More thoughts on the 7AT from a future buyer...
 

I test drove a new 2011 370z Touring (no sport) 7AT last weekend. I liked it. In this thread, I'm really just posting about the 7AT drivability. It felt really very similar so my G37x, except just much quicker. The Z is about 500lbs lighter.

However, the gears are the same and so is the final drive. Now the reason for my worry is that the G37 boards are riddled with 7AT complaints. Its not that its a bad tranny, just the software, at least in the G, is messed up in many ways. Infiniti has released TWO software updates since 2009 to correct it and it still hasn't fully.

I did notice than when the Z was cold and I was coming to a stop (just in standard "D" mode) that it held on to 2nd gear until like 2mph then kind of jerked into 1st. My G does the same thing when cold (actually worse).

My hope is that Nissan has tuned the 7AT more aggressively in the Z (firmer shifts?) and that the problems seen in the G line aren't in the Z. I would imagine that if they were, I'd see posts here.

Here are some of the problems the Infiniti G 7AT have had:

1. When first released in 2009, the downshifting slowly for stop under 30mph was aggressive enough that you could basically roll to a stop without using the brakes! It wasn't harsh downshifting, just kind of kept the tach at around 1500 as it kept choosing lower gears. Coasting in city driving was not possible LOL. A re-flash of the TCU corrected this.

2. Harsh 3-2 or 2-1 downshift. This would/will occur when braking for stop (not downshifting for acceleration). Sometimes it feels like a little jolt.

3. "Flare". The 7AT has a Variable-Locking Torque Converter. Not sure why, or how it helps, but it makes the tranny very busy. After my car is at operating temp and is then restarted (say I run into a store for 20 mins), when I come out and drive away, the rpms will jump as its shifting from 3-4 or 4-5. Almost like its slipping. It's basically the torque converter unlocking (producing a split second rise in rpm's) and then re-locking a split second later.

So I post all this because I've come to hate the 7AT in my car, even though it does drive well when you're more aggressive. However, on the Z boards, it seems all is rosy when the tranny.

Here is a link to the Infiniti Technical Bulletin for the latest transmission software update. BTW: They updated the ecu in this update too.

[TSB] G37 7AT shift issues TCM/ECM reprogram - MyG37

Have had mine (2011 with sport) for 9000 miles now. None of the issues you mention except when manually downshifting from 2-1 it would sometimes engage strongly. I realized that keeping my foot on the brake while downshifting was causing the issue. Let foot up, dowshift, no problems.

I like the transmission a lot for it's different abilities, calm or raging it's all good.:driving:

I agree with Dart. It's not perfect but the more I drive it the more I like it. Now that I have the Fast Intentions cat back, I drive in manual mode mostly. I do wish they would have put in a DCT but I'm still very happy with what we have.

My 2009 370z has 25,000 miles on it and the AT is running just as strong as ever...

on the other hand...dad's 2010 7AT G37...well lets just say we have been car shopping lately :ugh2:

I haven't experienced the problems you mentioned. I only have about 2,500 files so far, though...

Same here; on both counts.

This at least validates my thoughts. The tranny in the Z is the same as G (unless there are some minor internal differences) and its hooked upto the same engine. It must be all in the tuning and I'm happy to hear these gremlins are absent in the Z.

Same here...

hey so mike, when are you going to pull the trigger? you've been lurking for some time. :D

I dunno......haha. My G has about 5 lease payments left....so I'd need to order one in about 60-90 days. Wanted to wait until the NY Auto Show to see if Infiniti would show a new G....but it sounds like they won't show it till 2013. I don't want another G that is basically the same car as 2007. You might have to show me your Z!

haha, i see. yah, ive been waiting for wat the next gen G-coupe might look like as well.

been holding out with my 2004 (original owner) since im not a big fan of the current G37C's.

if you want to see picts of my Z you can check out my profile's album page. :)

I had my tranny replaced around 8k miles. Because it was hard to change gears some times and the dealer just replaced the tranny instead of fixing it. But since that issue I've had no other problems and just hit 42k miles. I spend a lot of time playing in traffic durning my compute and I love my auto tranny wouldn't have it any other way..... Well I would take a double clutch setup..... Maybe with the next Z :)

Just get an Altima coupe, shifting is not necessary. CVT

woaah... no thanks! :ugh2: thing is as ugly as a tibron.

I pretty much only drive in manual mode and have experienced issue #3 a few times now. Its so infrequent that when it does happen I kind of think oh that was a little strange but then it won't happen again for months so I forget about it. I will say that when it does happen its not in situations as you described.

Yep found that out too. So, I brake earlier, let her coast to a stop and apply the brakes to stop creeping and roll back.

Actually the CVT is shiftable and it will bounce off the rev-limiter even though it has no clutches.

I also agree. The capabilities are surprisingly huge and contrary to popular belief. It takes time to understand this transmission to make it work to its fullest capacity. As the car gets to know your driving style, it begins to give better throttle response and faster shifts. No multiple drivers in this car. The more this car learns your style and only your style. The better your shift timing gets.
What I love best is that floor shifting and paddle-shifting give different driving sensations while in manual. And DS gives the most sedate shifts for instant yet smooth power. Just keep it in drive and downshift when you need a quick boost of acceleration without the aggressive feel. Leave the paddle alone for a couple seconds and you are back in D.

Yep. For a slushbox it does an amazing job. Sure, some people knock it but hey, technology changes things. Would I get 7AT again if given the choice? Probably not since my commute has changed quite a bit but hey, it may change again. Do I want to sell my Z because the 7AT is boring? Nope!

Yep absolutely agree! Theses are not the old slip-o-matics of yesterday. Definitely glad I got the auto.

YMMV

I recently test drove two MT's, one a NISMO, and the other was a Touring w/Sport. Both were awesome. I had absolutely no intention of buying an AT. HOWEVER, about three weeks ago test drove an AT black Touring /w Sport. I was soo impressed with responsiveness that it shook my whole process. Thought and battled over it until last Friday. Went back into the dealer and drove away with the AT.

I think it really depends on what you want to do with the car. I want to drive and enjoy it (and the power). The animal in me wants to shift. The lazy "driver" wants to just stomp on the gas and HOLD ON!

Driving on windy roads with the paddies is a freakin' blast. So it's almost like I have the best of both worlds...sort of.

I don't regret my choice at all. Also have pretty severe arthritus in my knees. That was also always on my mind when making my final choice.

No regrets and loving it!

"OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE LOSING"

Congrats on your purchase.

While the autos are pretty slick (esp with the down shift rev matching), I find myself too disconnected from the driving experience. Also, even with BT, I still prefer not to talk on the phone when driving in the city. I've done it, but after the fact it seems like I was on autopilot. Can't recall any details.

Although I haven't driven an Automatic 370z, Nissan makes great transmissions without a clutch pedal. If you feel the car could use more refinement and smoother driver engagement, go with the Auto.
The notchy feeling of shifting the lever into gear for the Manual is pretty fun. A little more focus rewards you in driving the MT car fast. .

I haven't driven the manual, but I love the auto. I keep it in D for regular driving around and switch it to M when I'm on the freeways and there's no traffic, feels great to me.

These transmissions adapt to the driver.

But I just spent an hour driving a G37x the other day, and did experience some really weird things with it that I never saw in the 370Z. It definitely felt worse than any 370Z 7AT I've driven.

from test driving the G and the Z before buying my Z back in April, the Z was not only my Gut feeling saying to do it, but also because to me G auto felt somewhat jerky ..the Z felt more smooth

The X is almost like driving a whole different car from the G37s. Try that one and repost.

anyone know the shift times for our 7at? is it different in "D" than "M" ? any difference using the paddles or the stick as far as shift times go? what about up-shift times vs downshift times? just wondering how our 7at compares to a DSG

I think I read on 370z.com it's about 500 milliseconds between shifts.

Not sure in exactly incremental seconds but the paddles. In Manual mode are definately the fastest and smoothest manual shifter between floor shifting and paddling DS mode (which is paddle-shifting in drive) floor shifter is a little slower to shift, (but still shifts quickly) and it jerks the car more in gears 2-3-4.
Regular D (drive) shift-timing,feel similar to shifting from the floor, just not as jerky. I have heard the Z auto has been clocked to shift anywhere from .03 to .07 seconds. I have heard the 500 millisecond numbers thrown around as well.
I guess it depends on mode and how the ECU is handling your driver input that day. I personally am consistantly/fairly aggressive so in my car the shifts are fast and fairly precise from paddle and floor shift. DS doesn't do anything for me as far as fun factor. But it comes in handy when you need to reactively downshift or engine brake while in D mode. So even though its the least entertaining as far as shift feel. Its an awesome overall feature.

i agree ive heard the .03-.07 figures as well.

Nissan claims .5 seconds for shifts. It's a pdf on nissannews website.

Nissan will state that conservatively so as to not cut into sales of the 6MT. But the reality is that half-a-second is fairly slow and unresponsive, but to the common and uninformed person it may seem very quick. I've actually used various accelerometer tests (iPhone 3GS apps) on my old 350Z, which was a 5AT (they're virtually identical in design to the 7AT, aside from gearing) and you can see how acceleration hardly fell off with every shift throughout the entire graph.

I then compared it to a VW GTI (DCT) which showed virtually no drops in forward momentum, and then to a 2007 Lexus GS300, which showed noticeable spikes with every gear shift. Nissan really designed a superb and super fast automatic and they improved it tremendously with the 7AT, because the shift logic is actually even better and quicker.

If you watch this video towards the end you can hear the gear changes are much quicker than half-a-second.

370Z with automatic transmission Rev match explained - YouTube

Hey guys thanks for all the replys. Glad to hear the 7AT in the Z seems like it's tuned a good bit better than in the Infiniti's! There are so many posts on the G boards it's laughable. One thread has nearly 65,000 views. It can't just be picky owners b/c everyone loves the 5AT that was in the 07-08G's, but lots of complaints 09+.

Does the Z have a DS mode like my G? It seems like it's only D or Manual mode.

The 5 speed and 7 speed are two very different transmissions. Nissan didn't just add two more gears. Read the pdf and check out how they're different.

What pdf is that...can you link it please.

I know the 7AT also has a variable locking torque converter but I'm not sure how that helps drivability.

Nissan and Infiniti - 2009 Nissan 370Z Coupe Press Kit: Overview

I wasn't able to find info on the full lock up. But here is info about the new 7 speed.

Did you read my whole post? DS mode is in the car. DS is when you shift while in D. You won't see a little DS sign light up but its there.

I didn't say Nissan just added two new gears.

Most of these things were offered in the 5AT, such as the rev-matching and adaptive shift control after 2006. The only difference was the torque-converter lockup was different in the 5AT. In fact, even their model numbers are almost the same:

Jatco JR507E and Jatco JR710E.

Point being, the 7AT has different gearing ratios to make up for the two new cogs - but much of it remains the same, and was mostly carried over from the previous transmission.

That doesn't really sound like a "DS" mode then. The G has 3 Modes. Normal "D", "DS" which will more aggressively upshift and downshift when the gyro sensor is activated and a manual mode.

If you click the paddles in the Z while in normal drive, the D will turn to a number (at least thats what I remember from my test drive). However, that just seems like manual mode....I can't imagine the auto then up and downshifting with no other inputs...it should just revert to D.