality.

Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 25,498 miles

Levers

July 23, 2009

Underneath the steering wheel on the Nissan GT-R are two levers.

The one on the left tilts the wheel up and down.

The right lever telescopes the steering wheel.

I find these little levers very hard to adjust. I really have to work them to get them to move and it makes me afraid I'm going to snap the plastic.

See,even supercars have their plasticky bits.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

No Place for it in My 18-car Garage

July 23, 2009

The Nissan GT-R can be riot. It's engineering and high-tech wizardry can be inspiring. It can draw looks from those in the know and catch those uninitiated by complete surprise. It can very well be the car of many folks' dreams. Just not mine.

In the likely event I become a multi-millionaire either through my own devices or the sudden revelation that I'm Wendelin Weideking's son, I must be prepared at all times to consider what cars would find their way into my 18-car garage. Arranged in train-yard style with a turn table surrounded by my many automotive treasures, it'll be awesome. But the GT-R won't be there.

It's exciting, but I don't see myself taking Godzilla out to stretch its legs. On mountain roads, it always seems like using dynamite when a sledge hammer will suffice (you even get this impression when driving it on Gran Turismo). I wouldn't actually take it someplace since its Comf ride is a joke and my back is bad enough as it is. It's certainly not pretty enough to keep around just to look at. The only way I'd get it would be as payment to Magrath for doing such a swell job maintaining the 17 other cars in the garage.

No, for the GT-R MSRP of $80,000, I'd opt instead for some of these beauties.

A 2009 Porsche 911 with a few options

A Used Aston Martin DB9 such as this one

This 1969 Aston Martin DBS

This 1967 Chevy Corvette

I'm sure I can scrounge up a few others, but what would you rather have for the price of the GT-R?

James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 25,680 miles

Liar

July 24, 2009

The Nissan GT-R, specifically its DTE (distance to empty) trip computer, is a liar. 431 miles on this tank? Only if after 330 miles the transmission breaks and you need to get towed another 100. Consider this: The 2009 Nissan GT-R has a 19.5 gallon fuel tank and according to the EPA averages 18 mpg. Do the math and you get a maximum average range of 351 miles. But what if you're only doing highway miles? The EPA rates the GT-R at a whopping 21 mpg. Again, math tells us that you've got 409 miles to go. We've managed a maximum tank of 337.4 miles in part due to the lure of the throttle, and in part due to the crazy, hyper-paranoid DTE meter. Here's what it did to me at the tail end of a road trip:

I pass a gas station 88 miles from home and check the meter. It says I've got 99 miles left on this tank and the needle is squarely on the 1/4 mark. Perfect! Cruise is set to 75 and I roll on by only to see, as I'm passing the exit, the number drop to 86 miles left. That's less good. Drop speed to 70. Not a mile later watch the number sink to 72. Another mile passes and I'm looking at 63 miles to empty and then seconds later — as I'm getting my pen to write all this down — it drops to 58. By the time I pull into the next gas station, 4 miles from the first one, the gauge reads 41 miles to empty and the needle has plummeted below the E. When I filled the tank it only took 13.428 gallons.

Now I was in familiar territory and could have risked it, and probably should have, but to have a meter this wonky, that's this inaccurate, really rubs me the wrong way. I'm a hypermiler using the definition of one who likes to go as far as possible on a single tank. I hold numerous office records for max tank distances. I do it with the Long Term Cars and I do it with my own cars. It's fun. It's not fun when you can't trust your gauges. Fail.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 25,310 miles

You Write the Caption

July 24, 2009

I spotted this sweet Cutlass chicken car on my way to work and couldn't resist. I screeched the 2009 Nissan GT-R to a halt, pulled a u-turn, and set up in this very busy gas station lot.

People were looking at me like I was nuts. But anything for my caption writers.

I offer you "Robot Chicken" or "Fowl Play."

We'll post our favorite at 4:00 PM Pacific Time.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Our Favorite Caption

July 24, 2009

Thanks to lowmilelude for this week's favorite caption. It was a little long, so I edited it a bit. It was a great week, everyone.

Here are the others that made us giggle:

It comes standard with a dual cluck! (ergsum)
Foghorn Leghorn edition (gjupp)
The Skyline is falling! The Skyline is falling! (ergsum)
What's the matter? Ya chicken? (eidolways)
Chicks dig my car. (canadia)
Why yes, it's a hyBIRD. (ergsum)
Godzilla HUNGRY! (joebar)
Oddly enough, the GT-R still has a bigger wing. (666wrx)
The Avian Flew (stpawyfrmdonut)
Close Encounters of the Bird Kind (stpawyfrmdonut)
Poultry in Motion (ergsum)
"I say, I say, you wanna race?" (lowmilelude)
There's a joke in here somewhere. (anonimo)
Chick magnet. (vwthing1)

What was your favorite?

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

The Perfect Address?

July 26, 2009

Taking a break from the San Diego Comic-Con, I met up with my good friend Ken Tooker to air-out the 2009 Nissan GT-R on some of the brilliant back-roads found in eastern San Diego county.

Along the way we stumbled upon a subdivsion in El Cajon, California with street names taken from motorsports, some obscure (Merlyn, Elva, Crossle), some quite famous (Jag, Offy, Foyt, Brabham, Lime Rock), and one that should have been spell-checked (Muira). Brit ex-pats can even live on Bridgehampton Place.

Ken took this photo at perhaps the best crossroads in the community, the corner of Donahue and Autocross. Don't like that one? The next block over is the intersection of Foyt and Donahue.

Anyone out there know of a better real-life street address for a motorhead?

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 26,001 miles

Comic-Con Burger Break

July 27, 2009

It's hard to eat convention-center food, as overpriced and tasteless as it is, and the San Diego Comic-Con is no exception. Add in the fact that Klingons have bad table manners and Boba Fett hogs the ketchup and you have the perfect excuse to vamoose in your 2009 Nissan GT-R for awhile to get some real food on the outside.

And that's just what Ken and I did before we began our back-road excursion in earnest. Ken's the local, so he directed me to a semi-renowned hole-in-the-wall burger joint that shows up on the occasional Ten-Best of San Diego list: Charley's "Famous" Hamburgers in Lemon Grove.

The place has the feel of an old In-and-Out drive-thru that was abandonded by the corporation years ago, though that is not actually the case because In-n-Out first appeared in San Diego relatively recently.

Charley's menu is much more extensive too, in terms of the burgers and the shakes you can get.

So how was it? Well, I had a Chili Burger, and the chili was much better than what you'd find at Tommy's, the yardstick we use in Los Angeles for such things. And my peanut butter shake was excellent. Better yet, it all stayed down with no "complications" after some vigorous churning on said back-roads in said GT-R.

Still, when I got back to the Comic-Com a few hours later I saw something on offer that made me wish I hadn't filled up on such ordinary fare.

Speed Racer had some, and he must have liked it because he took a good-sized doggie bag home with him.

As for me, I'll catch you next year, Darthy-Baby.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 26,050 miles

Stranded x 2

July 27, 2009

Not everything about the San Diego Comic-Con was fun or funny. The much needed sanity break I took with the 2009 Nissan GT-R ended with a minor crisis.

I dropped Ken off at his car, parked the GT-R and bought myself a Gatorade. Not five minutes after parking the car, it wouldn't start. Not a blip, not a crank. Save for this Intelligent Key warning lamp, the dash stayed completely dark, just as it would if the intelligent key wasn't in the car with me.

It was, of course, and the transmitter worked just fine when I unlocked the doors. So I plugged the fob into the emergency receptacle that's provided for occasions such as this...

Still nothing. She's dead, Jim.

There was nothing for it but to crack open the owner's manual, which has this to say about that:

Intelligent key warning lamp

This light warns of a malfunction with the electrical steering lock system or the Intelligent Key system. If the light comes on while the engine is stopped, it may be impossible to free the steering lock or to start the engine. If the light comes on while the engine is running, you can drive the vehicle. However in these cases, contact a GT-R certified NISSAN dealer for repair as soon as possible.

Sentence number two is exactly what happened, though the Intelligent Key seemed to be functioning normally from a door lock perspective.

And the steering lock itself wasn't actually locked, as I could turn the wheel from lock to lock, albiet with difficulty because the engine and power steering were off, of course. It was as if the steering lock failed to lock, or something.

How could I manipulate the steering lock to, say, jar something loose? Desperate, I tried an old black and white TV trick: I thumped the side of it. Well, actually what I did was this, I unlocked the tilt and telescope wheel position clamps and...


What can I say? It worked on the first attempt. Sue me.

I should have driven it straight home at that point, but I was committed to a couple more days in San Diego. All went well for 4 or 5 subsequent restarts, and then I went home on Saturday afternoon.

The GT-R sat all day Sunday (hey, I was tired, and you didn't come over) and the next start attempt came this morning at 5:30 am.

I pushed the button, the dash lit up (yay!), it started to crank (yay!) but it didn't fire and the cranking quickly died into the stacatto clicking of a dead battery. A REAL dead battery. No doors were left ajar. No lights were left on. It's a puzzler.

I jump-started it with my neighbor's help and drove off to work, with no lingering after-effects.

Could problem A have led to problem B? Or did an impending problem B manifest itself as problem A? And why did the "persuasion" technique work? We've taken it to the dealer to find out.

In the meantime, consider these:

a) I'd never looked at the GT-R's battery before, but it's rather small. Maybe it is really is worn out at 26,000 miles.

b) The geniuses behind the Gran Turismo Playstation franchise helped create a true videogame dashboard with umpteen different parameters (18, actually) that you can call up on various customizable screens. Steering angle, cornering "G", torque split and brake pedal position are on the list, but simple battery voltage is not. There's nothing but an idiot light that comes on well after you already know it's not working. It came on during problem B, but not during problem A. How about a USEFUL customizable gauge? I could stand to know if the battery is running at 13.7 volts or 10 volts right about now. If I'm missing something, please clue me in.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 26,203 miles

An Everyday Supercar? Here's Proof

July 31, 2009

Not that any car with a front passenger seat couldn't handle this modest haul of groceries, but the GT-R's surprisingly spacious trunk does give it an edge over most supercars in its class. Only the Corvette can match it when it comes to usable cargo space and even then it's just a big, flat area under the glass which makes it a bit dicey at times.

You could easily fit a few suitcases in the back of the GT-R and not ever think twice about it. Not that people who buy these cars are really all that concerned about cargo space, but hey, it does make life a little easier when you're using this car on a daily basis.

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, @ 26,258 miles

5 More Days

August 03, 2009

If you'll remember, the last time we heard from our GT-R, Dan wasn't waving his arms frantically enough as Godzilla left him stranded. The following Monday (7/27/09) I dropped the GT-R off at, where else, Nissan of Santa Monica — I'm considering asking for a cubicle there, it would save a good deal of time lately.

For those who don't remember and cant' be bothered to follow the link, here's what happened: Dan Edmunds tried to start the car and it didn't work. He rattled the wheel around with some vigor, tried again and it worked. Yey. A day-or-so later he goes to start the thing to drive to work and it's dead. (It's at this point I get a text message saying he won't be in until one of his neighbors wakes up.) Within minutes of him arriving at work we brought it over to the shop.

Follow the jump for the full story.

For maybe the first time ever, the dealer called me and said, "Good news, we got the car to replicate the problem on the second try!" There's nothing more frustrating than getting your car back, unfixed, with a 'Could Not Duplicate' designation. This was late Tuesday and the problem had been identified as a faulty steering lock. Trouble is, there wasn't one locally and getting one from the main distribution center would take time as they were closed for business by this point.

Long story short: The part arrived Thursday afternoon and the car would be ready the following morning.

"Wait a second," I said, "there's a horrible squeak coming from the center console. It's coming from the passenger side trim panel. It's loose to the touch. I'm going to drive it into a lake if that doesn't stop. I had to jam a burrito reciept in there to keep my sanity this morning."

"I'll check it out."

That panel was a little loose so they removed and re-secured it. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. Only time will tell. For now, though, it's quiet. Ish.

Friday rolled around and we picked up the car in the early evening. No charge, but five days out of service is a different type of penalty.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 26,250

Cool at 120

August 05, 2009

We all know the GT-R has motor. And grip. And crazy maintenance issues. But did you know that it's got some serious air conditioning? American truck strong. GM strong. (If you're not aware, GM is widely recognized as having some seriously strong air conditioning. There have been fights after hot track days re who gets to leave in the GM.)

I was out in the desert cruising around (more on that later) for a good five hours in temps raging from a breezy 105 to this max reading of 120. The A/C blew cold and strong, and the temp gauge stayed static. Frankly, I was expecting more, or any, drama.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 25,276 miles

Click Click Click Click Click

August 07, 2009

"I think I picked up a screw." Walton says over the radio after his first pass down the drag strip. "Front left clicking noise?" I reply. "Yep." "Don't worry. It's been happening for a least three weeks. Maybe a few months. It's impossible to notice with the windows up. Windows down and next to a wall, it's all you hear. You'll be fine. Go faster."

Prudence ruled and we checked it anyway. There was no screw. But that click is, and after at least one dealer visit, it's time to get to sleuthing. Off to the internet we go.

Turns out this is an altogether too common problem on 2009 Nissan GT-Rs. See that pic that I posted (Thanks, Dan!)? See anything odd about it? Or anything asymmetrical?

Hint: It's got a yellow arrow pointing to it. Hint #2: Look at the top yellow arrow. Hint #3: There's no top Return Spring Clip (Nissan part # 41090-JF20C ).

So the noise, it would seem from other GT-R owners' experience, is an improperly lubed and improperly supported retainer pin. Nissan, it seems, thought one would suffice. (See the 2008 Subaru WRX Brake Pad Replacement blog for the more common, and correct, way to do this with one large spring clip.) We've ordered the part ($8) and it'll be here next week. Most likely we'll install the item ourselves, but I promise nothing at this point.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

August 09, 2009

Good thing this is the Internet and not a piece of paper. Otherwise, you'd see my words blurred by the tears that are falling as I write this.

Our 2009 Nissan GT-R has been with us for a year now. That means it will be going away soon.

So, we're giving our little monster another turn as Car of the Week.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor and Resident Drama Queen

Nothing Compares 2 U

August 10, 2009

I keep reading comments asking wouldn't you rather have a Corvette or a 911? The Nissan GT-R is so unreliable.

The answer is no. I would not like to have any of those cars over the Nissan GT-R.

They all have their good qualities. But unless you've driven a GT-R, you can't understand the difference.

Corvette: I wanted a Corvette since I was 11 years old. It's old school cool. It's American. But then I drove one. It was bright orange. It was fun but tired. It had no spark. Perhaps a ZR1 would make me feel differently.

Porsche 911: A Porsche says something about the owner. You're sophisticated, hard-working and you've earned it. You're not just some guy with a wad of cash who can't handle his Enzo. You like to drive. You know quality. Your bad boy days are over but you still like to get your kicks on the weekend.

GT-R: Modern. Dangerous beauty. Sicktacular. Each time is like the first time. Sure it shakes every bone in my body when I hit a small imperfection in the road. But there is nothing like putting your foot down on the accelerator and rocketing forward quicker than anybody else.

It's the way it feels. The way it makes you feel.

La donna e mobile.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Engine System Malfunction

August 10, 2009

Maybe it was the stress of being Car of the Week, but the 2009 Nissan GT-R went all diva on us, again, this morning requesting an immediate visit to the dealer. We checked the code and it was the same evap emissions control business we had back at 4,900 miles. And so, just like last time, we cleared the code assuming it was a loose gas cap, and went on with our business. (If you'll remember, last time the fault was caused not by a bad gas cap, but by a faulty Event Control Valve which was replaced.) Less than a day later, the light came back and we went straight to the dealer.

And that's what we know so far. The first day of the GT-R's second tour of 'Of The Week' duty will be spent at Nissan of Santa Monica. We'll give you updates as we have them.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 27,169 miles

Open Thread 2

August 11, 2009

Last chance. What do you want to know about the 2009 Nissan GT-R (assuming it gets back from the dealership in a timely manner)?

Have you driven one? Write a review in the comments section.

Any details on the car that you'd like us to take a photo of? Let us know that, too.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

It's back. Again.

August 12, 2009

I've nearly lost count how many times I've done a 'back from the dealer' post on the GT-R. Fifty-six...ish? And now I get to do it again!

Our 2009 Nissan GT-R is back from the dealer!

There we go, now to the point: The GT-R was out of commission from Monday morning until early Tuesday evening. In that time they replaced the same part that broke 11 months and 22,000 miles ago — The vent control valve which, when broken, prevents excess pressure from properly venting, causing, among other things, a check engine light and fuel to puke out of the filler neck. Let me tell you, when that happens the cabin smells great. Fun times.

Two days out of service. No cost to us.

There was also a second, non-mechanical (surprise) issue we had repaired at the same time. But I'm saving that for a post later on tonight.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 27,170 miles

Lemonade

August 12, 2009

Our 2009 Nissan GT-R is NOT a lemon.

It may have been out of service for a total of several weeks. But it has given us 300+ days of spectacular awe-inspiring service.

Keep in mind that we drive this car hard and have accumulated over 27,000 miles in one year.

<weep>So stop hating on my baby.</weep>

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Who Cares?

August 13, 2009

I discovered this feature on the GT-R's multi-function display while toggling through its 11 screens this morning. And as I watched the instantaneous fuel economy display scroll up and down through single digits, this not-so-profound thought occurred to me: Who cares?

Josh Jacquot, Senior road test editor

New Performance Rubber

August 13, 2009

Peep our new high-tech, high-strength rubberized iPod retention device. Slick, ey? Sigh....who am I kidding, the GT-R broke again. This time it was the return spring in the iPod connector. If you're not familiar with how one of these works, here's the skinny: There are two prongs on the side of that cable, each has a hook-ish thing at the end that holds the iPod tight to the cable. Push the cable straight in to dock it, push the side-buttons and pull to un-dock. Easy. Well, except when one of the prongs refuses to hold.

I've got a bunch of liberal arts degrees, my solution was to jam my iPod in the glove box (where the cable resides), under the 5,600-page owner's manual, and then bolster it with some additional paperwork we keep handy. After that, I'd rest the cable on the iPod and drive real careful so as to not upset the delicate balance achieved. (It was either that or write a sonnet about it and hope that spurs someone else to fix it.) Dan Edmunds is an Engineer, as such, his solution involved actually doing something productive. A big rubber band held the iPod in place until we could take it to the dealer to complain.

And complain we did!

So it turns out the cable doesn't work in the good way — the way the 370Z does (pictured below). The Cable in the Nissan GT-R goes from the glovebox to the head unit and then to the steering wheel control and then to some third place that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. If we had narfed it and it had died on its own — which, given the location of the plug and the fact that the glove box moves while the cable is static, is likely — it would have been expensive. Whoa expensive. Like, 900 bucks expensive. Like, 3,600 CD-Rs off Amazon expensive.

Thankfully, we didn't harm it. It just stopped being springy of its own accord and was covered under warranty. Zero cost and back the same day we picked it up from its other warranty issue.

As promised earlier, above is a shot of the iPod cable in the 2009 Nissan 370Z. Note how short it is. Note how it doesn't move. Note how the area the iPod is intended to live in doesn't move. Note how it's replaceable if it breaks. Note how much better a solution this is.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

The New Mustang

August 14, 2009

A few weeks ago you'll surely remember we had our GT-R's coolant changed as part of its 25,000 mile service. I'll also call on you to remember a post I did the following week showing the information gauge reading 120-degrees F. The story there begins with me forgetting to turn North on Highway 15 near Ontario / Fontana California in an attempt to head to Death Valley. The story really begins with me winding up at the wreckage, heat, stink and depression of Salton Sea.

Picking which of the condemned buildings to shoot in front of was impossibly easy: If people are milling about doing God-knows-what inside, don't stop. It's a rule to live by. So I picked this, it was, I'm sure, designed as a retreat; a beach front club or bar where swank drinks would be served to swank customers in linen suits. Instead, as I stepped 10-yards from the GT-R, a young man stepped out from the rubblem wearing a T-shirt or a dress, I couldn't tell, scratching his head like he was trying to pull the words out yelled, "Hey....is that the new Mustang?"

"Yes." And then I ran away.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ too frightened to read the odometer.

Fully Automated? Not Completely. Not Yet.

August 14, 2009

Aside from its frequent dealer visits, the usual criticism leveled at our 2009 Nissan GT-R is that it does too much for its driver, in effect isolating you from the driving experience. The car and its computers work the clutch(es), manage your launch and determine a target yaw rate as you steer into a turn.

So what's left for you to do? I went looking around our GT-R for stuff to do.

You can pull the old-school dipstick and check your own oil. Can't do that in our M3 or our S5.

You can insert an old-school prop rod to the keep the hood up. Or, if you really want a challenge, hold the hood up yourself.

You can open the trunk all by yourself. No electric assist here.

You can turn on the HID headlights manually. In fact, at night, you have to because it's the law. Cool!

Of course, you also choose when to brake, steer and jam on the throttle in the GT-R, which is why it's still called *driving* when you get behind the wheel. Apparently, and supposedly, such activities could become optional in other future Nissans.

Where would you draw the line? Is the Nissan GT-R's current state of automation OK by you, since most of its various "systems" are oriented around going faster? Or has Godzilla already gone too far?

How It Fares on the Driveway

August 20, 2009

In a previous post, commenter "mptlptr" had asked if we are able to negotiate driveways without having to go in/out at an angle in our 2009 Nissan GT-R. Despite the scrapes show in this picture, I was surprised to find that we didn't have to come in at a steep angle or ease ourselves onto the street, at least from our company driveway, the cause of many a scuffed-up chin. See this Z post.

Yup, unlike our Z, the GT-R doesn't require extra babying to exit the company garage. But the Z scrapes almost every time even when I'm braking and going slowww over that transition at an angle even.

Another test is 15-mph bumps. In the Z, I could brake before and during the bump and yet still manage to scrape its chin. In the GT-R, I could go over those bumps straight on at 21 mph and still emerge unscathed.

BTW, I took a ruler to the GT-R and found that the car's chin is about 6 inches off the ground, while the portion that's right in front of the front wheel is a little over 5 inches. Brent has the Z and says, "I used a tape measure. It's lowest on the corners of the car and at that point there's 4 and 11/16ths inches (or 107 mm) of ground clearance."

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 27,548 miles

Our Favorite Caption

August 21, 2009

Thanks to ergsum for this week's favorite caption. That must be his 4th or 5th win. Congratulations.

There were a lot of funny entries this week. It was really difficult to choose.

Here are the honorables:

I'm not just the GT-R, I'm also a client. (ergsum)
Oops! Guess the "Haircut warning light" comes on again (fhwulala)
It's a long road to Topiary (ergsum)
Grown in 60 Seconds (ergsum)
Skip the barber, and head to Skip Barber. (ampim)
Power Plants: Under the hood and on top of the head. (triple7allstar)
Don't worry, we're going to fly a specialist right out to fix your hair. (dougtheeng)
How does your GT-Rden grow? (stpawyfrmdonut)
So this is how you shampoo the rugs in a $82,000 car. (altimadude00)
This ain't no pansy. (altimadude00)
Gearhead vs. Pothead (ergsum)
Invasion of the Auto Body Snatchers (ergsum)
Petal to the Metal! (ergsum)

What was your favorite?

P.S. I noticed a few new names. Welcome to the long-term road test blog.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

You Write the Caption

August 21, 2009

On my way to work one day, I spotted this unique salon.

How could I pass up a photo opportunity with a giant Chia? So, I waited for a day when I was driving my beloved supercar.

I suggest: Self-Portrait With GT-R

Can you do better?

We'll post our favorite at 4:00 PM.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Launch Control? Never Tried It, Never Will

August 24, 2009

I had the long-term Nissan GT-R this past weekend, and two things occurred to me. First, the car will be going away soon, as it's been in our fleet for over a year and it's got over 20,000 miles on the odo (27,609 to be exact). Second, I've never tried the famous (infamous?) GT-R Launch Control that is supposed to feel like the proverbial (and chronically over-used) "carrier catapult" metaphor.

Of course there's a sizable grid of deserted roads within 10 minutes of my house. Seems like the perfect time to address these epiphanies, right?

In theory, "yes." In reality, "not unless I want to risk making a painful phone call."

See, the Nissan GT-R has a pretty sordid history in the long-term fleet. You can read one example of it here, or scan all the past posts here. But the bottom line is this: the car has spent weeks out of service and, unless the issue is covered under warranty, it costs A LOT to fix or replace GT-R parts when they need attention. Furthermore, Nissan is canceling launch control for the 2010 GT-R due to the warranty nightmares it's caused the company. That says plenty as to how well the car can handle such treatment.

When I consider these other epiphanies, I find myself unable to push those three buttons into the "red zone" and simultaneously wood the brake and throttle of this all-wheel-drive supercar. I'm sure the resulting acceleration is impressive, but calling Mr. Schmidt to tell him, "I just used Launch Control and now there's a weird sound coming from underneath the car and 14 lights lit up on the dash" isn't worth it. Our remaining time with the GT-R could suddenly get much longer, though none of it would involve having the car around to drive.

On one hand it's a bummer, as I'd like to experience the technology at work. On the other hand, it's not the only car capable of zero-to-60 in the mid 3-second range. And my other option doesn't cause nearly as much internal consternation.

Karl Brauer, Edmunds.com Editor in Chief @ 27,609 miles

Tush Push

August 27, 2009

What can you say about the most blogged-about car in the history of the Long Term Blog that hasn't already been said in the previous 166 posts?

Pretty much nuthin.

So I'll just second Al's complaint about the seat cushion's quirk that affects those of us with bony butts.

I will admit that my butt is bony, and the entire time I'm in the driver seat of the GT-R, I squirm and fret over that strange sand bar of seat bolstering jutting out behind me. It's not huge, and I keep thinking that if I can wiggle around just right, it'll stop goosing me. But no dice.

I'd love to hear from other GT-R drivers on this topic. Does the part of the seat bolstering that juts out a bit bug you, too?

Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com

If It Were Your Weekend Ride?

August 28, 2009

I always think of this episode of Top Gear when I daydream about how I'd really like to drive our 2009 Nissan GT-R (jump ahead in the video to 5:54 to see the moment the GT-R gives Jeremy Clarkson whiplash).

But it's not as if there's anywhere around here to drive like that legally, and it's not like I really have the skills to drive like that in the first place. In any case, I was lucky enough to score the Nissan GT-R this weekend and am now imagining the possibilities — something that would make a nice blog post on Monday. Last-minute road trip? Roll up to some douche-y Hollywood clubs? Video another editor driving it on some kick-ass road?

What would you do if you had the GT-R for the weekend?

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor

Takin' It Out To Pomona

August 28, 2009

Yesterday I drove our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R out to Pomona to the wonderful Wally Parks' NHRA Motorsports Museum, which is under the watchful eye of executive director Tony Thacker and only seems to get better every time I visit. What a great place.

Hmmmmm. So I jumped in the GT-R and took it out to Pomona. Anybody out there like Ronnie and the Daytonas?

Little GT-R, you're really lookin' fine
Twin Turbos and a six-speed and a 7000 rpm redline
Listen to her tachin' up now, listen to that gear why-ee-eye-ine
C'mon and turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GT-R

Wa-wa, (mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GT-R") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa
(mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GT-R")
Wa-wa, (mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GT-R") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa
(mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GT-R")
Wa-wa (mixed with "Ahhh, little GT-R") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa

You oughta see her on a road course or a quarter mile
This little modified Nissan has got plenty of style
She beats the Corvettes and the Porsches, really drives 'em why-ee-eye-ild
C'mon and turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GT-R


Wa-wa, (mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GT-R") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa
(mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GT-R")
Wa-wa, (mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GT-R") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa
(mixed with "Yeah, yeah, little GT-R")
Wa-wa (mixed with "Ahhh, little GT-R") wa, wa, wa, wa, wa, wa

<instrumental break>

MIXTURE
Gonna save all my money (turnin' it on, blowin' it out) and buy a GT-R (turnin' it on,
blowin' it out)
Get a helmet and a roll bar (turnin' it on, blowin' it out) and I'll be ready to go
(turnin'
it on, blowin' it out)
Take it out to Pomona (turnin' it on, blowin' it out) and let 'em know (turnin' it on,
blowin' it out), yeah, yeah
That I'm the coolest thing around
Little buddy, gonna shut you down
When I turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GT-R

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief @ 27,900 miles

What Happens When You Press Start

August 31, 2009

Since uber-fun driving road GMR was closed due to the fires and "closed driving courses" aren't readily available, I didn't really get to do anything cool with our 2009 Nissan GT-R this weekend. Unless you think driving it to Long Beach and Anaheim, getting hit on by slick dudes driving a Dodge Magnum, and 13-year-old girls squealing at it are cool.

But here's a video of the GT-R starting and revving a bit. It sounds kinda blah revving while parked because there's no load on the engine and it has a stationary rev limiter of around 5,000 rpm. It's a shame you can't hear the burble.

But if you were curious, there you go. BTW, sorry for the bad sound quality. There's this loud fan clear on the other side of the garage that I didn't think the camera would pick up.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 28,137 miles

A Little More Visibility

September 01, 2009

When tall passengers have been in the GT-R and moved the seat back for comfort, the top of the seatback blocks the rear passenger-side window.

Even though it is small, you really need this window when backing up, especially out of a driveway.

As you can see from the second photo...

...when I move the seat forward, oh look, there's a car there.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor @ 28,177 miles

Just Be "R" Rated All The Time

September 08, 2009

Enabling our longterm Nissan GT-R's "R" shift calibration setting requires you toggle this lever up for a second or two. In the "R" setting, the transmission shifts noticeably quicker than the default setting with no additional shift shock, making it the setting to use all the time.

I like "R" when the transmission is in full auto mode. I like "R" when it's in manual mode. And I switch amongst auto and manual modes a half-dozen times or more on any trip more than twenty minutes. I'd make "R" the default if I could, but it's no big deal to flip it on when I get in the car.

The real head-scratcher, though, is that the GT-R cancels the "R" setting every time I switch from auto to manual, or vice versa. Swtich to auto, re-engage R. Switch back to manual, re-engage R.

Makes no sense.

Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor

The 5 things I hate about you

September 14, 2009

I've written in this forum several times before how much I love our long-term Nissan GT-R.

Today I'll discuss the 5 things I hate about this vehicle.


1. The ride. I hate how stiff the ride is in default or "R" mode. But in the comfort setting, it's just fine. After all, this isn't an SC 430.

2. The crunching noises. I hate the low speed crunching noises that emanate at times from the transmission. But this dual-clutch transmission with paddles is one of the easiest and most fun gearboxes to use. I would take it over the best manual transmissions out there.

3. The low front spoiler. I hate how this thing makes contact with every driveway dip and parking block. I hate how you have to park 1 meter from the end of the space to make sure you don't beach it on the parking block. But that spoiler helps the aero and adds to the sexy low look.

4. The service. 8 quarts of ATF at 86 bucks a quart? Seven grand in repair and maintenance cost in 25,000 miles? But I guess that's the cost of doing business in the near-exotic arena.

5. Little love from women. Although guys constantly gawk and ask you about it nearly every time you add fuel, most women don't give it a second look. But if your sole purpose was to impress the ladies you would have leased a Lambo or 997 Turbo, right?

As you can see, my hate pool for the R35 is small and shallow.
Although it's not perfect, it's close to perfect for me.

Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 29,000 miles

Another Challenge Denied

September 15, 2009

Sure, our 2009 Nissan GT-R may not attract the average girl (according to editor Al Austria), but it certainly attracts a lot of challenges from the boyz. Yes, boys with a "z." You know what I'm talking about.

Late last night I was driving south on the 405 Freeway, barely any traffic around, and just cruising at 70 when in my peripheral I saw a car pull alongside my driver side and just hang there. He, I'm assuming it was a he, revved his engine and then jumped ahead and then dropped back again. I didn't even want to look at him because that would just engage him, right? He did it a couple more times, jumping forward and falling back. I felt like Spike the Bulldog in those old Warner Bros. cartoons with the excited Chester the Terrier jumping around me trying to get my attention. "Eh, sheddap," I could have said with one jab at the throttle.

Fortunately, my exit was coming up. I snuck a look at him as I exited but on the dark freeway couldn't really ID his car. An old Evo with tinted windows, I think it was. He looked all sad continuing on alone but I'm sure he found another car to play with.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor

Hold On

September 16, 2009

There is a particularly undulating stretch of the 405 freeway that I tackle every night on my way home.

In most cars, I barely notice the bumps. But when driving the Nissan GT-R, you really need to be in control of the steering wheel. The GT-R takes every road imperfection as a call to action. Not only do you feel it in your bum, but keeping the car within the confines of the lane lines is an adventure. You have to be alert and in command. And don't let go of that steering wheel.

Here is a video of Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson testing the Nissan GT-R in Japan.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor @ 29,060 miles

World's Best Alarm Clock

September 22, 2009

Sunrise in L.A. isn't until 6:40 a.m. now, which makes it extra difficult for me to drag my butt out of bed in the full dark of 5:00 a.m. When the alarm blared angrily this morning, I was tempted to pull the covers over my head and just deal with the 30-mile slog up the 405 freeway during rush hour, instead of getting up and trying to beat traffic.

Then I remembered the Nissan GT-R parked in my driveway.

The GT-R's cabin is a fine place to spend time, but it's a heckuva lot more fun to actually drive it for 45 minutes than to just sit in it for an hour-fifteen.

Thanks GT-R, for giving me a 480-horsepower reason to get out of bed this morning.

Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 29,467 miles

Tire Surprise

September 25, 2009

Yesterday, a low tire pressure light flashed up in our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R's instrument cluster. I punched up the tire pressure display to determine the offending tire. Okay, left rear. I looked for a nail and found a small one in the middle of the tread. Yay for technology.

But I checked the other tires, you know, just in case. That's when this tire check got a lot more exciting.

Here's the inside of the left front tire:

Same location, right front tire:

It's understandable that nobody had spotted these cords yet, as the outer tread blocks are in relatively decent shape. The GT-R is so low and the tires so wide that you really have to go out of your way to see this part of the tire.

Our GT-R has the "performance" alignment that increases the front negative camber and adds some toe out. This will tend to increase grip at the expense of tire life.

It's been about 13,500 miles since we last replaced the front tires, which falls right into the 12k-15k mile life that our friendly local Nissan engineer has observed with this alignment.

Funny, because when the low pressure light first flicked on, I immediately assumed the low tire was one of the fronts — I had earlier observed the GT-R's steering behaving a bit more finicky/darty over pavement surface aberrations than usual (it tends to sniff out cambers even when the tires have full tread depth). The cords explain what I observed from behind the wheel.

Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 29,767 miles.

You Write the Caption Again

October 02, 2009

It seems we take pictures of the Nissan GT-R in a lot of interesting situations. It has by far been the most captioned of our long-term fleet.

Here you see our GT-R at a NASCAR race in Fontana.

We suggest: Does this supercar make my butt look big?

What's your caption?

We'll post our favorite this afternoon.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Our Favorite Caption

October 02, 2009

Thanks to questionlp for this week's favorite caption.

Here are our other faves:

GT-R, Attraction Control included. (ergsum)
Another seat-of-the-pants review. (ergsum)
Caroline you can come out now (wrinklebump)
GT-R, it's buns of fun! (ergsum)
gt-r trunk: onnomnomnom! (dougtheeng)
The GT-R has push to start feature (stpawyfrmdonut)
Does my butt make this supercar look big? (shaddai)
What?! I'm checking out the trunk. (altimadude00)
Oh here's your Ferrari pride! I found it under this back tire. (oldchap)
Nissan's GT-R elicits cheeky response. (rick8365)
"I CAN'T FIND THE STIG!" (vt8919)
Man, this thing does haul ass. (mnorm1)

What was your favorite?

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

$949 a Month?

October 12, 2009

This ad was in my local Sunday paper yesterday. Who would have ever thunk Godzillas would be sitting on dealer lots (notice the 2 at this payment) and the subject of a dealer's Autumn Savings Event and move-the-metal lease deal? Is the GT-R's 15-minutes up?

Scott Oldham, Edmunds Editor in Chief

Corded Tires, Again

October 12, 2009

Another day, another set of tires for our 2009 Nissan GT-R. This round we bought two fronts and paid $907.96, mounting and balancing included. Also in this total was a fee to patch a puncture located center-tread in the left-rear tire.

The last time we replaced the front tires was at 16,000 miles. We blame the aggressive suspension setting and extended freeway driving for the short tire life. But we knew what to expect. To date we've spent $2,700 on tires and accumulated 27,000 miles on the GT-R.

Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 27,780 miles

Highest Mileage GT-R in the Country?

October 19, 2009

Our GT-R cranked through 30,000 miles on my commute home last Thursday night and this milestone got me thinking...

We've had this car since July of last year and it's been driven every day it wasn't being serviced. This could be the highest mileage GT-R in the country — if not in the world. Do you know of one with more miles?

Josh Jacquot, Senior road test editor @ more than 30,000 miles

It Makes a Real Impression, Even in Hollywood

October 27, 2009

Sunday I drove in our 2009 Nissan GT-R to have brunch with a friend I hadn't seen for 10 years. During this time he's become a writer-producer for the hit show "24." Naturally, I wanted to make an impression and show him how well I've done, too.

Turned out, he was out on his front lawn as I came rolling up his street. He rushed over and said, "I thought, 'That can't be Phil coming in that incredible car!'" Then he looked at it and said, "What is it?" I told him it is one of the fastest cars on the road. And it is a Nissan.

Being in show business, he was thinking Ferrari, Porsche, BMW. No, this is as fast as the big boys.

There's nothing Hollywood people like better than hearing about something they didn't know. Maybe Jack Bauer will be driving one soon.

In other news, we are selling the GT-R. So you can begin sending all the "I'd never buy an Edmunds car..." comments. Also, we took it to Carmax just for fun, to see what they would give us for it. Want to guess what their number was? And what about our asking price?

How do you Price a Supercar?

November 02, 2009

Last week I wrote a post asking you to guess what we were offered by Carmax for the 2009 Nissan GT-R and what my asking price would be. If you're curious, you can check out the ad on Mota or Autotrader.

Some of your guesses were right on the money. We were shocked by how little Carmax offered. In the past they have often exceeded our expectation. But this time we were disappointed.

One of the most difficult tasks in selling a car is to set the right asking price. You need to get it as high as possible but still in the ball park. If you're not close, the phone won't ring. Often we go to Carmax as a way to help us find the sweet spot.

In this case, Carmax offered us $50,000 for the GT-R. Meanwhile, additional research has shown that many GT-Rs on eBay Motors aren't selling or meeting their reserves. Therefore, we've gone for an initial asking price of $66,000 to $60,000. Hopefully, we'll sell it for enough above Carmax's offer to make it worth the effort.

How's it Ride?

November 06, 2009

Ever want to know what it's like to ride in a GT-R on the highway?

Well, yeah, that pretty much sums it up.


Driving north on highway 5, I saw this truck hauling a black GT-R and though the picture would be cool. With the shutter of my point-and-shoot set at 1/100 and with a wide focal length it should've been pretty sharp, afterall, it was a fairly bright morning. Well, it's not...and yes, I was in COMF.

*Kurt Niebuhr just saw the picture and added this: Yeah, it kinda does ride like that. Like it's being hung off the back of a truck."

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

Bidding for Our Car on eBay

November 09, 2009

I've been writing about selling our 2009 Nissan GT-R and predictably getting responses from readers who say they would never touch our car, even with someone else's 10 foot pole. But recently I got this opinion from one of our readers.

MN_Car_Enthus wrote, "Why don't you just put it no-reserve on EBAY and let er rip? Seeing how it would trade in this economy would be the most interesting aspect to this LT test by far. No offense.

"I'm confident you'll do better than $60k. Everyone seems to think that simply because this is an Edmund's LT Test Car it should trade at a discount to a car with comparable mileage. You never took it for a hard track (in fact your tires corded recently from a lack of "spirited" driving ), it has 100% documented history and has been treated well. I don't get it........................?"

Well, it is listed on eBay and bidding has been encouraging.

After only three days on the market, there have been 28 bids, and the top offer is now $47,000. The reserve price has not yet been met but the bidders are getting close. Anyone who has been following the sales process knows what we were offered by Carmax and that will give you a clue as to the reserve price.

Take a look at our eBay auction and as the savvy shoppers often say, "bid with confidence."

But is it a Daily Driver?

November 11, 2009

I've been driving our 2009 Nissan GT-R every day for the last three week as we sell it on eBay Motors and Mota.com. It's not my top pick for a daily driver but it is surprisingly practical and comfortable once you put the suspension in comfort mode.

I've even seen the fuel efficiency rise slightly to 19.5 mpg on the last tank from a lifetime average of 17.4 mpg (although I know it's kind of crazy to even talk about fuel economy in a car like this). But the fact of the matter is that, unless you are rich enough to save the GT-R for weekend jaunts, you will wind up driving this car around town and to work. And it definitely fills the bill there too. Just don't ask anyone to sit in the "back seat."

I have to agree with what they say in this hilarious Youtube video, "It was supposed to be the car of the century! You could own the track but you could still take it to go shopping."

Meanwhile, at this writing, the bidding on eBay is up to $50,100 with 5 days to go. The reserve hasn't been met but it's getting close. I'm happy to say we are now above the price that Carmax offered us for the GT-R.

Final Trip to the Service Bay

November 16, 2009

One thing we won't miss about our 2009 Nissan GT-R is taking it to the dealer for service. We had our 30,000 mile service, which was basically an oil change and inspection, and it cost $283.

While it was in the shop at Nissan of Santa Monica they inspected the car pretty thoroughly and concluded that we will need brakes in about 3,000 miles. Other than that it was an uneventful visit which is good because it will be in the hands of a new owner soon and maintenance will be their responsibility.

Meanwhile, our eBay auction is concluding with the final bidding starting at $52,100. We'll let you know what price we wound up at tomorrow.

A New Owner Takes Possession

November 20, 2009

As I write this, our 2009 Nissan GT-R is somewhere between Los Angeles and the new owner's home near Atlanta, Georgia. After spirited early bidding the eBay auction closed quietly with the GT-R going for $52,600. The winner of the auction, Joao De Barros, an auto dealer who sells exotic cars and construction machinery, wired us the full payment, and then flew to Los Angeles. I picked him up at the airport, we signed papers, and he left the same night to return to Georgia.

I was selling the car by listing it on Mota's VIP service. Our Mota listing (which is also posted on Autotrader, produced a number of calls which were screened before I spoke with them. However, nobody was really stepping forward with any serious offers at our asking price of $66,000. With nearly 31,000 miles on the car, and the warranty expiring at 36,000 miles, I decided it was time to force the issue. I set up a 10 day eBay auction which seemed to get a lot of attention. There were 6,982 page views, 107 watchers and over 50 bids.

Derek Cohen, of eBay Motor's dealer services, suggested that we tickle buyers' excitement by lowering the reserve on the car by even a small amount. In this way, all bidders would receive an e-mail saying that the reserve had been lowered. They would then jump back in and start bidding again to see how low the reserve was.

The bidding stalled at $52,100 until the final minutes of the auction. Then De Barros jumped in and claimed the car with his bid of $52,600. It was the one and only time that he bid. He had, however, e-mailed me with a few questions about the car's condition.

I was a bit nervous picking De Barros up at the airport since he had never even seen the car in the flesh, so to speak. Before he arrived I had vacuumed the interior and washed the car carefully. As I dried the flanks of this impressive machine, I couldn't help thinking of a line of dialogue from "Anchorman." After Ron Burgundy goes on the skids he disappears into a washroom and then reemerges in his immaculate suit. The bartender who witnesses this says, "Dang, that dude cleans up good." That line kept ringing in my ears as I remove the layer of dirt from the GTR and saw the ivory white paint sparkle in the sunlight.

De Barros seemed very pleased with the car although he didn't want to drive it back from the airport, was which was a complete mad house. But he seemed eager to be underway for his 2,700 mile journey. We took his picture before he left. By the way, he promises that this car is a keeper and will be driven, not rubbed with diapers.

Parting Shots

December 09, 2009

You've read the tests. You've read the blogs. And by now, you've even read the Long Term Wrap Up.
Now, click through and read our Parting Shots and submit your own. You won't have the big Nissan to kick around anymore; give us what you've got.

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I'll never forget the first time I booted the GT-R's throttle the day we closed Glendora Mountain Road, with CHP officers working either end to stop traffic. The crush of all-wheel drive acceleration from this surprisingly large car was wholly unexpected. I could never justify owning one myself, and would probably be thoroughly frustrated at it if I did, but the few times I took the GT-R out onto various back roads for a for a quick blast were stunning. I miss it already.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing

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"Our Nissan GT-R recalibrated my sense of speed. I have never felt so comfortable traveling at such a high rate of speed (on a closed course) for such a sustained period of time. But there's nothing labored or beautiful or melodramatic about it. Being in the cockpit of our GT-R, I imagine I might feel the same way if I was driving a Nozomi shinkansen train in Japan or the French TGV."
Erin Riches, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com

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"Hey GT-R, your family still owes me one Valentine's Day and one Super Bowl Sunday. Ok, so I can forgive you for Valentine's Day. But the Super Bowl? Never."
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager

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"Before the financial meltdown, I was seriously considering the GT-R as a replacement track-day car. Looking back, I'm glad I wasn't able to afford it. After seeing firsthand how fragile the GT-R is, and how expensive repairs and maintenance are, I'm pretty sure I would've stressed plenty of components past their breaking points and driven myself into the poor house.
"That said, the GT-R is stupid quick and I wish I had the opportunity to pilot it at Willow Springs Raceway or Laguna Seca." Mark Takahashi, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com

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"This car was oddly invisible to most people on the road except to those car geeks who, when they saw it, were thrown into an immediate lather of near-fatal maneuvering to either race it or photograph it."
Philip Reed, Edmunds Senior Consumer Advice Editor

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"One of my fondest memories of driving the GT-R will always be the first time I took my wife out in it. "What's WRONG with this thing?" was her immediate reaction to the clunking and lurching from the transmission in low-speed traffic. If I had been trying to impress her, and we hadn't already been happily married for 35 years, I would have been devastated. "
Kevin Smith, Editorial Director

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"If you like the idea of piloting a land-bound F14, the GT-R obliges with its high-tech cockpit displays, Turbofan-like soundtrack, and spine-compressing acceleration. I happen to really like that idea."
John DiPietro, Automotive Editor

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"Drove it twice and that was enough. Awesome performance, zero character (other than the jet-plane engine note). The GT-R is a video game for the street - replete with readouts by the GranTurismo guys - except your couch is quieter and doesn't ride like a skateboard. It's a numbers car, unlike its iconic R32-34 Skyline GT-R ancestors with their ripping inline-sixes and proper manual transmissions. "
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor

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"I'd love to put its engine in a different car. Nothing else is quite like it — that insane thrust, that jet engine noise. The rest of the car? I could do without. It has truly impressive handling capabilities, but I can't come close to its full potential on a public road without worrying that I'll have my license suspended or that I'll vaporize an unsuspecting raccoon. All the while, there is a certain disconnected feel to it. The ride is also abysmal. Even though it has the room in the cabin and trunk for a nice, long road trip, you wouldn't take it because your back would ultimately join that raccoon in the great beyond. No thanks, I'll take a used 911 instead."
James Riswick, Automotive Editor

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"Though I only drove it once, I enjoyed driving the GT-R and it became something real to me- more than just a car in a video game. Now I know what all the fuss was about and I'm over it.
It's an undeniably fast car, but too high-maintenance for my taste.
Ron Montoya, Consumer Advice Associate

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"My high hopes for Nissan's opportunity to redefine the supercar were dashed by mechanical issues and, more surprisingly, maintenance costs that turned this "budget exotic slayer" into a Ferrari with Nissan badges — and styling."
Karl Brauer, Editor-in-Chief, Edmunds.com

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"I'm going to miss the car that made me young and hot again. I know the illusion was broken as soon as I opened the door and stepped out. But while I was in the driver's seat, I was once again in my twenties and stopping traffic.
I'm also going to miss the feeling of superiority on the road. When you drive a BMW 3 Series, an M3 will pull up next to you. When you drive an M3, a Ferrari could pull up next to you. But when you drive the Nissan GT-R, it doesn't matter what pulls up next to you because you've got them beat."
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor.

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A completely tough, no-nonsense car, which I love. But just too big, more like a two-door sedan than a GT car. Like the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, it's an amazing technical exercise that's just no fun to drive except at maximum intensity.


Michael Jordan, Executive Editor Inside Line

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Who can say this car doesn't have character? It's fast, it's weird looking, it breaks a lot, you need a specially-trained technician to work on it...that's what Ferrari guys have been saying character is for decades. It's got a lot of character, but it's not for me. Not quite.


I don't need the coupe's top speed or Nurburgring times and I don't need its useless back seat and poor rearward visibility. What I do need is something that looks and drives like this with four-doors and, most importantly, this engine/transmission. What a combo — crazy-like-the-future noises, imperceptible shifts, acceptable fuel economy. It's just that, like Jordan said above, this isn't sporty enough to be a racecar, and it's not supple enough to be a GT. I want a GT GT-R.


But then again, I also want a station wagon with the GT500 engine/transmission, so maybe I don't count.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant and Complier of Parting Shots

Merry Christmas Mike!

December 18, 2009

There's nothing I like giving more at Christmas than little cars. It just makes me happy. Sadly, my mother and Aunt Dianne don't appreciate them so much ... but folks at work, different story.

This year, I gave Mike Magrath a Hot Wheels Nissan GT-R. Thus far, he's already made an appointment to have it serviced at Santa Monica Nissan. And apparently, opening package voids warranty.

Merry Christmas!

James Riswick, Automotive Editor

Wrap-Up

So Mike Schmidt, vehicle testing manager, is driving along in our Chevy Silverado long-term test truck somewhere in Sonoma, California. It's February 14, 2007. He turns away from the rolling hills and vineyards, tilts down his wire-rim sunglasses, and says, "Happy Valentine's Day." His passenger, a photographer, laughs and rolls down the window to spit out some sunflower seeds, his main food source these past few days.

Just a couple of spies out to shoot secret test sessions of what will become the 2009 Nissan GT-R.

Yes, we've been on the GT-R's case for some time. Before massive repair costs. Before voided warranties and midyear price hikes. Before the launch control controversy. Before we flew to Tennessee to buy a 2009 Nissan GT-R as a long-term test car. Before we flew to Japan to test a J-spec Nissan GT-R. Before Nürburgring lap times. Before we knew it was going to be a Nissan and not a top-trim Infiniti. Before we even knew for certain that the U.S.-bound Nissan supercar was going to drop the Skyline moniker. Before any of this, we sent two dudes to patrol the American Southwest and Northern California in search of Godzilla. For four weeks and 7,500 miles we hunted the elusive monster.

From the first, the Nissan GT-R was big news. And we knew it.

Why We Bought It
The release of the 2009 Nissan GT-R in the U.S. could go down as the most significant moment in this country's history of sports car introductions. Well, maybe we're young and have a short memory. Nevertheless, new BMWs, Corvettes, Ferraris and Mustangs come along every few years, but this was different.

The Nissan Skyline GT-R had been terrorizing the streets of Japan for decades. Later models like the R33 and R34 GT-Rs taunted Americans, gaining fame in video games (Gran Turismo), anime (Initial D), and movies (The Fast and the Furious). An all-wheel-drive, hyper-tech Nissan that could run with a Porsche 911 Turbo? And we didn't get one in America? It hardly seemed fair. Americans couldn't have it, so Americans wanted it bad.

As it turned out, the purchase of this GT-R from Alexander Nissan of Cool Springs in Franklin, Tennessee, was one of the easiest capital expenditures we've ever had to justify. We would have a 2009 Nissan GT-R, the hottest car of the times, on hand not only for real-world impressions and service reports (not to mention daily driving), but also we'd have the mighty 480-horsepower Nissan to test against whatever the automotive world might throw at us.

Durability
"I want Comf, you stupid car." — Scott Oldham, Editor in Chief

Comfort was a common theme in our conversations throughout the year we had our 2009 Nissan GT-R. Some (well, most) people complained that the GT-R, even in its selectable comfort mode, was too harsh. "Plenty of R, not much GT," said Automotive Editor John DiPietro. Plenty of road noise came through into the cabin, while the transmission made sounds like the factory it was made in. Complaints were frequent, but at the same time no fewer than five people took the GT-R on road trips to Vegas. Deputy Managing Editor Caroline Pardilla even admitted that the Nissan was her "dream road trip car."

Our transmission never failed. It was replaced at Nissan's request for inspection. We never had a problem.

This could explain why at 16,389 miles, we spent $853.90 on new front tires. Such is life with a wheel alignment meant for peak performance on the track and high-performance Bridgestone RE070R tires. We repeated this act at 27,780 miles, but the price of rubber had increased, so we paid Stokes Tire Pros $877.96 for the 285/35R20 RE070Rs plus another $30 for a patch on the worn-but-still-good rears.

Once Senior Editor Erin Riches had driven the GT-R back from its purchase at Nissan of Cool Springs, its odometer said 3,903 miles, so we took it to its first service appointment at Nissan of Santa Monica. We were taken with the professionalism and attention the GT-R-trained service manager gave our car. It was, and still is, the best service we've ever received, and this includes what we got from the high-end, small-volume Ferrari shop that worked on our 1984 Ferrari 308 GTSi Quattrovalvole. This 2009 Nissan GT-R was the first example the dealership had ever serviced, and in fact it didn't even have a pricing schedule for the GT-R. The dealership pulled a couple numbers out of the air and charged us $179.58 for a change of engine oil. This was to be the least we ever paid for a basic service on our GT-R.

We had the car serviced at 5,979 and then 12,072 miles, and while both bills were expensive, they were within reason. At 18,913 miles, however, things got crazy, as in $2,009.67 crazy. As in so crazy that we paid $114 per quart of transmission fluid. Two more services followed, at 24,900 and 31,067 miles.

But these were the expected services, the ones that are in the maintenance book. What we didn't count on were the surprise services. At 5,400 miles we had to replace the vent control valve, which is responsible for releasing excess pressure from the fuel tanks. Without this, the car wouldn't accept fuel and gave us a warning light. In the end, Nissan replaced the fuel tank, the filler tube and the valve under warranty. Nissan also noticed a spot of moisture on one of the seals for the transmission case, and since this was about the time that launch control issues were popping up (more on that later), Nissan asked if it could take a look at our car's transaxle. We agreed and a new one was sent to Santa Monica in its stead.

Let's repeat that: Our transmission never failed. It was replaced after Nissan asked to inspect it. We never had a problem. We did, however, have another problem with the vent control valve at 27,170 miles. By this time, Nissan had a new fix that was guaranteed to last.

We also got rear-ended by a wide-eyed onlooker. No one was hurt, and 3,500 of the other guy's insurance dollars and just about 30 days later we were back in business.

Tires, transmissions, oil changes, a windshield, two vent control valve issues, a transmission reprogram and a steering lock assembly all conspired to keep our 2009 Nissan GT-R out of service for a staggering 67 days. If we subtract the time idly spent waiting for an insurance check and a new bumper, the number drops to 37 days out of service, which is 12 days more than our 1984 Ferrari 308 spent idle because of service issues. Although, in all fairness to the GT-R, it did cover nearly double the mileage than the Ferrari did during its long-term test.

Total Body Repair Costs: $3,500 (paid by at-fault driver's insurance)
Total Routine Maintenance Costs (over 15 months): $3,953.58
Additional Maintenance Costs: $4,334.56
Warranty Repairs: 6
Non-Warranty Repairs: 5 — windshield, three sets of tires, body damage
Scheduled Dealer Visits: 6
Unscheduled Dealer Visits: 10
Days Out of Service: 67 (37 + 30 for body damage estimate/repair)
Breakdowns Stranding Driver: 0

Performance and Fuel Economy
The first time we tested our 2009 Nissan GT-R, we lined it up, flicked all of the calibration levers on the center stack into the down position, as in suspension (Race mode), transmission (Race mode) and stability control (off). We stood on the brake, stood on the throttle and then, when we were ready, let off the brake and held on for the ride. The rear tires spun, the front tires spun and the engine stayed in the sweet spot of its power band. The GT-R got to 60 mph from a standstill in 3.8 seconds (3.5 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip) on its way to a quarter-mile pass in 11.8 seconds at 118.6 mph. It was easy, fun, fast and really, really fun.

But we don't test on a drag strip. A drag strip has jacked-up pavement covered in traction goo and leftover rubber transferred from the tires of those who have gone before. This means if you can hook it up without blowing up, a drag strip is a fast place to launch. Hooking up, however, has some drawbacks, such as massive driveline stress. Driveshafts snap, diffs blow and every so often a transmission will grenade itself. Rocketing a 3,858-pound car to 60 mph in under 4 seconds takes a lot of power and if all doesn't go smoothly, well, it's going to get expensive. And if a carmaker happens to have a built-in launch-control system that enables the car to do such things, well, it's going to get really expensive.

After a few GT-Rs blew their transmissions while being launched with heedless abuse by amateur goons (we launched like professional goons), Nissan backtracked, cited a technicality in the owner's manual that says all events while traction control is off are not covered by the warranty, and turned the supercar into an Internet meme of lolcat proportions.

Nissan offered a fix, though. A reprogramming of the launch control logic that it said wouldn't require any fiddling with a new driving protocol or the traction control. You would just get in, hit the gas and wait until you're tired of accelerating. We had the service done a few days before it was widely available and the results were surprising. The 60-mph mark came up faster, just 3.6 seconds (3.4 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip) and the quarter-mile passed at 11.7 seconds at 118.5 mph. Monkey as we might, we couldn't beat the time the launch control put down with our own seat-of-the-pants efforts. This time could've been done by a trained ape — mash the gas and hold on. That guy in the cubicle next to you, you know, the one with the runny nose and dry skin, yeah, he can do 11s run after run. It's almost too easy.

Fuel economy was what you'd expect from an all-wheel-drive car with 480 hp that weighs 3,858 pounds, an average of 16.4 mpg with a best tank of 21.8 mpg. The low mark of 11.5 mpg wasn't the only entry in the mid-11s, so it was no fluke.

Best Fuel Economy: 21.8 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 11.5 mpg
Average Fuel Economy: 16.4 mpg

Retained Value
The Nissan GT-R's vital statistics might be well known, yet they remain highly impressive. It's priced some $50,000 less than its chief rival, the Porsche 911 Turbo. It's got an iPod hookup ($360), an excellent navigation system, pearl-white paint and needlessly expensive floor mats ($280). It also goes stupid fast and has more computers than Alabama.

At the same time, there was no data going into our test about the way an $80,000 Nissan would depreciate. We were, once again, breaking new ground. Its value might hold up due to high demand. It could increase in value due to extremely high demand. Or it could, as we found out, plummet in value due to 30,000 miles on the odometer, a decimated economy, reliability concerns and, probably, the Nissan badge.

When we put up our 2009 Nissan GT-R for sale, informal betting pools sprung up all over the office. "Someone will steal it for $66K," said one. "No way. $70K. This car's a monster!" But others had been following, via eBay and the North American GT-R Owners Club, the sale prices of GT-Rs across the country, and so Vehicle Testing Assistant Mike Magrath (your obedient servant) said, "It'll be $55K max. And then only if someone really needs a white one." No one else thought it would be so low.

We headed to CarMax, our default pricing agent and backup sale spot. After a thorough walkaround and some finagling with his computer system, the CarMax agent came back with an offer of $50,000. Convinced we could do better, we passed and headed for the Internet. We tried Mota, which sells across a number of Internet outlets. Finally we just went to eBay.

The reserve was set to $53,000, and then reduced to $52,000. Bidding was steady if not frenzied. The final two bidders had solid histories and were making smart moves. If the reserve line was crossed, this looked promising.

On the last day of bidding, the price barely moved. As the clock clicked to zero, the winning bid stood at $52,600. The bidder sent us a deposit and flew in just days later. We picked him up at the airport, finished the paperwork and watched him drive away, en route to his home in Atlanta, in our — no, his — 2009 Nissan GT-R. Everyone was happy with the way things turned out. Except Magrath, of course, as he lost his $1 bet.

Combine the depreciation and the $8,288.14 we spent in repairs, then divide by the 15 months we had the car and it turns out we spent $1,683.54 per month, excluding insurance and fuel, on this car.

True Market Value at service end: $62,828
What it sold for: $52,600
Depreciation: $16,965 or 23% of original paid price
Final Odometer Reading: 31,067

What It all Means
Last year the 2009 Nissan GT-R made our list to purchase for the long-term fleet and your list as a Readers' Most Wanted. Now, thousands of dollars later, our camp is split about the whole experience. Half are screaming mad at the cost, reliability issues and now the low resale value. The other half are still impressed with how much car this is for under $80 grand. Even including our repairs, this exercise still cost $40,000 less than the purchase of a 2010 911 Turbo, which carries an MSRP of $133,775.

While it was certainly a test of metal, this was also a test of perception and patience. The combination of mechanical failures and a high level of required attention is not a good one, especially from a nameplate like Nissan, from which U.S. consumers expect trouble-free performance in a way that they don't demand of an exotic nameplate like Porsche. But at the end of the day, you get what you pay for. As long as you don't expect the GT-R to be as reliable or cheap as your Altima just because it wears a Nissan badge, the GT-R is a solid buy. Daily driver? Probably not. 4/7? Absolutely.

Edmunds purchased this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.