Nissan Silvia (1965)
Publication: Car Graphic
Format: Road Impression
Date: May 1965
Author: Keiichiro Ichikawa
Conclusions from a 1,000km Road Test
Now, as I sit down to put together this test report on the Silvia, I feel that I have come to understand its “character” completely. That is because I have driven it to my heart’s content through crowded city streets, over the rough and uneven roads of Chiba and Ibaraki Prefectures, and along the winding roads that follow the ridges of Hakone and Izu.
I believe it is roads that change the performance and design of automobiles. When the Meishin Expressway opened, it took on something of the character of a joint test course for Japan’s automobile manufacturers, and proved of considerable value particularly in the study of high-speed driving. But with its 100km/h speed limit, the Meishin is no longer of much use. We have already entered an age in which driving at 100mph is taken for granted.
The Silvia, whose catalog gives a maximum speed of 165km/h, demonstrated outstanding high-speed performance at the Yatabe Automotive High-Speed Test Course, designed for speeds of 190km/h, reaching just short of 180km/h. And rough, badly surfaced roads that a Fairlady 1500 would probably find impossible to manage present no difficulty at all for the Silvia.
With that, let us turn to the main part of my test report on the Silvia as a “100-mile car.”
Easy-to-Use Servo-Type Synchromesh
The Silvia’s most distinctive feature is its servo synchromesh. This is an excellent synchromesh mechanism patented by Porsche of West Germany and made available for use in Nissan cars through a technical cooperation agreement. The transmission, with four forward speeds and one reverse, can be used entirely according to the driver’s will. Upshifts and downshifts can be made freely and quickly; indeed, not once did I manage to make the gears protest.
The short shift lever projecting from the floor is topped by a somewhat large knob. With this nearly vertical lever free to be manipulated as desired, one can readily select the appropriate gear at any speed from zero to 100mph. In particular, I found myself using first gear at least twice as often as I normally had before. Most of this additional use came in downshifting: shifting from second into first and using engine braking to scrub off speed proved extremely effective.
If I had to find fault, the shift lever, positioned between the console and the armrest box, could be moved another 20-30mm forward. I am 170cm tall and drive with the driver’s seat slid fully back and the backrest reclined one or two notches beyond its normal position, yet even then I felt that the lever should be a little farther forward, to place it more naturally within reach of the right hand from the steering wheel.
The Silvia is a car in which one can drive in a relaxed posture, with the arms extended to hold both the steering wheel and the shift lever, and the legs also nearly straight to operate the pedals. This is less tiring and particularly well suited to long-distance driving.
Apart from the black vinyl leather covering the instrument panel, the interior trim and seats are all finished in white vinyl leather. They are prone to showing dirt. Unless cleaned at least once a month, they are likely to become noticeably dirty. I would also like to see headrests fitted to the tops of the seat backs.
Impressions at a Maximum Speed of “178km/h”
When I tried a full-throttle run at the Yatabe High-Speed Test Course, the Silvia’s speedometer, which is scaled up to 180km/h, indicated 178km/h. This was confirmed by Mr. C, a Nissan representative riding in the passenger seat, and I was able to read it clearly myself.
Incidentally, we also timed a full-throttle lap of this 5500m course with two stopwatches, completing it in exactly 1 minute 54 seconds. This works out to 48.245m per second, 2894.7m per minute, and 173.682km/h. In other words, we had averaged nearly 174km/h around this course, with its large banked curves at the north and south ends. In this case, the maximum speed on the straights could naturally be expected to reach 180km/h. I distinctly remember that on the straight the white needle was pointing to the line immediately before the 180 mark. At this speed, of course, the tachometer was into the red zone, and the engine must have been turning at around 6700rpm.
In any case, this is an engine that picks up revs readily: in first and second, pressing the accelerator only lightly would send it spinning to around 7000rpm in an instant. I had ample opportunity to experience the capabilities of this highly oversquare, high-speed engine.
At 170-180km/h—in other words, above 100mph—I would rate the Silvia’s road behavior at no less than 80 points out of 100. Despite having a suspension supple enough to deal with rough roads so well, even at more than 100mph on newly laid concrete pavement there is no sense at all of the car lifting; if anything, it seems to settle down lower, and remains remarkably stable. This excellent high-speed stability is exactly what makes an average lap speed of approximately 174km/h possible.
At more than 100mph, the sight of the Silvia at speed is truly impressive.
Seen from a distance, there is something about it that brings to mind a small Carrera. And the Bridgestone racing tires fitted for safety on the day of the test, along with the black-painted wheels on which they were mounted, suit the car remarkably well. Compared with running on whitewall tires and glittering wheel covers, they give it a much more masculine and forceful appearance. It is a car that displays a hard-edged manner on the road, filled with a sense of speed, and quite at odds with the name “Silvia.”
The Nardi-like wood-rimmed steering wheel, with its three aluminum spokes, not only looks smart but also adds considerably to the sporting atmosphere. It is unfortunate, however, that the previous wooden shift-lever knob, which was the same color as the steering wheel, has been replaced on the production model by one of black-painted ebonite. I hope the manufacturing technique needed to return to the wooden knob can soon be perfected.
The body showed almost no signs of disturbance at 100mph, although at the southeast corner of the course (where the surface finish is poorest), the driver’s door window frame was shaking. Of course, the fact that this was a pre-production car (the ninth built) may have had something to do with it. There was also some wind noise, which was bothersome. Perhaps it is difficult to achieve a perfect finish in the details of a car that makes such extensive use of curved glass. Above 100mph, the fender mirrors can no longer withstand the aerodynamic forces and gradually change angle by themselves. If possible, I would like to see proper highway mirrors fitted.
When running the engine continuously at high speeds, the absence of an oil-pressure gauge like that fitted to the Fairlady 1500 is unnerving. Both the speedometer and tachometer are positioned for excellent visibility and are tastefully designed, though in daylight there is some reflection in their glass faces. The clock recessed between these two instruments should naturally be replaced by an oil-pressure gauge; and if I may ask for still more, I would also like an oil cooler and an oil-temperature gauge. That would put the Silvia squarely into the sports-car category, but since the manufacturer actually sells it as a luxury passenger car, perhaps I will be admonished for saying so. In any case, oil pressure and oil temperature are several times more important to me than the fuel level or the time, so even in a high-speed touring car such as this, I would like to see them provided as standard equipment.
Its acceleration all the way to 100mph is outstanding, but above 170km/h—as can only be expected from the performance curve—it no longer has the sense of continuing acceleration found in something like a Lotus Elan. Admittedly, the two cars were designed with different purposes in mind, so this cannot really be helped; but if this car were ever fitted with, say, a 2000cc-class twin-cam engine, it would be a formidable combination indeed. Perhaps that sort of thing should instead be expected of the open Fairlady 1500.
For the Silvia, it might be better to fit the familiar Borg-Warner automatic transmission and give the engine a little more capacity. Those who want such improvements would probably go on to demand a power antenna and power windows, power steering and power brakes as well. Perhaps that would only be natural.
In any event, I can fairly say that I have never before driven a Japanese car that displayed such stable road behavior at high speeds above 100mph.
0–100km/h in “10 Seconds Flat”—Standing Quarter Mile in 17.3 Seconds!!
In standing-start acceleration measured by the speedometer, the Silvia first recorded an astonishing time of exactly 10 seconds from 0–100km/h. Then, in the standing-start quarter-mile runs that followed, it recorded 17.4 and 17.3 seconds, in both cases beating the manufacturer’s published catalog figure by several tenths of a second. There was a fairly strong crosswind that afternoon, so under windless conditions I believe a time close to exactly 17 seconds would be possible. It should be noted, however, that these figures were obtained while the car was fitted with Bridgestone racing tires.
These excellent times were surprising enough, but what impressed me even more was the durability of the diaphragm-spring clutch newly adopted on this car. Despite dozens of repeated standing starts—and with nearly every driver accelerating at full throttle—it showed no sign whatsoever of slipping or burning. Moreover, after completing a full-throttle run, the car would return to the service area under strong engine braking, come to a stop, and idle without the slightest irregularity; and when the ignition switch was turned off, not once did the engine “diesel,” but simply stopped at once.
Opening the hood revealed nothing more remarkable than a perfectly orthodox OHV engine and twin SU carburetors sitting quietly in the engine compartment. The sight of them made me all the more inclined to praise the durability of Nissan’s small engine: after being subjected to such abuse, it was remarkable how well it stood up to it.
Rough Roads Are Its Strong Suit
Driving over rough country roads is something at which sports cars are almost invariably poor. The Silvia, however, has been introduced as a luxury passenger car—or rather, as a genuine high-speed touring car in the manner of the Volvo P1800 or Porsche 911—and its soft suspension absorbs shocks extremely well, without setting up any resonance in the body.
Its 170mm minimum ground clearance is quite adequate for typically Japanese bad roads, and the simple fact that the fuel tank does not protrude beneath the tail, as it does on the Fairlady 1500, makes it possible to drive without concern. On the two-lane gravel road from Ushiku to the Yatabe test course, I was able to maintain an easy, steady average of 60km/h. Two sedans and a sports car tried to follow me, but within two minutes they had disappeared from sight—such is the Silvia’s pace on rough roads. Both its handling and steering characteristics are satisfactory. There was only one problem: perhaps because the wheel covers are made of rather thin material, stones thrown up from the road left dents in two or three places. Some reconsideration of the material would seem necessary.
There are apparently some who think that the Silvia’s suspension should be made somewhat firmer, but I disagree. The results of the cornering tests show that, while its roll rate cannot be called especially low, when combined with its consistently understeering characteristics, it has excellent adhesion to the road. Moreover, even above 100mph the softness of the suspension does not become conspicuous; rather, the aerodynamic body shape seems to press the car down, and it remains extremely stable. For these reasons—and particularly because of its stability over rough roads and the excellent roadholding it displays—I think the current specification is just right.
My Own Suggestions for the Silvia
Finally, I would like to offer a few personal opinions. What I have in mind is to put together the Silvia as I myself would like it to be—my own “ideal Silvia.”
First, around the driver’s seat, I find the absence of locks on the vent windows rather worrying. The current Fairlady 1500 has no locking device either, but a friend of mine, Mr. H, once had someone pry open one of these vent windows with a screwdriver in an attempted theft. In view of that experience, I would very much like to see a push-button locking device fitted.
At night, the illuminated instruments are beautifully and elegantly designed, but during the day reflections from the glass make them difficult to read. I would like to see some provision made for this, perhaps by fitting very small hoods over them.
The glove box at the far left of the instrument panel uses the same opening and closing mechanism as the Bluebird series, and for a car costing 1.2 million yen it seems altogether too cheap. It should have rather more substantial hinges, and since many people habitually keep their vehicle registration and other papers there, it should also be fitted with a lock.
The levers for the heater controls and so forth, located below and to the right, are much too stiff in operation, although this may have been because the car was a pre-production sample. They should move more smoothly into each position and operate without noise. The rear quarter windows should be made to open on both sides, as on the Cedric, to provide better ventilation. Doing so should greatly improve the flow of air through the rear half of the cabin.
Moving the shift lever 20-30mm farther forward would make it easier to use for taller drivers. In its current position, one’s elbow sometimes strikes the armrest box mounted on the floor. As for the trip recorder, rather than the type that is reset by turning it backward, I would prefer the Cedric arrangement, in which it is advanced until it returns to zero. It is quicker to operate as well.
An automatic antenna is another absolute necessity. For high-speed driving I would retract it, while in slow-moving city traffic I would like to extend it fully and listen to the radio….
As in the Cedric, I would like to see a mirror fitted to the back of the sun visor. It would be useful for straightening one’s tie before getting out of the car, rather than finding oneself flustered afterward…. (A car like this will probably often be driven while wearing a suit.) Could the defroster perhaps be extended as far as the inside of the rear window? When the rear window fogs up, sporting driving somehow becomes impossible. The field of view in the rear-view mirror is too narrow. I would like a wider one, even if it has to be somewhat more curved.
There is an irritating noise from the inside door handles (just as on the Bluebird). I would like to see something done about it. A knob-type door lock would also be more reassuring. Combining the lock with the inside handle may be more modern, but it is all too easy to open it inadvertently, and the arrangement is not entirely foolproof. I would also like headrests, even if only as an option. And I hope a sliding roof can be developed before long.
And if I may go still further, even if it meant departing somewhat from the current shape and sacrificing something of the car’s dream-car image, why not offer a 2+2 version for a family of two adults and two children, even if only in limited production…?
The horn is quite satisfactory on the highway, where its sound carries well, but since its high and low tones cannot be used separately, it is far too loud in quiet city streets. I would also like an automatic-tuning radio. Surely the time has come for such a car radio to be standard equipment.
Finally, if it were fitted with a Borg-Warner automatic transmission, along with power windows, power steering, and power brakes, the result would be a high-speed touring car whose distinctive body styling and performance could be offered on the world market without embarrassment.
I have made a great many rather self-indulgent requests, but I sincerely hope that the Silvia now on sale will develop into an even more thoroughly realized automobile. In any event, the appearance of a car of this kind, with such a pronounced custom-car character, can certainly be said to have ample reason for existence as a symbol of the level of technical achievement.