IS AN R34 GT-R WORTH THE MONEY?

[Music] yes the r35 nissan gtr owes its lineage to the gtrs that came before the r32 the r33 and r34 all had a role in shaping this car but when production of the r34 ended it wasn't until 2008 that the world saw its successor and what a successor the r35 has been but how does the porky 4 thousand pound r35 compare to the 3 400 pound r34 my road test review is coming up right after the break confession i hate cleaning my own cars that's why i love adam's polishes whatever you want to clean polish or shine adams has a specific product just for that even for matte finishes since 2000 adams polishes has been offering premium car care products dedicated to the enthusiast whether you're a professional detailer or a weekend warrior their innovative and effective products will enable you to achieve amazing results on your prized possession atoms made with pride and passion in the usa years ago i was lucky enough to realize one of my dreams i bought my first gt-r i had been japanese car fans since the 1970s and owning a skyline gtr was the culmination of my quest to own the ultimate jdm vehicle i had that car for about two years and i put about six thousand miles on the clock during that time and i also got a chance to wring it out at a couple of track days today i own a 2015 gtr that i purchased new back in 2014 so i wanted to do a long-term road test between these two cars and when my friend 458 destroyer loaned me his r34 for the summer i had the chance to do exactly that let's start with the r34 of course the r34 needs no introduction if you're watching my channel you know all about this car like its predecessors the r34 uses the tried and true rb26 rated at about 280 horsepower from the factory it's been proven that these engines were underrated and that they really made closer to about 330 horsepower at the wheels for its time the r34s attesta system coupled with the highest four-wheel steering system was the pinnacle of sports car technology in fact one could argue that the r34 was more advanced than any ferrari or lamborghini of that time period and for proof of that you can look at the lap times of competitors cars like the 1999 diablo which did the nurburgring in about eight minutes and four seconds of memory serves and the r34 gtr did it in seven minutes and 49 seconds that's pretty quick right so how quick really is the r34 stock the car gets to 60 miles an hour in just under five seconds and it covers the quarter mile and around 13.5 seconds depending on which journalist you believe in my modified blackbird was a little bit faster and it was clocked by rodent track magazine so it fared a little better it did 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds and covered the quarter mile in about 12.2 seconds so if you're coming into an r34 from a 1990s nissan honda or something like that the r34 feels legitimately quick but if you're jumping into an r34 after owning or driving any car making 400 horsepower from say 2007 or on the r34 will probably feel adequate but probably not amazing time has moved on right for its time though it was highly competitive compared to the r35 it would get taken to gapplebies it would just get left so it's no surprise there after all a 2017 z01 camaro will run circles around a 1997 camaro right and of course with nissan's highest four wheel steering system owners either heaped praise upon it or disabled it just as quick as they got it the truth is that most of us mere mortals are really in no position to give definitive opinions on the hika system because few of us have anywhere near the racing experience to give a meaningful appraisal of the system so i'm going to avoid that i just i will just state that i took my system off inside the r34 the cool mfd or multi-function display was advanced for its time and was something that really made this generation of the gtr very special it was like being in a video game today it seems almost ancient compared to today's standards but in 1999 it was the cutting edge and it's one of the things that r34 owners love most about this car slide behind the wheel of an r34 and you are taken back in time to when games like gran turismo attracted car fans of all ages even old guys like me honestly you get in the car the nostalgia hits you instantly suddenly you're a teenager all over again only the symphony that you hear from under the hood remind you that this is not a video game and it's real life no digitized synthesized sound files just authentic guttural sounds sung by the rb26 no video game ever got those sounds just right and of course the sweet sound of hks super sequential blow-off valves is something you have to hear at least once in your life there's no other experience like it what does it sound like it sounds like 1999 baby a time when you didn't have to get cavities searched every time you went to the airport and no one needed a safe space because of a tweet good times from the moment the rb26 comes to life you feel yourself turning the hands of time back to a time when all was right with the world gas was cheaper everybody knew what gender they were and supers and skylines were relatively affordable oh the good old days so driving the r34 is everything you would expect it to be it's about the noise it's about the smells it's about the visceral experience of driving your childhood hero this is the car that you grew up wanting and when you finally get behind the wheel it is everything you wanted it to be it's fast it's smooth it's fun to drive it gets looks manual transmission none of that dct and it sounds so good yes and yes so it has a few rattles so it's not very refined okay but it's kind of the same thing that you would say if you were dating a stripper lots of satisfaction but maybe lacking a little bit of refinement okay i can live with that and it doesn't have all the stuff that you expect from a car for this price range back up camera cruise control heated seats air conditioned seats but what it does come with is this how much would you pay for that how much all of it right this is why you buy an r34 gtr the r34 brings a more emotional a more personal experience it's a samurai warrior a precision instrument and in the hands of an expert it can do amazing things or it could kill you interior wise though the r34 is no porsche the gtr's materials are focused on durability not luxury you won't find double stitch upholstery and there's not even a hint of alcantara or leather anywhere but that's not what this car is about it's as if nissan engineers that those creature comforts had no place in a car purpose built for purists although i'm a little confused as to why these cars came with ashtrays oh yeah everybody in japan smokes or did at least back then the materials the switch gear and the technology seem instantly familiar and easy to use maybe it's because we've been playing them in video games maybe because a lot of us have been mid 90s dotsons before nissan's before right when driving an r34 at moderate speeds it drives pretty much like any number of mid to late 90s nissan cars probably the closest thing would be an s14 with coilovers i had one of those for a while it feels very similar but with the olin's coilovers on this gt-r the ride is super stiff like really stiff so stiff that every pavement transition reminds you that this car should not be your first choice for cross-country trips it's just too bouncy the upside is that you feel every bit of the road if you like that sort of thing if you run over a condom you'll be able to tell if it's been used or not given that this car is 22 years old it has a few more rattles than my r34 did back in 2001 which was two years old which is understandable but when compared to an r35 gtr this car rides like a skateboard and the r35 rides like a cadillac again this car is 22 years old my r35 is only seven years old but the r34 is handling a sharp without a doubt there's no drama and it feels sure-footed the stock brakes are more than adequate for most applications but you'll want to have upgraded pads lines and rotors for serious track duties still it's capable right out of the box there are a few quirks about the r34 if you're driving one in a country where they drive on the right hand side of the road like we do here in the united states of america if you live in a country like the usa you're going to find the turn indicator stock on the wrong side of the steering wheel it's on this side and the r34 it's on this side of america right you'll also find yourself looking in the wrong place when you check your mirrors when i'm driving along and i look in my rear view mirror and my r35 i'm looking over here for the r34 it's over there your muscle memory and instincts after decades of driving on the left side of the car are distracting at first to say the least but you pick it up after a few sessions but switching between cars each day it gets a little complicated left hand turn lanes are also problematic because you can't see beyond the left the opposing left-hand turn if you're sitting here i can't see the cars over here because i'm sitting on the wrong side of the car but none of these shortcomings or idiosyncrasies gave me even a moment of pause when i bought my r34 gtr 20 years ago these are just things you have to accept as a weekend driver and show car it was exactly what i wanted at that time to drive it fast and have some fun but take it to car shows i paid 78 thousand dollars for that car back then to put that in perspective 78 000 would be 91 000 in today's dollars here in 2021 to put it in more perspective back in 2001 78 000 was almost double the price of a corvette and the 2002 porsche turbo could be had for fifteen thousand dollars i had good times with my r34 but i wanted to move up market so i sold that car in 2003. in the years that followed i own two different lamborghini diablos of 98 sv and an o1 vt as well as a 2003 996 turbo an e46 m3 a 1 000 horsepower supra and sl 600 mercedes and a b7 audi rs4 to name a few in february of 2014 i purchased this r35 gtr and today it has been the best car i've ever owned bar none before buying that car though i looked at a large assortment of cars before i settled on that car for the money it was the best car on the road performance wide here in 2021 having now owned my gtr for the better part of seven years i've had plenty of opportunity to formulate opinions on this cars it's done track days i've been commuted in the car and i've driven it daily the r35 is an r34 on steroids the 3.8 liter v6 doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the rb26 but it's 545 base horsepower and super fast dct transmission and 0 to 60 times and 2.8 seconds have me saying so what i don't care that it's not an r34 the r35 takes advantage of two decades of evolution and improvements in nissan's ateza ets system ateza stands for advanced total traction engineering system for all terrain with electronic torque split that's a mouthful japanese guys during a standing start the system sends only two percent of the available torque to the front wheels and 98 to the rear essentially making the gtr a rear drive car thanks to the number of sensors specially developed clutches and maybe a bit of ufo technology nissan has been able to create a system that can split torque from front to rear in milliseconds up to a maximum of 50 50 split and it is all done automatically and instantaneously this is the system that has helped the r35 gtr rain as the king of the 0 to 60 times for about a decade to this day the r35 gtr is still faster to 60 miles per hour than cars costing two to five times the price basically the r35 is a jekyll and hyde experience put it in drive and it's a freeway cruiser it's a grocery getter it's a commuter it does all of those things switch the transmission to manual and you're ready for canyon carving change the suspension settings and maybe add a set of sticky tires and you're all set for a high performance track day event when you do the full bolt-ons to these cars to include downpipes an exhaust system a set of bigger fuel injectors fuel pump upgrades e85 and a tune you're adding about 120 horsepower so you're taking the 545 horsepower up to about 625 to 650 at the wheels despite this it still pulls 24 miles per gallon on the highway nobody cares about empg in these cars i know that but i just mentioned it for those who were curious driving the r35 is a no fuss affair you hop in using your keyless entry and you push a button these cars start up every time and on the first try the r35s dct gearbox is smoother and shifts way faster than the r34 by a long shot but it's nowhere near as good as say a modern porsche pdk or the more recent crop of dcds available in cars like the new ford gts ferraris and the lamborghinis it's still great but it's just not as good as those but it's certainly better than the r34 all right let's talk r35 now driving them back to back as i have done for the past few weeks there is some serious differences between the cars now i'm not comparing a brand new r35 gtr to a 20 year old nissan r34 gtr this car is now seven years old i bought it as a 2015 model on valentine's day of 2014 so it is seen some miles i've got over 50 000 miles on the car it's pretty much been my daily driver for the last seven years although we have another car in the house this is the car i've been driving all that time out of the 40 cars that i've owned in my life this is by far my favorite car that i've ever owned and i've ever driven with the possible exception of a mclaren that being said there are some distinct similarities between the r35 and the r34 you have an mfd a multi-function display now obviously the card being 20 years newer this is designed by polyphony which is the company that did sony playstations graphics right i believe that was what it was but there's a lot of refinements that come with this car this car has a backup camera this all those silly accoutrements that you find in modern cars whether they're gt cars or even sports cars maybe not in that porsche gt3 but corvettes ferraris that kind of stuff all the kind of stuff that you would want to have and that's great however it feels like it has lost some of that visceral experience you're not rolling gears in this car it's a dct transmission which is quick to respond and makes the car faster but you're not rolling gears there's no heel and toe all that stuff is gone but what it is is a goddamn beast this thing's got the beans and i supply the rice 655 horsepower at the wheels all-wheel drive on e85 this is nothing special in the r35 gtr world a lot of people are driving these cars making 900 horsepower and they're driving them daily that's what makes this car great yes a lot of people say the car can drive itself right i've heard that nonsense i defy you to do this go out to any race track and turn all the traction controls off and tell me that the car drives itself you'll after the first spin you're going to realize that you actually need some talent to drive the car but still it's a lot easier to drive than an r34 so does that make it better does it make it more livable or does it make it worse that depends right it's got cruise control you got three suspension settings you have normal soft or race it gets very stiff if you're driving the car for a long time you'll feel the difference you as a passenger is getting in the car probably wouldn't feel it right away but as soon as i put it this off you can see it gets softer so which one is better the r34 the r35 it depends do you like a more masculine experience a more hands-on drivers experience than the r34 is your car if you want a car that anybody can drive fast and you just don't want to be bothered with having to live with the idiosyncrasies or the noises or the smells then you're gonna buy an r35 it's not the same experience as an r34 but it depends on what you want do you want it soft or you don't want it hard i'm sure your wife has something to say about that dcts are better than conventional manual gearboxes in every performance measurement the computer controls the gearbox and it's shifting far better than any human can and that translates into quicker quarter mile times quicker zero to 60 times dct transmissions are now the only transmission offering in nearly every supercar in the world today no human can shift as fast as one of these transmissions but there is a lot to be said about the fun factor that can only come from a true manual gearbox and a lot of people say that i get it and that's your jam what can i tell you but the 0 to 60 times are not the only reason the r35 is light years ahead of the r34 the r35 now has become a gentleman sports cars for better or worse but it still manages to have a touch of boy racer it depends on how much you modify your r35 but a 650 wheel horsepower r35 is perfectly suitable for commuting long road trips and even costco pickups yes it weighs almost 600 pounds more than the r34 but it is better in every performance measurement category by a wide margin it has many of the creature comforts you'd expect on a car like a lexus and the ability to still run lap times that are competitive or superior to rivals costing many times its cost at track days so there's a lot to be said for the dual purpose rolls right there are no rattles on this car no squeaks no leaks and everything works my r35 is seven years old so it's no spring chicken and it currently has about 50 000 miles on the clock and it's still as tight as a frog's butthole the r35s interior though still lacks the sophistication of upmarket rivals but it also lacks the steeper sticker price of its competitors despite all this is still noticeably smoother quieter and offers a much smoother ride than the r34 the transmission offers multiple options as does the traction control system so there are a lot of options to tune it the way you want just by throwing a switch in summary the r35 is a modern rendition of the r34 gtr holistically refined tweaked and polished to a whole new level in my opinion it's the natural evolution of the r34 forged during two decades of experimentation development and refinement of course pierce will argue that the r34 is a more visceral driving experience than the r35 and frankly they'd be right but you have to manhandle an r34 to turn great lap times it's a lot of work to do it watch the old options videos in an r35 changes of direction or speed are achieved effortlessly which means that this car can turn much faster lap times than its predecessor with much less effort acceleration in an r35 is instantaneous and merciless it should be given that its engine is considerably larger than the r34 and makes double the horsepower so no surprise there but it's a fact despite the performance data there are those who will not be satisfied until they own an r34 no matter how much it costs and i get it i understand it you want to own your dream certainly every car enthusiast knows that there are better cars for the money that's not the issues not the money for some people therefore though buying an r34 has to be an emotional decision there's no defendable logic to such a purchase otherwise it has to be about the emotions so does the r34 live up to the hype in a word yeah it really does so what it really comes down to is what price would you pay to live your dream how much can you afford as of this writing even black market bootleg r34 gtrs are selling for well over 150 000 in the usa these cars are not legal here yet so you can't get a legal r-34 on u.s roads until 2024. by then clean low mile examples will be well over 200 000 at that point you would be able to buy two r35s for the price of a used r34 or any number of other cars that are superior to the r34 so again ultimately it comes down to which part of your anatomy is making your purchasing decision is it your brain or is it your heart that's it for this episode everybody i hope you enjoyed it thanks so much for watching please don't forget to subscribe so you can get notified when new episodes drop and don't forget to check out the video description down below so you can cash in on coupon codes for products and services from my sponsors we'll see you next time so you

Channel: Craig Lieberman

Views: 75,318

Rating: 4.9240932 out of 5

Keywords: R34 GTR, R35 GTR, Paul Walker, Fast and Furious Skyline, Fast and Furious GTR, Motorex

Id: fWjkt197rQc

Length: 21min 42sec (1302 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 30 2021