Today we turn out attention to Nissan GT-R's tires and drivetrain. The Nissan GT-R is "shoed" by Bridgestone and Dunlop with specially developed tires with stiff treads, essential for high-speed driving.
The NISSAN GT-R is equipped with a ATTESA E-TS all wheel drive system that optimally distributes power to the front wheels when and if necessary.
From Nissan's press Release:
Tires
As befits a very special car, so the tires for the Nissan GT-R are unique, specially developed
for Nissan's flagship. The tires offer an extraordinary combination of high-speed balance, high-grip cornering on the world's most testing racing circuits (such as the Nürburgring), great traction in the rain plus pliant comfort in the city. The tires' run-flat structures allow for 80 km (50 miles) of driving at 80 km/h (50 mph) - an amazing achievement.
Specially developed by Bridgestone and Dunlop, the tires have very stiff treads, essential for high-speed driving. They are also excellent at dissipating water, important for a car designed to
perform equally well on smooth racing circuits or winter country roads.
Normally, run-flat tires have very hard sidewalls, essential for maintaining tire shape after a puncture. The Nissan GT-R's tires have unusually pliant sidewalls, improving steering, agility and ride comfort. They are filled with nitrogen rather than conventional air, which prevents pressure change during high speed driving.
The tires are 255/40ZRF20 front and larger 285/35ZRF20 rear. The 20-inch alloy wheel rims
have special knurling better to secure the tires during especially hard acceleration or braking.
Studless tires, specially designed for the Nissan GT-R, are also available through selected Nissan dealers in Japan.
Four-wheel drive
The new Nissan GT-R uses probably the most advanced four-wheel drive system on a road car ever used. The all-wheel drive (ATTESA E-TS) optimally distributes power to the front wheels when and if necessary. Though naturally rear-drive biased, up to 50 percent of torque can be fed forwards improving traction in difficult conditions - such as rain, frost, ice or snow. Front drive is also utilized to improve cornering performance on tarmac, improving traction and stability.
Special computerized control automatically alters the front/rear torque split from zero torque at the front wheels, to 50 percent of total torque. The control is varied continuously, as various sensors on the car measure speed, lateral and
transverse acceleration, steering angles, tire slip and other road surface and yaw rate.
On the new Nissan GT-R an additional sensor is the yaw-rate feedback control, which measures the difference between the target yaw rate calculated from the steering angle, the actual yaw rate detected by the yaw-rate sensor and G sensor. Front and rear torque is automatically corrected accordingly.
The four-wheel drive system includes a Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC-R), the Nissan GT-R's electronic stability control system. This continually monitors the vehicle's behavior. If off balance behavior is detected - such as sliding or skidding - torque to the wheels will be altered to help stabilize the car.
Electronic traction control is also fitted to rear mechanical limited slip differentials, preventing wheelspin and improving grip.
Hill Start Assist Function added for assisting start on the uphill road. (On an uphill grade, the system maintains brake pressure for a few seconds after release of the brake pedal)
VDC-R
To further enhance vehicle stability control, the Nissan GT-R has adopted four additional brake fluid pressure sensors in each wheels. And for enhancing the driving performance by utilizing 4WD control effectively, set the mode selectable function to change the mode of VDC-R. The mode can be selectable by set-up switch located at the center console. Hill Start Assist Function added for assisting start on the uphill road. (On an uphill grade, the system maintains brake pressure for about two seconds after release of the brake pedal)
