Road & Track: 370Z vs Cayman S

FairmanZ

If they tested against the 2009 Cayman S, the Z would have been creamed. Against the 08 Cayman S it was able to hold its own. But it would have been more competitive if not for the heat issue.

R&T exposed the Z's overheating oil issue. As noted in this thread, this issue is the Z's "achilles heel":
First track experience today ! Some good, some really bad

It seems this test car was not one of the early "ringer" press cars which had oil coolers installed. Nissan needs to fix this on the 2010 cars, otherwise the Z will not be track competitive!

sbkim

I agree. I think I recall seeing 0-60 in 4.5 sec for the new cayman with pdk...

Endgame

O.K. So.... The Z did 4.7 0-60 in MotorTrend. It is still within spitting distance.

sbkim

You clearly missed my point - all I am saying is that 2009 cayman would have performed even better than 2008. 0.2 secs could mean one or two car lengths, perhaps even more by the time they hit 100mph. BTW, I am NOT a fan of cayman.

SiXK

or people can just add the oil cooler if they want to track the car. thats what I would do.

__________________
Magnetic Black 2009 370Z / Pearl Yellow 1991 300ZXTT

FairmanZ

True, but at least Nissan via NISMO should make these coolers available for sale. Otherwise there's always the potential for some dealer to give you hassles on warranty.

OTOH, the Z is marketed as serious sports car. This heat issue is a weak spot that Nissan knows about. Having the car go into limp mode and lowering the rev limit to 6500 is Nissan's fix, but it cripples the car's performance. You don't need to add oil & diff coolers to most other cars if you want to track your car.