Articles - GT-R LIFE

Ultimate Nissan GTR/Z Dream Garage at NYIAS

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 19:14:49 +0000

https://nissannews.c...m=referral&la=1

Nissan Head Designer: R36 years off but will be Fastest(B...

Sat, 14 Jul 2018 15:04:05 +0000

From Autocar Interview

Nissan is in the very early phases of designing and engineering an all-new platform for the next-generation GT-R — but has still to decide how much electrification the car’s powertrain will adopt.
Talking exclusively to Autocar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Nissan design boss Alfonso Albaisa said the car won’t take cues from the limited-run GT-R50 special edition on show this weekend, but “has to be its own special car”. He said it has to be “the fastest super sports car in the world” and retain a visual identity that's unique among cars of its kind.
Although he’s constantly reviewing sketches for the car, Albaisa said his team can’t begin serious work until decisions are made about the powertrain and the new platform is finalised.
“The challenge is on the engineer, to be honest,” he said. “We will do our jobs when the time comes to make the car something really special. But we’re not even close to that yet
That suggests the new GT-R is still several years from production readiness, meaning it’s likely to arrive early in the next decade.
Albaisa said that while Nissan was undecided on the powertrain, he admitted that electrification was likely, albeit not confirmed.
Whether we go to a lot of electrification or none at all, we can achieve a lot power wise,” he said. “But we are definitely making a new ‘platform’ and our goal is clear: GT-R has to be the quickest car of its kind. It has to ‘own’ the track. And it has to play the advanced technology game; but that doesn’t mean it has to be electric.”
The electrified powertrain of Nissan’s stillborn hybrid LMP1 GT-R racing car, which was developed for the 2016 World Endurance Championship but never raced, could provide a glimpse of what’s to come. That car used a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine and hybrid electric system; Nissan pulled the plug on the project before the race.
If a similar system were used in the next GT-R, the boost of torque should ensure that, despite a loss of around 800cc in engine capacity compared with the current GT-R, the overall output could make it the most potent version of the super coupé family to have made production.

The current car produces 562bhp in standard form, suggesting significantly more than 600bhp is possible in the next car.
“We simply have to reflect people’s dreams; and I think people dream that the next GT-R will be the hottest super sports car in the world,” said Albaisa.
He said that the next car would have a muscular character like the R35 in order to retain the GT-R “beast”, adding: “It’s an animal; it has to be imposing and excessive. Not in terms of its wings, but rather its visual mass, its presence and its audacity.
“It doesn’t care what every other supercar in the world is doing; it simply says: ‘I’m a GT-R, I’m a brick, catch me.’ It’s the world’s fastest brick, really. And when I review sketches for the new car, I say that a lot: “Less wing, more brick.'”

NISMO Top 20 Race Cars Of All Time

Wed, 08 Nov 2017 17:23:30 +0000

NISMO had a social media contest to find out what fans thought was the greatest NISMO racing car of all time. The Calsonic R32 came out as the the winner. below are the results for the rest of the field

Nismo 400R & Nissan GT-R Nismo � Godzilla reunion

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 03:40:22 +0000

Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 2015 Motorsports Milestones

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 17:49:13 +0000

The GTR NISMO GT3 just wrapped up an amazing year in motorsports on the world stage with championships in the Blancpain Endurance Series and Super GT GT300. The platform was also successful around the world with a solid year in Pirelli World Challenge in North America. JRM who prepares and supports these cars for NISMO has compiled a list of the many accomplishments the GTR NISMO GT3 has earned in this banner year 2015 with the latest spec car. It is also worth noting since the R35 GTR has raced in GT3 spec, it has now earned a total of 7 Championship wins, 33 individual race wins, and 78 Podiums. Other achievements include 34 fastest lap awards, 36 pole positions, and 122 top 5 finishes.

The link below provides a breakdown of the 2015 season accomplishments

http://www.jrm-group.../gt_r-successes

The One....A Year in Review

Thu, 22 Oct 2015 19:50:32 +0000

One year ago this week on a cool October morning surrounded by family and friends and a Nissan camera crew , I had the privilege to watch as the first GTR NISMO ever built for the US rolled off the delivery truck. I was honored to be selected to become the owner of and share in this historic event marking the introduction of the NISMO GTR into the US market the same year NISMO marked its 30 year milestone . If that wasn’t enough I came home to an additional surprise of a completely made over garage courtesy of Nissan to celebrate the occasion and be a home for such a special car Nissan dubbed “The One” In the following months I have had plenty of time to appreciate what makes the GTR NISMO so special driving it in many different situations. In this first year I have taken it on mountain drives through the Blue Ridge Parkway competed in various autocross events, had many a Friday night at the drag strip all culminating with a full on track day where it felt most at home. If I had to sum up the car in one word it would be 'Precision"

The GTR NISMO was introduced 6 years into the lifecycle of the GTR in the US. In that time the GTR has seen constant refinement. Having owned benchmark years of the GTR in 2009 then 2012, Ive gained a good sense of this constant improvement. The NISMO just as a 2015 model itself is smoother, and more refined than previous years. Then with the performance minded improvements added on it becomes the ultimate expression of the R35 platform. In my time driving ive noticed that while the larger turbos producing 50 additional horsepower is noticeable, the suspension and chassis improvements are the real stand out here. The steering feel is light but tight so the front end perfectly responds to any micro adjustment you make that leads to very subtle steering inputs going a long way. That would pay off on the track which I will get to in a minute.

First up lets talk about what most car enthusiasts immediately want to know.. how quick is it? I wanted to know myself and spent the spring and summer doing a lot of acceleration testing. My results were very solid. I was able to obtain and consistently recreate 2.7 0-60 runs. At a drag strip I averaged a low 1.6 60ft time with a handful of launches dipping into the 1.57 range

From there I saw sub 7 second 0-100 times with a personal best of 6.69. In the 1/4 mile I achieved a best time of 10.9@127. Being in the 10 sec range the ET was good but I feel there is still a tenth or more left on the table. The extra power and nature of the larger turbos begin to show itself here as while attempting over a dozen 1/4 mile runs the GTR constantly trapped very high 126 to even a mid 127mph. I then logged a half dozen 60-130 pulls all being in the 8.6 range putting the NISMO close to a half second faster than a comparable stock DBA GTRs. This was again done in warm humid ambient temps so I feel as with the 1/4 mile there is a tenth or so left to extract in this area or measurement.

These numbers while solid and consistent are not leaps and bounds faster than some of the best recorded data weve seen from the standard GTR .My conclusion is while the numbers show acceleration from a standstill is yes similar to other GTRs this speaks more to the excellent traction of the platform in general and that the GTR NISMO was designed purely as a race track focused tool. The improved upper range power shows the focus has been clearly placed on overtaking and higher speeds in straightway parts of said tracks. The GTR NISMO makes peak power at 400 RPM higher than the standard version this combined with the personality of the larger turbo the power curve feels more like a surging wave of power to redline than the sudden blast the GTR is known for.

This brings me to the highlight thus far of ownership. In July I attended the 7^th Annual VIR Track day GTRLIFE does with our friends at Forged Performance. throughout the event I was able to put down some really solid controlled safe laps in the NISMO. These laps brought out for the first time the very best of the NISMO. I felt as an intermediate driver I was at times close to 9/10ths of my ability in the car in certain sections. Going back to my key word, “Precision” was on display as the inputs were effortless and the lack of understeer was the most striking element of the day.

The extra power available in the higher RPM range was evident as entering the high speed backstretch at roughly the same speed I saw on average a 6-7mph increase in speed by the time I reached the same braking point. This was a noticeable improvement. the NISMO seemed to exit corners at a higher rate of speed as well which was partly due to the power and partly to the ability to easily get the nose of the car pointed in the right direction.

(thank you Patrick for all the photos and support from day 1 )

My racing background is mostly in Autocross so by habit I tend to over use the brakes and attack every turn as a single obstacle rather than seeing the bigger picture. The NISMO seemed to almost be forgiving with this style and I was shocked to go back and watch my videos of my laps to see how uneventful it looked and how little steering input the car needed from me to get around the track. This NISMO is all about balance as its not the highest powered car out there or lightest or uses the newest technology but the sum of its parts comes together to produce a totally confidence inspiring feeling behind the wheel even at speeds of 160mph. The car felt very planted at those speeds and I felt as if the aero package was doing its job.

My favorite part of the day was seeing the optional NISMO Titanium exhaust change color to the beautiful blue and purples the material is known for. My car being the #1 NISMO for the states it underwent an additional 70 miles of quality control. Nissan waited to install my titanium exhaust after this testing to ensure it was pristine and factory fresh. I felt earning the color change myself on track was like a rite of passage.

I admittedly havent daily driven this car much logging just 2500 total miles in a year of ownership with 1000 of those miles coming within a single month of ownership for break in purposes.The collector status and serial number plaque on the wall did factor into this decision to limit the around town driving a bit more than I anticipated. As a solution I did ended up purchasing a matching black Juke NISMO RS as a daily driver and garage companion.

(Thank you HYPRPWR for the most amazing shoot ever)

In what little day to day street driving I have done I have found the car to be very similar to the standard GTR as the seats and overall cabin carry a familair feel. the exception would be the stiff suspension and pinpoint steering causing the car to follow imperfections in the road in an exaggerated manner. The turbos do not feature any noticeable lag and the TCM improvements actually make the NISMO a pleasant experience when driving on streets. No real negatives in having the NISMO as a livable car other than the NISMO specific NR1 tires seem to wear at an even faster rate than the standard Dunlop even though this car features only a small change in negative camber vs the standard car.

This year has been a whirlwind starting with the delivery last October.I would like to thank everyone on GTRLIFE/NAGTROC. The success of this site and owners club in the US is one of the things im most proud of. I would also like to thank Carl, Jeff and everyone who had a hand in this at Nissan & NISMO. The car itself is special in its own right as an important part of Nissan history in the US, but the biggest part for me is to be able to walk out to my NISMO garage 1 year later and still know that my efforts and role in the GTR community was appreciated. Partnering with Nissan, "The One" has enjoyed a constant presence on their social media channels helping to keep visibility of the GTR and NISMO brand high.

I cant wait to see where the second year of ownership takes me!

Click here to view the article

GTRLIFE September Build of the Month Feature

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 15:03:16 +0000

Operation Agent Orange:

Operation Agent Orange:

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by a GT-R owner by the name of Zeus. He was interested in doing some mild performance upgrades for his GT-R. Having recently purchased a Murcielago and building a very powerful EVO X he did not want to go too crazy on his GT-R…just a fun street car. After a couple of phone calls Zeus picked up our bolt on line consisting of our exhaust, midpipe, intercooler and other small bolt ons along with a Cobb AP E-tune from AMS. Zeus was happy with the car but wanted a little bit more. He called in and decided to ship his car to us to do the AMS bolt on turbo upgrades and bump power up to about 620 whp. That was before he saw Frank’s car run a 9 second pass on the SR850 Package…

Zeus called me up a couple days after we returned from TX2K10 with some more questions. He had been driving his Murcielago around for a little while and just was not happy with the power output. Knowing his GT-R was in route to AMS he decided to upgrade to our SR850 Package.

Well Zeus’s beautiful red GT-R finally arrived at the shop and we wanted to take some time out to document the build. Why is it called Operation Agent Orange? Well thanks to the Ron and the guys over at Autowerks not only is Zeus’s GT-R getting the SR850 treatment, it’s getting repainted a very vibrant Orange color!

Quite simply Zeus is getting back a COMPLETELY different car and one that I am sure will put a big smile on his face and bring a tear to that Murcielago’s eye 

On with the build:

Step one is the tear down!

As we begin our project the first thing that needs to be done is to remove the engine and transmission for their new upgrades

now that the engine and trans are out we can convert the car to a roller and ship her to Ron and the guys at Autowerks ( http://www.e-autowerks.com ) for the color change!

Stay tuned as this project unfolds

Eric

Full Thread found here: Agent OrangeThread

GTRLife.com August Build of the Month Feature

Tue, 04 Aug 2015 20:57:03 +0000

Midnight Opal 1000+whp Daily Driver Build *****GTRLIFE BUILD OF THE MONTH AUGUST 2015*****

Power items of the build (some previously there)
Catless AMS DP’s
Catless resonated HKS MP (to keep noise down)
AAM axle back (non adjustable)
Cobb 3” intakes
Boost Logic 3” IC Pipe kit with Tial BOV’s (100% VTA)
AAM Race FMIC (I love the look, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone this big)
ID 2000 injectors
AAM S line fuel system
AAM Fuel Rails/FPR
Flex fuel kit tuned for e-85-91 octane.
Speed density with AMS 4 bar sensor, tuned by Tim Bailey on Accessport (Already owned the cobb)
AMS Race block and internals
Jacks Drag 800 transmission
GT3XR ball bearing CHRA turbos and appropriate inlets.
EGR block off plates
HKS HR9 plugs

Cosmetics
Advan GT 20x10/12, triple powder coated rose gold from SP Engineering wrapped in MPSS 285/335
Swift Spec R Spring.
Megan camber arms rear, whiteline camber bolts front
Rexpeed Carbon Skirts
Rexpeed Carbon front lip
Difflow rear diffuser
Autotecknic Carbon Paddle shifters
Clear front corners

Read More Here!

SEMA Footage by Vivid Racing

Fri, 21 Nov 2014 13:39:52 +0000

Earlier this month, we were able to capture some of the GTR magic from this year's SEMA show. Well, Vivid Racing, one the GTR Community's long time vendors was good enough to bring up the rear with pictures of some of the other cars represented at this year's show. Not a bad way to kick off the weekend!

Credit Vivid Racing: http://www.gtrlife.c...t/
Check em out @ vividracing.com

From James@ vividracing.com:
Unless you've been living under a rock, or don't have access to the internet, Instagram, Facebook, or any auto forums, you've probably seen so much SEMA footage, you feel like you were actually there. And that's a good thing. It's a great place to be. But to join in on the fun, I figured I'd go ahead and post up some photos taken by our photographer.

Enjoy! Especially the ones with our 991TT and the best use of side-boob I've ever seen.