370Z at Nurburgring

Musashi

I agree..... Plus it will overheat. lol

molamann

Well the 350Z got a 8:26 back in 2003. ;[]

The HACK

M3 CSL also comes standard with race rubbers (Michelin Pilot Sport Cups).

Let's get a couple of things straight about the 'Ring. First, power trumps all. Nurburgring has several very long straights where top speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour can be reached in a car with enough HP. Those sections can be as long as several MILES. The difference between a car that can reach, say, sustain 180mph and a car that's limited to say, 130mph, can be up to a full minute. And vehicle top-speed is a function of it's available HP and aerodynamic drag. Therefore cars with a clear HP advantage will have an easier path to a faster lap time at the 'Ring.

Not saying that a car that handles well won't be faster than a car that doesn't handle well, but the very nature of the beast that is the "ring" rewards cars with HP more than it does reward cars with grip.

But let's get back to the tangent, for a moment, of the BMW E46 M3 CSL vs. E90 M3. On a typical 2 mile long road course, the difference between a car equipped with R-comps and car equipped with run of the mill street tires can be as much as 5 seconds. On a 14 mile long course? It's simple to see why the CSL should be faster despite having 60 less horses.

spearfish25

Let's focus on this statement. The 350Z automatic pulled an 8:26. Other cars aside, the 370Z is a superior car to that 350Z in every way. The real question is can the additional hp and road-holding of the 370Z buy 26 seconds? As the HACK noted, the 'ring' is a very long course where these upgrades on the 370Z may make a 26s improvement feasible.

The HACK

Um...Not really. It's going to take a lot of HP to make up 26 seconds on the 'Ring. I'd be VERY surprised if the 370Z breaks 8:15.

Let's take a very similar car on paper for example. The BMW MZ4 Roadster did a 8:15 on street tires:

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Same HP figures, the MZ4R is about 200 lbs lighter than the 370Z but probably suffers in the aerodynamics department, so we'll call that a wash. If I had to take a guess, the 370Z will probably come in somewhere just north of 8:15, probably 8:16-8:17 range. Anything lower than that would be a very big surprise.

spearfish25

But the skidpad rating for the Z4 M is only 0.89 Gs (vs the 370Z's 0.98). You then have essentially the same car except for the 370Z having significantly better cornering ability. Given that significant difference, I'd put money on the 370Z trumping the Z4M.

Looking at that list again, a more interesting comparison is the Porsche Cayman S...a car that Nissan itself pitted the 370Z against. The Cayman S pulled an 8:11 lap time. So, I'd put the Z right in that range. Given that Cayman S's time, I agree that the stock 370Z probably couldn't 'best' 8 minutes.

Suffice to say though, our 370Zs are in good company...especially when we paid <$40k!

Namir

Eh..... I don't buy it.
The radical SRT8 smokes everything with more HP. The Veyron with all its HP can't beat the viper ACR, porsche turbo/GT2, R35 GTR, or ZR1.

I do agree that the back straight means that a lot of time can be made up if you have enough hp but the only place where HP is enough to give you a win is on a drag strip.

Now if the 370z was delimited, it might be able to do something quick (8:15ish) but I don't see it being under 8 minutes.

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The HACK

370Z besting Cayman S's 8:11, it's not likely. There are multiple factors involved here that would work against the 370Z. The Cayman S has a significantly better drag coefficient and a smaller frontal area, therefore it has the potential to achieve higher top speed for less HP. The Cayman S is also significantly lighter than the 370Z.

Obviously, for all our discussion here, it is merely all speculation until someone actually takes the 370Z out to the mighty 'Ring and actually sets a time. But logic tells me to expect anything between 8:16-8:18.

spearfish25

Yeah, i don't think it will beat the Cayman S either. I do think it will beat the Z4 M though. I'll bet on 8:13.

imag

Some of that's going to depend on the day and the driver, natch...

xDIEGOx

There's no way the 370Z will lap the 'ring in under 8 minutes. But I'm sure it will be a few seconds behind the Cayman.

Another thing, why hasn't Nissan taken the 370Z to the Nurburgring? The GTR was in 'ring heaven, why not the Z?

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ChrisSlicks

I'm sure they did take the 370Z to Nordschleife, the results just haven't been published or weren't favorable enough.

spearfish25

Agreed. Google searches come up with lots of articles saying "the new 370Z was spied in the Nurburgring area..." yet there are no lap times posted. Somebody had a bad day behind the wheel or they didn't have an oil cooler on that car.

370z4Steve

well keep in mind a FWD chevy cobalt SS w 260HP did the RING in 8:22

spearfish25

I still put a 370Z with oil cooler in the 8:12 to 8:15 range. Something fishy happened to not have the lap times readily posted.