EVO X GSR Sold.....
Car & Driver, Mitsubishi, and it seems like many others are saying the X gets around a track faster than the IX. It may seem more dull, but legitimate numbers do not lie. Yours are the first that I have seen that have the IX beating the X around a road course. How much experience did your drivers have in the X as opposed to the IX?
1/4 times are one thing, but saying this car is not as "racy" when it gets around the track faster is ludicrous. This is a track car. Remember what Diesel said, "Winning is winning"
1/4 times are one thing, but saying this car is not as "racy" when it gets around the track faster is ludicrous. This is a track car. Remember what Diesel said, "Winning is winning"
I drove an X yesterday and had a 03 evo 8 for 3 years... loved my evo 8, but the evo X felt better .... I didnt push it since it wasnt my car... but it felt very solid and less chintzy than the old cars and it was very nice...
I hate the "its not an evo" thing, it needs to broaden and sell more and sell more regular lancers or else Mistu goes under and there is no evo for any of us...
In 3 years when the evo XI comes out people will bash it too saying its not a real evo and teh evo X was the last real evo....
same as the way everyone was mad there was no new RB26 in the new GTR and the same people who belittle the evo 8 when it 1st came out saying the last real evo was the EVO 6....
next
I hate the "its not an evo" thing, it needs to broaden and sell more and sell more regular lancers or else Mistu goes under and there is no evo for any of us...
In 3 years when the evo XI comes out people will bash it too saying its not a real evo and teh evo X was the last real evo....
same as the way everyone was mad there was no new RB26 in the new GTR and the same people who belittle the evo 8 when it 1st came out saying the last real evo was the EVO 6....
next
Very well said. The sad thing is there will be some uneducated X shoppers that read this "tuner's" post and actually believe this test. 
I think I'll stick to comparisons done by trustworthy sources. So far, Car & Driver, Road & Track, Motor Trend and Edmunds have all proved the X is slower at the drag strip, but faster around certain roadcourses.
- non-biased IX owner
I think I'll stick to comparisons done by trustworthy sources. So far, Car & Driver, Road & Track, Motor Trend and Edmunds have all proved the X is slower at the drag strip, but faster around certain roadcourses.
- non-biased IX owner
I drove an X yesterday and had a 03 evo 8 for 3 years... loved my evo 8, but the evo X felt better .... I didnt push it since it wasnt my car... but it felt very solid and less chintzy than the old cars and it was very nice...
I hate the "its not an evo" thing, it needs to broaden and sell more and sell more regular lancers or else Mistu goes under and there is no evo for any of us...
In 3 years when the evo XI comes out people will bash it too saying its not a real evo and teh evo X was the last real evo....
same as the way everyone was mad there was no new RB26 in the new GTR and the same people who belittle the evo 8 when it 1st came out saying the last real evo was the EVO 6....
next
I hate the "its not an evo" thing, it needs to broaden and sell more and sell more regular lancers or else Mistu goes under and there is no evo for any of us...
In 3 years when the evo XI comes out people will bash it too saying its not a real evo and teh evo X was the last real evo....
same as the way everyone was mad there was no new RB26 in the new GTR and the same people who belittle the evo 8 when it 1st came out saying the last real evo was the EVO 6....
next
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
From: ALABAMA
Thanks for the post. I am a proud owner of a new X. I can honestly say I can post a unbiased opinion here because I have always been a Nissan guy. Along with the X I currently own a 350Z with too many mods to list the big ones are HKS Supercharger and Suspension (coilovers, sways, BBK etc.). I am still in the break in period so I cannot give you any impressions as far as speed but the handling on this car seems to be nothing short of incredible. I am very excited about getting the X. Right off the showroom floor it is a helluva lot more car than my Z was in stock form. I feel like I have started way ahead with the Brembo all around and the racing seats. As far as the times you posted I have quite a few friends with VIIIs and IXs and the 1/4 times you posted are rediculously slow. I have seen stock VIIIs and IXs run mid 13s consistantly.
You posted that money was a issue, that you did not feel like you would get the return. The market on the GTR is going to be very limited with a mere 1200 cars showing up here in the U.S. the first year. I was considering a GTR. I will just post up a few reasons why I did not follow through with the purchase of the GTR.
1. Weight of the car almost 4k pounds
2. Price 80k list with 15-20k mark up by dealers
3. Nissan was caught lying about the NURBURGRING TIMES
4. Cost of maintainence
5. With all the electronics the GTR is virtually un-modable
6. I wanted a car for auto cross and the GTR is clearly not that, more of a big autobahn cruiser.
7. You must keep the GTR 2 years, if you sell it within the 2 year time frame the warranty is void.
If HKS, MINE'S and TOP SECRET are having a hard time even fitting a aftermarket intake that will work. I have serious doubts about anyone else being able to. That being said I dont think your reason in getting rid of the X was monetary, you are fixing to go broke trying to mod the GTR.
The various electronic safeguards that Nissan has built into the all-new R35 GT-R are, by now, well known. From its location-specific speed limiter to it's integral turbinehousings/exhaust manifolds, the GT-R looks like a pretty tough nut to crack in terms of modification, but according to Motor Trend, Nissan's restrictions even extend to that most fundamental of modifications: aftermarket wheels.
That's right. Thanks to the GT-R's tyre pressure monitoring system, you can't fit a set of aftermarket rims to the R35 without the ECU having a hissy fit and throwing an error code. Whether the error code engages some kind of "safe" tune (bad)or simply lights up the "Check Engine" light (not so bad) isn't clear, but considering that wheels used to be one of the easiest - and common - things to change isn't going to make the tuner community very happy.
That being said, the R35 racing prototype that was spotted after the last Nismo Festival had a set of TE37s on it (below), so whacking on some new rollers probably doesn't make the ECU completely **** itself. And anyway, MCR have already put four Enkei GTC01s on their GT-R and they race the thing, so we're betting it makes no difference to the rest of the car. Except for that warning light, of course.
As for the speed limiter, yes it'll let you unleash the GT-R's full potential if the GPS detects you're at a bona-fide racetrack, but once the track day is over you need to return the car to Nissan and fork over $1000 for a safety check, with failure to do so resulting in the car's warranty being voided. Harsh.
Replacing the air filter element is possible, however replacing the airbox with a pod-style filter apparently makes the engine run like a dog. Exhaust modifications are possible though, with Mine's proving that some ponies can be freed up with a new set of pipes (below). Mine's have also released their own VX-ROM ECU tune for the R35, with the factory speed and boost limiters being removed
Oh, and as for those turbos, the only way you'll be able to replace them is to wait for somebody to release a stand-alone manifold for the VR38. Don't hold your breath.
Nissan's anti-tuning measures sure are draconian and to be honest, a bit of a slap in the face for the tuner community that more or less built up the GT-R legend. It might seem bad for the enthusiasts, but remember: when there's a will, there's a way, and companies like Mine's, Top Secret and HKS are showing that they've got plenty of the former.
It just seems to me it would be easier to get power out of a X with less money spent and greater return on your investment due to the number of EVOLUTION Xs in the marketplace.
Its all about the numbers ........do the math the X is your better investment.
As it stands right now the best time on the ring for a GTR, one like you buy at the dealer 7:50, a bit slower than the times Nissan was claming with the highly modded GTR on slicks with a pro driver of 7:38 which has been offically DQ'd by NURBURGRING. There are videos of the flying starts and stopping short of the finish line. The GTR that claimed the fast time of 7:38 was not a production model car.
You posted that money was a issue, that you did not feel like you would get the return. The market on the GTR is going to be very limited with a mere 1200 cars showing up here in the U.S. the first year. I was considering a GTR. I will just post up a few reasons why I did not follow through with the purchase of the GTR.
1. Weight of the car almost 4k pounds
2. Price 80k list with 15-20k mark up by dealers
3. Nissan was caught lying about the NURBURGRING TIMES
4. Cost of maintainence
5. With all the electronics the GTR is virtually un-modable
6. I wanted a car for auto cross and the GTR is clearly not that, more of a big autobahn cruiser.
7. You must keep the GTR 2 years, if you sell it within the 2 year time frame the warranty is void.
If HKS, MINE'S and TOP SECRET are having a hard time even fitting a aftermarket intake that will work. I have serious doubts about anyone else being able to. That being said I dont think your reason in getting rid of the X was monetary, you are fixing to go broke trying to mod the GTR.
The various electronic safeguards that Nissan has built into the all-new R35 GT-R are, by now, well known. From its location-specific speed limiter to it's integral turbinehousings/exhaust manifolds, the GT-R looks like a pretty tough nut to crack in terms of modification, but according to Motor Trend, Nissan's restrictions even extend to that most fundamental of modifications: aftermarket wheels.
That's right. Thanks to the GT-R's tyre pressure monitoring system, you can't fit a set of aftermarket rims to the R35 without the ECU having a hissy fit and throwing an error code. Whether the error code engages some kind of "safe" tune (bad)or simply lights up the "Check Engine" light (not so bad) isn't clear, but considering that wheels used to be one of the easiest - and common - things to change isn't going to make the tuner community very happy.
That being said, the R35 racing prototype that was spotted after the last Nismo Festival had a set of TE37s on it (below), so whacking on some new rollers probably doesn't make the ECU completely **** itself. And anyway, MCR have already put four Enkei GTC01s on their GT-R and they race the thing, so we're betting it makes no difference to the rest of the car. Except for that warning light, of course.
As for the speed limiter, yes it'll let you unleash the GT-R's full potential if the GPS detects you're at a bona-fide racetrack, but once the track day is over you need to return the car to Nissan and fork over $1000 for a safety check, with failure to do so resulting in the car's warranty being voided. Harsh.
Replacing the air filter element is possible, however replacing the airbox with a pod-style filter apparently makes the engine run like a dog. Exhaust modifications are possible though, with Mine's proving that some ponies can be freed up with a new set of pipes (below). Mine's have also released their own VX-ROM ECU tune for the R35, with the factory speed and boost limiters being removed
Oh, and as for those turbos, the only way you'll be able to replace them is to wait for somebody to release a stand-alone manifold for the VR38. Don't hold your breath.
Nissan's anti-tuning measures sure are draconian and to be honest, a bit of a slap in the face for the tuner community that more or less built up the GT-R legend. It might seem bad for the enthusiasts, but remember: when there's a will, there's a way, and companies like Mine's, Top Secret and HKS are showing that they've got plenty of the former.
It just seems to me it would be easier to get power out of a X with less money spent and greater return on your investment due to the number of EVOLUTION Xs in the marketplace.
Its all about the numbers ........do the math the X is your better investment.
As it stands right now the best time on the ring for a GTR, one like you buy at the dealer 7:50, a bit slower than the times Nissan was claming with the highly modded GTR on slicks with a pro driver of 7:38 which has been offically DQ'd by NURBURGRING. There are videos of the flying starts and stopping short of the finish line. The GTR that claimed the fast time of 7:38 was not a production model car.
Last edited by Ninja X; Feb 29, 2008 at 04:16 PM.
I drove an X yesterday and had a 03 evo 8 for 3 years... loved my evo 8, but the evo X felt better .... I didnt push it since it wasnt my car... but it felt very solid and less chintzy than the old cars and it was very nice...
I hate the "its not an evo" thing, it needs to broaden and sell more and sell more regular lancers or else Mistu goes under and there is no evo for any of us...
In 3 years when the evo XI comes out people will bash it too saying its not a real evo and teh evo X was the last real evo....
same as the way everyone was mad there was no new RB26 in the new GTR and the same people who belittle the evo 8 when it 1st came out saying the last real evo was the EVO 6....
next
I hate the "its not an evo" thing, it needs to broaden and sell more and sell more regular lancers or else Mistu goes under and there is no evo for any of us...
In 3 years when the evo XI comes out people will bash it too saying its not a real evo and teh evo X was the last real evo....
same as the way everyone was mad there was no new RB26 in the new GTR and the same people who belittle the evo 8 when it 1st came out saying the last real evo was the EVO 6....
next
"The Evo VI has shown us here at SCC how a few choice compromises can make a car that much more fun to motor in. But then again, that's what the aftermarket is for. A new suspension, exhaust system, and alignment can do wonders for the rawness of an Evo IX. We can't wait to see what will become of the Evo X..."
first, i want to thank you for your review. i'm sure that the reactions you've (OP) gathered so far are no surprise.
second, i wonder if you didn't sell the car prematurely. i remember when my 9 MR was stock. and now that i happen to be one of the suspension, alignment, exhaust guys i really think these few choice modifications really added a whole lot of raw to the car. so, do you think that 1200 miles is enough to really learn the nuance of a whole new platform? i wonder what the same mods on a X would accomplish.
and don't get me wrong - if you honestly think yes, youve figured out the nuance of the X and feel that it has less potential, then i can accept that. i'm so torn between keeping the 9 MR and trading her in for a X...
Last edited by CleverUserName; Feb 29, 2008 at 04:55 PM.
It seems to me that if the car is this 'bad' when brand new that there will be no shortage of people that will need to mod the X's to keep up.
I wonder if perhaps the real reason your dumping the X is that the competition from other shops has shown great numbers and your worried that you are incapable of matching their gains.
With the disparity shown in track times it looks like you are comparing cars from diferent categories. Are you sure that your X didnt have a mechanical issue or bad tire ?
I think perhaps you should consider another car other than the GTR , that is if your going to be a tuner. It will be nice for you to park it in your driveway but if you cant r/d a 33k car that is produced in 4500 units/year your in big trouble on an 80K car thats produced in 1500...
Good luck, Thanks for posting numbers.....
I wonder if perhaps the real reason your dumping the X is that the competition from other shops has shown great numbers and your worried that you are incapable of matching their gains.
With the disparity shown in track times it looks like you are comparing cars from diferent categories. Are you sure that your X didnt have a mechanical issue or bad tire ?
I think perhaps you should consider another car other than the GTR , that is if your going to be a tuner. It will be nice for you to park it in your driveway but if you cant r/d a 33k car that is produced in 4500 units/year your in big trouble on an 80K car thats produced in 1500...
Good luck, Thanks for posting numbers.....
It seems to me that if the car is this 'bad' when brand new that there will be no shortage of people that will need to mod the X's to keep up.
I wonder if perhaps the real reason your dumping the X is that the competition from other shops has shown great numbers and your worried that you are incapable of matching their gains.
With the disparity shown in track times it looks like you are comparing cars from diferent categories. Are you sure that your X didnt have a mechanical issue or bad tire ?
I think perhaps you should consider another car other than the GTR , that is if your going to be a tuner. It will be nice for you to park it in your driveway but if you cant r/d a 33k car that is produced in 4500 units/year your in big trouble on an 80K car thats produced in 1500...
Good luck, Thanks for posting numbers.....
I wonder if perhaps the real reason your dumping the X is that the competition from other shops has shown great numbers and your worried that you are incapable of matching their gains.
With the disparity shown in track times it looks like you are comparing cars from diferent categories. Are you sure that your X didnt have a mechanical issue or bad tire ?
I think perhaps you should consider another car other than the GTR , that is if your going to be a tuner. It will be nice for you to park it in your driveway but if you cant r/d a 33k car that is produced in 4500 units/year your in big trouble on an 80K car thats produced in 1500...
Good luck, Thanks for posting numbers.....
I like to look at it this way, I love the fact other vendors make great products in house. Some of the guys they have doing R&D are "one" of kind type dudes.
Instead of fighting the other vendors I choose to support them by selling their products and using my own understanding of the EVO (and other cars/bikes/trucks/) to make my customers happy, while knowing I have great company’s backing up the products that cross my counter.
If you buy a Sony TV, do you go to Sony to buy it? No you go to vendors of Sony who are just as knowledgeable but know Sony would not deal with them if they did not do a good job with their name branding. But why did you not just go to Sony in the first place? Oh because you wanted to save some money on the OPEN market.
So with that said I did not want to sell the X yet, but to be honest with all the separation between the VIII, IX, and X owners I was unsure if the car would be worth what was paid for it later vs. now when the market is hot.
As far as the GT-R goes, it’s just a pure shop/store bling thing. Of course we are going to play with it / mod it (or try) but like us keeping the IX it’s a pillar of the import community.
When we got the IX customers would come in just to check it out, with the X not so much, but the GT-R I even know a lot of you guys (VIII, IX, and X) would come by just to check it out.
Again I do not hate on the X, I am glad the R&D places got their hands on them and are doing great things. Also I do not hate you guys for liking the X; I am just saying it was not for us. I just need to do some test to convince myself of that before I could justify letting it go.
Thank for all your comments + or -
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
From: Metro Detroit
Thanks for the post. I am a proud owner of a new X. I can honestly say I can post a unbiased opinion here because I have always been a Nissan guy. Along with the X I currently own a 350Z with too many mods to list the big ones are HKS Supercharger and Suspension (coilovers, sways, BBK etc.). I am still in the break in period so I cannot give you any impressions as far as speed but the handling on this car seems to be nothing short of incredible. I am very excited about getting the X. Right off the showroom floor it is a helluva lot more car than my Z was in stock form. I feel like I have started way ahead with the Brembo all around and the racing seats. As far as the times you posted I have quite a few friends with VIIIs and IXs and the 1/4 times you posted are rediculously slow. I have seen stock VIIIs and IXs run mid 13s consistantly.
You posted that money was a issue, that you did not feel like you would get the return. The market on the GTR is going to be very limited with a mere 1200 cars showing up here in the U.S. the first year. I was considering a GTR. I will just post up a few reasons why I did not follow through with the purchase of the GTR.
1. Weight of the car almost 4k pounds
2. Price 80k list with 15-20k mark up by dealers
3. Nissan was caught lying about the NURBURGRING TIMES
4. Cost of maintainence
5. With all the electronics the GTR is virtually un-modable
6. I wanted a car for auto cross and the GTR is clearly not that, more of a big autobahn cruiser.
7. You must keep the GTR 2 years, if you sell it within the 2 year time frame the warranty is void.
If HKS, MINE'S and TOP SECRET are having a hard time even fitting a aftermarket intake that will work. I have serious doubts about anyone else being able to. That being said I dont think your reason in getting rid of the X was monetary, you are fixing to go broke trying to mod the GTR.
The various electronic safeguards that Nissan has built into the all-new R35 GT-R are, by now, well known. From its location-specific speed limiter to it's integral turbinehousings/exhaust manifolds, the GT-R looks like a pretty tough nut to crack in terms of modification, but according to Motor Trend, Nissan's restrictions even extend to that most fundamental of modifications: aftermarket wheels.
That's right. Thanks to the GT-R's tyre pressure monitoring system, you can't fit a set of aftermarket rims to the R35 without the ECU having a hissy fit and throwing an error code. Whether the error code engages some kind of "safe" tune (bad)or simply lights up the "Check Engine" light (not so bad) isn't clear, but considering that wheels used to be one of the easiest - and common - things to change isn't going to make the tuner community very happy.
That being said, the R35 racing prototype that was spotted after the last Nismo Festival had a set of TE37s on it (below), so whacking on some new rollers probably doesn't make the ECU completely **** itself. And anyway, MCR have already put four Enkei GTC01s on their GT-R and they race the thing, so we're betting it makes no difference to the rest of the car. Except for that warning light, of course.
As for the speed limiter, yes it'll let you unleash the GT-R's full potential if the GPS detects you're at a bona-fide racetrack, but once the track day is over you need to return the car to Nissan and fork over $1000 for a safety check, with failure to do so resulting in the car's warranty being voided. Harsh.
Replacing the air filter element is possible, however replacing the airbox with a pod-style filter apparently makes the engine run like a dog. Exhaust modifications are possible though, with Mine's proving that some ponies can be freed up with a new set of pipes (below). Mine's have also released their own VX-ROM ECU tune for the R35, with the factory speed and boost limiters being removed
Oh, and as for those turbos, the only way you'll be able to replace them is to wait for somebody to release a stand-alone manifold for the VR38. Don't hold your breath.
Nissan's anti-tuning measures sure are draconian and to be honest, a bit of a slap in the face for the tuner community that more or less built up the GT-R legend. It might seem bad for the enthusiasts, but remember: when there's a will, there's a way, and companies like Mine's, Top Secret and HKS are showing that they've got plenty of the former.
It just seems to me it would be easier to get power out of a X with less money spent and greater return on your investment due to the number of EVOLUTION Xs in the marketplace.
Its all about the numbers ........do the math the X is your better investment.
As it stands right now the best time on the ring for a GTR, one like you buy at the dealer 7:50, a bit slower than the times Nissan was claming with the highly modded GTR on slicks with a pro driver of 7:38 which has been offically DQ'd by NURBURGRING. There are videos of the flying starts and stopping short of the finish line. The GTR that claimed the fast time of 7:38 was not a production model car.
You posted that money was a issue, that you did not feel like you would get the return. The market on the GTR is going to be very limited with a mere 1200 cars showing up here in the U.S. the first year. I was considering a GTR. I will just post up a few reasons why I did not follow through with the purchase of the GTR.
1. Weight of the car almost 4k pounds
2. Price 80k list with 15-20k mark up by dealers
3. Nissan was caught lying about the NURBURGRING TIMES
4. Cost of maintainence
5. With all the electronics the GTR is virtually un-modable
6. I wanted a car for auto cross and the GTR is clearly not that, more of a big autobahn cruiser.
7. You must keep the GTR 2 years, if you sell it within the 2 year time frame the warranty is void.
If HKS, MINE'S and TOP SECRET are having a hard time even fitting a aftermarket intake that will work. I have serious doubts about anyone else being able to. That being said I dont think your reason in getting rid of the X was monetary, you are fixing to go broke trying to mod the GTR.
The various electronic safeguards that Nissan has built into the all-new R35 GT-R are, by now, well known. From its location-specific speed limiter to it's integral turbinehousings/exhaust manifolds, the GT-R looks like a pretty tough nut to crack in terms of modification, but according to Motor Trend, Nissan's restrictions even extend to that most fundamental of modifications: aftermarket wheels.
That's right. Thanks to the GT-R's tyre pressure monitoring system, you can't fit a set of aftermarket rims to the R35 without the ECU having a hissy fit and throwing an error code. Whether the error code engages some kind of "safe" tune (bad)or simply lights up the "Check Engine" light (not so bad) isn't clear, but considering that wheels used to be one of the easiest - and common - things to change isn't going to make the tuner community very happy.
That being said, the R35 racing prototype that was spotted after the last Nismo Festival had a set of TE37s on it (below), so whacking on some new rollers probably doesn't make the ECU completely **** itself. And anyway, MCR have already put four Enkei GTC01s on their GT-R and they race the thing, so we're betting it makes no difference to the rest of the car. Except for that warning light, of course.
As for the speed limiter, yes it'll let you unleash the GT-R's full potential if the GPS detects you're at a bona-fide racetrack, but once the track day is over you need to return the car to Nissan and fork over $1000 for a safety check, with failure to do so resulting in the car's warranty being voided. Harsh.
Replacing the air filter element is possible, however replacing the airbox with a pod-style filter apparently makes the engine run like a dog. Exhaust modifications are possible though, with Mine's proving that some ponies can be freed up with a new set of pipes (below). Mine's have also released their own VX-ROM ECU tune for the R35, with the factory speed and boost limiters being removed
Oh, and as for those turbos, the only way you'll be able to replace them is to wait for somebody to release a stand-alone manifold for the VR38. Don't hold your breath.
Nissan's anti-tuning measures sure are draconian and to be honest, a bit of a slap in the face for the tuner community that more or less built up the GT-R legend. It might seem bad for the enthusiasts, but remember: when there's a will, there's a way, and companies like Mine's, Top Secret and HKS are showing that they've got plenty of the former.
It just seems to me it would be easier to get power out of a X with less money spent and greater return on your investment due to the number of EVOLUTION Xs in the marketplace.
Its all about the numbers ........do the math the X is your better investment.
As it stands right now the best time on the ring for a GTR, one like you buy at the dealer 7:50, a bit slower than the times Nissan was claming with the highly modded GTR on slicks with a pro driver of 7:38 which has been offically DQ'd by NURBURGRING. There are videos of the flying starts and stopping short of the finish line. The GTR that claimed the fast time of 7:38 was not a production model car.
Wow, I must be out of the loop. I used to be somewhat of a Nissan enthusiast too. I've not heard any of this about the GT-R (although, admittedly I have not really read up on it at all). I havent really been hyped up about it at all thought either as the high price and extremely limited numbers kill pretty much any interest I did have in the car, besides the fact the weird styling turns me off. I find it surprising, that Nissan, over such supercar manufacturers like Lambo and Ferrari, would impose so many nannies on it as well. Hmmm....
