Hello all,

Can I ask for opinions on the following?

Are you happy with the positioning of the Emergency Brake on your early Z car?

In the UK, we have traditionally called this the "Handbrake" ( is that true for Australia / New Zealand too? ) and I know in Japan it has mainly been known as the "Side Brake".

Some owners will realise that the positioning of the Emergency Brake on the right side of the trans tunnel ( from the viewpoint of the driver sitting in the car ) was the same for both Right Hand Drive and Left Hand Drive versions. As far as I am aware, the only time that the positioning was changed to the OTHER side of the tunnel was in Factory-built "Works" competition cars ( specifically, in SOME of the Works rally cars that were Left Hand Drive - but not all of them ). I think this was only performed on a handful of cars after the Works drivers complained.

As the owner of more than one RHD early Z car, I have always felt that the position of the handle on the right hand side of the tunnel was perfect. When I drove an LHD early Z car for the first time, I was shocked to find how awkwardly positioned the Emergency Brake seemed.

I have in the past owned a fair few non-Z LHD cars ( American, French, Italian, German ) and I think I remember that the handbrakes were usually centrally-mounted or were otherwise easy to get to and use effectively and sportingly ( especially for the odd handbrake-assisted turn ). The early Z cars seem to be unusual in the way that they kept the same position on both LHD and RHD cars.

What do you think?

Alan T.

Originally posted by HS30-H

Alfadog, is this the 'thin ice' that you mentioned? Am I going too far? I have to be honest, it is something that I've always pondered over. Now that I've heard Matsuo san talk so much of the inherited layout constrictions being RHD biased, its got me going again.

No, not at all! I was just commenting on your wordiness, trying as hard as you can not to offend anyone. :classic: job well done

Not to switch gears completely.... Almost a 'Where Are They Now' sort of note: I have a big brochure here on the G35 coupe. A "Hand-operated parking brake on center console" is an OPTION on the 'sporty' version with a MT and the big brakes and wheels. I assume it is pedal-mounted on other models, as it is not visible in the pictures. BTW, it is mounted on the LEFT side of the console, next to the driver's seat here in the States. Can anyone vouch for this location on a RHD version available elsewhere (assuming they exist)?

steve77

For the interest, the AUS delivered 350Z has the park brake handle on the passenger side of the tunnel.

So that would mean it is exactly as the S30 to hard to change over in orientation for difrent markets.

my2c

cheers

Steve :classic:

Surely these days the big auto manufacturers have a better handle ( excuse the pun ) on what kind of sales figures they expect for certain markets?

The point being that the 'expected' major market for the Z33 ( 99% certain to be correct, I would have thought ) was going to be LHD.

You'd have to assume that the designers of the Z33 thought that their placement of the handbrake in its production position ( closer to the driver than to the passenger in LHD form ) was ergonomically suited to its major market. Since they don't seem to have made TWO positions for the Handbrake for LHD or RHD use, then it is to be assumed that they went with the position that most suited the major - expected - market ( LHD, no? ).

This is the OPPOSITE situation to the S30-series Z. Matsuo san has clearly stated that they never EXPECTED to sell quite so many S30-series Z cars in the LHD market, and that he and his team designed the position of the Handbrake to suit the RHD version. They considered that the position of the Handbrake lever in the first LHD cars would not be enough of a problem to hamper its use. Strict cost-cutting dictated that the Handbrake would not be re-sited for the LHD market cars, so they had to have their Handbrakes in the RHD position by default.

Some car manufacturers still do the same thing - releasing models with certain details biased to one market's layout - but some DO reposition major controls such as Handbrake levers to suit LHD and RHD market versions. Handbrake positioning seems to be a very interesting example of cost-cutting and bias in certain models / markets.

Not sure how this applies to the G35 coupe. You might expect that a model such as this - with its expected huge sales in the LHD market? - would have a Handbrake lever position suited to that market. Anyone have pics of both RHD and LHD interiors of that model?

Alan T.

brake handle just visible. compliments to NISSAN AUSTRALIA.

cheers

Steve

G35coupe 6MT LHD model:

steve77

Thanks to both Steves ( sjcurtis and Zvoiture ).

I can see that the trans tunnel on the G35 Infiniti is very wide, and that the Handbrake lever is close to the driver. I would have thought the width of the trans tunnel would preclude them from leaving the lever in ONE configuration. Surely they must transpose it for the RHD and LHD versions? Anyone got a pic of the RHD version?

And we can see from sjcurtis' pic that the RHD Z33 has the Handbrake lever on the LEFT of the tunnel - just like the LHD. Says a lot - but I'm not 100% sure what!

Alan T.

Hi All,

Been away for a while so I've missed this thread..I've enjoyed reading it though!! Sorry to get back to the original thread but..

..a few things of interesting note.

The MX5 is a sportscar designed by the Japanese and they freely admit that it was designed for the US market. As a result the handbrake is on the LHS in a RHD Aussie car. As the thing is so small it really doesn't matter but one could also ask why they didn't move it over either..cost I guess.

I believe 240's in OZ never came with a rear sway bar but had the mounts there so you can retrofit a 260 one (apparently).

As another aside, the Aussies copied a car from the US (don't know which one) when they made one of the early Aussie produced cars.. I think it may have been the FJ Holden. In the first batch to be released they had copied it so exactly that they had the door lock on the LHS.... to cover their butts they said it was a "safety measure" that protected the driver from being hit by another car when they were locking the drivers door...seems that not all "handedness" is quite so easy to follow!!

The new Merc SLR McLaren has a right hand side mounted handbrake. This from a company (Merc) accustomed to building LHD cars but influenced here by a UK company (McLaren).

They must have studied this at length ! ! ! !

This is and was quite a popular thread. I finished reading it yesterday. Quite a bit of info on this one. Great stuff though. Real quick on the hand break(known as the emergency break here). I have never driven a RHD(would love to drive and own one though) so I don't have anything to compare, but the hand brake has never got in my way. You already knew that one.

This is off topic, but is an item about interior ergonomics that I have been wondering about for quite some time, but never brought it up. My girlfriend is 5'2" and she doesn't have a problem as much with the seat moving forward enough, but it is the seatbelt that gets here. She is quite small, probably similiar to the build of an average Japanese women. When she puts the drivers seat all the way forward she has a really hard time turning her body around to look behind her because the seatbelt is straining her from moving. Are the seatbelts longer on other import Z's or on the home market Z's or is something just funny about my seatbelt?

Take care,

Ben

The early Z's did not have automatic self-adjusting seatbelts.

Even I find myself somewhat "strapped" in when I adjust the seat and shoulder belts to where they will hold me.

2¢

Enrique

Over here, seatbelts seem to have varied in their supply.

My 1st 240, a 1973 UK model had inertia reel belts (3 pt system). A firends 1973 240 here in France has the same, another firends 1973 240 has a non-inertia system but still 3 pt but the lap-belt 'clip' together system.

My US imported 1972 240 had the 3 pt inertia system with the belt 'reserve' in the floor (as per the 280Z?) !

Did each importer fit belts in order to pass their countrys' laws at the time ? ie, In France (for example) the law insisted upon inertia belts after the end of 1972 ?

In the US, lap belts were popular - when did Zs start being supplied (by whom) with the 3 pt system ?

(Theory seems even more difficult to prove - I just looked up an image of an early French 240 - straight gear lever - which has the 3 pt inertia system !).