Nissan is finally catching on! Good news for the next Z and Silvia/SX!

[exitspeed]

Nissan to cut weight by 15-percent by 2015

As enthusiasts, it's easy to get caught up in horsepower and torque figures, but weight remains the ultimate buzz kill for performance. The last twenty years has brought huge advances in technological and safety features, but the downside is that we've been tacking on the pounds in the process. Nissan has recognized this and is setting a course to rectify matters by attempting to lower the average weight of its vehicles by 15-percent in the next seven years when compared to its 2005 lineup.

Nissan's goal is to make use of more lightweight materials, rethink its vehicle design and get suppliers in on the action by setting efficiency targets for the parts they produce.

Considering the 350Z tips the scales at just under 3,517 pounds, which means Nissan is looking to shave just over 500 pounds from the coupe's curb weight. That's going to make for an impressive power-to-weight ratio and even more compelling driving dynamics. Hopefully, the cost of lightweight materials will decrease as their popularity grows and it won't be too long before carbon fiber begins to find its way into more mainstream automobiles.

[Source: DowJones]

[DreamN]

Nice! A sub 3,000 pound Z would be the shit!

[KiLLeR2001]

Nice, go Nissan!

ps. I saw that ninja edit you made on the thread title :)

[steve shadows]

yeah for the love of god its such a heavy pig

[statik]

that is good to hear, I would gladly take a sub 3,000lb 350Z-esque vehicle

[exitspeed]

Just speculation, but I think that would mean a Silvia/SX would be back down in the 2700lb range.

[0100]

That would be awesome. I just don't ever see it happening with all the safety needs now a days. The GTR uses lot's of aluminum and cf yet it's still heavy. If they could drop 500 off of the GTR I think it could launch to the moon if it wanted to.

[exitspeed]

That would be awesome. I just don't ever see it happening with all the safety needs now a days. The GTR uses lot's of aluminum and cf yet it's still heavy. If they could drop 500 off of the GTR I think it could launch to the moon if it wanted to.

Er, that's why they didn't say "by next year". They need some time to make it happen.

[usdm180sx]

That would be awesome. I just don't ever see it happening with all the safety needs now a days. The GTR uses lot's of aluminum and cf yet it's still heavy. If they could drop 500 off of the GTR I think it could launch to the moon if it wanted to.

That's because the GT-R is AWD. It can be done. Look at the s15 and the FD Rx-7 they weighed in at ~2700lbs.

[0100]

You are talking about 10+ year old vehicle and a non us market vehicle. I really hope it does happen I just don't see it. Cost of the cars will also sky rocket.

[exitspeed]

You are talking about 10+ year old vehicle and a non us market vehicle. I really hope it does happen I just don't see it. Cost of the cars will also sky rocket.

You'd be surprised. For instance to make EVERY car in the world a flex fuel car would only raise the cost of the vehicle by $100.

[Farzam]

Nissan is pretty awesome

Maybe they'll also give fat Nissan owners a diet plan.

[Dutchmalmiss]

Nissan is pretty awesome

Maybe they'll also give fat Nissan owners a diet plan.

Haha

FREE NISSAN TOFU BURGERS WHEN YOU BUY THE NEW SILVIA!

[Koopa Troopa]

About fucking time.. The weights of modern cars has become ridiculous.

[ronmcdon]

Given the state of things, I'm highly skepticle of this. Cutting out 15% of a car's weight is a lot. 3 main ways I can think of doing this is by using lighter materials, skimping out on standard options, or skimping out on the safety/emissions junk.

There's no way Nissan can skimp out on the safety/emissions stuff. Using lightweight materials is also out of the question given the higher cost of aluminum and maybe cf. The economy isn't all that great either, so I really doubt the US market would find a Z with a $5-$10k premium all that appealing. Last thing is ditching most of the options like power windows, rear seats, sound deadening, etc. Its also not all that practacle from a business point of view.

IMO, it would seem a lot easier just to redesign the Z entirely to be something more along the lines in dimension to the Silvia, and use LESS materials. How the heck did it get to 3,500 lbs anyhow? This is why I would never consider a Z33. Excessive platform sharing does have it's compromises. Makes my GD8 Impreza seem lightweight in comparison.

[exitspeed]

^
You do realize that auto makers have divisions that do nothing but design for the future. And I'm not talking about the next Z, or even the next next Z, but the one after that. The tech that goes into that car is being developed RIGHT NOW. I happen to know someone who's worked for Hynda i for 20 years and is the head of the advanced products devision. I spoke with him a few months back about the V8 that they are developing. He told me he hasn't worked on development of that engine in over TEN YEARS. And we're just seeing that engine NOW. He also gave me some crazy insight about the batteries being used in future hybrids. Basically, in a nut shell, he said the manufacturers of those batteries have hardly been able to make them better in the last 10 years, and the technology is advancing VERY slowly.

Look at what GM is doing with smart materials. Go read up on it. Once you do, you'll understand there's a LOT more going on then what we (consumers) are told about. Hell GM has been using these materials without even the media knowing. From the finger tips of John McElroy "For example, on the Malibu Maxx it used a process called quick plastic forming to make the rear steel hatch. This cut weight and cost and was in production for nearly two years before any of its competitors, or us in the media, caught on.". Sure GM is quickly going to have a patent on this stuff, but they won't have a problem selling it to everyone. No problem at all.

What I'm saying is your being too narrow sighted. Your thinking 2010, when the manufacturers are thinking 2015+.

No company is also going to go public with a target of something like this when they KNOW it's not possible. That would be retarded. Just look at the recent CAFE regulations. You didn't hear a damn Co say "we're gonna meet the 35mpg whether they make it a regulation or not!". Nope. What I'm getting at is, if they say they can do it, they probably can. If they say they can't...well they probably can, but don't want to due to cost (not on our end...theirs. ;) )

[ronmcdon]

From the article excerpt, i got the impression that automakers were trying to reduce weight, and one the methods was to introduce more carbon-fiber. I would be skeptical of that (unless somehow the cost of cf went down substantially).

Now if it's use of something like futuristic plastics, then that would be plausible and a good idea.

[muddafakka]

This is very good news.

[98s14inaz]

Yaaaaay more Styrofoam.

[atom]

From the article excerpt, i got the impression that automakers were trying to reduce weight, and one the methods was to introduce more carbon-fiber. I would be skeptical of that (unless somehow the cost of cf went down substantially).

Now if it's use of something like futuristic plastics, then that would be plausible and a good idea.

Well CF is only as expensive as it is because it's not a mass produced product. The basic raw materials to make CF and the resisns/epoxys are not "rare". If the entire automotive industry moved towards CF or some other composite and helped facilitate the production of the materials the price would drop a lot.

[murda-c]

They'll probably just build a microcompact that weighs 2000 lbs.

[BOROSUN]

nissan is also placing a new warning sticker/labels that hinders performance and mpg.
http://www.tuningstickers.nl/catalog/images/Nofatchicks.jpg

[mademedoit]

The wiring for modern cars is a lot, I remember hearing that a Mercedes sl600 has over 700lbs of wiring. Maybe a single fiber-optic wire could do the work of many copper wires.

[Dutchmalmiss]

The wiring for modern cars is a lot, I remember hearing that a Mercedes sl600 has over 700lbs of wiring. Maybe a single fiber-optic wire could do the work of many copper wires.

Wow 700 doesn't sound right. I'm sure that includes the devices as well. Copper is still used because it's cheap and effective. One broadband wire would be awesome with splitters at the ends.

[usdm180sx]

sounds like 10 years ago was waaay better (and lighter too)

[Irukandji]

Z's are so fat. Ugh

[EDacIouSX]

Given the state of things, I'm highly skepticle of this. Cutting out 15% of a car's weight is a lot. 3 main ways I can think of doing this is by using lighter materials, skimping out on standard options, or skimping out on the safety/emissions junk.

It can be done... computers used to take up a whole room just so they can do 5x5. now, that same computer fits in the palm of my hand. It's all about efficiency.


There's no way Nissan can skimp out on the safety/emissions stuff. Using lightweight materials is also out of the question given the higher cost of aluminum and maybe cf. The economy isn't all that great either, so I really doubt the US market would find a Z with a $5-$10k premium all that appealing. Last thing is ditching most of the options like power windows, rear seats, sound deadening, etc. Its also not all that practacle from a business point of view.

You're right, they might not be able to skimp out on some things like safety and emissions equiment, but things can get lighter. I've noticed s air bags are huge and newer cars have super tiny air bags. As for ditching options like power windows, rear seats, sound deadening, etc... have you ever heard of Top Line and Bottom Line? Companies want to increase income while cutting costs. If there's a demand for cars without power windows, power door locks, power steering or whatever, then it's in the companies interest to produce that brand if it will bring them income.

Besides, when there's a will there's a way. One good way to cut costs for a lot of these things you are mentioning is with utilizing nano-tech. Of course, nano-tech isn't highly used right now but it's a technology that needs more research and will yield results. One way or another, nissan will find a new method, whether discovering a better and cheaper way to forge titanium, they'll cut 15% weight off easily by their dead line. Assuming, they really want to cut weight.

IMO, it would seem a lot easier just to redesign the Z entirely to be something more along the lines in dimension to the Silvia, and use LESS materials. How the heck did it get to 3,500 lbs anyhow? This is why I would never consider a Z33. Excessive platform sharing does have it's compromises. Makes my GD8 Impreza seem lightweight in comparison.

I think the car's too damn heavy too, but why would they want to make it more like a S chasis car? The brand, Z's, are aimed at a different market segment than the S cars were.

The economy isn't all that great either

First of all....... If the economy's so damn bad, then why is it we're still #1 on GDP? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)

And ontop of that, take a look at the Down Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ graphs over time.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=^DJI&t=my
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nasdaq_historical_graph.svg
(I hope I don't have to explain the spike in the NASDAQ graph but just in case, Dot Com boom)

Both charts show an positive slope, a general upward trend.

Here's the national unemployment rate from 1950-2006

http://www.swivel.com/graphs/show/1252135
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/j/jensena/sfp/us/US-UR-50.htm

For employment rate, you don't really want anything much lower than 3% or higher than 5%. Why? Because 0% unemployment means several things. It means that the labor force isnt big enough, the economy wants to expand but it can't, people aren't changing jobs (the unemployment rate increases because people are quitting their old jobs and moving to new and better jobs). Oh, BTW, unemployment during the great depression was roughly 25%. Still much lower than other countries in the world.





Anyway, basically i'm trying to say two things. Technology and time can make cars lighter and the united states economy is doing WELL. I took a lot of time to write this response here so I hope you can now begin to understand that 15% weight reduction is feasible and that the United States Economy is doing well.

[bamaboy]

cheap and effective

News flash, copper is expensive as shit. Why do you think scrapers are giving you close to $3 a pound for that shit, some times more.

[EDacIouSX]

Well CF is only as expensive as it is because it's not a mass produced product. The basic raw materials to make CF and the resisns/epoxys are not "rare". If the entire automotive industry moved towards CF or some other composite and helped facilitate the production of the materials the price would drop a lot.


EXACTLY... you basically described the Demand and Supply curve. High demand, low supply yields high price.

Often people say that Rotary engines are hard and expensive to work on. Usually I tell them to imagine the world with 95% of the cars powered by rotary engines and the other 5% powered by four stroke engines (SRs, KAs, RBs, ETC) With a situation like this, obviously there would be a high supply of rotary mechanics and a low supply of four stroke engine mechanics...

[Matej]

I heard Nissan plans to start using fat-free oils in their cars.

[S13Boosts]

wow thats great to hear!:2f2f:

[0100]

sounds like 10 years ago was waaay better (and lighter too)

I agree with that! Lot of very cool light sport cars and can be had cheap.

The original 240z (no electronic or safety crap) was/is 2300 lbs. Man the Z gained some serious weight. Nissan is finally realizing it and getting it's fat ass on the treadmill.