Datsun-240z Vs Fairlady-z432

[calvinhg]

Z car all the way! Love it's bodystyle, the front end, the rear... Given the choice, I would always choose the Z (which is why I'm in this forum and not in a Ferrari one, like most of us ).

I've never really liked Ferrari anyway. I guess I have a bit of bias.

[26th-Z]

Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, 1975, Jack May and Rick Cline, 35 hours: 53 minutes in a Ferrari 246 Dino.  Nice Ferrari.  Nicer HS30-H, Kats!

[kats]

Thank you everyone , I am glad that you like Dino but even more love Z .

Dino has GT in its name but  it is more like a racing car . ZG does not have GT in its name but it is a GT , if I was driving from LA to NY , I would take ZG for the journey.

Kats

[bartsscooterservice]

Nice pictures Kats...

I feel the biggest mistake is giving the US 240Z a 4 speed, it would have much more potential and top speed with a 5 speed wide ratio gearbox...

Everytime I drive my 240Z in the modern traffic around 80 mph and after that the engine is allready making to much rpm to be cruising @ a higher speed...  so really missing another extra overdrive gear here :(

[Gav240z]

I'm not sure why the US market got stiffed with a 4 speed box. AU market cars were all 5 speeds from the beginning.

[bartsscooterservice]

1 hour ago, Gav240z said:

I'm not sure why the US market got stiffed with a 4 speed box. AU market cars were all 5 speeds from the beginning.

Good question ?

[240260280]

Ask Mr Matsuo at ZCON!!! (Why USA got 4sp in 1970)   @SteveJ

[240Ziggy]

Ask Mr Matsuo at ZCON!!! (Why USA got 4sp in 1970)   [mention=4648]SteveJ[/mention]

According on January 1970 R&T issue, it was optional. I remember when i was in the northern part of NY state buying body panels from a 240Z parts car, the guy had a low numbered car somewhere in the 6XXs that had an original 5 speed. He even mentioned the correct stamped number on it that i don"t recall. But i don't know to beleive it or not.


Sent from my [device_name] using http://Classic Zcar Club mobile

[kats]

Thank you everyone, me too , why ? 

I remember there was an interesting interview of Nissan engineers with journalists  in a magazine .The engineers said something about “ feeling of Porche type synchronized shift “ , maybe they were afraid of having claims in the US ?

They said the point is F4W71A is a Warner type  which has good “ snap “ when shift gears , on the other hand , FS5C71A is a Porsche type which has “ push and squeeze “ feeling which some people don’t like it .

I willl check when I am home .

Kats 

 

 

 

 

[Patcon]

If I heard the translation correctly tonight, Matsuo San said that he didn't think Americans would want to row a 5 speed so we got the 4 speed instead

[bartsscooterservice]

That's crazy lol, the car would have much more potential with a good 5 speed ( overdrive ). Although the 4 speed is pretty damn wide ratio, it's lacking in giving the car a proper top speed.

I mean okay you can pull it to 190/200 km/h in a sprint and max out the rpm, but for continues driving at high speed it just isn't suitable.. you really need an overdrive here.

Offcourse I have to consider back in the day 120 mph was alot

[HS30-H]

4 hours ago, bartsscooterservice said:

That's crazy lol, the car would have much more potential with a good 5 speed ( overdrive ). Although the 4 speed is pretty damn wide ratio, it's lacking in giving the car a proper top speed.

I mean okay you can pull it to 190/200 km/h in a sprint and max out the rpm, but for continues driving at high speed it just isn't suitable.. you really need an overdrive here.

Offcourse I have to consider back in the day 120 mph was alot

Not much point in mentioning transmissions types/ratios without reference to the differential ratios they were paired with.

In the markets where a 5-speed overdrive type transmission was standard equipment, a 4-speed was offered as a 'showroom option'. It would require a diff ratio change to make it work as intended. However, I very much doubt that such options were taken up in practice except perhaps in Japan, where the selling dealers had a more realistic chance of fulfilling such an order, but then Japanese buyers had the choice of both 4-speed and 5-speed equipped models on the showroom floor anyway. In contrast, here in the UK it was a case of choosing from whatever had actually turned up on the boat... ("do you want the red one or the blue one...?"). The 4-speed was theoretically an option, but I can't imagine why anyone would select that option. They would have been better off buying a Cedric or a Laurel.

When I have asked the "why 4-speed + 3.3:1 diff for north America" question in Japan - including putting the question to Chief Chassis Engineer Mr Hitoshi Uemura - the answer was usually that the driving style of the average north American market customer was perceived as being less 'sporting' than those in other markets, and that a wide ratio 4-speed transmission with a tall differential ratio would be more suitable for the vast majority of such buyers. Cost would also have been a major factor in planning. There are other details on early cars which show the initial cost-cutting focused planning for the north American market Export models. So it was likely a combination of both.

Without wishing to insult, reading between the lines it seems clear that the USA mass market in particular was seen as being less sophisticated, less inclined to live with more frequent gear changes and higher RPM cruising speeds, and that the arch enthusiasts who did require that type of sporting character would be happy to modify their cars to suit (and it appears they did). All the same, it would have been nice to see a more sports-focused model available alongside the 'standard' north American Export model. Something along the lines of Car and Driver Magazine's 'Omega Z', perhaps...?