2009 Nissan GT-R

In 2001, two years after the demise of the Skyline GT-R R34, rumors began to surface across the globe of a new GT-R being developed by Nissan's top engineers. As information of the new GT-R began to slowly trickle in (mostly rumors) the initial reports weren't looking promising. Immediately brought to attention was that the once proud Skyline name longtime associated with the GT-R family was rumored to be non-existent on the new R35. Would the removal of the "Skyline" badge spell disaster for the next generation or perhaps invoke a less performance-orientated vehicle? While rumors continued at a frenzied pace as Nissan kept tight-lipped on the development, another surprise twist began to spread of Nissan planning the use of a naturally aspirated 3.0L engine with an automatic transmission brought a sense of frustration among hard-core GT-R fans. And, who could blame them? The once proud Skyline owners and hard-core fans who relished the GT-R's monarchy within motorsports were stabbed in the heart by a shocking vision that Nissan relented to the pressures of the economy and developed a car that stressed comfort over performance. The new GT-R was looking less appealing with every rumor that spread.

The R34, known to be the last of the great GT-R family, paid a fitting tribute to the GT-R's 15-year dominance, winning numerous victories in the racing scene. The deadly combination of the RB26DETT engine, AWD platform and ATTESA E-TS Pro setup proved superior among Skyline owners and a virtual nightmare among those who dared to cross its path. In a fitting tribute to the R34, NISMO and Nissan developed the final production R34, known as the NISMO R34 GT-R Z-tune. The vehicle emerged in 2000 and was limited in production with only 20 produced in the world. Known as the cream of the crop within the GT-R family, the R34 GT-R Z-tune developed 500 hp from the factory and was brazenly dubbed "the strongest road-going car in the world." The vehicle enjoyed a short stint of fame before finally being put to sleep by Nissan-forever lost in the books of automotive history.

On Oct. 24 2007, all rumors were finally put to rest as Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. announced the launch of the new GT-R. Powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6, 473bhp and 434lb-ft of torque, a rear-mounted twin-clutch transmission, Brembo brakes, Bilstein suspension, sticky tires and that it's going to be released in the US sometime next year. You've been bombarded with pictures, websites, articles and videos. No doubt, just 28 pages ago in this very magazine, you read that it'll sprint from zero to 60mph in 3.5 seconds and run the quarter in the 11s. But how will the GT-R fare when it goes on sale and the aftermarket gets its hands on it?

Engine
The recipe for Nissan's flagship supercar starts with the engine, the VR38DETT. According to GT-R chief vehicle engineer, Kazutoshi Mizuno, there are three conditions for a vehicle to be considered a modern supercar: a power-to-weight ratio close to 8lb/hp, a 186mph top speed and a Nrburgring lap time below eight minutes.

Naturally, horsepower is a necessary requirement and the GT-R comes on strong with two IHI turbochargers, connected to an all-new 3.8-liter V6 engine. According to Hiroyuki Ichikawa (from Nissan's Powertrain Engineering Division), the all-aluminum VR38 is based loosely on the VQ-series, but is different in almost every way. The casting is completely new, and the fully closed-deck unit uses plasma-coated cylinder bores to balance strength and weight. The VR uses twin throttle bodies ( la VQ35HR) and a single mass airflow sensor to meter air, which should help keep things simple on the ECU tuning side. What won't help is the drive-by-wire system controlling both throttle bodies.

The VR38 also uses a magnesium oil pan, which holds GT-R-specific Mobil One 0W-40 oil and Nissan's new wet/dry sump oiling system. Ichikawa tells us a dry sump-style oil pump, bolted inside the oil pan, sucks hot oil from each turbocharger and then, instead of feeding into a reservoir, spits the oil directly onto the standard wet sump oil pickup. From there, oil is pushed through an external cooler kit and then through the engine. The system has proved itself capable of maintaining proper oil pressure at up to 1.6g, according to Ichikawa-although he had no comment on its ability to fit onto a VQ35 engine.

The turbochargers' turbine housings are, unfortunately, cast as one piece, with the exhaust manifolds for each bank. The turbos use proprietary bolt-on housings to connect to the air intake tubing and to twin front-mounted air-to-air intercoolers. They're fairly small snails and the runners in each exhaust manifold are also quite tiny. Surely a compromise for throttle response and lag, this integrated system means that the only option for an upgraded turbocharger would be a complete replacement of the entire twin-turbo system. No, that's not going to be cheap at all.

However, the twin intercoolers should be kept on all bolt-on equipped GT-Rs, as it will be fairly difficult to fabricate any tubing shorter or smoother within the tight confines of the GT-R's engine bay. Replacing some rubber factory connectors with hard piping could be good insurance at higher boost levels, though.

From the turbos, each downpipe snakes under the car, joins into a single pipe after the close-coupled catalytic converters and resonators, then splits again into the twin-exit, quad-tipped exhaust. Precious pounds can easily be shaved here. And power gained-from going to a larger-diameter, lightweight single exhaust system made of thin-walled stainless steel or titanium.

Boost controllers, exhausts, air intakes and even turbo kits should be no problem, but if you're going to attempt anything beyond a bolt-on part, be careful who you choose to build your engine. Each VR38DETT will be hand-assembled by a single technician in an engine clean room, to exacting tolerances that will be easier to corrupt than improve upon.

Transmission
One of the biggest problems with engine tuning on the new GT-R is the GR6-typedual-clutch transmission. The transmission is rear-mounted, right under the back seats. Torque is transferred to the transmission via a carbon fiber driveshaft and then front torque is sent back up using another driveshaft. Besides all-wheel drive, VDC-R stability/traction control is also on board to assist even the crappiest of drivers.

First, third and fifth gears utilize one clutch, while second, fourth and sixth utilize another. Upshifts can be cracked off in 0.2 seconds in R mode-using steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters-and downshifts come with an automatic rev-matching blip of the throttle. There are even selectable driving modes, which will change shift rate, plus a fully automatic mode for all the Starbucks-swilling types.

It's a brilliant system when paired with a stock engine, but start making 700hp and things could get a little wacky. The GR6's programming looks at throttle position, vehicle speed, redline and other data based on a factory car's output. Modifying the engine will undoubtedly affect the shifting point, slip and firmness of the clutch activation. The GR6's programming will need to be altered to enable a higher clamping load to handle greater torque numbers. And this isn't even considering how much power each clutch pack is rated for. Aftermarket tuners, such as Jim Wolf Technology, will surely sit down with the car soon and figure out how to crack and re-program the GR6. This is important, because there is no true manual transmission offered.

Chassis
Kei Miyata, Project Management Group No.2 (i.e. the brake, subframe and suspension engineer), developed the front double-wishbone and rear multi-link suspension. Although racecar design cues, such as using the rear-mounted transmission as a stressed member, were not considered, the GT-R does make use of pillowball bushings on some of the inner arm mounting points. Miyata also designed the GT-R with aluminum suspension arms and an X-braced front subframe.

However, swapping out the rear anti-roll bar would be our first modification. The solid rear unit (which we estimate to be around 14mm) should be dumped for more tail-out action, as Miyata admitted that the car was designed to lean more toward understeer at the limit. Blame that on the general public, who Nissan knows will surely wrap a few 473hp GT-Rs around light poles.

The DampTronic suspension, developed with Bilstein, is electronically controlled with three selectable settings (comfort, normal and R). The dampers are adjustable in real-time-even when in motion-and work by using solenoids hidden inside the inverted monotube damper piston. The solenoids vary the size of the bypass in the piston, adjusting the flow of shock fluid and thus the firmness of the damper valving. The system has been carefully set up by Bilstein and Nissan, but still has to make compromises in terms of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). Our first experiment would be to swap in a set of stiffer springs and drive in R mode all the time, then see what difference a corner-balanced coilover suspension would make.

Brakes
To a brake geek, the R35 is a dream come true. Working with Brembo, Nissan has deployed 15-inch two-piece brake rotors all around, along with six-piston front and four-piston rear fixed calipers. The brake calipers are forged monoblock gems and feature carefully staggered pistons, which have drilled-out heads to help reduce heat transfer from the pads. The rear uses an integrated drum brake and all four rotors employ a staggered pillar vane system within the rotor to create high-pressure turbulence that sucks out air from the center of the hat through the rotor.

With a weight of 3836 pounds, the GT-R is not light by any means and it needs all the heat dissipation it can get on the track. A good set of pads, higher-temp brake fluid and some stainless steel braided brake lines are all the GT-R's brakes are going to need to handle most any race track. To the first person who figures out how to adapt these to a 350Z-please write and let us know.

Interior
If you've ever run across a JDM head unit here in the States, then you know the obscure frequency range is only good for Spanish radio. So don't expect the Carwings navigation system to come over with the GT-R. We'll have a Bose unit instead. What you can expect is the multi-function meter display system. This is an in-car, seven-inch LCD screen that can function as numerous gauges, like the HKS CAMP system. Developed with Polyphony Digital (of Gran Turismo fame) and Xanavi (sponsor of the Nismo Super GT Z), the monitor can display water temp, boost pressure, oil pressure, transmission temp, speed, brake pressure, throttle position, steering angle, g-force and other parameters, using a combination of graphs, charts, and displays. According to Nissan, it's designed to aid you in becoming a better driver. But all we know is that you won't need to buy another aftermarket gauge again. This means less clutter. And honestly, the GT-R has more than enough switches, dials and buttons already.



Wheels & Tires
For the GT-R to reach its 188mph top speed, a suitable tire had to be on board. The standard run-flat, nitrogen-filled Bridgestone Potenza RE070 and the optional Dunlop SP Sport 600 DSST all-season run-flat tire will be available-with no spare in sight. The tires are sized 255/40/20 up front and 285/35/20 in the rear. The tires can go 50 miles at 50mph with a puncture and are designed to give the GT-R a reported 0.99g of lateral grip. We're interested in seeing if a lightweight 18- or 19-inch wheel can cover the monstrous Brembo brakes.



Aerodynamics
High-speed stability was also high on the GT-R engineering team's list. And the car spent lots of time in the wind tunnel as a result. The R35 features sculpted ducting to fully shroud and feed the intercoolers and oil cooler, and the slippery body shape has a drag coefficient of only 0.27. The GT-R also uses a flat undertray, made of alternating pieces of polypropylene and carbon fiber, which feed a rear carbon fiber diffuser. The undertray also has aerodynamic ducts which help scoop air up and out of the rear to cool the transmission. According to Nissan engineers, the front splitter is good for 309 pounds of downforce (or reduction in lift, however you want to see it) at 186mph, while the rear wing is good for 220 pounds, and the rear diffuser 110 pounds.

Carbon fiber is used extensively in the undertray for its combination of heat resistance, low weight and high strength.

The new R35 Nissan GT-R is a supercar in every facet, from manufacturing to design to performance. According to Manaki Iwamoto, general manager of Nismo Corporate Planning & Communications, Nismo has already begun R&D on the GT-R and will soon release a host of parts. He admits the car will show relatively smaller performance gains from light aftermarket tuning than a Sentra, but the new GT-R will be a potent and fast machine, especially when tuned without compromise. We can't wait to see.

Boost controllers, exhausts, air intakes and even turbo kits should be no problem, but if you're going to attempt anything beyond a bolt-on part, be careful who you choose to build your engine. Each VR38DETT will be hand-assembled by a single technician, to excating tolerances that will be easier to corrupt than improve upon.

2009 Nissan GT-R
Estimated Price: TBD
Car Spec

Engine
Engine Code: VR38DETT
Type: V6, aluminum block and heads, twin-turbocharged and intercooled
Valvetrain: DOHC, four valves per cylinder, variable intake valve timing
Displacement: 3799cc
Bore x Stroke: 95.5 mm x 88.4 mm
Compression Ratio: 9.0:1
Claimed Crank Hp: 473hp @ 6400rpm
Claimed Crank Torque: 434lb-ft @ 3200-5200rpm
Redline: 7000rpm

Drivetrain
Layout: Longitudinal front-mid engine, all-wheel drive
Transmission: Six-speed GR6 dual-clutchGear Ratios
1: 4.056
2: 2.301
3: 1.595
4: 1.248
5: 1.001
6: 0.796
Final drive: 3.700

Chassis
Chassis Code: CBA-R35
Exterior dimensions
Curb Weight: 3836 lbs
Overall Length: 183.3 in.
Wheelbase: 109.4 in.
Overall Width: 74.6 in.
Track F/R: 62.6 in./63.0 in.
Height: 53.9 in.

Suspension
Front: Double wishbone, inverted electronically adjustable monotube, forged aluminum control arms, pillowball inner lower arm bushings, anti-roll bar
Rear: Multi-link, inverted electronically adjustable monotube, forged aluminum suspension arms, pillowball inner arm bushings, anti-roll bar

Brakes
Front: 15-in. two-piece floating rotors, six-piston fixed monoblock calipers
Rear: 15-in. two-piece floating rotors, four-piston fixed monoblock calipersElectronic driving aids/inhibitors: ABS, EBD, VDC-R (switchable)

Wheels And Tires
Wheels: 20x9.5 (F), 20x10.5 (R), forged aluminum
Tires: 255/40/20 (F), 285/35/20 (R), Bridgestone RE070A (summer) or optional Dunlop (all-season)