Porsche GT2 vs. Nissan GT-R at the 'Ring Explained

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago
Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Btman Btman on Nov 28, 2008
    note that Nissan also did its lap with VDC off, which DR could not do, in deference to the fact that this was a privately owned GT-R and slewing off the track sideways in a privately-owned vehicle isn’t as forgiveable as doing it in a manufacturer’s mule (like the GT2 they had, was) Yeah, that, and also probably that turning off VDC would have voided the warranty, right...?
  • John R John R on Nov 28, 2008

    "Yeah, that, and also probably that turning off VDC would have voided the warranty, right…?" Alright, can we think of some other GT-Rs jokes now? I've must heard this chestnut at least 300 times this month.

  • Tom Tom on Nov 28, 2008

    @niki: I've read the entire article and they said that they were close to the perfect lap in the GT-R, while they were far from it in the GT2. No matter what magic tricks Nissan did with the GT-R, the 7:25 min claim still sounds incredible in the light of its weight and power and DR basically said the same thing.

  • Niky Niky on Nov 28, 2008

    That's opinion, and as he was on the "wrong" tires and with VDC, I can't take it as final, yet... still, it adds more fuel to the fire... being halfway between Nissan's and Porsche's estimates of the abilities of these two cars. Turning VDC off is a marker for warranty voiding, but the only time it has been cited as such, Nissan of America actually flew in two Japanese mechanics to review the case before denying it... (20 hard launches in the first six weeks of ownership would cause any manufacturer to run screaming...) meaning that such voiding isn't automatic, but there to dissuade people from turning it off. VDC off, some cars have survived up to 100 hard launches before breaking. One current theory at NAGTROC is that the transmission fluid is inefficient when cold, so press drag-launches done in uncontrolled conditions (turn the car on and whale on it) or random launches by customers with no prep-time may cause premature failure. So far, only one or two customer cars have died of this, the others have been press. Guys who regularly drag their cars have been unaffected so far... one aftermarket company has broken a gearbox on a modified car, others are still going fine. Another aftermarket company has confirmed that the transmission juice is pretty pathetic. I've been seeing a lot said about the GT-R online, and it's sickening the amount of disinformation about it... it's simply a heavy car with a great AWD system, more torque than horsepower and some extremely sticky (stock) tires. Newer performance cars with similar grip and less weight have shown it up on track, and many testers and owners have said that the price you pay for that ability is that it simply doesn't hold on to that advantage for very many laps before the Dunlop tires lose performance.

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