Shifting Gears
 

Hello. I had a question about the 370z for you manual owners. I currently have an old 1986 Fiero GT 4 speed.

Not super fast but it's a college car. I hope soon to get a 370z and was wondering how easy shifting is?

I have had people with new sticks drive my car like they have never used a manual. Everyone says that my car is the hardest thing to drive stick they have ever been in. It is a new clutch, rebuilt transmission and engine so I think it's just the old technology.

I have only ever driven a new car that was a stick once, a 2008 Cayman. I drove the car so badly I wanted to cry. Putting it into any gear seemed to easy. Everything seemed weird.

For example in my car if I am going 40 mph and I try and put it in 1st, the synchros are going to make that nearly impossible. I like that especially when I was first starting out. It basically made it so that you couldn't accidentally down shift to the wrong gear and wreck something.

In a Z what happens if you try and put the car in first? Or are at the top of 3rd gear going to fourth and accidentally go 2nd.

Just driving in general I guess with a new stick compared to something really old.

Pic of current ride:

http://s8.postimage.org/ucllucuz8/WP_000039.jpg

These apply to any manual car.

1. A misshift is a misshift. Doesnt matter what car.
So you're asking how it's like to misshift from top of 3rd and straight to 2nd?

2. You never shift to first unless you're going to a full stop.... less than 10mph. Unless you want it to be jerky or autocrossing.


3. Feather the clutch. All cars have different catch points. Pull the clutch out smoothly, doesn't matter if it's a Viper or a Civic.
FEATHER THE CLUTCH and learn how much travel is needed for the catch and to be smooth.


The more manuals you drive, you'll realize these are common with all of them. Just some advice for a youngin'




Specifically for the 370z.... coming from a full stop... ~3200RPM and let it out smoothly. Easy as pie. (smooth enough for your grandma)

Did I mention to feather the clutch? Shift slow and learn.

:)

You'll have a hard time hitting first while moving. Additionally 3rd to 4th is no effort straight down so mis-shifting is difficult IMO however it would go to 2nd if you tried. Only first gear has lock out as far as I know.

Get the sport package which has synchro rev-match (SRM) - if you mis-shift, you will hear it start to rev high and then you go "whoops" before you engage the clutch like a fool

Random shifting advice: for most people the easiest horrible shifting mistake to make is trying to do a 3->4 upshift and accidentally pulling it down into 2, because you're pulling the shifter down with your hand and arm cupped in a way that naturally pulls in towards your body, towards 2.

If you make a habit of flipping your hand the "other" way (back of hand to the left, fingers curved away from you) on 3->4, it make the natural tendency for mistakes be to the right instead of to the left. An accidental 3->6 is no big deal, but an accidental 3->2 at high rpm sucks.

Isn't 3k RPM bit too high already? If I let out clutch little bit fast at 3K, my grandma wouldn't be enjoying a pie in my passenger seat.:P I usually blipping gas to 1.5-2K to start with. Well maybe it's just me.

The common shifting mistake I make is the Reverse/6th gear. In an early morning when I am still in a semi-sleeping mode I often don't push the lever hard enough and thought it's in the reverse gear already and go.:driving: This is how I get myself into a fully wakeup mode in a sleepy day.:icon17:

I usually bog around 2k... 3k slow out works out fine. I could sidestep at 3k and herky jerky :)

3200RPM to start? Are you talking in normal everyday driving? I wouldn't give your clutch too long a life. I usually use 1000 to 1200 revs and have no trouble with the engine bogging.

Exactly.

The different clutches are what "scare" me. My clutch in the SRT4 is a bit heavier. I got to drive my buddies G35 years back and felt like I was learning to drive again, because the clutch was just so light.

Then drove another buddies Evo 8 with no problem, because the clutch was very similar.

Makes me nervous to go test drive a Z. :ugh:

I am sure you'll get the hang of it. Do not over think it.

It's not the easiest manual to drive, but you'll get used to it quickly.

As for mis-shifts, it's no worse than any other 6-speed. The gates are not too narrow, so once you are used to the car it should "feel wrong" if you go to the wrong gear.

Also if you get the Sport package and have the Synchro Rev Match turned on, if you went to 2nd gear instead of 4th the car would be bouncing off the rev limiter before you even had the clutch out or the stick all the way in gear. Plus there's a gear indicator on the tach.

So, you can still money-shift it but unless you're really manhandling it and not paying attention it's not going to be an issue.

:iagree:

Its actually a very easy car to learn on.... I taught myself. The 1st to 2nd is a bit jerky at first but you'll get the hang of it. I have yet to stall my Z at all.