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Now, for the drag race no one saw coming. What would you think if I told you that a Nissan GT-R and a 1972 Datsun 1200 were going to race? You'd laugh at the thought of the Datsun slowly pushing through the smoke left in the GT-R's wake, right? What if I then told you that the Datsun was an all electric modification? More humor. What if, I then told you that the Datsun wins?
I hate showing GT-Rs losing (and thankfully, those videos are so few and far between that I never really have to) but this one is too cool to pass up. Of course, the '72 Datsun 1200 in question (affectionately called White Zombie) is no normal Datsun. This 1200 runs off an all electric drive-train which delivers an immediate 772 pounds of torque. That's right, 772 pounds of torque delivered to all 4 wheels the second the accelerator is hit. That power makes this Datsun the fastest electric car on Earth. This incredible vehicle uses a cavalcade of batteries to power the vehicle for as much as 100 miles of driving, or if you're more interested in speed than conservation, 1/4 mile of all-out hauling ass. The EV Datsun 1200 hits 0-60 in 1.8 seconds and finishes a 1/4 mile run at a very very respectable 10.4 seconds. Not even the monster that is Godzilla can top this thing. The stats are impressive, but it's even more fun to watch. If you don't get a sick laugh watching a '72 Datsun 1200 run a 10 second 1/4 mile, you probably don't have a car-loving soul.

"Just about every car enthusiast knows a little bit about the Nissan GT-R and the infamous ‘launch control feature’ that will void your warranty if it is used (to obtain the claimed 3.4second 0-60mph times). The fact of the matter is we can argue back and forth about how Nissan handled the situation. Mr. Torres’ recent class action lawsuit was settled last year and now the details have been made public with Nissan now taking certain actions.

In the settlement, Nissan denies all fault saying, “Nissan denies all the allegations in the lawsuit. More specifically, Nissan denies that there was a design or manufacturing defect, denies misrepresenting the performance capabilities of the 2009 GT-R, and denies that it refused to honor customer warranties for resulting damage without disclosure.”

Because of the settlement Nissan is now offering any 2009 Nissan GT-R owner a transmission software upgrade which we clarified some time ago when Nissan first said they would reprogram transmissions to lessen the likelihood of failure. Nissan will not deny warranty coverage for those who used their GT-R with the VDC (vehicle dynamic control – a form of traction control) off prior to receiving the notice from Nissan. Remember using the vehicle with VDC off in the ‘launch mode’ would void your warranty before? The kicker is, some owners who have grenaded trannys may still have to dish out some serious bucks or take it up in the courts like Torres did. To top off the whole situation, Nissan is pimp-slapping everyone by offering a $75 coupon for owners who sign the paperwork to get the transmission upgrade."

Side note: Here's a pretty fantastic video of a person using their GT-R to do what every GT-R owner dreams of doing: run away from the police. It's definitely helpful when said police are chasing you in a van. A cool video, with a bit of audio cut out to protect those involved, shows just how impressive the GT-R can be over a standard, every-day, vehicle (like a van) even when it's pushing itself to the limit. I guess if I had to run from the police, GT-R would be my first choice of vehicle to do with.

All of that being said, I do not recommend anyone out there ever do this as it's even more illegal and dangerous than it is cool. Which is impressive, as it is super cool.

I purchased the full TiTek Stage 1 exhaust with titanium resonated Mid-Pipe from the guys at www.southerncarparts.com, as they seemed to have the best prices I could find and were super helpful when talking to them over the phone (Here's a shout out to you guys! Thanks for the help!). Took a couple weeks to get out to me, which wasn't too terrible honestly as I'm a patient man. I was anticipating it those last couple days though, monitoring me tracking number regularly. My anticipation was well-founded. Got the exhaust on, and started it up, and my GT-R roared in a way it never had before. It wasn't throaty or gurgling like an American muscle car with a MagnaFlow on it either. It was mean and clean. The notes were crisp, the volume increase sharp as it worked through the RPM meter (sounding incredibly fierce every time I got up 5k RPMS and higher), and the immediate performance boosts were noticable on my read-outs (nice having a car that gives definitive feedback) as I was accelerating to 60 from a stop tenths of a second faster than I ever had before. I was also pulling new highs on the lateral G's coming out of sharp turns and stomping the gas. At idle it is loud, but never obnoxious, and I can still listen to music at a comfortable level inside the vehicle while driving, so I sacrifice none of the comforts which make the GT-R so great.

In short, I am very glad that I paid a little bit extra and went with the TiTek Stage 1 Aluminum exhaust (once again, this is not meant to be a knock on any other exhaust system for the GT-R as I've read positives on each and every one of them) and can not imagine any other system giving me more oomph or enjoyment. My R35 GT-R, which was already the nicest and meanest ride everywhere I go around my home town, has got a little more character and growl and became that much scarier to all other vehicles out there. Install was fairly easily done by a few guys with limited knowledge, which was a nice plus as I'm certain I couldn't have justified spending any more money to either the wife or myself, and was actually a lot of fun to do with interested friends. I'd give this exhaust an A+ all the way, if I was going to assign a letter-grade to it, and would highly recommend it to anyone out there looking to do a solid single upgrade to their Nissan GT-R. Also, if you're curious, be sure to check out the Southern Car Parts website, as those guys really helped me get this, and talked me through a couple issues and qualms I had before buying it. This was their personal recommendation, and they obviously know their stuff. A great buy for a great car and I couldn't possibly be happier. Time for me to take my GT-R out for a drive and enjoy the sound and the looks.

One last note that I forgot to mention, the tips on this exhaust look awesome as well. The flame touched titanium is a great visual touch and it really makes the rear of my GT-R look a lot meaner.

Also, Nissan, I owe you an apology. I've believed since first getting behind the wheel of a GT-R that it was a perfect vehicle, but in the last post directed towards this issue stated that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't flawless. You've come out now to correct this issue before it ever became a real problem, and for that I commend you. Keep your flagship and flawless vehicle just that, and show the rest of the automotive world how customer service and standing by your product are properly done. Bravo!

Apparently, this happens as a result of the steering fluid losing compression after the column locks, most likely as result of a faulty transmitter or other part within the column lock system. A lot of people have reported being able to jar the column loose and be able to start their car, but some have said none of the home solutions have worked at all. Nissan really needs to figure this out and repair it ASAP, as it is leaving some GT-Rs completely stranded in garages (and at times much worse places, such as parked on city streets and in busy lots). If you find yourself in one of these positions, some people have reported being able to free it and start the car by doing the following things:

Applying extra force left and then right on the wheel, hopefully pushing past a locking mechanism and increasing steering fluid compression. Once in this pressurized state, pressing the start button.

Releasing the tilt control on the wheel and using the up/down motion of that to see if the steering column will not unlock itself in another position.

Replacing the battery (sometimes this issue is result of low battery voltage to the electronic systems, apparently).

Of course, it would be preferable that none of these things were ever necessary. My recommendation to you would be to do whatever necessary to free the steering column if this leaves you stranded in a public place, as that is by no means an ideal place to leave your GT-R for an extended amount of time, and drive it either A) directly to a Nissan dealership or B) Straight home. If you take it to a dealership, report the problem immediately and have it inspected. This seems to be happening with more regular frequency, so I would be surprised if a registered Nissan GT-R mechanic had no idea how to handle the situation. If you take it home, call it a registered Nissan GT-R mechanic and have them make a house call. Hopefully, this information is just a helpful warning for you and never becomes necessary. Also, hopefully, Nissan will register a recall or a repair for the Nissan GT-R soon and stop this problem from happening any more, as it is the first stain on Godzilla's permanent record thus far. Eliminate it before it becomes a real problem Nissan, and let there be no detraction available for the Nissan GT-R.

I guess nothing can be perfect though, and in the grand scheme of things, this problem is not so bad when compared to the others some other car owners are facing (the biggest of these being the fact that they're driving anything other than a GT-R... those poor souls).

An un-official commercial, but a very awesome video:

Interesting car news, and another example of a very talented very famous and wealthy person driving a Nissan GT-R at around 4 minutes in. Pretty interesting info from the NBA Player, and a damn good looking GT-R:

A Swiss-tuned GT-R Pushing 610bhp on a dyno. I love the way this GT-R sounds here, very clean and mean:

A sub-titled Dutch review of the Nissan GT-R, pretty good review:

Official announcement below, from autoguide.com:

Brass Monkey Racing has announced plans to campaign a pair of Nissan GT-R cars in the 2010 World Challenge GT Championship with the support of Nissan North America, Inc.

The announcement signals a renewed interest for Nissan, which last participated in World Challenge with a Touring Car effort in 2005. The twin-turbo, all-wheel-drive Nissan GT-R racecars are currently under construction at Brass Monkey Racing’s Texas-based race shop and will make their North American debut March 26-28, in St. Petersburg, Fla., at the hands of two-time series race winner Tony Rivera, of Missouri City, Texas, and rookie Steve Ott, of Houston.

“We’re very excited to bring such an iconic car to the North American professional road racing scene,” Brass Monkey Racing Team Owner A.J. Brass said. “After such a successful season in 2009, finishing third in the Championship and winning in our very first race, we look forward to the challenge of bringing an entirely new platform to World Challenge. With Nissan’s assistance and great engineering and driving, we expect to contend for the 2010 Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships.”

“Nissan is very excited about the new Brass Monkey project,” Nissan North America Senior Manager – Motorsports, Wholesale and Collision Parts Growth Ron Stukenberg said. “This series aligns well with the performance of the GT-R and compliments the production attributes of the car. It’s great to have a Nissan compete in World Challenge after a brief hiatus. We look forward to having Tony and Steve at the front of the field in 2010.”

Brass noted that despite a compressed timeline to finish the new cars, they benefit from an already solid platform with the GT-R.

“Many of the cars in the series have serious modifications to the engines and drivelines from the stock vehicles,” Brass said. “The beauty of the GT-R is that it is an amazing platform to start with and we are able to utilize all of the stock internal components and drivetrain. With the exception of some of the approved series aerodynamic items and an effort to bring the car down to a competitive weight, the car will remain incredibly stock compared to most of our competition.”

Brass Monkey Racing was formed in 2009 with the support of Tax Masters. Its rookie season was a tremendous success, with Rivera, a relative unknown in professional racing, winning in the team’s very first attempt at Sebring in the team’s Porsche 911 GT3. He went on to win at Road America later in the season, finishing third in the Championship standings.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the 2010 season,” Rivera said. “I anticipate the Brass Monkey Nissans will become the most popular cars in the paddock because there is such an unbelievable following worldwide for the GT-R. My first racecar was a Showroom Stock B Nissan NX 2000, so it’s cool to be back in a Nissan – even though this one will be quite a bit different!”

Ott previously raced with Rivera with Brass Mitchell Racing, which later evolved into Brass Monkey Racing, in the 2008 Koni Challenge. Like Rivera, his roots are in SCCA Club Racing, where he finished on the podium at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Running a partial season in the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Championship, he scored good results with Newman Wachs Racing.

“I’ve always wanted to run World Challenge because of the single-driver format and amazing cars,” Ott said. “To have an opportunity to be a part of the Brass Monkey Nissan team is incredible and I can’t wait to begin testing for St. Petersburg.”

Brass Monkey Racing and its Nissan GT-R World Challenge effort will have support from Nissan, Tax Masters, Stoptech, Penske ShocksSouth Side Performance and Seibon Carbon. For more information about Brass Monkey Racing, please visit www.brassmonkey.com.

My Money's on the World Performance Car of the Year to also be the World Challenge Series Car of the Year