My trip to the "2013 GTR Experience" event

MCNAGTROC · Mar 7, 2012

since there seems to be alot of GTR interest on here and its relationship to the Gran Turismo Series i thought i would share

being a founder of NAGTROC I was invited out to the 2013 GTR experience in west palm beach FL by nissan north america... it was first class all the way .... when i got there a 2012 GTR was provided for me to use for the day with my own tent with my name on it... aswell as I was given a customized bell helmet and jacket to take home with me... the event was instructed by the skip barber team and featured AutoX ( on a Go kart track) ,lane change exercises, 1/4 drag race and then the road course... thoughout the day we also go to use the 2013 GTR... so they stuck me in a $107K car and said have at it......

It was all day from 8am-5pm and I ended up with a ton of seat time... including about 20 drag strip in the 2012 and 2013. I won the head to head drag competition in my group with 5 straight wins... also lot of track time on the road course....

I have to say my favorite part of all was i got to meet one of the lead engineers from japan aswell as the former manager for communications NISMO japan and current global marketing manager for the GTR... nicest people ive ever met and the engineer shared alot of info with me especially tips to best launch the car.. they even invited me to japan for a tour of the GTR factory. I spent a long time talking with them and one of the questions i was asked as where did my love for the GTR come from? the first thing that popped in my head was the fact that i had grown up with Gran Turismo and it was my first exposure to the car and that pretty much laid the foundation for me

They also had the nissan innovation center there with a few GT5 racing cockpits with DFGT wheel set ups...speaking of that.. i met Glenn from the US GT Academy...really cool guy

so check out a few pics.. might have some video later in the week

hope you enjoy

2013 GT-Rs

Me with Koji and Toru from Nissan Japan

yes i got to keep the sign with my name on it....going up in the garage

intro from Chief Marketing Manager for the GTR North America

Me driving a 2012

more of the same

morning introduction

2013 walk around

2013 on track

2013 Black Edition

Schwartz · Mar 7, 2012

I'm jelly bro.

Organ-Donor · Mar 7, 2012

Wow, what an experience, you were like royalty there. Grats on the head to head drag challenge win. What sort of numbers were you putting down in the 1/4 with the 2013? And you are right on about Gran Turismo being the spark for alot of peoples love for cars. Great pics. That GTR helmet is sexxxy.

MCNAGTROC · Mar 7, 2012

Organ-Donor
Wow, what an experience. Grats on the head to head drag challenge win. What sort of numbers was the 2013 doing in the 1/4? And you are right on about Gran Turismo being the spark for alot of peoples love for cars. Great pics. That GTR helmet is sexxxy.

you know what was the only little thing i took a small issue with on the day. for some reason maybe policy.. the timing lights wernt running and it was done only head to head pinks style where an event staff member would drop there hands like on the show.

Oh and i shouldnt really be bragging about the drag win haha i dont think anyone took it serious but me.. i would say half of my group or more had never driven a GTR as I was in the group where a car awas provided for you as it was a mix of possible future owners and out of state VIPs ( the others groups used their own GTRs)..... so you know i might have had a bit of a edge there lol

but yeah the 2013 felt strong it hooked up the best of all the ones i drove.... i think i got 2 runs in it and tons with about 7 different 2012s swapping in and out of them as they pulled up to the line... and they were all so close with some of the 2012's being more different from one another than from a 2012... it was hot and the track wasnt really prepped but the 2013 certainly doesnt feel faster than my 2012 with a midpipe... i did try to use one of those GPS phone apps to time one of my 2013 runs and it came up with 11.0... who knows how accurate but atleast i tried...

very true on the GT thing.... i know alot of people complain about the overload of GTR/skyline love in the series but to me they are forever linked and be honest if your in your late 20's to 30's and lived outside a market where the car was previously sold GT was always your window to cars like that

Organ-Donor · Mar 7, 2012

Very cool. You got to meet some pretty neat people from Nissan. Can't wait to see vids. 👍 BTW, how much you want for the helmet? :sly:

niky · Mar 7, 2012

Phone apps suck... the refresh rate on the phone is too slow.

If you have a 60" time display (I usually use the simple "Car Performance" app), then you can correct for erroneous 60" and 120" times (this is where the apps make the most mistakes) and correct the overall time for your run.

Of course, with a car that fast, a phone refreshing GPS data just one or two tenths too slow will ruin the readings... but you get a good ballpark figure. When I have to use the phone, I do several runs and discard the oddballs.

-

Absolute best way is to have a Racelogic V-Box or DriftBox with suction cups and an RC battery. Friend converted his to run off that rather than the lighter socket. It's great for testing two cars side-by-side, as this set-up makes it easy to mount and dismount without having to reboot the equipment each time.

-

Oh... and slightly on topic... green with envy!

MCNAGTROC · Mar 7, 2012

Organ-Donor
Very cool. You got to meet some pretty neat people from Nissan. Can't wait to see vids. 👍 BTW, how much you want for the helmet?

man its priceless to me... i used it for autoX this past sunday and am going to the 1/4 this weekend so i need some luck on that...after that gonna probably put it up as a display piece and use my regular helmet

here is a front shot of it

Organ-Donor · Mar 7, 2012

niky
Absolute best way is to have a Racelogic V-Box or DriftBox with suction cups and an RC battery. Friend converted his to run off that rather than the lighter socket. It's great for testing two cars side-by-side, as this set-up makes it easy to mount and dismount without having to reboot the equipment each time.

Yeah, I've been looking into getting a Vbox. Don't they run around $400?

MCNAGTROC
man its priceless to me... i used it for autoX this past sunday and am going to the 1/4 this weekend so i need some luck on that...after that gonna probably put it up as a display piece and use my regular helmet

here is a front shot of it

That helmet is sweet. I was kidding about buying it, I know its like a keepsake.

Jay · Mar 7, 2012

Wow looked like great fun and would have been awesome to speak to the Japanese engineers directly.

What was their response when you mentioned Gran Turismo laid the foundation to your love of the GT-R?

MCNAGTROC · Mar 7, 2012

Jay
Wow looked like great fun and would have been awesome to speak to the Japanese engineers directly.

What was their response when you mentioned Gran Turismo laid the foundation to your love of the GT-R?

a big smile and nodding of the head.. they were the coolest! exactly how i had imagined them being very authentically invested in the GTR and very technical when explaining things..made be even more proud to me an owner as they spoke about the car and the program with so much pride

Jay · Mar 7, 2012

Thats great to hear, it is how I imagined they would be after seeing so many development videos of the GT-R.

So are you going to take up the offer of a Factory tour?

niky · Mar 7, 2012

Organ-Donor
Yeah, I've been looking into getting a Vbox. Don't they run around $400?

Worth every fricking penny. Buy the antenna attachment, too.

Ibonibo · Mar 7, 2012

Very cool mate.
Looks like it's a really great way to spend a day:tup:

Blitz187 · Mar 7, 2012

The color of your GTR has to be my new favorite shade of blue EVAR!

Looks like you had a really good time there... I wouldnt understand how you couldn't! Nice write and pics.

sumbrownkid · Mar 7, 2012

Is the black edition the replacement for the Spec V? Or is it just the current top trim?

MCNAGTROC · Mar 7, 2012

Blitz187
The color of your GTR has to be my new favorite shade of blue EVAR! Looks like you had a really good time there... I wouldnt understand how you couldn't! Nice write and pics.

oh that blue car was the one nissan gave more for the day..

mine is black on black

MCNAGTROC · Mar 7, 2012

sumbrownkid
Is the black edition the replacement for the Spec V? Or is it just the current top trim?

the black edition has been around since 2008 in other markets.. the US just got it last year and the US version did get the wheels from the specV...but besides that it doesnt really have any performance additions or weight savings..just some interior trim and recaro seats... the "Track Pack" edition of the car offered in japan and europe for 2012... i guess it sort of a replacement for the specV in the fact that it uses alot of same parts and it track focuses... but i would imagine before the R35 life span is over a true replacement might come out

MCNAGTROC · Mar 8, 2012

a lap with me in the 2013... you couldnt pass so you had to back it off a bit to keep the right distance from the car in front

on the back stretch they had set up like a 70-75mph slalom which was fun but got kind of old quickly...so we were just by passing that the end of the session.. but you had to make sure the car infront of you didnt go through it before you got flat out or that wouldnt have been good lol.. i wish we wernt so bunched up that back stretch is probably a 155 mph area flat out depending on how deep you want to brake... in traffic i only saw like 145 which feels like 90 in the GTR

Organ-Donor · Mar 8, 2012

Very cool. I like the HUD. You got up to some speed there on the straight, the guy in front was holding you back. So did you get the car to yourself because of your experience, or did everyone get their own car without an instructor?

MCNAGTROC · Mar 8, 2012

there was no instructor in car at all... the first GTR in every group was driven by an instructor and since you couldnt pass everyone took turns doing a lap or so behind the instructor car( one of the blue cars) to get the lines down.... so you had to wait your turn to get up front..i had never seen the track before i jumped in the car so it took me a bit... a few laps in just laid back and created as much space as i could so i could get up a bit of speed....i just didnt want to run into the back of or rear end a 100K car that wasnt mine haha

comparability when we have our track days at VIR we get up over 155 on that back stretch and its over a blind crest... this one was no big deal as it was flat

MCNAGTROC · Jun 18, 2012

a little update to this thread

Nissan held their final event of the year in NY this weekend and the GTR Creator and Chief Engineer Mizuno-San was there.... my friend who is the Marketing Manager for the GTR program in the US got one of my under the hood panels signed for me that i had sent up!

i am also being sent some surprise they said was very special..so we will see i have no clue what it might be

Leonidae@MFT · Jun 18, 2012

Cool!

Organ-Donor · Jun 19, 2012

MCNAGTROC
a little update to this thread

Nissan held their final event of the year in NY this weekend and the GTR Creator and Chief Engineer Mizuno-San was there.... my friend who is the Marketing Manager for the GTR program in the US got one of my under the hood panels signed for me that i had sent up!

i am also being sent some surprise they said was very special..so we will see i have no clue what it might be

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/594/20120618142525578.jpg/

Can I buy your GTR helmet then you luck ****.

My trip to the "2013 GTR Experience" event

MCNAGTROC

Schwartz

Organ-Donor

MCNAGTROC

Organ-Donor

niky

Karma Chameleon

MCNAGTROC

Organ-Donor

Jay

MCNAGTROC

Jay

niky

Karma Chameleon

Ibonibo

Blitz187

The Man From Amsterdam

sumbrownkid

MCNAGTROC

MCNAGTROC

MCNAGTROC

Organ-Donor

MCNAGTROC

MCNAGTROC

Leonidae@MFT

MFT Crash Test Dummie

Organ-Donor

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