A successful German rally driver once said: “If you really want to make a car faster, start with the tires and end with the engine”. And Harald Demuth knows what he is talking about. Now the motorsport experts at Nissan probably didn't listen to Harald Demuth, but you can clearly see from the current 370Z Nismo that the Japanese are taking the same path. With success!

If you want to be fast, then concentrate on the suspension!

The Nissan 370Z Nismo only received a “mild” performance update on the engine side. From the already not weak 328 hp, the output rose to 344 hp. There's a good reason for that. Because you could never complain about a lack of torque and power with the 3.7 liter V6 engine.

So the Nissan Motorsports pros focused on the details. And here especially on the suspension setup. Because, not only Harald Demuth knows, you do not want to loot the very big piggy bank, then you start with the detail work on the chassis.

Tighter feathers

Nissan sells the NISMO version of the 370Z all over the world, but only in Germany you can drive in everyday life easily over 200 km / h. And so was the perfection of the suspension setup, especially for the preferences of German sports car customers in the foreground. A tighter setup of the springs and dampers was the first measure. Front was the Nismo 370Z to 23 firmer and at the rear by 41 percent. This change looks like a belated one sports suspension and increases the agility of the Z.

Less weight, more fun

The less mass that has to be accelerated, the faster things progress. Every gram plays a big role when setting up the chassis. Especially when it comes to the so-called “unsprung mass”. In other words, the weight that, together with the road, acts on the spring-damper setup. On the one hand, wide tires and large rims are necessary to ensure grip on the road; on the other hand, the large wheels increase the weight of the unsprung mass. That's why the Japanese looked at every gram with the NISMO 370Z.

The special RAYS forged rims have become 800 grams lighter per wheel on the front axle and 100 grams each on the rear axle. 100 !! Gram. The fact alone that you are concerned about 100 grams per rim shows the degree of perfection and precision work that NISMO has put into the further development of a sports car! 100 grams! 

The tires

In the end, a tire decides over hopp or flop. A good tire can make a whole car appear in a completely different light. Likewise, a bad tire can completely ruin an otherwise good setup. The tire is an important key to maximum driving pleasure!

For the final sports version of the 370Z, the NISMO technicians not only reared wider rear tires, but also opted for a special sports mix of the Bridgestone Potenza. The S001 belongs in the class of “UHP tires” and guarantees precise driving behavior.

And in the end, the sum of the detail solutions counts and the result convinces by more driving pleasure, more performance and higher lateral acceleration.

The success of the work can be easily read off the performance of the Nismo 370Z:

Power:

344 PS

0-100 km / h:

5,2  sec

Aerodynamics:

0.3 cW

Nissan has with the NISMO version of the 370Z one of the last classic sports cars in the program. A coupe with a powerful naturally aspirated engine, which stands for a spontaneous throttle response, a classic layout with the engine behind the front axle and rear-wheel drive. That in turn promises an ideal weight distribution. And a lot of detail work around from a good sports car (Driving Report 370Z) an even better (Driving Report 370Z Nismo) close.

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