Is the 370Z a very light car?

wstar

I'd love it if the 370Z were lighter, but you can't have everything. A lighter factory 370Z with our current engine specs and level of daily-driver comfort wouldn't be possible without a significant price bump to use more exotic materials and construction techniques. Or you can go the race-car route and just strip out all the daily-driver goodness (like seats and carpets and plastic and windshields ...), like what's going on over in the Forged Performance thread

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Mergnthwirker

Weight savings is the new frontier of performance in this increasingly "green" conscious world. On the one hand you have 600 lb battery packs in the hybrids, on the other hand you have new technologies (like glued-together Lotus cars and all-aluminum Audi A2's) that reduce weight. Reminds me of Colin Chapman's formula 1 cars of the 60's. For more speed, add lightness!

What does light mean today? The American vehicle fleet has been running over 50% trucks for a decade, averaging over 2 tons each. No wonder our total fuel usage as a country has not improved in the last 20 years on a per-vehicle basis. And crash standards and additional safety equipment keep adding "mandatory" weight. I've owned the same "model" Audi for several generations and each time a new one comes out it is about 10-15% heavier.

Now Audi is saying they are going to invest heavily in eliminating weight from their vehicles. This will become the new battleground for technological supremacy (along with alternative powertrain development). Interesting times indeed! The car companies to watch will be those who can figure out how to do weight savings gracefully.

I love the fact that my Z has extensive use of aluminum and alloy parts. I still WISH it had the same power with 400-600 pounds less "road-hugging" weight (anyone remember that advertising?). I'd much rather have the lighter car than have a li-on battery pack and pancake electric motor sandwiched into the powertrain.

Of course, in my clapped out old 1963 Alfa Giulietta (at 2183 lbs), I worry about how thin a pancake I will make in a SUV sandwich...

armensti

Even if the rx8 and the s2k are lighter their not the type of a car that i would drive. For its price the z is the fastest the lightest and the best looking out of all its competitors.

everyone has the right to have their own opinion but in my opinion the z is very light compared to its competitors. and dont throw in a s2k or a rx8 because they are not a competition for the z.


this is how i look at it

370z ////////////////////
rx8 ////////// (might not be faster then the s2k but at least it looks better)
s2k /////

g96818

is it me or is this flailed discussion

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nicknick

The 370z weighs approx 1500 kilograms. It should've weighed 1350 kilograms. Surely nissan can find 150 kilos to remove, for instance how heavy would that subwoofer in the hatch be?

Bster

Personally, I feel the Z34 is on the heavy side at 1500kg and the weight is quite apparent when taking corners or going over small humps.

If I can reduce the Z to about 1300kg, that should be a more ideal weight for chucking the car around when driving on B-roads. The stock seats is one of the culprits with heaters and electronics which I don't need in hot and humid Singapore! However, changing them to after market seats will be a costly affair as I've only got my eyes on Recaros SP-X or maybe Brides StradiaII sport.

Currently, I'm only filling the petrol tank at the halfway mark to keep the weight off!

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370Z Purist

The Bose audio parts are lightweight. The kicker is only 10 pounds.

Most weight to be lost easily is the donut (spare). Any other weight will come from stripping the interior or if you really want, completely changing the chassis platform.

Considering the vast majority of weight also comes from the driver him/herself, there's quite a few things you can do to cut weight, although I would think that at most, you'd have to change the panels (aluminum to carbon fiber / fiberglass), get different wheels (yeah, magnesium wheels, 2k a piece, flammable lolol), strip creature comforts and paneling, etc.

The 370Z is lightER as compared to similar vehicles. Cars like the S2000 or RX8 (which you can't even consider really, since it has a tiny 1.8L (?) rotary versus the S2000's 3.0L (?) or the 370Z's massive 3.7L V6) are just not in the same class. You're better off comparing the 370Z to something like the BMW Z4 (which I think the newest iteration is absolutely sexy), Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang, etc.

No matter how much you compare weight, it's performance you want to look out for. An extremely light car does not mean performance at all. I'm pretty sure a go-kart that weighed 1000 pounds with an engine like the V6 our Z has probably can't get to 45 mph without flying off the road.

EDIT:
An S2000 lightly modded could easy pose a serious challenge to a 370Z. They're extremely light, produce a lot of power for a good power / weight ratio, small wheelbase, and easily modded. I personally think they look fine, although they are scary to be in ... loud too. I'm not here to make challenge to our Z (one of which I own...), but you have to realize that being a fanboy is only going to get you a disapproving look, not any serious consideration.

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qnsblvd

Agreed. For the money and all the safety laws it has to adhere to, the Z is fairly light.

If you wanna talk about a car that bulked up, the E30 M3 was something like 2800 lbs. but the E90 is now 3700 or so.

And if you're overweight, you really shouldn't be complaining about how much the car weighs.

Ryan@Forged

There's a lot of misinformation in this thread. Some of you may want to go back and rework your numbers on the weights of some of the cars you posted.

I believe you have to look at the other cars on the market that are comparable to the 370z. The 370 is never going to be as light as the S2K, but it has a nice amount more of power to make up for it. At the same time you can't really compare it to a GT-R. From the factory the 370z has a nice power/weight balance. 3323 is what we found on ours. This is lighter than the majority of the 350z's we work on here. In today's car industry that is not a heavy car. In that sense it is not a light car either. It is middle of the road. In any case the 370z is a huge improvement over the 350z.

Supergoji

there is alot of weight to be shed on the 370z by spending money on lighter equipment to replace the OEM stuff. replacing the body panels with CF will shave quite a bit of weight as will taking out the spare and tools, along with a titanium exhaust system. but that stuff costs quite alot to do. sure the weight savings would be awsome. and with a 10k budget you could get down to s2000k weight with a full interior.

no s2000 that stay's NA will ever pose a problem to a 370z in a straight line if the drivers are competent. here's the thing though s2k's make great track cars because they weigh nothing when stripped out and spec'd up.

if you want the best FR track car thats available to the majority get an FD rx7.

just enjoy the 370z and upgrade it when it's feasible. plus if you keep the spare you get less noise in the cabin as well as added traction in the rain. then again there is always AAA.

Ryan@Forged

I don't see how you came to that conclusion. Even changing the stuff you mentioned would not shave 500 pounds, which would be s2000 weight. If that were true we could easily get the car down to 2400 pounds gutted, which is just not going to happen.

There is definitely a good bit of weight to be lost on these cars, but lets keep it realistic. We gutted the entire car and have not saved 500 pounds. Weight does not come off nearly as easy as you first think it does

theDreamer

Ryan, have you guys done a weight with a fully stripped car?

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Ryan@Forged

Still working on stripping the last bits. When we had everything minus the sound deadening and the dash out it weighed 3009 pounds. We have since removed the AC, sound deadening, and dash. The wheels, brakes, and exhaust have also been removed, but new ones have not gone on as of yet. I imagine we are still about 2 weeks away from it going back on the scales, but we will have to see. At that point we will have a better idea of what a fully stripped 370 weighs in at. My guess would be around 2825-2875.

theDreamer

What are the expectations of weight added from putting things back in? Or should I ask do you guys have a goal for an ideal weight?

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NIZMOZ

[QUOTE=theDreamer;122833]Courtesy of Forge Performance, stock base 370z with manual.

That isn't a base in the pics. The wheels are sport package.

I am actually curious how much gas was in it as it wasn't a full tank exactly. My NISMO weighed in at 3324 lb on the 1/4 track scale with over 3/4 of a tank.

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