[OFFICIAL] Discussion for the next new Nissan 400Z Z35?

Originally Posted by Jordo!

I literally never thought about or missed them until I got a Z that had it. Now I really like it, but I agree its not exactly "absolutely necessary" or anything.

I think we're starting to see a lot of changes in what defines a "pure sports car" (you and me both like our 7AT's, for example -- a contentious issue, as you know... )

In any case, the sensation of a "direct" connection" to mechanical devices is a weird thing... when a new technology is introduced, there is usually some resistance from the stalwarts who liked the version they grew to love.

In the end, I think the subjective experiences of the operator (beyond some metric of performance) tends to evolve with the the tech, and the operator will discover new and/or different challenges to focus on that take advantage of the new tech.

Lots of people disliked fuel injection, but in the end, as the tech got better, tuning has become more flexible, and now tuning with a laptop is as fundamental to motorsports as turning a wrench or screwdriver.

That said, certainly new, but badly performing tech is nothing to get too excited about until it improves, so I may have been way off base on steer-by-wire. I'll stick by my "intrigued at the potential" and recant the "lighter" comment, which may be incorrect...



Ehhh... maybe. All mechanical feedback is a subjective experience (power steering feels waaaay different than non-power steering, but unless the car is very light, its also a real work out to wrestle the car in the direction you want). That said, a total lack of road feedback is counterproductive, but the road feedback you get is always tuned via dampers, so its a continuum.

Look at it this way: Our arms and hands get in the way of trying to do what our brains want it to do. If their steer-by-wire makes the command from a driver's brain nudge the car where the driver wants with greater precision, I think there will be more happy than unhappy drivers in the end.

The way I see it, more precise control doesn't necessarily mean a numb, disconnected experience, devoid of challenge -- ideally it means new and higher limits can be conquered because of greater responsiveness and less fighting every little bump in the road (remember those Nismo mass chassis dampers?).

I'm hoping for more "jinba ittai" instead of "less fun" (although I wouldn't consider a near-telepathic steering operation to be no fun...)

Modern cars go a lot faster and handle a lot better -- but it's pretty much always at the cost of some direct feedback that may offer a more visceral experience, but also demands more effort to overcome just to go where your brain already decided it wants to go.

Ever try and drive a car with some extra toe dialed into the alignment? Now that's a wild and visceral experience that demands enormous focus and skill to not spin out. Having tried that, I will pass

Anyway, I'll reserve judgment until I see what a steer-by-wire Q60 can do on a skidpad. If it can pull a G without any drama, I'm in. I'll adapt to the different (less?) road feel.