Nissan ’s new GT-R was easily one of the most talked about supercars in 2008, but not always for the best of reasons. The GT-R quickly drew a large fan base for reaching some seemingly impossible performance bench marks, but also generated notoriety for its explosive transmission.
The 2009 GT-R came equipped with a launch control system, but owners quickly realize that feature was more of a bragging point than a useful item. The use of the launch control system essentially voided the car’s factory warranty, and usually ended up in the complete failure of the transmission.
However, Pfitzner Performance Gearboxes has recognized the gearbox’s weak point, and is developing a remedy. In conjunction with Samurai Speed and Titan Motorsports, Australia-based PPG is working on a GT-R transmission upgrade that will allow the use of launch control without destroying the gearbox. The new setup uses beefed-up hardware (PPG’s setup on the left, Nissan ’s stock parts on the right) which should prevent any failures.
The upgrade is being benchmarked for a heavily-modified 600+ horsepower GT-R, so the new pieces should have no problem dealing with the car’s stock performance figures. No word on pricing or availability as of yet, but 2009 GT-R owners hell bent on using the launch control feature should definitely look into PPG’s upgrade.
