In a recent Road & Track they had a C6 Corvette against a 911 Turbo and the C6 won better car overall. While I disagree with the result, the fact of the matter is for $45k its a tough car to beat and the 300ZX Twin Turbo's sluggish sales due to it's hefty price tag dealt a big blow to Nissan. I doubt they would try it again, leaving the Skyline to be our generation's Vette killer and the 350z a very capable and affordable sports car.

 

I just want to mention that Pontiac raised their engine from the LS1 with 350HP to the LS2 with 400HP 1 year after the car was introduced...

Companies will do whatever it takes to make the car more attractive if they think it's necessary to gain profits and marketshare

 

It was the Corvette C6 vs. the 911 Carrera....NOT the TURBO...and the only reason the vette won was because of their retarded "value" category. The 911 Carrera is an overall better vehicle than the vette...and the turbo completely blows the vette away...

 

Although you are correct...the LS2 is simply a bored and stroked version of the LS1 so dropping the LS2 in a previously LS1 powered car is nothing. Converting a car from a V6 to a V8 is a completely different ballgame.

NEVER believe ANYTHING a Nissan tech or anyone that works at a nissan dealer for that matter has to say about the future of nissan vehicles...as 95% of it is complete BS.

 

just do a conversion, either a stroker kit or the new engine, its gonna be the same vq block just bored and stoked to 4 liters or 4.1 liters trust me.

 

this 400z is gonna stick it to everybody, wow!imagine if it would be the same price!

 

Perhaps they are going to do it, but only to specific models, i.e. the track edition. Then they keep the 3.5 in the rest of the models.

 

I've been watching this site for almost a year now and i figured it was about time I made a post.

IMO the 6 cylinder format is going to stay. This has always been a characteristic of the Z. Everyone knows Nissan is trying to create feelings of nostalgia with the 350z. Its seen all over the car with Z's and dimples galore. Changing from the 6 cyl to an 8 would be a very serious departure from that "tradition"

I personally would hope they would keep the 6 and add FI.

 

What you gotta keep in mind is, how can (if you're ceo of nissan) Nissan save on costs, add performance, attract a larger crowd, and increase sales all at the same time w/o raising price on the 350z.

Though it would be possible to drop the v8 in there, it would depend on how much extra cost it will take Nissan to do that, and if the Z can support that v8 w/o sacraficing cost or performance of any kind.

But like someone said, it is also very likely to see the current engine see some added performance boosting parts borrowed from the v8 to help bump the hp numbers. You see a lot of car companies do this, take parts out of their parts bin and slap on them around other engines and cars in their line up to see improvement w/o a whole new redesign. This not only saves cost, but also very efficient. Honda did it very well w/ the last generation Integras. First it was the LS, GS, GSR, and then R. Again, extra costs must not out weight the benefits.

Seeing the costs of the Z go up would not be a wise decision by Nissan cause their Z sales are already starting to suffer.

Nissan can cut their profits if they can find a or some improvement(s) that will net them a huge chunk of sales to make up that lost.

Prolly a bump in displacement wouldn't be such a bad idea. Easy improvment, cost effective, good gains, etc. Yet, the only thing u lose out on is gas millage whcih is an added bonus for the Z anyways cuz when did sports coupes save on gas, lol

But in an end note, a small performance boost w/ some interior improvement would definitely be nice since the interior is such a gripe to some.

 

Actually, I heard something a little different. This all started when Nissan sent me the wrong copy of my electronic service manual. In the midst of sorting it out, I got into a conversation with the folks at NissanUSA. They told me Nissan had closed a deal with Chrysler Corporation (!?) and that the '07 Z car would be carrying a slightly detuned Dodge Viper engine. The "extended" Fairlady body style will be used to accomodate the new motor. Nissan apparently is not as concerned about the balance and handling of the car, since its public relations department has researched that it is more straight line power that the market wants for this car. Anyway, if I had you believing this for even a fraction of a second, I have done what I set out to do.

 

I'm a little confused as to what Nissan may do. They have many options for upgrading the 350Z to make it more appealing (better interior, more hp, better handling, cheaper price, more packages). I'm not sure if they are wanting the new Infiniti GTR to be the star, and not update any other vehicles, OR (and this is a big OR) have an awesome line-up all together (4.0 V8 in the 350Z, or better interior material, more interior room, more luxuries, make the G35 Coupe cheaper). Only time will tell...(and leaks from the company )

 

Just for the record since I started this thread and all - I'm not really buying into them putting a V8 in the car. I agree with all you that they'd probably bore out the engine, put in more aggressive cams and headers etc. Maybe they'll even put on a better plenum or something. I don't think they'll actually go changing the body footprint of the car.

 

350Z is a star, GTR is a legend.

 

if the 350z comes out with a significantly higher power car ill be the first to trade my z in for it

 

As far as American's know, the GTR never existed until it comes out in 2007.

 

Only for second, until you told me Nissan had done a deal with Chrysler. haha

 

ditto.

And its not about straight line acceleration its about being a sports car, not a muscle car.

 

Bull Puckies.

 

Threads like this pop up all the time.
I rememeber shortly after we all began taking delivery of our zs, there was a rash of people saying things like:

-The sales rep at Nissan says they are coming out with a 350z twin turbo next year.

-My friends brothers girlfriends Dad is an executive at Nissan and they will be offering a twin turbo next year.

-My best friends brother was at Laguna Seca and saw them testing a twin turbo 350z. Its due out in 6 months.


Point is this: If a mechanic, sales rep or friend of friend tells you about a power increase, please resist the urge to post unless you have a magazine article to scan or some other solid proof
There is too much bulllshit disinformation on this board already and posts like these are a tiresome waste of time.

 

that is a big crock of ****. After 35 years of the z having a 6 cylinder they are not going to change it. The Z legend will not permit