I mean its heavier then a corvette....why is the Z so heavy? I thought it would be under 3000lbs...sorry if this is a newb question.

 

about 11 lbs lighter (3214 vs 3225) because the vette has a FRP body and, if I remember correctly, has helium in the tires instead of air.

JMS in TX

 

Well, I know it has balsawood in the middle of the frame rails and the platform, but helium? Can it fly? Maybe it can float?

 

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That would be VERY dangerous. No car uses helium in the tires.

 

helium would be useless, and it would also go flat in like 2 days, typicly you use something larger than oxegen.

anyway, yeah the body panels are fiberglass or some subproduct like it. thats part of it.

and IMO the Z has a good bit more safety features(big thick heavy side impact beams, crumple zones, ect), also a good 60lbs for the spare tire and jack which I dont think the corvette has.

 

To everyone out there who is interested in making the Z lighter but with mainting the "original look", what areas do you think will be good to look at to lighten up the car?

The solid crunch beams is a good start. I've already noticed the big one in the front and am thinking about removing it, or taking it out and severly cutting it to remove as much weight as possible but serve for stability for the front end, general structure, etc. I didn't think about the tire and the spare hmmm....

--Justin

 

The z is heavy cause it's platform is shared with the G35 and FX34/45, so parts of it have to be beefy enough to deal with that. So, Nissan can make the same pieces for more model lines and bring the cost down. The corvette currently shares it's platform with nothing else, so it is optimized (and hence, more expensive) and lighter.

 

i guess vette owners like to suck on the helium to change their voices. No helium is used in the tires. As far as triming fat off the Z you can change out the flywheel, get rid of spare tire, and of course the driver of the Z can loose some pounds as well. Etc. etc...

 

If you are really serious about making your car lighter...

How to get your econobox into the 14's-A must read

 

The Z is priced so well because it shares it's platform with the Infiniti G35 and FX45. The downside is that it is heavy for it's size. However, it should be a durable platform since it can support heavier vehicles in the line-up.

 

It is the chassis that is heavy, so there's a limit to how much you can lighten it. So with this handicap, what would the Z accel at?

I am thinking Track since it's hp/tq gives it an edge and the stiffer chassis would stable it.

Is it nimble/light enough for AutoX?