My11 Impressions

[fungoolie]

Got to drive the new GT-R yesterday at Phillip Island and here are my impressions. I'd love to hear what others thought.

Misuno said he wants to bring the club spec edition to Australia. In Japan it's not much more than a base model at around 10 million yen but they also charge 3 million to prep it and ship it to 5 fixed events a year ready for you to step into and drive..... It's just a normal GT-R with a half cage, slicks, tow hook and 4 point safety harness.

The "up-spec" option to convert your pre 11s to 11s spec is Japan only at this stage.

Interior is very similar and I like the dark satin look of the console and the feel of the new gear shift surround plastic but i prefer the old colour of the steering wheel spokes and honestly overall it's just change for the sake of change to distinguish the different models and not necessarily better.

I'm a bit annoyed they've discontinued the standard model because I'm not one to go and blow $4K on an upgraded stereo and now they've reverted the seats back to plain black sans red inserts ala my standard 09 and made the dunlops standard tyres basically all Nissan have done is come up with an excuse to raise the price by not offering the "budget" model.

Wheels are lighter but harder to clean now...

Blue colour is also a disapointment as I feel it's too dark and a lighter brighter blue would have been better. If I could be bothered cleaning it the new metallic The new metallic Black looks spectacular in the sun but why did they go for the rainbow blue tinged fleck! Take a look at the 03 WRX black with it's gold fleck for an amazing metallic black colour...

Extra power is just noticeable but I really believe most of the improvement in the 0-100 time comes from the launch. I witnessed (and videod) four drag races between 09 and 11 and all the advantage to the 11 came in the lag off the line and the first 20 metres. Once moving the 09 kept up maintaining the gap commendably. (as an aside out of the 4 drags the 09 actually won 2 due to stuff ups by the drivers hence why they reran each of the 2 runs again!) It would be good for Cobb to grab Nissan's settings and see how they go in an 09 transmission.

Couldn't really assess the ride on Phillip Islands amazingly smooth surface....

Steering was meant to be lighter in the new model and maybe it was me comparing well scrubbed and sticky new tyres on the 11s with my Hankook Ventus V12s but when I jumped in my car back at the airport I actually thought my steering was actually lighter....

Understeer is still there in droves especially around Siberia where you were constantly battling to get the nose into the apex and forever waiting for the front to grip. Power out of corners felt exactly the same as the 09.

Front brakes are now 10mm bigger and from the looks of it an upgrade is just a matter of bolting on the bigger rotor, changing the pads (if they are different), and spacing the caliper out by 5 mm. Its definitely the same caliper. I'm not sure if they've gone for a greater swept area width or just increased the rotor diameter to increase it's heat capacity and cooling. Watch this space for the upgrade kits to be coming out of the states very soon. I thought it funny how the guys put out a new and old rotor to compare with a new one and to the naked eye you could not discern any different whatsoever! I was trying to see if the rotor hat was bigger as well as the rotor etc but without any rulers etc it was a waste of time. Not the most effective before/after display!

Overall it wouldn't be enough for me to want to upgrade based on the improvements in the car. If I do it will be a purely financial decision based on my lease and whether it's more economical to trade up or stay with what I have for a bit longer. In other words I could potentially trade up even if the model hadn't been improved but the changes made don't play a significant role in my decision. As far as the performance goes if you were choosing to buy between old or new you could easily gain the performance and braking improvements for a lot less than the increase in price for the new one. In fact if you could snap up an MY10 at a significant discount over the 11 and didn't care about warranty and were prepared to mod immediately I'd personally go down that path if I was buying today.... Of course I have no idea what mods will unleash on the new model...

I didn't come away totally overwhelmed by the new car thinking "wow I have to get me one of those!" Looks wise I think its a tad worse looking personally. Rear is nicer but front not so especially with the LEDs and I do appreciate how those extra lumps on the front bumper corners are there to assist brake cooling etc (up 25% apparently) but couldn't that have been achieved by alternate"styling" means?

I took a few photos of the presentation and will try and upload them when I get the chance....

Edited April 1, 2011 by fungoolie

[domino_z]

i got caught up in the morning with work and missed the bus to PI

ill wait till my dealer has one on demo

great write-up mate, thanks for taking the time, looking forward to seeing those pics

the extra power with a warranty will be a big selling point for alot of people. Even though a cobb e-map will net you same/if not more power

re brakes, i agree there will be a retro kit in time and probably a Nissan one which will start off as Japan only then with the power of the internet become worldwide in days. I put the larger CSL discs on my M3 when they were due (which had a larger hub so purely a heat upgrade) and that was an oem kit which came with a caliper spacer. Simple

re the visual changes, wheels dont concern me as i have aftermarkets, and i hate the latest ebay ricer led strip craze with a passion that id mould/paint over them anyway

as a hobbiest detailer, metallic black is a huge deal killer for me

tbh if i had an 09 i prob would upgrade, not so much for the exterior mods or power increase because like you say you can gain far more power with much less money, but for the satnav, bluetooth, mp3, dvd, higher res screen etc that came with 10 onwards

in for pics of the R36!

Edited April 1, 2011 by domino_z

[1q2w3e4r]

Thank's for the write up, really detailed and good to get your impressions.

Seems like a good improvement over the current car, I don't know that it would sway me to upgrade if I currently had one though.

[iplen]

36..? Not sure there are any believeable 36 photos out there yet, unless there were some mixed in with the M3 ute shots??

[kymbo]

I did the Friday morning and had a ball!!!

I am not sure, but the 11 seemed to have a little more torque than my 10 down low?

Also, the new launch is amazing. In fact I was not ready for it when I let go of the brake pedal and I got a serious case of head spin, followed by a strong desire to vomit. In fact, I felt a bit crook for the rest of the day. Probably fair to say it blew my mind!

The handling seemed slightly more direct and I thought the steering did feel a little lighter, which to be honest I did not like. I prefer weightier feedback for a sense of increased control.

I found the new interior a bit bland with everything being charcoal or black. The brushed alloy and red inserts in my 10 feel more high spec and interesting to look at. Mind you the carbon fibre bits backing the controls and DVD slot looked trick!

Colour wise, my favourite is still the black.

When Mizuno san explained how the extra aero bits (that also incorporate the LED running lights) direct more air to the side of the car instead of over the top, I was impressed when he explained that is creates a venturi affect sucking air out through the rims, increasing vacuum under the bonnet for more down force as well as sucking more cooling air through the intercoolers and radiator. Talk about a subtle change adding up to a lot of stuff.

I thought Mizuno San said the upgrade stuff on the 11's would be available for the 09's and 10's in a few months????

All in all, it was a great day and worth the trip from the Gold Coast!

[bcl]

I also went along on Friday morning, along with other guysfrom Gold Coast, W.A, Adelaide & Sydney, and Melbourne locals.

I don't have an earlier model GTR so can't compare.

I have a couple of F6's that have a lot more power than theGTR, but they are no match for the way that GTR launches, grips, brakes and goes around corners. That was what I was expecting and want in the car, and Icame away very satisfied.

That launch control is something special.

I don't think my wife would have any trouble at all driving the GTR35; it is very easy to drive with very good manners and very sociable.

Compared to other car prices in this country, for what it offers in standard spec is unbeatable.

Meeting Mr Mizuno and listening to the design challenges andvarious improvements was a highlight of the day, and it was good to meet someof the other guys from the forum.

Thanks to Nissan for putting on the day, and it wasextremely enjoyable.

Now just look forward to getting the next car next week.

Brian

Edited April 3, 2011 by bcl