Need tips how to shift smoothly
 

:driving: Funny as it may sound but I need tips how to drive my 6 speed Z.
I cannot seem to get the hang of it from 1st to 2nd gear. It's always a little jerky when I release the clutch because it grabs so fast compare to my last car.
At what RPM is the best point to shift between 1st and 2nd. It seems to be
smoother when I don't rev the engine too high between shifts and keep the speed low. The higher gears are ok but it's between 1st and 2nd gears that cause me problems. I don't want my wife to snap her neck on her first ride with me, it will be embarassing. I've had the car for a full week of commuting now, stalled maybe twice but I'm better now. It's not my first 6 speed but this one is different.
I try not to push the clutch too far down and not rev too high,is it the best way,what's your technique, thanks

actually, the first to second shift is much smoother if you rev to around 3500 rpm's before shift. the lower rpm's i shift at, the jerkier the 1-2 shift is. give it a couple hundred more rpm's than usual and see if that solves the issue

You can also change the spring on the clutch..search helepr spring ...I think they sell it for 20 bucks and there's a diy on how to change it

Pause briefly in the mid-point of the 1-2 shift. RPM will match better. With my 2011 Z, I had a really hard time driving it smoothly. I notice that they must have made some changes to my 2014 because there's a night and day difference in the ability to shift it smoothly.

Other solutions are a weaker ( or remove altogether) clutch helper spring, or an RJM clutch pedal assembly.

Shift 2500-3500k RPMs. When you are letting out the clutch, just before it catches, hold it for half a second to allow better RPM matching. Just gotta play with it!

I guess before I change the spring, I will try to rev match it better, thanks guys keep giving me your experience.;)

I've always sucked at 1st to 2nd shift. Regardless of the car. And I've been driving stick for 30+ years.

Yea, the 1-2 shift is just a bastard in this car. All the advice thus far will help. You just have to work it. Even then, if you're not paying attention, you'll jerk the crap out of it. I bought the lighter spring a month ago. I'll probably pop it in this weekend.

When I shift from 1st to 2nd, it takes a full second before i totally let go of the clutch since its just a gear. When you shift from 2nd to 3rd, you can shift faster and smoother probably because its a higher gear. Smaller gears always seem more torquey feeling.

Interesting..I wonder exactly what changes they made with the new Z? I know when I made the transition from my 350z to my 370z, there was a night and day difference. I could tell immediately on the test drives that the 370z tended to shift a little easier, especially from 1st to 2nd.

I really have no clue. All I know is that my ability to shift the 2014 smoothly on the first day I drove it is completely different than my ability to shift my 2011 on the last day I drove it. The pedal doesn't really feel any different to step on, but maybe they did something to the helper spring, or maybe they changed the geometry of the pedal mechanism somehow. Even my wife noticed. She normally shied away from driving the 2011 because of the jerky 1-2 shift and she's an experience MT driver. She has no reluctance to drive the 2014 and does well with it.

change clutch spring. wear same shoes. practice

So I'm not alone, makes me feel better now, I thought it was me !

yah, just the two of you really.

Z is definitely one of the toughest car to master when it comes to butter shifting. I would suggest shifting around 2k~2.5k Go easy on the gas and get the momentum going at a linear pace. In another words, try to minimize the jerk of the car or else this will have a ripple effect when your shifting. It takes practice!!

I have seen that a number of members have gone the route of replaceing the clutch pedal with the adjustable one from RJM.

370Z & G37 AFP Clutch Pedal Assemblies - *RJM Performance.com

Anyone care to chime in on the differences in driving the stock clutch smoothly with the RJM pedal?

the RJM makes a huge difference. Feels more "natural" for lack of a better word, and is adjustable to fit the driver. It's much more predictable than the stock clutch pedal.

It does make the 1-2 shifts much smoother, and launches easier, but do keep in mind the Z's transmission is still finicky/notchy and will take practice either way.

Push in clutch.

Shift to next gear.

Wait for revs to drop to their appropriate level (the SRM will hold it at the right revs once they drop low enough).

Let out clutch.


:tiphat:

Just hold the goddamn clutch 1-2 seconds longer.....

Or this. :rofl2:

I experienced the same thing when I got my Z last year. The problem for me was that the near simultaneous let-off-gas-cluch motion that I used would always be rough with the Z. Since then I've learned that if I let my foot off the gas a bit earlier than I was used to before clutching the jerkiness goes away. The torque and heavier flywheel make this technique necessary.

http://www.redlineoil.com/content/im...roducts/46.png

after I put this in the gearbox literally sucks in the gears, makes the 1-2 shift feel like an automatic transmission paddle slap, regardless of clutch modulation.

Reported for spam! :mad:

And on the flip side ....

Crank it up to 7K and bang that 1st to 2nd. That seems to work...

Then cruise. :driving:

Works if he has the Sport Package

jk

Real men don't have any problems with the manual.;)

:icon18::ugh2:

350 and now the 370 has one of the most brutal 1-2 shifts lol, I was in your situation - for me it was as simple as changing tranny fluid to redline.

as far as helper spring, i think stock is just fine, just get used to it.

honestly the oem nissan fluid is complete crap, just my 2 cents, -long time Z owner here, the 370 manual gearbox feels identical to my old 08 350 gearbox.

This car will tell you how it wants you to shift. Listen to her and pay attention to your speed and RPMs. While the RJM pedal is a fantastic upgrade, it will not correct your incorrect clutch action. What it will do is make clutch modulation significantly easier.

If you're just cruising along you should drive it like a normal clutch. Accelerate to 3500 RPMS (or whatever you want). Clutch in. Shift to 2nd and allow RPMs to drop to about 2000 (or whatever is appropriate for your speed) before you let the clutch out. It will take dedicated practice - driving around hoping you get it right without paying attention to the vehicle isn't doing yourself or your Z any good. The car can be perfectly smooth when shifting properly.

If you're driving spiritedly and shifting at higher RPMs, the Z likes quick shifts. Accelerate to 5K+ RPMs. Clutch in. Shift. Clutch out. As quick as your feet and the car will let you :driving: Note that this is much harder on your clutch than the above method.

whats Manuel?

The guy that does my lawn.

:rofl2:



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To get a smoother shift like you do from 4 to 5; simply just shift later in the rpm. Try reving 1st gear to around 4 k then go to 2 just liked ua usually do. Report back how it went.

S-MODE rev match is awesome!!! thats all i ever drive it on anymore...

I never used that. I think I tried it for like 5 turns then turned it off. I have a tendency to check if I'm out of gear by wiggling the stick left and right. It would blip thinking I was downshifting. I don't like that. Anyhoo, I think that thing only turns on when you go form 2 to 1, not 1 to 2 which is OP's problem.

:bowrofl:

This used to bother me, too. When my wife used to DD the Z, I never used SRM when I drove it. But as my DD, I leave SRM on most of the time. I generally turn it off when I go cruise around the hill country. I have trained myself not to wiggle the stick any more. It's not needed, especially since the instrument panel tells me what gear I'm in :driving:

I also think there is no need to rev the engine and make noise for all to see/hear. Then again, I'm stock exhaust. IDK, I think I do it because I like to row. Either that or it makes me feel fast. :driving::icon17:

i never look at the cluster for which gear im in...

I do occasionally. Very infrequently I find myself pulling up to a stop light in third gear and don't switch over to first immediately. Usually when I want to change the song on my phone or do something quick like that while I'm stopped at the light. A quick glance tells me that I need to switch gears.

A book that comes with the car. You know, RTFM!