No problem. Yeah, check out those seats. I swear I test drove the car and didn't notice. After half an hour on my drive home it became apparent.

 

Great read & a lot of good comments from members. I did the same on an early GTR and traded in for 911. I still don't understand why we dish out a lot of money and still have to fix all of the issues on our own on a GTR.

 

I'm on my 4th GT-R. I absolutely love the things. I also love my Porsche. Different strokes....

 

If you didn't like the automatic upshifts, why didn't you just select manual mode?

Wouldn't this go for every single dual clutch car ever made? Not just the GT-R (like the Turbo S, etc...).

Regarding flipping GT-Rs being common. Isn't this common with every car? Based on my experience, the GT3 was flipped quite often, as those who buy one for street use often find out it isn't as comfortable as other 911 trim levels (so often it became a joke here).

It comes down to preference. Even the ride height. The ability to actually see in traffic can be useful for the daily drive. If riding high and being able to see over the Miata in front of you is not your preference, then maybe a lower car like a Ferrari is better suited (as the Porsche rides high in comparison).

And in response to the other comment regarding cost - ever priced a loaded Turbo with all of the amenities that some standard on a GT-R? Take a look at the cost increase.

One thing I do prefer on the Turbo, that the GT-R does not offer is a more luxurious interior. But that were the case, cost would go up. So it comes down to preference. The Turbo can do almost everything the GT-R can, but possibly more comfortably (if enough options are placed on it).

The key here is that there is a variety of manufacturers, preferences, etc...

Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

WOW! I couldn’t disagree with you more.

I have owned my 2010 GT-R for almost 3 years now and it's in my top 5 cars I have owned. I have owned many many high end cars over the years.

My car has 17k miles and NO rattles BTW.

I test drove 3 different 997.1 and .2 turbo’ s and just don't like the car. The suspension is way too soft in all modes.

The cabin is too small. There is no place to comfortably rest your right arm and your left is crammed. I’m 6 feet and 185 pounds. Foot space is limited as well.

The 997.1's seemed SUPER slow. A GOOD 6mph slower in the 1/4 mile over a stock 2012+ GT-R.

I love the hard edged nature of the GT-R. The 911TT’s seem soft and boaty. The steering is not as tight and reactive.

I also manage 15.5 MPG in my GT-R and that's with my tune. I get 20mph on the highway going 85mph. It will get 28mpg going 65mph. I have no idea what was going on with your car in that regard. It’s not normal.

The tire noise is non-existent with regular NRFT's. I have PS2's and they are silent.

The seat's break in over time. You just need to give it time.

I owned a 996 for three years and liked it. People change. 911’s don’t do it for me anymore.

 

It's all about preference. People place priority and have preferences on different things.

I agree that the seats to give a little after a while, while remaining supportive. I like the way it holds me, rather than a 'Vette.

 

Thanks for the positive comments. I hoped to compile some info that took me a long time to find, so that others can make informed an informed decision before getting a GTR. For me, it was a very expensive test drive. To offer some clarifications:

NAGTROC - I joined and was on there most of the time. This forum unfortunately does not have enough traffic about the GTR. Now GTRLife, on there you'll find the thread about the seats. Break in? My car had 7000 miles and was a year old? I drove it 1000 miles. That seat was not breaking in, unless you need to be 250 lbs to break it in! Note that there must be a big difference between the BE Recaros and the standard seats. Perhaps the standard seats are fine.

Jasper, appreciate your comments. I only note that I drove the car in manual almost all the time. The auto reference was only to point out the drone. Because the thing goes into top gear at 34 mph, not sure who would drive it in auto because the exhaust drones like crazy at that speed and engine RPM.

Car flipping. Indeed people also flip GT3s!!! When I was searching perhaps a year ago, there were many more 2010 GT3s for sale than 2010 turbos, even though there must have been more turbos made than GT3's. Why? Of course because people love the way the GT3 looks, but the car is probably miserable on the street! Much as I found the GTR. The GTR is great on paper, but is difficult to live with as a daily. And, like the GT3, if you own the car to drive once a week or at the track, both the GTR and the GT3 would be awesome cars to own.

A 997.1 TT seemed SLOW? Jasper probably captured it well "the Turbo can do almost everything the GTR can, but possibly more comfortably". I really found that to be true. But hey, a TT is 50% more money - it is not a fair comparison. For as much as the GTR costs, it is an incredible car.

IloveSpeed - I'm sure you're right about going to Michelins. That would have been my next move. Seemed easy enough. What killed me was the price of 20's and tires. Every decent set was $5000 plus. I just bought used forged one piece wheels for the TT with tires for $3000. Add to that, I found a lot of people on GTRLife were a bunch of lowballers. I tried to sell something and got ridiculous offers for months. Really turned me off.

On mileage, not sure how you were getting 15-20 mpg, but I was nowhere close. Sure, in top gear on the highway in eco mode the mileage was decent, but in eco mode the boost is so retarded that you can hardly pass anyone! You need to turn it off at the slightest challenge. Anyway, not to dispute anything. That was my experience, you're mileage may vary! One might also consider my mileage and consider if I'm a real soft*ss in respect to the ride!

Comparing rides with the TT. I will also agree that the TT ride is not perfect. On normal mode, the front end is way too mushy. But the car is not mushy in every setting (drive one again!). In the sport mode the car is way too stiff! I'm inclined to get Bilsteins eventually, because the PASM is just not set right. This is a well known issue. I hate the floaty normal mode, but the Sport mode is way too stiff. On the GTR, as I described, the shocks don't seem tight enough and the stiff springs just bounce the car around. With the shocks on Race mode, the car is stiffer, but the shocks seem more coordinated with the springs. In the end, I drove the car mostly in Race mode because the car seemed tuned overall for that setting. When Nissan indicated the '12 had a better comfort mode, I'm not sure what they were talking about, I didn't drive any older cars. IloveSpeed, I'm curious what suspension mode you are using on the GTR.

I did like the GTR ride height, very similar to an M3. It does feel less sporty though. The 911 is an odd shape, but it has the best visibility of any low sports car out there. While low, it has so much visibility, it is really a great design. Anyway, riding high was fine with me, the GTR was lightening quick.

 

What are you talking about? GTRLife gets GOB's of traffic. Over half a million uniques a month. Almost every single topic regarding the GT-R has been brought up a few times including the BE seats being tight. I guess you don't know how to search.

My MPG of 15.5 overall with very little highway miles is the same as most other GT-R's. Getting 19-21mpg on the highway is 100% normal for these cars even with a tune. Every GT-R owner I know locally (15+) have similar overall MPG figures.

Your jab's toward the GT-R and GTRlife are not subtle BTW.

Glad you like your older 911TT I hope you stay happy with it.

 

I think he meant, GTRLife (NAGTROC) has a lot of GT-R traffic, whereas this forum (6speed) has considerably less.

I average 14mpg total (length of ownership). 20-22mpg at highway speeds, 4-8mpg at a track weekend. And I accelerate quickly from just about every light I've ever stopped at for almost 5 years.

 

Precisely. Appreciate you chiming in. Your mileage sounds a lot like mine. Very few comments on mileage, so I thought I would share my experience.
True enough, my GTR ownership was a painful experience. Just hoping others go in with the right expectations.
As a resource, GTRLife was very good. I've appreciated the views and input on 6speed a lot more though.

 

I think the issue was that you bought a USED GT-R with unknown modifications.
The way you are describing the exhaust drone, there has to be some kind of aftermarket exhaust on it, such as a midpipe.

I've only logged about 1300 miles on my '13 so far, but a lot of it was highway. There is no drone in this car. It is way too quiet from the factory. Stock G37s and 370Zs have louder exhausts in my opinion!

Same with the suspension. Mine is very compliant, especially on Comfort mode. Whose to say your car didn't have aftermarket springs?

If possible, I would try to find a new GT-R to test drive such as a '13 that's still on the lot or at an exotic car rental place to compare.

 

Glad you are enjoying yours. I bought a '12 GTR knowing that the car was completely stock. The '13s did improve the comfort mode some more in addition to the bump in power. Sorry, but perhaps you are confusing me with someone that has never bought a car before or modded one. Ive modded many. It's pretty easy to tell springs by ride height, first of all. I agree, the exhaust is too quiet. The car is so loud inside that you cant even hear it in the car! At about 2k rpm in top gear you don't have any drone? Thats great, maybe they improved that too. Run the car in top gear at 35 mph and tell me the exhaust doesnt drone. Hopefully they retuned the exhaust, entirely possible, plus the change of hp could have completely changed the exhaust note. Try the suspension in Race mode, I found it a much better match for the springs and the ride was actually better.

 

I think the ultimate difference is that the turbo is a GT. The suspension is a bit softer and it's meant to be usable as a daily driver. Proof of this comes from the underwhelming lap times that the 997.1 turbo posted in the lightning lap. While Nissan benchmarked the turbo's performance when developing the car, the GTR is more of a pure no compromise harder edged sports car akin to the GT3. That said, it's a lot more livable as a DD than previous generations of the GT3...which is lower, a real handful on the street, and has a ridiculously stiff clutch pedal. I have no problems driving my GTR any day...it's actually easier to drive daily than my Vantage was. The turbo is much softer, and to say that the 997.1 turbo's suspension is more sorted out than the GTR is a pretty silly statement.

Regarding the seats, your problem may be specific to the black edition seats. I have a premium model and I have no problems fitting in the seats even though I outweigh you by a good 50 lbs.

I have the stock wheels on mine and really like them. When the original tires were done, I switched to PSS which were cheaper and a bit quieter. Any performance tire in 20" size for any car is going to cost at least $1500. I just replaced the runflats on my X5 for $1800 and those aren't really performance tires, so in comparison the stock GTR tires really aren't unusually expensive.

The drone you experiment definitely isn't normal. The car is pretty quiet in stock form, and I have a midpipe in mine with no drone. As others said, I suspect you got a used car with a bad midpipe and that is why you had a drone.

My mileage has been very good...can range from 15-30 depending on how I drive. But it's a sports car, so what do you expect? The mileage is vastly better than my previous X5M (13mpg) or Vantage (14mpg). I probably average 17-18. I always drive in manual mode. I learned the first day that the auto mode setting are way too conservative and put you in 6th gear at 30 mph. I did drive a 997.1 turbo previously and was going to buy one before getting my Vantage, but the car has horrendous turbo lag. I think they sorted a lot of the problems out with the 997.2 turbo and the addition of PDK.

 

Tahoe, thanks for the comments. I think we are really on the same page. To benefit others, a few clarifications:
Agree with your characterization that the GTR is a hard edged sports car. I can double check, but I don't think I ever suggested the tt's suspension is "more sorted". I know I mentioned the front is too mushy on normal and too hard on sport. The damptronics is a great solution, which I will probably move to in the end. Agree that the tt is more if a gt in stock form.

Yes, I think the be seats are the issue. Just met a guy with the "special edition" '14. He complained that his legs were numb after driving even short distances because the seat bolsters were too tight! Perhaps the premium seats are the best...

Agree that the 20's are just expensive. Just telling my personal nightmare getting tires mounted and the associated costs. Just to compare, new Pilot Super Sports for a turbo are $1300 a set.

I think I've definitely over emphasized the drone issue. It was a stock exhaust. In auto, let the car shift to 6th at 30 mph. What does it sound like? Granted, I never drive the car in auto either. Just making a point on the sounds.

All mileage will vary and driving on the highway makes a HUGE difference. The tt will get 25 mpg cruising in 6th. At least the gtr has a big tank. The m3 was much worse; the low fuel light comes on after you use 12 gal!

Agree about the turbo lag too. But it is a rush when it comes on! I thought the gtr was similar. Compared to an m3, at least the power comes on at 3k rpm! Very useful and tons of torque. The gtr power delivery was really much better than a tt's. Of course that is without a tune. Driving in sport mode reduces a lot of the lag though and boost comes on much sooner. Ever drive your gtr in eco mode? Talk about lag.

 

I don't understand this. If somebody wanted to increase fuel mileage, isn't it understood that there is a trade-off?

I mean, that personal choice is made the second that button is selected, no?

But an economy button in a 550HP sports car seems like an oxymoron. That's one of lame 'upgrades' that took place since the first version...