Does anybody else think the 370 manual tranny sucks!

Batwing

Hello fellow Z peeps, I have owned my Nismo 370Z for about 5 months now and overall I like the car but in my opinion the manual tranny falls short.
I been a mechanic my whole life and have owned motorcycles and manual shift vehicles and without a doubt this transmission is the worst I have ever encountered. The car has such great potential but the transmission feels sub par. 1st gear is a joke. On take off the car feels like you can only go twenty feet before shifting. It is really easy to miss shifts and the gear box sounds like a box of rocks and the tranny feels as though the design is inadequate to provide proper power transfer.
I wish the car would of come with a automatic because shifting manualy hardly seems to be worth the effort. Kinda bumed really because I do like the car but this manual is a disapointment.
Does anybody honestly like this transmission?

dP3NGU1N

The car does come in an automatic. I had afew small issues in the beginning but those have since subsided. I'm currently at 2500mi and havent missed a shift yet. Short first gear is still present though it doesn't bother me too much. Gear box has quieted significantly compared to before.

chrischhorn

The Nismo does not come in an automatic though. Changes of the oils in the car help with the shifting and a weighted shift knob also helps smooth out the the shifts. The biggest thing is that our transmissions are damn near bullet proof. Its clunky and loud but it works for the aggressive driving. The AT is great also just can't handle as much power before needing a rebuild but shifts are super smooth and fast.

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One day I'll have another....

6spd

I love it. You must have never driven a mustang before...

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IDZRVIT

I don't have any problem taking off like a rocket with my Z. Now on the other hand, my 2011 Civic 5-speed is truly a pos tranny.

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SPOHN

No issues here. I'm fine with it.

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dP3NGU1N

Silly me, totally overlooked that bit.

Red__Zed

It's not the most pleasant feeling transmission in the world (vague, kinda crunchy feeling), but besides the 5th gear synchros in the early models, it isn't terrible.

The 2nd gear synchros are also kind of wacky when you are driving in traffic/accelerating slowly. It will help if you wait on that 1-2 shift.

DR_

It isn't the smoothest but with a good knob and MT-85 makes it a lot better. Go drive a Cayman and you will come back loving our tranny. Go drive a S2000 and you will come back hating our tranny.

Z-Girl 12

Totally diggin mine...

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2012 Z-SOLD
2014 Nismo #565 Fast Intentions CBE/HFC/Swift/SPC/RJM/H&R-15/20mm/Z1 CAI/Headers/Intake Manifold w/Uprev Tune 328.31whp/263.64tq

SS_Firehawk

Tranny is pretty decent. I've learned it really doesn't like skipping shifts all that much, synchros make a terrible grind sound when pushing the shifter into the gates. 1,2,5 or 1,2,3,6. So now I just row through every gear and listen to the sweet sound of combustion.

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ayrton88

I have no issues with the gearbox itself. Seems fine to me, other than being a little reluctant going into first gear when it is really cold out. My issue is more clutch related. Much harder to shift smoothly than my BMW was. Of course mine was a stock 3 series with much less HP and torque. It just demands a little more attention to get smooth than the Bimmer.

FairladyZ

It's not the best.

I like the sti and s2k way better but I can do with it.

It just feels clunky and clutch takes time to get use to but once you are use to it, it's nothing you even think about.

cheshirecat

The tranny is clunky and loud, but as another member said, it's bulletproof. It doesn't "suck".

Our clutch master/slave cylinders, on the other hand...

lemon-fresh

As others have said, aside from the CSC issues this transmission handles abuse quite well. It is tricky to learn at first (smooth first to second, clutch feel). Also, first gear really isn't that short compared to similar cars, I think it only stands out due to the potential difficulty making a smooth first to second shift.

I never really had much difficulty with the transmission. I still think some people come to this car talking about how they have owned mt's all their lives etc, but have not been DDing a mt recently prior to stepping into the Z. All my previous cars have been honda mt DD's (talk about easy shifting transmissions) and I welcomed the very slight learning curve of the Z.

I have also driven a couple very high whp STI's in my time with racing grade clutches... Now those were tricky clutches to get used to, but once again it was very rewarding when you figured them out.

Give it some more time, stop blaming the car so much and try and figure out if you need to change your shifting habits a bit. If that doesn't work, change the fluids, if that doesn't work go buy a mustang or something.