Have you seen the R3

 

I hate to admit it, but the new 370 is starting to grow on me.

 

I don't have anything bad to say about the new Z, but it doesn't blow me away either. I think the Mustang strikes a better balance between performance and "luxury", and the RX-8 murders it in terms of style.

The interior is probably an improvement over the outgoing model, but not a marked one. There is nothing remarkable about it. Looks pretty boring and bland compared to its competition.

In terms of performance, it looks guaranteed to kick ***. Rev-matching on the manual is a neat trick. But as I said, it doesn't have enough style for me to choose it over the RX-8, and doesn't have enough "touring"/crusing appeal for me to choose it over the refreshed Mustang.

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/19/l...-all-new-370z/

 

332hp, 3,229lbs and only about $500 or so more, very nice. I like it alot.

 

should run like a 13.2

 

next car....hmmmm

this or evo10(evo11?)

 

A few more press photo's. The more I see this car the more I like it.

 

the fenders are SO wide. almost Porsche like...love it

 

Yeah, it looks phenomenal from those angles in the press photos. But the "real life" shots I've seen from "everyday" angles aren't so dramatic/impressive.

The true dual intake/exhaust setup is sweet. Pretty nice. This should be one good sports car.

 

I love that blue color. I will seriously take a look at these when they arrive. I don't know if I can wait until at least 2011 for the 16x.

 

hmm rims are very interesting, i like the design more than the gt-r rims

 

i like the triangulated front strut bar but I hate the VQ and the rest of the car. The headlights look terrible, tails look just as bad, wheels look like knock off lambo wheels, and the front bumper reminds me of the kits ricer's used to have back in the late 90's and early 00's.

 

I can't tell if you're being serious. Those do not look like the R3 rims though.

 

Here are a few we snapped last week: http://myscca.com/community/media/me...GroupId=YzNjEw

 

Would you like to speculate on possible camber adjustments?

Seems to be the biggest thing holding the car back in autocross.

 

Lack of camber and a decent LSD.

Here is the summery I wrote, we had the car for about an hour, and took a short drive. Next week we will have it at our disposal for a few days, so we will get it on the scales and tear into it a bit further...

370Z *data directly from Nissan media preview guide.

Unfortunately we still can’t talk about driving the car, that info is on lock down until Dec 1, 2008.

Dimensions: 100.4” wheelbase, 167.1” overall length, 61” front track, 62.8” rear track, 72.6” wide, 52.1” tall. *these spec should be from a car equipped with 19” wheels.

Power: 3.7 li DOHC 24-Valve, 332hp @ 7000, that is +26hp over 2008. 270lb-ft @5200. 7500 redline.

Weight: You can not compare the current car directly to the 2008, or previous cars, because Nissan has “simplified” the model by offering only two trim levels for 2010, Base and Touring – and only two options can be added to those, Sport pkg and Nav. Our preview car was a Base with Sport pkg - this is the car you would likely buy if you wanted to race it. Peter Bedrosian was on hand for our demo, he was the project manager on the GTR and the 370Z. He told us that the 2010 Base w/sport pkg would be most comparable to a 2008 Enthusiast, it would also be the closest replacement for the already proven 2006 Track.
A Base w/sport should weigh about 88lbs less than an 08’ Ent (we will actually get the car on the scales next week when we have one for a few days), I believe this weight is still higher than an 06’ Trk.

They made big gains in torsion rigidity, 30% frt and 22% rear for the body. Weight balance listed as 54/46%.

S Drive: the blip down shift . Why the hell did Porsche, Ferrari or any of the so called super-car builders not do this first. You can turn it off, if you think you can do a better job than the car. The dash also has an indicator that shows what gear you are in. No matter what gear you go from-to, even skip a gear, and it will give you a dead on rev match.

TC and Stability can be turned 100% off, just press one button – once.

Suspension: is now lighter and stronger, completely new aluminum cradle. New front double-wishbone. Rear 4-link is now stronger and lighter. Revised shocks.
NO front camber adjustment. They claim this stronger suspension is the reason they did not need to build in front camber adjustment.

New sport brakes, 14” frt, 13.8” rear.

19” wheels are Rays forged, with Bridgestone RE050A tires.

More rear cargo space. The original brace is still there, but has been inverted, so it is under the floor. An additional brace has been added right behind the seats.

Sport pkg: Viscous LSD, S-drive, 19” wheels, frt/rear spoiler, Sport brakes. *a base car with 18”s will not be able to get an LSD.

Base price: $29.930

My initial thinking has this as a BS car.

Other important info.... No plans for a Nismo model at this time, I worked that question in to our conversation three different ways to try and get a slip up, but no plans to build one - I guess the market for a clapped-out two seater is not good enough to support building/crash testing another Nismo, this was not a big seller for them. However, there will be a line of Nismo parts. Our tester had a Nismo diff and oil cooler installed, it was going to the track when we were done with it.

I will post a few pics and maybe a video later, I don't have a lot, we were more interested in driving it than looking at it.

 

No matter what gear you go from-to, even skip a gear, and it will give you a dead on rev match.
so even if you go from 2000rpm 6th to 3rd it will be a smooth rev match?

 

Hmmm, Viscous LSD... How Nineteen Eighties of Nissan... I guess they need to do some cost cutting some where.

 

Sounds like a true Japanese muscle car. Thanks for the summery

If they fixed the differential and gave it a little bit of negative front camber it would either be the car to beat in BS or be pushed up to AS.

On paper the car is a beast.

 

It can only go as high as the rev limiter, but you get the idea.

 

How can you call it a cost cut when this is the same diff they used in every 350Z?

 

No doubt they are leaving a great deal of potential on the table as far as track performance... On the other hand maybe it helps the sales of those Nismo parts.

 

wow I didn't know that Nissan cheeped out that bad on the 350z too...

Viscous LSDs were in the '89 RX-7 and completely discontinued by the mid 90's by every other manufacture.

 

What do you mean by .............".My initial thinking has this as a BS car."


Cheers
Michael