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U.S. engineering team’s final tweaks for the North American market

https://usa.nissanstories.com/en-US/releases/finely-tuned-for-enthusiasts-the-all-new-nissan-z

Speed, precision, safety – developing a world-class sports car requires meticulous planning and countless hours of testing to ensure a thrilling driving experience. The car also has to perform over long drives while keeping its occupants safe. Defining the driving character of a new sports car is therefore a monumental task. It's usually undertaken by dozens of engineers and test drivers on different roads and tracks all over the world.

As one of the most popular and long-running Japan-developed sports cars in history, people from around the globe have strong opinions on how the new Nissan Z should drive. The marketability team at Nissan's Arizona Testing Center (ATC) helped to ensure that the all-new Nissan Z lives up to the high expectations of the model's fans in the North American driving environment. According to Performance Development Senior Manager Christian Spencer, local customer expectations played a key role in helping them define how the car would feel in the hands of drivers in the market.

Speaking of Nissan's global approach to vehicle development, Spencer said: "We looked to the customer to help focus our development and tuning decisions. A ride in the all-new Z needed to be heritage inspired, iconic and fun, but also comfortable. Acceleration and handling were top priorities, which we precisely tailored to pair with an improved ride quality and enhanced quietness in the cabin. This is a complete Z package that brings joy no matter how you drive it."

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Familiar, but with a new flavor of thrill
One of the major challenges when molding the all-new Z's driving character was to remain faithful and representative of previous iterations of the Z, while at the same time offering excitement to all who sat behind the wheel.
"This generation of the Nissan Z has very few competitors," said Matthew Wright, manager, Nissan Marketability. "Cars with about the same output feel noticeably bigger—like a GT—and those with similar chassis sizes have significantly less power. So, the intention of the development team in Japan was to retain the Nissan Z's essence as an agile sports car, but enhance through the bump in power to differentiate it from others. The new hardware was tuned to maximize overall driving feel, taking it beyond what the previous generation, the 370Z, offered."




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Performance that "wows"
Some elements of the new chassis were carried over from the previous model. However, the on-road feel and performance has now reached a much higher level, said Brandon LaBorde, senior manager, Nissan chassis performance.
"We concentrated on the places where the customer would see the greatest chassis benefits, namely the dampers, tires and the new electronic power steering (EPS)," he said. "The EPS system provides exceptional steering feedback and precision over that of the outgoing hydraulic system. This new steering alone brings the entire chassis alive and will definitely ‘wow' drivers."

For the dampers, the development team opted for a new monotube setup at all four corners of the chassis to replace the previous model's twin-tubes. This resulted in greater shock-absorber response, which in turn enhanced both handling and ride quality. But according to LaBorde, the real "magic" happened when the new tires were developed.

"Everything about the car seemed to get better, from grip level to initial response to the tires' reserve capacity, and oddly enough, we found that they were also more comfortable with significantly reduced interior noise levels," he said. "The tires provided a great foundation for the suspension and steering and the overall performance of the all-new Z."





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A sports car for any occasion

When it came to the new drivetrain, the developers and engineers concentrated their efforts on the new 9-speed automatic transmission, specifically Sport Mode, a new setting for the Z-car.

"If you're just driving around the city, the previous Z's 7-speed transmission was calibrated very well. The difference between the old and new becomes apparent when the customer drives the new Z in a more spirited manner," said Paul Cullen, Nissan powertrain performance engineer. "We added adaptive shift control tuning, where the system can understand the driver's style and tolerance for assertiveness. Then it adapts gear changes accordingly. In Sport Mode, the transmission will hold gears longer, extend upshift points, and it will downshift during braking to deliver the same level of performance as manual shifting. Some of our test drivers opted to keep the transmission in full-automatic mode when hot-lapping, that's how good it is."





A team effort: Collaboration that spans shores

So, how exactly does the team at ATC give Nissan vehicles their special local flavor? What exactly is the process for ensuring that cars like the new Z live up to the driving potential envisioned by its creators and expected by customers in different markets?

"It's a total collaborative effort. Throughout the tuning process, we need to see how all the changes we make affect the car in its entirety, and how each change affects another. This way, we can ensure that the finished product works in harmony," Thunes said.

For vehicles to be introduced in the North American market, each goes through a variety of tests at Nissan's test center in Arizona, from standard acceleration and handling tests to measuring NVH levels and ride quality. The team also takes to public roads and evaluates each vehicle in real-world settings, whether that be the city, the open highway or on mountain roads. This means that everyone on the team is required to have a high level of driving experience and skill.

"We all participate in an internal driving program because we keep almost of all of the test driving here in-house, meaning we don't hire race drivers to put a certain vehicle through its paces at our facilities. It's very important that we are comfortable in the driver's seat when pushing our test cars to the limit," said Cullen.

The team often works physically alongside chief product specialists (CPS) and chief vehicle engineers (CVE) when evaluating test cars, but for the new Z, the case was a bit different.

"Our standard process would be to have the CPS and CVE come to the United States and experience the vehicle in these settings and conditions. However, with the new Z, that was not possible because of COVID-19 travel restrictions. So, we did a lot of back and forth by sending our recommendations to Japan, and then waiting for their feedback. There was plenty of communication among us, but much of it was done remotely," Wright said.

Still, all on the team said that working on a car like the Z was a special experience, one that they were excited and honored to be a part of.

"The Nissan Z has been part of American automotive culture for more than 50 years. Making sure the product lived up to the expectations of enthusiasts over multiple generations was paramount. Additionally, my great grandfather was a Nissan powertrain advisor in the 1950s, so I have a strong personal legacy to respect as well," Spencer said.


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StrikeS30

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I saw that too. its funny how that was universally deemed the weak part of every review even by people who liked the car.
Haha yes, from what I have seen too across the board is pretty much the damn near one and only gripe about the car was it's level of grip and ability to put that power to the ground with the OEM tires. And I think that's where the car has lost a lot of it's edge in the segment under certain test criteria. Other than tires, I think suspension wise, a few people have noted a bit of body roll, but nothing crazy. Damper wise, no complaints. Steering, a bit of a mix bag, some people love it, some have said it's not great. Brakes.. A few reviewers have noted a bit of fade, but that's kind of to be expected pushing stock systems and pads to their limits. Powertrain, no real complaint.

Overall I'd say a good first "mod" when time time comes would be on a good set of rubber. It's unfortunate they didn't revise their decision after all the media and major test reviews had come out. But, I'm sure Nissan has a good deal with Bridgestone. Maybe for the 24' model year if they don't have a billion carryover S007's to use up
 

Heavy Dupree

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They should have hired the race car drivers.
 

Heavy Dupree

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Not at the Arizona Testing Center.

We all participate in an internal driving program because we keep almost of all of the test driving here in-house, meaning we don't hire race drivers to put a certain vehicle through its paces at our facilities. It's very important that we are comfortable in the driver's seat when pushing our test cars to the limit," said Cullen.

Article was limited to Matsuda's assistance in developing the Z Proto’s instrument panel. He (or others) could have very well collaborated on other systems which weren't written about.

Q: What advice did you give exactly?
Matsuda:
Our racecars are equipped with shift lights that indicate when to upshift when optimal rpm is reached. The light sequence usually goes from green to yellow to red, with red telling the driver to shift to the next gear. I told Tamura-san that I wanted to see this in the next Z.

I also wanted the redline on the tachometer to be at the top (at the 12-o’clock position), so when the shift light turns red it does so at the same time the tachometer needle is reaching redline. When you’re driving hard, the bottom area of the tachometer doesn’t come into view, but having that redline at the top near the shift light makes the needle easily visible at the most crucial time. This also makes it easier to avoid over revving, which can be harmful to your lap times and engine.
 
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MCN1SMO

MCN1SMO

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he and other NISMO drivers were involved with the development especially the suspension on the Japanese side. I saw a video after the proto came out and before the production car was announced. They had the race drivers in a gunmetal automatic car. I only remember the video as it was one of the first times anyone saw a non yellow Z in the wild lol

I used to know a guy who worked at the test facility in Arizona. seemed like a really cool job. he would always email me like camber and transmission setting adjustments for the GTR after he would run the cars hard out there.
 

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"The EPS system provides exceptional steering feedback"

Meanwhile, anyone who isn't a shill says the Z has very dead steering feedback.

Still trying to use marketing BS to cover up their shortcomings. I guess coming up with BS is easier than making something actually good or building and delivering the cars that have already been ordered by their customers.
 

280driver

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This whole article is sad. I really can’t believe they are highlighting things most everyone see‘s as big weaknesses in the car. I’m pretty sure their testing was limited to driving on open highways and the Nissan track in AZ. That’s not representative of where/how many Z drivers drive their cars. They should have hired outside drivers for an “outsiders” perspective and should have tracked them some. A missed opportunity.
 

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"The EPS system provides exceptional steering feedback"

Meanwhile, anyone who isn't a shill says the Z has very dead steering feedback.
Which non-shill anyone are you paraphrasing?


Consumer Reports:
"... CR’s testers praise the steering’s impressive weighting and quick reflexes"

Motor Authority:
"...Direct, well-weighted steering helps me put the car exactly where I want"

Car and Driver:
"... The new electric power steering is linear and predictable enough"

CNET:
"...The new electric unit is a little numb there, but the steering tightens up when more angle is dialed in"

Road and Track:
"...The new steering system is very good and more precise than before"

Gear Patrol:
"... However, the steering weighting and road feel — something the old 370Z had in spades — leave something to be desired after the shift to electronic power steering. But it’s still plenty accurate, with a point-and-shoot feel"

The Drive:
"...while the steering is of a natural weight and offers reasonable feedback"

The Drive.com.au
"...The steering is light and precise"

Doubleclutch.ca:
"... Nissan fitted electronic power steering to the new Z, but rather than lightening the steering feel they have made it heavier and smoother feeling. More positive caster in the suspension geometry increases steering feel and stability which makes the new Z feel nimble in spite of its weight making it easy to place on the road allowing us to really enjoy the drive"

Autoguide:
"... though the Z’s intuitive, well-weighted steering makes it easy to collect back up"

Autodaily.com.au:
"...The Z’s steering has been switched to electric power assistance, the 370Z having used a hydraulic rack until the end. The new system has nice weight and delivers progressive, linear front-end responses"

MotorTrend:
"... Nissan improved the Z's steering, too, one of our pain points with the old 370Z. The weight is a little heavy, but the steering is reasonably precise"
 
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MCN1SMO

MCN1SMO

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yeah the takeaways from every review I read (and I think I read/watched them all lol) was the steering was fine even good. Its the tires not having a feeling for grip loss and the chassis just being under sprung from the carry over suspension
 
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MHockey17

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yeah the takeaways from every review I read (and I think I read/watched them all lol) was the steering was fine even good. Its the tires not having a feeling for grip loss and the chassis just being under sprung from the carry over suspension
I had thought the suspension is actually one of the few “new” parts developed for this gen, being they moved from twin-tube to mono-tube shocks (not sure if spring rates/sizes changed tho).

That would sound like an upgrade on paper, so it was surprising to hear so many condemn the handling. I think it was probably not an afterthought by Nissan, but actually a deliberate decision to go with a “softly” tuned suspension/chassis under presumption that’s what their customer base would prefer; Obviously a huge swing n miss there..
 
 





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