Nissan GT-R's Owner Experience, so far. Summary:
1. To get the advertised 0-60 time acceleration time, you need to use launch control. If you use launch control, you have to turn VDC off. If you turn VDC off, warranty is voided.
2. The tranny costs US $20,000 to replace (about 25% the cost of the new car).
3. If the clutch needs replacement from wear, you need to replace the whole tranny. Cost = 20k.
4. Owners are now questioning the reliability of the tranny.
5. Problem with wheel hop.
My opinion: The car is near 4000 lbs, to be fast, Nissan is throwing power at weight, yet, because the car is a budget car, other components are not beefed up accordingly. All the ink wasted on the GT-R could be summed up in one line: Fast, yes, technologically advanced, yes, but... heavy, ugly (to most normal people), not THAT fast, warranty issue, tranny issue, clutch replacement issue, possible power issue (variations of power rating depending on market and on indiv. cars).
I don't think anyone is denying this car is fast for the money, the issues have been, at what cost, and why the deception about the 7:29 time?
http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=25361&st=400&start=400
....
Here is my gripe.
1. Nissan creates a LC feature and tells journalist testing the car how to use it to get these incredible 0-60 and quarter mile times. Why? Because these numbers are important to consumers. These numbers are use to compare and judge the GT-R to its competitors. Before anyone disagrees with me, ask yourself this question: Would you rather have a mid 11 sec quarter mile car or a low 12 sec quarter mile car. I remember the post when Car and Driver had some slower times and how many were whinning and complaining. I'm not saying these are the only performance numbers that matter, but they do factor in peoples decision in making a purchase. What upset me is the double standard that it OK for LC to be use by journalist to create hype and bragging rights, but if the consumer uses it (within reason, not advocating excessive use), Nissan will not stand behind their product if it breaks. As a consumer, do I feel cheated that I can never occasional use this feature without fear of trashing my tranny? Sadly I do, though not sad enough to sell my car.
2. It seems black box is not being used by Nissan to gather information to make the GT-R a better product , rather its seems its purpose is to deny claims. How many of you owners and potential owners feel comfortable with "Big Brother" recording your driving history and having used against you? I don't consider my driving habits abusive, but then again what is Nissan's definition of abuse? Did they not build this car to perform and if so do they not have a responsibility to make sure components do not fail in competitive driving?
3. Regarding septskyline's situation, if he took delivery in late July and had his tranny gave out in mid Sept, how much abuse could have really done in such a short period of time? Yes you could trash an tranny in a day, but this car has so many safety features I believe that hard to do. Hell if you are in manual mode and are going too slow, the tranny shifts for you to prevent you from frying your clutches. If you believe his story of only doing 20 launches and tranny giving out 2 weeks after his last launch, this should raise some red flags about the durability of the tranny. Look as someone who is no stranger to racing, I understand one has to use some judgment when driving a car to it limits. Metal and materials have limitations and will eventually fail under repeated stress and there is no such thing as an industructable gearbox. Either there is more to septskyline's story or there is a flaw in his tranny or the tranny design. To me however, its too early for a tranny to fail.
As an owner, what would I like to see from Nissan?
1. Acknowledge the existance of LC and its intended use.
2. Don't ban LC from the customer, instead give guidelines for it's use without denying claims if the tranny gives out.
3. If the tranny is truely so weak that it can't handle an occasional LC, fix the problem and pass on that fix at no cost to existing customers. The tranny should have been built strong enough to handle an occasional LC or the option should have never been place on the car and allowed to be used by journalist for publication. I consider this misrepresentation on the true performance of the car if I, the consumer, am not allowed to use LC without affecting my warranty and am unable therefore to obtain similar performance numbers as the publicatons. Granted I could never do the Nurburgring in 7.29, but if I Suzuki was behind the wheel of my car and conditions were ideal, he better come close to that time.
4. Define abuse. The term is very subjective.
5. Don't force me pay $20,000 for failed clutches or buy a whole new tranny if it can be repaired for less.