I was just wondering if the new 5.6 liter V8 would be an easy swap into the Z, or if Nissan ever had plans to jam that motor under the hood of the current Z for production.

 

I would highly doubt that;

First, the 5.6 is a V8 and Z engines have traditionally been six-cylinders. Secondly, read the posts titled 4.0 litre engine in the Z; people have a hard enough time agreeing on whether or not the Z will have a 4.0 litre engine let alone a 5.6.

 

thats what I figured. a friend asked me about that. Personally, I'd rather see the same 3.5 with a pair of baby turbos.

 

the Z is not meant to be a drag racer, thus a V8 is not conducive to the cars purpose. that additional weight will cause the handling to become non existant at best just like the mustang and firebird. the corvette escapes this to a point, but still, you cant elimate the unavoidable weight from the larger block.

a straight swap into the Z would require a whole new suspension to hold it, and possibly a stronger frame.

and in the end you must ask why? how much hp does the 5.6L have? I thought it was around 300, 13 more hp?. torque is increased, but low end torque isnt too important to a sports car. now you start looking for new cams to adjust the power band, ect. cheaper ways to get more efficient power.

 

The 5.6 is a truck engine! You're gonna need lots of work to increase its top end power, and I doubt there's parts for that now...
Will be much easier to just turbo/supercharge the VQ35

 

I beleive the Corvette has better skidpad results than does the Z. Lighter weight doesnt necessarily mean better handling. The Mercedes MayBach actually accellerates, brakes, and corners as well as a Corvette... look it up. Even Porsche decided to put a V-10 in their Carrera GT. Weight can be overcome, but it is costly. There are many many heavy cars that outperform the Z. Which is unfortunate cause I love my Z.

 

yes, thats why I metioned that the corvette escapes that, with the fiberglass body, and aluminum block ect ect. of course redoing the entire suspension on the Z is only part of that. all good handling V8s and larger also at very least have their frame designed to handle the weight and power. you wont ever see a V8 boxster without some major changes to the car at the most basic levels, though they can design a V10 that can out perform in in every area.

 

Its not weight per say, but weight distribution. You take a car that was designed to have a 6 in it and drop in a big 8 your weight distribution shifts forward. You thought it plowed bad from the factory, try it after this swap.

 

no magazine racing.

 

Not in most of our lifetimes!

 

I believe Logitech has a Z560.

 

Well technicaly the the corvette is just a lil lighter than the Z.... just a tad over 3200 lbs curb weight. It's also 10k more and it's interior sucks..

 

I'm no expert on production of automotive platforms but I think I've read enough to understand it a bit. The FM platform that the Z is built upon also underpins the G35 coupe and sedan, FX35 and FX45, which means they all share key suspension and powertrain configurations. From this we could surmise that there should be little trouble in moving around engines and drivetrain. So theoretically a 350Z should have the potential to drop in the 4.5 motor and even all wheel drive. Also the 5.6 Titan motor is just a different variation of the 4.5 Q motor, I thought I read it was just bored/stroked to add torque and the posted hp rating is apparently way understated. So taking into consideration that the blocks are the same then the 5.6 should also be able to fit.
the only concern I would have is the fact that the hight of the intake might be of concern, I think the runners on the Titan motor are rather high for torque characteristics and don't know how that would affect hood clearance. Remember the GTR has talk of either a 3.5 tt or 4.5 v8 so even more evidence of an easy fit, relatively easy that is.

Just imagine a 5.6 litre Z, and that motor would easily be capable of 500+hp without too much work, and that's n/a. If you could fit some Turbos under there then WOWIE! I know small boost into a Z06 motor easily gets you 600hp, I think even closer to 700.

Can you say the first 10 second Z! Ok so who wants to be the guinie pig?