Manual vs. Auto performance
 

Does anyone know the performance differences between the manual and auto?

Is the acceleration the same?

If this has been answered, sorry I never saw it but I looked diligently.

I have not seen any magazine test on the Auto yet, but watching the Stillen video of there cat back system shows how smooth accelerating it is.
I love shifting old school with a MT, I just feel more connected to the car, and the Syncro Rev match is awesome, so that's my recommendation :tup: Test drive them both, if your not sure.

I am still anxiously waiting for magazine tests but prob not likely until may be release of the convertible.

If tests results of G37 is any indication, it sounded like 7AT was faster than 6MT or 5AT.

In the old days (and today with some lo-tech transmissions), an automatic would be .5-1.0 sec slower in the quarter mile. A lot of sports cars are coming out with transmissions now that close that gap.

I'll always take a manual over an automatic for a sports car, simply because you have complete control over the car.

The auto is under rated
 

I drove both. I've owned a lot of manuals, and sports cars, and thought I'd never get a wimpy automatic. But the 7AT is awesome, it convinced me to buy the car. Low gear launches you quicker than the manual, and the paddle shifters give you complete control, even rev matching on downshift. It made the car a delight, instead of rowing through 6 speeds. My opinion, of course.

I won't get into AT vs MT debate (as we all know how they end up ;) ).

Imo the performance gap between both transmissions at least at this stage are so miniscule, that whatever choice one makes, it's one of purley personal preference. Put Dual clutch systems into the mix? And it will be very lopsided performance wise.

Some have mentioned that MT's give full control? True, though on the other hand neither does it curb mistakes (miss shifts, grinds and stalls etc.). AT's nowadays are pretty much idiot proof. ;)

As the old saying goes... It takes quite a bit of practice and experience for a newcomer to be proficient on a track with a MT.. While on the other hand, a newcomer, can be pretty quick and consistant, in almost no time at all with an AT.

But out on the public roads (real world)? Other than personal preference and maybe mpg. Performance between the 2 is pretty much a moot point.

Either transmissions in the Z would be a fine choice. Btw... Welcome to the site.

Close enough to decide based on what feel you want in a car. Manual for me.

Nothing wrong with going either way but I can tell you that even as an avid autocrosser, I went with the 7AT and I'm loving it.

Nothing but a highly accurate timing system will discern any performance gap between the two and with Nissan's manual mode, you really have the best of both worlds.

If you really love to shift manually then get the manual but you won't be giving up anything with the auto (except a tired left leg/right arm when you are in stop and go traffic for a while :) )

Haven't had a chance to drive a 370Z yet. Is the clutch effort still fairly high?

If so, that would explain a tired leg. Can't say I've ever had to shift so much that my arm got tired.

I've never found the clutch effort level to be high in a Z. Then again, I leg press 700 lbs, so maybe I'm an aberration. *shrug* I don't find it to be much different than it was in the 350, if that answers your question.

I cannot leg press 700 lbs and to me, the clutch is no effort at all. It requires a bit of a finer touch if you're trying to nurse it in reverse, but nothing I would say is all that laboring. When they talk about sore legs and arms they just mean traffic jam hell.

Exactly.

Shift into first then neutral then back to first then to second then back to first then back to neutral a few dozen or a few hundred times while waiting in traffic or at an accident scene on the highway and the "fun" of shifting for yourself starts to loose some of its appeal no matter how much you can leg press! :)

Resolve the debate by purchasing both a manual and automatic 370Z. ;)

This is an entirely subjective choice. For a person who might be disabled to the degree they cannot drive stick, then the answer is obvious. For the daily commuter that spends untold daily hours subjected to traffic an automatic looks better day-by-day. We have the automatic and it's very good for an automatic and you can achieve some of what a manual shift affords. Still, some people will never drive anything other than a standard shift. I prefer Gerald Wiegert (the founder of the Vector) take as I got to speak with him at one of his lectures and believe that the automatic will outpace standard shift in so many ways, plus, will be the future. The programming that a computer can do far outpaces the human brain; this component as part of the right drivetrain will eventually dominate.

I test drove both and I have to say that the automatic is great and faster in straight line acceleration just because you can shift so much faster. It really changed my opinion about ATs.

However, I still prefer the 6spd manual because i'm so used to changing gears on the fly and i love the feel of being connected to the car. I don't buy cars to race people so I could care less if it's a hair slower or faster. It's all about the drive and what you want out of it.

Nissan on European site pubished some information in performance area.
From 0 to 100 Km/H
6MT --> 5.3 second
7AT --> 5.6 second

In Europe (especially in France) manual transmission are really popular. The 350Z was only availlable in MT. With 370Z, 7AT option is availlable.

The choice between MT and AT is not easy, and I always interrested to hear about quality (espically if change is fast and if there is a lag in manual mode) of this 7AT. If it has been a DCT, I think I will not hesitated.

When I look to ratio, 7AT seems a little bit strange compare to 6 MT. Especially gap between 4th and 5th are quite huge compare to gap betweh 3th and 4th. Note that 4th on 7AT and 3th on 6MT are very similar.
The 1st is really short on 7AT, I don't know what Nissan did this choice.

Your comment will be appreciated.

wow 5.6 sec. Granted with slight extra HP in US and at 60mph, perhaps we can see this figure drop to 5.4 sec? This is still higher than I expected.

From 0 to 100 Km/H
6MT --> 5.3 second
7AT --> 5.6 second


Just add .3 to the US manual version (100Km/H is not the same as 0-60). US ranges from 4.7 to 5.1 which would mean the AT would fall between 5.0 to 5.4.

One of the things from the linked auto v. manual thread that I was hoping to achieve in that thread, though I founder later after some digging, was how the auto compared to other automatics with paddles.

I enjoy manuals, when they are good (not my cheap car manual), but with the introduction of these new automatics with manual feel, I want to know if the same control can be achieved. Now being able to pick X gear and choosing it will probably never happen, but the control when I want it to shift, how smooth I shift in manual, etc. I know people talk about BMW having a nice system and then there are the F1 race cars that have the pinnacle of production systems, but where does Nissan fall into this range?

Can the auto compete on the track against a manual? Will it slow someone down because you have to hit multiple times to jump down gears, or how quick/slow it is at changing gears?

The questions you want answered are probably impossible to answer; at least, getting an answer not tinged with a lot of bias.

I love the paddles and love them more every time I hit some twisty roads or just need a quick downshift; however, I haven't driven any other manufacturer's vehicles with paddle shifters so I have no basis for comparring the 370's system to, say the BMW.

I don't drag race but I do autocross (haven't done so with the 370 yet but have many times with a 350 auto) and found the auto to be just fine for that duty (not to say that they manual isn't as good of a choice).

You may or may not give up a couple tenth's of a second in a straight line acceleration but the "manual" mode in the 370 will satisfy most shifting needs and is certainly worthy of consideration.

I havent autocrossed in the last few years, but when I did autox, almost every course (I'd say 9 out of 10) called for and were probably best to do just in 2nd gear; even on a manual car, which is what I always autox'ed, you'd lose too much time trying to downshift to 1st just to later upshift to 2nd, and there was never a need for 3rd.

On our courses here; we do have courses "open" enough that an occasional shift to 3rd is helpful but generally you are right, once you get to 2nd that's usually where you stay. :)