Why is our car so heavy?

wdkwang

Given all the lightweight advertisement on cars, wikipedia info consistently shows how every car keeps getting heavier over the years. It's a given considering the improved reinforcements, creature comforts, etc. It just bothers me when it still keeps getting heavier when they are advertising carbon fiber this and that, lightweight forged wheels, aluminum panels, and so forth.
Our car with the loaded options is roughly 3300lb.
The Evo 9, with 4 doors, backseats, awd drivetrain weighs about the same. Even if its 4banger is lighter than the V6 in ours', the weight is somewhat balanced with the turbo parts.
The Porsche Cayman S I drove weighs only 3000lb., and it's also a rwd 2 seater. It felt just as sturdy and comfortable as the Z, plus more.

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Skeeterbop

I think a lot of the weight difference between the Z and the Porsche can be located in the materials used in the manufacture of the car. A little here and there, as we all know, adds up in the end. While the Evo IX is the same weight, I don't think it has as much safety equipment as the Z. If you redid the roof and stripped out the airbags up there you would save quite a bit of weight, with the side benefit of lowering the CG. That's just my opinion though and could be entirely wrong.

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Chan Chee Hoe

The Porsche Cayman S is a much smaller car,so it should be lighter than the Z.

007MI6

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Cmike2780

The "smaller" car theory actually has a lot to do with it. You can see it when comparing to the early Z's like the 240's. They look like compact cars when you put them side by side, though our 370Z is a lot more ridgid, safer etc... Also, looking at modern light weights like the Lotus Elise, the Z looks like a boat. Tire/wheel weight has more to do with unsprung weight, which is another topic altogether. Every ounce counts, and usually the lighter stuff is more expensive. There is a lot that goes into the design and engineering aspect, and I would suspect Nissan had to compromise on some stuff to keep the Z financially viable or retain certain design elements. They could have done better, but the Z is far from "heavy"

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Waiz

Not really sure where to start with this one.

cossie1600

14" rotors and 4 piston brakes
RWD configuration
19" wheels/tires
Heavy unibody

TypeOne

"Heavy" is also relative...

370Z compared to an Elise, yes, is very heavy.

370Z compared to a Challenger SRT8, no, is not heavy.

As mentioned above, lightweight materials generally cost more money, which leads to more expensive sticker prices. If Nissan thought people would buy a $60k Z car, I'm sure they could shed some serious weight.

m4a1mustang

Safety equipment and luxury amenities.

Go back to the early days when many cars didn't even come with AC. They didn't have power adjustable seats, air bags, crush panels everywhere, sound deadening, luxury materials, etc. There is a lot that goes into these cars and making them attractive to 95% of the buyers out there that are just want something nice and sporty to drive daily.

Not to mention real lightweight materials are very expensive as was mentioned earlier. The Z can come as light as 31xx lbs or as heavy as 33xx in coupe form depending on how you option it out, so it's not exactly a heavy car by today's standards. But from a performance standpoint it's not necessarily light either.

If you actually look at the dimensions on the Z it's not really a "small" car. It's got a robust chassis and drivetrain and all of that is going to lend itself to just being a heavier platform than truly small cars.

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DarkZide

how is 3575 lbs "the same" as 3230 lbs??

The Z is actually very lightweight compared to current generation sports cars in its price range. and how many times does a new model get lighter than the previous? (as in the Z34 is lighter than the z33)

KillerBee370

I put helium in my tires before I race

KillerBee370

On a serious note, my car on a scale with me in it and everything (down to the sheet metal) out of the rear weighed in at 3512 or something like that.

m4a1mustang

True. The only car I can find that overlaps is the Genesis Coupe. Looks like they have some trim models in the 32xx range.

The Evo I think is around the same weight as well but it's based off of the subcompact Lancer and it's pretty bare bones inside as far as luxury appointments go.

The only cars that are lighter than the Z are more expensive. Corvette, Cayman , etc.

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theDreamer

Yeah, the Z is a fatty, should write a letter to Nissan.
If they fix it maybe they will retrofit it on the earlier years.

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m4a1mustang

I think people get overly concerned with the weight of these cars. Yeah, it's not as light as a 240Z, but it's not as heavy as a GT-R either. And look at how those things perform!

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