7 speed automatic owners

frost

More useless than the french fry holder?!?!

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370z OG

LiquidZ

hahaha wtf?

hey32g

Let me preface this by saying that my current '07 335i is a manual, and I have owned about 8 cars with manual transmissions, I have always been a huge automatic transmission hater.

I just got back from the dealership. I had it all set up to drive a 370Z MT and an AT back to back, so I could see which one I wanted. As opposed to my previous 15 cars, this one is going to be a "buy and hold", i.e. I plan to keep it as a 3rd car for a long time.

I drove the AT first, and I absolutely loved it so much when we got back to the dealer, I told the sales guy to not worry about getting the MT to drive. It wasn't worth his or my time.

Two weeks ago, I drove an Audi TTS with the DSG, and in my opinion, this AT was every bit as good. The throttle blips on the downshifts were great, and the time to shift was much quicker than I was expecting.

Here's a highlight of my test drive. Keep in mind I was redlining before every shift, and yes, I asked if he minded me being a little hard on it, and he said, "go for it". I took the car up an access road of the highway up to a turnaround (we have a lot of these in Texas) downshifted through the gears from 6th to 2nd while I was braking, went through the turnaround in 2nd, and went back up through the gears to about 6th on the opposite access road. Came up to a stoplight, downshifted to about 3rd, the light changed accelerated back up through the gears to 5th, downshifted back down to 2nd, made a left turn onto another access road, went through some curves in 3rd, then 4th, hit the entrance ramp to another highway, went back down to 3rd, and then accelerated all the way up to 7th and then cruised back to the dealership. All this to say that I gave the transmission a hefty workout. The sales guy (nice guy - not your typical douche bag), said, "wow, that was cool, I've been dying to do that, I'm glad someone finally did it".

I have no doubt in my mind that the AT is the way to go - at least for me. There's not an ounce of doubt as far as I'm concerned.

Now I just have to decide what color interior to go with white!!! Then find a loud & nice exhaust, get some 20" wheels and some coilovers, and I'll be good to go!

I'm thinking this look right now:

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Crash

Interesting... Now I may want to test drive an AT. But I just REALLY like shifting.

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2002 Corvette Z06 - Totaled
2003 Corvette Z06 50th Anniversary

sbkim

How do you think 370z 7AT performance compares to your 335?

Thanks

hey32g

I really couldn't tell much difference in performance. My 335i is the e90 (sedan), so the 370 handled differently. I have the sports package on the 335, but it's always felt a little top heavy. As far as acceleration, it's probably about the same, however, there was a point where I did think, wow, this could use some turbo boost right in here. I think it's just the way the power is delivered in each car a turbo engine vs a non-turbo engine. Plus the 335 has a bit more torque, but the 370 has that instant normally aspirated delivery which is nice. I guess it's kind of comparing apples to oranges, but they both taste great. I will tell you, the sound of the 370 was FAR superior, especially on the downshifts. I really don't feel that I will be losing any performance.

hey32g

I have to admit, I'm a bit tired of shifting. My 335 has enough torque throughout the rev range, that I find myself just blowing off the shifting sometimes.

Being a huge F1 fan, I've wanted some flappy paddles for awhile. I was really nervous that the 370 wouldn't be able to fill that need, but I'm pleasantly surprised that it will without any problems.

My main concern is having control over the entire driving experience.

Endgame

Hey 32G: 'Two weeks ago, I drove an Audi TTS with the DSG, and in my opinion, this AT was every bit as good.'

VERY interestign comparison. I test drove the TTS also and liked it. To hear the 7AT is just as good as that dual clutch is IMPRESSIVE!!! Nice job with that 'comparo'.

sbkim

Great write up - thanks. I had 335 coupe (auto with sport pkg) and I thought the BMW felt slightly faster than the Z. Prob bc the Z wasn't broken in and because of better low end torque of 335.

I am still going back and forth between the G37 and the Z - abeit two very diff cars...

sbkim

Any update on 7AT dyno??

JoeyD

It's in the engine drivetrain section.

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When was the last time you did 230MPH in something with 4 seats?