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5K views 78 replies 24 participants last post by  concorso 
#1 ·
When it comes to wild and ridiculous stories on the Internet, the GT-R is the gift that keeps on giving. I already posted a thread about the $2,000 transmission fluid service (http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum...165665-routine-gt-r-service-thatll-about.html), but this latest development is even better.

Everyone has heard the stories of Nissan denying warranty claims on transmissions for turning off the VDC system, but now they've updated their "blacklist" of activities that void your ENTIRE warranty (not just the drivetrain) for things such as driving in any competitive event, track or airstrip, unplugging any electronics, having the car serviced anywhere except a GT-R certified Dealer, and even dynoing the car.

Here's just a snippet from the completely fun-destroying, "Don't you dare drive this car in an entertaining manner" memo from Nissan:

Nissan said:
Exclusions and Limitations to Manufacturers Warranty


Please read your GT-R Warranty Information Booklet carefully. The Nissan GT-R warranty provides you with extensive coverage when the vehicle is operated in accordance with the Owner's Manual. The warranty includes a number of other specific conditions, exclusions and limitations, which include (but are not limited to) exclusions due to failures resulting from:

Racing, competitive driving of any sort and/or any use on a track or airstrip, or otherwise not operating or maintaining the vehicle as set out in the Owner's Manual and Service and Maintenance Guide;

Operating the vehicle with the Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) off, except when rocking vehicle when stuck in mud or snow;

Not adhering to the service and maintenance requirements set out in the Nissan GT-R Owner's Manual and the Service and Maintenance Guide, including failures resulting from the use of non-Genuine Nissan Parts or required or recommended fluids;

Improper repairs or services rendered at facilities other than Nissan Certified GT-R dealerships;

Failing to have the Performance Optimization Services completed in a timely manner;

Genuine Nissan Parts not intended for use on the GT-R, including NISMO parts not specifically designed and manufactured for application to the GT-R, or any non-Genuine Nissan Parts;

Replacing a GT-R special specification part with a non-GT-R special specification part (see GT-R Owner's Manual for the list of GT-R special specification parts);

Operating the GT-R on a dynamometer, except a dynamometer test performed to comply with applicable local law for emissions testing.

Additionally, some modifications will VOID your GT-R New Vehicle Limited Warranty Coverage. Read your warranty information booklet carefully for specific details of all terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions.

Important: Additional Exclusion and Warranty Voiding


Damage to the powertrain, or any drivetrain component(s) that occurs when there is a record in the Vehicle System Data Recorder (VSDR) that the vehicle was driven with the VDC off during the period when the damage was incurred is excluded from coverage under this warranty.

Adding, replacing, reprogramming, attempting to reprogram, altering or disconnecting any computer, control unit, or electronic module or deleting any or all stored information in any computer, control unit, or electronic module, or denying access to any data or information stored in any computer, control unit, or electronic module VOIDS ALL COVERAGE under the 2010 Nissan GT-R New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Such actions are also "misuse" and "tampering" as those terms are used under "What Is Not Covered" in the warranty. See your Owners Manual for additional important information and related warnings

Full document available to read HERE
 
#3 ·
How do these sell?

Transmission failures, expensive upkeep, ugly as sin, and a novel's worth of fine print to sign off on before purchase...

The other day I saw my first GT-R in the flesh; it's just as ugly as in the pictures.
 
#9 ·
How do these sell?
I would say not so good. The dealer directly at the end of my street received two of them. One was sold, but he drove it himself for a month before delivery (basically drove it himself before blackbox activation), and the second has been on and off the lawn for 6 mos on nice days.


Just more FAIL.
It's amazing how much I disdain the GT-R but love the new 370Z. Probably because the Z is a pure sports car without all the bull...
The ONLY thing I like about the GT-R is the killer cockpit style roofline and windows seen from a side angle. I must say that the 370 premium wheels are really growing on me. Hate the catfish face though.


Its for shit like this that I wish you could sign away a warranty for a discount.
Really good point!
 
#6 ·
Its for shit like this that I wish you could sign away a warranty for a discount. What is it really worth on a car like this? Seriously -you may as well not bother. Breakdown nowhere near a "Nissan-Certified GT-R Dealership"? There goes your warranty. Have the oil changed at your local mechanic? There goes the warranty. Miss a service 'cause you're on holiday? There goes the warranty.

That said, if they say you dyno'd it, how are they to tell it wasn't done for emissions? They're not too delicate doing those tests, ya know; last time my 'Vette had it something went pear-shaped and smoke started pouring out from under the hood. Mechanic ignored it and carried on with the test. It was just a mild oil leak from an old gasket, but, seriously? At least they changed that law and the 'Vette is now too old for emissions, but a GT-R is not.
 
#13 ·
When I was watching the Top Gear episode when they went to Japan and testing the GT-R it was able to tell, by GPS, whether it was at a track or not. If it detected you were on regular roads it had a speed limiter activated. When you got to a track the speed limiter was taken off. So basically Nissan encourages you to take it to a safe location to put the car through its paces but if you do that your warranty is void. WTF?
 
#14 ·
Read the fine print of any owner's manual, you will find something that states the warranty does not cover competition or commercial use. I don't think Nissan is being unreasonable here. If you want a really fast car to use on the street, you are covered. If you want to race it and something breaks, you are on your own. These high performance vehicles are NOT sold as race cars. That's the way it has always been, that's the way it will always be.
 
#15 ·
Well this makes my insides tingle


VIDEO: Hennessey GTR700 rips 2.8s 0-60 with launch control off

by Drew Phillips on Apr 8th 2009 at 10:30AM


Click above to watch a video of the Hennessey GTR700 run the 1/4 mile after the jump

You name it and John Hennessey will make it faster. From Vipers to Vettes to Challengers, Hennessey Performance will take competent sports cars and make them into tire-shredding speed demons with more horsepower than any street-going vehicle should ever logically have. The latest creation to come from the Texas tuner is the GTR700 based on the Nissan GT-R. The upgraded Godzilla now sports 715 horsepower and 662 lb-ft torque thanks to numerous modifications including a stainless steel exhaust system, new ECU programming, modified turbos with larger compressor wheels, 100mm cold air intake, high-flow fuel injectors, transmission cooler, clutch pack upgrades, and more. The result is stupefying. Sixty mph comes up in just 2.8 seconds, 100 mph in 6.7 seconds and 150 mph in 14.5 seconds. Compared to a stock GT-R, the GTR700 reaches 186 mph in less than half the time. Someone needs to take this thing to the Nurburgring. Hit the jump to watch the Hennessey GTR700 hit a full 1.0g during acceleration on its way to a 10.87 sec @ 132 mph quarter mile run.


 
#18 ·
I'm sure it does..............just like every other car under the sun. If you have the money to buy a GT-R you have the money to modify it. I don't think too many people aren't going to buy a Ferrari or Lamborghini because it doesn't get good gas mileage or because it costs $20k+ for maintenance intervals
 
#21 ·
Unfortunately this is the way most manufacturers of -real- performance vehicles are going these days. With economics being what they are, the ever increasing cost of ever advancing parts technologies, as well as the advancements in the technologies that allows them to MONITOR how all of those various parts are being USED, manufacturers are tightening down their belts on Warranty claims. Obviously, a transmission in a Chevy anything doesn't cost more than most ENTIRE Chevrolet cars. This protects the manufacturer from becoming responsible for outright abuse on such outlandishly expensive custom parts.

With that being said, GM hasn't tightened down the warranty to quite this extent on the ZR1, but if they can find an out by the vehicle being "abused" when it comes in for a warranty claim, they most certainly will take advantage of it.

Nissan hasn't been a player in the TRUE exotic, or even NEAR exotic performance category in decades, if not EVER. I can see why they are a little skiddish their first time at bat. Keep in mind that most of the CLASSIC GT-Rs were turned into monsters via the aftermarket, with modifications so heavy they would have voided the warranty anyway. Keep in mind ALSO that at least for the first round of cars, they were selling them at a LOSS to begin with.

Someone mentioned earlier being able to "buy-down" the warranty. Well, in essence I think that is exactly what you've got here. Love it or hate it I think most would admit that this car is a bargain at its price-point for the power and capability it has on tap (especially considering the cost of the 911 it competes with). By skimming the warranty down to bare essential use coverage, they're able to keep the cost of entry low. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
 
#30 ·
I make these threads when I see the opportunity to defuse some of the hyperbole that follows this car around in the media and forums. People act like this car is the most magical, amazing thing ever assembled (the "godzilla" nickname grinds my oats), so I just enjoy playing devil's advocate and pointing out that the streets in GT-R land are not all paved with candy and confetti.
 
#31 ·
I honestly think alot of that died down after the initial release of the car. I also think some of the initial razzing of the car (ESPECIALLY the car's ring time scandal vs. Porsche) was absolutely justified. But I think overall the hype has mostly settled and it's a respected, but not loved car by anyone other than straight ricer-types.

For the money, a V2 is a much *much* better purchase. Actually, 30 grand less.
 
#38 ·
:snap:

I can't say I'm overly impressed with the aesthetics of the car. The first time I saw one parked on a lot I thought it was a 300 Z with a ricey body kit. :pwn:

Pair that with the whole "if you fart inside the car we'll void your warranty" position the company has taken, and you can keep your 80k "supercar."
 
#35 ·
The GT-R is just different. It uses gobs of computers, tech, and unusual ideas to do what "Soviet 'Big Hammer'" theory does a lot more simply in a car like the Corvette. ZR-1 = Big V8 + Blower + glass-fibre-composite everything= Win. GT-R = V6 + Twin-Turbos + Computers + Gimmicky Trans + more computers + AWD =Win? The complexity is a downfall. Read about the first Imperials with computer-controlled injection. Most were retrofitted to carbs as a simpler way of sorting out the problems. Right now my own Corvette is being diagnosed for computer problems and problems from its own, nearly unique fuel injection system (another very early computerized injection system). Sooner or later this gimcrackery will sort itself out and these advancements will benefit many cars and be reliable.

The GT-R itself IS ugly, and the lack of a true manual transmission I feel is a huge disadvantage for the sportscar market. Many people who buy sportscars won't even consider an automatic. Hell, many people won't consider an automatic, period! Sure, things like double-clutch automated manuals will win on race-day, but they're not selling race cars, they're selling big toys, basically, and toys must be fun, first and foremost.
 
#36 ·
and the lack of a true manual transmission I feel is a huge disadvantage for the sportscar market. Many people who buy sportscars won't even consider an automatic.
If that's true, why is it so hard to find a manual transmission? You would be hard pressed to find a clutch-pedal in the econobox aisle these days. And every add I have seen for an 09V features "a quick shifting, 6-speed automatic."

No one wants manuals any more. DSG is the future (even if it is a bleak one)
 
#45 ·
Manuals are a very unique and engaging driving experience, and they give you a lot of control over you're vehicle, as you're able to push it to limits that an automatic would deem stressful.

However, the days when manuals could always pull off a higher quarter and lap time then an auto are quickly coming to an end. Autos like Porsche's Tiptronic S and technologies like PAS are doing things that people would never have thought possible. Autos are shifting faster and more precisely then ever before, and they get faster everyday.

Autos used to be only more convenient, and in all other regards they were inferior to manuals. But soon will come the day that autos become superior (performance-wise) to manuals, and on that day the thing that saves the manual from extinction will be that invigorating feeling of control that comes with driving one.
 
#49 ·
Guys guys, you're not understanding the reason for the black box!






The black box is there so when the car breaks and the owner finds out how much it is to fix it out of warranty and then runs it off a pier into the ocean, the supra owners can hire a diver to find the pinging and salvage it for parts!

:devilheh::alchi:
 
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