GT-R Production Car Lap Record at Bathurst Oz, and they weren't even trying to break it! Options

[gp900bj]

From Motor Magazine Oz (latest issue).

The R35 has just set an unofficial production car lap record at Bathurst with a lap time of 2:25. The lap was completed at a drive-Bathurst track event and was not an actual attempt at setting a record (hence the "unofficial" title). The car was bone stock on production Bridgestones.

Conditions were cold, rainy and overcast. This might have helped the GT-R's pair of turbos but cold Bridgestones on a drying but still cold track meant they had to back off at several key points, most significantly they had to lose 50km/h before The Chase which is normally taken at full tap, which would have been about 270km/h in the GT-R.

Some key weaknesses in the GT-R were really brought to light around the gruelling elevation changes of the Bathurst race track. Firstly, the VDC-R mode (which is more than competent around smooth race tracks with minor changes is elevation) became completely bewildered by Bathurst's unusual wheel loads. The series of sharp downhill chicanes from the Essess through the Dipper to Forest Elbow caused the VDC system to shut down the throttle for +70m after each apex. The 2:25 lap had to be run with VDC turned off.

Secondly and more importantly, the latter half of the lap, which is all downhill, overwhelmed the GT-R's braking system. Rising temps on either the discs/pads or the fluid adversely affected pedal response during the downhill sector from Skyline to Murrays Corner. Part Braking is crucial to getting the right line during this part of the track and the changing pedal response made that near impossible.

A dry track, some more experience and Dunlops could see a 2:20 ish lap time in the GT-R but the brakes are probably not likely to last for any reasonable race length around Bathurst, when pushed hard.



Some Bathurst vids if you're interested:

Bathurst Lap Walk Through - Neil Crompton 

R32 GT-R Bathurst Qualifying 1992 - Note they've edited out The Chase

A Fast Lap

[jaspergtr]

cool vids... i would never drive that track with those walls right there.

[tyndago]

Yes the brakes are marginal for a real track , where you have to use them a bit. Thats what happens with a 4000 lb car.

1990 Nissan Motorsports Promo Video from Youtube.

The Jim Richards in the R32 GT-R in the video, is the same Jim Richards in the 911 GT2 running Targa Tasmania now.

[Sharif@Forged]

Gorgeous track...minus the walls.

[Martin Donnon]

They say the 'walls require balls' Sharif
Having driven around there its a lot steeper and more daunting than it looks on the video....

[gp900bj]

Yes the brakes are marginal for a real track , where you have to use them a bit. Thats what happens with a 4000 lb car.

1990 Nissan Motorsports Promo Video from Youtube.

The Jim Richards in the R32 GT-R in the video, is the same Jim Richards in the 911 GT2 running Targa Tasmania now.

Thing is, they actually seemed to think the brakes would recover after a while only to lose their modulation again when you get back to the down hill section. The first half of Bathurst is pretty easy on the brakes.


I'm not so sure this cycle of heating and cooling would go down so well on the stock discs over an extended period of time. But then again, they didn't experience any component failures so it's possible you could get away with it.

[tyndago]

Ducting, pads, and some real fluid. That will at least help it to survive.

Did you see how many front brake setups that Nismo had for the Tokachi race ? They do their homework I think.

http://www.2009gtr.com/2008/07/24-hour-of-...r-practice.html

This post has been edited by tyndago: Feb 14 2009, 06:48 PM

[JRu17]

wow completely off topic but the GT-R at the top of that page is the best looking one I've ever seen, in tyndago's post