I think Weight reduction would be Best way, with small HP bump 30whp,

weight reduction.. Aluminum roof/hatch doors, composite fenders, lighter wheels (even the cheapest range rovers use 10gauge alum. body pannels)
, also has rust proof benifits.

power: intake/ exhaust mods, cams, ecu...
mabey $5k more???

of course those would cost abit more.. (expected)

kindof like they did with the EVO MR

 

my god to drive your car at %100 all the time you would never get out of 2nd gear, and be at 70 mph between stoplights hehe

 

800WHP and a Supra Getrag gearbox.

 

There are a lot of interesting comments being made, but the two most important things that ANY car manufacturer looks at when designing a car are being overlooked here.

1. Profitability

2. Avoidance of law suits

The Z returned to the market after a 6 year hiatus for one reason, and one reason alone: it was a brand image leader that led to increased sales of the entire Nissan line. Without it, sales slumped. Last year, I my wife bought a Maxima SE. I don't think that I if I didn't own a Z, we would have looked at the car.

The last Z outpriced itself from it's target marget. Nissan won't make that mistake again. To make the Z 300lbs lighter and give it 30-50 more hp, would increase costs to the point where it would eat into sales, and decrease reliability at a given cost level.

My guess: 320hp and the same overall weight with about a $2k price hike.

 

Good points, I say 325 HP and 2K... JMO

 

And what about the damage to the brand that occurs when you have a medeocre(sp) product on the market........for crying out loud, the average sport sedan is running close to 300hp..........
you have people now crying that they got busted by a Volvo sedan offering(I personally do not see how...but)...


And I tell you.....let the best in the legendary sports car line get busted by a Jeep.....boy that will work wonders for your brand...

I'm sticking to my earlier statement...

 

The jeep is tuned by srt and the Z is just made by nissan.A more fair comparison would be the srt8 jeep vs a nismo tuned Z. I would expect the jeep to win since it is being tuned by chrysler's performance division and the Z is just a factory made nissan. I would be concerned if nismo made a Z and it got smoked by the srt8 jeep.

 

I think it is sad we have to wonder if an SUV would be able to out perform our sportscar. Bottom line is the competition has step it up, now the 350Z is falling behind. Remember when the 350Z first came out, it performed so well it challenged Boxster and Boxster S. This, among other other reasons caused Porsche to upgrade those cars. This is normal and why competition is good for consumers. One of the biggest benefits of the 350Z coming to the market is how well it sold and thus got other manufactures to improve their own products.

 

I understand ......I would like to see a competitive NISMO offering......to help the brand.

Just as the "M" or "AMG" offerings are clearly above average.....the Nissan/NISMO brand would be helped by a standard setting offering....Tell me if I am wrong....but does NISMO provide a competitive offering to the SRT8?

 

If the history of the Z is any indicator (240Z to 300ZX), the 350Z will increase incrementally in displacement. It will also get heavier. We’re also beginning to see more bells and whistles (audio controls on the steering wheel). In years ahead, the Z will be a fat luxury grand touring 2-seater. Its called progress.

 

The only car in america that comes from the factory with nismo upgrades is the the nismo frontier but that car is a big disapointment. In japan they do sell nismo Zs but they cost like 40k-50k for a small hp increase but they don't compete with the srt8 since i dont think they sell jeeps in japan.

 

Good point!
They should definitely have a real "track version".
Strip all of the sound deadening material they added ON TO the 2003 chasis that made the 2006's that much heavier.

Keep the brembos, lightweight wheels and delete the VDC or any electronic nannies that would get in the way of the track car.
Throw in the Nismo LSD, (maybe clutch and flyweel) and lightweight Nismo seats and sell it for marginally more than the rest of the lineup. If they price it right, I don't see where they'll bite into profits.

Unlike the existing "Nismo" cars or upgrades, Nissan doesn't need to drastically modify or equip all their Z's, they just need a moderately produced and affordable (sub 40k) "Halo" Z in their lineup to represent the car's potential. Just a good hand of cards to open on the new players that will come on the market.

They'll please the enthusiasts all while working with what they've already got.

 

Sorry to bust any bubbles but the stock Z is not a fast car, maybe quick at most. But with all the great things about the Z once you double the HP from the factory it's one of the funnest, most exciting cars to drive out there.

 

One of the only things I hate about the car. I'm cruisin' and someone wants my race him with my wife and birds in the car...... right ......

 

Let's talk terminology.

I have always thought that a 13sec 1/4 mile car was quick at a track. I know we have other cars out there that are quicker because of technology. But, come on guys/gals a 13sec 1/4 mile car is quick .... maybe not the quickest .... but still quick.

I have a low 11, high 10 Camaro for the strip. Looking for 9's. I still consider the 350Z to be a quick street car. Not a quick race car .... but a quick street car. All in all it's what you want and need.

Now for fast ..... 158mph with limitter and 175+ without a limitter .... THAT IS A FAST CAR !!!! However, the Camaro stated above is a faster car down the quarter mile.

Does this make sense to you guys/gals?

 

400 WHP 380 ft lbs Turbo... somethig to go PSSSH just read my avatar

 

I love the Z, and everything about it, yet we all are going for power upgrades and Im sure everyone can agree more power is nice, for those of you that leave your cars stock, more power to you for not getting bitten by the mod bug. But for me, well, I was bitten about 5 years before I bought the car lol. On that note, I think, that 100 hp/liter has been a fairly old somewhat easy technology by todays standards, and I really feel that Nissan should've employed that in the 350Z. Is it possible to do this with mods, yes, but it costs alot of money to have an NA 350Z at 350hp, I think to attain a 320 -330 hp NA Z is more feasible.

 

I think that's one of the points of this thread. We don't think the car is fast enough, especially compared to the competition. I don't think we are going to see a 600hp Z from the factory anytime soon. ;-) That would be more power than I care to have anyway on a daily basis anyway.

 

I think Nissan should make a Nismo Z that has around 350-375HP.

 

if i were doing the 07/08 Z:

1. rev-up engine would get a tune-up:
-variable intake geometry
-higher compression
-7.5k redline
-325hp

2. instead of brembos which are likely expensive, id do 13" stoptech oem supplied with nissan badging on the brake calipers. nismo oem brakes would be 14" stoptech bbk oem kit. there would be no track model, just a nismo model.

3. weight 3000lbs via lighter weight materials.. more aluminum use on body panels/chassis for example...also aluminum exhuast

4. lightly restyled exterior

5. completely restyled interior

6. improved handling via more rigid/lightweight chassis

7. improved aerodynamics to make 170mph doable w/ 325hp and 150mph much more stable.

8. better nvh. not that expensive and should be possible to do a good job and still get to 3k lbs

Base model would be $29,999.. max price wouldn't exceed $35,999.
This car is designed to be the affordable sports car, and nothing more. I think that this would best fit those needs and still give the z a very competitive edge in the marketplace