To apply all of this power to the asphalt, Nitto NT-01 tires surround black powdercoated Enkei NT03+M alloy rims. The car sits an inch lower than standard on Tein Flex coil-over dampers with Electronic Damping Force Control and 12kg/mm springs. Nismo bushings are used at each corner. In track warrior mode, the suspension can be as stiff as a race car needs to be. Custom-built VRT front and Stillen rear strut tower braces plus Stillen anti-roll bars, 34mm and 22mm front and rear respectively, are partners in this little crime.
In practice, there's nothing criminal about it. This setup, carried out by Performance Nissan and further refined by VRT, goes for a neutral feel, with slight initial understeer giving way to oversteer as more throttle is fed in. That smooth power delivery is crucial here.
Swap the circuit for the city and a flick of a switch on the EDFC softens the chassis - somewhat. There is still an intimate relationship with the road surface, but it doesn't add up to sensory or dental overload. Your eyes, however, will bulge when the AP Racing brake calipers put a kung-fu grip on the 14.25-inch cross-drilled and slotted rotors.
So how does this all hook up at the track? In our test session, the Streets of Willow flew by in one minute, 25.677 seconds. A stock G35 ran 1:35.20 on the same day. Roughly a ten-second per lap advantage, then, for a total cost of around $100,000. Images of sledgehammers and nuts spring to mind, but it's the manner in which this advantage is achieved that's the real point. "The thing about this car," says VRT's Michael Alverez, "is that it's a full-blown race car that's competitive without desecrating any of its creature comforts. You really can drive it on the street."
Remember, this is a car that still weighs around 3800 pounds with a driver on board, has the stock airbag-equipped steering wheel, a Bose 6-CD stereo, the air conditioning, and the rear seats (Ed has kids). During the Streets shakedown, there was a suspension snafu that created more understeer than usual, a serious handicap on a tight track like this. With some fine-tuning, another second could have been shed. In normal running, it's better suited to bigger, faster tracks with longer straightaways. Just think, a car that does the office commute three times a week and also laps Laguna Seca at one minute, 44 seconds.We never said there was anything wrong with split personalities.