When you Shift
 

From N to 1st i ride the clutch then let it catch give it gas and let off slowly on the clutch till my foot is off.

1st to 2nd i step on clutch shift into second then slowly let off clutch so it catches then give it gas. then 3-6 is easy

am i doing this right?

Sometimes when i step on the clutch from first into second its like the gears didnt disengage right and doesnt engage correctly once i shift and slowly let of clutch while giving it gas.

anyone suggestions?

I know exactly what you're talking about. Upshifts are FAR smoother without SRM, and turning off VDC helps a little tiny bit. But otherwise you do exactly as I do.

Have you pulled the helper spring out yet?

It sounds correct to me.

no a friend of mine said not to do anything to it untill im 100% comfortable with it so ill take his advice on that now.

another question i have is when im on a uphill, i never have smooth shifts N-3....why is that any advice for that? do you even sshift into second on the hill or just goes 1-3?

or do ijust give it more has cause the rpm's fall faster?

I never skip skip 2nd gear, even on an incline. Just modulate or try to slowly ease off the cluth while slowly pressing down on the accelerator and you'll have smooth shifts, regardless of the incline or gear you're in.

Nothing wrong with putting in the clutch helper spring. It will give you better feel of your clutch. Sorry to say this, but your friend is incorrect.

Did I read your question right, are you saying you're skipping a gear while going uphill? I never do that, going down hill-yes.

Didn't answer this question on my last post. Yes, I give it more gas and rev the engine to a higher rpm on an uphill as you are correct, the rpm's will fall faster.

Your friend has no idea what he's talking about. Being able to feel the engagement point will make your life so much easier.

lol lets not bash on the friend. but im slowly feeling the engagement point with muscle memory and i do feel the car move slightly foward, i just had to listen to her abit instead of trying to force her to things my way. just drove up hill down hill side hill curve left curve right stop lights traffic...in the rain. lolll i had to keep telling my self not to brake but all in all it was a good experience

He's giving you bad advice. Thats not bashing, its the absolute truth. Once you take that spring out, you'll kick yourself for not having done it sooner.

Try not to use gas just let off the clutch and make the car move on a flat surface without stalling or jerking badly. Once you master that you will know where is the grab point well.

Gear shifts are hard in the Z especially from 1 to 2. I found that after I filled up the whole tank the gear shifts were very smooth lol...was that my illusion :roflpuke2::roflpuke2:
Also I feel gear shifts are very close to perfect now for me after the run-in period. Mine is over 1200miles now and I think it shifts just fine (or this is another illusion of mine):happydance::happydance:

My Z does not seem to like skipping gears...

hermmm maybe its just human error.
will keep working on it. its been 1 week so far

I am 64 yrs old, and have owned nothing but stickshifts. This Z is my 15th lifetime vehicle, and to see me drive it you would swear it was my first driving lesson...........until I got rid of that silly clutch helper spring. Lose the spring, and it drives as a proper car should.:hello:

This has been covered before and everyone always jumps straight toward "replace the helper spring", but that is not the problem here (although I recommend you definitely do that anyway). That only helps feeling the engagement point. In the lower gears you need to raise the RPM into the 4K range at least if you want smooth, fast shifts. This car likes higher rpm. Otherwise if you try to shift too fast <3K it will jerk. When you clutch in, SRM holds the revs for a split second while the computer is determining how you're going to shift, then the revs finally start to fall. This means if your revs are held low and you try to clutch out too fast on the next gear, the revs would not have fallen fast enough and it won't be smooth.

Just remember - High rpm -> shift fast. Low rpm -> shift slow. That is the only way to prevent jerking and feeling like you're doing something wrong in this car. This is with the SRM on.

Is removing the spring better than replacing it? I replaced mine and I don't seem to have the same reaction as everyone else who's done it. I personally think its the flywheel. I feel like I'm waiting around awhile on up shifts for the revs to come down. Downshifting is perfect.

Had the same "feel" when I got my Nismo... Do yourself a favor, check out the threads on the RJM clutch replacement. Best money spent on a mod. You can adjust the fulcrom point (did I spell that right?) and engagement point... Pure bliss...

+1, but i actually replaced mine with the "aftermarket" spring which provides less assistance and now the Z feels like a proper sports car :driving:

I replaced mine with the softer spring and I felt it helped with feel. However you still have to shift like Vaughanabe stated above.

Something is wrong. I will softly run the clutch until it grabs with MINIMAL gas to it. Never had a problem. Check your tranny. As smootg as an auto during change.

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Am I the only one who thinks the Z's clutch feels fine as it is?

yea thats what i do as well then i tap the gas a couple a times to get me rollin a bit before i give it steady gas. tranny is fine i think lol

I drove an MT 370Z the other day and the first thing I noticed was how soft and emotionless the clutch pedal was. I'd remove the helper springs before taking it off the dealer lot if I were to buy one. What background does your friend have that qualifies his advice to be so holy?

... more rpm's help a lot with the shift 1st to 2nd...

My Z shifts fine, skips gears without issue, power shifts great, etc. Learn where the clutch engagement point is and you won't need to do anything else except practice your shifting.

Nothing's wrong with the tranny. He's been driving a manual for a week. Don't scare him.

Am I the only one who enjoys how the stock clutch pedal feels? haha

This all sounds like human error and needing to just get used to the car. It took me a solid week to get everything perfect. But I did have a month of practice driving a manual before I bought the Z.

Please just remove the spring and replace it with the lighter spring. Its MUCH MUCH better. I think you may be over analyzing your shifting. Just do what feels right and it becomes natural. :tup:

The car's just a little touchy. I've driven manuals for more years than I'd like to count, and it still took me a little while to figure out what the Z wanted from me. Once I figured it out, it was perfectly smooth. Then I switched to a light flywheel and really grabby clutch, and it all went out the window.

I have to agree with Chuck here as much as it pains me! Lol but the helper spring is a 10 min swap and it helps in the noob shifting feel you have when driving a Z. Use the search bar and Torre in helper spring do your own research and you'll see what we're talking about.

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I'm still perfecting it and it's been 8mos.

Though, there are times I still ride the clutch by accident whether it's due to pain in my leg/exhaustion or lack of attentiveness... Oh well. It's not often.

ahh lol i c kk. and my friend is a car mechanic for about 3 years in sports car. and ill order the spring when i get a chance i went through all 30 some pages of the spring thread

Just take it out for the time being. See if you even want a spring in there. It takes ten minutes and is completely reversible. Also, being a mechanic for three years doesn't mean you know anything. 75% of the mechanics I've ever met were functionally retarded.

I took mine out completely on like day 3 of having the car.

Didn't replace the spring at all. Feels so much better. :tup:

Mine came out after I drove it home from buying it out of state, so 36 hours after purchase or so. It's so much easier to drive when you can feel the engagement point.

Pretty much the same. Took me two days to find the thread about that spring though, lol.

Luckily my buddy has a G37s and had already done it. I hopped in his, pumped the clutch a few times and then made him tell me how to do it.