RE: Nissan GT-R: Kazutoshi Mizuno Interview
Friday 16th October 2009
Last month PistonHeads was invited to visit Nissan's Nurburgring Technical Centre for an exclusive interview with the 'father of the GT-R', the car's program manager and chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno.
Nissan GT-R: Kazutoshi Mizuno Interview
Part I of PH's exclusive video interview with the Nissan GT-R program chief
PH Editor Chris-R posed questions based on suggestions from the PH forums, and we captured Mizuno san's answers on camera. Check out the film clips below, for some fascinating insights into the mind of this famously single-minded chief engineer, and his philosophy about the GT-R project.
The fount of all GT-R knowledge very kindly answered all our questions in English, making frequent use of the office whiteboard to illustrate various points.
Without blowing the PH trumpet too loudly, we're forced to say that GT-R 'geekery' doesn't get much better than this. So pay attention class, and take it away Mizuno san..
Q1) For such a high performance machine, the GT-R is a big car and heavy one. Tell us why that is?
Q2) So what is the best way to reduce weight from the R35 to make it perform better?
Q3) In your previous answer, you seemed to be telling us the parameters of 1700kgs weight and 485hp were set from the beginning of the project, is that correct?
Q4) Why did you opt for a V6 engine, instead of an engine with more cylinders?
Q5) What about the transaxle - some competitors have seven or eight speeds, so why does the GT-R have only six?
Q6) The R34 had the HICAS rear wheel steering system. Why didn't that make it onto the latest GT-R?
Discussion
nismohks said:
Could someone explain the last video to me about human reaction time and why the HICAS was not fitted ?
I didnt quite understand that one.
Not sure myself but, I think he is suggesting that you must introduce a delay into such a system to allow for human response time.I didnt quite understand that one.
Perhaps that delay affects all other systems?
Worth noting that the racing R34 GT-Rs and many of the top tuner versions had HiCas disabled.
A seemingly really interesting and genuinly nice chap but I understand now why Nissan don't use him for press releases! You could have gone into 1000 times more detail in half the time by being a little more efficient with wording! He is clearly a man of science not words.
e.g Why did you use a V6?
Ans: Ballance. Not only from front to rear but on both Axis it was the best engine for weight distribution accross the front wheels. Grip was Nissans 1st concern with the GTR.
If he'd have been faster you could have asked him about thermal efficiency / economy? Weight of components and characteristics of its torque curve when compared to a stright 6 like the last generation Supra for example.
e.g Why did you use a V6?
Ans: Ballance. Not only from front to rear but on both Axis it was the best engine for weight distribution accross the front wheels. Grip was Nissans 1st concern with the GTR.
If he'd have been faster you could have asked him about thermal efficiency / economy? Weight of components and characteristics of its torque curve when compared to a stright 6 like the last generation Supra for example.
Niffty951 said:
A seemingly really interesting and genuinly nice chap but I understand now why Nissan don't use him for press releases! You could have gone into 1000 times more detail in half the time by being a little more efficient with wording! He is clearly a man of science not words.
I'm sure his words would have been adequate to explain had the interviewer ( and this audience ) been fluent in Japanese. PZR said:
Niffty951 said:
A seemingly really interesting and genuinly nice chap but I understand now why Nissan don't use him for press releases! You could have gone into 1000 times more detail in half the time by being a little more efficient with wording! He is clearly a man of science not words.
I'm sure his words would have been adequate to explain had the interviewer ( and this audience ) been fluent in Japanese. Edited by Niffty951 on Friday 16th October 15:26
I'm still a bit puzzled. Surely, the heavier the car, the more grip you need in order change it's momentum every time you come to a corner. And the heavier a car is, the greater inertia you have to overcome. Now I'm not for one second trying to suggest that I could design a car better than the GTR, or that I have anything like the level of understanding of grip that Kazutoshi San has, but if weight were a good thing, wouldn't we all be driving around with bags of sand in our boot to give us more grip to go around the corners better?
For me, adding lightness is still the way to go.
For me, adding lightness is still the way to go.
Awesome interview, PH! Very interesting to see why some of the things on the GT-R are the way they are and good effort on the English, Mr Mizuno! Is Chris-R massive or is Mizuno really small?
Also, is it just me that gets a blank bit at the end of video five? Don't want to be missing any of this stuff!
Also, is it just me that gets a blank bit at the end of video five? Don't want to be missing any of this stuff!
Edited by David87 on Friday 16th October 18:07
David87 said:
Awesome interview, PH! Very interesting to see why some of the things on the GT-R are the way they are and good effort on the English, Mr Mizuno! Is Chris-R massive or is Mizuno really small?
Also, is it just me that gets a blank bit at the end of video five? Don't want to be missing any of this stuff!
Don't think there's anything missing, but we'll review the tape again to make sure.Also, is it just me that gets a blank bit at the end of video five? Don't want to be missing any of this stuff!
Edited by David87 on Friday 16th October 18:07
I'm nearly 6'5", and although we didn't hold a tape measure against Mizuno san, I can confirm that he's definitely shorter than me!
No 1 said:
I'm still a bit puzzled. Surely, the heavier the car, the more grip you need in order change it's momentum every time you come to a corner. And the heavier a car is, the greater inertia you have to overcome. Now I'm not for one second trying to suggest that I could design a car better than the GTR, or that I have anything like the level of understanding of grip that Kazutoshi San has, but if weight were a good thing, wouldn't we all be driving around with bags of sand in our boot to give us more grip to go around the corners better?
For me, adding lightness is still the way to go.
It would appear Mr Mizuno is right, as the GTR shows! For me, adding lightness is still the way to go.
Its cornering speed is very good indeedy.The principle of extra weight that he talks about seems mostly to me to be about grip in wet and snowy conditions. NOT the dry. Indeed in the Dry so much else would destroy the GT-R. But for the wet and grimy, I think this is rather true!
Evo recently found this out by testing the GT-R against the Evora at its launch in wet Scotland- they found the GT-R found far more grip and traction and could completely dominate the very capable Evora on those roads- fun well thats another story. This is also the principle that Audi use for their Quattro cars, much weight at the front w/ 4WD for more traction in the wet. Indeed there is probably no car around that is more stable and tractive than most quattro's in bad conditions. So it would seem that nissan set about to improve upon what audi have done, by optimizing everything else- eg transaxle, rigidity, sports car suspension less subframes and rubber than a quattro as well.
Great interview PH. The auto rags should have done this interview years ago, and should be embarrassed that user generated amateur questions were used to effect much deeper understanding about this car than anything they have been able to tell us about the GT-R. Thanks for this. J
j123 said:
Great interview PH. The auto rags should have done this interview years ago, and should be embarrassed that user generated amateur questions were used to effect much deeper understanding about this car than anything they have been able to tell us about the GT-R. Thanks for this. J
And we still have part 2 of the interview to come yet 
Chris-R said:
plenty said:
Guys, it's "programme"
I can see where you're coming from, but automotive 'programs' do tend to be Americanized. (Sic.) A reflection of the global nature of the business, perhaps?Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff