[s204speed]

As much as I hate all the internet debates about the GTR, this is certainly interesting. It makes you wonder why people go so crazy over printed times in magazines that are corrections based on formulas which are all based on variable results. In the end, who cares if it blitzes the ¼ in 11.5 or 12 seconds? It’s still one HELL of a car.

“It’s a ringer,” we said among ourselves as soon as the first Nissan GT-R’s test results were in. Despite a power-to-weight ratio that’s 30 percent worse than that of the similarly priced Corvette Z06, that first GT-R outran the Z06 to 60 mph (3.3 seconds versus 3.4 for the quickest Z06 we’ve tested) and through the quarter-mile (11.5 at 124 mph versus 11.8 at 125). Even allowing for the launch advantages of all-wheel drive, the GT-R’s performance made us suspicious. It wouldn’t be hard for Nissan engineers, we surmised, to crank up the boost and thus jack up horsepower that would result in astonishing track numbers in American car-magazine tests. The GT-R was in such demand and our allotted time with it was so short, however, that we didn’t have time to strap it onto a chassis dyno and measure the horsepower.

We soon tested two more GT-Rs, and supporting our suspicions, they were considerably slower. GT-R No. 2 was 0.6 second behind the No. 1 through the quarter, and GT-R numero tres was a disturbing 1.1 seconds slower. Again, we didn’t have enough time to dyno-test those cars, but it seemed clear that the first GT-R was likely a one-of-a-kind rocket.

We finally got the opportunity to run a GT-R on a chassis dyno in May after Tony Swan returned with the example he used for the One Lap of America competition. The only problem with that car—No. 4 in our series—was that it performed about as well as the first. There were some differences, as you can see in the chart below, but those can easily be chalked up to the fact that the cars were tested on different days at different tracks. Yes, we do perform a weather correction to account for much of the ambient-condition difference, but no correction is perfect.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...column?cid=261

[imported_saturn]

Wow. I thought it was common knowledge for 6 months now that the GT-R made well above advertised power. I guess that's C&D for you -- well behind the curve.

[GigEm93]

I think it's pretty significant if they're giving the press a modified/more powerful vehicle for first impression tests than what folks are buying.

[1er junkie]

+1 lol

[1er junkie]

BTW, got a chance to see one the other day....kind of. It sorta....dominated me. I think he mistook me for a 135i

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by saturn

Wow. I thought it was common knowledge for 6 months now that the GT-R made well above advertised power. I guess that's C&D for you -- well behind the curve.

I don't think you're getting this. Only the ones they were giving the magazines for testing were making well above advertised power. The ones coming off the lot aren't (and aren't putting down the same numbers because of it).

[mistermojorizin]

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

I don't think you're getting this. Only the ones they were giving the magazines for testing were making well above advertised power. The ones coming off the lot aren't (and aren't putting down the same numbers because of it).

i think he got it and you're not getting it. C&D believes the production GT-R's are putting out 520hp. The title of this thread is misleading.

"Three weeks later, a fifth GT-R arrived. This one, allegedly, was a production version with the latest—and final—engine calibration. We took it both to the test track and MotorCity’s dyno.
This car performed nearly identically to the fourth car. It smoked the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 120 mph and produced 420 wheel horsepower. We also measured the turbo boost pressure in both cars, and the curves were basically identical.
Though we didn’t get a chance to dyno-test the two slower GT-Rs, three of the five were so close in performance that we believe they accurately represent the GT-R’s capability. Clearly, Nissan is delivering more than the advertised 480 horsepower. And the most likely figure is about 520, which is yet another reason to bow to the best performance value since the Corvette Z06."

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by mistermojorizin

i think he got it and you're not getting it. C&D believes the production GT-R's are putting out 520hp. The title of this thread is misleading.

"Three weeks later, a fifth GT-R arrived. This one, allegedly, was a production version with the latest—and final—engine calibration. We took it both to the test track and MotorCity’s dyno.
This car performed nearly identically to the fourth car. It smoked the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 120 mph and produced 420 wheel horsepower. We also measured the turbo boost pressure in both cars, and the curves were basically identical.
Though we didn’t get a chance to dyno-test the two slower GT-Rs, three of the five were so close in performance that we believe they accurately represent the GT-R’s capability. Clearly, Nissan is delivering more than the advertised 480 horsepower. And the most likely figure is about 520, which is yet another reason to bow to the best performance value since the Corvette Z06."

Ok, actually I had read this on Autoblog earlier, and they didn't include that last part. My mistake.

So here's what we have:

2 Magazine test cars performed very well
2 Cars off the lot were significantly slower
1 Car from One Lap of America matched the first two


The whole thing is still a little fishy IMO. I'm wondering what happens if you test cars going to CARB regulated states opposed to the rest of the country. Maybe there are emissions related calibrations that are screwing with it, or possibly the fuel. No matter what the cause, a 1.1 second 1/4 mile difference would piss me off if I was the guy who got stuck with it after paying $90k+

[Red135]

Originally Posted by GigEm93

I think it's pretty significant if they're giving the press a modified/more powerful vehicle for first impression tests than what folks are buying.

You know, BMW occasionally gets accused of the same thing.