SSVI GT-R Exclusive | 1. Acclimation

[Tekknikal]

Adrenaline. That's what I was running on at that point. I was parked in front of some store in some strange town. I was too tired to care. I just needed some time for my mind to catch up and compensate for the mere two hours of sleep I got. It was all finally catching up with me. Not just the two hours of sleep but the emotional roller coaster I had been on for the better part of a decade. I had just taken delivery of a car of epic magnitude. I laid back in the seat and wrapped my hands around the steering wheel, fingers falling onto the cold paddles behind it. It was all worth it. Finally. Strapped to my back was a 2009 Nissan R35 GT-R. And it was mine.

Little did I know what lay ahead: A tour of three states over three amazing weeks. Meeting enthusiasts from all walks of life over two thousand, five hundred and fifty miles. And that was when I wouldn't be ducking from the paparazzi and dodging familiar individuals to maintain secrecy. In that short time I'd be wearing the ERD and STX badges through the streets of Atlanta. Then I'd be battling tropical storm weather and witness 911s retreat as the driving conditions simply became too much for their machines. It would get that serious. In the final leg of my odyssey I would find myself sailing at 130mph; outrunning the stars as they emerged from their hiding places in the heavens.

This is the story of my first three weeks with my GT-R. This is the story of my journey.




It wasn't the amount of activity that had me feeling beaten. It was the car itself. I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't that. The GT-R trained master tech had to take the machine out for a test ride before he could certify it for delivery. The instant we turned down from the dealership and out onto the road, it was obvious that this machine was unlike any other I had driven. I think I spent the whole time disoriented, instinctively looking across the luxuriously stitched dashboard- to the dozen gauges that peered from behind the glass window, glowing in deceptive elegance. I tried to comprehend what I had stepped into. Beyond its size, it's the rigidity that first impresses. It's as if the entire machine was carved from a single block of steel. There appeared to be no flex, no slack.

As we drove, I stared at the settings, we were in comfort mode. How could it behave this way...in comfort mode? I started to wonder what sort of insanity R mode would be like. I stared at the multi function display, which indicated that no boost was being used. While we were going up the road to get the car's first tank of gas, the tech gave it 30% throttle. With no drama the machine pulled forward with a force that started to increase with speed. I started to get sucked back into the seat. Only airplanes do that. I had to laugh....

I remember he commented that the car was healthy. At some point in conversation with me he showed me a little more throttle....

Two minutes in, memories from Japan flooded back....



...This machine is not a toy. It's a weapon, and a sick one at that: It's comfortable. You won't break your back. I suppose that makes sense. Even Glock considers user comfort when they design pistols -even though they know their products will be pointed at other human beings. This though, is disturbing. War has rules...but this rewrites them. We weren't really on the throttle yet and it was obvious: this thing disposes of distance as if speed is nothing other than a number to which it simply adds digits. There's no drama, only results. It's like firing a gun from a bunker that's reinforced by the moon.

Not only is it massively rigid, but also massively stable on the road. It constantly feels as if it has tires that are studded. For the tarmac. I was tempted to get out and verify that there weren't spikes digging into the road as I drove along, throwing large chunks of concrete and asphalt at innocent motorists behind me. It grips that hard...

Once the test was complete I faced the paperwork that Nissan required me to sign. It included a black GT-R folder that contained a four page document outlining that I understood that this car has specific sounds, vibrations, behaviors, and maintenance requirements that are unlike other cars I may have experienced. It explained that these characteristics are in fact normal, and are to be expected of a car of this caliber. Once all the paperwork was complete, I was handed the keys to my new machine. After the sales team left me alone, I took some time in the parking lot to gather my thoughts. During this time I was visited by prov1, a member of the North American GT-R Owners Club, a GT-R enthusiast community I help run.



His car and mine were brothers, having arrived together just days prior. He had already tinted his car, applied a clear bra and installed a radar detector.



We chatted for a bit, talking about the car, the incoming storms, and the paparazzi. We also toured the GT-R facilities at the dealership. After he left, my business was done... and I wasn't sure what to do next. I felt like a pilot who'd gotten his first ride in an F-22 Raptor- and had been in the air all day. I needed to get to my first stop, Atlanta. It would be a two hour drive. So the first thing I did was set up the car. It would be our first real mission together.

Setting up the GT-R involved pairing my cell phone over bluetooth and pushing my contacts to the car's computer. That was fairly straight forward. I then connected my iPod, which at first didn't respond, but after a reset was immediately integrated into the car's audio/video system. OK. Then I tried to setup the navigational system and the telemetry system so I could keep tabs on the car's vitals... but that didn't go so well. Off to the trunk to get the manual. I decided to keep the 200+ page Multi Function Display book up front. Just in case.

It's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information. By default the car has four custom screens and eighteen customizable displays, with each panel starting out blank. As I sat, it was asking me to touch each of them to customize how I wanted the data to be presented. Even though I was very familiar with it already, I had to get the manual to go over it some more, re-familiarizing myself with what I was looking for. Eventually, I would setup my Custom Display with boost, throttle percentage, and torque transfer. After the better part of an hour, I was ready to go. I would have to figure out the nav system en route...



Inside, the cockpit is actually smaller, and more luxurious, than you'd think. In your driving position, there's virtually no legroom for the rear. The front seats move all the way to the rear seat bottoms. Up front in the cabin, anywhere you touch is either leather or metal. Or both. There's leather everywhere, even on the dashboard. A pair of stitches run through the entire cabin, following every seam perfectly. The seats are very small. And although comfortable, not Infiniti-like comfortable. But they aren't meant to be. They hold you tight. The centers of the seats are a synthetic suede and cloth material. It's all a reminder that this car is performance first: Nissan went with this material as opposed to leather to help keep you from sliding out in multi-G turns...



Powering onto the highway, the entire car shrinks around you. At one quarter power the car began to pickup speed quickly, with the engine responding smoothly and efficiently. Even though I still had little experience with the car by that point, I could tell that the steering was direct and very refined. I could feel out the road and also feel the front end biting whenever I turned the wheel.

Before long, I was piling the very first miles onto my GT-R as I headed south toward Atlanta on I-85.



With the sun beginning its descent, the car slipped through the air with an eerie absence of wind noise. Just the electric sound of the engine and the muted roar of the tires could be heard as the car sailed across the asphalt. Inside I was relaxed, enjoying music from home and an excellent air conditioning system. At this point, all I wanted to do was blend into traffic. For the most part it was working, until a Porsche Cayman S pulled up behind me....

At first I thought little of it. But he was persistent, holding off my rear just a few feet away. Irritated, I pulled forward a little. The Cayman responded, clearly investigating his new find. He seemed to want to pressure me to give it more throttle.

Maybe he was confused as to what he was seeing? Or maybe he thought he'd found a new meal for his 300 horsepower motor? Was he aware of what exactly he was baiting? Some cars are animals. The GT-R is an unapologetic killing machine, competitive only with Porsche's finest. As far as Nissan is concerned, the G35 and 350Z are their competitors for the Cayman. No- I didn't want to play. The Cayman did a fast lane change and motored away, rear spoiler cocked in defiance. A fun loving coupe it must be, but carnivorous predator it is not. One day, he will not be so lucky.



With my mind refocused on the cockpit I was still getting used to all the new sights, sounds, and sensations. The telemetry system was completely fluid, drawing gauges continuously, and updating them even if I didn't happen to have them called up. Everything was well integrated also. I got a phone call that muted the sound system and seemed to change the entire car to be a conference room. When I was done with the call, the music came back in. All the while, I was able to switch the display from showing gauges, to the map and the phone call, and back.





It wasn't long before I was in Atlanta. For some reason, the trip back seemed to only be a fraction of the distance of the trip there. I couldn't hide here either. The GT-R is a car that's changed the game. That much I knew. But you can't do that without getting big reactions. I was about to learn that first hand: Minutes after parking and meeting up M3Mike, who I'd be staying with in Atlanta, a Maxima showed up with an owner who was very enthusiastic about seeing his first GT-R. While M3Mike and I chatted, our excited fellow enthusiast jumped from the front to the back of the car- and to the front again, excitedly looking the car over. He said it was the first he'd seen in real life and really loved it. As a fellow Nissan enthusiast I was happy to have been able to show it to him. He asked if I minded taking a picture of him with the car. Little did I realize, the picture I took would spark a heated discussion spanning over 10 pages on a local car enthusiast website that very night.


I learned about it several days later when I answered questions on a Lexus forum about a black GT-R sighting in Atlanta...

This is not a car for those that want to lay low. You'd be surprised how many people know about "the new Nissan" or "the new Skyline". A minivan full of kids followed me for miles to make sure I saw their thumbs up approval of my purchase- all the while camera phones shooting away. People seem to forget themselves when they see it: I happened on a pack of bikers with some very nice bikes. I thought I'd take some pics for the resident bike crew here on StreetSeen. As I drove up, I had forgotten what I was in. I was merely one enthusiast checking out what other enthusiasts had. But out came the camera phones. Due to a lack of space, I parked some distance away and walked back to the bikes. I started taking my pictures.











As I walked off, pictures in camera, one of the same bikers asked me why I was taking pictures, as if he wasn't ok with me taking pictures of them...

The GT-R has more weight and less horsepower than many cars it outperforms - including 911 Turbos, Mercedes McLaren SLRs, Gallardos, Murcielagos, F430s, Corvette Z06s, and a whole host of other cars, many of which are often described as "super". Some say the GT-R is underrated and that Nissan is lying about the 480 horsepower claimed. The truth is, the GT-R exceedingly efficient with it's power. One horsepower in a GT-R is not the same as one horsepower in any other car. So, during break-in, with half of 480hp on tap, you have more than enough to escape traffic. Even fast traffic. On the Atlanta highways, runs well into the triple digits were too easy. It was just a matter of using the throttle for a little longer than otherwise used. More pedal wasn't needed. Even under break-in restrictions the car was clearly more capable than both my G35 and S2000. Short shifting at 3,500 rpm, with only 1/2 power, the pull of the car could really be felt...

A couple nights later M3Mike and I went cruising downtown Atlanta. Mainly, we were out to see the city, but also to put extra miles on the car. Even in the "dirty south", where domestics are massively more popular than imports, the GT-R got massive attention, stopping people mid sentence as it rolled through, even though most had no idea what it was. A 3 series followed for several miles, with an enthusiastic driver asking all about the car - when did I get it? what's it like? how does it feel?

Stopping for some drinks, I came across a new Challenger SRT8, the first I'd seen in real life. It was already tinted. It's owner was very curious as to what I was driving. Being a domestic enthusiast he was largely unaware. We chatted for a moment and took some pics before we parted ways.



I hadn't been to Atlanta in years. Driving down the streets, the GT-R handled the poorer sections of pavement without a problem. It was a great time to break in the transmission.

The rear-mounted Borg Warner GR6 Dual Clutch Transmission is key to the GT-R experience. The transmission works like two manual transmissions put together into one, then actuated by a computer. Even gears are on one shaft while odd gears lie on another.



When you start the car, the transmission is locked while the computer checks it for use. Moments later the driver display indicates the transmission checks out and you can engage it into gear. Sliding from Park to "A", you can hear the transmission grab first gear behind you. As you accelerate, the transmission grabs second quickly, and you can hear and feel its engagement. Third through sixth are much quieter. Apply some gas and before you know it, you're doing 30mph and the car's already in sixth gear. It shifts up with an alarming speed as it works to keep RPMs down to maximize fuel economy. As you come to a stop you can hear and feel the box shifting again. As the blue gear indicator drops from 6 to 5 - 4 -3 -2 -1 you can hear the transmission grab one gear after another. The operation is fairly smooth.

At low speeds the car will creep like a typical automatic. When you're not racing, the transmission control computer (TCU) works overtime to try to figure out what you want it to do. It's helped by the fact that it can grab a gear in advance for you. This enables it to be smoother than conventional manuals - including semi automated manuals from the BMW (SMG) and Ferrari (F1). In the GT-R, easy take offs are actually best done with a firm press of the gas pedal. There's no need to fear that the car will jump forward. It's easy to get right, and you can apply just enough to let the TCU know that you want to move forward fully. The car stops slipping on first gear and will ride forward, first gear fully engaged.

At low speeds the car feels a little out of element. You can hear and feel the differentials and transmission whirring away. Motion-wise it's smooth, but it doesn't feel like it. Above about 10mph everything works together though and the operation becomes far more "normal" and very fluid.

Steering feel in the car is excellent. Like any well sorted sports car, you can feel the activity of the wheels/tires and road under you. Flanking the steering wheel are two massive paddles that are fixed in location but interestingly, help transmit steering feel as well. With your hands on the wheel, fingers on the paddles, you're in full command and can feel everything play out under you.



The paddles offer a surprisingly fast way of getting the car into element. Pull either paddle at absolutely any time, and the car will enter manual mode. From there, you're calling the shots and the engine is directly fixed to the transmission. The speed with which you can enter into battle mode is impressive. Full bore insanity is always a trigger squeeze away. It doesn't matter how fast you're going - or not going. It doesn't even matter if you're in the middle of a turn...



It was after midnight. We crept through the clubbing areas of Atlanta, watching the scene. At 5mph I rolled past a white Lamborghini Gallardo, sitting on some beautiful 20" wheels. I'm not a fan of chrome but the car looked correct. It was a Lambo well done. The driver was speaking with someone by the curb while his lady friend sat in the car. Passing them, we continued to tour the streets at a low speed cruise before entering into a turn lane to make a U Turn to return home. Just then I noticed a pair of headlights, low to the ground, pull up behind me. They looked to be those of a Gallardo.

They were. I made the U Turn. He followed, pressed up close against my rear bumper. I was annoyed. My turn was coming up. He must want to get there before me, I thought. His actions behind me confirmed it, he was working on squeezing out of traffic to pass me. Instantly, I pull the left paddle four times, dropping from sixth to second gear. The GT-R responded immediately, as if it smelled blood in the water. I felt the clutches release and re-engage on each shift. M-mode was being prominently displayed on the blue gear position indicator. The green pre-rev light flashed on the tach. The Gallardo got out from behind, pulling into the lane next to me. With a squeeze of the throttle, I could close the gap to our turn, and nothing he could do could stop that. Sexy though his car is, the GT-R was made to kill it. Doing the math on the distance in my head, I knew R mode wouldn't even be necessary. All I had to do was lower my right foot. The Multi Function display was glowing at my right, showing a boost meter that was ready to swing well past 10psi in under a second. All I needed to do was give the instruction....

But with 300 miles on the Odometer, two black boxes that monitor everything and planned to tattle next week at the 1,000 mile service, and limited road space if something went wrong I thought it would be wise to stand down.

Reluctantly, I did. I stood down from red alert. I let him pass. And it was just as well too. The Gallardo went Wide Open Throttle -as I had anticipated- and immediately merged. I doubt he would have expected me to have been there had I not ceded my position to him. Then we would have had several hundred thousand dollars of metal and composites twisted and spewed across the road.

Exhausted, we called it a night. Or we tried to. As we headed back, we were flagged down by the bouncer of a bowling alley (I know, I guess it's an Atlanta thing) who felt the need to let me know this car was more impressive than any exotic he'd seen. Thanks...

I was still getting accustomed to the attention. And slowly, I was getting acclimated to the GT-R.

Next on the agenda, locating Atlanta car scene...

[twincityfinest]

WOW! good story but most of all, good purchase!!!

[StreetRX7]

+ whats twin said.. I also saw the new camaro's look pretty nice.. not ah domestic fan tho..
Also glad to see it make here on STX safe an sound...

[Tekknikal]

yes, its me. time to come clean
thanks all, for the compliments

to start answering questions-
vizuki, yes 3.8L v6. the rb26 was great but remember we're looking at it 18 years later. that's a long time to tune an engine. its also a long time to develop a new one. cosworth and nissan did the R&D on this one. i am very confident it will be up to the job...

[VIZuki]

I as well think it will be more than up to the job....yeah I kinda new it was TEKK all along just wanted to hear him say it lol....so I take it you've gotten use to the all-wheel drive farely well then huh....I tell you its an amazing thing to feel and have confidence in your car and driving....that tranny is off the hook though...but the solution is right on. Quick question so does this mean the car will be imported back to the states for maint. and what not..cause I have a very good feeling your not letting any old person touch it. Or would a tech have to fly down,which seems more like the norm...

[Tekknikal]

yeah, it was a big secret (wait for pt2 lol) and almost no one knew until the sunday it got here. then of course i started getting lots of calls and texts

anyway yeah by now im getting used to the way the car feels but the stability and traction are still shocking...

as far as maint goes, yes itll be going off island for major maint. otherwise i intend on doing the work myself/with the ERD crew as much as possible, like i did with the g35. i already have the service manual. for basic maint it should be ok...

edit - if the car's launched from a stop it will spin a little in first but in a couple feet its gone

[Duttyman]

Man look at those long stretches of road- that is really sick!

[freddie_vi]

gingle bells... gingle bells santa belly swell....oh what fun it is to ride in a 09 GT-R....

[mitsubishi]

clean ride

[StreetRX7]

Originally Posted by freddie_vi

gingle bells... gingle bells santa belly swell....oh what fun it is to ride in a 09 GT-R....

LUCKY F$%ker ...LOL...^^^^ THATS GREAT...