Hey I am a new NISSAN 370Z owner from Utah! I have a red 2012 NISSAN 370Z sport base model.

Sorry about this newbie question. This is my first manual transmission vehicle. I have 2012 nissan 370z manual transmission. When I shift to 1st and 2nd gear I feel like I am going really slow compared to other drivers on the road. Do you know why? I usually rev up to 3k RPM then shift to second gear. Is that normal cause I feel a jerk when I do that. Do I need to rev at a lower RPM before I shift to 2nd gear? I also drove a WRX hatch and a 2002 rsx which were my friends and I had no problem driving them. But for my Z I am not so great at driving it. Been driving manual for about a month now. Any tips on driving will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

My first manual as well is a red Z. 2011 thou. I find it took me about a Lil over a month to really get use to the clutch.

The z is harder to drive at first than those cars listed

You shouldn't rev to 3k

I'm usually off first by 2500rpm, you run through the gears pretty fast in this car. Also, ease up on clutch out and careful over-revving into second. That's usually where the notchiness is. With a bit of time it should smooth out. My car and my feet still fight every once in a while but it's night and day compared to when I first test drove it. Almost bucked the salesman out the passenger window LOL

I had a newbie when I testdrove mine. The guy who was training him showed up and was hung over. I got a sweet deal and when I was done testdriving with the newbie he was shaking! He said " that was the best test drive I've ever been on." What a blast that was!

LOL!!! Awesome, when I test drive any car, I inform the sales person that I am going to brake the car, LOL!!!

When I was buying my 370Z I didn't even need to test drive it (drive another one at a different dealer 2 weeks before) and the sales guy kept insisting, even though the paperwork had been started. So we went and I beat that bitch and the 50~ year old sales guy tried to reach for the "OHHHHHH SHIIIIIITTTT handle", but we don't have one, LOL, and I did give him the warning that I was going to brake the car, but I guess he didn't believe me...

haha thank you all for the tip! I guess I gotta break in my clutch a little bit more than. When I bought my car I didn't even test drive it. My mom went home with me and she was scared shitless haha. No joke. I told her that I was just nervous haha...

When is the best time to rev up to? Thanks for the tip again :D

I hated the clutch in this car the first 3 months of ownership. I was so frustrated. I have never driven a manual with first gear being soooo short. All past car were manuals but this one had me second guessing my purchase. I must say that after researching how other drivers via this forum dealt with the shifting I no longer buck like a newbie! But nowadays my Z is always in Sport Mode with helps smooth things out alot especially when I'm lazy.

Well I am glad things got better for you! Do you think you can take me through the steps you did to make yourself improve and get better at driving a manual?

The clutch took me a good couple weeks to get used to. Shift points are all based on how you feel like driving. I like to shift higher in the RPM because I like listening to the sweet music of my exhaust. Typical driving, shouldn't need more than 2000rpm to get moving. What I do that helps me smoothen things out is blip the throttle to bring the revs up and as the revs top off, start releasing the clutch. You'll feel it catch and just feed some throttle. Everyone drives a clutch different, so GL OP in conquering your clutch.

http://www.the370z.com/drivetrain-en...n-72577-a.html

I did this cheap mod and the clutch pedal feel was greetly improved. Hope this helps :)

You're OK to upshift at 3000 for the first few gears. It won't hurt anything as long as you ease out on the clutch pedal as already stated and start to press down on the gas pedal. You'll get the hang of it.

Thanks a whole lot! I feel like I am getting better with your tips. I try to incorporate them into my daily driving every day so I can get better. But I still feel slow when driving from 1st to 2nd to 3rd gear. All these cars pass me. :(

You can do like my Wife and redline shift on your commute. She's complaining of not being used to it, but doing 90+ banging off perfect up and down shifts. Sure has a funny way of showing it :P

Anyways, try this... There is no power down low so so once your completely off your clutch, just give it a lot of gas. These motors don't wake up until 4krpm. May help you row through the gears aggressively without looking like that guy... otherwise known as the douche with the nice car showing off.

Andy...tough vehicle to be your first manual gearbox. You probably should have learned on something else.

Practice, practice, practice.

I ordered my Z without even knowing how to drive standard...LOL. You just gotta practice then u'll get really good with it.

Haha thanks a whole lot! Great tips btw! :tiphat: Hopefully tomorrow I can try that out if it doesn't snow here. Scary stuff driving in the snow. Feels like I am a grandma.

Yeah I also liked the Z too much not to get it. I drove my friends RSX no problem but when I got the Z it was way different. I can get to 1st gear easy, but when I get from 1st to 2nd is the challenging part cause I feel slow.

I think the slow feeling is because the 1st gear is short and it doesn't push you fast unless you gun it up to 5k. So you might want to shift into 2nd a litter earlier around 2.5k. But then again, you need to ease out the clutch when shift into the 2nd otherwise the car jerks. This is my first manual car too and I do feel it's slower then other cars at normal launch.

Yeah I think I got better at the launch from 1st to 2nd gear. I try to shift listening to the car and usually when I do that I tend to shift better without looking at the rpm. But yeah when I do shift around 2.5 I do not get a jerk.

Yeah, our cars are terrible with low end shifts. I shift around 3k from 1-2 and 2.5k every other gear.

Man, you guys drive like grannys. You should be shifting at 7k through every gear:roflpuke2:

Yeah that's for sure.. I feel like if I go past 3k I am wasting gas. Often times I would do that just cause I am driving a Z haha

Makes me think of the South Park NASCAR episode, GAS PEDAL!! haha :icon18:

I agree, what are these guys talking about? I have a 7AT always in manual mode and from first gear up I shift when the little red light tells me to. :rofl2:

We are just doing the right way to show off our Z on the street and get lots of thumb ups. Folks like you guys don't even give other people a chance to see what have just passed by thus no thumb ups.:rofl2:

[QUOTE=forza370z;2110056]We are just doing the right way to show off our Z on the street and get lots of thumb ups. Folks like you guys don't even give other people a chance to see what have just passed by thus no thumb ups.:rofl2

:owned:

i agree on 7k rpm every gear. Makes life ezer.

Don't be skeered to rev this engine to 5k RPM for DD and redline at least once a day that you do drive it. The majority of Japanese "sport" engines make little torque so you have to rev them. :hello:

I feel most of you don't have headers/test pipes combo or long tubes....You'd be deaf by the end of the week lol.

Personally, like to shift at 3k when the engine's cold. (4500 past 140 and up to redline once it's past 180) You really shouldn't be putting power to the wheels under 2k. It's pretty hard on the internals.

Once warmed up, you should be taken 1st at least to 3500 on a gentle start. Shift slow and gentle as this is a pretty finiky transmission and does not like to be rushed. If you feel a crunch or grind it's not liking what you're doing.


Also, I lowered the clutch engagement position of the pedal to make the feel better.


http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...djustment.html

http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...ml#post2024536

And don't spin the tires, they're hella expensive!

Don't know about your tranny and others but I don't need to be gentle with mine and it's not "finiky". Rev to 7K and it shifts fast and smooth for me.

I will agree, i have owned nothing but manuals my whole life, and this is the most finiky trans i have owned. It likes to be shifted higher in the rpm's for sure. But when you are below 3k, it can get very notchy.. I had to adjust my driving style for this. Went from shifting around 3500 to shifting north of 4k. Much smoother now

Thats silly. Are you afraid you will break your car??


I shift at 3000-3500. Its quite smooth at that range for me and I can fly through the gears.

Cant believe some of the stuff in this thread.lol

Maybe he meant launching at 3K. I usually shift at 3K+ as well, but launching continually at 3K would be rather hard on the clutch.

Disclaimer: I am new here as well as to the Z cars (I have yet to test drive one yet due to weather conditions) but..

Perhaps I am just used to power shifting manuals in the past but I certainly hope you guys are kidding about shifting at 2k for every gear, no disrespect but I might as well get out and run because I would be faster.

I guess I just need to test drive one and see if this is really my next car that I hope it was.

^my kinda driver.

Dead on, man. OP, the power's up high. Wind the motor out. Sure, you can shift at 3k if you're just commuting to work, but if you're driving spiritedly use all of the tach. Nothing bad happens if you hit redline.

I’m breaking in my transmission like a young eager whore. Ruff! Mid to high rpm before shifting this car likes for you to give it gas.