The track model of the Z now comes with 300hp.

04 Coupe Auto/DG/Prem/Nav/Perf

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

the new 19''s are forged and i thought those were much lighter than cast?


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Well... until the wheels come out, we will not know how heavy they are. Just because someone uses a forging process doesn't mean the wheels will be lighter. Look at the I-Forged wheels. Their 19's are forged and weigh in the neighborhood of 25 lbs each. The BBS RGR's in 19" are forged and weigh 18-19 lbs each. That's a HUGE desparity. The forging process allows for strength, but if someone doesn't remove weight to allow the strength to be comparable to the cast process, you will have a heavier rim. Remember the important thing is the strength to weight ratio...

Also, the inertia of the 19's, even if they're lighter, will most likely be higher due to the wider rim and the weight being farther from the rotational axis of the wheel.

 

There's an adage....

You buy horsepower, but you drive torque.

Unless you regulary hit the 6200 rpm range where the current 280 hp is (and the 298 will probably be slightly higher in the revs) you aren't going to benefit much. I haven't seen where there is a significant increase in torque. So except you are racing, you won't find much benefit from the power, but Infiniti will find it at the bank with the bigger HP number in sales.

I'd be more weight comes from the seats. Adding more motors (8way and 4way) plus the memory back for the walkout feature on the coupe will stack on a few more pounds. The pounds add up for each of the little additions too like the floor storage in the trunk, telescoping wheel, better transmission mounts...etc....

The 18 hp seems to be coming from variable valve timing on the exhaust and lighter/stronger components, thus allowing higher revs while maintaining air flow (actually better with the variable exhaust timing).

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2004 G35 Coupe 6MT, Desert Platinum
1968 Chevy C10, never ending hobby

 

For the 0-60 fanatics, it's going to be notable, having 7000 rpm. Redline is 6600 right now, which equals 58 mph (I respect Nissan for picking the right ratios rather than chasing numbers). But on the new car, same ratios, 7K means one less shift to get to sixty, and I'll bet, based on current results (the quarter at 100 mph), that the car will do the quarter with one less shift as well, thus reducing both times through less shifts (time spent without acceleration). With more ratios than the AT, the driver can more easily avoid spending time in the basement rpms, so the torque sacrifice will not be felt when really pushing it. Where you might notice it is in 6th gear roll-on on the highway, with the ac blowing. A bit more work for the driver, but well worth the added flexibility of 400 rpm and more power. The one thing that can be said with certainty about the 19s- the tires will cost more, and the tires are already pretty dear.
I'm excited about the changes- time to talk to the dealer about a deposit.

Cheers,
Derek

DB

 

Oh yeah, and putting vvt on the exhaust side is big. It will mean there is a lot more power to tap into now, and Infiniti is serious about playing with the Teutons (who at the top of their game are using vvt on both sides of the cyl without exception). Not having seen the curves, I'm willing to bet that the area under the torque curve for the new "reduced torque peak 298 hp/260lb.ft" engine is at least as big, if not bigger than the old engine, due to the gains from vvt on the "blow" side.

DB