Nissan GTR vs. Corvette Zr-1

[Kaiser]

And what do you find so funny?

Besides people not reading?

It's not even the dual clutch tranny that makes the car not as impressive to me, it is that the car eliminates most of the "driver mod". Where is the fun in owning a car like that?

In normal street driving, what's the point of not having what amount to safety features? All the GT-R's electronic limiters and assists are capable of being disabled for situations when they wouldn't be wanted. If not directly then through manipulation of the firmware. For someone who is a good enough driver to be able to consistently maintain complete control over the ZR1 at limit with no issues, obviously there's no reason to have those limiters. The situations where you could find the edges of the performance envelope for either of these cars where the nanny-tronics of the GT-R would somehow hinder a good driver at all are so far beyond what's reasonable on the street that complaining about it really doesn't make any sense.

Part of why I'm disagreeing with you comes from what I feel is a possibly unintentional misrepresentation. The GT-R is an incredibly balanced and agile chassis, exponentially so when you factor it's weight into the equation. Much of the easy drivability of the GT-R comes not from the nanny-tronic assists but from it's overall engineering. A rear-biased AWD system that's been over 20 years in development now, as well as a front-midship platform with a very lightweight engine mounted back behind the front axle, a turbocharged engine with a torque curve that's incredibly easy to feel out without (as with a naturally aspirated or supercharged V8) having an excess of low end torque as to hinder drivability but also without the peaky nature of high-boost engines (where there's a tendancy towards mid gear-ratio traction loss, which was a problem with the R390's engine).

Nissan advertising and marketing may have tried to hold it up as such, but from an engineering standpoint it's obvious to see that the GT-R was meant to be what a GT-R has always been, and the ZR1 has moved the Corvette further down it's own pathways. I think you can compare anything with four wheels and say one is better than the other, but there's something to be said for having an open mind and understanding that the differences in designs often come from a difference in intent. The much more likely comparison is between the V-Spec and the ZR1, as much of the "Can go get the groceries too." nature of the GT-R is taken out. In that matchup, the ZR1 obviously out-performs, and the V-Spec has very few excuses.

[StupidBikerBoy]

ZR1 all the way. That car would be so much more fun than the GTR. Of course, I agree that they arent in the same league, more like Z06 vs GTR. GTR may still be slightly lower on some things, but atleast they are more comparable.

GTR vs ZR1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC-PQca6FJU
ZR1's GTR destroying official run at the ring. Scroll down in the comments and you'll see where it stands for 08's times (2nd best). I love how the guy seems to have a hard time with it in some places. I bet its a beast on the track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6mEirkQN8o

[IDCoconut]

ZR1 all the way. That car would be so much more fun than the GTR. Of course, I agree that they arent in the same league, more like Z06 vs GTR. GTR may still be slightly lower on some things, but atleast they are more comparable.

GTR vs ZR1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC-PQca6FJU
ZR1's GTR destroying official run at the ring. Scroll down in the comments and you'll see where it stands for 08's times (2nd best). I love how the guy seems to have a hard time with it in some places. I bet its a beast on the track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6mEirkQN8o

Something isn't right....

On the ZR-1 video, look at where the clock starts, it CLEARLY begins to time at the Yellow marker before he enters the 1st turn.

BUT, at the end the clock stops right after he exits the last turn, he hasn't even gotten to the yellow market yet and still had a good bit to go.

Is that the way they time the Ring?

[StupidBikerBoy]

Something isn't right....

On the ZR-1 video, look at where the clock starts, it CLEARLY begins to time at the Yellow marker before he enters the 1st turn.

BUT, at the end the clock stops right after he exits the last turn, he hasn't even gotten to the yellow market yet and still had a good bit to go.

Is that the way they time the Ring?

Honestly I have no clue, but that is the in-car video of the ZR1's official run on the ring.

[On_Her_Face]

Besides people not reading?



In normal street driving, what's the point of not having what amount to safety features? All the GT-R's electronic limiters and assists are capable of being disabled for situations when they wouldn't be wanted. If not directly then through manipulation of the firmware. For someone who is a good enough driver to be able to consistently maintain complete control over the ZR1 at limit with no issues, obviously there's no reason to have those limiters. The situations where you could find the edges of the performance envelope for either of these cars where the nanny-tronics of the GT-R would somehow hinder a good driver at all are so far beyond what's reasonable on the street that complaining about it really doesn't make any sense.

Part of why I'm disagreeing with you comes from what I feel is a possibly unintentional misrepresentation. The GT-R is an incredibly balanced and agile chassis, exponentially so when you factor it's weight into the equation. Much of the easy drivability of the GT-R comes not from the nanny-tronic assists but from it's overall engineering. A rear-biased AWD system that's been over 20 years in development now, as well as a front-midship platform with a very lightweight engine mounted back behind the front axle, a turbocharged engine with a torque curve that's incredibly easy to feel out without (as with a naturally aspirated or supercharged V8) having an excess of low end torque as to hinder drivability but also without the peaky nature of high-boost engines (where there's a tendancy towards mid gear-ratio traction loss, which was a problem with the R390's engine).

Nissan advertising and marketing may have tried to hold it up as such, but from an engineering standpoint it's obvious to see that the GT-R was meant to be what a GT-R has always been, and the ZR1 has moved the Corvette further down it's own pathways. I think you can compare anything with four wheels and say one is better than the other, but there's something to be said for having an open mind and understanding that the differences in designs often come from a difference in intent. The much more likely comparison is between the V-Spec and the ZR1, as much of the "Can go get the groceries too." nature of the GT-R is taken out. In that matchup, the ZR1 obviously out-performs, and the V-Spec has very few excuses.

I agree with you about the GTR being a great platform even without all of the electronics, but what I was stating is that the GTR elminates the "driver mod" only in racing of any type. I did not state how the electronics of the GTR are great for safety reasons in normal driving, which could prevent an accident. If you disable the safety features like you said, you will void the warrenty and nothing will be covered. Which is a bit scary to me considering 2 out of 3 skyline owners that I know have broken their tranny (via "auto" launching the vehicle) when taking off some of the features (new GTR tranny + install = somewhere in the ballpark range of 15k-20k).

I would disagree when you say that Nissan has created this GTR to be what a GTR has always been since I don't see a connection between any of the past GTR Skylines and this one. This R35 seems to have no GTR culture to it minus a twin turbo power plant. Yes they have added "bigger and better" equipment, however in my mind it does not seem like this is what the next generation of Skylines should be like (most of this last part is just personal opinion, but I would bet that there are many others out there that agree with this).

[willum14pb]

I agree with you about the GTR being a great platform even without all of the electronics, but what I was stating is that the GTR elminates the "driver mod" only in racing of any type. I did not state how the electronics of the GTR are great for safety reasons in normal driving, which could prevent an accident. If you disable the safety features like you said, you will void the warrenty and nothing will be covered. Which is a bit scary to me considering 2 out of 3 skyline owners that I know have broken their tranny (via "auto" launching the vehicle) when taking off some of the features (new GTR tranny + install = somewhere in the ballpark range of 15k-20k).

I would disagree when you say that Nissan has created this GTR to be what a GTR has always been since I don't see a connection between any of the past GTR Skylines and this one. This R35 seems to have no GTR culture to it minus a twin turbo power plant. Yes they have added "bigger and better" equipment, however in my mind it does not seem like this is what the next generation of Skylines should be like (most of this last part is just personal opinion, but I would bet that there are many others out there that agree with this).

This is not an R35. Nissan does not want people to mistake the GTR for a skyline. it is in no way associated with it, according to Nissan. It's just their brand of supercar, the GTR. Not skyline, NOT R35.

[Kaiser]

This is not an R35. Nissan does not want people to mistake the GTR for a skyline. it is in no way associated with it, according to Nissan. It's just their brand of supercar, the GTR. Not skyline, NOT R35.

Nissan never said it was "in no way associated with" the Skyline any more. It's built on the Skyline's Advanced Front Midship architecture, has an interior that's largely based on the Skyline's, has an exterior that can obviously trace lines to the same generation Skylines, has an engine that, like all GT-R's before it, is a twin turbo-charged and upped-displacement version of a Skyline engine... And I've never heard a Nissan engineer or development person talk about the new GT-R not being related to the skyline. There's plenty of marketing horseturds that have been flung around about the fact that the GT-R isn't supposed to be a Skyline because it doesn't have Skyline in the name, but reality is reality, marketing is something else.

[On_Her_Face]

This is not an R35. Nissan does not want people to mistake the GTR for a skyline. it is in no way associated with it, according to Nissan. It's just their brand of supercar, the GTR. Not skyline, NOT R35.

The 2009 Nissan GT-R supercar, formerly known as Skyline, is here. Build a GT-R, view specs, photos, and learn about the making of this legendary sports car ...

It may not be called a Skyline but it is basically a Skyline.