Poor mans GT4?
 

Ok, so my dream car is the Porsche Cayman GT4 with the carbon bucket seats and carbon ceramic brakes. I'd love to own one, but like most can't afford a 6 figure car. So my question is with the right mods could I make a Gen 1 Nismo close to a GT4?

Probably cheaper to buy the Porka in a couple of years when the price comes down.

You will need 400hp at the wheels which is low-ish boost FI (TT or SC) as a minimum otherwise you are looking at a 25K NA engine which might be a temperamental PoS unless you hook up with a real good tuner ........ will require at least 12.5:1 comp ratio to make the numbers and then you need E85 to be really safe from detonation unless you are religious about quality gas ... at 12.5:1 - a bad tank of gas could kill your engine, again dependoing on the tuner..

Sequential shifter would be good, but the OEM 7AT "might" be OK.

Forget the carbon brakes ......... they are a $10-$12K ask

The GT4 is a race-car - so you can make a NISMO into an equivalent race car but if you want to road it, I;d suggest you think again - to many compromises.

And lose about 400 lbs or roughly 10% which could be done but would be expensive and/or uncomfortable.

:inoutroflpuke:

Test drive one, or an older GT3, if that's possible, so you get a feel for what you are aiming for. In a Z, you will never get the engine sound and forward visibility that P cars offer. Things to get you a little closer imho...

Bolt on and tune (add some power and get rid of the throttle lag)
Aftermarket clutch and lighter flywheel (rev feels lighter but may throw off the S mode)
Short throw shifter
Improve oil, trans, diff cooling
SPL bushings
SPL arms
Hotchkins front sway bar
Coilover/dampers/spring upgrade - that's a maybe
Reduce tire stagger or square setup, stickier tires
Brakes - BBK or 2pc rotors with pads/lines/fluid/Ti shield upgrade
Other things to make it more bullet proof like ATI engine damper, insulated clutch line, CJM oil pan and fuel pump, new MC and CSC or CSC Delete.

Weight loss would be lovely, maybe a lightweight battery, remove the spare tire, light weight seats. Other than that, the Z is stripped as is, i wouldn't take out carpet and trims if GT4 is your dream car, imo.

Unless you spend more than a GT4 would cost, a Z will never be a mid-engined car.

The gt4 is basically a Cayman with the gt3 rear suspension specially fitted, plus improved front suspension. Plus it's mid engined and much lighter

You'll never touch it with the Z for less money

I think it's GT3 front and revised rear?

It might be cheaper to buy a Cayman / Cayman S and throw on aftermarket springs/coils. At least then you get the Porsche feel and can work on its tracking abilities

Could be right. I just remember it stole the GT3 stuff on one end and they made special gt4 specific suspension on the other, beefed up the engine a bit, better brakes, wing, cooling, blah blah

A more interesting attempt would be an Sw20 MR2 with a V6 swap. Been a while since i read up on any of this but the V6 from late 90's/early 00's Camry/Avalon can be easily fitted, over 200 hp, 3 to 3.5L. Build that up or supercharge (might even have a legal TRD kit!), standard suspension upgrades

then you might be getting close

It'll just be hard to find a clean hardtop MR2, but the engines are cheap and plentiful, and you might have a streetable, lightweight mid-engined car that approximates the feel

Nah, v8 swap with supercharger cheaper and more reliable then trying build the v6

Well, I was looking at used 06-07 Cayman S, and they're right around $25k give or take a little. Nismo Zs can be had for around the same money. They're similarly equipped besides some luxuries: leather, heated seats, etc. so now the hard part, choosing what to buy. I've got a build list for the Nismo saved on my phone that I think would give me the "best" of both worlds.


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Exhaust - Ti GtHaus CBE/Motordyne ART Pipes/Motordyne LTH

- [ ] Suspension - MCA Red Series Coilovers/Whiteline Front and Rear Way Bars/SPL Endlinks and Arms/SPL Bushings

Brakes - AP Racing Big Brake Kit 6 piston 14.5in front/ 4 piston 14in rear/ braided lines

Tuning - EcuTek tune at Z1 Motorsport

Wheels - Rays/Volk Te37SL 19in/Volk CE28N 19in/Volk ZE40/Enkei NT03 (one of these)

Tires - Toyo R888(Track)/Michilen PSS(Daily)

- [ ] Engine - Stillen Gen3 intakes/Stillen SETRAB Oil Cooler/JWT Exhaust Cam/Motordyne Intake Manifold/Carbon parts/ZSpeed Performance Aluminum Undershroud

- [ ] Transmission - TWM Short Shifter/PSWD JDM Shift Knob OR TWM Desert Eagle Shift Knob/SBC Clutch and Flywheel

Then just random bits of aesthetic carbon inside and out. Does this sound like a decent build? I know that's a **** ton of money to dump in a Z tho.


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You need to upgrade the stock CSC, add front brake ducts, finned diff cover if not doing a diff cooler, a real LSD, potentially a higher final drive ratio...Not sure why you want the WL rear bar though.

If you are really going to throw the car around, you would want CJM fuel pump, CJM baffled oil pan and ATI engine damper wouldn't hurt.

Your list ain't bad at all. I think plenty of guys here have spent way more than that. But for your goal, Z looks great and has resemblance to Porsche's shape, but cost a third to buy, and 1/10th of the cost to maintain.

didn't realized OP hasn't actually bought the car yet...lol