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2003 350Z Convertible Pics

Old 02-06-2003 | 07:55 PM
  #21  
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asianautica from what I understand the 350Z is pretty much taken to the max. Short of twin turbos, you shouldnt expect to get much more power out of it.

Thats what an owner of a track model told me. I brought up Nismo and he gave me a blank stare, so he might be wrong.
Old 02-06-2003 | 10:14 PM
  #22  
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i've read that the VQ motor is understressed and can handle upwards of 400hp on stock internals. interesting, but i won't believe it until i see it.
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Old 02-06-2003 | 10:17 PM
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Originally posted by asianautica


I think the EVO and the STi will be able to give even the Z06 a good fight. I wouldn't be surprise if they'll pass the Z06 as well. The EVO did get .98g in lateral acceleration in the MT review.
i dont know about that...the Z06 is already stepping on viper territory (1/4 mile in the mid to high 12's, 0-60 in the low 4's, and skidpap at nearly a G). the Evo and STi might be able to stick with it in the turns (especially because of the friendlier AWD system), but not in a straight line.
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Old 02-07-2003 | 03:56 AM
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Originally posted by yianni64
asianautica from what I understand the 350Z is pretty much taken to the max. Short of twin turbos, you shouldnt expect to get much more power out of it.

Thats what an owner of a track model told me. I brought up Nismo and he gave me a blank stare, so he might be wrong.
I'm not 100% correct on this but the VQ in the Z is far from being maxed out. The 350z race car that nissan plans on selling to the public has the same VQ engine that has it's displacement increased to 3.6 Liters and it's redline increased. It has 450HP N/A. Going from 287 to 450 N/A means that the engine has a long way to go. BUt don't quote me on this
Old 02-07-2003 | 04:25 AM
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Well race trim is race trim...

But still, I would imagine the VQ has almost the potential of a Porsche flat six. A roadgoing 350 hp version would be my guess for the top n/a motor if one were offered.

The only thing is I would imagine Nissan will be wary of letting the price get too high since that's what caused the downfall of the Z32 in the U.S. market.
Old 02-07-2003 | 07:04 AM
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The VQ is a great engine, but even in the newest Car & Driver, they commented on how Nissan is becoming redundant.

I doubt they could make such a good engine like this again
Old 02-07-2003 | 07:28 AM
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Originally posted by OLDZ
I'm not 100% correct on this but the VQ in the Z is far from being maxed out. The 350z race car that nissan plans on selling to the public has the same VQ engine that has it's displacement increased to 3.6 Liters and it's redline increased. It has 450HP N/A. Going from 287 to 450 N/A means that the engine has a long way to go. BUt don't quote me on this
you are correct. That's the car they're using for the 24 hrs. Le Mans. I think one of the rule is that you have to sell at least 1000 version of the car before it can race. The redline of that car is raised to 8000 RPM. I wonder if they'll use their VVL system for that since it'll be very hard to get power up there without variable lift.

EVO and STi: The evo has been tested to get .98g on skidpad and high 4 secs. 0-60. I think the quarter is mid to high 13s if the driver knows how to launch a turbo AWD car. Also, you gotta remember that the STi will come w/ an additional 29HP and an active diff. So the skidpad # might go up even more. The straightline is going to go up too. The Z06 is a specially tuned Corvette, so if you specially tune your EVO w/ RallyArt, you'll be able to get to the Viper territory with little problem. That's the wonderful thing about turbo engine. If built right like the EVo and the WRX, it doesn't take much to get more power.

About the redundant use of the VQ, to some people, that might matter, but to me, just as long as the engine is good, what differences does it make? They save $$ and we get more power, what's wrong w/ that? I also don't think the VQ is anywhere near its peak. Remember that the GT-R that's coming going to be a TT version of the VQ too. It'll be 400+ HP too. So there's two example that the VQ can definitely get above 400HP in either NA or turbo form. For the HP/L fan out there, if they can get 450HP NA from a 3.6L, that's 125HP/L for you. Just like the S2000 engine, I'm sure it'll be already tuned to the max already so stuff like bolt ons probably won't do much if at all.
Old 02-07-2003 | 07:44 AM
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I don't think most buyers will even mind as long as Nissan put a good engine in their cars. I think this is a good strategy for Nissan to cut cost, but their interior materials still need more improvement
Old 02-07-2003 | 07:49 AM
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Originally posted by boilers
I don't think most buyers will even mind as long as Nissan put a good engine in their cars. I think this is a good strategy for Nissan to cut cost, but their interior materials still need more improvement
I agree, most people don't even know that they have the same engine. If you tell people you have a VQ engine, they'll probably have a blank stare... hehe. This is exactly what they're doing to cut cost. Sharing engine and sharing platform as much as they can. Once they complete their turn around, then I'm sure they can start improving on their interior quality. The last 2 years they're just trying to make as much $$ as they can to get themselves out of the whole. If they didn't, Nissan probably wouldn't be around today.
Old 02-08-2003 | 11:42 AM
  #30  
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It's great to see the benefits of Renault mgmt so soon. Phenomenal styling combined with primo Nissan engine design / fabrication.
( RIP SR20DET :wtc: )

Greddy's already submitting to CARB their twin 18G turbo kit for the VQ35DE.
:drool: x1000
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