Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi

Haven't been on here for a while. Had a r34 GTT back a few years ago and have owned a few other cars since then. Currently driving a BMW Z4.

In any case, I am looking at getting another car after the new year (around end of Jan 12).

One of the cars I am considering is the r35 GTR. Would anyone like to chime in and provide a quick run down on the main differences between the different years? 2008-2011? Is the power output different between the years? Were there any major issues in the earlier models? I read (not sure) about people using the launch system too often and breaking gearboxes? To tell the truth, I haven't had time to car hunt yet as the end of the year is quite crazy for me at work but will start after NYE.

FYI, this will be a daily driver with the rare track day. I have read that the r35 is a little numbing to drive as a DD but I am just doing my due dillegence for now. Also, other cars I am looking at are:

* 2010 Camaro - sat in one/not yet test driven

* 2010-11 C63 AMG - test driven

* 2010-11 BMW M3 - test driven

* Ferrari 360 .. probably not a good DD

I am 'currently' leaning towards the c63 as I have driven one and have an uncle that works at Merc who can get me a good price and provide free servicing.

Thanks

Eric

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/385721-looking-at-a-r35/
Share on other sites

Really, the r35 is such a track honed tool (& I do daily drive mine) that if you are cross shopping with those other cars that I suggest that you not get the GT-R. To me there was no other choice but a GT-R, because all that mattered was performance. If that's not what floats your boat get the merc. The tranny noises, harsh ride etc etc is not going to endear you to the GT-R.

Take a look at the NAGTROC forums with several threads on this exact topic in the last month - 6 weeks.

+1 do a search, this thread has been done before

was dd'ing a c63 before my GTR - great engine in a well built sedan.....but it's still a sedan

lots of cheap 360s out there now that the history-less imports are flowing in - there's a reason why used modern day ferrari's are cheap

Edited by domino_z

+1 do a search, this thread has been done before

was dd'ing a c63 before my GTR - great engine in a well built sedan.....but it's still a sedan

lots of cheap 360s out there now that the history-less imports are flowing in - there's a reason why used modern day ferrari's are cheap

Out of curiosity...what is the reason ferraris are cheap?

yeah but that R looked like he/she crashed... much different scenario to the Fezza pics. They just decided "well, i've done... oh, i dunno, 5,000kms, that's a good run... time to spontaneously combust!"

Owned V10 M5 before GTR. Also owned in order prior to M5, E46 M3, E36 M3, 2 modified Corvettes. The GTR is in an altogether different class and simlply makes a mockery of them!

Best mate and I both bought new cars in June 2010. He bought a brand new fully optioned M3 in white and I bought a brand new GTR in black.

It is simply laughable when we are on the road together, not only does the GTR get all the looks, he may as well be driving a Toyota when it comes to how fast the GTR pulls away in both the straights and the corners. I had to pay 10K more for the GTR than he paid and it was worth every cent.

A true supercar that obliterates everything on the road at near an M3 or C63 price, what a bargain!

The only car I would now consider over the GTR is a new Lamborghini. The problem though, because my GTR is recently modded, I would have to do something with the Lambo to at least try and make it as fast as the GTR.

It's a tough life?

Edited by kymbo

PS. As for the Camaro I'd say that's a joke. I mean you have a Ferrari and a Camaro in the same list, Jesus Christ. In the states when the Camaro is cheap then maybe but here in AUS forget the Camaro mate honestly I've ridden in one, it's an awesome car but for the price they go for here it's a bloody joke.

Allow me to make an E92 M3 vs GT-R comparison.

I bought one of the first E92 M3s and had it for 3 years before switching to an MY11 GT-R when they arrived early this year.

I enjoy modifying my cars and love driving, these cars were/are my "extra" cars so did not have to be daily drivers if I didn't want them to be.

I enjoy some track work and would describe myself as a relatively fast amateur track driver.

I am not interested in impressing other drivers with the look of my car, so street cred doesn't matter to me.

The M3:

- the engine is an absolutely screamer, keenly revving to 8300rpm and the noise is probably one of the most racey you will find, behind the obvious V12s and flat-plane Ferrari V8s

- the M3 will not accelerate unless you have planned in advance, you must be above 4000rpm to be in the nice flat 400Nm-odd torque area and you will be driving a 335 up to 6000rpm, with 150hp still to come in the last 2200-odd rpm

- the chassis is beautifully balanced and it is very easy to feel and transfer weight front to rear

- expect to need brake modifications if you are doing track days

- the M3 seemed to be hard on the front tyres on track and you will require aftermarket parts to achieve proper front camber

- for driving out in your local hills, in my opinion of course, the M3 is almost the perfect car, combining the sound and racecar-style power delivery and with 414hp it is just the right amount of power to put a smile on your dial for a few seconds before reaching naughty speeds, and the M-diff is great fun :)

- spent a day at Winton once we had fitted a 580hp G-Power supercharger and 1:40 was the best achieved on Cup+ tyres with the car clearly needing suspension and tyre work to go further

The GT-R:

- much stiffer suspension, certainly feels heavier

- sounds bland and always will

- definitely not as much fun on the road, if you want to keep your license

- honesly the only real enjoyment I can find in the GT-R on the street is the odd powerslide in an off-camber hairpin, I am just not game enough to do the license-losing speeds the GT-R needs to deliver enjoyment, oh and the odd LC on the rare occasion one is at the front of the que at lights before a 100 zone...

- on track however the GT-R makes complete sense, compared to the M3 the limits this car has are frankly unbelievable, for an amateur to lap a GT-R with midpipe around Barbagallo in 1:04 says a hell of a lot about the car

- the most annoying thing on track is the transmission oil temperature management which is necessary if you want to avoid expensive additional oil changes, it is the biggest limitation but I believe there are modifications to help this, brakes will suffer as well, I am still working on avoiding a soft pedal at the end of the day

- expect reasonably high running costs if you intend to keep your warranty while doing track work, I have spent around $7000 on it in parts and services since March with 5000km on the clock

Hope that helps.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • From there, it is really just test and assemble. Plug the adapter cables from the unit into the back of the screen, then the other side to the car harness. Don't forget all the other plugs too! Run the cables behind the unit and screw it back into place (4 screws) and you should now have 3 cables to run from the top screen to the android unit. I ran them along the DS of the other AV units in the gap between their backets and the console, and used some corrugated tubing on the sharp edges of the bracket so the wires were safe. Plug the centre console and lower screen in temporarily and turn the car to ACC, the AV should fire up as normal. Hold the back button for 3 sec and Android should appear on the top screen. You need to set the input to Aux for audio (more on that later). I put the unit under the AC duct in the centre console, with the wifi antenna on top of the AC duct near the shifter, the bluetooth antenna on the AC duct under the centre console The GPS unit on top of the DS to AC duct; they all seem to work OK there are are out of the way. Neat cable routing is a pain. For the drive recorder I mounted it near the rear view mirror and run the cable in the headlining, across the a pillar and then down the inside of the a pillar seal to the DS lower dash. From there it goes across and to one USB input for the unit. The second USB input is attached to the ECUtec OBD dongle and the 3rd goes to the USB bulkhead connected I added in the centre console. This is how the centre console looks "tidied" up Note I didn't install the provided speaker, didn't use the 2.5mm IPod in line or the piggyback loom for the Ipod or change any DIP switches; they seem to only be required if you need to use the Ipod input rather than the AUX input. That's it, install done, I'll follow up with a separate post on how the unit works, but in summary it retains all factory functions and inputs (so I still use my phone to the car for calls), reverse still works like factory etc.
    • Place the new daughterboard in the case and mount it using the 3 small black rivets provided, and reconnect the 3 factory ribbon cables to the new board Then, use the 3 piggyback cables from the daughterboard into the factory board on top (there are stand offs in the case to keep them apart. and remember to reconnect the antenna and rear cover fan wires. 1 screw to hold the motherboard in place. Before closing the case, make a hole in the sticker covering a hole in the case and run the cable for the android unit into the plug there. The video forgot this step, so did I, so will you probably. Then redo the 4 screws on back, 2 each top and bottom, 3 each side and put the 2 brackets back on.....all ready to go and not that tricky really.      
    • Onto the android unit. You need to remove the top screen because there is a daughterboard to put inside the case. Each side vent pops out from clips; start at the bottom and carefully remove upwards (use a trim remover tool to avoid breaking anything). Then the lower screen and controls come out, 4 screws, a couple of clips (including 3 flimsy ones at the top) and 3 plugs on the rear. Then the upper screen, 4 screws and a bunch of plugs and she is out. From there, remove the mounting brackets (2 screws each), 4 screws on the rear, 2 screws top and bottom and 3 screws holding in the small plates on each side. When you remove the back cover (tight fit), watch out for the power cable for the fan, I removed it so I could put the back aside. The mainboard is held in by 1 screw in the middle, 1 aerial at the top and 3 ribbon cables. If you've ever done any laptop stuff the ribbon cables are OK to work with, just pop up the retainer and they slide out. If you are not familiar just grab a 12 year old from an iphone factory, they will know how it works The case should now look like this:
    • Switching the console was tricky. First there were 6 screws to remove, and also the little adapter loom and its screws had to come out. Also don't forget to remove the 2 screws holding the central locking receiver. Then there are 4 clips on either side....these were very tight in this case and needed careful persuading with a long flat screw driver....some force required but not enough to break them...this was probably the fiddliest part of the whole job. In my case I needed both the wiring loom and the central locking receiver module to swap across to the new one. That was it for the console, so "assembly is the reverse of disassembly"
    • But first....while I was there, I also swapped across the centre console box for the other style where the AV inputs don't intrude into the (very limited !) space.  Part# was 96926-4GA0A, 284H3-4GA0B, 284H3-4GA0A. (I've already swapped the top 12v socket for a USB bulkhead in this pic, it fit the hole without modification:) Comparison of the 2: Basically to do the console you need to remove the DS and PS side console trim (they slide up and back, held in by clips only) Then remove the back half of the console top trim with the cupholders, pops up, all clips again but be careful at the front as it is pretty flimsy. Then slide the shifter boot down, remove the spring clip, loose it forever somewhere in the car the pull the shift knob off. Remove the tiny plastic piece on DS near "P" and use something thin and long (most screwdrivers won't fit) to push down the interlock and put the shifter down in D for space. There is one screw at the front, then the shifter surround and ashtray lift up. There are 3 or 4 plugs underneath and it is off. Next is the rear cover of the centre console; you need to open the console lid, pop off the trim covering the lid hinge and undo the 2rd screw from the driver's side (the rest all need to come out later so you can do them all now and remove the lid) Then the rear cover unclips (6 clips), start at the top with a trim tool pulling backwards. Once it is off there are 2 screws facing rearwards to remove (need a short phillips for these) and you are done with the rear of the console. There are 4 plugs at the A/V box to unclip Then there are 2 screws at the front of the console, and 2 clips (pull up and back) and the console will come out.
×
×
  • Create New...