RX8 vs 350Z vs 370Z
 

Here's a start at a comparison chart for the important data as Jason and others develop it.Please advise corrections/additions:

...............04 base RX8...........05 Track 350Z......08Nismo350........370Z base + Sport Pkg

Specs
HP.........................232.................300 ..................306...................332
Torque..................159.................260... ...............268....................270
LSD.......................Torsen............Viscou s.............Viscous..............Viscous
Curb Wt................3030...............3225......... .......3353..................3232 ? ( scale wts range 3314 to 3373)
Wgt Dist...............50/50..............53/47................53/47................54/46? (may be closer to 56/44)
Wheelbase...........106.3...............104.3..... ..........104.3.................100.4
Track F/R...............58.7/59.1........60.5/ 60.6........60.5/60.9...........61.0/62.8
Width....................70.1................71.5. .................71.5...................72.8
Wheels.................8F,8Rx 18........8F,8.5R/18.......18x9F,19x10R.....9F,10Rx19

AutoX Performance parameters
Race Trim
Fuel Load.............1/4....................3/4.....................3/4....................3/4
Weight Dist...........52/48...............54/46.................54/46est...........56/44est
Race Trim Wt.......2800.................3165................ ..3290est.............3280 est (3230 Toledo Pro,1/2 + tank).
Camber F............- 2.....................-1........................-1.5est..................-1
Tire Options.......245/35,285/30....285/30,295/30...295/30,315/30...295/30,315/30
Tire Dia................24.7,24.9...........24.9,25.3.. .........26.1,26.1............26.1,26.1
Wt/Rim width Ratio
Lbs/inch F............91......................107.......... ...........99....................102
Lbs/inch R............84.......................86.......... ...........76.....................72

Here's a link to the 370Z's specs on nissannews.com: http://nissannews.com/assets/attachm...ecs_Final2.pdf

Front track is listed as 61.0 for the 370Z.

From these specs on the 2008 350Z (http://www.nissannews.com/assets/spe...upe_Specs.pdf), front track is listed as 60.5 for the old model.

The scales data so far do not look good for the 370Z. If the base + sport package model does in fact weigh 3350 that may be too much.What we have so far:

Jason's scales.......... Base = 3289 + 25 to fill tank= 3314 + ? for sport package
Edmonds report....... Base with sport pkg = 3359 (we assume a full tank ?)

I think the only way Edmonds could come up with that number is full with spare. btw spare on a base car is on a steel wheel, sport gets upgraded to an aluminum spare.

Might be useful to also have the data from a 2008 Nismo in there.

The Edmonds 3359 appears on high side but we don't know what weight the sport package adds,if any. The Edmonds weight sure doesn't jive with the Nissan curb...3359 vs 3232??Sure would be nice to get a Base+ SportPkg on the scales with a known fuel load.

I dont know about that but the car sure looks like a beast and freaking fast too.

On a road course, it will be significantly faster than the outgoing model -- on an autocross course, not so sure. It's wide and heavy like an FS car and comes with a crappy diff, however, it has a short wheelbase and can run corvette sized rubber.

Could make a great pro solo car. It could also do well on a point-n-shoot sweeper type course like the west course at Nats in '07.

Yes it should be very fast but can it be setup to turn,rotate and minimize rear wheel spin on corner exit...don't guess we will know till someone gives it a credible try.

Might be useful to also have the data from a 2008 Nismo in there

Good point.Anyone have a link for Nismo specs and/or performance data??

Jim,

The Nismo's specs can be found in this document: http://www.nissannews.com/assets/spe...oupe_Specs.pdf

-Chike

2008 Nismo 350Z data added. Will add 370Z Nismo when available .

That list sure makes the 08' Nismo look good.

Why do you say that, tire size?

I don't think any Nismo 350Z is going to run to 60 under 5 seconds and mid 13 second quarters, like the new 370Z supposedly can...which makes me think the new car may be underrated, in terms of hp, or else the testers got a ringer...if the new car is really that strong, it's looking less and less like a BS car.

Wheel size is good, but it has the better suspension as well.

StiEvos are quick in a straight line, does not mean they can turn when you get to the end of it. :lol2:

I have no doubt for one second that the 370 has AS power, 10+ years in a C4 that cant match those accel numbers tells me that, but camber and a good LSD are very important in Solo.

Jim,

Where did you get -1.5 front camber for the Nismo 350Z? Are owners of these cars able to get more camber adjustment than regular Z's?

Nismo has lower/stiffer springs, I would bet it is an estimate based on how much lower it is.

Gotcha - that makes sense.

Correct, it is an estimate plus a few mentions by Nismo owners on the Z forums but not verified.

Weight/Rim Width Ratio

Since no one has asked what the heck this is.....the calculation(for RX8) is :

Weight x Wt dist / rim width x 2 = 2800 x .50 / 8 x2 = 87.5 Lbs/inch,same F & R

Saw this somewhere. Other than a measure of tire load and Front-to-Rear bias thereof I'm not sure how useful it is.

Scale curb weights reported to date are indicating the 370Z is not the light weight some thought it would be:

Jason...................Base model = 3289 3/4 tank + 30 fuel topoff = 3319
Road&Track....................Base with Sport package and full tank = 3373
Edmunds...Base with Sport Package no mention if tank was full= 3359

In race trim the Base with Sport Pkg will be very close to 500 lbs heavier than the RX8 rockets...2800 vs approx 3280.

The weight is definitely a concern...what seems even more of a concern is the lack of camber adjustment.

It would be nice if Nissan would pay a little bit of homage to the grassroots folks and throw in some type of camber adjustment as an option as part of a Nismo package.

Well, maybe that wouldn't be so great for the RX8 folks given that it would really address one of the major areas of weakness in the car.

i wonder why the rx8 is no match for the 350z becuase i get smoked at the red light by 350z all the time

You also probably get smoked by V6 Camrys...and they aren't as fast in autocross as the RX8, either :lol:

Autocross is about much more than power...

Street racing of any kind is not a sport...and those are the only kind words I can think of for street racing.

Couldn't agree more...stupid activity that, best case, just raises all of our insurance rates...worst case, I don't even want to discuss.

Cito, you are on target.Most see three autox weaknesses for the Z's....past,present and maybe future:

1. Weight
2.Front camber
3.VLSD

Question remains for the 370....will 332 HP and shorter wheelbase compensate for the inherent weaknesses??????

Added one more...

Don't feed the troll.

Another potential weight problem for the 370 is the F to R weight distribution.The specs say 53/47 for 350 and 54/46 for the370.
Limited scale data indicates that the 370 may be 56/44 ....more nose heavy would not be good.Will not change the Chart until we see more data.

I usually stop at red.

And with a light exhaust and heavy front bar, the numbers will only get worse. :crazy:

RX8 weight distribution......just noticed that the '09 is listed at 52/48. Anyone know if 50/50 is correct for the '04 and if not what is it? Anyone have any scale data for F to R?

The early cars were touted as being 50/50, but I know with a 1/4 tank of fuel and light exhaust it is not. I want to say in race trim mine is 52/48, but I have not looked in years and could be off.

Jim,

I forgot to record the numbers, but I weighed my car on the SCCA's corner scales on the flat concrete at the Toledo airport (Toledo Pro Solo) and my car weighed a total of 2,860lbs then (2,830 on HPT's scales) but I remember calculating the F/R weight distn and it was around 51% F/ 49% R. Don't have the actual numbers though... :(

Jason/Chike...thanks for weight dist data.
Chike,do you run stock exhaust and do you recall your HPT fuel load?

Jim,

I weighed my car after our Day 2 runs at HPT.

Shawn and I run a custom 8.1lbs race exhaust and our fuel load was just under an indicated 1/4 tank (at the end of the runs on a co-driven car). Wheels are OZ Ultraleggeras with 245 V710's, and the FSB was the stock one at Nats this year.

The F/R distribution skews slightly rearward when the driver is in the car. I think it was always 52/48 unladen, but that probably also changes depending on what options you have.

The figures we're putting together are w/o a driver in the car. I have a base model with a spoiler.

However, my RX-8 is an '06 model, which is ~20lbs heavier than the '04-'05 RX-8's as the earlier cars came with a smaller battery and starter. So Jason, Carter, etc. can get their cars down to 2,800lbs, but owners of base model '06+ RX-8's like Harvey, Fossum and myself will be in the 2,830-2,840lbs range.

Theoretically, if I switched to the first gen SSR's and 245 A6's I could get my car down to 2,815lbs.

Driving skill >>>>> Power.

Suspension setup > Power.

Lightweight > Power.

All of the above applies to autocross and many other forms of motorsport.

Street racing from stop light to stop light is setting yourself up to fail, since driving skill and suspension are out of the equation, and the 350 has enough power to carry its weight in a straight line.

Just stop embarrassing yourself. Don't street race. You will never find your limit on the streets...

Head down to a track a few times, and you'll soon see that street racing has no real appeal.

Think you are correct on both counts.The 52/48 looks like the best estimate for race trim wt dist. Since driver wt is a variable we will continue the chart without driver.

Not quite familiar with B Stock rules; I thought it allowed a battery change? Am I wrong?

Must be OE equivalent for your year/model.

Chart edited for latest race trim weight distributions and related calculations.

I am thinking that those weight numbers are off, I know Nissan spent alot of time working on this fact. And the new suspension is awesome. I drove the new 370, its a whole other beast compared with the 350. I would watch out for those of you into autoX. You could see the Z puttin down solid performances

You may be very correct on the performance of the 370 as that is yet to be seen.However,the data we are putting together in the Chart is based on actual measurements,weights,etc as we get them because we do not trust any OEM specs...much of it is marketing driven and we are only interested in true numbers.

Lest we not forget....no more heel toe action needed in the 370....but we'll see how well that system really works on the track...

Just to throw something else in the mix... The Sti... well over 2800lbs and their handling is pretty darn good. You can even get upgraded steering racks available from 10:1-12:1 ratio's!! don't sneeze and drive...

Anyone else keeping there eye on the new Hyundai Gen coupe?

An auto-x acquaintance of mine used to run a 78? or 79 Camaro. He ran a few times with a passenger and noticed that the car would handle better with a passenger...so he put his car on the scales and ended up melting down metal and welded it on the rear passenger floorboard to help balance it out and noted quite an improvement on his times...granted its a big ol' V8...power was the least of his problems for adding the extra weight.

My point being I think the 370 despite it's weight, will be a good contender to the 8. God forbid you turbocharge it. The current turbo kit's for the G37's are layin out 500whp at 12psi...Madness I tell you, just madness.

Anyone know the curb weight results from Car&Driver's 370 test?

It was just a preview -- they list curb weight as "3350 - 3400 lb", which suggests that they're using Nissan figures as opposed to their own measurements.

3400lbs?!!

http://i36.tinypic.com/2wgxg5g.jpg