I agree with you, but I'd like to add a bit more. I would say that you should get an alignment *any* time you install new suspension. Removing the old stuff and putting on new stuff invariably puts a few things slightly out of whack, no matter how careful you are.

Also, with coilovers it's very important that you get them corner balanced. This is an aspect of owning threaded coilovers that many people overlook. If you simply adjust your coilovers so they look good and leave it at that, it's entirely possible you can actually hurt the handling of your car. If you have coilovers you should always get them corner balanced after changing the height. This is common practice on all racecars with threaded coilover suspension, because they realize how important it is to the handling of the car.

 

hmmm, very interesting! The car is Heavy, yes...and we have known this from the start. I prefer my civic for the reason that it is very light. My 300zx had some killer suspension on it, but the sheer 3400 lbs still made it flop around alot

HOWEVER, this driver is going VERY fast. Maybe the road isnt that bad, but there is no way in HELL my civic would still be on the road taking that turn. I cant stress enough, if you are not a regular track guy, dont go trying these turns off the dealers lot, or youll end up in the bushes. I think that Z is doing tremendously well to be on the road after those two turns. Anything stiffer than that will be a real back breaker (unless you think the RX-7 isnt that bad.)

 

I wasn't distubed at all by the white Z's movement over what we call 'WHOOP-DE-DOOS" and the road condition looks pretty good to me. I drove all over Oklahoma for 23 years in my job and I thought the road the white car was on was a good road with an undulating surface. The siver car, on the other hand, was traversing roads that only appear near powerful legislators' homes. We are a rural State remember. 7 yearsI drove a 91 MR2T with 5-way adjustable shocks and (choke,gag), for three of them, Grand touring tires. I had the Tokikos set at 3 on the front and 4 on the rear.

If I had driven the road the white car did I would have been thankful for how good the surface was; the road the silver car was on does not exist on major roads here! If you go too stiff on poor roads, you tend to bounce on wavy surfaces and lose adhesion(bad) which we all know is dangerous if you're running 80-100 mph which I did regularly. The silver car could run a much stiffer suspension on a glass smooth road and make it look effortless. If the roads you traverse are like the one the silver car was on, get a superstiff suspension. I have a caveat, make it easy to adjust, like the Tokikos for when you hit that inevitable crappy road or when road construction rears its ugly head.

I think the stock Z suspension is going to be a very good one right out of the box for all-round driving.

Boomer's advice--use it or lose it, I don't care.

P.S. A certain OK. Goveror in the 50's had a four lane highway built to his rural farm. The highway ends at his driveway, which is several miles away from a State highway. This not a joke, it is a true story that is part of OK folklore.

 

I realize the final specs aren't out, but i'm curious as to why no "sport" suspension for the track model. Afterall it is suppose to be a track model and to put a spring that will cover all models sorta defeats that. Most mfg. with a sport model have suspension upgrades, for example the Gen. 3 Mazda RX7 R1. it came with Bilsteins and a different set of springs IIRC. The Rays are nice and light, but i'd much rather prefer a sport suspension to wheels for a track model.

jreiter,
i agree about corner balancing. those that get coilovers and skip this are missing the hole piece of the pie. then again there are those that get coilovers just so they can constantly change the ride height for coolness factor, it one way to do it but a expensive one.

 

I find it hard to believe they're making changes this late in the game. If they are, then they'd have to change their contract with their spring producer et cetera, and this would mean they'd be pushing production back a few more weeks. I think this change in driveline your contact is referring to is the one Nissan had about 6 weeks ago....

 

I wouldn't worry about it. I was just browsing through the Jan. edition of Car and driver, which has a very nice article about the then just-released production version of the Z. To quote Mr. Csere, "bending into the high-speed curve felt instinctive.....On the tight-handling course, the Z was just a blast..."

These guys get paid to flog vehicles and report the results, whether the manufacturers like it or not. The only so-so comments he had were about the 6-speed tranny, but he also acknowleged that it was a "test mule" he was driving around. Acceleration and especially handling got big thumbs-up!!!

Don't mean to offend anyone or start flame, but I think the Editor-in-Chief of Car and Driver would know a hell of a lot more about cars and what good handling is than we do.

 

And according to Motor Trend, Car and Driver and Road and Track, everything BMW makes is better than every other car in the world. In fact, the Z3 2.4 smokes the ZO6 in every subjective category...

Not trying to flame you, but the magazines print what their advertisers like to read.

Yes, the 350Z will be the ultimate car for $26,000. Put all the options on it and make it $34,500 and it starts to get into a territory where it might not actually be the best, but it's still one sweet ride.

--ITZBITZ
2001 MR2 Spyder, 2002 Maxima SE (with a 350Z motor in it)

 

Let's wait until we see the Motorweek footage of the Daytona Blue at VIR. I've logged over 30hrs on that track and it's a major workout, especially for the RWD boys. If there are problems with the car, they WILL show up. Thankfully, we'll also understand the commentary. (Fire that bloddy Bablefish! )

Fingers crossed!

 

Funny you should mention that.....the negative feedback regarding the 6-speed tranny was in comparison to a BMW. Their unquestioned bias towards BMW is the one thing I cannot stand. As a BMW owner I will tell you that that they are ahead in some aspects of the game, but you also pay a hell of a lot more. And the same qualities that endear BMW's with their owners are also present in the Z.

In my opinion, you don't get what you pay for in a BMW. Lesson learned, albeit an expensive one. The driving dynamics are awesome. You truly feel like you're part of the machine. But then again, I got the same feeling from my 92 Z.

About the C&D article......he didn't say anything bad about the handling because he just couldn't find anything to complain about.

But back to your point....I agree 100%.

 

didnt the G35 just beat the 3 series?

My wife walked in while I was watching those and said, "who needs a translator?, he said 'its a great car and very fast!'"

 

Regarding the video, FL350ZLVR on zcar.com had his wife (speaks Japanese) translate the video for him. It figures he would say good things in the video since Nissan put it on their website but still a review is a review.


"My wife who is Japanese translated the whole video to me. He said only "positive' things about the car. Praised the handling, engine and steering especially. At 100 MPH on the freeway virtually no drift and it stayed steady. Loved the steering and thought the tires matched perfectly. The engine was superb with plenty of power at all ranges. He did NOT push it at all, but said the car had plenty of power to spare. He is a professional Japanese race car driver.
Easy lane changes on the freeway at 100MPH."

 

Well, I must say the car looks great in that video.

If anyone in the Toronto area wants to do a comparo with a 2002 S2000 on some twisty roads, I'd gladly be game. Honestly, that suspension definitely looks softer sprung than my S2000 (which is exceptionally stiff for a production setup), but the car still seemed to stick very well for the most part.

You really need to wait for the unbiased Best Motoring testers to try it out against its competition on a racetrack to get a fair comparison. That'll be great fun to watch.

Just wanted to add that the shifter throws look somewhat longer than the S2000's, but still reasonably short. Overall, I'm impressed with the car, and if the rumored Nismo 350ZR debuts, I may have to get one to complement the S2000.

 

I still think the Track has different suspension calibrations regardless of the lack of any type of statement by Nissan. Even in the G35, I35, Q45, and Maxima; when you order the sport model you get a "sport tuned" suspension. It may just be wishful thinking on my part and I know what makes sense doesn't always turn out to be the case, but I just can't see Nissan putting the same suspension on the Track package as they do on a Touring Automatic. This is especially true for the autocrossers that want to stay in the stock classes. Nissan has taken a lot of flak in the past for hanging their autocross contingent out to dry and I doubt they will make that mistake again.

 

Nissan hasn't even announced the horsepower yet!! They also have never officially announced a front STB although we have now all seen it. All I am saying is that it is unlikely to me that all the models from base to track will have the same exact suspension calibration.

 

I agree with raceboy in that it is beyond today's engineering capabilities to create a suspension that is all things to all people. It would only make sense for Nissan to follow other car manufacturers in offerring a "sports" suspsension. I doubt seriously if anyone who buys the track model will complain about a harsh suspension.

I watched the video again. On a positive note, there appears to be very little understeer. On a not so positive note, the rebound and overall dampening characteristics need work. However, does anyone know the age of this video. Being that it's a silver Z, it could be an old test mule. I remember R&T testing the Z back in February. The test driver commented on how the car was a little "floaty" on track and Nissan said they were going to take care of it. That was along time ago.

 

Actually its a Pikes Peak White 350Z, not silver. Its defintely a pre-production car so it is very possible the final car will behave differently especially if that video was filmed several months ago.

 

Oh yeah, that damn video card

 

you can tell it's a pre-production because the steering wheel doesn't have the cruise control buttons.

Also, did anyone notice the gaps between the hood and fenders? Maybe it was the color of the car but they were quiet large.

 

Its a left hand drive car. Not the japanese version. Im not sure why it doesnt have cruise control. Do all the models including the base have it? Anyways, the shifting from the video looks awsome. The car seems like its going to be a blast to drive.

 

The shifter has a nice short throw to it.

Was it a base? I thought the rims were the 18's?