G20's AT gearbox was the craps.

Mine has already taken one. $1250 to replace.

The 370Z is pure sex! It is hot, loud, and rough!

I test drove two 370z's:

- The first was a Nismo. I noticed the engine was erratic in its power and torque delivery...like something was wrong. Maybe the ECU needed to be re-set (?) I'm not sure... red-lining 1st gear from 5 mph was kind of crazy: like a true combustion/explosion happened under the hood and what felt like a drop in power but much more noise after 5,000 rpm.

- Then a Roadster. This engine was very smooth and linear. It didn't seem to have the soft low end the Nismo had, nor did it have erratic jumps in power while revving into higher engine speeds.

Both of these cars were new, so I'm not sure what was going on with the Nismo ?

It was probably spinning and VDC was limiting it. The first time I hit the traction control in a car that was aggressive with it, I thought I had blown the engine.

Drive a new 370 to compare. Mine doesn't do any of those nasty things. I've got an auto and it just charges to the 7500 rpm shift point. Since you are still early in the process you probably should try the auto (even though you clearly are after a manual) as well to see our it behaves.

Hadn't thought of that.

Agreed. Re-test drive the manual with vdc on and off. Then do the same with the automatic. I feel the auto in manual mode gives so much better responsiveness. You won't do burnouts or anything but, shift control is pretty awesome. It rivals many DCT transmissions in performance "feel". The slushbox has some mod drawbacks but is still the best performance slushbox in the business... Here's some examples.
Drive in D but use your shifters-
you keep the low and smooth 1500 rpm for gas saving cruising with the option of precision shifting up on the wheels.
Manual mode stick-
your cruising rpm goes up 1000 rpm to 2500rpm for more aggressive driving and better mid range acceleration. Shifting the stick gives a retro-jerk to shifts which is reminiscent of older 70's and 80's cars which gives it a retro sport feel.
Manual mode paddleshifts-
the quickest, most aggressive shifts while maintaining extremely quick and smooth gear changes that you can barely feel, the type of shifting reminiscent of a formula 1 race car. VDC off accentuates all of these differences but extended drives with vdc off garners some time and practice with starting off with short spurts with vdc on at first. And always keep it on during bad weather.

Not steering you away from manual but when test driving the auto I just want you to have a clear idea on how the different auto modes work and feel, cuz the Z auto has multiple-personality disorder which makes the auto a lot of fun and versatile for various driving styles. Of course you can do all of this manually as well. Just throwing it out there for your info and give you the ability of making full and accurate "personal" comparisons.
EVEN IF STILL GOING MANUAL? Driving the auto in manual mode can give you ideas on how you need to improve your own personal shifting patterns when you buy your manual. Because the auto is programmed to give you the purest Z shift patterns.

How does that auto hold up to HPDE's, and what temp do you normally notice it running when driving it spiritedly?

Maybe it's me. I had a 40 miles test drive in an auto, didn't enjoy a single minute.

Kinda my sentiments, too. Owned 1 automatic performance vehicle, and never another one.

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