Tell that to Viper owners...

 

The 3.5 will remain in the 350 throughout its duration. The change probably will occur in the cabin just like the Altima has been criticized thast why Nissan is doing a major overhaul of its interior for 2005, expect some major changes with the interior.

 

Possibly CVT w/ paddle shift? That would be cool. I know that Nissan's CVT is very good and its design is one of the toughtest in terms of handle torque.

 

That depends on hp to weight ratio for me, price too.

 

How high do you want to rev? My 5.7L stocked redlined at 5500+? All I did was some tuning, cam, and springs and revved to 6800rpms.
The stock ZO6 vette redlines at like 6600rpms....I believe.

 

I would imagine that they could easily get 350 HP (crank) out the the 3.5 if they wanted to.

 

A bump in power would be most welcomed!

Looking back to 2k2, Nissan did increase the displacment in the Maxima from 3.0L to 3.5L midway through the 5th generation. At the time the Maxima was considered the flagship vehicle, much like the Z is now. So it's not like Nissan has never done this before.

 

Yeah the only difference that was that Nissan was using the 3.0 VQ in the Maxima since the 4th gen in 1995.

 

I do remember that happening with the Maxima. However, the Z presents a whole differet dilemma. The introduction of an entirely new sports car is highly cost prohibitive and it may very well end up alienated a whole group of buyers that purchased the 350Z. Introducing a new 400Z is a whole different story from increasing the engine size in the Maxima. The difference is that the Maxima, 3.0 litre or 3.5 litre, remained a Maxima. Changing the engine in the Z is like bringing in a whole new sports car and dumping the old one.

 

To put it more accurately, the Maxima used the same displacment from 95 to 2k1. Although the displacment stayed the same, Nissan did add a variable intake manifold to bump the hp from 190hp to 222hp and 50% of the internal engine parts were redesigned for the 2000 model year (1st year of 5th gen). There were enough changes to merit a new engine code: VQ30DEK.

 

Saw this thread so of course had to call my "insider" at Nissan... Doesn't mean much as not everybody knows everything...... but they have no idea where this "rumor" got started...... Again, take what I say for what it's worth....

 

For all we know, the rumor could have been started here by our very own Victor...

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ght=4.0+Engine

 

no i didnt here it here in the forums....im really the only one at my dealership that goes into these sites......the rumor is something kinda big is coming in the z....its not interior its not a facelift....all the other things have been crossed off as because of training issues...but i never thought about t-tops or targa...it could be one of those,,,,,but the thinking at my store is more power as alot of complaints come in that the old tt z had more power and alot of people are disappionted with the z's power....


hey i may be wrong....wont be the first or last time i have been wrong.....

i dont know ...well find out in about 8 months

 

Well, I for one will not feel at all alienated if Nissan does decide to go with the 4.0L or any power upgrade for that matter. I think the Z will need it to compete with next generation sports cars.

I think the Z should stand as the pinnacle of Nissan's commitment to performance and value. If there is a 4.0L engine, why not use it?

 

yay, i've accomplished something.

 

but i think it would come in the form of a new trim level with more power. not a new hp increase for all trims of z. and don't your techs have training for awd already (for the suvs)? or are you saying they would need special training for each model's awd?

 

we'll *find out* in 8 months or the 2005s *will be out* in 8 months? i would think we'd find out a lot sooner than that.

 

Don't be too sure. Remember when Nissan first restyled the Maxima SE, the 2000 & 2001 with the 3.0L engines were rated at 227 hp. Then in 2002 they made a few very slight visual changes to the Maxima SE but introduced the 3.5 L engine rated at 255 hp.

Seems to me that Nissan could follow the same type of game plan for the Z...

 

Well thats a Maxima, this is their flag ship sports car.

 

When they did that with the Maxima it was their "Flagship" car. I am now thinking that '06 is the year for the 4 Liter, but I will keep my fingers crossed.