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GOTO:Racing R35 GT-R Stretches its Legs at Infineon Raceway


Brian L.

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The GOTO:Racing GT-R finally had its first day on track and the performance was nothing short of amazing. At a race weight of about 3650 lbs with fuel and driver, and running a R35 motor with a COBB stage 2 map and open exhaust as its only modification, the car turned a shocking 1:39.5 lap time at Infineon Raceway. “I knew the car was going to be fast,” commented Brian Lock, GOTO:Racing's lead driver, “but I never imagined we would break into the 30's our first day out. When my Dad came over the radio and told me that I was running 1:40 flats in my first session not braking-in the motor, I knew this car would be everything we all hoped it woul be.”

 

Steve Lock, owner and crew chief for GOTO:Racing commented, “The Nissan GT-R platform just blew us away today. It is a real testament to Nissan's engineering that we achieved the lap times we did today with a mostly stock GT-R and green set-up.”

 

Seeing the first fully Road Race prepped GT-R roll out onto the track for the first time held a moment of excitement for the entire crew but the day had its bumps. The first session was reserved for basic motor break-in and chassis shake down. A few minor tweaks were made right away. It was clear from the first session that the car needed more spring and bar. With 3600+ lbs sitting down on the suspension and huge sticky Hoosiers slicks created some serious loading. Also, as expected, the ABS system proved to be too smart for its own good and it was quickly discovered as speeds increased that it was not programmed for the grip levels the car is producing. Both Brian and Chris Lock commented that the balance of the car was great, “It just wants to be driven fast,” Chris Lock explained with a smile. The JRZ shocks were doing a great job right out of the box controlling the massive car, only small adjustments were made to stabilize the rear end under acceleration.

 

GOTO: Racing at the end of the day was happy with the car's performance, but as all good race teams they left the track with a list of modifications to be done to continue to develop the potential seen today. They predict the GT-R to be multiple seconds faster in a matter of weeks. The first concern on the table is the cars' weight and should drop by about 200 lbs. A custom tune from Forged Performance should increase power output significantly. The aero package is currently very simple and plans for more front and rear downforce are in the works.

 

The next scheduled test is August 21-23 at Thunderhill Raceway with NASA. The car will be running in its first wheel to wheel race in the Super Unlimited class. Longevity testing will be the focus of the next test day. We know the car has the speed to take overall at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, but GOTO:Racing's engineers need to make it last.

 

GOTO:Racing would like to thank its sponsors all of whom put their faith in this project and contributed a significant amount of support to make this build possible...

 

 

Sheedy Crane

GT:R Fabrication

North American GTR Owners Club – http://www.nagtroc.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Forged Performance - http://www.forgedperformance.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Brooks Motorsports Engineering (MODE Racing)

JRZ Suspension - http://www.jrzsuspension.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hoosier Racing Tire – http://www.hoosiertirewest.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jongbloed Racing Wheels - http://www.jongbloedracing.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Motorsport Brake Specialists and Performance Friction Brakes - http://www.motorsportbrakespecialists.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rob Green Nissan

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The adjusted power to weight on the car for this day was 7.11 making it just in the TTU class with lots of room to spare. Look out track records .

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In-car video from the test...

 

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Never once saw counter steer.... She got some push to her?

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In-car video from the test...

 

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Never once saw counter steer.... She got some push to her?

 

It has a little push, but that is not really why you did not see counter steer. I was only pushing about 80% since it was only the cars 4'th session ever on track.

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First off, WHAT AN AMAZING CAR, WHAT AN AMAZING BUILD THREAD!! oh, and the final pics are BE-UTIFUL!!!

 

Two questions,

#1: Watching the in-car, it appears the right side net is at or below your shoulders, is this an optical illusion, lowered for video footage is it really that low? Personally, I would like to see it wrapped around the right side head bolster of the seat. Too many times these nets are installed incorrectly which ultimately could be more dangerous than having no net at all.

#2: Are you planning on doing any wheel to wheel racing or just TT? Reason I ask is because I am curious as to how the GT-R's "automatic" transmission falls into play in the racing rules. I know it is far more advanced than any other automatic and could easily be called a manual, but technically it is still an auto.

 

I am truly envious of this fine piece of art that is being used for what it was intended for, evoking smiles from anyone that drives it.

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First off, WHAT AN AMAZING CAR, WHAT AN AMAZING BUILD THREAD!! oh, and the final pics are BE-UTIFUL!!!

 

Two questions,

#1: Watching the in-car, it appears the right side net is at or below your shoulders, is this an optical illusion, lowered for video footage is it really that low? Personally, I would like to see it wrapped around the right side head bolster of the seat. Too many times these nets are installed incorrectly which ultimately could be more dangerous than having no net at all.

#2: Are you planning on doing any wheel to wheel racing or just TT? Reason I ask is because I am curious as to how the GT-R's "automatic" transmission falls into play in the racing rules. I know it is far more advanced than any other automatic and could easily be called a manual, but technically it is still an auto.

 

I am truly envious of this fine piece of art that is being used for what it was intended for, evoking smiles from anyone that drives it.

 

1) I believe it is a bit of an optical illusion, but it might have slipped down a bit. I need to get some clamps to retain it properly.

 

2) We are definetely planning on racing wheel to wheel with it, actually that is the main reason we built it. We are going to be doing some Redline Time Attack stuff just to try to bring in some sponsors to fund some pro wheel to wheel stuff. We want to bring the car to either World Challenge GT, or Rolex GT.

 

I don't think there will be any problem with the transmission, there are similar paddle shift cars that race right now, ie. Ferrari.

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Reason I ask is because I am curious as to how the GT-R's "automatic" transmission falls into play in the racing rules. I know it is far more advanced than any other automatic and could easily be called a manual, but technically it is still an auto.

 

care to elaborate on that any more? (I ask b/c I also plan on racing with my dual-clutch box)

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Reason I ask is because I am curious as to how the GT-R's "automatic" transmission falls into play in the racing rules. I know it is far more advanced than any other automatic and could easily be called a manual, but technically it is still an auto.

 

care to elaborate on that any more? (I ask b/c I also plan on racing with my dual-clutch box)

 

False alarm, I needed to expand my rulebook knowledge outside the few classes that don't allow automatics.

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The transmission is not technically an automatic; in fact it has nothing in common with an automatic except for the fact that it has no clutch pedal. It is a dual clutch manual transmission like the one being used in F1 and other motorsports. It is controlled by a computer instead of a clutch. When you press the paddle the computer disengages the clutch and reengages it faster than we could depress a clutch pedal, in fact the dual clutch enables the transmission to select the next gear and prior to releasing the current gear which results shifts in milliseconds.

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