Thread by @chibitech

So I rented an R34 Skyline GT-R from Car Rental Tokyo for 24 hours this past weekend — mostly so i can finally figure out what the hype is all about & if all us Americans pedestal-propping The Paul Walker Ride really is warranted…

And ofc, if MY OWN hype towards it is warranted

I learned of the rental thanks to @_klange, but originally only intended to try it out at a later date. However, I realized that I was already scheduled to go to the King of Prism Super Live show with my friends & figured “this is a great excuse to cruise down Makuhari with it!”.

The rental place is friendly to international permits, but the general rule is licenses less than 3y/o are not allowed. My noob JP license fell under this restriction, but since I did the 外免切替 method to transfer my ~25y/o California license (w/passed MT exams), I was exempt.

BUT, of course... unlike all you international permit holders, I definitely was legally required to put the Wakaba Mark of Shame on the GT-R.

... or Wakaba Mark of ‘Get Outta My Way’, however you’d like to spin it, lol. 🔰🔰🔰🤪🔰🔰🔰

After a quick visit to the nearest conbini to get my proper navigation & required (!!!) latin freestyle playlist setup, I was off to return to Akiba & show off to the bf my sweet af rental.

Bumping Stevie B & Jocelyn Enriquez down the local streets, I got the hang of it quickly!

arriving at akiba during prime time weekend made me realize a grim reality though: metro tokyo streets are unforgiving to a car like this. It’s filled with skinny one-way alleyways that can only fit my car by LITERALLY mere inches. I abandoned so many turns yelling “HECK NO!”

People tend to romanticize the sight of hella nice expensive rides cruising inner Tokyo… and specifically in Akiba, showing off their waifu tiddy-filled itasha. But guess what? They can’t go anywhere! Aside from main roads with no practical stops. Or pricey parking structures.

Combined with the primetime evening crowds in akiba flooding the area, it was a stressfest. So i decided, “Forget the instabae opportunities on chuo-douri. Time to finally give myself the REAL Tokyo Xtreme experience”.

And off I went to enter the famed Shutokou. Specifically C1.

After paying a 1320yen toll, I finally entered the same expressway I experienced two decades ago on my dreamcast.

And maan, tokyo’s nighttime street racer culture is still very much alive! There were so many souped up rides just whizzing past me as I abided by the speed limits.

There was NO WAY i was going to throw my own gauntlet down though. With my “beginner” license AND my “scarlett letter” 🔰 mark emblazoned on the GT-R… I was not going to take my chances with these guys.

So, I just blissfully admired the various C1 corners as racers zipped by.

Fortunately I played Tokyo Xtreme Racer long enough to know the general layout of the real inner tokyo shutokou system in the back of my head. So I was able to loop around easily both ways via the bayshore route without having to exit and pay tolls repeatedly.

Now THIS was fun!

Like, I could see myself wandering the inner tokyo shutokou system all night without having to pay a single extra toll past the initial entry.

I used to do this all the time in my old 4th gen Prelude within NorCal’s own freeways. Difference is: C1 is packed with exciting curves.

Eventually I wanted to go beyond C1 and finally reach Daikokufuto before i had to sleep for the concert the next day. So i drove down the K line towards Yokohama... and hopefully the famed Daikokufuto rest stop.

Thing is, i didn’t know they close after 21:00. DOH!!!

So as my consolation prize for at least making it that far, I ate drive thru McDonalds on their parking lot. Yay.

It was already running late in the night, so after changing the playlist to a mix of neurofunk and 3rd wave OC ska-punk (lol), i paid the toll again and headed back.

Eventually I had to retire for the night. After all I had a Kinpri concert to attend the next day. So I parked the R34 in a rather cozy online-rental space near my bf’s place.

… and after a few hours of sleep OOPS it’s already morning! Dorachi says “Go pickup your friends!”

I guess it’s a good time to talk about the car itself. It’s a regular non-spec BNR34, and aside from the navigation system and a custom exhaust, it’s almost completely stock.

This is exactly how I wanted my first experience with an R34 GT-R to be: a mostly unmolested base model.

by the way if you’re expecting plush creature comforts in the interior, be prepared to be disappointed with the R34 GT-R trim. Although the seats look cool and grip snugly, it feels low-rent inside this. The interior plastic is like awful Y2K GM-quality for instance. No sunroof.

However I’m sure we’d all agree that’s not the point of this car to begin with. This was supposed to be a no-holds-barred performance Nissan w/modest creature comforts. If you really want stuff like leather seats, get the lower trims lol.

(yes i know there’s the M-spec too lol)

Here’s the exhaust note on idle btw. Since it was morning, I didn’t wanna disturb the neighbors with high-revs, sorry. 😇

I wish I took recordings while driving, but even with the custom exhaust the RB26DETT’s note is sublimely quiet in city driving! This is perfectly liveable!

I definitely didn’t wanna just take this R34 out without really testing out its actual capabilities. So after picking up friends for the Kinpri concert & crossing the toll, I finally decided to floor it from 1st gear at a near-standstill.

It was so satisfying yet controlled 😭✨

This is where the RB26DETT really starts to come alive. The note just starts screaming lively — but still in a tasteful non-farty manner unlike what comes off a VQ engine. Turbo power delivery does ramp up quite nicely too.

But oops it’s already 80km/h time to let off the gas 😇

The shifter BTW... it does require quite a heave for me, but it does plant firmly with no weird occasional vagueness. I think it’s still not up to Honda’s typical levels of shifting satisfaction, but it definitely feels better than the notchy af Toyota manuals I’ve driven lolol

And we finally reach Makuhari Messe. Time to park... oh hi there Ferrari how r u

So after a few hours of cheering my husbando on with Kakerunomics, I finally depart w/the GT-R alone — with Kinpri tunes still on the playlist. EZ DO DANCE off godzilla was setting off my nerd vibes so much lol

And onward now to Daikokufuto (which i missed the night before).

After a couple mistakes out of a combination of my navi system going caca coocoo + my own poor planning (which made me waste ~5000yen worth of backtracking thru tolls, ugh), I finally reach daikokufuto’s rest area.

Feeling blue from my 🔰 mark, i parked away from the crowd lol

Now I understand the appeal of this place: having it sealed off from local roads & pedestrians gives it an air of exclusivity, so it’s often the home base for street tuners to hang out before heading out to do battle. And as long as you don’t make mistakes, it’s free entry/exit.

I couldn’t stay long though, as I eventually needed to return the car back to the shop.

So after taking a few more final shots & giving myself that one single selfie I missed out the day before, I returned to the expressway and headed for the rental shop. No traffic fortunately.

I did make good use of the full tank i was provided though haha!

Note to self: filling up an R34 GT-R from ~1/6th level with “high octane” fuel off a shell pump in chiba costs around 7000yen. so roughly $65 USD by today’s exchange rate.

So what is my opinion of the car itself? For expressway runs, dude this thing is a heavy-duty BOMBER. I loved every moment of it within the C1 even when abiding by the speed rules.

For inner tokyo driving? ahahah for this pricey thing, it will put your anxiety levels up on edge.

I did love it & I definitely still want to have my own R34 GT-R at some point, but I do wanna keep my options open. So I won’t conclude my opinion on this car until i try out my next target: one of the famous A-B-C kei sports cars.

Hopefully something like this Honda Beat first.

one thing i do regret not testing btw was the R34’s cornering ability. there were not much opportunities for me to do it in a safe manner, and i kinda didn’t wanna push my luck with a rental in the first place. hopefully i’ll be able to try it on a track someday. with one i own😙

in any case, here’s Car Rental Tokyo’s site if you happen to be interested and are in the area w/your international permit. Just try to avoid bringing the R34 to the inner tokyo streets; that is just asking for trouble. Otherwise, give them your patronage!
carrental-tokyo.jp

couple late random thoughts on the rented R34 GT-R:

• Maybe the MFD would be useful on the track, but i found it gimmicky. I ended up propping my phone on front of it to easily see my maps. Yes, even I’m now spoiled. 😝 Its TV mode would be a great reverse camera feed though.

• No cruise control. Planning to swipe Japan’s precious R34 stock back overseas with no mods? Get used to that foot pain on US interstate trips, son!

• the car is ESPECIALLY satisfying on highway pulls as you rev-match to a gear at mid-RPM — the sweet spot for WOT turbo boost.

Prolly the most vital thing, & just my opinion:

Finally driven a base R34 GT-R, I do think some of the hype surrounding it is warranted. And yes i think the Nür Spec versions can keep their high place in price range.

But the standard/V-spec versions are NOT worth these prices.

those prices are for the cheapest abused high-mileage/R-grade versions too. These models are recent enough too that if you pay that much for something that prolly has stuff like strut tower rust and hella scratched up interiors, you WILL feel like you got a chump deal.

so for all the people in america salivating over these cars as the 25-year rule approaches, i do suggest you do get your international permit first and go rent one like i did. you will prolly keep your appreciation of the car, but it will also be an eye-opener on the realities.

OTOH, maybe it is a sign for me...😉