Nissan’s Christian Meunier states Z NISMO with manual transminssion is coming

[RobotAZ]

I think Nissan’s lean mode right now has cascaded into areas a lot of people struggle to understand. I believe engineering vs cost challenges are very apparent.

 

[goeagles11]

I wonder what they’re going to do to get it up to 450hp.

 

[Katum68]

The transmission better be better than the 2024 manual transmission. I have a 2024 Z Performance manual. Had notchiness with the yransmission and upgraded the Clutch to a NISMO Clutch and the had the catch replaced by NUSSAN and then had the Transmission replaced by NISSAN, Still hav some notchiness and trouble getting into Reverse. Something I never had with my 2008 370Z with upgrades to 512RWHP.

 

[JP's Z]

Wow. That is awesome news. It is tempting but with only 6300 miles on my 2024 sport, it would be a hard decision to sell the one I have for a Nismo. Still having a blast with mine.

 

[Nis Mo Z]

I wouldn't have bought a Nismo Z last year, and I wouldn't buy one next year. I've said many times I'm more of a Mazda guy, but being that I don't particularly want a miata right now, and the Mazda 3 hatch, while available with a manual box, is rather slow, but that's a bit of a side tangent.

Anyway, in my opinion, Nissan can't seem to get out of their own way with the Z so far. I like my car, do I regret buying it? No. Would I have kept my Supra if I know now what I know then? My answer is...maybe.

I think the $65,000 msrp (and over 70 OTD) on a NIsmo Z is just absurd. Sure, it has some enhancements that a performance model doesn't have, but that's a very hard sell when you are approaching Porsche territory and already in the realm of some other very capable competition.

I honestly don't see the value in it. With the Nismo Z not having a manual box, that put it out of my mind by default at the time, but even if it had a manual box the small additions don't justify the significant price jump, especially considering they are almost entirely minor physical additions that I can readily and easily put on my performance Z. The juice just doesn't justify the squeeze.

Why would I spend $10,000+ on a car that already feels like it is at the higher end of its price point?

In all honesty, Nissan would have done better by not having the sport trim at all, having the Performance being closer to the sport in price, and the Nismo with a manual and auto option being closer to the performance price point.

As I said before, they just can't seem to get out of their own way at times.

There's a lot you don't seem to understand about the Nismo and I'll just have to be that guy and inform you. First lets talk about your point of "Porsche territory". I have driven a 70k Cayman and that car is trash for the money because you get a lousy 2.0 liter turbo and no options inside for that money. I get the point however about the M2 and Dark Horse Mustang around 70k but I would never purchase either of them because of personal reason about their looks and size.

Small additions? You obviously have never researched the difference between a Performance and Nismo because the differences is similar to a 718 Cayman GTS vs a GT4

Uprgaded brakes/wheels/tires
Upgraded body kit
Upgraded track tuned suspension/braces/bushings
Recaro Seat/Nismo steering wheel/red adonized buttons
Upgraded engine components from the GTR/upgraded transmission internals and logic
2 extra aux cooler for tracking


Seeing that you and I came from the Supra 3.0 you talk about the adjustable suspension and imho I think adjustable suspensions suck, especially when a car is setup sharp from the get go(but I understand having it on the non track model Z's). Why would I want a soft mode on a track edition car? Imagine a GT3/GT4 with soft ass suspension mode? I had my Supra bimmercoded to be in Sport suspension 100% of the time and I would take the feel of the Nismo suspension over comfort and sport mode in my Supra because the car still felt very squishy and soft despite sport mode and lowering spring/sway bars


The price of the Nismo is high just like the price of everything else. Inflation has warped peoples minds because wages don't match the inflation. The Z Nismo is supposed to be a 60k + car if you factor in that the original Nismo in 2007 was around 38-40k.

 

[Lvckv99]

The transmission better be better than the 2024 manual transmission. I have a 2024 Z Performance manual. Had notchiness with the yransmission and upgraded the Clutch to a NISMO Clutch and the had the catch replaced by NUSSAN and then had the Transmission replaced by NISSAN, Still hav some notchiness and trouble getting into Reverse. Something I never had with my 2008 370Z with upgrades to 512RWHP.

I also have a manual '24 and no issues with mine. I'm at 13k. Dynoed and made 490hp.

 

[kevinbonds]

The transmission better be better than the 2024 manual transmission. I have a 2024 Z Performance manual. Had notchiness with the yransmission and upgraded the Clutch to a NISMO Clutch and the had the catch replaced by NUSSAN and then had the Transmission replaced by NISSAN, Still hav some notchiness and trouble getting into Reverse. Something I never had with my 2008 370Z with upgrades to 512RWHP.

Any chance Its user error? I have a 2024 performance manual, and the trans is perfect, no issues of any kind. My Shelby has a tremec 6 speed and it’s a disaster, not nearly as clean and smooth as the Z.

 

[Katum68]

Any chance Its user error? I have a 2024 performance manual, and the trans is perfect, no issues of any kind. My Shelby has a tremec 6 speed and it’s a disaster, not nearly as clean and smooth as the Z.

I have driven a manual since 1963 which was an MGA with a 4 speed with. non-synchro 1st gear. The car I had before the Z was 2009 370Z that I had twin turbos put on and the transmission was great.

 

[kevinbonds]

I have driven a manual since 1963 which was an MGA with a 4 speed with. non-synchro 1st gear. The car I had before the Z was 2009 370Z that I had twin turbos put on and the transmission was great.

It’s crazy you have issues with two separate manual trans, guess it’s just bad luck.

 

[Katum68]

It’s crazy you have issues with two separate manual trans, guess it’s just bad luck.

Or bad manufacturing. I am quite annoyed about it. Neverever had issues with Nissan Manual transmissions for over 40 years.

 

[NocturnalEmber]

There's a lot you don't seem to understand about the Nismo and I'll just have to be that guy and inform you. First lets talk about your point of "Porsche territory". I have driven a 70k Cayman and that car is trash for the money because you get a lousy 2.0 liter turbo and no options inside for that money. I get the point however about the M2 and Dark Horse Mustang around 70k but I would never purchase either of them because of personal reason about their looks and size.

Small additions? You obviously have never researched the difference between a Performance and Nismo because the differences is similar to a 718 Cayman GTS vs a GT4

Uprgaded brakes/wheels/tires
Upgraded body kit
Upgraded track tuned suspension/braces/bushings
Recaro Seat/Nismo steering wheel/red adonized buttons
Upgraded engine components from the GTR/upgraded transmission internals and logic
2 extra aux cooler for tracking


Seeing that you and I came from the Supra 3.0 you talk about the adjustable suspension and imho I think adjustable suspensions suck, especially when a car is setup sharp from the get go(but I understand having it on the non track model Z's). Why would I want a soft mode on a track edition car? Imagine a GT3/GT4 with soft ass suspension mode? I had my Supra bimmercoded to be in Sport suspension 100% of the time and I would take the feel of the Nismo suspension over comfort and sport mode in my Supra because the car still felt very squishy and soft despite sport mode and lowering spring/sway bars


The price of the Nismo is high just like the price of everything else. Inflation has warped peoples minds because wages don't match the inflation. The Z Nismo is supposed to be a 60k + car if you factor in that the original Nismo in 2007 was around 38-40k.

"There's a lot you don't seem to understand about the Nismo and I'll just have to be that guy and inform you."

I understand the Nismo Z quite well.

"First lets talk about your point of "Porsche territory"

There's nothing to argue here, the MSRP between a Nismo Z and a Cayman are closer than some Z trim levels, and that price is very much "approaching porsche territory" like I mentioned.

"Small additions? You obviously have never researched the difference between a Performance and Nismo because the differences is similar to a 718 Cayman GTS vs a GT4"

I've researched it quite well. If i have to explain to you what the Nismo Z has that the Performance doesn't, than the one who hasn't done the research here isn't me.

"because the differences is similar to a 718 Cayman GTS vs a GT4"

I'm just going to let you think about that one.

"
Uprgaded brakes/wheels/tires
Upgraded body kit
Upgraded track tuned suspension/braces/bushings
"

These are all very basic bolt ons.

"Recaro Seat/Nismo steering wheel/red adonized buttons"

I think you're reaching here with the steering wheel and buttons, but again, all simple bolt ons.

"Upgraded engine components from the GTR/upgraded transmission internals and logic"

Define 'upgraded engine components.' Based on what I've seen, the VR30 and the VR38 are not very similar at all. I'd go as far as to say you'll see more similarities with a VQ37 and a VR38 than a VR38 and VR30, one of the stark differences between the two is port injection.

Transmission internals and logic, sure.

"2 extra aux cooler for tracking"

Last i checked it was a second small heat exchanger and a revised oil cooler and the car still has high temps on track, Nissan doesn't even run the air to water system on their competition cars, and for good reason.

"Why would I want a soft mode on a track edition car?"

That's entirely subjective, you might not; I on the other hand, like being able to selectively switch my suspension settings on the fly. Driving around town I don't need my suspension aggressive 100% of the time because there isn't any performance driving to be had with a speed limit of 25-35 mph in residential streets with pot holes.

" The price of the Nismo is high just like the price of everything else. Inflation has warped peoples minds because wages don't match the inflation. The Z Nismo is supposed to be a 60k + car if you factor in that the original Nismo in 2007 was around 38-40k. "

By that argument you could say the price of the Supra is high, or the GR:C, or even the base model Z. I don't see what you are getting at with saying the Nismo Z is supposed to be a $60,000+car in relation to the fact one of the earlier models was $38-$40,000. Prices go up, that's economics. My complaint here is that for what you get the Nismo Z is overpriced, because it is.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the vast amount of components on a Nismo Z can be bolted right up to a performance model relatively easily. The Z already has an issue competing at its current price point, and the Nismo Z is just that much worse.

Buying an automatic car isn't something I'd do like I've mentioned. Regardless it is a very hard sell for that price point. Ignoring inflation, I'm talking current day MSRP of other similarly priced cars. The Z in general is overpriced for what you get and the Nismo Z is even more so overpriced for what you get.

I understand you probably like the car and thats fine but its not a price competitive car in the least; If anything what it's guilty of is Nissan being unable to get out of their own way.

Putting bad tires on one model to give the other an edge, while clever, is eclipsed by the fact that You aren't getting $13,000~ (if you ignore the sport model) worth of performance out of the price difference.

I like my Z, but there's no way in hell I would have paid anywhere near what a Nismo Z costs for one even if it was a manual trans Nismo Z.

 

[Katum68]

"There's a lot you don't seem to understand about the Nismo and I'll just have to be that guy and inform you."

I understand the Nismo Z quite well.

"First lets talk about your point of "Porsche territory"

There's nothing to argue here, the MSRP between a Nismo Z and a Cayman are closer than some Z trim levels, and that price is very much "approaching porsche territory" like I mentioned.

"Small additions? You obviously have never researched the difference between a Performance and Nismo because the differences is similar to a 718 Cayman GTS vs a GT4"

I've researched it quite well. If i have to explain to you what the Nismo Z has that the Performance doesn't, than the one who hasn't done the research here isn't me.

"because the differences is similar to a 718 Cayman GTS vs a GT4"

I'm just going to let you think about that one.

"
Uprgaded brakes/wheels/tires
Upgraded body kit
Upgraded track tuned suspension/braces/bushings
"

These are all very basic bolt ons.

"Recaro Seat/Nismo steering wheel/red adonized buttons"

I think you're reaching here with the steering wheel and buttons, but again, all simple bolt ons.

"Upgraded engine components from the GTR/upgraded transmission internals and logic"

Define 'upgraded engine components.' Based on what I've seen, the VR30 and the VR38 are not very similar at all. I'd go as far as to say you'll see more similarities with a VQ37 and a VR38 than a VR38 and VR30, one of the stark differences between the two is port injection.

Transmission internals and logic, sure.

"2 extra aux cooler for tracking"

Last i checked it was a second small heat exchanger and a revised oil cooler and the car still has high temps on track, Nissan doesn't even run the air to water system on their competition cars, and for good reason.

"Why would I want a soft mode on a track edition car?"

That's entirely subjective, you might not; I on the other hand, like being able to selectively switch my suspension settings on the fly. Driving around town I don't need my suspension aggressive 100% of the time because there isn't any performance driving to be had with a speed limit of 25-35 mph in residential streets with pot holes.

" The price of the Nismo is high just like the price of everything else. Inflation has warped peoples minds because wages don't match the inflation. The Z Nismo is supposed to be a 60k + car if you factor in that the original Nismo in 2007 was around 38-40k. "

By that argument you could say the price of the Supra is high, or the GR:C, or even the base model Z. I don't see what you are getting at with saying the Nismo Z is supposed to be a $60,000+car in relation to the fact one of the earlier models was $38-$40,000. Prices go up, that's economics. My complaint here is that for what you get the Nismo Z is overpriced, because it is.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the vast amount of components on a Nismo Z can be bolted right up to a performance model relatively easily. The Z already has an issue competing at its current price point, and the Nismo Z is just that much worse.

Buying an automatic car isn't something I'd do like I've mentioned. Regardless it is a very hard sell for that price point. Ignoring inflation, I'm talking current day MSRP of other similarly priced cars. The Z in general is overpriced for what you get and the Nismo Z is even more so overpriced for what you get.

I understand you probably like the car and thats fine but its not a price competitive car in the least; If anything what it's guilty of is Nissan being unable to get out of their own way.

Putting bad tires on one model to give the other an edge, while clever, is eclipsed by the fact that You aren't getting $13,000~ (if you ignore the sport model) worth of performance out of the price difference.

I like my Z, but there's no way in hell I would have paid anywhere near what a Nismo Z costs for one even if it was a manual trans Nismo Z.

Now add In the tariff costs..

 

[NocturnalEmber]

Now add In the tariff costs..

I mean, Tariff costs are outside of Nissans control, but you do have a point, I didn't stop to think about that. Tariffs aside however, its an overpriced car for everything that it is.

Obviously its okay to like your car, but my key point here is Nissan isn't really giving me anything of value that justifies it being at that price point.

This is the first Z car I've owned (minus an S30) but out the door its well below its competition regardless of trim level. Granted, I think that is likely intentional on Nissan's part (open diff on sports, the sport trim even existing, awful tires, etc) but that goes back to my point I've echoed before about Nissan not being able to get out of their own way.

They likely would have had a better initial experience if they did the following:

No sport model, Performance for high 40's or low 50's, and the Nismo Z for mid-high 50's with a manual box and you'd have much more people looking to buy if I had to guess.

I traded out of my Supra, and I kind of regret it, but at the same time I do not regret owning my Z at all. Hindsight is 20/20, but at the end of the day I have a car that is truly 100% JDM and actually has android auto, which Toyota couldn't bother to deal with (getting pedantic here, I know, but that annoyed the absolute hell out of me that a $60,000 car didn't have that, it's absurd.)

 

[Drago86]

There's a lot you don't seem to understand about the Nismo and I'll just have to be that guy and inform you. First lets talk about your point of "Porsche territory". I have driven a 70k Cayman and that car is trash for the money because you get a lousy 2.0 liter turbo and no options inside for that money. I get the point however about the M2 and Dark Horse Mustang around 70k but I would never purchase either of them because of personal reason about their looks and size.

Small additions? You obviously have never researched the difference between a Performance and Nismo because the differences is similar to a 718 Cayman GTS vs a GT4

Uprgaded brakes/wheels/tires
Upgraded body kit
Upgraded track tuned suspension/braces/bushings
Recaro Seat/Nismo steering wheel/red adonized buttons
Upgraded engine components from the GTR/upgraded transmission internals and logic
2 extra aux cooler for tracking


Seeing that you and I came from the Supra 3.0 you talk about the adjustable suspension and imho I think adjustable suspensions suck, especially when a car is setup sharp from the get go(but I understand having it on the non track model Z's). Why would I want a soft mode on a track edition car? Imagine a GT3/GT4 with soft ass suspension mode? I had my Supra bimmercoded to be in Sport suspension 100% of the time and I would take the feel of the Nismo suspension over comfort and sport mode in my Supra because the car still felt very squishy and soft despite sport mode and lowering spring/sway bars


The price of the Nismo is high just like the price of everything else. Inflation has warped peoples minds because wages don't match the inflation. The Z Nismo is supposed to be a 60k + car if you factor in that the original Nismo in 2007 was around 38-40k.

Uhh, what upgraded engine components from the GTR? Pretty sure the Nismo uses the same VR30DDTT as all the other Z's with a slightly different tune...

 

[Nis Mo Z]

Uhh, what upgraded engine components from the GTR? Pretty sure the Nismo uses the same VR30DDTT as all the other Z's with a slightly different tune...

The independent ignition timing control of the GTR is on the Nismo variants of the VR30.