2011 Mustang 5.0 Turbo

Originally Posted by mrcardio

BRE Nissan 370Z & Datsun 240Z - Car News - RoadandTrack.com

"The BRE Tribute car is a Nissan 370Z built by Stillen essentially to the SCCA’s T2 class rules. As such, it’s not overly tweaked. It has a gutted interior and a cage, plus race seats and belts. The car started out as a 2009 Touring Sport model, to which Nismo bodywork, wheels and shocks were added, the last teamed with Eibach springs that lower the car a bit. Stillen anti-roll bars are fitted to the car front and rear, and the 4-cam 3.7-liter V-6 is untouched internally. It is, however, stripped of its catalytic converter and fitted with a Stillen cat-back exhaust, a reflashed ECU, a Nissan Motorsports oil cooler, an aluminum flywheel and a heavy-duty clutch. Power is in the neighborhood of 350 bhp, and stock brakes (with braided stainless-steel lines and Hawk pads) handle stopping chores. The car also had a stock viscous limited-slip differential, although Nissan plans to fit the car with a tougher clutch-type LSD from Nissan Comp soon.

Second session in the car, with all driver aids turned off, I’m having more fun. It’s hot, over 100 degrees, and I’m keeping an eye on oil temps as I continue to be impressed with how well the new Z hides its 3300-lb. curb weight and laps with no apparent vices. It’s clearly better damped than a stock Z. Toward the end of the session, though, I notice more inside rear wheelspin on corner exit, an indicator that the limited-slip diff was not working well. Turns out that differential cooler hadn’t been installed on the car yet, and our lapping on a hot day proved too much for the diff. Our best lap of 1 min. 55.53 sec. would have been considerably better had the car been on Hoosiers and fitted with the limited-slip diff from Nismo, with a remote cooler."

Originally Posted by phelan

That entire article refers to the BRE Tribute car that has the listed modifications. Nissan I'm sure will support the car build by providing a better than stock LSD. It is, after all, a tribute car, and I think it would serve the company well to have a good, recognizable Z like that.



However, the article says nothing about rolling that onto new model Zs on a go-forward basis. Go ahead, read it again. I'll wait.

...

Just because it's good on a race car, or a 'tribute car' as they call it, doesn't mean it's a decision Nissan will make on the regular Zs. Most drivers will NOT push the car to the limits and feel the necessity of an upgraded LSD. So why bother? People will be paying for a part that they cannot take full advantage of. The benefits of a better LSD does not quantify the additional cost required from a corporate standpoint. I will be VERY surprised if Nissan is willing to increase the Z's already hefty price to accommodate a new LSD. It's just not a practical decision to make right now.

Originally Posted by mrcardio

Okay, now it's HUGELY apparent you're terrified of the possible of Nissan improving the 370z! Nissan and other manufactures learn through these types of experiences and new / better technologies often make their way into the production car as a result. Besides, it’s not like the Z in the article was a full blown race car or anything. The bottom line is that Nissan is aware that the current LSD is less than adequate for much more than cursing the blvd.

Originally Posted by mrcardio

Okay, now it's HUGELY apparent you're terrified of the possible of Nissan improving the 370z! Nissan and other manufactures learn through these types of experiences and new / better technologies often make their way into the production car as a result. Besides, it’s not like the Z in the article was a full blown race car or anything. The bottom line is that Nissan is aware that the current LSD is less than adequate for much more than cursing the blvd.

Originally Posted by theDreamer

You do know that Nissan also offers the car without the LSD right?
Nissan is well aware of making changes for this car. The 350z had very good brakes, but guess what? People were unhappy with the amount of noise and dust created so with the 370z they backed off on the pads and made them more "street" friendly. Same thing with a lot of other items that people wish they would upgrade from factory but Nissan over the years have come to want to please the majority not the minority. Nothing wrong with this, gives the chance for those of us who want to put better parts on our car not overpay from factory for items we do not need or want, or feel we can get better elsewhere.

Originally Posted by mrcardio

You're sort of going off on the tangent now...

The point is this - The 370z is supposedly a "sports car" right? A sports car should be as sports car does. The current viscous LSD, oil cooling unit, and to a lesser extent brake pads (not really a big deal) aren't up to sports car specs by any stretch of the imagination. Yes of course you can void your warranty and go after market but that in many ways defeats the purpose of purchasing a new car. I really want to like the car and in many ways I do but I'm hoping Nissan ups the ante and improves the weak areas even if it does cost me a bit more. Otherwise, I'll just have to look into something else.

Originally Posted by theDreamer

How does the current LSD, oil cooling, brakes make it any less of a sports car, please let me know?

Originally Posted by mrcardio

A true sports car can run more than a couple hard laps without oil temps sky rocketing, its LSD not working the way it should and brakes that perform up to par longer than a few minutes of track work.

Like I said, hopefully Nissan fixes these issues and comes up with a new engine while they're at it. The rest of the car is pretty decent IMO, just needs decent LSD w/ remoter cooler, oil cooler, appropriate pads, and less trashy, more torque, better sounding motor.

I would definitely expect it to cost a good 2-4k more to start but if that means a proper sports car with proper equipment I’m game. Perhaps Nissan could still offer then Z with the sub par LSD, trashy VQ, etc for a lower price and make everyone happy.