Introduction & New Owner Questions

BlackElectric

Hello all!

New 370Z owner here! A month ago I had the pleasure of picking up a 2016 6-Speed base model (pearl white). Up until now I have just been rolling with my 2011 Sentra which I riced out a long time ago. (See pictures below)

My plan is to keep her stock until I can afford to upgrade to one of the following:

• 2018 Nissan 370Z Heritage Edition (bottom of my list)
• 2017/2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo Tech
• 2019 Nissan Z35 (as of yet unconfirmed)

As I said, I have been driving the Z for a month now though only on the weekends as I still daily the Sentra. I've driven her 700 miles but still find myself having difficulty perfecting the shifts. I only started learning how to drive stick back in February, and in a 2001 Honda Civic so part of it is the heavier/tighter clutch and getting used to the car in general but I could use some pointers:

I still occasionally get a bunny hop when starting (usually just a single lunge), I think partly due to the fact that the range of clutch engagement is so narrow.

Also when I don't give it enough gas when starting off (not enough to stall it though) I hear a strange noise almost like something's grinding/clicking. Any idea what this is?

Sometimes when I depress the clutch when coming to a stop/changing gears it sounds like the clutch is slapping around for a brief moment after disengagement. This seems to only happen when engine breaking or if I push in the clutch before my foot is completely off the gas, perhaps when there is still torque on the drive shaft?

I also have trouble getting smooth shifts for 2nd and 3rd. If I shift at 2000 rpm everything is fine but higher than that and I occasionally get some jerk when letting the clutch out. If I watch the revs drop I can time it so it is smoother but I don't want to always be watching my tach.

I'm sure most of this will be resolved with practice but any advice would be appreciated.