|
Base Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Dania, FL
Posts: 148
Drives: 04 S2000
Rep Power: 16
|
2009 NISMO 370z Pictures from Edmunds 04.07.09
Nismo 370Z exterior
Nismo 370Z interior
Engine Pictures:
Quote:
The first Nismo Z didn't come around until the end of the Nissan 350Z's model cycle, but Nissan isn't w
asting any time with the 370Z version. The 2009 Nissan Nismo 370Z hits U.S. dealerships in June, and this time it has a little more power and torque than normal Z-cars, thanks to a 350-horsepower version of the 3.7-liter VQ-series V6. Nissan expects the track-focused Nismo model to account for 5 percent of all Z coupe sales.
As with the original Nismo Z, the chassis and bodywork for the 2009 Nismo 370Z have been developed by Autech, the Japanese company that prepares Nissan's entries for the Japanese Super GT (JGTC) racing series. But Nissan has been more heavily involved in the engineering of the 2009 Nismo Z, and the automaker had final approval on the design.
Probably that's why Randy Rodriguez, the Nissan Design America designer who's credited with the initial sketches for the regular 370Z, is pretty happy with how the 2009 Nismo 370Z turned out.
"I think it's much better than the last version," he tells us. "The last Nismo was kind of busy and didn't really accentuate the design very much. There was a lot of stuff added to it, and this one seems to be a little bit more refined."
At a glance, though, the 2009 Nissan Nismo 370Z appears to compromise the new Z-car's effort to slim down to pure sports-car dimensions. The Nismo's wheelbase remains 100.4 inches, but at 174.3 inches in overall length, it's 7 inches longer than the normal 370Z. It also has a 0.6-inch wider track than the Sport-package 370Z, due to the wider rims of the lightweight forged-aluminum Rays wheels. They measure 19-by-9.5 inches in front and 19-by-10.5 inches in back.
Aerodynamic considerations dictated the longer body for the Nismo Z, which is, after all, meant to be a racing car that just happens to have a carpeted interior, not to mention DOT-legal tires (Yokohama Advan Sports, 245/40ZR19 98Y in front and 285/35ZR19 99Y in the rear). The front and rear fascias are radically different, and most of the extra length is in the nose. This adds a few extra pounds, as the Nismo's curb weight is listed at 3,300 pounds versus 3,232 for a base, manual-shift 370Z.
"I know it's for performance reasons that they put a really long nose on it," says Rodriguez. "Those JGTC cars are really low and super wide, and they make them longer, too. There's an old Datsun 240Z called the G-Nose that I used to own. It was an extended-nose version of the regular 240Z, and the Nismo kind of reminds me of that."
Rodriguez is even fine with the large rear wing Autech has put on the 2009 Nismo 370Z to increase downforce. "Actually, I think the wing should be bigger. And I wouldn't mind seeing a more extreme version of the Z that's even more aggressive, wider and lower — and with at least 370 hp."
Underneath its showy aero bits, the 2009 Nismo 370Z is no less hard-core than the 350Z Nismo. Autech still takes the standard Z-car chassis off the assembly line and welds the seams of the unit body by hand — a labor-intensive process that increases structural rigidity beyond that of a normal, spot-welded unibody. Mass dampers are then fitted between the unibody's left and right frame members to control the extra vibration inherent in a seam-welded chassis.
Of course, there are extensive suspension changes, too. The Nismo Z gets hollow antiroll bars, so they're lighter than the ones on the regular 370Z. The front bar is just 15 percent stiffer, but the rear antiroll bar is 50 percent stiffer, so the Nismo 370Z should turn in so quick, it'll seem it all happened yesterday already. The front strut tower brace is stiffer, too.
Overall, the 2009 Nissan Nismo 370Z has 40 percent better front-end rigidity than a regular Nissan 370Z. As for the rear end, it's a huge 140 percent more structurally rigid. Roll stiffness is up 15 percent, too. So, yeah, you're going to notice something's up as soon as you get into the Nismo Z.
Spring rates are 15 percent higher than the regular 370Z in front and 10 percent higher in the rear. We're cautiously hopeful the ride won't be as harsh as on the Nismo 350Z, but aren't about to place any bets. The Nismo has the same 13.7:1 steering ratio as ordinary 370Z coupes, while its brakes are identical to those of the Sport-package 370Z, featuring 14.0-by-1.3-inch front discs and four-piston fixed aluminum calipers and 13.8-by-0.8-inch rear discs and two-piston fixed calipers.
To get that 350-hp rating, Nissan revised the ECM tuning of the VQ37VHR engine and fitted a less restrictive exhaust. The exhaust pipes are laid out in an H configuration for the Nismo 370Z instead of the Y-pipe on the regular Z, and have, of course, been tuned to deliver a deeper sound.
The 350 hp peaks at 7,400 rpm versus 332 at 7,000 rpm in the normal Z. Redline remains 7,500 rpm, though, so you'll really have to work to use that extra power. Torque edges up 6 pound-feet to 276 lb-ft at the same 5,200-rpm threshold.
You can only have the six-speed manual transmission in this car, and it drives the rear wheels through a standard viscous limited-slip differential. Also standard is Nissan's neat SynchroRev Match feature, which gives you one less thing to worry about on the track. Nissan isn't making any 0-60-mph predictions for the Nismo Z, but the company is predicting 18 mpg city/26 mpg highway EPA ratings — the same as for a regular 370Z coupe.
Aside from the black-and-red cloth upholstery and a plaque identifying the car's birth order in the limited-production run, the interior of the 2009 Nissan Nismo 370Z is the same as every other Z car. But don't go looking for a navigation system or a bunch of subwoofers. This is the track-day Z; you'll have air-conditioning and a basic four-speaker stereo with an aux jack and you'll be happy about it.
Inside Line says: Another out-of-the-box solution from Nissan for those of you who want to track a Z car, and this time the Nismo Z is pretty enough to park in pit lane or your driveway. — Erin Riches, Senior Editor
|
Looks A LOT nicer than the S-Tune 370z!!!
|