(Hagerty) How fast is the new $50k Nissan Z? — New Z vs Supra vs Mustang Mach-1

West Aussie

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Honest Track Offer:

I am a track rat in VA. The track director of my club has a Nismo 370 that he tracks.
We are car nuts without allegiance. We LOVE having a wide variety of cars at our member days (40/year)

I would honestly love to see how the new Z does out of the box. Can't help but be a fan of a manual legacy sports car.

The first new Z in Virginia or wants to come to Virginia for a full day of track: 5-6 20 mins sessions.

I will PAY for your track fee. Serious and honest offer.
Oooo does that include a flight from Aus to get it there? 🤣
 

Raven1

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Honest Track Offer:

I am a track rat in VA. The track director of my club has a Nismo 370 that he tracks.
We are car nuts without allegiance. We LOVE having a wide variety of cars at our member days (40/year)

I would honestly love to see how the new Z does out of the box. Can't help but be a fan of a manual legacy sports car.

The first new Z in Virginia or wants to come to Virginia for a full day of track: 5-6 20 mins sessions.

I will PAY for your track fee. Serious and honest offer.
Car Nutz Without Allegiance Indeed - Nothing better than like minds experiencing life behind the wheel.

True Happiness Starts When I don't Know Where I End and Where My Zee Begins, Time is no longer relevant, Clear Mind, Full Heart and that feeling I never want to end . . .
 

MHockey17

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After considering the "AMS Dyno Comparison" to an alleged 2020 Supra....
After re-watching the Hagerty video

I must say the Z is ACTUALLY impressive. On paper, torque is down, weight is +260 over the BMW, the BMW has a solid reputation for being underrated, the BMW has a better transmission AND Hagerty tested against the higher-power 2022 BMW....
And the Z had wheelspin all the way into 3rd, they said it would've been neck and neck had the Z hooked up.

Now, is it because ineffective suspension design? Possibly.
Janky tires? Likely.
Poorly sorted launch control parameters? That too.
Doesn't surprise me that Nissan was 95% in this area.
BMWs make more power and handle their power better.
This Z has the power, but can't handle it AS WELL as the BMW. Several YT'ers have mentioned that the Z is squirrelly thru the first 3 gears.

Not much can be done about how well the chassis puts down the power. Doubt Nissan can sort the LC out. I'd be curious about better tires.

Still not going to beat a 2022 BMW Supra. Best we could hope for, and looks totally possible, is to stay in the shadow of the BMW. Maybe nose-to-nose.

Good enough for me. Let's call the dramatic wheelspin and squirrelliness "character". Probably "feels" faster than the Supra due to the inability to handle it's own power.
Obviously hard to tell without driving it, but my impression from the videos/reviews so far is that the traction issues are primarily tire design and LC/drivetrain tuning, as it seems like Nissans LC controller is pretty liberal with amount of tire spin it allows. I wouldn’t think it’s due to chassis as SG’s tech review pointed out significant changes were made in the rear to handle the extra torque.

I’m also wondering 🤔 why Nissan chose not to use the GTR-grade Dunlops from the late model 370Z NISMOs. The slightly wider rears would surely help traction and I had thought it’s a better tire than the Bridgestones. They do wear very quick though, so that could be why.
 

NecioVato

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Oh I'm just replying to this thread because it was a busy thread and one of the first ones I saw on the 'versus'.

I can't reply for everyone else, but my position has always been - no test drive, no buy. Reviews are a fun to watch, but holy shit I wouldn't drop $60k on someone else's opinion.
When looking at some of the more difficult cars to obtain - the Dealers just do the opposite - basically its all about the agreed upon financing and running the credit unless you pay cash - and then FINALLY - you can then test drive to see if that ‘hard inquiry’ was worth the hype. Regardless I would hope people would look to test drive it before purchasing. Heck - wait a year and all the ‘early clout fools’ will trade it in and you’ll get a no hassle test drive at CarMax.
 

takemorepills

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Obviously hard to tell without driving it, but my impression from the videos/reviews so far is that the traction issues are primarily tire design and LC/drivetrain tuning, as it seems like Nissans LC controller is pretty liberal with amount of tire spin it allows. I wouldn’t think it’s due to chassis as SG’s tech review pointed out significant changes were made in the rear to handle the extra torque.

I’m also wondering 🤔 why Nissan chose not to use the GTR-grade Dunlops from the late model 370Z NISMOs. The slightly wider rears would surely help traction and I had thought it’s a better tire than the Bridgestones. They do wear very quick though, so that could be why.
What I meant about chassis is more accurately rear suspension geometry.
This is where Nissan might be weak. When a vehicle is putting down respectable power, the suspension geometry of the driven wheels is very important.
I believe the Focus and CTR both used trick suspension geometry to help with all the power they made.

I did see that Nissan braced up the rear, which is good too. But not much different about the rear suspension geometry.
 

jdm-rhd

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hated seeing this vid...was so hoping the Z would fair better.

maybe with better tires and upgraded suspension it could be a contender...
 

Raven1

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What I meant about chassis is more accurately rear suspension geometry.
This is where Nissan might be weak. When a vehicle is putting down respectable power, the suspension geometry of the driven wheels is very important.
I believe the Focus and CTR both used trick suspension geometry to help with all the power they made.

I did see that Nissan braced up the rear, which is good too. But not much different about the rear suspension geometry.
With More and More information coming out the suspension is not a direct carry over from the previous iteration Z car, with 80% of the suspension being redesigned with much of the focus going to the front end geometry. I wish we had specifications on what redesigned on the rear to either enhance or go the other way and mitigate the traction issue. I'm hoping it is minimal as Z cars in the past have had 1000whp and not too many noted traction issues.

What I'm hoping for is it is a simple sway bar, coil, wider tire & wheel combination to transmit applicable power down to the road with little to no breakage of traction. But then again, with this car, breaking traction and swinging the rear sideways was a fun aspect of driving it, LoL.

Or maybe it's engine management and it's all ECU traction control issue.

Or maybe it's transmission valve body and shifting.

Awww Shet, I'm going to put myself in the corner and over think this again . . .
 

Raven1

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Honestly tho, just want to finally get mine and have fun figuring it out with the rest of us out there / on here. The best part about Z forums is how helpful and knowledgeable everyone is and how willing to help out everyone is . . .
 

Z_Coastal

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Drag races are not important to me. I want to read more about the on-centre feel of the steering that has been critiqued by some reviewers.
 

Lvckv69

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When looking at some of the more difficult cars to obtain - the Dealers just do the opposite - basically its all about the agreed upon financing and running the credit unless you pay cash - and then FINALLY - you can then test drive to see if that ‘hard inquiry’ was worth the hype. Regardless I would hope people would look to test drive it before purchasing. Heck - wait a year and all the ‘early clout fools’ will trade it in and you’ll get a no hassle test drive at CarMax.
No need to test drive it. I used to own a 370z so for me there is no difference.
 

trackratZ

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Amazed so many comments on this thread. There's just too many variables, tires, trim, weight, options, for a real apples-to-apples comparison, and only one part of performance - drags. Like they say "Wait for it"

Except that offer by @rocksandblues best post yet! 👍
 
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AlphalphaMale

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I don't understand the point of this argument. You can do a lot of things to a car by dumping money in it but it still doesn't change the fact that the car from factory underperforms compared to cars in the same-ish price range. There are just as many people who don't want to touch the tune and stuff as people who will dump money to the car to make it a street race hero, especially when straight line performance is literally the first thing that 99% of the people care about.
And especially when the things you feel the need to do to the car void your warranty.
 

Denver the Last Dinosaur

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No need to test drive it. I used to own a 370z so for me there is no difference.
There's ALWAYS ALWAYS a need to test drive.

Although the new Z is based on a lot of the old 370Z, there are also lots of differences. Even at the most basic level, the styling changes to the body may mean you find it more difficult or easier to see out of.
 

DevonK

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If you actually, like, you know, want to own this car in the next 18 months, good luck getting a test drive.

I wonder if dealers will allow you to decline your nationally reserved car based on a test drive when it actually arrives. I doubt it.
 
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