Company in town just means for hands to help then....give them something to do, like taking out all the sound dampening tar, and get some use out of them.

Go with whatever you like.
 

:rolleyes: Nothing wrong with 370Z 7 AT.

I own both 370Z A/T and 300ZX M/T. They are both awesome, but act and should be treated differently at time of driving.

I drive both of them hard and push both of them way past 7500 RPM occasionally.

370Z in Manual paddle/tip tronic mode does not up shift for you. It only downshift for you but wait for a very long time to react. But, hey it is faster of the line than most racers can shift through gears. It has pros and cons.
Less responsiveness when you want to race your car or try to power slide and drift it.

300ZX 5 speed M/T is a definitely different story, it requires more respond and input, but a lot more fun to drive AS LONG AS t THERE IS NO TRAFFIC LIKE IN SEATTLE, running between 1st - 2nd for hours. This could be really suck.

I decided to get A/T for my Z34 because of couple reason.
1. My GF can also drive it without worry about rolling back down the hill.
2. If I go on a long *** ride with heavy traffic, my back and my knee don't .itch about it after I get home.
3. 370Z auto give you a plenty of fun without engaging the clutch which in new era now. Forget the 19 century technology. We live in a tech world now.

Summary: buy what suit you and your situation is the best decision, good luck.

7AT mucfuka!!!!!! :happydance:

Someone told me a 6 speed is faster but they couldnt prove anything. :rofl2:

a 6 speed is more enjoyable and you don't have to worry about all the people who would think you aren't as cool because because your car could be driven by a small child.

Don't mean to revive an old thread, but also don't want to start another pointless manual vs auto thread. Currently in the market for a 370z, just waiting for the right used one at the right price. Ive decided on the trim ( touring and sport with nav). Only thing I haven't decide on is stick vs auto. I live in Houston and have owned both previously, just when I had my first stick it was in high school and I just drove around town never through traffic. So just curious if any Houston people can chime in if manual is a pain in traffic. For Houston people I got to school at U of H and work right off 45 and 59 and I live in clear lake area. So avoiding traffic is not and option and neither is another car, this will be my dd. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

^are you planning on forced induction or heavy tracking? If your answer is no, get the auto.
If you answered no, then yes, know that tracking an auto costs a bit more because you will have to get a tranny cooler and whatnot.

Ya wont be doing any forced induction or tracking.

I DD a manual with a bitch of a clutch. It's doable. It sucks in traffic, but it makes up for it when the roads clear up. The 6mt's clunky, but it'll take a beating. The 7at is a good transmission considering it's a torque converter auto not anything fancy like a dct/smg. It just won't reliably handle much beyond the standard bolt-ons/tune. Either way, you'll enjoy the car.

It'll take stage 1 supercharger power, not TT power. The TT has too much torque

Yeah, but the $/hp on that is a little screwy. If I had gone with the 7AT, it would have been an intake/LTH/cat-back setup with a tune and gears for ~325-330 whp and mid 12s. That's plenty and reliable. That's still a fast car.

kk thank you for the advise. So is the clutch not smooth like I have read?

It's not the smoothest, but there's a spring you can take out to make it better. There's an adjustable pedal people rave about as well, and it's only $225 or so. My clutch is a pain in the *** because it's aftermarket. Stock isn't bad at all. It's not going to suck worse than any other manual in traffic.

You've read the clutch is smooth?
It's pedal feel is non existent with the spring Chuck mentioned and the transmission is clunky too... It's really is one of the worst manuals... Take ing the spring out makes it a lot better, but still not a manual I like

Nah. I've had worse. Granted, they were in trucks. :rofl2:

Actually, the Viper I drove was pretty rough as well. I think transmissions that can hold serious power tend to be clunky. You learn to live with it.

500-550WHP isn't serious hp IMO, Supra is easier to drive IMO and they'll take more than our trannys! Lol


That's neither here not there... But I definitely don't like the manual. But I definitely think that the 7AT is one of the best that's not in an exotic car

I test drove both and bought the manual and have zero regrets. Get what suits you. Can't go wrong with either.

Nobody's broken the tranny yet due to power, have they? We don't know where it lets go. The Supra Getrag wasn't the smoothest thing in the world either if I remember correctly.

Who has broken the auto that everyone always says it takes hp not torque, and not to boost in 5-7 because those gears cannot handle the power, lol

I think there's a lot of speculation everywhere, but yes, for forced induction, the MT IS better for sure

Just from the forums, I see most people complain about the clutch but overall its doesn't bother them that much, so smooth was the wrong word. But im coming from a civic and that clutch sucked. Im more concerned about traffic since I haven't had to do that since my g37 is an auto now. I guess my deciding factor will be whatever car becomes available with the packages I want ill take it.

Why not go up to a dealer and test drive both? That way you can look for exactly what you want and you won't be second-guessing yourself about whether you would have liked the other one better.

Already drove the auto. Which I liked. Will try a manual, I just don't like inconveniencing sales rep when I have no interest in the car. U would be surprised how very few touring sport and nav are out there. I have been looking for 2 months now and the only one that came up on cars was so marked up, I could of bought a new one for a thousand more. So im thinking I will have to jump at the opportunity whether manual or auto.

They're salesmen. It's their job to let you drive the car.

Yeah, took me forever to find an affordable one with Touring and Navi. I love the entire package, the one I found was by accident at a Honda dealership, picking my daughter up from her car service. It was there when we dropped off the car, but I didn't see it until we returned to get her car. Love at first sight! I kind of got into a pickle because another guy was trying to buy it but since I use that place often the sales guy knew me. I paid less than BB value but with the other guy sitting at another table glaring at me I didn't have much room to bargain! The other guy was getting out of the car from a test drive when I started talking to the sales guy, so I made the first offer (actually low balled but couldn't get much down) and eventually after I signed for it the sales manager went over there to them and gave them the bad news, the couple gave me a dirty look and left. I could have gotten it for less but it was everything I wanted and in mint condition.
I drove it for the test drive and had 3 days to bring it back so if I missed anything I knew I had a loophole.

Just keep looking, it's out there somewhere - for less than new!

Is touring sport and nav that rare? That's what I have. 7AT as well. Opted for auto so I can send faxes while driving. Just kidding. Opted for auto because a race car driving buddy talked me into it. With paddle shifters and no clutch a gear shift change is quick. Plus we get one more free gear, yay. I was ready to cut corners bu getting the 6MT, but I have had automatics most my life. My MT now is in a Subaru and it's just a hassle when i drive long distances or get stuck in the city.

You won't be disappointed. The 7AT is 90% of what any DCT/PDK-type system ends up being, functionally. We can quibble about how different they are internally, but they end up working basically the same on the track. This is my 7AT getting put to work in a traffic-free lap (well, other than at the start and end) at TWS yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PoLVWVJyfU#t=141 .

I had 4 Z's with manual trans-just got my 5th
 

a 2012 base AUTOMATIC with 1k.

Never thought I would own an automatic Z, but the car & the time was perfect.

The last Z was a great car. An 08 H.R. Enth. 6 spd. The car was perfect. A good DD & a weekend drag car. Very few N/A mods so it was also very streetable. Even with slicks & coming out at 5,500 rpm with 1.6 60' times, the car NEVER let me down, NEVER broke an axle or anything.

I got a good feeling about my 2012 370. I like how it drives & I do like this automatic trans. very much. 7 speed with good gearing. As far as a weekend drag car, I'm 100% sure that I'll be doing 12.7's, 12.8's after I get my test pipes & a tune. Tires? Maybe. I plan on doing it with stock intakes & exhausts. Can't wait till spring:) As much as I like manual trans cars, and love power shifting with clutch, sometimes without:), I think I'll be happy with this automatic car.

The reason for the long story is because I always thought I'd be the last guy on earth to buy an auto Z....:icon17:

I went from a 7AT to 6MT. Although I made the change happily, the 7AT is great and definitely quicker.

My only beef with an automatic is that now everybody can do what I can. A very good manual car driver will have a big advantage against his competition. With an automatic, everybody can floor the pedal :)

Tune the shift speeds to be faster w uprev and swap the up/down pins so it operates like a proper sequential shiftier -- between those changes and the paddles you will not miss having an extra pedal to operate.

Nostalgia! :mad:



:p

Just bought a 2011 370Z base with sport package and auto 10 days ago. After having both knees replaced three years ago, and with the left one somewhat crooked, and this being my daily driver, I wanted the automatic. The car was virtually new with only 6500 miles on it. The transmission is great, as is the car!

I also own a 1971 240Z with 4 speed that I've had since 1987.

The clutch helps me with my knee, as my leg falls asleep if it just sits there (after two surgeries).

Weird how that works.




Though, I've said it before - my next car will be an AT I think, as long as it's a dual clutch AT.

I'm with you Haboob, I think my next car will be a good AT or clutchless manual.

That's why I love manuals! Dying breed so I may have to keep this Z forever!

If I only had one car I would get an auto though. Driving a manual in traffic is tedious and I wouldn't want to do that every day.

Everyone said get the manual so I got the auto. Only dead fish go with the stream.

But seriously, this is almost a religious issue. I guess what works for one is not understodd by another necessarily. I have a manual Subaru, and in traffic I hate shifting gears every 5 seconds. Today I took the Z on a straight road and did rather well with the paddles, but I am still learning. Maybe if the throw was shorter on the gearbox I'd like it. Both manual and auto had their advantages and neither transmission was a selling point by itself. The only thing I HAD to have was Nav.

All in all this is a "grass is greener" issue. Had I got the 6MT I'd be googling the 7AT features. Guess I need both. :>

Why would you drive a manual in traffic? :)

From a collector standpoint, I would think the manual will be more valuable many years from now. I bought mine because I have an older model Z that is a manual as well and I just like the feel of it. Am I faster with a manual, no. But, it's difficult to put this into words - with the manual, I just feel like I'm more involved in the overall process of driving the car - in an automatic, I'm just the guy steering the wheel. My ideal situation would be to own 2! :tup:

This is clearly a subjective and personal thing, but even when I have to sit in DC traffic, I still would rather have a manual. The only manual I ever regretted was on a 1970 Mach 1: what a hunk of **** that tranny was (at least by 1986 when I had it).

I guess if we ever all agree on the manual vs auto debate then we can move on to seeking easier answers, like politics and religion. :-D

Or even the Sport vs NISMO debate...........

I am waiting for the built 7AT vs built 6MT debate, lol!

My daily driver is a DSG 7 speed and in many ways the 7at in the 370 is as good in my opinion. The DSG has a sport mode which does make a difference and it's seamless once moving but it is a little laggy from standstill and jerky occasionally when pulling away.

Operation is about the same, the flappy paddles will override the auto mode for a short time , in full manual you get the downshift blip as well can't think of any increased functionality

The VW DSG gearboxes like mine though are getting quite a reputation for expensive failures of the mechatronic units

Not driven the manual 370 but did own a m/t 350HR and was not impressed with that gearbox so didn't consider one