Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Road & Track Magazine Supercar Tuner

Photos by Guy Spangenberg
A few weeks back we shared on our blog that we were invited by a major Automotive magazine editor for a supercar comparison, well the editor  was Sam Mitani of Road & Track magazine and the challenge was to compare four elite Tuned Supercars (GMG Audi R8 LeMans TT, D3 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe and CEC Mercedes-Benz SLS).  We were happy to represent Japanese Tuners with our 4.3L GReddy Twin Turbo R35 (GR43 GT-R)  And as you can see from the results below, with some help from KW suspension, Whiteline, SP Engineering, Dodson, Rays and Toyo, we did quite well... 

Even with our GReddy stroker 4.3L engine, the 6 cylinder VR43DETT,  had the smallest displacement of the bunch, yet on pump gas (91) tuning with our 94mm Titanium Exhaust, Type-29 intercooler, twin TD06-20G turbo kit, at 25psi, it still made the most horsepower and torque.

Photos by Guy Spangenberg
But when it came time for performance test, we dialed the PRofec boost controller back to about 20psi, for the car to be more manageable for the magazine test drivers.  Even still the results were impressive.  0-60 in just 2.45sec. and the 1/4mile in just 9.9sec.   Sam Mitani said "...this car beat the $2.7 million Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (November 2011 issue) to 60 mph and to the quarter mile, the GR43 can be regarded as something of a bargain."  (this is the 2nd time we had a driver tell us our GT-R was faster then a Veyron)

The GR43 also had the best 0-100mph time, shortest braking distances (thanks to the TopSecret rotors), and even though the car was more set-up for a short road course then, a skidpad or slalom, we recorded the top Lateral Acceleration of 0.99g and just short of the best Slalom, by just 0.4mph (73.1mph).


Look for the full article "Performance Overload" in the next Road & Track issue.
and more photos of the GReddy GR43 (here)


GReddy GR43 GT-R D3 Cadillac CTS-V Cpe. GMG R8 LeMans TT CEC Mercedes-Benz SLS
2009 2011 2010 2011
Engine Twin Turbo 4.3L V6 Supercharged 6.2L V8 Twin Turbo 5.2L V10 6.2L V8
(The GReddy GT-R has 2 less cylinders and the smallest displacement in the group)
HP / Torque   900bhp / 750ft-lb * 705bhp / 676ft-lb 780bhp / 470ft-lb 635bhp / 525ft-lb
(The GReddy GT-R set at low boost, also has the most Horsepower and Toque)
0-60mph   2.45 sec * 3.9 sec 3.6 sec 3.7 sec
(The GReddy GT-R set the quickest 0-60 time, by over one second)
0-100mph   5.1 sec * 8.5 sec 7.3 sec 8.1 sec
(The GReddy GT-R set the quickest 0-100 time, by over two seconds)
1/4mile / mph   9.9sec @ 144.5mph * 12.1sec @ 121mph 11.4sec @ 131mph 11.8sec @ 123.4mph
(The GReddy GT-R set the quickest quarter-mile time. 2.5 seconds faster then the next quickest)
Braking, 60-0mph   112 ft * 113 ft 119 ft 116 ft
(The GReddy GT-R had the shortest braking distance from 60mph to 0)
Braking-100-0mph   195 ft * 199 ft 197 ft 197 ft
(The GReddy GT-R also had the shortest braking distance from 100mph to 0)
Lateral Acceleration   0.99g * 0.89g 0.98g 0.98g
(The GReddy GT-R recorded the best Lateral Acceleration)
700ft Slalom Speed 73.1 mph 69.3 mph   73.5 mph * 69.2 mph
(The GReddy GT-R had the 2nd fastest Slalom by just 0.4mph, even though the car was set-up more for a road course)