Better With Synchro-Rev Off?
 

I am willing to admit that I constantly struggle with smooth shifts between 1st and 2nd gear. Sometimes I hit it smooth and other times I don't. I have driven MT's for years and have never struggled with smooth shifts until I bought the 370Z. I had never even tried driving the car with this feature off until today. Honestly, my 1st to 2nd up-shifts were much smoother with the synchro-rev feature off. Anyone else experience this?

Nope, doen't seem to matter to me and I much prefer it on, sounds awesome with my FI CBE. :P I just had to get used to the cluch on this car, it is much more harsh than other cars.

So the srm works on upshifts also? Then I guess I should have bought the SRM.

Yes, Ive been disappointed with the 1-2 myself. 3 decades of experience meant jack squat on the Z. Heck, I can drive my other manual car as smooth, if not smoother, than an automatic.

I liked SRM on my test-drive. No problem at all, unless you count that I have a wierd quirk where I wiggle the shifter when coming to a stop to make sure it isn't in gear. This drives SRM crazy. I learned to drive stick on my cam/head/full bolt-on 5.0 with a TKo500/Hurst and 4.10s with a 3.27 first gear. If it was in gear when you came to a stop, it wouldn't really stall, even with the huge cam--at least not before it lurched 10-20 feet. Made me paranoid.

1-2 in the 'vert SUCKED, but 1-2 in the hard-top I drove was great. The seat in the 'vert wouldn't go back far enough to accomodate the clutch pedal/me. I'm only 5'10.5" I thought this was wierd...

Nope, I love SRM

Haha I knew i wasn't the only one who did this! lol I usually have SRM off though so no worries for me :p

Hehe, same here - the better half would notice I'd try to wiggle the gear selector in rental cars - and they were automatics. Habit, definitely.

I keep SRM on - I like it. It never misses a downshift. :p

As for the 1 to 2, yes: it's much harder to grab this smoothly in the Z than any other car I've driven (including a G35 6MT).

YES, SRM works on upshift as well. During up shifts, SRM holds the RPM until you put the shift knob into the desired gear. It's explained in detail in your owners manual.


This guy kinda shows you toward the end how the RPM is held during up shifts.

I manually heel/toe and rev-match. :)

While that is fun - on a track SRM is godsend - dont kid yourself man - relying on the fact that your cars balance isnt going to be thrown off mid corner if you shift is kinda awesome

on or off things are smooth here.

I am the only one who notices the occasional lack of smoothness, never my passengers. Maybe it is the slight delay in throttle response, so give it a little more throttle pressure. The SRM has nothing to do with it. SRM is fun but by no means essential. Leave it off and retain your heel toe skills. I cant seem to decide which setting to leave it on anyway. So I just switch back and forth. The only finding is that SRM is smoother than I, but I can live with it.

My other Z didn't have SRM. I didn't have any problem making smooth upshifts into any gear. My new roadster has SRM. Same thing with SRM on or off. However, I do prefer the downshifting with SRM on.

I'll usually try to get a smooth shift by applying a little gas as I'm letting off the clutch. But this isn't on a Z.

Yes....Turn off your VDC and try your shifts. You will notice that they are smooooooother... It was that way with my G35 and also with the 370z. I turn it off each time i get into the car, the shifts are smooth. Soft shifts everytime. I also turn off the SRM. :tup:

got to drive Dai's 370 somewhat "briskly" this past weekend in the GA mountains, SRM on. after getting used to it (driving a normal manual up to now, it takes conscious thought to avoid tapping the gas pedal myself), i really enjoyed it. it was very accurate, and was especially fun when driving enthusiastically. unless you are a pro at heal-toe driving, i say SRM should stay on.

Not to mention the accel pedal is so annoyingly planted in the ground unlike all reasonable cars :(

Makes my heel and toe not wanna bend in those ways :(

Hmmm...maybe its just my imagination then...
I am going to try it with VDC off, but only when the pavement is completely dry.
Seriously, there are days when things seem to be smooth with the 1st to 2nd shifts, and other days when it (or me?) really sucks. Thanks for the feedback.

:ugh2:

hope there's no churches nearby...:stirthepot:

Both is Ok:tup:

Did you try it with the VDC off? U should notice that the shifts are smoother.

It seems a lot of people on this site are "afraid" or "discourage" people to drive with the VDC off :shakes head: ..And they are right! If you are going to disrespect the car it can be horrible. I don't race and I don't shift passed 4000 rpm...In the snow/rain/ice/cold the VDC should be on. That being said I NEVER had it on with my previous car G35 6mt and I turned it off day one in the 370z.

The shifts are much smoother with the VDC off :tup:

Did you try it with the VDC off? U should notice that the shifts are smoother.

It seems a lot of people on this site are "afraid" or "discourage" people to drive with the VDC off :shakes head: ..And they are right! If you are going to disrespect the car it can be horrible. I don't race and I don't shift passed 4000 rpm...In the snow/rain/ice/cold the VDC should be on. That being said I NEVER had it on with my previous car G35 6mt and I turned it off day one in the 370z.

The shifts are much smoother with the VDC off :tup:

i love SRM ~_~

*Repeats the mantra* ...I love SRM...

...all manual cars should have SRM...

on my car i noticed the same thing, when SRM is on 1st to 2nd isn't as smooth when SRM is off...

also, i don't think VDC has anything to do with smoothness.

Haha I thought i was the only one who wiggled the shifter when I was coming to a stop or want to be in neutral!!

I was gonna post earlier in the thread that turning the VDC off seems to provide a much smoother take off from a stop and smoother shifts, but I thought it was just in my head. Maybe it really does make a difference.

Try it out and take a feel! :tup::tup:

I agree, it seems like 1st to 2nd is smoother with SRM off. I think it's because it takes a little bit longer for RPMs to die down when SRM is on, and this is most noticeable from 1st to 2nd as there's like a 1k RPM difference between those gears.

Well,
Maybe its not my imagination then...I tried it with SRM on, SRM off, SRM on and VDC off, and SRM off/VDC off. The 1st to 2nd shifts were smoothest with SRM and VDC off, followed by SRM off and VDC on. By the way, I am 50 years old, I do not street race or get crazy, and I know better than to lose the protection afforded by VDC when road conditions are adverse. Some of you young guns were dining on Gerber with diapers on when I was driving a column-mounted three speed! Anyone try one of those animals?

3-on-the-tree! Yeah, I remember driving a few of those. Talk about a long throw shifter!

I'm not young but I still have my old 1953 Chevy Bel Air with three on the tree. I am the second owner.

yeah~ I also noticed having srm off is much smoother compared to having it on :) btw if u want smoother shift try to shift ur 1st to 2nd gear somewhere lower then 2500. well it works :p

Brakedrift,
You are correct that the shift at lower RPM's is smoother from 1 to 2. Seriously (this is true)...a little bitty smart-car pulled up beside me at a stoplight. I was already POed because I pulled one of those "whiplash" 1 to 2 shifts at the previous light. The driver was a a HUGE fur-trader who leaned over to kiss her female domestic partner, who was also a two-ton tussie. Collectively, there was probably 400+ pounds of fur-trading females in this little car. When I took off at the light, I went into the "shift at low RPM's" mode between 1 and 2 and watched the smart car leave me in the dust. Such an event creates an aversion to low RPM 1 to 2 shifts. I bet the heavyweight chicks were laughing their ****S off as they licked each others eyebrows...

VDC Off gives you smooth shifts...People don't believe me when I say it! :tup: (My SRM is always off, but on previous cars the VDC made a difference)

Maybe I'm missing something, but if VDC doesn't sense wheel slippage while your shifting (shouldn't, if you're doing it right), it won't activate. Shouldn't be a difference if it's on or off while changing gears?

Does the VDC engage (light up) when anyone shifts from 1st to 2nd in here?

I've noticed that my shifts are smoother with SRM off also. I think it's because it takes the rpm longer to drop with SRM on. Tough decision...smoother shifts or SRM downshifting for you.

No it doesn't, and you are 100% right, but if u look at other car forums (G35driver) you will notice that posts saying VDC off gives your smooth shifts 24/7. (And I have tried this in a porsche 911 as well, traction control off, and the shifts were smoother), for a reason not known to me the shifts in the 6mt are smoother when VDC is off, as you 'feel' for the throttle and clutch to get that smooth shift without the "roughness". As I mentioned previously I turn mine off 24/7 (G35 and 370z)

Interesting - I'll check this out (only while shifting, mind you - I'll put if back on once the "science project" is complete :) ).