It was only a matter of time before the first consumer-owned Nissan GT-R in the U.S. made its way onto a set of dyno rollers. Edmunds Inside Line made the call to Harman Motive, Road Race Engineering (RRE) and Daryl Alison of JSpec Connect to organize a day of data collecting recently for the import from Japan. Harman and RRE happen to each house all-wheel-drive-capable dynos, with a Mustang and Dynapack, respectively. The two units were chosen because they each utilize different means of measuring vehicle power output, making for a range of results that can be more readily used for comparison purposes. And compare they do as a 997 Porsche 911 Turbo and 2008 BMW M3 happened to show up at the testing facilities that very same day, fancy that.

The nature of the Mustang dynomometer's design lends it to typically produce power numbers at the lower end of the spectrum. When strapped down at Harman Motive, the GT-R spun its wheels to 406 hp at 6,400 rpm and 414 ft-lbs of torque at 3,800 rpm. The numbers may seem off from Nissan's rating at first glance, but that is only the result of parasitic losses. Large wheels and all-wheel-drive components create rather significant drag on engine output, thus reducing the available power as it transfers from the engine to the wheels. When overlaid with a pull from a 997 Porsche Turbo, recorded earlier on the same day, one can see that the V6 overtakes the flat-6 from 3,600 to 5,700 rpms. While it is nice to come up with high peak values, the real power lies in the area under the curves.

At RRE, the Dynapack's hub coupling design proved to be a source of disdain for the GT-R's drivetrain. The vehicle squirmed in its constraints as the engine soared through its revolutions. Two worthy pulls were accomplished before cryptic Japanese warnings ended the fun. The result came out to be 452 hp at 6,350 rpm and 448 ft-lbs of torque at 3,865 rpm. Standing alone, the numbers are confusing since they are significantly higher than those recorded by Harman Motive. They are also right on the manufacturer's marks despite including loses through the transmission and differentials. Thankfully, RRE owner Mike Welch chimed in on SoCalEvo.net with a chart overlay to interpret the data. After kicking the GT-R out of the shop, a new E92 V8-powered BMW M3 hooked up to the Dynapack. Despite the Bimmer's impressive flat torque curve, it didn't get anywhere close to catching up with Godzilla, except maybe when it comes to dealer markup.

 

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