Nissan GTR Forum for the R32, R33, R34 and R35 "Godzilla"

My life with the GT-R aka My expensive test drive

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  #256  
Old 01-17-2015 | 11:55 AM
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Here is my write-up from another forum from my 7 day ownership impressions of my 2014 GT-R Premium:

***


The GT-R gets criticized a lot by people cross shopping it for the noises it makes, but this is a bit of a paradox to me since anyone used to living with a modified turbocharged car isn't going to mind these noises. You can hear the rattle of the factory lightweight flywheel, some clunks when you drive the car slowly such as in parking lots, and of course some great turbo noises since I have an aftermarket exhaust. All of the noises are rather endearing to me, as I love turbocharged cars and never had any ambitions of this car acting like a semi-luxury coupe. If I wanted a semi-luxury coupe I would have bought a BMW or Mercedes, or possibly Lexus. I consider the GT-R an entirely different kind of car, even though the price range can be the same.

So, I continue find it fun to read all the 'should I buy a GT-R?' threads on other forums now, as I think they are sometimes missing the point of this car. If you drive it and your first thoughts are "wow, this car is too noisy" or "geez, my Lexus doesn't make sounds like that" I would say it's pretty clear that this may not be the right car for you. Not once have I felt that way, even though I'm using the car as a mostly daily driver. I woudln't come out and say that it's going to win any awards for being a great daily driver by the way, but it has an extensive set of creature comforts and options that make life with it pretty easy overall.

It does have some quirks for sure, but NOTHING that I'd call impossible to deal with or appreciate as a regular car if you have acceptable tolerances. Not only that, but you can modify these things to make them easier to deal with.

-The brakes are loud. Not always, but they make all kinds of noise on a fairly regular basis. My research shows that a simple pad swap will cure this.
-The ride is rough. I mean REALLY rough. I've never owned a car that drove this harsh over bumps, and it has a long wheelbase too. My research shows that the tires are mostly to blame, and I'll change to non run-flats eventually.
-The auto climate control is BIZARRE. It seems to have a mind of its own sometimes and seems hell bent on doing what it wants. I'll spend more time with the owners manual to figure this out. I suspect this is just a user training issue!

Overall I'm really happy with the car, and even happier that some of my friends are now considering them too. Not as primary fun cars, although we know there are plenty of owners like that out there, but as real 'drive to work' cars.
 
  #257  
Old 01-18-2015 | 06:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Steve Theodore
-The brakes are loud. Not always, but they make all kinds of noise on a fairly regular basis. My research shows that a simple pad swap will cure this.
-The ride is rough. I mean REALLY rough. I've never owned a car that drove this harsh over bumps, and it has a long wheelbase too. My research shows that the tires are mostly to blame, and I'll change to non run-flats.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the brakes. Always squealed horribly coming off the highway.

Pretty surprising that you find the ride so rough. Can you imagine, as I indicated, Nissan has progressively made the car softer! And the 14 went softer to the point of slowing the lap times even. It was the ride and noise that were acceptable at the beginning and not even that noticeable on a test drive, but are things that wear on you as you own the car longer term.

Hope it works out well for you. You have a GT3RS, so you obviously know exactly what it's like to drive a race car on the street! Hope you got a bargain on that puppy. I've read of people getting black edition 14 leftovers for $85k.
 
  #258  
Old 01-18-2015 | 07:26 PM
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Originally Posted by ryem3
Oh yeah, I forgot about the brakes. Always squealed horribly coming off the highway.

Pretty surprising that you find the ride so rough. Can you imagine, as I indicated, Nissan has progressively made the car softer! And the 14 went softer to the point of slowing the lap times even. It was the ride and noise that were acceptable at the beginning and not even that noticeable on a test drive, but are things that wear on you as you own the car longer term.

Hope it works out well for you. You have a GT3RS, so you obviously know exactly what it's like to drive a race car on the street! Hope you got a bargain on that puppy. I've read of people getting black edition 14 leftovers for $85k.
I don't know ANYONE who wouldn't find this car a rough rider. It's true Nissan has tweaked them over the years and that the early cars were even rougher, but this is some serious ride stiffness for a car I've chosen to drive daily. I laugh about it more than complain though, as I could have justified a new 2015 if it bothered me too much. I actually dislike buying new cars almost as a rule though (at any price point), so didn't mind buying a year old model with depreciation built in.

I feel the deal I got was compelling enough for me, as I got the deal I wanted locally on a car the color I wanted with a very high-end exhaust already installed. That, and 23 months of existing factory warranty made it somewhat of a no-brainer. I love the car and am learning new things about it all the time.
 
  #259  
Old 01-22-2015 | 03:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Steve Theodore
The GT-R gets criticized a lot by people cross shopping it for the noises it makes, but this is a bit of a paradox to me since anyone used to living with a modified turbocharged car isn't going to mind these noises. You can hear the rattle of the factory lightweight flywheel, some clunks when you drive the car slowly such as in parking lots, and of course some great turbo noises since I have an aftermarket exhaust. All of the noises are rather endearing to me, as I love turbocharged cars and never had any ambitions of this car acting like a semi-luxury coupe. If I wanted a semi-luxury coupe I would have bought a BMW or Mercedes, or possibly Lexus. I consider the GT-R an entirely different kind of car, even though the price range can be the same.

Overall I'm really happy with the car, and even happier that some of my friends are now considering them too. Not as primary fun cars, although we know there are plenty of owners like that out there, but as real 'drive to work' cars.
Well said brother. I was anti-GTR when it was released by now the exact opposite and of course, as you agree, the DBA cars are the way to go. I would not own a CBA.
 
  #260  
Old 02-10-2015 | 01:52 PM
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Originally Posted by porsche911
thank you for the write....

GTR was for a split second on my list to have. But it had to be a DD compatible... I think that is clearly not a case for GTR....
Everyone has their own opinions (or biases, in certain cases) on what's acceptable for a daily driver. In my opinion, the only way you'll truly know if it's right for you is to drive one and see for yourself. I know of many folks who have no issue daily driving their GTR.
 
  #261  
Old 02-10-2015 | 03:59 PM
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I hear the 2015's are more comfortable with less "noises". Can anyone here confirm?

I'm looking for another daily as my M3 comes off lease fairly soon. I've driven '14 and earlier GTRs and those are non-starters.

Thx.
 
  #262  
Old 02-10-2015 | 05:00 PM
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Originally Posted by longboarder
I hear the 2015's are more comfortable with less "noises". Can anyone here confirm?

I'm looking for another daily as my M3 comes off lease fairly soon. I've driven '14 and earlier GTRs and those are non-starters.

Thx.
Not enough difference to make it a starter. If you prefer quiet cars, look elsewhere.

Perhaps check out the M4?
 
  #263  
Old 02-10-2015 | 05:15 PM
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Originally Posted by jaspergtr
Not enough difference to make it a starter. If you prefer quiet cars, look elsewhere.

Perhaps check out the M4?
I did test drive a DCT M4. It was very similar to my 2013 DCT M3 except the motor/sound, which I didn't like as much. But the M4 does top the list currently unless something else in that price range is compelling. There is a Nissan dealer here in SoCal current selling/leasing 2015's for $80K so I figured I would add the GTR to the list, since I've heard the suspension changes made it more comfortable as a daily. I would swap tires right away...the runflats can't be good for comfort or performance. So maybe going with PSS or other softer sidewall tires would make it more comfortable??
 
  #264  
Old 02-10-2015 | 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by longboarder

I did test drive a DCT M4. It was very similar to my 2013 DCT M3 except the motor/sound, which I didn't like as much. But the M4 does top the list currently unless something else in that price range is compelling. There is a Nissan dealer here in SoCal current selling/leasing 2015's for $80K so I figured I would add the GTR to the list, since I've heard the suspension changes made it more comfortable as a daily. I would swap tires right away...the runflats can't be good for comfort or performance. So maybe going with PSS or other softer sidewall tires would make it more comfortable??
I can't comment specifically on the gtr, however replacing the runflats with non-runflats dramatically improved the ride of every car I've owned that came with them.

The difference was not subtle.
 
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Old 02-10-2015 | 07:43 PM
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Originally Posted by longboarder
....the runflats can't be good for comfort or performance...
You will most likely not find a better performing tire. Very few options will net better performance. Usually more comfort = less performance. A softer sidewall will flex more in turns. Some others with softer rubber are good for drag racing, or on dry surfaces. But the OE runflats may be better in cornering, drag runs, and handle well in the rain.
 

Last edited by jaspergtr; 02-10-2015 at 07:46 PM.
  #266  
Old 02-13-2015 | 10:21 AM
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Daily driving mine and bought it about the same time as Steve. He's dead on with his assessment. I knew what I was getting into when I bought it, so that helped, but ride quality on my lowered C6 Z06 was better than my GTR! It was also MUCH quieter. The first thing I did is ordered up 50 sq/ft of sound deadening. I'm pulling the interior out this weekend to install it. It's disappointing to have to modify the car to simply make it more liveable, BUT, the power and control is worth the tradeoff to me. I love it, but I drove several of them before deciding I wanted one, and I fully admit this is not the car for everyone. Good thread!
 
  #267  
Old 02-13-2015 | 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by surfswitch
Daily driving mine and bought it about the same time as Steve. He's dead on with his assessment. I knew what I was getting into when I bought it, so that helped, but ride quality on my lowered C6 Z06 was better than my GTR! It was also MUCH quieter. The first thing I did is ordered up 50 sq/ft of sound deadening. I'm pulling the interior out this weekend to install it. It's disappointing to have to modify the car to simply make it more liveable, BUT, the power and control is worth the tradeoff to me. I love it, but I drove several of them before deciding I wanted one, and I fully admit this is not the car for everyone. Good thread!
Interestingly, the wife and I put a few sheets of sound deadening (when we swapped out the stock subwoofer in the stock location), and found the other speakers sounded a lot better, transmission noise went down a bit, and a tiny amount of road noise was reduced (we didn't do whole floor boards or fenders, so our expectations were exceeded).
 
  #268  
Old 02-13-2015 | 06:40 PM
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Originally Posted by surfswitch
Daily driving mine and bought it about the same time as Steve. He's dead on with his assessment. I knew what I was getting into when I bought it, so that helped, but ride quality on my lowered C6 Z06 was better than my GTR! It was also MUCH quieter. The first thing I did is ordered up 50 sq/ft of sound deadening. I'm pulling the interior out this weekend to install it. It's disappointing to have to modify the car to simply make it more liveable, BUT, the power and control is worth the tradeoff to me. I love it, but I drove several of them before deciding I wanted one, and I fully admit this is not the car for everyone. Good thread!
That was the amazing thing for me - seemed great on the test drive! Jasper, even you loaded down your car with insulation?! These cars are awesome, but quite the compromise.

As jasper said, indeed all those incredible track times were done on run flats. Also of course you've gotta have a contingency for a flat.
 
  #269  
Old 02-13-2015 | 06:53 PM
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Originally Posted by ryem3
That was the amazing thing for me - seemed great on the test drive! Jasper, even you loaded down your car with insulation?! These cars are awesome, but quite the compromise.

As jasper said, indeed all those incredible track times were done on run flats. Also of course you've gotta have a contingency for a flat.
It wasn't much. Just enough to make the speakers sound a LOT better. The car definitely highlights usable performance above all else.
 
  #270  
Old 04-01-2015 | 11:02 PM
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Originally Posted by longboarder
There is a Nissan dealer here in SoCal current selling/leasing 2015's for $80K so I figured I would add the GTR to the list, s


Yet to see a 15 at that price. What dealer?
 


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