370Z Rigidity (Hz or Torsional/bending Nm-Deg) anyone?
 

Does anyone know these numbers? I could not find them. I am very curious as to how rigid the car is in actuality. A lot of people think something is rigid and it's not, for example, a Cobalt LT is more rigid than a C5 Z06. Noone would have seen that coming. I am curious how the 370Z fares before the cold glare of engineering specifications.

http://www.phenomenon.org/fff/no_idea.jpg

I wouldn't know where to look for these numbers, although I would be interested to see them in the context of competitive models in the Z's range.

I think the only way to get them is to actually test the car, and I doubt anyone has done that with a z yet.

Raw numbers like that are useless anyways-- they are
only useful in the context of the overall car.

Lol.....

LOL...that damn bunny pancake thing gets me everytime

maybe an e-mail to nissan directly?!

The real question here is, do you (OP) even know what you are talking about?

I am going to go out on a limb here......7

I do not have anengineering degree, but I can tell you when Ford increased torsional rigidity in the mustang for the 2005's by 31%, the result was very tactile. The whole car felt different for it, and creaked a lot less. Most cars I have been in that are "supposed" to be very rigid, feel floppy to me, like the C6 corvette. I looked up the rigidity, and it was lower than that of a cobalt, coming in at around something like 9100 nm/* (This was for the C5, which the C6 is SLIGHTLY more rigid than, but not too much so), IIRC. GM usually does their stuff in Hz, which I do not understand nearly as well as nm/* or other torque per degree measurements. I do know that higher is better, and can feel the difference in a car when I drive it.

Newton...measure of force. Newton meter per degree (Nm/Deg). Number of newtons required when using a leverage point 1m long to effect a 1* change in alignment along the axis of a structure (My personal definition, feel free to correct my ignorance if it has exposed itself).

Start watching at 7:25 and they show some bendiness to it... don't see any numbers, but gives a good idea versus 350Z I believe...




edit: make your own engine noises :yum:

ohh excellent post Eazy!

+1 on the vid. Didnt see any torsion numbers but its nice to see the flex in the Z.

Nice vid!

Now we need to call Albert Einstein to see what the OP is talking about...

When are you buying a 370z again?

LOL. Here we go.

Actually thinking about it soon (1-3 months?). My credit-union has seriously tightened up their lending proceedures and the Z06 may be out of the picture. They would finance 100% of a $40K MSRP vehicle, though, and that would leave me with the downpayment I saved up for the Z06 to put a twin-turbo setup in the 370. I'm a flexible person with life and like to keep my options open. It seems like the issues with the FI setups have been worked out, and like I said all along, my only issue with the 370Z was the cheap paint and the lack of power. The TT kit fixes the power, and about a month ago I became aware of "car wraps", which takes care of the cheap paint. Besides, buying a cheaper car would allow me to move/do whatever I wanted a lot sooner than a more expensive one. So, will just see what the bank says and go from there. :tiphat:

I'll believe it when I see it :p

Well, we will see. The other car besides the Z06 that I have looked into is the GT500. All depends on what the bank says they will/won't finance. If they are bent on financing below the $50K limit, then the Z is my choice of ride under the $50K range. Above that tier, are the GT500 and the Z06. Been putting away $1500/mo for whatever, and am itching to get back into a sports car.

My reason for asking the torsional rigidity is because I am curious how it compares to the Z06, since that is the power level I am shooting for with a TT kit if I go with the Z. Basically, will the structure of the 370Z handle 420-440whp soundly, reliably, and over 100K miles?

I can only quote what nissan has stated when comparing to 350z which im sure you have come across:

This also has a good amount of info on the suspension setup

edit: can't link to 370z.com? weird.

Very nice, now I just need to find 350Z #'s and extrapolate. Thankyou!

/\ at those powerr levels, I'd be more concerned w/the shorter wheelbase of the 370z as a limiting factor for car control/handling (vs. something like the zo6. From what I've read, which was just quoted in this thread, the 370z is world's improved over the 350z and is a very rigid car.

I rode in a 350Z back in 2005, and have driven several 370's and agree fully!

The 370Z has a 100.4" wheelbase.
The Carrera GT2 RS (2010) has a 92.5" Wheelbase.

I think it has more to do with design than wheelbase, as noone will argue that a GT2 is bad at anything other than slaughtering a bank account.

/\ good point, but that porsche was also designed from the ground up for those power levels, and it's also rear engined. And it will put a hurting on your bank account for sure.

I'm not saying the Z will be unmanagable at 4xxwhp, but I doubt any nissan engineers were figuring that level of power into their designing the 370z.

Hmm, I just reread what you wrote and I think we're sort of saying the same thing...

Short wheelbases can be a concern with a lot of power output, but having owned a 700whp car with a 94.5" wheelbase, I can comfortably say anyone that is a reasonably competent driver should be able to handle FI power levels in the Z. It's not nearly as big of an issue as it is often made out to be.

I am considering 440whp or so. It's not like we are talking about something rediculous.

Cool, man! I hope that whatever car you end up in, you're happy with it. And I agree that buying a cheaper car allows for more financial flex.

I feel you on wanting a sports car after driving a sedan for several years. That's where I was last year.

I don't have the numbers you requested, but I had an '06 Z06 and have a 370. The 370 feels significantly more rigid. Actually, my pop's '10 Camaro felt more rigid to me than my Z06. The Z06 isn't a wet noodle by any stretch, but it doesn't have that billet-solid feel.

The Z06's aluminum chassis seems to have a tiny bit of initial flex, then tightens up. For example, when going up a driveway incline on an angle, you feel a small degree of torsional flex, but then it stops. It's tiny, but noticeable. Regardless, the car is certainly capable of handling its power (and more). Mine was fairly rattle-free, too.

Do you ever miss the Z06?

That was my impression of the C6 'vert I rode in, obviously floppier than a Z06, but it was pretty bad. The "initial flex" included 2 points that creaked every time we went over an expansion joint. One near the cowl, and one near the back of the roofline.

Gobble gobble.

Ironically, I just picked up a coupon for a free turkey from work this morning.

Perpetual Thanksgiving.

Ah, you're a better man than I. I'm not realistically looking to buy until 2012. :shakes head:

Being responsible sucks and all. :icon14:

I spoke with a new union because my old one was yanking me around (I did what they asked, and now they are asking for something else), and they are going to take my case to the board of directors on the Z06 (anything over 50K has to go through that process), and I am going to see what they can do. If they too nix the idea, I will probably do a TT 370Z unless they tell me "save a couple K more and we'll do it" or something. I will know which direction I am headed by near the end of Jan. I think a clean TT install by Z1 or GTM would make me very happy, though. It would not look as exotic as the Z06, but the interior would be nicer and I think the performance would keep me very happy.

Just consider one thing, if you "buy" a $40k car 100% financed, you spend all your saved money on a TT kit and you blow your engine... No warranty, no more safety money to fix it, you're upside down in the loan... But you still need a car to get to work...

This doesn't seem like a smart financial decision....

Would you actually feel comfortable TT'ing a car that was 100% financed? Would your credit union allow you to modify a car that they held the title to?

I don't intend to push my opinions on you, but I think it is not the best decision to significantly modify a car that is not owned outright. Just a thought. The car could crap out on you for various reasons that would not be covered by insurance, and leave you in quite a hole.

EDIT: Apparently great minds think alike. Beat to the point by just a tad.

Seems like something a turkey would do.

gobble gobble?

Pass the gravy.

No, it's really not the smartest, and I don't want to go that route, but it's not my only car and I can't think of anything on a 370Z that would break that a month or two's pay won't fix. (What is a short-block, $4500 or something?).

I would definitely prefer a 100% stock/warrantied Z06, and am working with my new credit-union in that line of direction. Will just have to see how it plays out. So far the manager at the CU has looked my case over and green-lighted it to head to the committee, of which he has already told me 3 of the 4 people will be in favor of the loan on the Z06 (would be financing roughly 80%.)

The new car, whatever it is, will just be a toy. Something to do on my nights off besides post on here. I have another car that I DD.

What's up with the hate? :confused: