370z Auto or Stick (manual)?
 

Hey Guys and Gals,
Just returned from a "Nissan Race Academy" event (Here in the uk, they take the owners/people interested to a race track for a trackday with the 370z) and experienced the 370z on the track. Ive ordered mine with a manual gearbox but after driving the automatic, i was shocked at how good it is especially as you can flick to paddle shift which has very little delay in engaging gears. As a long termer, how is the Auto and does anyone regret purchasing an auto over stick or visa-versa?
Cheers
Calvin

Just to make you all jealous, heres the car i used for the day :happydance:

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/1...baf2662.th.jpg

my V8 Ford is a 6 speed sequential auto.

so when i bought my Z, i bought a 6 speed manual instead as i missed driving manual.

i dont know about the auto, but i thought you could have 'better' control. ie do drifties around corners.

apparently the auto Z has the same 7-speed auto as the Mercedes Benz AMG C63. i've driven that car and the auto is excellent. i even think the paddles are the same as the MB.

Not at all...honestly to me it has gotten better and better.

It has the same auto as the Benz AMG? I'm not sure how that would work, Nissan/Infinity are pretty much an "in house" company when it comes to their parts...

I'm not sure if it's even been TRUELY confirmed that the Z has the same 7AT as the FX50.


But, that said, the 7AT in the Z is AWESOME. I was dead-set on a 6MT, but the dealer I went to only had the 7AT. I took it for a spin and bought it.

Went for a test drive in the 7AT yesterday. It is an amazing transmission, but I strongly felt I lost something when compared to the 6MT I tested a few months back.

The shifts were fast, but I did not feel connected to the car; felt more like I was floating. The odd this is that I feel more connected to the car in my wife's CX7 with the tranny in Sport mode than the Z with the 7AT..... My test yesterday confirmed I will be getting the 6MT. More control, more fun...

Depends on your driving. I bought Auto since my commute can be stop and go. Nevertheless, it's really fun to drive.

:wtf2:

Very good point! I think the major reason why the Ive avoided paddle shifts in the past is that such an integral part of the driving experience, the gear shift feels synthetic. This is very much true of the 370z however when you push the paddle the box shifts up/down so silky smoothly, it makes up for it!

It comes down to how much you enjoy driving manual, not how much you dislike the 7AT. There are zero complaints about the auto and performance wise, it's equal or better than the manual.

Me? I love driving manual. The 7AT could be a full second faster on the 1/4, and I'd still be buying the 6MT. Despite all that, I test drove the 7AT, and it blows away any auto I've ever driven.

I don't think our cars A/T is same as the AMG C63,that A/T is made by ZF,ours is by a Japanese make called Jatco,owned partly by Nissan.

Ok, fair enough - those damn motoring journalists who have no idea!!!

From my searches: In the 350Z, the AT is f-a-r better than the MT, which is clunky, at best. An added bonus is that the MT has 260ft/lbs torque, while the AT has 274. I dunno 'bout the 370Z, but if the pattern has kept up, it should be even better. In the last Auto Issue of CR (last April), the Z fared as "Much Better Than Average". My experience with my '04.5 350Z Touring Coupe's AT is "Much MUCH Better Than Average"!

I couldn't imagine having a sports car that wasn't a MT. To me it's the difference between riding in a car and driving a car. Plus, a majority of the women I date can't drive stick, so it saves me from getting slapped when I say Hell No!

Depends on what you want to do. The AT is slower in the 350Z, it's very dependable, but you simply can't add a lot of hp/torque to it. If you plan on any FI upgrades, the AT is almost useless. You have to upgrade the throttle body AND move the rev limiter spot for it to work. The 370Z's AT is a completely different beast.

Manual vs Automatic
 

In my search for a new 370Z, one of the constants has been that I wanted a 6MT. I have a '78 280Z 4MT (you can check out my albums if you want to see some pics) and I've always enjoyed the feel of the manual transmissions. But, alot has changed in 30+ years.

What I'm looking for here is comments from people who have the 7AT setup but use the manual capabilities of the system and how that feels/compares to a real manual transmission. I realize there is no clutch, but I just want to know what the experience is like of treating the AT like a manual.

The latest 2010 Nissan 370Z brochure implies you can use the paddles or the stick for sequential shifts (no easy way to skip gears I suppose). Do you slide the stick over toward the driver into the + and - section for that? And do the paddles override the "D" position automatically? The brochure even implies the 7AT comes with the Downshift Rev Matching built in.

So tell me what you think about the 7AT and maybe you'll open my mind a bit - would definitely make my car search a little easier because it sure seems like there are move 7AT's out there for sale than 6MT's.

Thanks!