wow the gtr is 800 pounds heavier than the ZO6 and still is dead even, could you imagine if the weight was the same

 

One thing you have to remember is that you can't really go all out in a Z06 with street tires. You will light them up all day long. Can't really hammer it through turns either. Only straights.

 

Get your stats right. The Z06 outperforms, out brakes and out prices the GT-R...

 

Hence the huge 5-sec difference

Kudos to Nissan. They built a track beast.

 

Actually, the gearing on the Porsche and the GTR are perfectly fine and well matched, the gearing on the z06 is perhaps the one that is abnormally tall.

Carlos

 

its a 3800# car, what did you expect?

 

Initial overseas reports had it trapping at or just over 120, so 116 and change is slower than what i thought.

 

The Z06 only trapped 123 in this test. Had to do with the test location/conditions.

 

the gtr has runflats, not too sure about the porsche though.

 

Guys

First off this test was done at Buttonwillow on config 13. This track is short and narrow by track standards and also has a lot of short twisties in it that highly favors awd cars like Evo, Sti and of course the new GT-R. The other thing is do you think that a Nissan driver like Steve Millien who has done countless laps in the GT-R could just jump into a Porsche 997TT or the even the more difficult to get used to rwd Z06 and drive either of those two cars to their potenial. I doubt it.

BTW I'm getting a GT-R as many already know so in some ways I'm excited about the results but I think Nissan picked a track they were well aware of that would give the GT-R a big advantage over the other 2 cars right from the get go.


I want to see a test on a long/ big track like Willow springs or at Laguna Seca because the 1:56 the GT-R ran at Buttonwillow would equate to running 1.28's on the big track at Willow or 1.37's at Laguna.... It would kind of be unrealistic numbers for an almost 4000lb car on street radial tires to post those times on a big track. I also want to see if the 997TT and the GT-R develop heat soak which almost always happens on a FI car in a long race. It is a known fact they loose power. FI cars are better suited for races like Time Attack for example.


The GT-R, Z06 and Porsche 997TT should all be tested on the same rated tires IMO to get real world track results. For example Z06's post more than 5 sec faster on almost any track with just putting a set of R comps on them and they always easliy out run the 997TT on equal tires in fact they beat the even better handling GT3 so I'm not calling BS on this test but I will say it was set up for the results/track times that we see in this test. Oh and I'm not looking at 0-60, 1/4 mile or skid pad numbers. The GT-R has the best set of shoes on from the factory out of the three thats for sure but hey thats not their fault.

I can confirm how cra** those Goodyear Run Flats are on the Z06. They should have offered R comps as an option IMO.

The GT-R must truly must be the best handling overweight car in the world because it keeps defying the laws of HP vs Weight and if as these months go by and we see more tests with lap times matching these I will truly be in awe of what Nissan has delivered to our shores and what will be sitting in my driveway soon.


I'm stoked the Porsche and the Z 06 have some competition...it's a win win for all but I'm not waving the checkerd flag up just yet on this comparision until I see a real world tests on a track that doesn't favor one brand so heavily over the others.

JMHO

 

Millen raced for Nissan back in the 90s. I doubt he's driven a GTR before this. Furthermore, the Nissan he raced was a 300zx GTS class IMSA car. Guess what, high powered and RWD. Hmm... kinda like a Z06? Oh, and he WORKED for GM before he raced with Nissan. He's also raced in Porsche's, Jags, and a few other makes. EVERY review of the GTR vs. other cars shows it being a much easier car to drive fast.

On a bigger track with huge straights, the Z06 will make up ground. It's obvious it has the straight line advantage, it has a much better power:weight ratio. 7.2 mph greater trap speed in the 1/4 is huge. The performance of the cars at Buttonwillow just shows how much better the GTR handles.

I think the GTR will still beat the Z06 at Laguna. They'd have to go to a track with big straights for the Z06 to catch up. So maybe Car and Drivers Lightning Lap at Road America will have different results (where the Z06 beat the 911 Turbo by ~ 5 seconds I think).

 

Some good points!

From what I have heard/read over on the GT-R and USGTROC forms I think that Steve has put a lot more seat time in the GT-R than you stated. I still think if he hasn't spent some serious seat time in the other 2 cars and BTW the 90's was a while ago, but I don't know what he has or has not driven lately since I don't walk in his shoes. So lets leave that one alone for now.

Like I said I won't wave the checkerd flag until some more tests are done. You could be right on Laguna but if the Z06 is running R comps I would take a wager on that one!

I would love to see the new 08 Viper in the mix as well just for the hell of it.

We are living in a golden age of performace cars for sure to be talking about factory cars laying down times like these on street tires.

 

I have been compiling a vast amount of data before, dring and after the release of this test. Additionally I have been surfing the GTR forum, the Porsche forum and the Z06 forums.

At this point I am not a true believer yet. I share the common thought of "something is missing", "something does not add up", "something does not make sense"

Just to give you an intro on my research, just look at some of the Porsche turbo VS Z06 times:

Lighting lap z06 2.58.2 sec Porsche 911 Turbo(AWD) 3.05.08
Papenburg(Germany) Z06 1.15.85 sec Porsche 1.17.55 sec
Mantorp Park (Sweeden) Z06 1.27.5 Porsche 1.30.1sec
Hockenheim Z06 1.11.6 Porsche Turbo 1.11.9sec


I could go on and on but the Porsche is technically as capable as the GTR, both AWD, porsche weight less. Porsche has generations of AWD plataforms tested in real circuit and gazillion hours of racing in major events with many championships in their shelves.

People in different forums keep thinking that the bubble is about to explode and we will know if the GTR is a true beast or it is all a hype. We need a few (at least 2 or 3 more tests) to really make a final fair comparisson. So far the GTR has been very promising but now we see that in the braking department the GTR has competition and in the acceleration department it gets edged by others.



Carlos

 

The STI is also technically as capable as the Evo. It can be argued even more so since it has a more RWD bias. Yet, the Evo more often than not beats out the STI. You can't just look at the generic 'spec' sheet and determine which car is better. Heck, just a rear bump steer correction kit and trailing arm bushings make a significant change in the handling of the Evo; you won't see that anywhere on a 'spec' sheet.

I've read two different UK reviews of the GTR vs GT3, 911 turbo, Z06, Audi R8, and they ALL say the GTR is much easier to drive. That's due to a great number of factors. Being easier to drive while not understeering or oversteering (neutral balance in more conditions) means a LOT of cornering speed. In the R&T review, the GTR has a lot higher corner speed than the other two cars. Higher cornering speeds lead to higher exit speeds which offsets some of its disadvantage in acceleration due to high weight.

 

While this may be true, I just want to bring to attention the comment off another site about the same comparison. The journalists at Car&Driver managed to get their Z06 around over 1 second faster than Millen did in this comparison when they tested the car. Journalists > Millen?

I really think on a larger track the Z06 is going to come out on top. Just looking at that stats sheet that was posted, acceleration over 100 mph the GTR is getting totally walked by the Vette. At 100 mph the difference is only .5 seconds, but by 120 its 2 full seconds. Not to say they'll be hitting these speeds at any tracks in upcoming comparisons. But for my $, the Z06 is still the better car to me.