2009 Nissan GT-R: Where's the Spoiler Delete Option?

see now there is a difference between a 70k bargain supercar and a 200k supercar
the 200k car will likely have a retractable spoiler, and if not it will at least look nice

cjasis -- I was thinking the same thing! Great post.
Actually, I think the spoiler -- or is it a wing? -- is okay. It's the rest of the car you can delete.

Go buy an Altima then next time, geez.

I have rarely seen spoilers that look like they're integrated into the design of the car. They usually look tacked on, which is why I try to avoid them if possible.

I would have to say that I prefer retractable spoilers. I agree with bloodyr, it is a rare find when a spoiler\wing looks like it is meant to be there. Personally, I think the 911 range has very well integrated spoilers.

I like the spoiler, this car would look incomplete without it. All your GT-R style-haters, be gone! lol j/k

I wonder if the car will throw a warning light if you take it off.

Agree with cjasis. Removing the spoiler won't make the car look any better.

Kinda like, them pants don't make your butt look big. Your big butt makes your butt look big.

Removing the spoiler to make it look better is kinda like trying to pick a scab off a scar.

Spoilers just spoil the looks of a car, and having to use one that big means that the aerodynamics of the car are wrong. The underside needs to suck the car to the road, and this spoiler shows that the car must be getting ground-effect (lift) from the underside (the spoiler is big and functional to counteract this). Of course, the audience for this car probably like the looks of the spoiler. I got the chance to look at one of these GT-R's while I was taking my Murano in for service, and I was disappointed with both the interior and the styling. Why should my car pretend that it is a PS3 game?

But without that wing you'll get no respect from the pimply faced kids in their mom's old Civic with the F1 replica wing bolted to the back, VTEC stickers plastered all over, and NOS. How could you sleep at night?

Another thought. Yesterday I was driving home from work behind this kid in an old Mitsubishi coupe. The body panels were three different colors, it had 90s era taillights and graphics on the back, the tailpipe could best be described as looking sorta like a horse's baby-making equipment, and the right-rear wheel was literally about to fall off (it was when I noticed the wheel that I pulled into another lane and sped away as fast as I could). He purposely darted into the smallest gaps in traffic possible to pull off his best Paul Walker. I realized that the GT-R was designed to appeal to these kids, the fast-and-furious wannabes who really do think that doing nothing more than bolting on a huge wing and a fat exhaust tip makes them the fastest, baddest driver on the road. That is a sad thought.

I like it without the wing.

http://www.gtrblog.com/media/blogs/gtrblog/Random/nospoiler-002.jpg

^ I think I like it without the wing, too.

I've also noticed that a lot of cars use obnoxious wings to hide poor styling decisions. For instance, have you ever seen a wing-less previous-gen Impreza? The rear deck looks way to low. It's almost like the wing needs to be there to balance the whole thing out. I'm no fan of wings on anything other than an F1 car, but I kind of see the point now. If only the car had a nice looking tail in the first place, it wouldn't need the spoiler. Next time you see an Audi A5, you'll see what I mean.

you can get a power-retractable spoiler on an Audi TT, a car that costs half as much. sure, it won't go 0-60 in under 4 seconds, but its the principal of the thing. if Audi can give their $35K roadster a power retractable spoiler then Nissan can on their $70k "bargain" supercar.

I see that people often use the terms "spoilers" and "wings" interchangeably....I'm not sure if that thing on the GTR is a wing, which is suppose to generate downforce, but as a side effect creates more drag. Or if it's a spoiler, that's suppose to clean up the aerodynamics of the car, to stabilize it.

Also, if the "spoiler" is truly functional....the car will likely become unstable way before it reaches 175mph....remember the Audi TT when it first came out?

Anways....here's the GTR with the wing/spoiler deleted:
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/jalopnik/2008/09/Clean-Nissan-GTR.jpg

darn it, no edit feature....shaunpg already posted the link I just posted...oh well.

more useless irrelevant info from me:

elfjon,

the power-retractable spoiler on an Audi TT was not part of the original design. the care proved to be unstable over 100 mph...so Audi recalled all the cars and retrofit them with fixed spoilers. later models then included the power-retractable spoilers.

Some VW Beetle are equipped with the power-retractable spoilers. But then some owners started to add the aftermarket spoilers as well...making the car unstable at 100mph. VW then release a TSB, alerting the owners with power-retractable spoilers to removed the aftermarket fixed spoilers, for safety reasons.

Both the Audi TT and the VW Beetle resemble the cross section of an airplane wing....so by design, these cars have a natural desire to create lift at fast enough speeds.

Wow the back end looks good with or without the wing.

I also think that if Nissan had wanted to, they could have made the GTR without a wing. Other supercar makers can do it, and if the car was designed with those performance numbers in mind in the first place, it could have been designed to generate downforce with less drag inducing methods. My guess, like others here, is that it's there because it's core audience wants the car to have one.

Or it well could be that they put it there so owners wouldn't get a tacky spoiler on one.

Wow... that picture of a spoilerless GT-R is actually pretty sexy. Who woulda thunk there's a pretty good looking car hiding under that wing?

Given the cost of this car, Nissan should consider, for its next revision, a retractable spoiler; Raise for downforce, lower for decent apperance.

retractable spoiler's mechanism adds quite a bit of weight.......the last thing the GTR need is more weight and a smaller trunk.

Wow! I've been hating on the GTR's styling since it has been released but that picture posted by shaunpg is actually quite nice! Now that looks like a performance car.

as if the spoiler is the only problem in terms of beauty with this car.

"if Audi can give their $35K roadster a power retractable spoiler then Nissan can on their $70k "bargain" supercar."

Well it seems that Audi spend their 35k for the spoiler and Nissan for the engine.

"if Audi can give their $35K roadster a power retractable spoiler then Nissan can on their $70k "bargain" supercar."

Well it seems that Audi spend their 35k for the spoiler and Nissan spend their 70k for the engine.

" if Audi can give their $35K roadster a power retractable spoiler then Nissan can on their $70k "bargain" supercar."

Well, 35k gets you a nice Audi TT spoiler and 70k gets you a monstrous Nissan engine. Your pick

sorry for the multiple entries, the page didn't update itself after pressing submit.

aerodynamic downforce doesn't just come into play at some random arbitrary speed and not exist at all prior to it. even when you are doing 40mph, there is some downforce.

The GTR is heavy enough already so why add the extra weight that a retractable spoiler would certainly add? Leave the standard fixed spoiler and call it a day.