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Nissan Purposely Inflates GT-R HP On Press Test Cars? Or Did They?

Agent001 submitted on 8/20/2008 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 10:41:38 PM

42 user comments | Category: Spy News | Source: | SOURCE: www.caranddriver.com

It wouldn’t be hard for Nissan engineers, we surmised, to crank up the boost and thus jack up horsepower that would result in astonishing track numbers in American car-magazine tests.

We called Nissan, and the company says the first four cars we tested were early-build versions that received regular engine-computer software updates, which may account for the varied results we recorded. We then wondered which engine-computer calibration was the one real-world GT-R buyers would receive.

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Nissan Purposely Inflates GT-R HP On Press Test Cars? Or Did They?

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FWD Torque Steer. Absolute proof the Devil exists.
— Agent001 (View Profile)

User Comments

I don't care if the Corvette Z06 did 0 to 60 in 5 seconds I would take the Vette.

I want to look sexy in my car.

I don't want to look like a clam in it's shell like the Nissan does.
— EL34 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2008 11:17:19 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -26

FOR OTHERS MAYBE.

YOU'LL ONLY LOOKS LIKE A RETARD, EVEN IN ENZO.
— dlin (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 12:43:11 AM | | Votes: 9

He'd only be sexy if he drives a hot pink piece, of whatever you call it, made of used toilet papers!
— Gaybear (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 3:06:31 AM | | Votes: 1

I kinda agree, well except the part about looking sexy in a car. Nothing for sale could do that for me, I'm one ugly mofo. The corvette looks like a sports car, the GTR looks almost to brutal to be a sports car.
— johnnyb (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 1:30:25 PM | | Votes: 0

Don't be mad at me because Nissan designed an ugly car.
— EL34 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 10:38:08 PM | | Votes: -1

this is absurd. German cars (cough BMW) always underreport their HP ratings. God forbid Nissan does it. Wtf is everyone's problem? You should be glad you have more HP than promised. Go ahead, test the 100th nissan gtr and i bet it will be the same times. Retarded topic and post, I'm apalled.
— Fan1234 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 12:06:41 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 15

I think you're missing the point here. Read the 2nd paragraph of the story...
— t_bone (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 12:41:44 AM | | Votes: 0

Yea...what teabone said!
— SHOWTIME (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 10:23:36 AM | | Votes: 0

the GT-R is a legendary car that has a successful history and a bright future so there is no match between the Godzilla and a car that has been made by an almost brooked company " GM " so there is no way to scale the GT-R and an American econoboost claimed supercar with free snakes mounted in the dashboard and the doors that rattles when u drive.
— fatboi (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 12:26:54 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3

They are not far from broke. About 3-4 weeks ago, the chairman said in a statement that they have till about april 09 before the company went bankrupt at the current rate of spend and sales. For a company that size that is way too close to bankrupt. To compare, toyota could live on its cash at the current rate of spend and sales for I believe the report said 2 years. In the Auto industry, 9 months is not much time to turn a company around. 2 years is plenty of time. Nissan did it in 2 years. Chrysler did it in the 80's in two years.
— montyz81 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 11:04:23 AM | | Votes: 3

So this is when the fan boy trolls come out. Now I know.
— 91z4me (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 12:29:36 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -5

A RETARD MAGAZINE.
— dlin (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 12:54:02 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1

agree.
— Brembo (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 8:40:34 AM | | Votes: 1

mabe you should all read this first.
http://cba-r35.blogspot.com/2008/08/car-and-driver-print-blasphemous-fud.html

looks like car and driver is badge dependent and bad jerno's.
— mindlessoath (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 1:34:51 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3

sounds like that blog writer just graduated 5th grade after three years of trying.
— pcar4evr (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 9:50:58 AM | | Votes: 0

each GT-R engine is also hand built. this could explain the difference between each time test
— KZ258 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 3:50:19 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3

many supercars are hand built and they all come around the same numbers...Nissan engineers are probally trying to out do each other... My friend has a GTR which the punka$$ wont let me drive it, but when we had it on the Dyno it actually came up a little higher then Nissan said so...customers are getting a little more then want they thought I see no problem in this...and even if they get a little lower then want they were told....the car is still a beast on the street
— 350zdon17 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 5:39:53 PM | | Votes: 2

Maybe this nissan gt-r has only 12% loss and 480 engine hp . Only way to be absolutely sure is take out engine and measure only engine .
— abcd (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 6:21:56 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

BTW. I`m not an expert but really striking me for is why drivetrain losses are measured in percents of engine hp . This isn`t logical . For me logical is that every car ( and gt-r ) has some amount of horsepower ( torque in function of revs )loss through drivetrain , no percent on it engine horsepower . So gt-r has probably about 60 hp loss through drivetrain . If someone would lower nissan gt-r engine to 200hp ( let say by software modifications which should be easy ) it will also has 60 hp losses ( which is 30% from 200hp ) , not 20% or 10% or 12% of it 200 engine horsepower , friction and inertion of nissan gt-r drivetrain ( and every other car ) are constant , friction and inertia losses don`t depend from engine power but from drivetrain used by some specific car . So percent of engine horsepower isn`t good unit to measure drivetrain loss . I`m really surprized that nobody else noticed this logical fact , especially auto journalists .
— abcd (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 7:08:37 AM | | Votes: 0

What?!??
— Need4Speed (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 9:03:29 AM | | Votes: 2

abcd, I completely agree with what you're saying...I've always wondered about that myself...cuz then a Buggati has 200hp drivetrain loss and that doesn't make sense to me...
— SHOWTIME (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 10:31:17 AM | | Votes: 4

Yes SHOWTIME another good example , I wouldn`t be surprised if bugatti veyron is making more than 900 wheel hp from it 1001 hp engine . 60 horsepower loss is of course at about 6500rpm ( where is max power ) . What you exacly lose is some amount of torque across the revs . Inertia of the drivetrain elements is constant while friction may be dependent from engine and wheel revs and inertia and friction of drivetrain not depend from torque produced by engine . To move a car engine have to produce more force ( torque ) than a force of friction at drivetrain that it constant in specific conditions and isn`t always 20% of applied torque or 20% of max torque whatever you want . What I have on mind about this 200hp is that if you connect nissan gt-r drivetrain to 200hp engine drivetrain losses will remain about the same as with 480 hp engine , they will not change to 20% of 200hp , every drivetrain has some specific losses , not directly connected to engine max hp .

Summary : drivetrain losses SHOULDN`T be measured in percents of engine max hp .
— abcd (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 2:40:34 PM | | Votes: 0

The summary couldn't have been stated any better.
— SHOWTIME (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 3:26:53 PM | | Votes: 1

Top Gear J. Clarkson mentions that the GT-R is hand built so the hp will vary slightly between cars.

Sounds logically. But then again I just like to listen his opinions.
— Brembo (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 8:43:11 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5

Only a select few engineers are allowed to build each GTR engine in a "clean room". To me thats amazing. For the price we pay, Nissan has to be losing money on the newly designed "Godzilla". And whens the last time anyone talked about Nissan so much? This is what they wanted. I see people walk in Nissan showrooms to look at the new GTR and walk out with a new Nissan! All things considered they could've asked for a few more dollars and the public still would have forked out the dollars. Simply put, this may seem a boy racer, to a few of you. But Nissan had a little more in mind than satisfied video game junkies.
— drake0707 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 10:17:34 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 6

imo the gtr on the racetrack is awsome. the numbers dont lie and every driver that drives it raves about it but it looks horrible and i have an infiniti g so dont say i am a bmw lover or something. I know if i am spending 80k on a car i dont want it to look like a lancer or i just left fast and the furious. by the way next car will be either audi or bmw i am totally unbiased i had 2 acuras now the g but its time for a german car
— markanthony0419 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 10:33:35 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1

The title is almost the direct opposite of the main article. They claim Nissan underestimates the HP figures.
— tkindred (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 10:40:12 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3

Aston Martin DBS bursts into flames at 88mph, or does it?

What the crap is with articles like this????
— answer (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 10:45:20 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

I don't get the negativity with this article. They are simply investigating something that has been somewhat suspicious with the GTR. I thought it was interesting. And who in the world would think its a bad thing that any factory is under estimating hp. I would be estatic knowing the performance car I bought actually had more hp than I expected, and its certainly better than over stating the hp.

And as far as the 480 hp rating, I think you would have to be pretty naive to think that the GTR could achieve its lofty numbers with "only 480 hp". 520 sounds more like it. I think it just adds to its mystique.
— golfer38 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 11:08:05 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 6

Love that pic!
— AmazonPrinceIS350 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 3:02:20 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3

Does it matter how much HP it has? It still kicks ass...
— ThierryHenry14 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 4:27:53 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3

Hey just think of this as early christmas present from Nissan :) With hand built engines and hand assembled gearbox, chassis, drivetrain etc, by 14 highly specialized "Ninjas", this car should be a lot more expensive to begin with anyways.
— sector (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2008 9:18:46 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

I from experience can say that the numbers on some of the GT-R's aren't accurate and in fact pack more horsepower than they state. An acquaintance has one of these bad boys and he took me for a spin on the interstate and then we went to have it dyno'd. It was well over 500 horsepower (504hp) to be specific. It really makes me wonder the credibility of the people at Nissan.

Great car though but if their lying about their numbers then I lost a lot of respect for the people who made GODZILLA. The guy with the GT-R still prefers his 911 Turbo. He said as good as the GT-R is it's doesn't match Porsche in build quality and driver feedback. I do agree with him on that but it is a great car nevertheless. Great bang for buck value. Nissan is after all an economy brand. I think for the numbers this car does and the amount of hp they packed in a TT V6 it's pretty economical.
— Agent63 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/22/2008 7:25:35 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3

I really surprised like easy peoples are saying that they are liars with this horsepower when there isn`t any proof becouse "There's no really accurate way to get engine horsepower from a chassis dyno," like wrote car&driver 4 years earlier :

[Quote]
"There's no really accurate way to get engine horsepower from a chassis dyno," says Matt Harwood, marketing coordinator for Mustang Dynamometer, a major supplier of chassis dynos in Twinsburg, Ohio. Some tuners use the so-called 15/20 rule, which assumes a 15-percent driveline loss for manual transmissions and 20 percent for automatics. But, says Harwood, "I've seen losses as high as 35 percent." So unless it's printed in the brochure or was measured on a true engine dyno or by a tuner with tons of experience with your particular brand of car, any flywheel horsepower number quoted by a hot rodder under the shade tree is most likely just a calculated guess.
[/Quote]

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/is_your_dyno_lying_tech_stuff
— abcd (View Profile)

Posted on 8/22/2008 1:05:33 PM | | Votes: 0

But even if it has this 500 hp ( 3800Ib ) , their track times are incredibly fast : faster than pure sport porsche carrera gt ( >600hp ; 3000Ib ) on top gear track or on nurburgring . While it`s still every day car , I think this is pretty amazing .
— abcd (View Profile)

Posted on 8/22/2008 1:15:37 PM | | Votes: 0

That further puts questions on the actual numbers then. Perhaps the dyno is wrong and the hp is even more than what it reads out. You're right, there is no true accurate way of determining horsepower but the 500 hp (3800lb) vs 600 hp (3000lb) and the heavier car still wins there is already something fishy about that.

Anyways regardless of what I said the GT-R and the CGT are great cars respectively. GT-R for the bang for buck value and CGT for the prestige, purist sound, and experience. Seriously can't go wrong. There's a car for everyones budget.
— Agent63 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/22/2008 2:51:07 PM | | Votes: 2

All that matters is what they are actually delivering to customers now. Is it the 11.6 sec or the 12.4 sec car?
— pcar4evr (View Profile)

Posted on 8/22/2008 5:09:53 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

Im sick and tired of all the fanboys and the name calling of each other, feel free to cut and paste this post to where all the asain vs european debates go with out end. FIRST everyone has their favorite car brand or type that is their opinion. Even a car with a 0 to 10 in 10 seconds can be a favorite because it saves them gas in times of high gas prices. SECOND the price of a car does not inheritly make it better or worse than others however obviously higher price cars usually are with higher quality materials as the company can afford to do that knowing that people WILL buy that car even at a seemingly outrageous price, however that does not mean seemingly low priced cars are pieces of trash. In fact they maybe highly relyable, good on gas, and fun to drive. Just dont expect ebony and ivory interiors and 0 to 60 in 3 seconds. THIRD the "Tuner" mindset versus the "Non-Tuner" mind set. This is general and not always the case but nevertheless: tuners like to take their cars upgrade them and beat faster more expensive cars. NOTE: People with europeans cars can be tuners too. Their ability to beat cars many times their value sometimes overboosts their ego. Non-tuners people who own cars that do not need to be upgraded (although its possible and some do) These cars are exotics, luxury and otherwise rare or hard to find cars. They can beat many other cars right out of the "box" without any modication and have high quality material as well. However they usually also have a high price tag. The people who own these cars have money obviously but that doesnt make them stuck up, snotty, etc. There is a certain prestige about owning these cars and they could care less if some passed them on the street because usually they can "own" them on the track. There is a price to pay for prestige however, their ability to afford these cars can sometimes overboost their ego.

I am a tuner, and yes i have been guilty of having bias at times, against the multi-million dollars cars, but just because i cant afford them doesnt make them bad. So no more bias and no more bull, deboost me if you will to -100 i dont care and i wont make fun of you for it. Yes i am NismoNate a Nissan fan but NOT A FANBOY. If this comment doesnt prove it nothing will.
— NismoNate (View Profile)

Posted on 8/23/2008 4:43:17 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

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Nissan Purposely Inflates GT-R HP On Press Test Cars? Or Did They?

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