Does anybody else think the 370 manual tranny sucks!
 

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

No issues here. I'm fine with it.

Silly me, totally overlooked that bit.

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.

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.

Totally diggin mine...

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

It's notchy as hell, but I don't get how 1st gear is a joke. You can hit 40mph in 1st gear...65 mph in second. What rpm's are you shifting at?

They are not built the same. I had the original, had it replaced, and then replaced again a month later. All 3 felt different. The last one felt so much tighter, has quite a bit more gear whine, but feels like it was built right.

The hell? is the one in my 2009 different than yours? I can only go like 20 feet before NEEDing to shift into 2nd. Most of the time if Im on level ground im faced down on a hill I just leave it in second, so Im using 1st for a split second just to get moving.

I am right there with you.............I kept test driving the 6mts hoping I would change my mind as I really wanted a Nismo, the last time I spent well over 2 hours driving it. I kept thinking what great shifting trannies my B210, 280ZX and Nissan truck had and wondered why they made such a crappy MT for the Z? I went with the auto and I am actually very glad I did.

Heck I can travel 2,000 feet at 5 mph. The purpose of 1st gear, has and always will be just to get the car moving. My car as well as all 370's, NEED to shift at a max 7,500 rpm's...which means 40 mph, irrelevant of distance travelled.

If I comment more than this vague comment I'll get flamed for being a AT enthusiast (on this car at least)

The beauty of MT is you shift when you damn well please, your fault for shifting at 20MPH and complaining about it.

So you shift your car at 7500 rpm redline every time you shift? :rofl2:

No problems here. I use MT-85 and other than clunky 2nd, every other gear shifts nice and smooth. Maybe some of you guys just need to learn how to drive manual? :stirthepot:

I def agree with yoru last sentence but honestly, the MT-85 only "smoothed" out the trans for a couple weeks and then I felt like it was back to ol clunky for me. Still would rather have that in there than the oem factory fill though.

Thanks for the contribution. :ugh2:

Regardless of how bad some may think it is, I'll still take it over the AT.

I just feel driving a MT makes the experience more involving

Shifts fine for me.

Me too! My 1st gear is soooooo short it seems just wrong. I have learned to live with it tho. I just get down from 2nd to 3rd.

Mine shifts just fine. It makes noise (a whole lot less than my old STi's transmission did though), and it's a little tricky to drive with the clutch/flywheel combo, but it feels pretty stout. I guess I got a good one. First isn't really that short unless you're comparing it to some of the much faster cars out there that can hit 60 in first. You don't need to bang it off the rev limiter, but running first out to 5-6k all the time is not an issue.

:icon17: Hellz yeah!!

.....but only if I don't feel like shifting in 20 feet :rofl2:

This transmission isn't perfect. It's noisy, clunky........sounds like a cement mixer with rocks or possibly a midget with a hammer. It's far from refined, but it's really not as bad as you make it seem. I think what throws a lot of people off is that they're use to listening to the engine speeds when shifting. The problem with that is the VQ37 is sounds like a can of bees at high rpm's. It's really harsh to say the least once you get past 4,000 rpm's. Coming from an RX-8 that hit 9k rpm's without the drama... the Z took some getting use to. I guess my point is, there are plenty of things to complain about... but complaining about having to shift gear in a car with manual transmission seems kind of silly.

I think you're on to something here. If you shift by ear, you might be short shifting it.

Sounds like a can of bee's with the wrong exhaust maybe. Feels like a can of bees... The shift knob will vibrate like mad :)

I didnt mean it so literal to the distance traveled. I can creep in 1st at like 5mph for miles if I'd like. I was presenting it in more a stop light on main road senario, where you would be traveling from 0 - 40mph in a hopefully good amount of time.

It was just pointing how very short lived 1st gear is in our cars, and like I said I will barely use it unless Im at an incline or at a total dead stop.

But as my cousin put it when he drove my car..
Me: Ya, the first gear is very short you have to immediatley throw it into 2nd and give it a bit of gas during engagement.
Cousin: cause it's not refined luxury coupe. it's a sportscar. it just wants to go, no compromise. it's not made for going slow around starbucks.

I know what he is saying. I have had mine for 6 months and of course with any car there is a learning curve but I find that my initial 1st to 2nd is terrible I have tried many different techniques but to keep up with the automatic mini vans next to me from a dead stop at a traffic light I have to go pretty hard in first, engine noise drawing attention from everyone around and shift into 2nd pretty quickly. I don't think it should be that intense to just keep up with "Slow" cars. 2nd gear and beyond the car is Incredible and rockets just that initial start or short distance that can suck. I have noticed it is easier and smoother for me when not in sport mode if shifting is done well.

Maybe a few of us did just get unlucky and our tranny's are not as good as those of you who say that yours great. I am thinking I will go test drive one at a dealership and see if I notice a difference. For a long time I wondered if it was just me but I have read too many similar experiences.

I also picked up a nismo shift knob and surprisingly it makes a world of difference over the oem knob getting into gears smoothly.

I Love my Z and this wouldn't keep me from buying one again

Changing the stock Dual mass flywheel and clutch with a single mass flywheel and sprung clutch makes the car MUCH easier to drive and take off smoothly from stop, Really, It makes a HUGE difference. It gets rid of all the lunging/bouncing you experience from a get go making us look like rookie drivers.

I totally agree with OP, the Z34 transmission leaves a lot to be desired add in the fact that the CSC can be an issue especially with modifications and it makes it all that much harder to love.

The AT isn't without issue, if you're looking for more power the AT won't hold up and will require pricey upgrade mods.

In my experience, I'll be honest I hated it. I hated the clunky feeling, I hated how vague it felt and compared to the rest of the Z's surprisingly quality build I feel like they just cut their effort on the gear box. I changed out the MT tranny fluid and it was much better but still not ideal.

All in all, the MT transmission made the decision to sell my Z much easier. I routinely drive my buddies' STi, s2k and 1M. Every time I used to get back in my Z it was such a downer :(.

I have a new 2012 370Z MT and have to say my transmission is the same and agree with the original poster. Its not bad at all on freeways or country roads in 3rd gear + but 1st and 2nd, city driving takes a lot of skill to drive it smoothly. It takes practice to drive, especially while cold and I have to admit its pretty annoying at times when I just want to cruise around without concentrating on shifting. I have found that shifting at higher RPM like 3-4 is best and you really have to have a solid foot on the clutch and let it out very deliberately. All n all its a very raw and unrefined car, but maybe thats a good thing and you just have to get used to it to master it.

Got my juicey tax refund. You should see an order coming from me soon for that steel single mass flywheel, HD-CSC, and clutch kit.

I just gotta make sure some bills are covered and then im buyin them plums.

How is the R/D going on the new Clutch Mastercyclinder for our cars?

Take care