Here is the video that can be seen at www.Nissan370zNY.com that was filmed before the unveiling to the press tonight in New York city.  It contains a quick overview of the convertible 370z as well and the new 370z NISMO edition.

To me it really seems like Nissan has finally realized that owners want a bit more luxury in the convertibles that they have purchased.  This is apparent in the fact that they have made the coupe’s entire buffet of options available in the roadster version.  They also made the top 100% automatic by getting rid of the semi-annoying manual cowl latches on the 350z.  Another nice touch is the option to lower the top using only a button on the key fob.  After all isn’t real luxury having other people, or your car in this case, doing tasks for you?

There is no word yet on structural rigidity numbers or anything of that sort but it looks like Nissan has really taken its time with this car so the performance and solid feel should come close to matching that of the coupe.  I’ll let you know as soon as I get behind the wheel, hopefully headed somewhere sunny.

As for the NISMO edition, most speculators were predicting that the US car would resemble the S-Tune 370z that has been released in Japan.  They weren’t far off.  Luckily for us Nissan has toned down the styling a bit from the JDM S-Tune and thrown in some traces of the outgoing NISMO 350z styling cues.  The wheels look to be a slimmed spoked Sport Package wheel that doesn’t really knock my socks off, but who will really keep the stock wheels and tires on these things?

Now, onto the power.  Nissan claims in the short video above that the new NISMO is putting our 350 crank horsepower, some 27 over base.  Wicked.  I’m thinking that most of this new found oomph is found through refined “cam” timing and possibly small intake or exhaust modifications.  The word “cam” is in quotes because as you may know the new 370z engine, VQ37HVR, carries Nissan’s new VVEL technology which replaces standard camshafts with solenoids that car computer controlled to allow the car to have infinitely variable cam timing and lift.  A rundown of this technology can be found on 370z.com. Interesting stuff.

I’ll have more information for you on both models as it becomes available so keep coming back to ZCarBlog.com for your Z fix.  For now you’ll have to simply enjoy the pictures that I’ll be putting in the TWO posts above this one.  ZCG

EDIT: I put up our Birthday post above this one so that we could enjoy it for the rest of the day.  Happy Birthday ZCG.  WE LOVE YOU.

The photo and spec posts for the 370z and 370z convertible will be up tomorrow.  Have a great night.

EDIT 2:  Yes, I took the video on this post from our friends over at GTRblog.com’s Viddler channel.  There was no point in uploading it again.  Enjoy their watermark in the video and their awesome GT-R website.

The little touches that no one notices at first are sometimes the coolest modifications.  In this case a customer wanted the blinking side-marker lights off of the new 370z on his 350z.

Okay, no problem.  Well one problem.  The stock 350 “Z” non-flashing side emblems only use two small clips to locate the plastic part.  The new 370z flashing marker has cylindrical extrusion that is about 1.5 inches tall with a 1.5 inch diameter that needs to go through the fender and be wired to work properly.  We used a small hand saw to make the cut and everything turned out perfect.  The electrical connections simply required us to source which wire was the running light and which was the blinker and then the simple wiring changes were made.  All connections are a quick release style so that the new bulbs can be serviced when the time comes.

I’m not going to go into too much detail about how we secured the light because we need to be able to offer this as a service to customers.  I will mention that we used a couple of custom brackets to make sure that nothing moves around.  This modification is quite simple after all is said and done and I think that it bridges the gap between the new and old car nicely.  Added safety and style are always a good combination.

Please be careful if you are thinking about attempting this yourself because a new fender is not cheap from Nissan.  Feel free to contact us if you would like ZCG to handle it.  rob@zcargarage.com

See the video of the new parts flashing below!

So last night was the Hot Import Nights show in San Mateo, what a crazy event!   The HIN personnel always run a top notch event and everyone at the shop holds their crew in the highest regard.  The drifting was awesome, the cars were amazing, and the girls were…. well…. hot.  Grade A good times.  I took a few hundred pictures of the best the show had to offer and I should have them edited and up on the blog in the next few days.  I also was in touch with our friends over at PhotoShootMyCar.com and I should be getting some high quality footage from them as well in the near future.

Today (Sunday) we are heading down to Laguna Seca to observe the vintage 2.5 Trans-Am race.  We all love seeing Datsun 510s beat the crap out of old Alfas so it should be a good time, plus the weather looks like its going to be beautiful.  If you are in the area or plan on attending today stop by and say hello to your friendly ZCG crew.

On Friday we tested a new exhaust system and a few other familiar modifications to a 2008 350z with the VQ35HR engine and I will have pictures, dyno graphs, and a full report on the modifications up as soon as I get a chance.

Finally,  we have been getting a few parts from all over the world for the ZCG GT-R.  They are now starting to pile up and we want to get them onto the car ASAP.  Included are a new set of VOLK Racing track wheels (in 19″ so that we can finally get a decent track tire), an Aero Motions electronically adjustable rear wing, carbon fiber trunk, and the COBB Tuning sway bars that have been at the shop for what feels like months.

Sorry for the lack of pictures this morning but I am sorta in a hurry to prepare for heading to Laguna Seca.  Now please let me enjoy my weekend!!  ZCG

What a busy day here at ZCG.  We went to William’s Autobody around lunch today and took a few photos of the first exterior paintwork to be done to the RB28 240z.  The paint looks amazing and there are still more coats to go with tons of color sanding in between to make sure the finish is perfect.  I’ll have more photos soon!

Rob and I were also out driving the ZCG 370z and a white 240z that is here to get triple Mikunis (see above photo) and we decided to stop by the scales and weigh the newly acquired 370z.  The car tipped the scales at 3,320 lbs with no passengers and almost a full tank of gas.  Not too shabby.  (For reference the ZCG G35 Twin Turbo came in at 3,600 lbs.)

More to come tomorrow.  Long Live the Z

I was pointed towards a link on the Edmund’s Straightline Blog the other day that gives us a view into one of the 370z designer’s mind.  Randy Rodriguez penned the original 370z sketch and it turns out that he grabbed some inspiration from a few exotic Italian motorcycles.

While the 370z was in it’s early design phase Randy was piecing together a MV Agusta F4-750 and it is easy to see how one beautiful two-wheeled machine was able to lend a few design cues to a four-wheeled one.  There were also influences from a Ducati 749/999 upper triple clamp that was morphed into the final design of the sport-package wheel.  His MV Agusta motorcycle now sits behind his desk at Nissan Design America in San Diego when he isn’t out putting it through it’s paces.

Many of you know that we here at Z Car Garage ride motorcycles or have close ties to them and it is always nice to see our two passions come together in a car that we get to enjoy, the 370z.  In a side note, I’ve had the chance to own a few Ducatis and still own a 2006 749s, small world…

There are a couple more photos after the ‘read more’ including one of the Ducati 749s that I own.  Enjoy and thanks to Edmunds Insideline for the Nissan info and a few of the photos.

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