really...I hope I get this thing paid for before they make me a has been

 

I'm tired of all these FWD, RWD, AWD cars. I'd like to see a left wheel drive Z. (It'd still make more sense than an SUV!)

 

OK this will **** me off if they do give a lil more power with the 4.0. I just bought the damn car, hell ive only got 540 miles on it. But im gonna find something out because i know some ppl at the Nissan Nascar department. I'll let you know

 

Theres no way anyone knows about changes this far in advance except the people engineering the car im sure.

 

noboby does know anything for sure ..its all just sceculation

 

Yeah, but I was just speaking to LFR1

 

ok well ome toyota engineers have told me a new trd tundra is in the making that will rival the ford lightning

 

Guys, Nissan sells its cars based on HP more than anyone else, so if they can get more power, you bet they will do it. They wont wait so that all of the early adopters feel good. Further, if the 4L is for whatever reason determined as a good benchmark, I wouldnt be suprised to see it appear in all of the cars, not just the Z. In fact, if the Z car were to get a 4L, the VQ35 would be gone in 2 years.

That being said, now would be the perfect time to add 10 or 15 HP to the 350Z. Anything to keep it a little fresh will help. Keep in mind the Z is not just a car they make money on, but it represents Nissans entire image. To get it over 300HP would be a good marketing tool for the entire lineup.

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The Z was the top selling sports car last year...outselling even the corvette. They're going to milk this formula till it doesnt work anymore...and then offer a refresh. As long as they sell 30,000+ Z's a year with 285 HP....then they wont change a thing except the interior and offer new colors.

When the Z's sales drop to the mid to low 20,000 units, expect a bigger HP engine and some revamps. Until then, the best I see is minor refreshes of the exterior and revised spoiler types from the factory...NOTHING to alter the Z significantly.

 

all these people that are talking trash saying taht nissan is only concerned with power, why dont we see a 560Z with the Titan V8 engine??? The Z could pull 400+ hp with that hog in it??? Because it's not gonna happen. Nissan will milk the 350 for all its worth and then move on. Lets enjoy it till then, then get whatever comes along new.

 

If you read their annual report, you would realize what their marketing strategy was. Not saying a change will happen, but to think that they will only after sales fall is naive. The only thing that is off limits is the styling.

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maybe they are gonna stop production of the 350zs. that would be a "huge change". i dunno. just a guess.

 

Mark my words, there will be engine changes in the Altima, Maxima, Frontier, and Pathfinder for the '05 model year (3.5L - 4L). The Zcar and Murano aren't far behind. Perhaps, for mid '05 like they did for the Maxima a few years back, in "mid-year"?!
One Man's Opinion

 

From what I have been reading there are a few people here who understand who atrociously expensive it is to revamp a car. Putting a 4.0 litre in a Z would make it an absolutely NEW Z-car; it would not be a 350Z with a mid-year change, it would now be a 400Z. It not like when they changed the engine in the Maxima because although they bumped up the displacement in the Maxima by .5 it didn't change the essence of the car; it remained a Maxima. But changing the engine in the Z is creating a whole new car. Dumping a sports car that they spent tons of money on to produce and promote only after a couple of years of production would look clumsy and awkward. I would expect only minor adjustments to the interior and maybe a minor bump in hp.

I'm not saying that a 400Z would never happen, actually after the 350Z is done and run through its cycle the 4.0 litre engine seems like a logical step.

 

Unless they intend on dumping the vq35 in all cars...

 

The 3.5 wasnt added mid year to the 02 Max it appeared in late August 2001 thats when normal next year production cars start to appear, thats when the freshened 2002 first hit showrooms.

 

Lets put it this way, Nissan would NOT have bothered with the 4.0L if it was going to appear in only one car. Thats just not how they do things.

Now, I dont necessarily think that means its going into the Z anytime soon, but I bet it will go into several other vehicles within a year.

X

 

I agree, the Z will probably one of the last cars to receive a tuned version of the 4.0 litre since it is Nissan's newest car.

 

I wouldn't view the 4.0 as an advantageous move for Nissan, as the 2006 or 2007 concept for the GT-R will most likely be running either an engine similar to 3.5 or, more likely, the 4.5. The 3.5 is a top notch engine and the car is fantastic, but the R34 touring cars in JGTC sponsered by Nissan/NISMO use altered versions of the 4.5 V8 as opposed to the standard SR20 derivative or the RB26. This, coupled with more than enough tests involving this setup in the FM chassis have put a lot of people on GT-R alert for the upcoming model years. Americans like V8's, or so the rest of the automotive world assumes, and while the classic designation for Z is a six cyl, i doubt that having one in such close proximity of size to the GT-R will help the sales of that car...honestly, Joe Publc, if he has between 50-80 thousand dollars will not pick a GT-R unless it is truly special....sitting next to a 4.0 V6 Z on the lot will only leaving him wondering where the Porsche dealership is, considering he won't know the heritage of either car or what they can do. Or maybe he won't care, which is most likely. A better tuned 3.5 would make more sense, or a special trim level above the others, but not a car the is in line with the GT-R for accel and handling etc.

Or not...oh well, I like what I got...and I have been tuning smaller displacement cars for quite some time, so I am used to making more with less.

 

Well, it certainly wont be the last CAR to get a 4L, if other cars get it. If the Maxima/Altima gets it, the Z will too. You cant have the Maxima with more horsepower than the Z. Otherwise, they would have tuned them all to 287.

The 4L will move to the Frontier and other Trucks/SUVs. Now if you know thats going to happen, does it make sense to keep the VQ35? Or would you rather have just the VQ40? Its entirely possible that it could happen with a short period of time, especially if its a stroke change. Wouldnt require as big of a redesign.

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