Great Q50 3.0t POV video, nice sound

[JayG35]

Found this recently posted video. I love POV vids of interesting cars.



I rented a Q60 with this motor last year and it was by far the most impressive part of the car. Everything else was nice, styling especially, if a bit dated. Bose stereo was the best I've experienced in a Nissan product, up there with some Harmon Kardon in recent BMWs and Mercedes. But my god, that engine. It's silky smooth, even better than the VQ30DE. It makes torque anywhere, and I noticed no lag, ever. 30 mpg highway all day, which is what I get in my 3.5 Altima, a car that is down at least 50 hp and ft/lb to this beast (dynos show it to be underrated!). I drove the thing for a thousand miles and wanted more!

So the steering and transmission are mediocre, whatever. The engine is so good that they could put it in future Infiniti products well into the 2020s and be competitive. But something tells me with the strong insider rumors that Infiniti is going full retard into being an all-FWD and all-CVT brand, well what can I say. Ghosn and his yes men seem content to make the Q50/60 we have today the final RWD Nissan/Infiniti cars, and the only ones to enjoy the great VR30DDTT.

[palmerwmd]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the car!
And that the new engine is a success!

surprised you were unimpressed by the handling.. I always found this class of Infiniti quite competitive even dominating its peers in that dept.
but its been a few years since I drove one.

Still beautiful cars... infiniti is not changing the cars every 3-4 years like the comeption that means they cna amortize development costs better and so offer us more car for the money.

Good mpg in combination with gobs of power is also awesome!

[Mike_TX]

I haven't driven the car, and I'm sure it's smooth and powerful-feeling, but only 300hp and a 0-60 of only 6 sec. from a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter?

Those are numbers I'd expect from a naturally-aspirated engine of about the same size. I'm not aware of any 3.0-lter NA engines for direct comparison, but lots of cars with 3.5-liter NA engines can match that or beat it. And everyone nowadays has a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder that can also beat it.

So I guess I'm a little disappointed that strapping two turbochargers to a 3.0-liter V6 gets you only average hp and performance.

Audi's 3.0-liter (with a single turbo), for example, gets 354 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque @ 1,300-4,500 RPM, and will do 0-60 in a touch over 5 sec. The Stinger 3.3-liter twin-turbo, with 365 hp, will do it in 4.4 sec. Although a straight 6, the BMW M3 3.0-liter makes 425 hp and does 0-60 in 4 sec flat. And so on.

I would have liked to see the Infiniti motor make 50 more hp and push the Q50 to 60 in something more like 5.5 sec or less. This was a great opportunity to make impressive power, and they settled for mid-pack.

[NissLover]

I haven't driven the car, and I'm sure it's smooth and powerful-feeling, but only 300hp and a 0-60 of only 6 sec. from a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter?

Those are numbers I'd expect from a naturally-aspirated engine of about the same size. I'm not aware of any 3.0-lter NA engines for direct comparison, but lots of cars with 3.5-liter NA engines can match that or beat it. And everyone nowadays has a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder that can also beat it.

So I guess I'm a little disappointed that strapping two turbochargers to a 3.0-liter V6 gets you only average hp and performance.

Audi's 3.0-liter (with a single turbo), for example, gets 354 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque @ 1,300-4,500 RPM, and will do 0-60 in a touch over 5 sec. The Stinger 3.3-liter twin-turbo, with 365 hp, will do it in 4.4 sec. Although a straight 6, the BMW M3 3.0-liter makes 425 hp and does 0-60 in 4 sec flat. And so on.

I would have liked to see the Infiniti motor make 50 more hp and push the Q50 to 60 in something more like 5.5 sec or less. This was a great opportunity to make impressive power, and they settled for mid-pack.

Where are you getting 0-60 in 6 seconds from? Its more like low 5 seconds and pretty much matches or bests the performance of the VQ37 in the Q50. The Red Sport is good for 4.4-4.5 seconds. As Jay said both of the tunes of this engine are underrated.

And I am a little salty... okay VERY salty about the shift to FWD platforms, but they never said they would offer only FWD cars. I think Infiniti is going to adapt an Audi like model and be mostly AWD, except maybe low end models. I'll definitely miss the proportions of RWD... I really will, but going AWD is not really a hit to performance. And we have to take into account these things are going to have gobs of torque with the electrified powertrains. As far as CVTs... I REALLY hope they leave that to the more family oriented SUVs. Its perfectly fine in the QX50 and QX60 and maybe the future QX30... but please leave them out the cars. But I do recall an article from a major media outlet mentioning that Infiniti is working on a conventional transmission to work with the VC-Turbo. I think it was Motor Trend... I'll try and find it.

I don't think they will get rid of the VR30TT, it's just too damn good... if you think about it, Infiniti can cover all of the bases they need with the VR and VC, especially when you think about the addition of electric power. The VC could effectively take the place of the old VQ and the VR is pretty stout and already making close to VK56 power. Pair it with an electric motor and it will surpass the VK56 in power and torque.

Again, I HATE that they are shifting away from RWD platforms, but I'm open to a new kind of fun with electrified powertrains and the instant torque they will bring and pairing that with AWD. And if the Q Inspiration is and sign of what they'll look like, I think I'll still be an Infiniti fan... times are just changing. And there is Ghosn and his wishes too... When does he retire?

In regards to the current Q50/60... I had a Q50 for a loaner while my G was in for something, although it was a 3.7. I thought the car handled and drove VERY well compared to my G and it wasn't a sport either. The G is much more raw in feeling, but I definitely felt more confident when taking a turn in the Q50 and the speedometer confirmed I was taking turns quicker. I love my G (6-spd definitely helps) but I don't think it is the better handling car of the two. It's just stupid fun. I have pondered on eventually trading it in for a Red Sport... but I just can't give up the manual... I just may keep it forever as a second car. I haven't driven a Q50 with DAS yet, so I can't comment there. But I think the BIGGEST mistake Infiniti made with the Q50/60 is the run-flat tires. Many have mentioned that better tires makes a world of difference with these cars.

[Mike_TX]

Where are you getting 0-60 in 6 seconds from? Its more like low 5 seconds and pretty much matches or bests the performance of the VQ37 in the Q50. The Red Sport is good for 4.4-4.5 seconds. As Jay said both of the tunes of this engine are underrated.

From the above video.

Q50.JPG

If it will really do 4.4 - 4.5, it IS underrated, since you ain't gonna get those times from a 300hp car that weighs in like this one. It would need another 50 or more ponies to make those times, or a really short rearend.

[NissLover]

Yeah, I saw that after I responded to the thread. Not sure why they have it as 6 seconds.

But no, the 300hp version of the 3.0tt will do 0-60 in the low 5 second range which is identical to the old 3.7. The 400hp version is the one that clocks 4.4-4.5 seconds to 60.

[Mike_TX]

Yeah, I saw that after I responded to the thread. Not sure why they have it as 6 seconds.

But no, the 300hp version of the 3.0tt will do 0-60 in the low 5 second range which is identical to the old 3.7. The 400hp version is the one that clocks 4.4-4.5 seconds to 60.

Yeah, that makes more sense.