Frustrated to no end going from 1st to 2nd...
 

So I recently bought my Z I would say a good month ago, perhaps less than a month ago.

Going from 1st to 2nd is incredibly frustrating. Granted, when I first noticed that I was jerking the car around, I blamed it on myself due to the fact that I haven't driven a manual for a few years. I brushed it off as "I will get back to form soon". THIS has NOT been the case for me.

Surely it's a Z. I bought it for some occasional "spirited driving". I can launch it fine, but going into 2nd i have failed most of the time. Literally 3 of 10 tries i would fail.

So I read through the forums, many people have trouble but they get better at it. So I also take the approach, slow and steady but more importantly work on smooth transition from 1st to 2nd. Still I am not quite there, I would like to get better due to the fact, even when "normal" driving and "practicing" I am only getting about 5/10 smooth transition.

These are the things i have tried thus far....

1. Reving a little before the shift, then shift.
2. When easing off the clutch I do it slowly.
-This sometimes causes me to slip............. :(
3. I frequently seem to press the gas too late, causing the slow down jerk then acceleration jerk.... :(
4. Sometimes I press the gas to early, cause it to slip more ......... :(
5. Shifting fast/slow
6. Holding the clutch a split second longer before releasing the clutch... This one doesn't make sense to me if it works because when "spirited driving" I would not want to do this........


Main thing that annoys me, I can't get a grip on this clutch at all.... everytime I do it right, I can't replicated it right after but the feeling of the car pull when you do it right, even just smooth/slow shifting makes me want to get it right more than ever....... Someone help me . :(

A question though, Is there supposed to be that deep from the press clutch to the friction point on this car??????????????????????????

Take out the helper spring.

This ^^^I took mine out years ago and never looked back!

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It took me 10K miles to get well and truly used to it and Ive been driving manuals only for years...Replacing the soft factory differential bushings helps IMHO. Keeps the car from bouncing as much when you frack it up. if you don't want to get used to it I hear the RJM clutch peddle is the way to go. The engagement point and friction zone are adjustable to your liking. Clutch on these cars engages/disengages very high ie. you don't need to push it very far to shift, and theres a lot of dead space past that. If it disengages near the floor, your csc may be about to fail.

Don't get frustrated....it will come. I'm 65 years old and have been driving manuals since I was 16, including some god awful ones, and the Z took me awhile to get used to it. It is not very forgiving.

Many have also switch out the shift knob for a heavier knob with success as well. I did that too and it helped as well but I went to a tall 7" TWM shift knob and I love that thing. It makes shifting so much easier. I got props from my track day driving instructor for it too lol.

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:iagree:
Mine has been gone since I bought the Z.

turn off the syncro rev match it trys to revmatchon the upshifts also and if you still dont like it shift with the ac on, the rpm drop faster there is no rev hang with the ac on, easy fix

Skip all above mentioned and just get the RJM pedal. It's the best upgrade you can make, if you wish to have a good clutch feel as well as ease of operation.

I just tug my paddle or bump my stick....or i can just leave in "D" & Drift through 1st & 2nd into 3rd.

:iagree:

:icon18:

+1, and...

For DD, what has also helped me is shifting slowly and at very low rpms. :driving:

No issues shifting when taking her to redline and driving the hell out of her :stirthepot:

Got any pics of the shift knob...? No homo :nutswinger:

1. Get RJM Clutch Pedal
if still not happy
2. Turn off rev matching
if still not happy
3. Get light weight flywheel
if still not happy
4. Get urathane tranny mount
if still not happy
5. Get mustang

Every problem you're describing i was struggling with when i bought my Z and hated the car because of it, then i bought RJM clutch pedal and it made a 1000% difference, but i wasn't truly happy untill i turned off rev matching, because it holds RPMs up for a second or 2 because it doesn't know if you're going to downshift in which case it needs to rev up, which is stupid if you're in first f-u-c-k-i-n-g gear! anyway i drive a 2010 non-sport and love it, i think Z is the best sport car you can buy but you have to mod it to your liking once you do: :driving:

Another +1 for rjm clutch pedal. was so annoyed with the stock pedal.

Took some getting used to for me as well. The tricks I've found that work are:

1. Get off the gas early before pushing the clutch in to avoid the " thump." This goes against every other manual I've driven where you normally need to push clutch in slightly before letting off the gas.
2. Get on the gas a little earlier after shifting to 2nd for smooth engagement.
3. Take a little longer when releasing the clutch.

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You got to be a man to handle a stick like this! :p http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...1cd3fd7744.jpg

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OP, just go ahead and get the RJM clutch pedal assembly if you're not hard up for the cash. Removing the helper spring is free and is certainly an improvement over stock. But the RJM pedal is a far better option. I speak from experience of 20K miles in stock form, 20K miles with helper spring removed, 35K with RJM clutch pedal v2.1, and the last 5K with RJM pedal v3.1. The stock pedal is simply garbage, and that stupid double hinged action it has is not helpful despite the engineer's intent.

:iagree:

major differences between the two in term of driveability?

Got the same one. Was originally disappointed because I thought it was metal and was going to return it. But I bit the bullet and installed it and it's actually perfect.

Did you pair it with a short shifter? If you haven't, you should consider it.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...e0b9a6e3be.jpg
Cruising in the 7th hole!


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Lmao, you were the reason I purchased the shift knob a couple years ago when there was that thread on short vs long shifters and knobs. My experience was the same as yours, I unpacked the knob and thought this going to be better than my TK...well it is perfect! Function over form for sure.

Oh, and yes I have TWM short as well! :D

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You got me! :owned:

:rofl2:

Driveability? Absolutely none. Exactly as pleasant as the 2.1 version I had.

Install and adjustment? Worlds. Any version is still worth the upgrade, but the new one is much easier. It just bears consideration the price of a used version vs the newest.

Hmmm...........I guess I'm the only one not noticing any significant shifting problems with my car. The rev-match feature took me a little bit of time to digest since I was used to doing it myself on my previous car (2003 Corvette). But, once I embraced the fact that the car will handle the heel and toeing, I find it quite nice. I did try turning it off a few times but soon discovered that it did a better job during downshifts than I could ever do.
If there was on thing I would change would be eliminating the rev-matching during upshifts. I think it wasn't necessary and can cause some shifts to be unsmooth because people have to re-learn to engage the clutch while throttle is applied.

Looks like i'll be getting the RJM Clutch pedal for my first mod.... i was gonna go with a HFC but ...... meh..


Thanks guys

I don't have an issue either. Mine doesn't have rev-match, so I'm not sure what I'm doing differently than everyone else. The only time I have wonky shifts is when I have a brain fade and forget to put the damn clutch in before trying to hit 2nd or 3rd....:owned:

Use the snyc mode.. That should cure all frustrations .

You won't regret it. I had my car for about two weeks and decided to install the RJM assembly. After some install and tweaking, the car is fun to drive and isn't a chore. It's pretty easy to install too, you just better have something to lay on and protect your sides!

That clutch pedal should be everyone's first mod, Nissan should buy that design and put it on all their cars.

I think you and some other are correct in term of the rev-matching on the upshift that causes the jerkiness from 1st to 2nd.

I turned off the rev-matching today and the upshift (1 to2) is much smoother without that additional throttle from the rev-matching feature. However, the downshfit is not nearly as smooth without it.

As you stated, relearning is the key here.

i think it is because you didn't get that additional throttle introduce by the rev-matching feature.

i personally would increase the throttle as the clutch engages and with that artificial throttle from the rev-matching, there'd be too much throttle and causes the car to lurch forward as the clutch engages.

it all kinda makes sense now.

Try to put less gas to reduce jerking, cuz clutch slips and you have 2.0LSD