This car doesn't just need a new clutch, it needs a whole new transmission!

 

A V8 Z would be great and all, but Nissan had better think long and hard about what the consequences could be. The whole premise of the original Z was affordable performance. The whole reason for bringing back the Z was....you guessed it...affordable performance. 300Z production ceased because they were too expensive. Same goes for the Supra, Stealth, RX-7, and eventually the 3000GT. Same symptoms, same demise. Bottom line, if they want to keep the Z around and relevant, they MUST continue to be affordable, in relative terms anyway. In their defense, though, it has to be extremely difficult to make decisions like this....they have to try and anticipate what people want, before they want it, to have time to develop and market it before everyone moves on to the next great thing....it's a very big, very expensive gamble.

 

+1 to Demon Z. I think that's what many are forgetting. The Z is the affordable sports car. I dont think a 450Z is really needed or wanted:
the 350Z can currently put out in the 320hp range with the latest nismo/stune parts.
a 370Z might be able to exceed 350hp with nismo s/tune parts. 350hp may not sound like 'enough' until you consider that if they can lower the weight to 3.1k lbs, the car's power to weight ratio (0.113) could nearly match the E90 M3 (400hp/3500lbs = .114).
A light car has an advantage in the handling and braking departments.
Do you really want a 4.5L V8 in the front of the car?
The Z as it is can match the handling and brakign of the E46 M3. A Nismo equipped Z could probably exceed that then..

It seems to me a 370Z - 3.7L V6 320hp+ @7250rpm+ would be the way to go. It would maintain the Z's status as the affordable sports car. It would also allow nissan to focus on other things such as weight reduction. For those who want the heavy metal, there will always be the GTR.... and I doubt there will be a huge gap between the two (i'd pin the GTR @ $50-60k)

 

This subject has been all over the car mags here in Japan.

Just like Nissan is doing with the Fuga, the Fuga is offered in a 250, 350, and 450 engine configuration.

The same concept could be applied to the Z .. engine options.

 

It would be a lot cheaper for Nissan to drop the 8 in the top range Z, than it would be to TT it.

 

all i'd like to see in 08 is a chassis specific to the z, which pushes the weight down to ~2900lbs. I'd like to see ~330hp from the engine and for the cars redesign to look just as good as it does now. I dont think thats asking too much for a car that should continue to sell in the low $30k range. I wouldnt mind a 450z track model in a limited production run, but i think that it might hurt the image of the rest of the cars in the range.

 

I don't mind paying $40k for a 450Z with 350+ hp.. Not many cars in that range so far...

 

Or maybe they should make it come stock with TURBO!

 

You guys are forgetting that the upcoming GTR will use a VQ35 TT. So the 450Z will not happen. Its an awesome concept but I doubt it will ever see production. I agree with Tekk.. a 370 or 380 V6 with 330-350hp at 7500rpm for around 35-40K will still keep the Z afforadable.

 

thats where the z is going to have to be anyways in 08 to compete with whatever else there is.

 

One of the nice things about the Z is affordable performance. I think the Z is pretty fast now, but I get my speed fix from my bike.

 

It seems many of you are concerned that if a 450Z comes out, it will no longer be affordable. No doubt that a V8 will increase the price, but a 450Z doesn't automatically mean that would be the base model. A Z with the VQ35 as base keeping the current pricing and a Z with the 4.5L V8 from the M45 would be good. The 4.5L is already used in a few vehicles, so the manufacturing costs would actually improve by producing more. However, it would be odd to have a V8 in the Z. Maybe the reason JWT hasn't made their TT available yet is because Nissan will be using it as the OEM TT? :P

 

dont TT kits add up to 100lbs to the front of the car anyways? weight savings would be a moot point

 

the bottom line is this:

engines will eventually run out of "power". the VQ35 is a stout engine, no doubt, but can you really get more power out of it? not really. in order to compete Nissan will have to look for new powerplant options. Nissan has never been one to make a unique engine, so they share. V6's will only make a certain ammount of power, unless you start adding TONS of expensive parts, which Nissan wont do.

A VQ45 Z would make sense from a competitive approach. Nobody wants prices to go up, but they are. Look at some of the prices cars are fetching now a days!!! Hell the Z's main competitors cost at least $5k more, so we need to stop whining and realize the cost will most likely go up. They cant bring you a newer, better car and reduce the price.....unless youre GM

I think Nissan should take a page from Lotus and work on saving weight on the current Z and work that into their next platform. I'd rather have a light car with a mid sized engine than a tug boat with a Viper Venom engine.

 

Is this what is it coming to? https://my350z.com/forum/other-vehicles/158871-new-toyota-4wd-rav4-limited-might-give-a-fairly-good-race-against-a-350z.html

It might be time for the Z to get more hp....

 

1. apparently you can extract more power out of the VQ35, see the threads about the MREV mod
2. the 4.5L V8 is the VK45DE not a VQ45
3. I agree that shaving weight is more important than adding horsepower, but it doesn't work so well for advertising

 

1. i agree that you can tweak the VQ35 to the max and get about 40rwhp out of it by adding $6k worth of parts.....i still dont see Nissan selling a new Z with aftermarket products...and i certainly dont see them engineering them in-house. they already have the R-Tune Z...i think thats about as crazy as Nissan will get from the factory....for now anyways.

2. oops, my bad. still......V8

3. weight savings, weight saving, weight savings! c'mon Nissan. Lotus took an average Toyota Celica engine and turned it into an exotic car. 4.5 sec 0-60? sweet! I know the current platform can shed about 400lbs and still retain poise and sensibility. work this into the next Z and you'll be finding new Porsches to pass!

 

You are forgetting about the Nismo Z-tune Z33. Only in Japan and makes 380BHP NA using the VQ35. I don't know the weight of the car but it has CF body parts. But don't hold your breath for Nissan bringing that car here. Anyways I agree with you on weight but you are forgetting that if you weigh it down too much, you lose the safety factor. Yeah the Lotus Elise(which is a bad a$$ car) can do 0-60 in 4.5 but it has a 2 star govt. crash test rating where as the Z has a 5 star. Also getting a 3.9 final drive will bring the 0-60 time for the Z dramatically around to 4.5-4.7sec.

 

Yea sounds great BUT how can they fit that engine into the engine bay of the today 350Z too tight + the weight of the engine they will have to shift weight to make it still hang corners like the Z now. It will take the thrill out of this kind of car. It is almost perfectly ballanced that is hard to do ,they will have to almost start over again . I would pay the difference but would HAVE to test that bad boy out to make sure they got it right.

 

the extra weight from the engine would equal the weight from a TT kit, so the extra weight is a moot point. plus TT kits add that weight to front of the engine whereas a new V8 might be able to sneak the 2 cylinders against the firewall area to keep the weight to wards the center. also, im sure they could move the entire cabin back a few inches towards the rear tires...the roofline has alot of clearance still...