Why does first gear in every other car feel and seem faster than the Z?

keb370z

For the on the track with the Chevy Malibu scenario, yes.

But not if you go back to my original point. Slipping the clutch every time you take off is not an option in daily driving. I'm not going to drag race every car on the road.

In daily driving, if I drive my Z spiritedly but properly (as in, not slipping the clutch), the Malibu is going to tie or beat me every time until I get into high RPMs in 2nd gear. And a Lumina, and an Accord. And a Camry. And many others.

Not that it matters. I still love my Z, and I wouldn't change a thing about it. It's just kind of eye-opening for me that a sports car's first gear feels so slow. I know Nissan has a reason for that, and I think their reasoning is because they've engineered this car to be a sports car you can drive every day. If there was so much power in 1st that the tires spun every time you took off, it would be a pain in the butt to drive. But that's just my guess.

tranceformer

I remember uprev telling me that Nissan limits the throttle to 80% or so for speeds up to 20 mph [in newer models]. I think tbey also mentioned that an osiris tune can bypass this feature.

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official 1/4 mile track times

m4a1mustang

You've got to launch the car if you wanna go fast!

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m4a1mustang

You can try to hold the revs at about 2,000 rpm or so then quickly slip the clutch as you apply more throttle. Experiment with rpm, amount of slip, and throttle application to find the right balance between wheel spin and forward traction. A hint of spin is good to keep the engine from bogging down, but you don't want to light the tires up either.

Obviously the optimal method will vary based on temperature and surface condition. But once you get it you'll be surprised at how quickly your Z will get up and go.

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mikey1600

if you aren't slipping your clutch and only taking off normally of course it's going to feel slow lol, Also because of it being non turbo compared to your husbands MS3, it has a much more linear power delivery curve, so you don't get such a sudden burst of torque as the turbo kicks in like with his car, this will make it feel slower also if you are used to driving his car with the turbo.

try this, next time you try and take off quickly, from a stop apply your hand brake, keep your foot on the clutch and let it out until its just catching to get some load on the car while you apply the throttle to about 3000-4000rpm to start with, once you want to start, as you are apply more throttle and take your foot off the clutch release the handbrake as well, as soon as you start moving you can basically mash the accelerator pedal to the floor and it will hook up. (think of it basically like a hill start, but be much more aggresive with your accelerator and clutch).

red6spd

It seems faster then any car I have ever owned?

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m4a1mustang

I get passed by lots of people off the line in normal driving. Doesn't bother me any. I think there's just an irrational expectation for a sports car to be faster than everything else at all times. Even in regular driving around town.

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FL 4Motion

You've clearly never owned a Malibu.

m4a1mustang

Or a Prius.

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FL 4Motion

prius vs. leaf 0-6 = clash of the titans.

cossie1600

20-45 in a Z is 2.7 sec, 2.2 in a C6 400HP, 3.7 in a Prius, 3.6 in a RX-8, 4.0 in a Subaru Legacy automatic NA 2008

1slow370

this seemed like a good place to drop MIATA DOORS

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Spikuh

Don't forget the 5.0 and BRZ!!! We can get EVERYTHING in this thread!!!!




On the topic at hand, from my experience the Z is pretty dead under 2500 rpms. If you want the car to respond quickly off the line, you NEED those revs which are just not going to be there without a more agressive launch.

IDZRVIT

So, what's the best oil to use in a Malibu?

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Cmike2780

Turn Off the VDC

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