Re: The (Prospective) GTR Owners Thread
louis;301055 said:
price wise? does anyone have a list of the cheapest to the most expensive PIs to buy from?
The cheapest I have come across for a PI who I havent seen with a bad rep is Autohub Asia. They were last quoting 267 around, with an OMV of 66 or so. How it is low, dont know. They are also offering a 3yr/60K warranty and 3 yrs free labor.
DoggieHowser;301080 said:
The other factor has to do with after sales support.
Some companies are charging a premium for that. This could be in the form of a substitute package that mimics Nissan's High Performance Center service cycle regimes in Japan including access to diagnostic tools from third party tuner companies etc.
Some will also provide reasonable warranty coverage for modifications. As I am looking for a speedcut remover, this is an area that concerns me a lot. Some dealers use "mods" as a way to weasel out of warranty claims.
And of course, it also helps if the PI has access to Nissan trained engineers/resources. I am personally hoping for a way to get the damn MFD in English
but that might probably have to wait for either the UK or Australia releases (RHD configs)
I seriously doubt ANYONE - even Tan Chong themselves will be able to mimic the Nissan High Performance Centers till Nissan actually bring the car in themselves. Doggie - you would also have read the same sources - that training and equipment is costing dealers in the US upto US$100K per technician. I seriously doubt ANY PI - be it MB, First Auto, Garage R, Auto Sportique or Autohub will have that capability.
The Warranty - well this is PIs we are talking about. The Warranty is not worth the paper it is written on. Even if you have personal relationships with the PI, if you have something critical fail - unless Nissan supply the PI with the parts, your car is going to sit in the workshop, and of whatever rumors I have heard - Nissan are going to be stringent on the parts supply too. Of course in this case, someone who has better contacts with Nissan might turn out to be better than someone who dont! But who knows what contacts the PI has with Nissan! No proof whatsoever.
I totally agree with the Mods scenario - however, I have seen several PIs more accomodative towards mods compared to others. My PI is trying to find out about the speedcut remover from Japan - and till date he hasnt said anything about voiding the warranty.
As for the MFD - I doubt we will ever get it working in English. I use the word ever because of what I have seen and heard, the setup of all cars outside Japan is going to be different from the JDM spec. As a result, the speed limiter, the GPS implementation etc. is going to be different from our cars. Unless Nissan becomes benevolent and offers an upgrade meant for us (no hope in hell), we are going to be stuck with the Japanese Units.
DoggieHowser;301091 said:
The GPS system implemented seems to be more than just the usual tracking system that we have in most parts of the world. I believe it also uses some local signals in Japan to make a more accurate determination.
The GPS view of the GTR I saw in Singapore put it in a Japanese dealer showroom near the harbour
Probably the last place the GPS system was active. so it doesn't seem to recognize that it is in Singapore.
In any case, I suspect the GPS maps are probably using a proprietary format so not sure if you could even find a compatible map of Singapore/Malaysia in the right format.
The GPS is another matter altogether. I *think* it is the standard GPS system, with added telematics which doesnt really impact the GPS resolution. The maps are bound to be proprietary like other car makers, but the likelihood of these being cracked is far higher. Why? Simply because there is an incentive to do so. But again - how long this will take is a matter of debate. I have given up on ever being able to use the GPS or the MFD almost altogether (except of course for the gauges).
I guess one *possible* redeeming factor is that all data etc. for the GPS/MFD in the GTR is going to be stored on the hard drive - which (if) can be pulled out and diagnosed. Maybe we need an ICE expert here?
Just my tuppence - with the caveat that Doggie is much much more knowledgeable than I am about this car so on balance he is bound to be more right than I am
