Welcome Chicago area members!

[JeremyBlackwell]

Everyone make yourself at home here, and spread the word to your fellow Chicago/Illinois area friends. Feel free to post about upcoming events, cruises, dinners, buy/sell parts, or anything else you like.

[CajunGodzilla]

Thanks Jeremy.
My 2009 GT-R resides at home in Naperville and office in Lisle. I look forward to meeting with others (and older Skylines).

[mindlessoath]

hey CajunGodzilla! i work out of libertyville, glad to see others in the area with the R35! one day we will all have to get together for an event of GT-Rs.

I dont have one, but i run the site www.gtrcenter.net ;)

[CajunGodzilla]

hey CajunGodzilla! i work out of libertyville, glad to see others in the area with the R35! one day we will all have to get together for an event of GT-Rs.

I dont have one, but i run the site www.gtrcenter.net ;)

Thanks. Look forward to a gathering sometime. I have seen many of your posts. I appreciate your detailed knowledge and how you tend to cut through all the BS.

[mindlessoath]

im not always right, so take everything with a grain of salt. i try my best tho.

[William Howard]

Hey all... good to see this group getting together. I live in Naperville and just recently picked-up my Gun Metal Gray GTR. Going to store it for the winter... looking for proper car cover... any leads anyone???

Looking forward to getting together and tracking soon! All the best.

[CajunGodzilla]

William, welcome. And congrats on your new GT-R. I also live in Naperville and also have a Gun Metallic GT-R. I ordered mine in early Mar and took delivery in early Sep, from Bill Kay Nissan in Downers Grove. Where'd you get yours? Gerald Nissan perhaps?

I believe there's a string of comments on car covers elsewhere on this site. Check it out. But hopefully you can drive it now and then even in the winter.

Look forward to meeting sometime soon, or at least in the spring.:)

[racerhall]

Hello i have a black gtr and live in Spring Grove and work in Schaumburg
Got mine from North Shore Nissan

[jsbkg]

i wish if i was still around chicago area. i kinna miss the windy city.

[CajunGodzilla]

i wish if i was still around chicago area. i kinna miss the windy city.

Don't feel too bad. . . we just had our THIRD snowfall of the year a couple of days ago, it was MINUS 4 windchill this morning, and Godzilla's hasn't seen the outside of the garage in 2 weeks now, and won't see much scenery at all during the next 3 months.:(

Oh, and the State's broke and getting worse, because we're having to build a new wing at Stateville to house the never-ending growing cadre of convicted and soon-to-be-convicted politicians.:mad:

[gashero]

Hi, I just got back from vacation in florida and look like the gtr will reside in the gargage for the next couple of months now. Anyway, make that 3 gtr in naperville, il. I picked it up (ss premium) before xmas in MD and drove it back.
I think I did see a gun metal at 75th and 59 one day in late oct. must be yours cajun. Looking forward to spring so we all can join up.

[CajunGodzilla]

Sounds good Gashero. Lets do some meets starting in Spring (seems so far away:().

I'm envious of your long drive. Must've been nice. I've had mine twice roundtrip to Champaign for business trips. And I've had it on two long by-invite-only exotic car cruises with the Lambo Club (~10 Lambos plus assorted Ferraris (F430 and 599 GTB), an Aston Martin (Vantage), Porsches (911Ts and a Carrera GT), Viper, Z06s, M3 Coupes, and an older NSX and Supra TT). FUN.:D:D:D

[rbservice2]

Hello everyone. Just found this site. Got mine at Woodfield Nissan. Not real impressed with the dealership. Had a 2007 997 turbo before the GTR. Huge difference in dealership "class" level. Not sure what to expect at my first service this spring.

[CajunGodzilla]

Hello everyone. Just found this site. Got mine at Woodfield Nissan. Not real impressed with the dealership. Had a 2007 997 turbo before the GTR. Huge difference in dealership "class" level. Not sure what to expect at my first service this spring.

If you're driving all the way to Woodfield/Schaumburg for service and don't like the dealer/service, try going to my dealer in Downers Grove (Bill Kay Nissan). Its not much further from Rockford and I've been quite pleased with them. Call the Service Mgr (Gary Walter) at 630-969-3200, ext-410, and tell them John A. (Gun Metallic GT-R) sent you.:)

[rbservice2]

I will do that. Thanks for the info.

[gashero]

I just drop my car off for the 1000 miles service. John, gary is no longer there the new manager is rick, I will let you know later how they are after my service.

[CajunGodzilla]

Gashero, yes, I just called over there to find-out about the no-cost Nissan-recommended mods to the Launch Control (to be at lower revs but w/o turning off VDC and thus no warranty-voiding issues). Its said to also give quicker accel w/o LC and smoother shifts. So I'm anxious to get it.

When I called for Gary I got Rick's v-mail. Haven't heard back yet.

Let me know your service experience and also if you get the mods and see any difference?

With the snow and cold, I haven't had mine out of the garage since Dec 1. Just running the engine every 10 days or so. Can't wait for spring.

[gashero]

Well I am back with my car. When I made the appointment with Rick, he told me that he had two car reprogram already. When I got there this morning they ran my vin# and told me that my car is not on the list to be reprogram but he will have jay talk to nna if it is warranted. I got a call to pick up my car in the afternoon and Rick told me that he cannot get the upgrade LC for my car. Stated my car vin does not pull up any need for the reprogram. Well I guess I have to wait for the letter from nna then.

[CajunGodzilla]

I suppose it could be that your car build date is so recent that they made the changes before delivery.

But the other odd thing is that when I heard back from Rick, he claimed he'd not heard anything about the LC mod!?! He was going to check into it. I'll be bringing mine in next month for the 6 month sched'd maint. Hopefully, they'll have it sorted out by then.

[gashero]

Yeah hope they will have it straighten out by then. Look like we will get more snow tonight :( so back in the gargage. BTW my car build date is 11/08. Let me know about your next schedule maitenance.
wayne

[johnnyplatnum]

Seems Naperville is GTR-central, I'm from the town to. Picking up my 2009 Platnum Premium from gerald Nissan this wednsday. I paid $2000 over MSRP. Could have negotiated more but felt it was a fair offer. Does anyone else care to share their purchase price and dealer experiance?

[gashero]

Welcome Johnnyplatnum, I am glad to see another silver around here. Will have to get together for some meet. Look like us napervillian have good taste in car. :) I bought my from MD, did not like gerald at the time since GM Deen wanted a price that is market value???

[johnnyplatnum]

Seems Naperville is GTR-central, I'm from the town to. Picking up my 2009 Platnum Premium from gerald Nissan this wednsday. I paid $2000 over MSRP. Could have negotiated more but felt it was a fair offer. Does anyone else care to share their purchase price and dealer experiance?



While I went monday to close the deal I had brought up dissatisfaction of paying above MSRP, the dealer wouldn't rewrite the sales contract but gave me $2000 discount on an extended warranty. A 7/70k warrenty was written for $5000, the contract was initially offered at $9995. Of course being a Nissan dealer the dealer tryed to tie in a paint/leather protection package, fine but as usuall they wouldn't take no for an ansewer. I offered the guy $5 for the leather conditioner and warned if he touched the paint he could keep the car.

[gashero]

Well just got my TCM updated. Got the confirmation in the mail yesterday, I call up Bill Kay and they were able to squeeze me in today!! I was thinking next weekend but didn't mind the drive since it so sunny out today. Great group of people overthere. As the the new TCM update, it work flawless. I never launch the car before but had to tried it out today to make sure it work. Put it to RRR, brake and gas it, RPM stay at 3000 and let off the brake and off you go with a little wheel spin. I am not a straight line guy so I really don't see all the fuss about LC but now, I don't have to worry anymore about warranty issues. Beside the shifting seem quicker now, so the car does seems faster from a roll. Now I can't wait till the first track weekend so I can stretch this baby legs.

[s2kangler]

Glad to hear someone in the chicagoland got their TCM update done successfully. Did Bill Kay also reprogram your Clutch B Touch Point setting from 0 to +2 (creep) and Clutch A+B Capacity setting from 0 to a slightly negative setting (smoother shifting)? I think the TCM update resets everything back to 0 and have heard that these need to be redone.

I'm still at 200 miles on the car which hasn't seen daylight in two months, so I haven't had the opportunity to get it to a dealership yet.

[gashero]

The service tech ask what are goal of the car and adjust it according to it criteria which is I think 0 capacitiy and +1 for touch point. The car creep a little less but will hold still at uphill and shifting is still smooth as before the service.

[CajunGodzilla]

I'm scheduled to get my 6 mo maint (oil change) this Fri at Bill Kay in Downers. They'll also do the clutch reprogramming. I'm planning to ask for Clutch A/B touchpoints at 0/+2 and Capacity at -1/-1. I've seen postings by someone who tried many possible combos from -7's through +7's that recommend those settings; they say the +2 B touchpoint provides some forward creep and that -1 Capacities smooth the shifts.

Sounds like we've got enough Naperville GT-Rs for a mini-meet, perhaps in April? Then something larger with the other Chicago area folks?

[gashero]

Sound like fun. April should be fine. I took the car out today and finally gave her a hand wash. This way I can get intimate with every nook and cranny of her :)

[GT Motoring]

Hi John! glad to finally see you on the road on Sunday. I was on the way to a family function.

I'm down for a meeting whenever. We will be hosting some events at the shop here once weather gets nicer. :)

[CajunGodzilla]

Sounds good Greg. Maybe we can gather the Naperville area Godzillas and ride up together to your shop to meet with any other Chicagoland ones.

[GT Motoring]

Sounds good Greg. Maybe we can gather the Naperville area Godzillas and ride up together to your shop to meet with any other Chicagoland ones.

Maybe if we do it at the shop, some guys from milwalkee/wisconsin will make it down too?

[nethingiwant]

Hi everyone. Joined the club today, and got my Ivory Pearl GTR last week Friday (Apr 2). Love, absolutely love the car. But here are my diriving impressions as compared to the M3 trade in:

Driving Impressions:
* It's a much larger car in person then how it looks in pics...but its a good large, not like its portly, just muscular. The car has presence and even non-gearheads keep surrounding my car when I park.
* I had a BMW M3 as my trade in. There are a few things I like on the M3 better---steering is more solid on the M3. The GTR also has a scary tendency to have it's steering pulled left or right by grooves and unevenness in the road. I had SMG on M3, and tho GTR's is waaaaaay better, I liked that I had paddle shifters AND I could use the M3 stick to change gears. As one who has always had a stick shift, I'm just more naturally inclined to shift from my right hip, then up on the steering wheel. Last thing, and this is no big whoop, but BMW includes more luxury niceties like auto headlights, auto rain sensor, and a much better stereo. But other then stick and steering, the luxuries I can live without, especially given all the other GTR's superior traits.
* My two favorite parts of the car are the transmission and the suspension. The M3 had a nice squat, connected to the road feel....but the GTR is like hunkered down stance and a throw all u got at me kinda attitude. And how u get attitude outta a suspension is beyond me, but thats how it feels . The trans is silky smooth, worlds better then the M3's SMG. Must be the duel clutch, my guess. Surprises me too that the trans shifts up so quick to 6th gear when driving "normally". But punch it in 6th and it drops to 3rd in a half a heartbeat....wow!. But both are also very real-world civilized. My wife wudn't drive the BMW, but she said she wud drive the GTR----if she can get the keys from me, haha!!
* And don't get upset with me folks, the engine is world class too. But hey, I'm still in my break-in period. Also, the suspension and trans I can live with everyday....to truly enjoy the engine I need a track.
* I adore the looks, and I never drove a car (even when the M3 just came out and I got lots of looks then) that had people following me, damn near stalking me as theyd follow me to every stop, people giving thumbs ups, even 2 cops came behind me and instead of pulling me over like i thought, they ended up pulling aside me and also giving me a nod or a thumbs up. No doubt its a legend and both GTR devotees and even non-gear heads appreciate the car.
* I was attempting to purchase super silver color, but the deal fell thru (see further below about dealers). But I went to another dealer, got mine at MSRP. But the only color they had was white (ivory pearl). I would never have chose that color, but once I saw it in person I thought it was the best color ever. The black and gray accents on the car contrast so sharply with white, that areas like the front grill simply "pop". I'm sooo happy with the color I got, and for me, I knew I made the right choice.

Like one of the other Naperville GTR owners, I bought mine at Gerald Nissan also. Was as good of an experience as a 3 hr car buying experience can be. I paid MSRP and got a 6/60K ext warranty for another 3K. I went to Gerald Nissan after a horrible experience at Arlington Heights/Bob Rhorman Nissan. And I have the owner, Mr. Rohrman to thank for that. Two minutes before I was to sign the paperwork closing my deal on a super silver GTR, Mr. Rohrman calls the GM and tells him he wants 5K more. Won't be going there anymore...would suggest no one else does either. Tho the salesmen there, Alex, was the best car salesmen I ever dealt with....its the mngmnt that sucks.

Well that's enuf typing for an intro.
Glad to be on the forum and looking fwd to making new friends.
Keith

[CajunGodzilla]

Keith, Welcome. I'm sure you're gonna like it even more after break-in.

Which part of Chicagoland is home?

Glad to hear you had a great experience and good price with Gerald Nissan. I had the opposite experience with them (and years ago with Gerald Subaru) and as a result I won't use or recommend them to anyone. I've been very pleased with Bill Kay Nissan in Downers Grove, where I got mine.

You mentioned the stereo not being top notch (vs the M3). Do you have the std GT-R or the Premium (which has an upgraded Bose)?

Also, just curious, was your MSRP the orig 2009 (base price was just under $70K) the late 2009 (base price ~$77K+), or the new 2010 (~83K)?

[JeremyBlackwell]

Hi everyone. Joined the club today, and got my Ivory Pearl GTR last week Friday (Apr 2). Love, absolutely love the car. But here are my diriving impressions as compared to the M3 trade in:

Driving Impressions:
* It's a much larger car in person then how it looks in pics...but its a good large, not like its portly, just muscular. The car has presence and even non-gearheads keep surrounding my car when I park.
* I had a BMW M3 as my trade in. There are a few things I like on the M3 better---steering is more solid on the M3. The GTR also has a scary tendency to have it's steering pulled left or right by grooves and unevenness in the road. I had SMG on M3, and tho GTR's is waaaaaay better, I liked that I had paddle shifters AND I could use the M3 stick to change gears. As one who has always had a stick shift, I'm just more naturally inclined to shift from my right hip, then up on the steering wheel. Last thing, and this is no big whoop, but BMW includes more luxury niceties like auto headlights, auto rain sensor, and a much better stereo. But other then stick and steering, the luxuries I can live without, especially given all the other GTR's superior traits.
* My two favorite parts of the car are the transmission and the suspension. The M3 had a nice squat, connected to the road feel....but the GTR is like hunkered down stance and a throw all u got at me kinda attitude. And how u get attitude outta a suspension is beyond me, but thats how it feels . The trans is silky smooth, worlds better then the M3's SMG. Must be the duel clutch, my guess. Surprises me too that the trans shifts up so quick to 6th gear when driving "normally". But punch it in 6th and it drops to 3rd in a half a heartbeat....wow!. But both are also very real-world civilized. My wife wudn't drive the BMW, but she said she wud drive the GTR----if she can get the keys from me, haha!!
* And don't get upset with me folks, the engine is world class too. But hey, I'm still in my break-in period. Also, the suspension and trans I can live with everyday....to truly enjoy the engine I need a track.
* I adore the looks, and I never drove a car (even when the M3 just came out and I got lots of looks then) that had people following me, damn near stalking me as theyd follow me to every stop, people giving thumbs ups, even 2 cops came behind me and instead of pulling me over like i thought, they ended up pulling aside me and also giving me a nod or a thumbs up. No doubt its a legend and both GTR devotees and even non-gear heads appreciate the car.
* I was attempting to purchase super silver color, but the deal fell thru (see further below about dealers). But I went to another dealer, got mine at MSRP. But the only color they had was white (ivory pearl). I would never have chose that color, but once I saw it in person I thought it was the best color ever. The black and gray accents on the car contrast so sharply with white, that areas like the front grill simply "pop". I'm sooo happy with the color I got, and for me, I knew I made the right choice.

Like one of the other Naperville GTR owners, I bought mine at Gerald Nissan also. Was as good of an experience as a 3 hr car buying experience can be. I paid MSRP and got a 6/60K ext warranty for another 3K. I went to Gerald Nissan after a horrible experience at Arlington Heights/Bob Rhorman Nissan. And I have the owner, Mr. Rohrman to thank for that. Two minutes before I was to sign the paperwork closing my deal on a super silver GTR, Mr. Rohrman calls the GM and tells him he wants 5K more. Won't be going there anymore...would suggest no one else does either. Tho the salesmen there, Alex, was the best car salesmen I ever dealt with....its the mngmnt that sucks.

Well that's enuf typing for an intro.
Glad to be on the forum and looking fwd to making new friends.
Keith


Welcome to the club Keith! That is a nice comparison write up...you should copy and paste it into a new thread in the GENERAL GTR DISCUSSION forum about your comparison between the M3 and GTR! I'm sure some non-Chicago area members that won't see this thread would appreciate the input!

[nethingiwant]

Keith, Welcome. I'm sure you're gonna like it even more after break-in.

Which part of Chicagoland is home?

Glad to hear you had a great experience and good price with Gerald Nissan. I had the opposite experience with them (and years ago with Gerald Subaru) and as a result I won't use or recommend them to anyone. I've been very pleased with Bill Kay Nissan in Downers Grove, where I got mine.

You mentioned the stereo not being top notch (vs the M3). Do you have the std GT-R or the Premium (which has an upgraded Bose)?

Also, just curious, was your MSRP the orig 2009 (base price was just under $70K) the late 2009 (base price ~$77K+), or the new 2010 (~83K)?


I live out in the Barrington area, far NW burbs.

I did get the premium so it has the Bose. But I've never been impressed with Bose in any car...maybe its just me, afterall sound is a subjective/personal taste. But the M3 had Harmon Karden stereo, which I'd think to be better audio quality period.

I paid 1k under the late 2009 price. But u list late 2009 as 77K, my sticker on the preium edition of the car, without the additions of floor mats and ipod (which I got also) as $79,090.

And a big yeah on cant wait till after break-in, haha. I find every excuse possible to run errands just so I can put ion miles. Well its not just the miles, its the joy of the car!!:)

[CajunGodzilla]

That's about right as the "Premium" upgrade is $2K.

[gashero]

Nice to see another happy chicagoland gtr owner. I saw that white one sitting outside by the street couple of weeks ago at Gerald. Must be the one you pick up then. Anyway, congrat hope there will be a meet at gt motoring soon so all the owner can meet each other.
PS by the way, the car tramlining issues is due to the agressiveness of the car camber vs. the m3. You can feel and sense every bumps on the road, not as good as my tracked evo but good enough. The m3 is a great car don't get me wrong but the steering is too numb and it is made for the masses hence the solid numb feeling.

[s2kangler]

That's about right as the "Premium" upgrade is $2K.

John et al... I have yet to see a non-premium GTR or met a non-premium GTR owner on any of the GTR forums I've frequented over the past 6 months. I am left to believe that there are no standard (no prem) GTR sold in the US at all in 2009. Anyone know of any that refutes this speculation?

[mindlessoath]

i saw a gun metal i think driving down in libertyville/vernon hills area. they were crossing 45 iirc going into the buisness area (where that huge satalite is behind CDW etc.

a few months ago i saw a black one driving east bound on 60 in the same town. right near the mall. i belive the gentelman was asian decent iirc.

anyone in that area?

[CajunGodzilla]

John et al... I have yet to see a non-premium GTR or met a non-premium GTR owner on any of the GTR forums I've frequented over the past 6 months. I am left to believe that there are no standard (no prem) GTR sold in the US at all in 2009. Anyone know of any that refutes this speculation?

I recall that when I ordered mine (in Mar 2008), the dealer told me that only ~5% of the production was expected to be non-Premiums, and that I'd be rolling the dice on how long I'd wait to get one if desired. (As it was, I waited 6 months for the Premium.) But I do recall postings late last fall discussing how the non-Premium Dunlaps were stickier with better performance and more Gs than the Premium's Bridgestones; so some people must have them. If you really want feedback on this, post a string on the main site (not just among the Chicago folks).

[s2kangler]

will do. I actually did put it out there on NAGTR's site about 6mo ago and not a single person responded, so that's why I'm still looking to prove myself wrong. But the 5% # your dealer quoted seems to make sense though.

I finally pulled the car out of storage last night, we should do a small gathering soon. Speaking of storage, I discovered that I should have wiped the tire shine that the hand car wash guys generously lathered on my tires completely off before I put the car cover on for storage in early January. It apparently got onto a couple of (quarter sized) spots on my NOAH (covercraft) car cover and then touched two (likewise quarter sized) spots of one wheel rim, which then slowly ate through the paint on the rim over the last 3 months. Oh well, first blemish for the car and many more to come with standard use.

[s2kangler]

Cajun, when Bill Kay did ur TCM reprogramming and clutch adjustments, did the technician offer to let you sit in the car or drive ur car during the road test? or were you able to ask successfully?

[CajunGodzilla]

For the TCM and clutch adjustments, I dropped off the car on a Fri morning. Unfortunately, they didn't get started on it until 2-3 pm, so by the time it was ready and I got back there, it was quitting time and Jay (the tech) had to leave --- so I never got the chance to test drive it with him.

But I did stop in again the next day (Sat) and spoke with Jay at length and confirmed with him that he had indeed applied the clutch settings I'd requested (for which he showed me the computer printouts).

The downshifts do seem a bit smoother, and I do have a little forward "creep" when stopped; but I still often have a very rough start in first (a stumble, as if I'm a novice trying to drive a manual clutch transmission for the first time). Generally, this seems to lessen after I've driven the car for a while. But it doesn't seem directly related to fluid temps, as it often happens when I start driving again after a recent drive, i.e. with reasonably warm fluid temps right from the start.

[GT Motoring]

Keith,

I'm sure ill see ya around the area. Im in barrington quite often, as i live in Lake Zurich :) Our shop is in Crystal Lake up 14 as well. We've got to get a GT-R meet going here once the weather stays nice!


I live out in the Barrington area, far NW burbs.

I did get the premium so it has the Bose. But I've never been impressed with Bose in any car...maybe its just me, afterall sound is a subjective/personal taste. But the M3 had Harmon Karden stereo, which I'd think to be better audio quality period.

I paid 1k under the late 2009 price. But u list late 2009 as 77K, my sticker on the preium edition of the car, without the additions of floor mats and ipod (which I got also) as $79,090.

And a big yeah on cant wait till after break-in, haha. I find every excuse possible to run errands just so I can put ion miles. Well its not just the miles, its the joy of the car!!:)