How "bullet proof" are our transmissions?

Koz1614

Hey all!

Wanted to ask the question in the title how "bullet proof" are our transmissions? The noises that come out of these thing (though normal) are pretty scary sometimes. Can they take a beating because they sure don't sound like they can!? Anyone have 200k on an original setup?!

JLarson

Which transmission?

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2014 370z Touring Sport Magma Red MT // BP Single Turbo 6467 // 63mm TB's // Z1 Ported Upper Mani // RJM Pedal // Zspeed Stage 3 Clutch // 526 WHP, 451 WTQ
2006 350z (Sold) // 1990 300zx (Sold) // 1985 300zx 2+2 (Sold)

Koz1614

Manual...I have a 2017 Nismo..Im just wondering in general the 370z base or nismo

B&W_Evader

May not last long if you drive it like an idiot. Grinding and slamming gears will shorten the life of any tranny. Be nice to it and it will be nice to you.

I think close to 1000 hp they were breaking half shafts but manual was still holding up. I have 87k on mine. Keep fresh oil in it and it still runs like new. Lots of highway and rush hour traffic on mine.

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Chuck33079

If it breaks, it's because you broke it.

They're noisy and clunky, and the hydraulics are crap from the factory, but the gearbox is solid.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

JLarson

Our transmissions do tend to be somewhat noisy. There is a fair amount of chatter in neutral, even with a stock flywheel. I'm assured that all of this is normal. If you can use our awkward clutch well, apparently they are quite robust.

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2014 370z Touring Sport Magma Red MT // BP Single Turbo 6467 // 63mm TB's // Z1 Ported Upper Mani // RJM Pedal // Zspeed Stage 3 Clutch // 526 WHP, 451 WTQ
2006 350z (Sold) // 1990 300zx (Sold) // 1985 300zx 2+2 (Sold)

Koz1614

Yea it took a while to get used to..id say I can shift smoothly 90% of the time now..the other 10% kills me..never never grind gears, mostly just shift shock from downshifting at a low rpm or shifting from 2nd to 3rd going uphill. Finicky but getting better everyday.

Edit: 1st gear taking off is also odd. get this weird shudder in the clutch pedal..not always though. I'm thinking because the clutch is so new and grabby..unless I'm not giving enough gas (1.4k)

bcfromfl

The reason first-gear starts are so unpredictable and "wonky" (and probably the shuddering you describe) is because of the dual-mass flywheel. Nissan added the DMF to try to absorb some of the drivetrain noise/vibration, but in the process, contributed to the poor clutch performance. Other elements that make for poor shifting are the plastic parts in the CMC and CSC, as well as the rubber hydraulic lines.

Some Z owners are fine with the OEM clutch...I'm a bit more picky, I guess. I expect a predictable and consistent engagement point, and a nice feel of solid contact. I just upgraded to a ZSpeed clutch with the external CSC at 3,500 miles on my car, and love it. (At the same time, I upgraded the CMC to the HD RJM unit.) The new 20-lb. flywheel also revs more quickly, and allows for a nice growl between shifts as the engine can spin down a little more easily. The OEM DMF is about 33 pounds, I think.

You may consider skipping gears when you shift, if you're concerned about wear and tear on the transmission. Third is basically useless, and only really useful when downshifting into a corner. (If you're accelerating hard, and do a 2-3 shift, IMO, you're out of the power band much too quickly in third.) Normal driving, I usually shift 1-2-4-6. Fifth only gets used when driving in a 30-35mph zone. As long as you are matching RPMs, the fewer times you shift, the less strain on the clutch and tranny.

Alstann

I would say the only weak point would be the syncros - they are notorious for wearing out if you're slamming home gears. Otherwise, my money is on bulletproof for 99.9% of applications.

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Spooler

I haven't seen one break yet. I do see issues with synchros wearing out and some grinding shifting in early model 370z's. That's it. None have exploded under full boost, etc.

RumbleFish

Really?

Nissan replaced mine in 2016 for free (under the CPO warranty) when the 4th/5th gear syncros went out.

They never accused me of causing the damage. It's a common issue, like the CSC

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Chuck33079

Sure, it's possible to have a one off issue with anything mass produced but if there were widespread issues we'd see plenty of threads about it.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

cv129

Reliable and sturdy enough for some 2jz guys. Anything can break when being mistreated though.

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Ventruck

I've tried three Z's (used) before taking one home. One was definitely smoother than the rest. Ironically I bought the worst-feeling one because everything else on it was proper.

Reason why it sucked so much is because the CSC was on its way and there was already clutch fluid leaking. Add the dual mass flywheel in the equation, and I really was second-guessing my ability to drive for some time.

That fixed and switching to a single mass flywheel indeed helped, but after break-in, the bite window is still small and high imo. At least I can feel it out to a degree.

I'm actually still hung up on that one Z that drove so nice. Didn't get a good look if there was an RJM pedal or something. I never made that move yet because I weirdly like that no one can jump in my car and easily figure it out (if I ever even let someone do that). I'm sure most of us have those friends who think they're entitled to flex and you just know they're about to f*** something up

Rusty

The stock manual tranny has a bad rap for the synchros, which it earned. Also the cmc. For holding power. I've only heard of one breaking. I was talking to Mike at ZDayZ this year. He owns Godzraa. He had a BP turbo on it making over 600 hp and 550 torque. Said he was fooling around, and did a 5th gear roll-on from about 2,000 rpm. Said the input shaft broke around 6,000 rpm. Said that you could see the twist in the shaft when they inspected the tranny.

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