'09 Nissan 370Z
When it comes to downshifting, I've come to the stark realization that I am genetically pre-disposed to lack heel-toe shifting ability. I wasn't born with it. A harsh reality, considering that I already had to accept the bitter fact that I lacked palms large enough to play center in the NBA, the sinewy legs of a marathon runner, or the hulking mass of NFL defensive lineman... I mean, come on; I'm Asian. Physically, we're built to win the Spelling Bee, not the MVP.
Driving, on the other hand, was supposed to be different. In the four-wheeled arena, skill, determination and dedication were supposed to be the great equalizer-not physical disposition. With practice, I would become one of the world's greatest... okay, B-list for sure. But all of those dreams were dashed when I tried my luck at performance downshifting and learned that, once again, I lack the necessary genes.
One never thinks about their gait. Unless they have really bad posture and look like they ought to be ringing the bells of Notre Dame, physical stance isn't much of a concern. Or so I thought. When I tried learning the dark art of the heel-toe-planting the inner edge of the ball/big toe of your right foot on the brake, while simultaneously attempting to tap the gas pedal with the same right foot along the opposite region that is the heel, all before releasing your left foot from the clutch-I noticed how contorted my leg would feel. It was like doing the splits. And no matter how much I stretched or tried my darnedest, the physical act of braking and angling my feet to throttle didn't feel natural... so much so, that I turned to Options videos to witness the activity. And that's where I had the epiphany; you had to be pigeon-toed.
Here I am, suffering an out-toe gait, a Charlie Chaplin-esque stance, trying to master what is essentially impossible for someone with my condition. Vaudeville, maybe. Heel-toe, hell no. Like dreams of a backboard-breaking slam dunk, finishing a 26.22 mile marathon or a bone-crushing QB sack, I would never be able to execute the flawless heel-toe. That is, until I drove the 370Z.
Available with the $3,000 Sports Package for the '09 370Z is a checklist typical of a sports car: Viscous LSD, forged wheels (Rays Engineering), Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tires, front and rear spoilers, larger brakes (Nissan) and SynchroRev Match. What Nissan forgot to do, was to italicize, bold, highlight and asterisk the last item. The understated SynchroRev is a feature that automatically rev-matches the engine speed to gear speed on a downshift. That awkward leg/foot gesture of blipping the throttle while braking? Nissan solved it.
Now when plowing into a corner, late with the brakes, all the out-toe population has to do is simply brake, downshift and drop the clutch, and the computer wizardry in the new Z calculates at exactly what rpm the engine should be, and revs to it. It's like magic... if magic were life-changing, awe-inspiring and 100% repeatable. The days of half-assed, heel-toe and over- or under-reving the motor, throwing off the delicate balance of a car during a downshift, is a thing of the past. What cell phones did to land lines, SynchroRev does to the heel-toe. Even commuting in thick traffic, the SynchroRev Match makes shuffling through gears a smoother, more livable experience. 405 freeway, do your worst.
The innovations in the 370Z don't end with the rev-match; the 3.7L VQ37VHR V-6 (of the G37) is 35% newer than the VQ35 it replaces. The new engine boasts Variable Valve Event and Lift (VVEL) that redlines at 7,500 rpm and puts out 332 hp at 7,000 rpm and 270 lb-ft of torque; an improvement of 26 hp and 2 lb-ft of torque over the latest VQ35. In 2NR fashion, we took the 370Z to the roller of MD Automotive's chassis dynamometer, and saw 287.3 whp and 236.5 lb-ft of torque-which, factoring in an approximate 17% drivetrain loss, verifies its claimed flywheel numbers.