Nissan in Japan has released the 2015 version of its celebrated GT-R, known colloquially as “Godzilla” for its prodigious horsepower from the turbo V6 engine. At one stage in Australia it was banned from competition because nothing could get near it! It is still one of the fastest production cars around Germany’s Nurburgring.
However, this succeeding version has been tweaked in the suspension department, rather than the under the bonnet (which is more than adequate).
The softening up of spring rates and shock absorbers has made the ride less jarring on anything other than motorway smoothness. This makes it more ‘gran turismo’ in line with its GT-R badge.
Godzilla
Nissan’s engineers claim the new shocker settings actually help the GT-R’s cornering, being able to be compliant with the road imperfections to aid stability and allows the driver to better choose the best driving line.
“The same modifications reduce the amount of steering corrections necessary on rough roads, adding a further sense of security in less than ideal driving conditions,” Nissan says in its media release.
The high-performance tyres have also come in for attention, with improved materials and a fresh inner structure that is said to deliver better straight-line stability and increased stability over uneven road surfaces.
Brakes have been revised for better stopping power and less noise, while a number of modifications have been made to address noise, vibration and harshness.
The drivetrain has been modified to reduce backlash, while the steering damper has been changed to address vibration through the steering wheel at idle.
The throw-out bearing in the flywheel housing has been changed to reduce noise, while a new boot carpet material improves noise insulation.
Nissan engineers describe the revised GT-R as “more civilized”, with “dramatic” improvement to ride quality.
They say previous engineering efforts had mainly focused on the “race” element of the GT-R’s handling, but this time more attention was paid to the effortless touring side of owning a GT-R.
