2010 GTR Losing Launch Control

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

“It’s gone,” said (an anonymous “high ranking Nissan executive”) when asked if launch control would return in 2010. “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.”

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 18 comments
  • Yellow_04 Yellow_04 on Nov 21, 2008

    Ever hear of the aftermarket? Launch control is nothing but programming it will probably be cracked a week after 2010s roll out.

  • Gakoenig Gakoenig on Nov 21, 2008
    I think BMW has incentivized dealerships to perform warranty/maintenance repairs so it’s in their interest to have your car in often. Plus they want to keep you happy so you come back for another BMW. Well, great customer service is a phenomenal marketing tool. Here I am telling people about how great the BMW warranty has been for me and my next car is going to be the X5 diesel (though BMW is getting a nasty letter about this BS "X drive 35d" stupid name). kansei First: Dealerships who void warranties for autocross events are rare. I know of a Subaru dealer who did that, but none of the warranty voids they tried to push actually stuck. That is an excellent way for a lawsuit to happen. Second: Why is there no ligitimate use for launch control on the street? I mean, where do you draw the line? We sell 500bhp sedans. 200bhp motorcycles. Even my grocery getter 325i offers a level of performance about 30% beyond what I ever could use properly on the road. Launch Control was a headline feature for this car, a vehicle designed for the video game set to boot. Nissan knew full well that GT-R drivers would hit that bad boy like monkeys with the happy button. Shame on them for deploying a warranty voiding switch.
  • Redshift Redshift on Nov 21, 2008

    Landcrusher: Regarding M3 depreciation, I've always thought they suffered from heavy depreciation. There are a number of young "enthusiasts" around here upgrading from their 10 year old modified Civic's into E46 M3s because they can get them so cheaply. However, that may be partially due to the premium price they charge for them new in Canada, so the depreciation is worse. As for the new models, the local dealership here recently got tired of looking at their E92 M3 sitting in the showroom and sold a car stickered at $90K CDN for $64K.

  • Quasimondo Quasimondo on Nov 21, 2008

    When you send 500+ lb/ft of torque through a transmission to launch a 4000 lb vehicle forward as quickly as possible, that transmission won't last long. Ask any former Mitsubishi 3000GT owner. Or any Eclipse/Talon/Laser owner. Or any WRX owner. Because all-wheel-drive vehicle do not have much tire slippage when it is launched, there is a lot of stress applied to the drivetrain parts, and something will give. That's the reasoning behind Mitsubishi putting a fairly inadequate clutch in the Evo VIII and IX. whatdoiknow1: Somehow I beat Launch-Control will still be available on the GT-R. It will be hidden, but there will be some trick you can use to enable it. I was reading a GT-R forum that got into a heated discussion about this, and from what I gather, the launch control already was a hidden feature. To activate it, disabling the VDC was necessary (vehicle dynamic control). However, Nissan's warranty states that they will not cover any repairs if there is evidence of the car being driven with the VDC disabled, except for cases where it needed to be shut off to get the car out of the snow (BTW, you had to hold the VDC button for a few seconds to deactivate it, so it's not something that can be shut off accidentally). Some owners also stated that they signed a written acknowledgment emphasizing this when they took delivery of their GT-R's. Furthermore, the launch control was not an advertised feature, and there is no mention of it in their owner's manual. It was never meant to be used on a regular basis, despite reports that magazines used it to determine 0-60 and 1/4-mile acceleration numbers. The fact that owners needed to perform a step that puts them at risk of not having their repairs covered should the car break should've been enough to deter owners from doing it, but it obviously wasn't. If you're going to dump that much money into a car for sheer acceleration thrills, then your money is better spent on a used Mustang. At least you know their antiquidated solid axle can take the pounding. http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=25361

Next