Cars!

[Wolffmann34]

i m looking into the new Gtr at the moment.

I must admit, having been a fan of American Muscle cars my whole life, I never was a fan for these Japanese pretenders, my favorites are the Civics with a 7 foot wing and a garbage can hanging underneath acting as a muffler. They make tons of noise but couldn't keep up with my daughter's 4 door Impala.

But now comes the GTR, this is for me the first car from Japan that holds up in comparisons to American sports cars. Sure the ZR1 blows it away on every performance spec that can me measured. But I could get a GTR and in comparison to the ZR1, I could buy a 2010 Camaro SS with the change.

There have been cars like the Evo and the little Subaru, but those things get their performance by being so small and light a hamster could power them and still have performance. The GTR is a real mid size car that could hold a full size adult, and still get you to the grocery store in a hurry.

 

[Matth3w]

I do like the GTR. You're right about the Subaru etc. I had the Subaru with upgrade turbo, injectors, exhaust, chip, etc...and it was probably about as fast as my Z06...but not NEARLY as fun to drive.

 

[Jimbo]

And it laps Nuremberg quicker than a Porsche turbo and a veyron apparently!

Not bad pedigree either!

We ll see what a test drive reveals!

J

 

[Superbike81]

i m looking into the new Gtr at the moment.

I must admit, having been a fan of American Muscle cars my whole life, I never was a fan for these Japanese pretenders, my favorites are the Civics with a 7 foot wing and a garbage can hanging underneath acting as a muffler. They make tons of noise but couldn't keep up with my daughter's 4 door Impala.

But now comes the GTR, this is for me the first car from Japan that holds up in comparisons to American sports cars. Sure the ZR1 blows it away on every performance spec that can me measured. But I could get a GTR and in comparison to the ZR1, I could buy a 2010 Camaro SS with the change.

But the ZR1 doesn't "blow away" the GTR in every category. They are very very close in all performance numbers, but I guarantee you anyone except for professional drivers or highly trained amateurs will be faster in most situations in the GTR. Think about 0-60 and 1/4 mile time, in the ZR1 you have to launch and shift perfectly to reach the published performance times. The GTR, hit the button for launch control, put the pedal and brake to the floor, release the brake and go. Same goes with corners, a little much gas on the exit in the ZR1 and you oversteer into a drift wasting that power and end up screwing up your line, the GTR works pretty much everything out for you. You still have to be a good driver, but the GTR will mask many mistakes, the ZR1 will kick you in the balls for every mistake you make.

 

[Matth3w]

Personally, I VERY much dislike cars that automate driving for me like the GTR launch mode, Ferrari/Camaro paddle shifters, etc.

I would rather be in a "slower" ZR1 where I am responsible for every aspect of the driving, than in a Ferarri with paddles or a GTR put into launch mode where computers automate the fun of driving.

I like the feeling/connection of actually driving the car myself. If that means it's a slower car, so be it.

I'd drive a stick shift Cobalt before I drove a paddle shifter Ferarri.

Not to mention I prefer RWD over AWD for regular spirited driving.

 

[Superbike81]

Guess we're different there, to me, the faster I'm going, the more fun I'm having. I drive a traditional manual transmission now, but I long for a Porsche 911 with PDK in my driveway. I don't find shifting in the traditional H pattern any more fun than driving the GT-R with paddle shifters, I rented one last year with a couple friends and we beat the hell out of it and had a ton of fun. I like consistency more than anything, and the consistently perfect shifts and launches is an amazing thing. I prefer AWD for hard driving, at least when talking about street cars, can get on the gas earlier and get through the corner exit that much faster.

 

[Matth3w]

Yep, we are different. The whole experience is what makes it fun for me. If I just wanted to go fast I could get in a roller coaster or something. I want to feel like I am doing the work.

Going to Corvette meets and stuff and looking at gorgeous Vettes with automatics makes me want to vomit.

 

[Wolffmann34]

Yes, the GT-R is novel, but it does lose in ALL categories even with the average bozo's on this test site:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC-PQca6FJU]YouTube - ZR1 Smokes GT-R: Chevy Corvette ZR1 vs. Nissan GT-R[/ame]
Granted they do admit the ZR1 is harder to drive, but with 100 more horsepower at the rear wheels, it should be. I'm sure the margin of victory in these tests would be a lot larger with professional drivers.

Also, since in the real world your not going to race someone on a winding road or be measuring lap times, the ZR1 is sure to feel faster than a car that uses a computer to control the performance.

But more importantly, from a die hard street racer point of view, in the average street race, my grandmother driving a ZR1 could beat John Force in a GT-R because the average street racing rarely starts at a standing stop and usually is longer than a quarter mile. (Besides while the driver of the GT-R is trying to figure out which buttons to push, the ZR1 is already gone)

But I still respect the GT-R for what it is. And like I said, for the cost of a 2010 Camaro SS less than the ZR1, it's a hell of a car. Of course if I had Jay Leno's money I would just have one of each.

 

[Wolffmann34]

It makes the ZR1 a true supercar.

1) It's not really louder in the cockpit unless you're in a lower gear. When you're cruising on the highway it's unnoticeable.

2) You can eliminate the CAGS auto shift with a skip shift eliminator from eBay for about 20 bucks.

Hey Matthew, I got the skip shift eliminator in, great deal I hated that auto shift system.

I'm thinking about getting these next:
West Coast Camaro - 2010 Camaro Long Tube Header Kit w/ High Flow Cats

And speaking of automatics in sports cars making you puke, watch the video in that link...

Also, I love the new signature - Thanks for being one of the guys defending this great country!

 

[Matth3w]

Nice, buy me one while you're at it.

 

[Wolffmann34]

Yea, unfortunately those are a little more than the $20.00 shift eliminator.

 

[Matth3w]

Yes, the GT-R is novel, but it does lose in ALL categories even with the average bozo's on this test site:
YouTube - ZR1 Smokes GT-R: Chevy Corvette ZR1 vs. Nissan GT-R
Granted they do admit the ZR1 is harder to drive, but with 100 more horsepower at the rear wheels, it should be. I'm sure the margin of victory in these tests would be a lot larger with professional drivers.

Also, since in the real world your not going to race someone on a winding road or be measuring lap times, the ZR1 is sure to feel faster than a car that uses a computer to control the performance.

But more importantly, from a die hard street racer point of view, in the average street race, my grandmother driving a ZR1 could beat John Force in a GT-R because the average street racing rarely starts at a standing stop and usually is longer than a quarter mile. (Besides while the driver of the GT-R is trying to figure out which buttons to push, the ZR1 is already gone)

But I still respect the GT-R for what it is. And like I said, for the cost of a 2010 Camaro SS less than the ZR1, it's a hell of a car. Of course if I had Jay Leno's money I would just have one of each.

I'd take the ZR1 in a heartbeat. While some may say that requiring extra attention is a NEGATIVE I like the fact that it takes more skill to drive.

 

[Superbike81]

Also, since in the real world your not going to race someone on a winding road or be measuring lap times, the ZR1 is sure to feel faster than a car that uses a computer to control the performance.

Who says? Lots of people race in mountain roads and twisty backroads. I know it hasn't been really big in the US, but in recent years it's becoming more popular. also from a legal standpoint, track days and time attack racing is becoming more popular as well in the US.

I understand that the ZR1 is an overall faster car, but look at places like the Nurburgring, on about a 7 minute and 30 second lap, the ZR1 went faster by 0:00.30 seconds. That's the blink of an eye, and the GTR weighs significantly more than the ZR1 and has less power. That speaks very well for the GTR.

While your average drag race or highway roll start race, the ZR1 may win, when it comes to REAL racing, at a track, with turns, the GTR is no slouch.

 

[Matth3w]

Did you watch the video though? The ZR1 beat it on the track by a second each lap, also had a faster slalom I believe. Faster braking. The same 0-60.

 

[henry2]

when i was station in germany you could get the prosche 911 cars for little less than the $.20,ooo ,oo dollars there and you really learn how to handle a car on the autoban at 100 mphs ..

when i came back to the states after beening stationed in germany i got a couple of trickets for droping the hammer down on the freeway ..both times the state troopers let me off with a warning for they had been overseas in germany also and understand the basic fact of driveing on the autoban was one big test track for speed freaks there ..