Porsche doubts Nissan GT-R 'Ring lap time

It may be a matter of the tires used, along with other modifications. The cars they do this with are not hardly stock.

"Isn't there some governing body that verifies all this?"

I've had a similar thought. I think there is going to have to be someone to oversee these "one up" attempts in order to give them validity.

I'll also make a prediction - this arms race of sorts at the 'ring is going to continue to escalate (which is fine by me) but at some point someone's going to stuff it and not walk away (not okay with me). If you watch the ZR-1 video, you can see numerous "that was close" moments (IM armchair O).

I'm pretty sure they'll test the ZR-1 next, and somehow they won't be able to get that around in time either. Something, maybe common sense, says they won't get near record times on anything they drive without a Porsche badge.

I have no problem with Porsche asking for verification. Its too easy to make claims on this course and there are too many variables overall.

That being said, one of the two organizations has a lot to lose in this argument and I cannot imagine that Porsche would issue this statement without doing its homework.

Ask all the magazine reviews that consistently took the GT-R and the 911 Turbo around a track, and the GT-R has been faster in every review.

I would suspect driver error.
The GT-R is supposedly driven differently than all the other cars (foot on the accel and brake pedal at different times) due to its whacko computer logic and automated correction.
The Porsche driver may have been driving Porsche-style, which would be fast in a Porsche, but not a Nissan.

Porsche doubts Nissan GT-R 'Ring lap time....

...so do I.

I think all of these numbers (be it chevy, nissan, or anyone else) are very optomistic.

Well seeing that Edmunds' production GTR has produced significantly worse numbers than their original test vehicle, surprise surprise....

I would imagine the 'ring staff are the ones that officiate times on their track.

Actually, Edmunds did a feature on track times at the 'Ring. Basically, no official time keepers and questions as to when the clock starts and stops.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=131934

I was just there myself--there is no external lap timing at the track on non-race days. Anything you read is pure honor system. This applies equally to Porsche's release on this matter, too.

Each car company uses on-board GPS equipment of their own--not external timers operated by the track and printed out for all to see. There is no third-party sanctioning body overseeing the proceedings or tech-inspecting the cars.

Besides, these are development test days, so it is very likely that the production spec is still up in the air when they are at the 'ring. They could easily have had a different engine ECU spec, completely different tires or merely same-looking tires with alternate rubber compounds. Tire testing is part of the test regimen at the 'ring, after all. Also in flux are brake pad compounds, shock valvings, spring rates, etc.

After going home, the realities of EPA fuel economy ratings, ride comfort on the 405 freeway, the need for a hint more understeer to prevent the non-skilled from looping it, tire life and brake noise can temper the final spec. There could be 25 seconds right there on a track of this complexity and high speed.

Some carmakers refrain from publishing official 'ring times for precisely these reasons.

The same doubts apply to manufacturer claims of 0-60 times or anything else you hear in ads. Do they use rollout? Was the tank full? What was the surface? Even some of the independent third party companies cited in ads are there to serve the marketing side, so we don't even believe those results. That's why we test.

Thanks for the detailed explanation,"Actual".

didn't Chevy claim their Zr1 was showroom stock?

If someone could get Polyphony Digital to put a Porsche 911 Turbo into GT5 Prologue, and the Nürburgring track, then we can all see who's telling the truth or not. LOL...