Quote:
Originally Posted by Cypress
The biggest (pleasant) surprise for me was the improvements in "steptronic" transmissions. On my IS300 with 8 year old technology, the "manual" mode was very jerky. I have the AT in the 370Z and this weekend I played with the "manual" mode. This was sheer joy. I would say dead on responsive (as opposed to my IS300) and frankly better than I have the skills to shift a real manual. But the best part was the downshifting part. The AT does this thing where if will "rev" the engine if your current speed and rpms are not right for the downshift. My IS300 would just jerk forward and give you reverse whiplash!! Funny, NIssan made a big deal over the manual transmission, but they never said a word about the AT. Maybe this is old news, but again, my comparison is 8 year old Lexus technology.
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The reason why NISSAN made such a fuss over the Manual is because it automatically matches engine speed to vehicle speed. For a stick shift, that's absolutely unheard of; in fact, it's the first in the world. It might make manual transmission drivers of years past into more valuable people; they know the art of heel-toe shifting, double clutch, single clutch; any of a variety of complex and esoteric techniques to ensure smooth and tranny/clutch damage-free downshifting.
The sequential manual gearbox in the AT 370Z's also feature this technology, but it's not too common either.
That aside, enjoy your Z!