Nissan GTR ownership myths dispelled

2009 Nissan GT-R Ownership Myths Dispelled - Car News

There’s no speed limiter, the tires won’t wear out in 3000 miles, and Nissan even picks up some of the service costs.

April 2008

You’ve likely already read the various rumors flying around the Internet about the GT-R’s steep ownership costs; that it has a speed limiter unless you’re at a Nissan-approved track; and that tires can only be replaced four at a time. We heard these things, too, courtesy of a tire supplier to GT-R, so we called up Nissan and got to the bottom of it. Most of the gloom-and-doom hype is unfounded. See below for our questions and Nissan’s responses.

Rumor 1: Nissan’s GPS will only allow full-speed operation in the U.S. at Nissan-approved tracks.

There is no speed limiter on the U.S. spec GT-R unless you count the rev limiter.

Rumor 2: Once a vehicle has been run an approved track, it must be subjected to a post-track safety inspection at a Nissan dealer (brake fluid, suspension, tires, drivetrain, other checks), at an estimated cost of $1,000. Otherwise the warranty is voided.

It is a very good idea to inspect a car of the GT-R’s potential after spending time on a track to verify that everything is still within specifications and not worn. We are investigating offering this type of post-track inspection service to GT-R owners in the U.S. in order to provide the type of customer service some GT-R owners will want. Track use will not void the warranty. However, the warranty will not cover repairs required due to misuse, including operation in violation of applicable laws or racing.

Rumor 3: The vehicle is set up from the factory with suspension settings for track use, with very high negative camber in the front and substantial toe-in at the rear. If the car is driven on the street with the factory settings the tires will only last 3000–5000 miles, and inner tire wear in the front will be substantial within 1000 miles. The settings may be changed from factory settings for street use prior to delivery, however.

The normal front camber setting is just over 1 degree negative. There is a small amount of flexibility in the setting, so if a customer wants to maximize tire wear they can request slightly less negative camber. The rear toe setting is between 1 and 2 mm total toe-in. While these settings are more aggressive than most cars, they are not extreme. The car provides amazing performance and you wouldn’t expect it to behave like a typical car. Driving style and road surfaces will greatly affect tire life, so it is very difficult to estimate. However, the tread life of some of our test tires has exceeded 10,000 miles in typical street driving. Of course, track usage will definitely diminish tire life.

Rumor 4: The brakes are some type of ceramic composite, and a brake job will cost upwards of $3000.

The GT-R brakes use conventional materials. The brakes have full-floating two-piece rotors. The outer rotor is cast iron and the hub or hat is aluminum. The pads are also conventional materials. They are large Brembos—15-inch rotors front and rear, six-piston calipers front and four-piston rear—so they won’t be inexpensive, but they provide phenomenal stopping performance. We don’t expect a 500-hp engine to cost the same as a 300-hp engine, so we wouldn’t expect 500–hp brakes to cost the same as 300-hp brakes. We don’t have final pricing on the parts yet so we can’t say for certain how much they’ll cost.

2009 Nissan GT-R Ownership Myths Dispelled - Other Myths and Concerns

(continued)

Rumor 5: The OE run-flat, vehicle-specific Bridgestone tires, once dismounted, must be discarded. We have not heard if the same requirement applies to the OE Dunlop tires, but that is a reasonable assumption. One of the explanations for this that we’ve heard is that the rims have raised bumps in them at the beads to keep the tire from turning on the rim under acceleration.

Our recommendation is that the GT-R tires not be remounted regardless of brand. The knurled beads do help keep the tires from rotating on the wheels under hard acceleration, but the knurling is primarily there as part of the run-flat system to help keep the tire on the rim in the event of a flat. Remounting the tires is not recommended because of the stretching and flexing necessary to dismount and remount the run flat tires on the wheels.

Rumor 6: If any tire on the all-wheel-drive GT-R needs to be replaced, such as for a road hazard, Nissan requires that all four tires be replaced; otherwise the drivetrain warranty is voided.

Because the GT-R is all-wheel drive, matching tire circumference is critical to the performance of the system. We will be providing guidelines to help determine if only one tire can be replaced or if the entire set should be replaced. If the undamaged tires are showing limited wear, it may be possible to replace only the damaged tire. These guidelines have not been finalized yet.

Rumor 7: Estimated annual service costs for the GT-R are $10,000–$15,000.

Service costs for the GT-R will vary greatly depending on usage so we do not have an estimate of annual service costs. But these estimates seem very high. There are a series of Performance Optimization Services (POS) required for the GT-R. The Performance Optimization Services (POS) are inspections and adjustments (if needed) of three major vehicle performance systems: Engine settings, transmission settings, and wheel alignment. These services are required to keep the car functioning at optimal performance and are done free of charge for the first 36 months. These services are necessary to keep the warranty in full effect for these systems.

The first Performance Optimization Service is performed at 1000 miles. The subsequent services are performed at 12, 24, and 36 months. Additionally, it is recommended these services be continued annually beyond the first three years, but they will be at customer expense.

While this is not a free maintenance program since it doesn’t include oil changes or other maintenance, it should make keep the ownership costs pretty reasonable for such a high-performance car.

Rumor 8: Nissan is struggling with finalizing the full-disclosure form that customers are required to read and sign prior to taking delivery.

We are still finalizing the delivery materials but I wouldn’t characterize it as struggling. The GT-R is unique in offering incredible performance to a very broad range of customers so we want to make sure we provide as much information as possible to the customer at delivery to make sure they have a great ownership experience.

Rumor 9: Only the dealer principal is allowed to sell this vehicle. Salespeople are not allowed to sell it, related to the risk that the salesperson may not properly inform the customer about the details of the full-disclosure documentation.

This is a customer-service issue not a disclosure issue. When choosing to become a Certified GT-R dealer, each dealer agreed to designate the dealer principal, executive manager, or general manager as the dedicated GT-R sales representative. Since the GT-R will attract a unique customer, Nissan decided a dealership executive would be best positioned to present the vehicle and facilitate the transaction most effectively with potential customers. The ownership experience will be critical to the success of the GT-R, and this requirement involves a dealership executive in a face-to-face relationship with the customer. This should be a positive step for customer satisfaction.