Takata Impreza STi vs. Nissan GTR R35 at Road Atlanta

[mbdulka]

As a STI owner, I can only say ... god damn GT-Rs are beast!

[penciltrix]

Great run! It's like watching a greyhound chase down a giant, grey rabbit. You definitely gave a good fight on the infield, but the back straight is to the GT-R's advantage(top speed). Gonna miss my WRX, going back to the FF platform.

[carcy007]

Bah, I need a EWG. I love that sound.

[Crossfit559]

@mega, dumb be a dumbsh!t, the sti was looking great. The R35 had alot more steam and wayyyy better tranny and a ton of computer assistance. Let's see you in your car attempt to look half as good. STI FTW

[Megablitznr1]

omg you cant drive and the nissan have to much power you cant win vs him

[penciltrix]

@Megablitznr1 : You're a dink. You obviously are a fanboy of Nissan's (w/ a name like "Blitznr1"), and rather than applauding the driver's abilities, you add insult to injury, dick cheese!?

[phillyhkg]

you took alot better line than the GTR, and you are very consistency, great driving.

[206atenza]

thanks for the recommendations. Currently i do not have 15000 to invest but i will keep that in t

he back of my head if i ever blow my stock motor or decide to do a major rebuild. Soon as winter ends my next mod will be some high performance summer tires and new wheels, maybe lightweight? Then i will lean towards either springs/shocks or coilovers. Thanks again and will a stage 2 setup void my warranty? I also bought the extended warranty so i dont wanna add a turboback if that voids it.

[206atenza]

wow, incredible vid! Youre my inspiration. I currently have a GR Sti running Cobb's stg 1 map. What do u recommend for good starting mods towards handling and speed? thanks

[JElterman]

@206atenza You are on the right track with the Cobb Accessport. Go for Stage 2 with a K&N Typhoon intake or similar and turboback exhaust. Tires will make a big improvement in grip.  You might consider upgrading your springs before making the big leap to a coilover. If you don't setup your coilovers properly it can actually make your car handle worse. Larger sway bars are another good bet and can reduce body roll without compromising the ride on the street much.

[MrStiguy]

@206atenza Twinscroll rotated GT30r turbo ....1000cc injectors cosworth shortblock Front mount intercooler water/meth inJection full exhaust and intake...good for maybe 400 whp ($15000) ..faster then the sti you see (but stock wait)...I have coilovers on my car over the stock suspension..and it completely made the handling better..just dont install them wrong?

[RTree613]

nice chase man! you were hanging with and doing better than him in the turns, but on the back stretch he was putting the hammer down every time.

[e85STi]

Very enjoyable vid!  Thanks

[majik16106]

I love your line into the last turn. Seriously. I do the same, and people are always saying to hang it out a little further to the outside. I like coming out hot there though.

[JElterman]

@majik16106 Ha. Thanks. I developed that line in video games long before I went there in real life. Was surprised when most everyone did it different than me. I still like that line.

[rapidmrbushnell]

look at the body roll on the GTR

[royclung]

very nice and skillful chase !

[panagiotidis100]

gtr for ever ,you can try for years to past it

[MrStiguy]

awsome video, I love both cars..there is no winner in my eyes...GTR is a lil faster , remeber an sti is only a 4 banger..;) its amazing it can even compete

[nathsgames]

Nice vid! That GTR is achieving incredible grip for the limited aero and stock appearance! What a bullet down the back straight!

[casefc3s]

very cool James! Hoping you make your way out to the west coast for the 2010 season, i'll be running an STi this year as well. :)

[Rockit181]

Impressive... GTR most likely on street radials. Granted more power, but a lot more weight too.

[subzino]

Impreza forever!!!

[nazidietsch]

I think the Sti has better brakes, suspension and transmision, but the hp difference shine on straights, and the GTR still faster at straights. But this STI with 480hp will kick that GTR. Btw what a beatiful sound!!! :D

[koukiR32]

The GTR is stock with street radial vs this STI probably R-compound as well as quite a bit of weight and mod done to it. But I guess it don't have much power thou.. I guess around 350whp? Since the GTR kinda took off on the back straight by quite a bit... GDB-F was better in braking and faster cornering speed. nice video thanks

[JElterman]

No need to guess at the hp ratings. The dyno rated whp for each car is posted a few seconds into the video. And yes, 350whp is nearly spot on for the Subie.

[Saferetias]

@koukiR32 a stock gtr is actualy far from stock,its also tuned alot and has twin turbo,and around 500hp to 600hp

[ix8vii]

very nice run. do you know if the GTR is stock.

[JamesElterman]

At the time of the video the GTR was completely stock down to the tires. The hp rating listed at the start of the video was provided by the owner of the car as determined by dyno testing.

[ix8vii]

He's pulling away from you on the straight. I'm sure you got better suspension setup than his GTR. Turbo?

[JamesElterman]

I was using the same turbo I use today, Garret 30R (3076), running at about 20psi. These days I run 30psi+, and am still having a hard time keeping up with (modified) GTRs on the straights.

[AllYourBase420]

That was a pretty good run. I noticed you said you messed up at that corner. Now, I'm not a pro or anything but shouldn't you have every little elevation on that track memorized? I played Forza :) a couple of times and knew exactly when the corners were coming. Still pretty decent to keep up with a GTR.

[JamesElterman]

Knowing the layout of the course is one thing and hitting your marks is another. It is also harder to hit your marks when you are following a car because it blocks your vision. But following closely a driver you trust it is a great thrill when you are both at the limit. If you still play Forza send me a message and I'll look you up on Xbox Live.

[Air0374]

Hurrah for Forza players making a great paintjob...

[tesenki]

I bet nissan is stock and Sti has a track optimized gearbox

[awdmotorsports]

nissans gearbox stock is a track optimized gearbox.. LOL

[gearheadcurt]

rely on the turns more than the straights and you'll catch him everytime

you could tell he saw you coming so he stepped up his pace

good job

[hugeo8]

i think you got caught following at 4:30, he went off so you did too.... tsk tsk rookie stuff

[eeeen321]

....i dont know about that 340awhp.....

that sounds suuuper good and very beefy for "340" awhp...

awesome video though.

[JElterman]

340awhp is correct. I was running low boost that day. Our high boost at that time was 420awhp. This video is over 1 year old now.

[eeeen321]

thats an awesome 340awhp, 340 on what type of dyno?

how much power are you making in its current set up???

[czierwo]

there was available R35 GT-R in states in august? seems like you´re cheating...

[JElterman]

P&L Motorsport's Dynojet.

We just installed a new engine. Subscribe and stay tuned for fresh hp figures.

[tapboyzlilj]

dude that GTR looks stock ass hell

[eeeen321]

the GTR looks stock????

[wrxlauncher]

fkn 6th gear almost hit rev limiter lol

[RTree613]

very nice video. your sti was ROLLING and handled like a champ, but that GTR gapped you on that straight away everytime. that's crazy. not saying ur car is slow by any means. im a subie guy. just goes to show people how quick those GTR's really are and can be. i'm pretty sure he was looking in his rearview thinking "i can't shake this guy" lol.

[striderhiryu201]

GTR are gay. just because its a slapshift

but I LOVE imprezas

[vvouliotis]

perfect driving...perfect car !!!

Greetings fm Greece man !!

[xADAMxSTix]

External wastegate? Car sounds fucking great man. Great driving, hope to see more videos!

[JElterman]

Subscribe friend. I am posting videos throughout the race season. We are going head to head with a GTR at the next event.

[kevinmosleyI]

This is amazing! Both cars are ridiculously fast! The GT-R has you in the top end, though, but you were faster in the turns because of your Subies lower weight and center of gravity. Great vid!

[mermadeinheaven]

Nice driving ! You should star on Best Motoring or Option Video :P hehe

[JElterman]

Let's hope someday that comes true!

[racrdave]

Interesting to see that even though you had the same apex speed at 7 in laps 1 and 3, the third lap top speed is slower just from passing the two cars at the beginning of the straight(even under the bridge lap 1=110, 3=107). Cool that the data logger can pick up aero braking as well coming into the turn 10 complex. I grew up at this track, and have had the wonderful opportunity to lap it in many different vehicles from a golf cart to a flatbed truck to the entire PRS and SB school fleets.

[JElterman]

I'm jealous. I don't make it to Atlanta often enough. Thanks for the comment.

[ermax]

The guy driving the GT-R looks lost. Lines are all wrong. It would be interesting to see how it would do with a driver that knows RA better.

[mbdulka]

@ermax Yeah, then in that case, we can put up the Element Tuning STi against it and see how that GT-R does ;-)

[horizontal4]

Good luck this season :)

[99wrx]

nice video! subscribed

[tadaohiokoshima]

El auto esta bien. solo es que esta completamente modificado a los circuitos. hay muchas diferencias entre el subaru preparado takata y el nissan GT-R 35 normal. en cuando a las rectas la superioridad del GTR es evidente pero las entradas a las curvas la dificultad en el control de un vehiculo que no esta preparado para competir es obvia.

[goodcookiedrift]

Great driving. You had some really crisp lines there. Not taking anything away from your Scooby and driving, but goddamn...that Skyline goes like stink. Amazing how much speed it can carry through corners and also how explosive it's acceleration is out of them.

[thatsabanana]

yea plus Forza is just way too easy as compared to actually driving.. it's just the difference between actually feeling what the car is doing vs. using a controller to position the car perfectly

[nuttynat5]

forza is a bit of a bitch with a steering wheel lol..

[racrdave]

We had a guy about 25 years old at the racing school at Road Atlanta who everyone thought would be just OK because his only previous experience was hours and hours of Forza. After two hours of seat time in practice/qualifying he won race 1(but was DQ'ed for "unnecessary contact") and lead most of race two but used up his tires too quickly and took second. It's a really good simulation as far as showing approximately where the fast line is.

[thatsabanana]

Wow that would be a great track to race around...great driving and sweet car (recognize it from FORZA 2!!!)

[JElterman]

It is one of my favorite tracks! Forza 2 does a great job of replicating the track, but you don't experience the incredible elevation changes when you play the video game. You have to experience it in person.

[tecato666]

the gt-r r35 is the master piece of shit

[heavymoogle]

Beautiful STI with real power. I hope you continue to use this 2006 STI in 2009 as 2008 + WRX's are not my thing. Great movie I love the raw sounds and data display. 5 stars.

[JElterman]

We are preparing it for the 2009 season now. Subscribe to my channel. There will be plenty more videos starting in April.

[rehmant]

That was a good peice of driving and dont worry about joubtt its just kids like him cry if their fav car doesnt win.

[669030676]

dios que mal suena el coche cambiale el aceite

[l3unnyx20a]

clean. skyline is a freakin beast though. props on the time though. makes me want to do more work to my STi.

[EvilEwok]

Good video, need to keep taking that last corner like you did at 5:30, seems like you got on it a little bit late the prior times. Thanks!

[sirfranko]

i wanna who was stock and who wanst, dont tell me a stock sti will smoke a stock GTR, 3 + vs 4+ ok not likely, so nice try play some other sucker, but nice video to bad your facts dont add up

[JElterman]

You are not making any sense friend. I did not claim that my STi is stock. The Takata Impreza is highly modified. Please refer the weight and horsepower listed at the beginning of the video, and note that it is wheel horsepower. The wheel horsepower and weight of the GTR were verified by the owner of the actual car in the video. It is completely factual. Given the circumstances our cars were fairly equally matched on this day.

[joubtt]

STIck around; it just reminds me to sign up for performance driving. Great driving.

[kingnismor34]

thats was awesome man I loved it we need more track videos!

[JElterman]

Subscribe! There will be a lot more great videos from the 2009 racing season.

[RefRef19]

fantastic video, 5 stars

[smokinxtreme]

NICE DRIVING

[Gosling3]

Fully Racing STI vs Normal GTR?

[bambee188]

how do a turbo work? im new to this things.

[compleckz]

a turbo basically sucks in air which eventually leads into the combustion chamber and ignites with the fuel mixture. the more air that in taken in by the turbo and the intake the more lean the mixture of the fuel is so the more power you get out of it.

[markfirefly]

Great video, thanx! awesome driving!

[evobeatr]

STI gets points for being able to keep up with Godzilla. Can I have the STI if you blow the engine??? LOL But seriously...can I???

[JElterman]

Hey this is an STi not an Evo. What makes you think STis blow engines? I've won more than one race because an Evo blew an engine. :p

[adotwhite]

good ass fucking driving by the STY driver. the gtr is a beast but the booboo-ru kept up pretty good especially for having over 100hp less!!!!

[GeorgeV6v24]

GT-R rules....

[speedvidz]

what car is that in 3:19?? Z06??? either way, both cars has its ups and downs...GTR got its ups with the straights and STi with the cornering...both exceptional cars and cost to much lol

[JElterman]

Yes, that was "Spanky" and his Z06. He is the current TTS lap record holder. He was cooling down and just let us by.

[skylinefolife]

How noble :p

Sick vid!

[SSone97]

Love the sound of that STI

[gmax876]

This is friggin bad ass, I notice the speeds aren't very high but the cars are definately eating the track up, the GTR holds its own up against a race spec STI, I'm impressed.

[onehorsepower]

Now, comparing new to new (list prices), would this STI be less, just as, or more expensive than the GT-R? With some racing rubber the GT-R would just disappear on the horizon...

[ImportFr3Ak]

wow dude, what kind of horsepower does this STI has??? I'm curious! :D

[JElterman]

In this video we were running 340whp to conform to TTS rules. The car is capable of over 400whp in Time Attack trim.

[yas609]

That was great, damn theirs no better track car than the GTR.. I loved how he pulled on you in the straits!!!

[JElterman]

That GTR is lucky that we were running pump gas that day. With our race gas map I'm pretty sure that the tables would be turned on the straights.

[grandchancelor]

Wonderful footage, well shot and well driven mate.

Your right about the fuel and mapping of course,though i think the GTR driver was a tad green,(just my thoughts at what i saw here)he appeared to miss the apex a lot and i dare say,new car,or driver not too experienced at that track or with that car and or both.Would be great to see you both racing there when he gets it right though considering I'm guessing he's stock. Fantastic quality clip too.Well done,well raced,keep it up. Enjoyed it !!

[biggestsubiefan98]

yea true that. subies have better top end than v and inline set ups because of the boxer configuration.

[lackofhp]

wish my ewg sounded like that on my 07 wrx.

[ubuibbil]

holy Wastegate that car sounds amazing!

[erikbrockhoff]

That was fukking insane!

[oldhatrs25]

Speechless.

[Dani01c]

hoyl shit man the wastegate on that sti sounds so friking loud! very nice! man that gtr is friking fast! he was gone in the straight! even though the sti is faster in corners but shit! that thing is fast! pretty fast sti too!

[spankythegator]

Hey James! Great video...the car sounds sick...I cranked the volume on this one! I'm lovin' the front mount camera too...badass buddy! See you at MO!

[niblhair]

James, great video. I'm the driver of the GT-R in question. Weight before that session was 4071lbs. 408hp as measured on an AWD Dyno Dynamics before the start of the weekend. The GT-R was completely stock as you know down to the Bridgestone 070 runflat tires. Which in all honesty suck monkey balls when it comes to track use. Had to park the car on turn-in, once the front finally bit, power could be applied.

Look for the GT-R to markedly improved at Mid-Ohio. Hope to see you there.

[JElterman]

Thanks for sharing your hp & weight. I made an annotation to the video. I'll see you at Mid-Ohio. I'm looking forward to seeing what the GT-R is capable with a little development.

[niblhair]

Development is progressing, slowly...

What class you running at Mid-Ohio?

I'm trying to stay in TTS but think I'm going to be bumped to TTU.

[JElterman]

TTS. See you there!

[GTRnev8820]

STI and GTR are so STUPID FAST

sti  sounded good too and GTR did not gaveup

[elirentz]

Cool video! Nice driving in an awesome car. I was there too in the de3 group in the blue STi.

[c312eal]

Damn elterman's sti was fast.. but i think the gtr driver was babying his car a little too.. gtr was fast on the straight but the light sti catches up on corners =)

[bandora]

NO disrespect for any of the drivers but I do believe that the owner of the GTR could've pushed it a bit more.. I mean there were a couple of times where I felt that he slowed down way too much on a corner.. But hey that's only my opinion.

[sycomantz]

of course? gt-rowners are learning the cars. they just hit the streets in july

[bandora]

You can "learn" the car in 1-2 laps around a track.. cuz you can get the feeling of the car and you can get used to it..

[sycomantz]

it takes much longer than just 2 laps to learn a car. you cant even learn a car in a day at the track

[bandora]

I guess it depends on the person then and how much of a dare devil he/she is.. I know people that don't take long to get used to a new car around a track..

[bandora]

Also US spec has been around for a couple of months.. so yeah.. :)

[sycomantz]

lets say for instance. someone thats used to tracking a z06 isnt going to learn a another cars limits in 2 days. let alone how the car should be pushed.

you have to have a good amount of seat time in a car to learn how it behaves. and its not 2 days, not a week, not a month. it takes time. unless they are the stig or someone

doesnt matter how much of a dare devil they are.

hell the average z06 owners cant even get their car to dip into 11's

[bandora]

Well, all I can say that that's ur own opinion.. maybe you know or saw people like what ur saying.. but I know people who can get used to a car and push it to the max in no time.. anyways, there are different kinds of people in Earth so we can't say that ur right or I am right.. because we are both right.. :D

[sycomantz]

yeah but we arent talking about f1 drivers or anything close.

we are talking about track rats.

they will not learn a vehicle and the way it behaves in 1 or 2 days. sorry my friend

[bandora]

I wasn't talking about f1 drivers either! I am talking from what I know, and from the people I know, and from my own experiences. That's why I am saying that I can't say that I am right and ur wrong.. vice versa.

[JElterman]

This is entertaining an all, but I though I would throw my 2 cents in. I'm the driver of the Takata STi if that serves as any credibility. What separates a great driver from a good driver is the great driver's ability to learn the strengths, weaknesses, and limits of a car very quickly. Any good driver can learn to drive fast over time, but a great driver can learn very quickly. The best drivers only need a few laps to learn the limits.

[JElterman]

This is also why great drivers win races. Over the course of a race, the conditions change constantly; weather, tire wear, amount of fuel, etc. all play a factor. The driver must constantly interpret the feedback from the car and adapt to it very quickly in order to maximize the performance of the car. If you can't adapt, you will be left behind.

[bandora]

THANK YOU! Someone finally gets what I was trying to say.. you definately worded it better than me..

[blacktrack311]

Nice run James, very cool vid setup! Nice seeing you again, see you at Natls!

[Av3ntur0zky]

The takata impresa is fast of course is a track car vs Godzilla, god Job but Elterman seem w/more driving skill and the GTR owner is just enjoying its car, respect both car but GTR still kickin ass

[mstng700]

Good Job Elterman!! YOU ROCK!! YOUR CAR ROCKS!! And that GT-R ROCKS TOO!! :)

[JElterman]

Agreed. Considering that the GTR owner ran such fast laps, and then took his helmet off and drove it home with air conditioning, navigation, and radio... you have to be impressed. But I too am anxious to see a gutted race prepared GTR R35.