2023 Nissan Z – What Really Changed Under the Skin - gallery

You’ll be surprised to know just what happened below the skin to make the Nissan Z so new that it will drive better than any Z car that came before it.

400 HP and 350 LB-FT - identical figures to those of the Q60 Red Sport 400, but this isn't your typical engine swap

In short, Nissan figured out how to route unused boost from the turbos back to the inlet side of the turbine whenever the throttle is released. This keeps the turbo spooled and ready to the second you’re back on the throttle.

Nissan took a play out of Ferrari's playbook to extract as much power out of the engine's turbochargers as possible.

A turbine speed sensor like that found in the 488 Pista and now the 2022 Nissan Z can tell the car’s engine control unit exactly how hard the turbo is working.

This means that engineers can extract as much as possible out of each turbo without the risk of damage, so no loss of potential.

For those of you that want a new Nissan Z with an automatic transmission, then I’m sorry to tell you, but it’ll be the same 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic found in Nissan’s pickup line

The transmission case is completely different, with the Z’s transmission hardware being housed inside a new, lightweight magnesium case.

This new case sheds a total of 44 pounds of weight – something that helps to offset the weight added by the turbos and their related intake plumbing.

the updated manual transmission found in the Nissan Z features a somewhat rare technology that was also found in the R34: a dual-mass flywheel with a pendulum-type torsional vibration absorber.

It essentially returns absorbed energy to the powertrain instead of dissipating it as heat as would be the case with a mass damper. The gimmick here is that this is a very rare thing to find as part of a manual transmission

As was the case with the 370Z, the platform has evolved to make that core hardware better than ever before. This means that the new Z will be not only more capable than the 370Z but also stronger and safer.

Evolution of the Z’s platform started with new upper crash-energy load paths, a new upper radiator support, new strut-tower brace, and new firewall bracing.

. In the rear, Nissan engineers reinforced the entire rear hatch as well as the hatch opening and the area above the rear suspension cradle. All of this leads to an increase of 10.8-percent in torsional rigidity and 23.9-percent in overall body rigidity.

This all means that the Nissan Z will be capable of improved handling and providing a more direct feel to the driver with less body or structure flex.

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