2009 Nissan 370Z Touring: What's the problem?
 

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2009 Nissan 370Z Touring: Non-Syncro TimeMatch
 

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I haven't had a chance to test drive the 6M 370Z yet, but can those who have post their experience with the clutch and shifter? Is it difficult to drive smoothly?

It's smoother than cars like the Corvette and Porsche, but not as smooth as Mazda

That explains it ... I didn't understand what everyone was talking about. Mine revs so smoothly and fast without the dreaded roughness some mention.
I'm really begining to like this A7 transmission on a daily basis.
I really didn't think I was going to like the auto this much over my manual transmission cars. It's really nice not to have to shift in traffic and I really didn't think that it would be able to shift up and down so fast. My concern was downshifts. The computer with downshift rev control takes care of all of that. It is just a split second slower than I can shift with a manual but, I just make up for it by shifting a little earlier. It's exciting !!!!

The downside is that you can't downshift bring the revs up between shifts and dump the clutch doing smokey powerslides. However, that will save me on tranny/clutch costs in the future. For me this is a daily driver... I'm fortune to have other cars that I can do that in. ;-)

I love my Z. I wish it had more power, but that is what happens when you spend $40k or less. If I want great handling andn 500+ HP I need to spend more.

I fixed my noise problem with a Stillen exhaust and Michellin Pilot Sports. Forget about Dynamat, it weighs too much anyway. Oil cooler solved overheating. With all my mods and tires, I am still just below $40k excluding tax. I have even had the pleasure of defeating cars* costing 2-4 times this.

Infinion Raceway auto cross.

Best bang for the buck car ever.

That's exactly the mod list I was thinking about .... Thanks for the info.
See you at Infineon !!! Plus a procharger would take care of the HP woes if you need to.
Yes, about $10K ... But, $10K + $35K = $45K ... It would beat ZO6 @ $75K However, used 2004 Z06 $25K with adams S/C $8500 = $33.5K and Kills ZR1's... :excited: (next toy)

its not as easy as buying parts and toss it into the car, you need to start adding suspension, brakes and other stuff the faster you go

I'll strongly disagree. The shifter may be smoother, but the clutch is an on/off switch compared to all the Z06's, ZR1's, and Grand Sport's, mustangs, F-bodies, and every other manual car I have driven. The clutch in my friend's 700+whp civic was more forgiving and had better feel.

I would say that was the biggest gripe I had during my test-drive of the 370Z's I drove.

...and it would be an un-balanced warranty-less creation. Pass. If you want to beat a Z06, buy a ZR1. There is no free lunch.

Shifter is great, clutch is an on/off switch compared to any other car I have driven that had 3 pedals like God intended.

Isn't the clutch supposed to be an on/off switch from a performance driving point of view as opposed to daily cruising? On a track, you stab the clutch quickly, shift quickly and then dump the clutch again. You don't feather or modulate clutches on a track. You want a very short range digital clutch, not a longer range analog one. Seeing youtube videos of racing drivers footwork, the clutch pedal on these cars doesn't seem to travel more than 10 or 15 cm from very top to very bottom.

Well when the 370Z gets an oil-cooler and some real brakes then you can make your "it's a track car" argument. Until then, it's just got a crappy clutch.

That just goes back to the compromise argument.

Nissan could change the 370Z's specs a bit and sell it as an awesome track-only car. Strip the interior, drop the power windows, power door locks, radio, etc. Give it an oil cooler and a factory roll cage, etc. You'd probably come out about even on mfg cost changes and it would be a great track car. But then it would never be worth it on the market: not enough of them would be sold because it'd be a horrible daily driver for a commuter, so they couldn't really afford to produce them that way in the big picture. The increased sales for track drivers would never make up for the loss of regular consumers who just like the look and sound and feel of it and want a "sporty" daily driver.

So they make compromises. The idea is to put out a track-capable car that's still cheap to buy, just barely commuter-friendly enough to keep the sales volume high enough to keep the car around, and only needs a few key mods to be ready for amateur track use.

Ford is doing great with their BOSS/Leguna Seca car.

No, it doesn't go back to that argument. Just spend a few more bucks and improve the car with an oil-cooler, brakes, and clutch better suited to its mission in life: To be a sporty car that can be driven at HPDE's on the weekend if the owner so chooses.