I was just watching the Best Motoring Vol. 6 350Z SHOCK and they were doing a parts inspection between a Z and G35 sedan. They pointed out that the Z has 2 underbody braces that the G35 sedan does not have. Of which made me really curious and want to see if those braces fit our sedans. For those who don't know what a brace will do it enhances rigidity basically.

Ok, so the first is in the front under the engine sort of and I believe is called the A-brace which has tubuluar sections and heavy duty welds. The 2nd is the brace on the front part of the rear suspension. That is so called the M-brace I believe because it is M-shaped. I believe our cars will have clearance for those braces and I'll try and look later on. Sorry but I can't check my car at this moment. Anybody else wanna give it a look and guesstimate clearance issues? I'm all game to increase rigidity and I hope other members are also.

I think these two parts along with perhaps a Z suspension swap, or G35 Coupe suspension, should benefit handling quite nicely or greatly. From reading other members comments on how the Z suspension helps liven or sharpen handling I'm very excited. I still haven't test driven a Z myself to see if the suspension is bearable for my tastes.

Well anybody have any comments?

On another note I feel that my sedan doesn't handle or "turn" nicely as I would like or imagined. I have a 5AT sport so no LSD. Let's say I'm taking a sharp curve and I feel my car roll, quite a bit, and I'm somewhat at the limit but can push it harder to swing the end around. Yet right at that point it doesnt have a gripping feel yet feels like it wants to slide right from me. I'm also not all the way on the gas either. I know some of you might just say it's normal "drift" or slide action but I'm looking or hoping for flatter grip which doesn't slide unless I'm smashing the pedal. I'm not pushing the pedal down all the way or far either. My new tires (235/45/17 Kumho Ecsta 711 - so far seem crappy dry grip wise) suck but this feeling sucks even more. I had just driven a loaner premium model, non-sport, with original tire size and it felt well more balanced through a turn. I felt like it didn't roll as much as my sport. ODD isn't it. Remember this is my impression so don't rag on me. I feel crappy and want to swap out suspensions for the 04 Z's or Coupe's. Has anybody else felt this, just curious?

 

i might be getting rid of my z suspension soon if you want to see what no body roll feels like much better

as for the braces, i think this was brought up before and they couldnt fit. but maybe they were wrong. hopefully. =)

 

I have an 05 X and I think the handling is quite good stock. Can it be improved? Sure, if you want to sacrifice ride quality. I added 18s with 245/40s and the car handles worlds better while still maintaining a near factory ride. Drifting this car is a blast. Just when the rear starts to break loose, the front comes into play and pulls the car through the corner. Another thing you need to seriously think of when using performance rubber is street and tire temperature. If it is cold out, say less than 40 degrees, performance tires start to suffer grip-wise. The same goes for warm temps. When it is hot out, the tires stick really well and perform their best. If you don't mind sacrificing ride quality, I'd say get some springs and better shocks and lower it. I'm not ready to go that route right now though. My car just hit 1000 miles so it is almost time to see what I can really do with it.

 

Nuttyprof, why are you getting rid of your Z suspension?

 

gonna throw on some coilovers. i finally have enough for them so its time to try out something new =)