See the 2023 Nissan Z up close and in person at Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals

Sorta related, but I’ll get to drive the Z later this month. 

What do we want to know about it? 

How heavy does it feel? How fast does it heatsoak? Does the rear brace still make the cargo area unusable?

Also sorta related, my son is interested in possibly ordering/buying one. The Nissan dealerships either don't know anything about them, can't/won't take a deposit or say the Z will be $5K-$10K over sticker depending on demand. Good start. 

Chris Forsberg has already built a 2023 Z for Formula Drift with a ~1000hp VR38DETT. The car used is actually the third Nissan Z prototype and the first one outside of Nissan ownership. They got the car six weeks before the first round of Formula Drift and it made it's first move under it's own power on the Thursday practice day. It was actually remotely tuned while doing it's first practice runs, never even saw a chassis dyno. It made it into Top 8 before a mistake knocked him out, but already looks really competitive and settled for an all-new car.

NickD said:

Chris Forsberg has already built a 2023 Z for Formula Drift with a ~1000hp VR38DETT. The car used is actually the third Nissan Z prototype and the first one outside of Nissan ownership. They got the car six weeks before the first round of Formula Drift and it made it's first move under it's own power on the Thursday practice day. It was actually remotely tuned while doing it's first practice runs, never even saw a chassis dyno. It made it into Top 8 before a mistake knocked him out, but already looks really competitive and settled for an all-new car.

Chassis wise, this is basically an updated 370Z isn't it? The big headlines with the new car are the new engine and new styling. So if you swap the new engine for a known VR, and use known 370Z setup marks as your starting point, you'll probably feel pretty comfortable right off the trailer, and the only "all new" stuff is the exterior styling.

I saw two of these (white and yellow) at a hotel in the middle of Indiana the other morning. It seemed random, but may have been a press drive or something traveling on I65.

They were eye catching enough in the sea of vehicles for me to notice them from a few hundred yards away, so that's probably a good thing.

They've mentioned a mechanical limited slip before, so my questions would be more around the suspension.  Is camber/caster/toe adjustable on the front end?  What about the back end?

Steering feel? Is it still rather heavy without much feedback?

STM317 said:

NickD said:

Chris Forsberg has already built a 2023 Z for Formula Drift with a ~1000hp VR38DETT. The car used is actually the third Nissan Z prototype and the first one outside of Nissan ownership. They got the car six weeks before the first round of Formula Drift and it made it's first move under it's own power on the Thursday practice day. It was actually remotely tuned while doing it's first practice runs, never even saw a chassis dyno. It made it into Top 8 before a mistake knocked him out, but already looks really competitive and settled for an all-new car.

Chassis wise, this is basically an updated 370Z isn't it? The big headlines with the new car are the new engine and new styling. So if you swap the new engine for a known VR, and use known 370Z setup marks as your starting point, you'll probably feel pretty comfortable right off the trailer, and the only "all new" stuff is the exterior styling.

True. Still pretty impressive to throw together a fairly advanced car in 6 weeks and go rounds with it though. Guys with extremely skilled shops at their disposal have built much more proven combinations and still had the new car teething issues (James Deane's 2019 season 2JZ-powered S15 Silvia comes to mind)

David S. Wallens said:

Sorta related, but I’ll get to drive the Z later this month. 

What do we want to know about it? 

Does it need an oil cooler like the 370z? Does it need a rear diff cooler like the 350z? Is it fun to drive and will it be a better buy than the Supra? When will it be available? I'm guessing Nissan is going to do the Honda BS and drag the roll out of these cars to increase hype for the dealers to throw that "market adjustment" around. 

DirtyBird222 said:

will it be a better buy than the Supra? 

This.