Best Motoring tests R35 GT-R on Tsukuba Circuit

[996GT2]

I just watched the latest Best Motoring Hot Version test of the R35 GTR at Tsukuba...the times were quite amazing for a 1740kg car. If you don't know what Best Motoring is, think of it as the Japanese version of Top Gear or 5th Gear...except they tend to only test high performance or tuned cars, often on the track, banked oval, or touge.

Battle 1: Versus Tuned Skyline GT-Rs:

Here are the contestants and their times:
Bee R32 GT-R: 400hp, 1500kg,1'03"497
Hosaka R33 GT-R: 600hp, 1600kg, 1'02"191
MCR R34 GT-R: 600hp, 1600kg, 1'01"705

Stock R35 GT-R (driven by Keiichi Tsuchiya)
480hp, 1740kg , BS Potenza RE070, 1'01"931

Battle 2: Versus European Sports Cars; best lap times are given from the 5 lap battle:

Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera: 530HP, 1360kg-1'01"599
Nissan GT-R: 473hp, 1740kg-1'02"125
Honda NSX-R NA2: 280hp, 1270kg-1'05"013
Porsche 997 GT3: 415hp, 1395kg-1'05"173
Porsche 997 Turbo: 480hp, 1585kg-1'05"226

For a stock car, that time is incredibly quick, especially considering that most of the GT-R's rivals (911 turbo/GT3, F430, etc) struggle to break the 1 min 5
sec range on Tsukuba. Even the Gallardo SL was only able to barely beat the GT-R's time, despite having a HUGE 55 hp and 400kg advantage.

I also found the NSX-R NA2's lap times to be quite surprising, since it put up times better than a 997 GT3 despite giving up some 135 horsepower and only weighing about 100kg less.

Edited: more times from the second battle against the European cars and the NSX-R NA2.

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
I just watched the latest Hot Version test of the R35 GTR at Tsukuba...the times were quite amazing for a 1740kg car.

Here are the contestants and their times:
Bee R32 GT-R: 400hp, 1500kg,1'03"497
Hosaka R33 GT-R: 600hp, 1600kg, 1'02"191
MCR R34 GT-R: 600hp, 1600kg, 1'01"705

Stock R35 GT-R (driven by Keiichi Tsuchiya)
480hp, 1740kg , BS Potenza RE070, 1'01"931

For a stock car, that time is incredibly quick, especially considering that the GT-R's rivals (911 turbo, F430, etc) struggle to break the 1 min 4 or 5
sec range on Tsukuba.

That's what a proper AWD system will do. The Porsche is close, but is a wrong approach perfected, and therefore can't replicate the time.

 

[mwmorph]

Not surprising though I wouldn't doubt Best Motoring fudged with the tests, cherry picking the conditions to put the GTR in the best light and give ti every possible advantage compared to the others.

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Not surprising though I wouldn't doubt Best Motoring fudged with the tests, cherry picking the conditions to put the GTR in the best light and give ti every possible advantage compared to the others.

Yet it still lost to the Gallardo. With Tsuchiya driving. Buncha cheaters.

 

[andylawcc]

why am I not surprised? That the featured car won, and the German lost?

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Not surprising though I wouldn't doubt Best Motoring fudged with the tests, cherry picking the conditions to put the GTR in the best light and give ti every possible advantage compared to the others.

Yet it still lost to the Gallardo. With Tsuchiya driving. Buncha cheaters.

The Gallardo wasn't just any Gallardo...it was the $175,000 Superleggera, which had a 55 horsepower advantage as well as an 800+ pound weight advantage over the GT-R. Looking at the stats, it's pretty clear that the Gallardo should have won on the track with that huge advantage.


Oh, and I don't think BMI is nearly as biased as you guys claim them to be...I've seen all of their english episodes, and I clearly remember one in which the R34 GT-R was put up against a 911 Turbo, lost, and then a NISMO R-Tune was put up against the 911. The NISMO R34 lost to the same 911 Turbo, even though it had clear advantage in horsepower and suspension setup, with modified ECU, Turbos, and a completely aftermarket coilover setup (not to mention almost slick Potenza RE-01R tires that were more grippy than the 911's Pilot Sports)...if they really rigged that the NISMO R34 should have totally owned the 996 Turbo, especially since driver skill wasn't really a factor (it was Tsuchiya vs. Kurosawa "Gan-San", both accomplished racing drivers).

But the 911 ended up winning, so I don't think they did anything major to upset the results in favor of their domestic cars.

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: 996GT2

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Not surprising though I wouldn't doubt Best Motoring fudged with the tests, cherry picking the conditions to put the GTR in the best light and give ti every possible advantage compared to the others.

Yet it still lost to the Gallardo. With Tsuchiya driving. Buncha cheaters.

The Gallardo wasn't just any Gallardo...it was the $175,000 Superleggera, which had a 55 horsepower advantage as well as an 800+ pound weight advantage over the GT-R. Looking at the stats, it's pretty clear that the Gallardo should have won on the track with that huge advantage.

The weight difference is actually a bit smaller (curb weights: 3150 lbs vs 3836-3858 lbs) at 700 lbs or so. I definitely agree there's a huge power to weight advantage still though.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Not surprising though I wouldn't doubt Best Motoring fudged with the tests, cherry picking the conditions to put the GTR in the best light and give ti every possible advantage compared to the others.

You'll have to accuse 5th Gear of the same thing then, the 911 GT3, with similar power and much lighter weight .. lost to the GT-R.

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Not surprising though I wouldn't doubt Best Motoring fudged with the tests, cherry picking the conditions to put the GTR in the best light and give ti every possible advantage compared to the others.

You'll have to accuse 5th Gear of the same thing then, the 911 GT3, with similar power and much lighter weight .. lost to the GT-R.

And all the other reviews where the 911 Turbo lost to the GTR.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Not surprising though I wouldn't doubt Best Motoring fudged with the tests, cherry picking the conditions to put the GTR in the best light and give ti every possible advantage compared to the others.

You'll have to accuse 5th Gear of the same thing then, the 911 GT3, with similar power and much lighter weight .. lost to the GT-R.

And all the other reviews where the 911 Turbo lost to the GTR.

Yep. You know, I've said this before, I think two secrets of the GT-R's surprising track times :

(1)- AWD = no lack of traction for higher application of throttle as soon as you need it. If you can give 100% throttle almost as soon as you need it, without regard to breaking your back end loose, etc, then you'll shave a little bit of time coming out of every turn, and that adds up.

(2)- Brakes. If you can slow down later, in a shorter distance, each time you need to do so, that can save a considerable amount of time on a complex course. The other guys with weaker brakes will have to brake earlier, losing more time/speed, and this is probably one of the most overlooked performance aspects from an amateur's perspective.

"Nissan says that the GT-R has the best braking performance ever measured during Japan's compulsory model approval tests. With massive 15.0-inch cross-drilled rotors at each corner clamped by six-piston Brembo calipers in the front and four-piston versions in the rear, the braking promises to defy the laws of physics ? slam the brake pedal and the car ought to stop behind where it was."

 

[fstime]

^^^And of course add very fast shift times.

 

[Aikouka]

The MCR R34 beat it too... not by much though.

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
The MCR R34 beat it too... not by much though.

Yeah, and the MCR GT-R is Best Motoring's current Touge Max champ, meaning that it is a very heavily tuned beast of a car. Says quite a lot about the R35's STOCK level of performance.

The only R34 that could really beat the R35 by a big margin is probably the 600HP Mine's V-Spec II that can lap Tsukuba in around 57-58 seconds.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: 996GT2

Originally posted by: Aikouka
The MCR R34 beat it too... not by much though.

Yeah, and the MCR GT-R is Best Motoring's current Touge Max champ, meaning that it is a very heavily tuned beast of a car. Says quite a lot about the R35's STOCK level of performance.

The only R34 that could really beat the R35 by a big margin is probably the 600HP Mine's V-Spec II that can lap Tsukuba in around 57-58 seconds.

lol that always makes me think of 'who's on first'.

Who's Skyline? No, Mines! Yours? No! MINES!

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: 996GT2

Originally posted by: Aikouka
The MCR R34 beat it too... not by much though.

Yeah, and the MCR GT-R is Best Motoring's current Touge Max champ, meaning that it is a very heavily tuned beast of a car. Says quite a lot about the R35's STOCK level of performance.

The only R34 that could really beat the R35 by a big margin is probably the 600HP Mine's V-Spec II that can lap Tsukuba in around 57-58 seconds.

lol that always makes me think of 'who's on first'.

Who's Skyline? No, Mines! Yours? No! MINES!

Haha yeah, strange name for a tuning company, but quite an amazing GT-R. Amazing how fast that RB26 freely revs to 9000+ RPMs in any gear.

Mine's R34 V-Spec II on Ebisu Circuit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42KwIMakoaE

 

[Arkaign]

Mine = pronounced Me-nay. It's a sort of abbreviated nickname for Michizo Niikura, the founder. The Japanese have an odd fondness for making things sound Western

 

[geokilla]

This proves that you don't need to spend over like $200k CAD just to get the performance of a supercar that can beat the Lambos and Ferraris.

If you guys think BM is being biased, think again. They've done several Japanese sports car comparisons to the German and Italian sport cars. Many Japanese sports cars like the NSX and Evo are able to keep up with the 911s and Ferrari 360s.

MINE'S is just wicked. They're one of the best aftermarket tuners for Nissan, espicially the GTR R34. I can't wait to see what they'll do with the R35. Maybe that car will be quicker than a Bugatti.