My roommate just got an 06 Civic coupe and just by eyeballing it you wouldn't think that it is 500 lbs lighter than my car. It's crazy! The Civic is longer and taller than my car. The Z is 2.5 inches wider. But the weight difference blows my mind. I mean 500 lbs!!

 

if it isnt 500 lbs lighter then 0-60 will seriously take about 8 and a half years... instead of 8 1/2 seconds lol

 

VQ6 vs VTEC 4 cyl might be a good start.

 

I'd be suprised if the engine weights were different by hundreds of pounds, but I know what you're saying. That little car feels pretty planted too. For a little 4 banger it's pretty quick on its feet. But, if my car was 2700 lbs. it sure would feel nice

 

strip everything then get all c/f u'll have close to 2700

 

The point I'm trying to make is that the Civic has rear seats, is fully appointed and bigger and is lighter than I could make my car if I took out a seat, the AC, spare, replaced everything with Lexan and CF. Why is that? I don't like the Civic more than the Z by any stretch but it's odd that the difference is so great. Both are safe cars, so the structural reinforcements are probably similar...I guess it's in the LSD and motor. I'd doubt that Honda could afford to use superlight suspension parts on their entry level coupe as opposed to the heavy iron suspension Nissan uses on thier flagship sports car. Who knows...

 

yeah but its a civic... u get no respect driving that thing lol
i dont know about crash rating of a civic... but our cars come with curtain airbag, side airbags and front airbags... i think crashing a Z into a civic ... the civic would be murdered

 

Don't forget the drivetrain.

 

Yeah Honda makes those civic engines using part aluminum also which contributes to the lighter weight.

I agree with Jvan about the new civics--- I absolutely hate em. The 7th gen coupes were GREAT looking, but the new ones look like freakin SATURNS with those stupid headlights. AND I HATE SATURNS!!!! Arghhh why did they make such a crappy looking car!

 

please go crash yours into a civic and let us know how it turns out. a true car enthusiast has plenty of respect for the new civic.

 

The civic is FWD, has smaller lighter wheels/tires, skinnier doors, 4 cylinders, single bank, smaller EVERYTHING, requires less rigid body ect. I can go on and on why its lighter. Its an econobox basically. Toyota MR2 spyder weighs 1 ton, thats something u should say holy moly to.

 

a true car enthusiast looks down upon fwd vehicles
because it is the creation of the devil - bmw

the only fwd car worth mentioning the ITR just because it is the first factory vehicle (thats fwd) with built in oversteer...

 

its not very hard to make a fwd car oversteer.

 

well tell factories to make more cars handle like the ITR
lol...
or stop making fwd cars in general...
the concept of using both front axel/wheel/drive to power and steer is against "law of practicality"

 

its all about practicality.... cost practicality. fwd has its purpose.

im not going to keep going back and forth with you... i have seen some of the other threads you have posted your worthless drivel in... and it goes nowhere fast.

 

hey why not!
argument and discussion makes the forum go around...
a forum = a place of discussion and arguments of whats best (concept vs reality)

but i agree that fwd cost less

 

fwd costs less and its lighter. it has a horrible weight balance but it serves its purpose. PS, FWD might cause a car to understeer, but better suspension and correct tires can make FWD just as good as AWD. RWD has the advantage here though. You control how much oversteer and understeer you want, and ur not limited by the abilities of the car.

 

FWIW, one of my former cars 02 Nissan Maxima [sold recently] was 22" longer, 1.2" narrower and 4.4" taller than my Z yet it weighed a whopping 8 lbs more (3218 lbs vs. 3210 lbs). My guess is that a lot of the Z's weight comes chassis stiffening/bracing.

My Prius is 320 lbs less than the Z despite it having to carry 2 motor/generators, inverter and batteries. The Prius is 5.6" longer, 3.6" narrower, and 6.2" taller but it's 4 banger w/very little power (110 hp net combined power).

 

just look underneath the z and you will see why the z weighs more. nissan could have made the z lighter, but there is a reason why they didn't.

 

rwd is better than fwd overall,
Nascar, Formula 1, Indy Cars and Le Mans are RWD.