How Fun Can It Go?

[70RTY]

I think a test drive is probably on the cards. I am the type of person who often goes for a drive just for fun. It may be that in these circumstances on winding, country roads that the GTR would more than make up for any lack of thrill from driving around town.

[NickR33]

omg... seriously... a car that pulls from down low with as much torque as the 35 is totally useable on the street... you can access the performance in nearly any gear from very low revs (so I'm told)... you guys should try driving a GTR with nothing under 4000rpm and getting dragged off at the lights by grannies cos you don't want to launch the thing at 8000rpm

I don't get it, your complaining because its too fast and competent... if the thing was slower and looser it would never have received as much media as it did and you probably wouldn't have bought one in the first place

[Gibbo_R35]

I don't get it, your complaining because its too fast and competent... if the thing was slower and looser it would never have received as much media as it did and you probably wouldn't have bought one in the first place

I think you are misreading...there are no complaints, just feedback to a member who is looking at changing from a BM to R35. The brutal performance is the exact reason why I bought this car. The same performance is the reason I would not try navigating through heavy or moderate traffic at speed.

The car is competetnt at speed, on a track etc, however put it on a congested street with incompetent drivers everywhere and you will spend most of your time watching out for them and not enjoying the car for what it can do.

[Zoggy]

I know were your comming from 70RTY, my father has a z4 m and everytime he lets me take it out i come back crying from happiness. The GTR is insanly fast but it will take you 2-4 seconds to hit street legal speeds.

[NickR33]

I dare say that would be the case with most performance cars... the BM included... I just don't see why the 35 would be any more of a waste in traffic than most other 100K+ supercars... I see a heap of Porsches being dribbled around town by gray haired blokes... do they consider it a waste?

I dunno, I have never been in a 35 so I'm purely speculating... but all the hype I've heard is how good they are to live with day to day + their on track performance... a feat which many cars of this bracket struggle with... as Snowy stated, its a better package than the R8 which has been reviewed positively by every journo who has sat behind the wheel

hell with the amount of traffic on the road these days anything with a motor bigger than 2L is being driven well below its capacity 90% of the time

I do understand what your getting at though, wind out second gear in my car and don't even consider grabbing 3rd or you are breaking every speed limit in the country... I think the 35 would be a damn site better as a daily proposition than heavily modded 32,33,34 GTR's that give similar performance (in a straight line at least) and be just as much fun, if not more

just my 2c

[Beer Baron]

70RTY you have raised a very valid point and one that not many people thing of. you are right. the car is so fast that you cannot enjoy it's flat out acceleration for any length of time.

in the beemer you may be able to accelerate for 4 seconds from 20kmh without breaking the limit, in the GTR with all the torque and the perfect DSG shift flat acceleration for more than than about 3 seconds from any rolling speed and you will be breaking the law in any state in aus. accelerate for say 6 seconds straight and you are looking at a big fine.

I too thought about this. after driving the GTR for a few days and enjoying it I drove an E92 M3 for a while. it felt like it had all of about 40hp (despite the 420hp claim) and needed the nuts revved off it to go fast, but it sounded great, and being able to wind it up through the gears without hitting stupid speed was good fun. I wouldn't say MORE fun. Just DIFFERENT fun. just the sheer acceleration force of the GTR is entertaining enough though. they are an amazing car, and so much fun on track. Same thing with the aston V8 vantage, not super quick in a straight line, but sounded great and was still enjoyable. so different things make different cars fun. but the GTR is still a great road car. I don't think you would regret buying it.

[70RTY]

70RTY you have raised a very valid point and one that not many people thing of. you are right. the car is so fast that you cannot enjoy it's flat out acceleration for any length of time.

in the beemer you may be able to accelerate for 4 seconds from 20kmh without breaking the limit, in the GTR with all the torque and the perfect DSG shift flat acceleration for more than than about 3 seconds from any rolling speed and you will be breaking the law in any state in aus. accelerate for say 6 seconds straight and you are looking at a big fine.

I too thought about this. after driving the GTR for a few days and enjoying it I drove an E92 M3 for a while. it felt like it had all of about 40hp (despite the 420hp claim) and needed the nuts revved off it to go fast, but it sounded great, and being able to wind it up through the gears without hitting stupid speed was good fun. I wouldn't say MORE fun. Just DIFFERENT fun. just the sheer acceleration force of the GTR is entertaining enough though. they are an amazing car, and so much fun on track. Same thing with the aston V8 vantage, not super quick in a straight line, but sounded great and was still enjoyable. so different things make different cars fun. but the GTR is still a great road car. I don't think you would regret buying it.

Thanks Beer Baron, I think you have summed up the sitation quite well. However I don't think you have made the decision any easier!

[Snowman]

Spending $800 and 15mins of your time fixes the sound issue in the R35's though!

eg - http://videos.streetfire.net/video/GTR-R35...e-vs_185167.htm (good comparison between stock v midpipe swap)

or - http://www.viddler.com/explore/GTRBlog/videos/63/

[Beer Baron]

Spending $800 and 15mins of your time fixes the sound issue in the R35's though!

eg - http://videos.streetfire.net/video/GTR-R35...e-vs_185167.htm (good comparison between stock v midpipe swap)

or - http://www.viddler.com/explore/GTRBlog/videos/63/

agreed! the mid pipe like what snowman has should be a compulsory mod to any and all R35 GTRs. it improves the sound greatly, takes no time to fit, costs less than $1K and I would say improves the performance a bit too. It gives the car a great 'warbley' V6 engine note. like a hot alfa V6 or something.

[sh@un]

GT-R's exemplify Angel/Devil cars (all of them, even the second gen cars)

To elaborate: They all feel much better when having their arses caned, but you're always stuck in an internal struggle between giving into the shoulder-devil and indulging the need for speed or listening to shoulder-Angel and being law-abiding 'camry-spec' driver.

[Martin Donnon]

Don't you just hate when the curling tongs get jammed under the brake pedal! (they don't come off my back seat though because there isn't one) It's sooo annoying!

I don't entirely disagree with your point about the Getz. I would use the Golf GTi as an example of a car that is by no means fast but is a very rewarding car to drive at road legal speeds.

Look, I must admit I would not mind giving up my daily R35 GTR for a Z4...as long as I could get the bag and shoes to match

Null comparison fellas.....

[scathing]

I would actually disagree here

...I came out of a chipped 335 (Manual) into the GTR, for every day driving the 335 was more fun...

That being said, I love driving the GTR every day, but the thrill of this car is lost to a large degree in auto mode, but it can without a doubt be used as an everyday driver, you just have to be very careful.

The original question isn't if the car can be used as a daily, but whether its much "fun" at nominally road legal speeds.

The second and third lines I quoted are basically agreeing with me on the "fun" factor, and the rest is talking about its daily drivability (which was never in question).

occasionally it frustrates me to drive at 15pct throttle opening @ 120kph (in 6th gear)

What kind of car were you driving prior to the GT-R, where you needed lots of throttle to maintain 120km/hr in top gear? I'd hazard to guess that most cars with a half decent engine and gearing don't need more than 15-20% throttle to cruise at 120km/hr.

What I'm saying is that if you're "frustrated with any car where you have to use so little throttle to maintain cruising speed", you're not going to be satisfied with anything more than a Kei type car.

[70RTY]

Look, I must admit I would not mind giving up my daily R35 GTR for a Z4...as long as I could get the bag and shoes to match

Null comparison fellas.....

Don't worry you can get them for your GTR too!

[Wild Thing]

Spending $800 and 15mins of your time fixes the sound issue in the R35's though!

eg - http://videos.streetfire.net/video/GTR-R35...e-vs_185167.htm (good comparison between stock v midpipe swap)

or - http://www.viddler.com/explore/GTRBlog/videos/63/

Hi Snowman,

Where would one get this new mid pipe from in Australia...............

BTW pick up my GTR next Wenesday (first nissan for me)

Cheers

Mark

[Snowman]

The Willall Racing one I posted is made locally and it's very good. (I have one)

PM Martin Donnon (he has posted a few spots up in this thread) for details.

[Basti]

hell with the amount of traffic on the road these days anything with a motor bigger than 2L is being driven well below its capacity 90% of the time

just my 2c

RB20

[NickR33]

lol... where's Roy

70RTY: stripper heels FTW!

[Tangles]

keep the bmw and buy a 20k sports bike, ie gsxr1000 or r1.

[NZM.031]

keep the beamer... get an ae86 ... build a tough as nails N/A 4age with flat side carbies.. wring its neck when you want to... drive the beamer when you dont.

the 4age scream at 9000rpm is intoxicating.. and the amount of concentration required to keep the short snappy chassis in line will make you absolutly buggered after a short spurt on a nice twisty road.. its raw, untamed and unassisted... the way a proper car should be.. it requires feeling and and constant observation of the road, the gauges, and the surroundings, you can feel what the tyres and suspension are doing, hear what the engine is doing, and feel when to shift, when to turn, when to brake, when to power on, when to counter steer, etc.. you do that... not a computer.

a tamed lion living in a cage trained to do the same thing every day is no longer a lion and no match for a wild lion living in its natural territory.

an immaculate panda trueno will draw just as much attention and respect as an r35 gtr.

Edited April 17, 2009 by NZM.031

[Gibbo_R35]

the 4age scream at 9000rpm is intoxicating.. and the amount of concentration required to keep the short snappy chassis in line will make you absolutly buggered after a short spurt on a nice twisty road.. its raw, untamed and unassisted... the way a proper car should be.. it requires feeling and and constant observation of the road, the gauges, and the surroundings, you can feel what the tyres and suspension are doing, hear what the engine is doing, and feel when to shift, when to turn, when to brake, when to power on, when to counter steer, etc.. you do that... not a computer.

sounds like a shannons ad.

The Ducati one...she has no readline, you shift by feel.