News and opinion about the Nissan Z, including the 350Z and the upcoming all-new 2010 370Z. Also rumors of 500Z, as well as classic Z news back to the original 240Z.
Probably not the most ideal launch of the 370Z in Europe that Nissan had hoped for, but given the quick preparation of the car it's not bad.
Nissan Press Release follows:
2009.5.29
All-new NISSAN 370Z finishes 24-hour race debut sixth in class Japanese "Falken Z" puts up good fight to take fourth in class (11th overall)
Nurburgring 24 Hour Race
May 24th, Nurburgring (Germany)
The new Nissan 370Z, campaigned by Nissan Germany and a local media team, and the Falken Motorsports Fairlady Z (Z33, 380RS-C) from Japan, raced in the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on May 23rd through 24th. In this grueling event which saw 52 of the 170 participating cars (more than 30%) retire, Nissan Germany's all-new 370Z overcame a variety of troubles to finish sixth in the SP6 class (113th overall). Meanwhile, the Falken Motorsports' Fairlady Z left its own mark, finishing fourth in the SP7 class (11th overall).
The 24 Hours of the Nürburgring is contested on a circuit consisting of intense ups and downs, run on a track connecting the Nordschleife ("North Loop"), built in 1927, and the modern grand prix circuit, stretching to 25.378 kilometres in a single lap. Nearly 200 touring cars, heavily modified from commercially available machines, compete in this, the world's most grueling endurance race. This year marks the 37th running of the race since its first inception in 1970.
For this event, NISSAN Germany and the German magazine "Auto Zeitung" teamed up to sponsor the newest 370Z, built by the British RJN Motorsport squad. Driven by former Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) champion Kurt Thiim (Germany), editor of Auto Zeitung Holger Eckhardt (Germany), racing driver Alex Buncombe (Great Britain), and anchorman of the German television show "Grip" Matthias Malmedie, the yellow 370Z debuted in a four-hour endurance race at the same location on May 2nd. Improvements were subsequently made to the car in preparation for the challenge of this 24-hour race.
In qualifying, held on the 21st and 22nd, the 370Z finished in good standing, taking fourth among 10 cars (42nd overall) in the SP6 class (for cars with engine displacements of 3001-3500cc). The 24-hour race began at 4:00pm on the 23rd and proceeded in mostly dry conditions, despite a sprinkling of rain overnight. Seven hours into the race, while running well at about 11pm, the 370Z advanced as far as 2nd in its class (36th overall). However, the car crashed on the grand prix circuit at just after 2:00am. Repairs were carried out on the damaged body and suspension, but trouble with the drive system forced it into an extended pitstop, which lasted until morning. However, due to the heroic effort of the team, it returned to the track for the final stages of the race, taking the checkered flag sixth in its class.
The Falken Motorsports' Fairlady Z (Peter Dumbreck, Tetsuya Tanaka, Kazuki Hoshino, Dirk Schoysman) started ninth in the SP7 class (for cars with engine displacements of 3501-4000cc), 39th overall. It ran without any particular problems, finishing and taking the flag 4th in class (11th overall).
In addition, the privately entered (Italian) Lanza Motorsports' 350Z, reached the goal fourth in the SP10 GT4 class (114th overall), despite trouble with the car. A 350Z entered by a German team retired in the final stages of the race.
Franklin, Tennessee - Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) announced pricing for the all-new 2009 Nissan NISMO 370Z™, which goes on sale today at Nissan retailers nationwide. The new, second-generation NISMO Z® continues the tradition of the original, offering unique performance and design attributes that true sports car enthusiasts are looking for – including a functional aerodynamic body design, 18 additional horsepower and a special sport-tuned suspension.
The 2009 Nissan NISMO 370Z™, which is equipped with a 350-horsepower 3.7-liter V6 and close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission with SynchroRev Match, has a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price* (MSRP) of US $39,130. Only three accessories are available on this well equipped vehicle – NISMO carpeted floor mats, illuminated kick plates and a carpeted trunk mat.
“The new NISMO Z® is a tuner and Z® enthusiast’s dream – straight from the factory,” said Pat Steiner, Director, Specialty Vehicles, Nissan Division, NNA. “With its dramatic exterior, custom interior, sport-tuned performance and under $40,000 price, this new NISMO Z® is possibly the best ‘bang-for-the-buck’ sports car available today.” About the 2009 NISMO 370Z™ The NISMO 370Z™ was developed by Nissan’s Specialty Vehicles Group in conjunction with Autech Japan, Nissan’s longstanding conversion partner. The NISMO Z®’s standard 3.7-liter DOHC V6 engine with Variable Valve Event and Lift Control (VVEL) develops 350 horsepower and 276 lb-ft of torque (versus the standard 370Z Coupe’s 332 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque), thanks in part to an exclusive free flow dual exhaust system, muffler tuning and an optimized Engine Control Module.
As expected of a true performance machine, the NISMO 370Z™ is offered with only one transmission – a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission with standard SynchroRev Match-the world’s first synchronized downshift rev matching manual transmission introduced earlier this year on 370Z Coupe (which simulates perfectly matched heel-toe-like downshifting).
The NISMO 370Z™ also features a refined 4-wheel independent suspension, a reinforced strut tower brace for enhanced body rigidity and a pair of performance body dampers to manage road-input vibrations and help contribute to the NISMO 370Z™’s stability and performance feel. The NISMO-tuned suspension includes specially tuned springs, shock absorbers and stabilizer bars. Wider, unique 5-spoke 19-inch RAYS forged aluminum-alloy wheels are mounted with Yokohama ADVAN Sport Y-rated high-performance tires. Nissan Sport Brakes and a Viscous Limited-Slip Differential are also standard on the NISMO 370Z™.
Along with its standout performance, the new NISMO Z® stands out from the crowd with its dramatic performance-oriented exterior and interior styling. The functional and fully integrated aerodynamic body modifications include an extended nose with a canard design at each corner for improved downforce and a fully integrated chin spoiler. Special side sills and a unique rear fascia help manage airflow under the vehicle, while the functional rear spoiler also increases downforce.
The interior includes NISMO logo seats with black and red fabric and red stitching, a NISMO tachometer, a smooth leather-wrapped steering wheel with red parallel stitching, a smooth leather-wrapped shift knob and aluminum trimmed pedals. A serialized plaque of authenticity is also matched to each NISMO Z®, identifying its unique serial and model year designation.
2009 Nissan NISMO 370Z Pricing
Description
MSRP*
370Z Coupe NISMO – 3.7 Liter V6 6 M/T
$39,130
Port Installed Accessories
MSRP*
NISMO Carpeted Floor Mats
$115
Illuminated Kick Plates
$200
Carpeted Trunk Mat
$95
About Nissan North America In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.infinitiusa.com.
# # #
* MSRP excludes applicable tax, title, license, and destination charges. Dealer sets actual price. Prices and specs are subject to change without notice. Destination and handling is US $720 as of 6/17/09.
Now Nissan has provided another Nismo to the press and testing reports have begun.Edmunds Inside Line is one of the recipients of a press fleet vehicle for testing. They found only one problem in their testing: the Nismo isn't any different from their own long-term test 370Z Touring and the handling is quote "scarier".
With considerable increases in rear spring rate, damping, and sway bar size, it's no surprise that the handling has changed. The question is, what was Nissan's intent here: was it race track performance, "drifting", or something else entirely? Is the car more neutral, or biased towards oversteer? Edmunds doesn't say enough here and clearly a more detailed and fully instrumented test is needed. Hopefully Road & Track will step in with a production car comparison.
Note that the Nismo provided by Nissan had an oil cooler added - something that is not a factory option. And Edmunds already had one installed on their own car. After several track tests by various publications (and the aftermarket), it's very clear that you can't do track events in any 370Z without an oil cooler, and a differential cooler is also an exceptionally good idea.
In our humble opinion, with 29 years of track experience under our belt, an oil cooler is always a good idea for serious track work. But if the basic car won't survive without one, then there is a serious engineering and/or testing issue with the entire car. Nissan needs to get it's act together and resolve both issues, which are basic engineering problems.
Obviously there is a temperature problem with this engine and/or this engine bay (without a grill above the bumper line). Unfortunately, if a factory solution is an air-to-oil cooler, then that will take time and will require crash testing (and a thermostat). The factory oil-to-water cooler does not do it's job in high temperature conditions.
Just as obviously the rear differential is totally inadequate. The gears or clutch may not be strong enough and there probably isn't enough room inside the case for heat expansion of the fluid. It probably needs an entirely redesigned case, with cooling fins in the rear cover to help shed heat (as is done so well on the M3). More engineering time - lots of it. An external differential cooler requires a pump, and one isn't a great idea for a street car anyway because there isn't a good place to hang the cooler underneath the car, where it is very vulnerable to anything and everything kicked up by the tires. We've seen these on 350- and 370Zs already, where they are usually mounted directly behind the right rear lower control arm. They would catch a lot of stones and other stuff thrown up by street and track driving:
Wondering what happened to the two 370Zs at this years 24 hour endurance race at Nurburgring? It was a disaster all around - and you can watch it unfold thanks to these YouTube videos. Note the wheel sitting on the side of the road with the front suspension upright still attached. And then for some reason they disassemble it - to reuse the upright? The Zs themselves were far from stock, using the older 3.5 liter engines and third-party sequential gearboxes. So there's not a lot we can learn from this for "civilian" track events.
Nissan of Europe wanted to use this event to kick off the launch of the 370Z in Europe... but it didn't work out very well.
The German motorsport show GRIP has provided approx. 42 minutes of video coverage, including in-car video from the yellow 370Z. All in German, although there is some English in the background and the results are apparent enough. Lots of extra video shows what it's like to spectate at this legendary event - consider this a must-attend event! Note the VW bug limo that seats about 20, the Hello Kitty guitar, and the drunken Pink Panthers!
Here's the team running the 370Z at the 24 hours of the Nurburgring 2009: http://www.rjnmotorsport.com/ of Oxfordshire U.K.
The team formerly ran a 350Z. Because class rules limit the engine to 3.5 liters, the 370Z will be running an older 3.5 liter engine. You can see some more details of the car in the official team photo below, including aero mods front and rear, exhaust system, and air ducts in the rear side windows (probably rear brakes and very likely diff cooling).
Unfortunately, no further technical details are available on the team site.
It would be helpful if this team were to provide some more details so that 370Z fans can better prepare their own cars. Not details of their suspension setup - that would clearly be confidential, but details showing their resolution of the two main problems of the car that the rest of us face: engine oil and rear diff cooling. Most commercial diff coolers hang off the rear frame behind right lower control arm... that can't be very durable and there has to be a better solution.
We're following the 24 hour race at the famous Nurburgring track this weekend and came across this pic of a Nissan 370Z competing in the race.
It'd be interesting to know how it's setup... from the pic below we can see a massive front oil cooler, cold air intake, and deep front airdam with brake ducts. And the cuts made in the front fascia to feed cooling air to the intakes and radiator. Stay tuned for more details, if we can find them. We're very interested in what it takes to make a 370Z work on the track - we've talked before about coolers and the like and this car is a rolling example of what works - or doesn't. We'll see in 24 hours what shape they're in.
Here's another Jag V-12 swap, this time into the eternally sexy 240Z. It was built in Mississauga ON and the builder has an interesting site here: http://ca.geocities.com/dotdotdot@rogers.com/ Unfortunately, there aren't any technical details of the swap itself.
Shockingly enough, this sexy car has trailer-park baggage: in 1986 it received a swap of a 318 Dodge motor with an automatic transmission. Then in 1999 it moved up to the big Jag V-12.
Note that a dark green lookalike of this car was put up for sale in 2008 - it is probably one and the same car. There isn't any information available about what became of it after the sale. Hopefully it will surface soon.
Pictures below are from the builder's site and copyright by that site, saved here for the sake of posterity.
Now imagine that you're driving this on a race track with cars all around you.
Oh, wait, you can't drive this on a racerack without over-heating. Well, ok, assume you get an oil cooler and solve that problem. Now what do you do when prople come up behind you to pass? Can you even tell?
This is the one unsolvable fatal flaw of this car. A car we want to like...
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2009.5.29
The Falken Motorsports' Fairlady Z (Peter Dumbreck, Tetsuya Tanaka, Kazuki Hoshino, Dirk Schoysman) started ninth in the SP7 class (for cars with engine displacements of 3501-4000cc), 39th overall. It ran without any particular problems, finishing and taking the flag 4th in class (11th overall).
![An image named 2009-nismo-grp-nissan-ot-555-1[1].jpg](http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog/images/2009/06/28/2009-nismo-grp-nissan-ot-555-1[1].jpg)
![An image named 09-nissan-nismo370z-repair-3-blog[1].jpg](http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog/images/2009/06/28/09-nissan-nismo370z-repair-3-blog[1].jpg)
Wondering what happened to the two 370Zs at this years 24 hour endurance race at Nurburgring? It was a disaster all around - and you can watch it unfold thanks to these YouTube videos. Note the wheel sitting on the side of the road with the front suspension upright still attached. And then for some reason they disassemble it - to reuse the upright? The Zs themselves were far from stock, using the older 3.5 liter engines and third-party sequential gearboxes. So there's not a lot we can learn from this for "civilian" track events.
![A picture named V12Z04[1].jpg](http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog/images/2009/05/16/V12Z04[1].jpg)
![A picture named v12-9[1].jpg](http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog/images/2009/05/16/v12-9[1].jpg)
![A picture named v12-6[1].jpg](http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog/images/2009/05/16/v12-6[1].jpg)
![A picture named V12Z05[1].jpg](http://www.DrivingEnthusiast.net/sec-blog/images/2009/05/16/V12Z05[1].jpg)
Edmunds points out again that their long term 370Z has a terrible blind spot. Read the article here:
