Lies, damn lies and HP ratings: C&D dynos five Nissan GT-Rs

[ZilviaBot]

08-20-2008 02:01 PM

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/tech/" rel="tag">Tech</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/supercars/" rel="tag">Supercars</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/nissan/" rel="tag">Nissan</a></p><a href="http://www.caranddriver.com/features/columns/c_d_staff/larry_webster/what_is_the_gt_r_s_real_horsepower_column?cid=259"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/08/02gtr_dyno_candd_450op.jpg"></a><br><br>From the beginning, the Nissan GT-R's performance figures seemed too good to be true. Weighing in at over 3,800 pounds and packing a claimed 480 hp, the 3.5-second sprint to 60 and 11.8-second quarter-mile time <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/30/is-nissan-lying-about-gt-r-horsepower-pretty-much/">just didn't add up</a>. And then the tests began...<br><br>Buff books and online outlets began publishing 0-60 runs between 3.2 and 3.4 seconds, and quarter-mile times began dropping quicker than a co-ed's IQ on a nitrous binge. <a href="http://www.caranddriver.com/features/columns/c_d_staff/larry_webster/what_is_the_gt_r_s_real_horsepower_column?cid=259">CARandDRIVER.com</a> discovered a similar discrepancy between five different GT-Rs and finally decided to get some time on the dyno to get some real-world numbers.<br><br><div><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/car-and-driver-dyno-five-nissan-gt-rs/">Car and Driver dyno five Nissan GT-Rs</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/car-and-driver-dyno-five-nissan-gt-rs/989481/"><img src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/08/01gtr_dyno_candd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title=""></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/car-and-driver-dyno-five-nissan-gt-rs/989482/"><img src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/08/02gtr_dyno_candd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title=""></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/car-and-driver-dyno-five-nissan-gt-rs/989483/"><img src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/08/03gtr_dyno_candd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title=""></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/car-and-driver-dyno-five-nissan-gt-rs/989484/"><img src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/08/04gtr_dyno_candd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title=""></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/car-and-driver-dyno-five-nissan-gt-rs/989486/"><img src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/08/05gtr_dyno_candd_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title=""></a></div><p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/20/lies-damn-lies-and-hp-ratings-i-candd-i-dynos-five-nissan-gt/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Lies, damn lies and HP ratings: <i>C&D</i> dynos five Nissan GT-Rs</em></a></p><p style="clear:both;padding:8px 0 0 0;height:2px;font-size:1px;border:0;margin:0;padding:0">Â*</p><p><a href="http://www.caranddriver.com/features/columns/c_d_staff/larry_webster/what_is_the_gt_r_s_real_horsepower_column?cid=259">Read</a>Â*|Â*<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/20/lies-damn-lies-and-hp-ratings-i-candd-i-dynos-five-nissan-gt/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/1290479/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/20/lies-damn-lies-and-hp-ratings-i-candd-i-dynos-five-nissan-gt/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p><hr>
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[s13dan]

Other new cars have had odd results too. Brand new model and sometime press cars are a lil different. I love the GT-R i thinks its a great car.

[Jodan]

so they make more power than nissan claims? id say thats good.

[!Zar!]

They should under rate the car.

Because if they didn't, a lawsuit could be formed because someone would cry and complain about how their car only had 450hp instead of the advertised 480hp or whatever.

It's to cover their asses.

Because all it takes is one person to complain about false advertisement and it would cost nissan much money.

I believe muscle cars back in the day such as the vette and what not were under rated for insurance reasons and something else...

But yeah. You get the point.

[LongGrain]

is it just me or did the link not give any info

i want to know what they were dyno'ing

[S14DB]

Lies, damn lies and HP ratings: C&D dynos five Nissan GT-Rs - Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/20/lies-damn-lies-and-hp-ratings-i-candd-i-dynos-five-nissan-gt/)

On MotorCity Speed’s Mustang dyno in Commerce Township, Michigan, GT-R No. 4 produced a peak of 415 horsepower at the wheels. Based on our 20-percent loss estimate, the engine output was 519, or 39 horsepower more than Nissan’s stated 480.

So what’s up? We called Nissan, and the company says the first four cars we tested were early-build versions that received regular engine-computer software updates, which may account for the varied results we recorded. We then wondered which engine-computer calibration was the one real-world GT-R buyers would receive.

Three weeks later, a fifth GT-R arrived. This one, allegedly, was a production version with the latest—and final—engine calibration. We took it both to the test track and MotorCity’s dyno.

This car performed nearly identically to the fourth car. It smoked the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 120 mph and produced 420 wheel horsepower. We also measured the turbo boost pressure in both cars, and the curves were basically identical.

Though we didn’t get a chance to dyno-test the two slower GT-Rs, three of the five were so close in performance that we believe they accurately represent the GT-R’s capability. Clearly, Nissan is delivering more than the advertised 480 horsepower. And the most likely figure is about 520, which is yet another reason to bow to the best performance value since the Corvette Z06.