Back home with the GTR. Thoughts and early review plus a few pictures.

[Toaster29]

Ok, I'm back and a bit rested. What a crazy 30 hours, but everything turned out fine with no issues or surprises. The GTR is a phenomenal machine, I'm extremely pleased with it. The transmission is interesting in it's quirkyness. I like that it isn't perfect like a torque converter auto from a stop. You can literally feel the clutches engaging and you must feather the throttle in like on a manual car in order to leave from a stop perfectly smoothly. It takes some attention and a little finesse and I'm glad it has that.

The car is BIG. In relation to the other cars here at the house, it is very big. It also feels very, very solid. The doors are large and relatively heavy. You sit down in the car with a high belt line which makes you feel nestled down it in. Everything about it feels firm, and secure. You can definitely see where the nearly 3900 lbs comes from as the car feels like it was hewn from a block of granite. Unfortunately that applies to the suspension as well In comfort mode, it is a bit better, but make no mistake, the suspension is very, very firm and will crash over anything other than average imperfections in the road. Doesn't bug me, but if you don't like the flinty ride of an Evo, you won't like the GTR.

Speaking of the Evo, this car just feels like it's big brother in so many ways. The steering is nigh identical. Super quick ratio, absolutely no slop, and razor sharp reflexes. Sneeze and you change lanes, just like an Evo. The ride is flinty like the Evo. The car has a lot of really great mechanical whines and wheezes as it goes about it's work. You can occasionally hear the actuators selecting the next gear, the pump adding pressure to the clutches as you feather in more power on the hwy, and even a little clutch chatter as you try super low speed maneuvers. The turbos are quiet, only occasionally hearing a very slight compressor whine at various spots in the rpm band. Again, being a mechanically inclined guy and knowing all the engineering behind all of this, I find it fascinating.

As for the powerband, it is excellent. The transmission is so quick to react that if you leave it in auto mode you are never really caught with your pants down. Locking it a higher gear and rolling into it, the true dynamics of the engine are apparent. It is a little soft below 2500 rpm...again a relative term. The turbos and the engine come on progressively and the power seamlessly increases endlessly through the rpm band pulling hard all the way to 7k. It is very turbine-like in feel and sound. The gears are snapped off almost instantaneously. The midrange is ferocious especially in the first 3 gears. The car will scrabble some in first on WOT. The car is immensely impressive to 100 at which point the acceleration drops off some.

My car is modified with a resonated midpipe which drops two cats as well as some weight. It is good for around 20 whp on a stock car. The sound is much more aggressive than the sterile stock hardware and has a really, really great note. It's a little higher pitched, and while it is a little on the loud side outside it is basically perfect in the interior with no boom or resonance. The interior noise is also well controlled with really nothing other than a little tread roar noticeable. I added a cobb access port to my car today and have the stage 2 beta maps. Running map 2 until I have a chance to log and make sure everything is kosher before I go up to map 3. The car screams. It is ridiculous to 100 mph. Judging from the times on the boards, it should run a very, very low 11 at around 125 mph with the canned tune and midpipe.

The gadgets and gizmos are nearly overwhelming at first. The sheer amount of information presented to you takes a while to organize and memorize where it is in order to access it. If there's a fluid in the car, you can know it's temperature. G forces in all axis, torque split, instant mpg, aggregate mph, gear efficiency, tire pressures, you name it, it's all there. The car keeps up with maintenance as well. The creature comforts are nice with auto dimming mirrors. Mine is a premium so it has a great nav, heated seats, and some other BS. You definitely get your fix as far as toys. The bluetooth connection with my iphone works very well and has less road noise than average according to those I've chatted with so far.

Economy coming home was commendable. At 70-75 mph the car was averaging 25 mpg per the MFD. Bump that up to nearly 80 mph and it drops to 22-23 however I find that completely acceptable.

Overall I'm very happy with the purchase. This car fits me and my interests a good bit better than the Z06, however I will miss that car. It was great in it's simplicity and the shape oozed sex. There are some cheesy parts but the overall combination of speed, reliability, and low price point cannot be beaten in this segment.

Still no great pics. Hopefully I get somebody who doesn't suck like me to come get a few good ones

[Cr4shT3st]

Nice! Don't get in trouble using all the performance on the street. A car like that begs for the track.

And you aren't kidding about big. I like how cartoonishly large the exhaust pipes are, yet they fit the car perfectly.

[302W]

Nice write up, I'm becoming a bigger fan of this thing more and more. So fast and pretty

[Fritz27]

Damn man. Thing is badass. Congrats on the new car.

[sforsancho]

Thanks for the info. I'd like to see a 25k/50k mile update. Curious to see how these are to maintain.

Not a fan of the painted wheels, but otherwise, awesome car.

[DIAF]

I got to drive one of these at an autocross this year. I've never driven anything that accelerated like the GTR. It's like a cat that rears up on its haunches and lunges forward.

Such an awesome car.

[AutoUnion32]

Congrats

[Toaster29]

Thanks for the info. I'd like to see a 25k/50k mile update. Curious to see how these are to maintain.

Not a fan of the painted wheels, but otherwise, awesome car.

Sounds good. The wheels are stock. Darker colors on the 2010 with an even darker tone on the premium cars. I'm not usually a fan, but in person it is absolutely ridiculous looking.

I'm about to do the 18k service. Tranny fluid is 570 bucks online. 120 for the diff fluid. Around 700 doing the labor yourself which is easy. Beats 1500 at the dealer. This service is every 18k. Tires are good for 10-12k and are nearly $2k installed. Brakes from the dealer are stratospherically priced, like around $8k for all 4 corners including pads. Nobody uses them for replacement unless you find cheap lightly used ones on the forum. Better aftermarket parts are available in the 1-2k range for all 4 corners.

[Deserion]

The GTR isn't quite my cup of tea, but good luck with it. That's still an amazing car.

[Shomegrown]

Congrats, love it.

[The Ugly]

Congrats

sickening....great review

[InfinitiG]

Congrats man, car looks great. Have fun.

[nykwhy]

Please put another 85,000k on it.

love, nykwhy.

[Wanganrunner]

$8,000 for a brake service?

That sounds nuts, like it would be for carbon ceramic or something. Doesn't the GTR have normal steel rotors?

Or does that price include calipers or something also?

[Toaster29]

$8,000 for a brake service?

That sounds nuts, like it would be for carbon ceramic or something. Doesn't the GTR have normal steel rotors?

Or does that price include calipers or something also?

Yep, normal steel rotors. Many parts for this car are absurdly priced for no particular reason. Like I said, nobody uses the stock rotors new from the dealership when it's time for a replacement. They are two piece from the factory anyway, so only the friction surface requires replacement.

[AutoUnion32]

Is there any truth to what Edmunds went thru with their GTR with the transmission oil changes?

Didn't Nissan charge something ridiculous for the fluid?

[Toaster29]

Is there any truth to what Edmunds went thru with their GTR with the transmission oil changes?

Didn't Nissan charge something ridiculous for the fluid?

Yes, typically they charge 80 a quart and it takes 10 quarts. Like I said, some Nissan dealerships online will sell it to you for around 550 to 570. It is easy to replace the tranny fluid on a lift.

[arric]

I'm jelly

[Numbersix]

Beautiful car. I'd be curious to hear what it sounds like with the exhaust mod. Care to take a little video?

$8k for brakes? Wow. I think even Porsche would be ashamed at that price.

[mach gti]

Big baller, nice ride. Show us some videos off the exhaust.

[Nubbin]

Yes, typically they charge 80 a quart and it takes 10 quarts. Like I said, some Nissan dealerships online will sell it to you for around 550 to 570. It is easy to replace the tranny fluid on a lift.

I plan on replacing my OEM tranny fluid with the Dodson GR6 fluid after the warranty goes out. The Dodson costs about $490 for 10 liters and it is also much better than the OEM stuff.

Some owners would recommend you the thicker Willall products. They are developed from the ground up specifically for the GR6 but they are even more expensive than the OEM.

Dodson

Willall's WR35TM

[compy222]

I love it. Maintenance costs seem on par for the level of performance you're getting... Good luck with it!

[kingrukus]

You are living the life my man, but I am sure it took some hard work, and smart moves. I am jealous, I love the car.

[Charolastra]

sforsancho
Thanks for the info. I'd like to see a 25k/50k mile update. Curious to see how these are to maintain.

x2.

Great review OP, love the attention to detail! Congrats on the new purchase!

I'm curious: why so expensive on the tires? I'm researching 997s right now, and even the OEM tires for a C4S are cheaper (~$1600 on www.tirerack.com), and that is with 19"x11" rears....What are the GTR's tire specs?

[zmt]

How does It compare to the 335i? I need a frame of reference!

Those upkeep costs are pretty ridiculous, but guess that's what "affordable" supercar performance costs

[ghostsof1985]

Yeah, what they all said. Thanks for the super-thorough write-up; I could almost feel what it's like to be in the car.

Looking forward to future reading about your new danger machine.

[PineappleMonkey]

Great write-up! Congratulations again on your purchase, I know you'll love living with this car. Your car is pretty much exactly what I am waiting to buy, only in white The ride is harsh but I think that has more to do with the size of the wheels then anything else, but if anyone has driven a car with coil overs then it's nothing too surprising; actually I prefer it!

Looking forward to an update six months from now

[jay3737]

very nice! what a beautiful color also...

a local here bought a '11 GTR at the beginning of the year, and sold it a month or so ago. he found he never liked the car because 1) he could never really enjoy it on the street and 2) he said it always garnered too much attention. i could understand 1) but 2) made me because it's a friggin GTR - what do you expect?!?!

would be curious to see your impressions after a few months of ownership.

[Mosbius Designs]

Bummed to hear you got rid of the Z06 - but man those things sure do have a presence to them. Congrats.

[DTMTrini]

Awesome write-up, would read again!

" You can literally feel the clutches engaging and you must feather the throttle in like on a manual car in order to leave from a stop perfectly smoothly. It takes some attention and a little finesse and I'm glad it has that."
I absolutely agree

[scott_0]

nice write up congrats on a beautiful car!

[6cylVWguy]

Love the car and I like your approach to just trying things out that seem interesting to you! I was on track with a GTR over the summer and I think it might have lapped me twice! Oddly, it didn't really bother me as I loved hearing it scream past me and watch how it attacked turns.

You really need to take that car to a road course next year!

[NOTORIOUS VR]

Congrats! These cars are monsters I was immensely impressed with one (it was tuned, and had mid pipes and exhaust system).

[forewheel]

What is that white car in the garage?...looks curvy.

[AVWD]

What is that white car in the garage?...looks curvy.

Viper?