Touchy Clutch

Minicobra1

Thanks for the numbers Does anyone know if there is a TSB up on this?
Since I've been to 2 different dealers in the past, I'd like to go in a little more prepared this time.

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DIGItonium

Oh thanks! I was out of town for a couple of days. When I took the Z out this morning I was caught off guard with the abrupt clutch engagement while backing out and killed the engine. The entire drive was rough... it was as if engagement was barely off the floor. There was almost 2 inches of "play" before disengaging the clutch. I wonder if this is the reason why I've been scratching gears more often than usual. Plus, I've experienced shuddering you guys described since day 1.

Less than 6k miles.

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Spec Jay

"The stock flywheel is a complex dual-mass piece with separate front and back halves separated by springs. Supposedly this can't be resurfaced, so if you're already replacing a clutch (shame on you if you burned it up this fast) a light flywheel may actually save you money over replacing the stock dual-mass."

with that said the chatter is from the flywheel loading and unloading.

as far as the engagement... get used to it USUALLY the higher the tq rating on a clutch the quicker and higher its engagement is. and we all know the vq37 is not a slacker in that department

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6MT

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Andrew

2009 370Z Sport/Touring 6MT sold
2013 Honda Civic Si coupe D/D

Spec Jay

i took that from a web blog because they explained it better than i can put into words myself lol

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Denny McLain

As a rule of thumb no automotive manufacturer is going to purchase anything unnecessary and if they can save a little money here and there; as they are business of making money, not spending it. Making an assumption the reason Nissan uses the more expensive dual mass flywheel is because the transmission with rattle in neutral and be noisy with a regular single mass flywheel.

Another potential drawback of replacing the heavier dual mass with a lighter single mass is if you think the car is tricky to drive now, just wait till you have a 10 pound aluminum flywheel. Great for racing, horrible for street driving. What is your intention for the car?

I've had two dual mass flywheels resurfaced, the first worked great but the second went out early. Maybe it's because of a pretty large cam (245/248 with .630 lift) whose rough idle chews up dual mass flywheels or it was the resurfacing. Frankly not sure. There are sources on the internet whom guarantee their work in resurfacing them though.

Betting money also Nissan does not manufacturer the flywheel. Guessing a German company (Luk) probably makes them as they do for the C4 Corvette and many other European cars. Before you replace your flywheel from Nissan, I'd certainly check out a good Luk distributor as you may get it for about half price.

1slow370

i noticed after they replaced my transmission and slave as a unit that the clutch got smoother as well and as i had it done a few weeks ago i assume it has the newer slave cylinder.

Denny McLain

Not really clutch related (Maybe??) but a simply drive train fyi.......

It's called a "magicians trick." After the Stillen header/exhaust installation I could hear a drive train noise that I kept thinking was related to the install. After a bunch of times jacking the car up checking out the exhaust, finally broke down and took it to the dealer yesterday to see if they could find the noise.

Turns out it's the driveshaft. A bit alarming as the car has never been raced and is not abused. Sure, I drive it, but the car has had three trial 0-80's to see if the Cobb AccessPort worked on 0-60 times. That was on a regular road and that is all! Taking cars out the hole usually does the damage but the heavy flywheel spinning the tires after a quick shift may have been the prime contributor or just plan factory bad driveshaft.

Stuff like this comes with the territory on a brand new model. Damn glad I didn't take it to a track as planned this fall or I'd probably be still walking home.

1slow370

how is a slave cylinder and throwout bearing assembly not clutch related? My clutch is actually engaging different from before and they never replaced the disc. It actually is smoother while driving it to the point where before when it was all of a sudden engaging to now i find that i 'm riding the cluth now and have to move my foot faster then before so i'm not destroying it because before it would engage much faster.

DIGItonium

Hmm... I completely forgot about that. Now I wonder what it's like to drive the 350Z and 370Z without the dual mass flywheel. I've driven other cars (RX-7, 300ZX, Hondas, WRX, etc.), so I don't know exactly what those setups are like.

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chuck62290

I had 2 350z's before my 370 but neither clutch was as annoying as the 370z. It seems to have so many different resistance pressures depending on how far down the peddle is. by this i mean as you just begin to apply pressure to the peddle it is extremely easy to move for about 1/3 of an inch, then from about 1/3 of an inch to about 1 inch it is slightly harder to press, after about 1 inch the pressure pushing back on your foot increases again. At about 1" above fully depressed it becomes slightly easier to move again. I am able to feel these points while depressing, and releasing the clutch. the differences in feedback pressure at these positions is anything but gradual, it is instant and almost clicky. I assumed this was just how the 370's were set up and it didn't really bother me until about 7k miles... on the release the border between the first 1/3" and 1" actually began to audibly "click" and its not quiet! I have looked at the mechanism of the peddle and i cant tell what is causing it. I am not a mechanic, just a fellow car freak, i was wondering if any one else knows anything about this, or has the same problem........And i don't know how the entire mechanism is supposed to be set up down there but the amount play in some of those connections surprised me.

Teddy KGB

My car has all the aforementioned chatters and such as well. Funny thing is, when I actually THINK about driving my car smoothly things get a little jerky. When I'm rowing through the gears at a more 'spirited' pace the clutch and gear changes are smooth as butter. I think she just likes to be ridden hard, although the vast majority of my driving is the slow and (trying to be) smooth part.

Agreed with the other posters though. I've owned three different clutched cars, all from different makes, and the 370z is, by far, the most difficult vehicle to drive smoothly in everyday conditions.

chrisdcza

Hi all,

This is also my first post on this (very enlightening) forum. I'm here because after 2 months of Z ownership (i have a 350) i'm so tired of my manual gearbox (for almost ALL of the reasons you folks have listed here) that i'm thinking of chucking it out and fitting an auto box. Thing is i don't want the old fashioned 5 speed as fitted to the lower output 350's. Has anyone successfully fitted a 370 7 speed auto box to a 350? Or maybe a complete 370 motor and box?

For what it's worth, i've owned an Alfa, a Lancia, 2 Opels, a Renault, 2 Peugeots, an Audi, and a VW - all manual. I learned to drive in the Alfa (about 30 years ago) on twisty hilly roads in the Natal Midlands so i kind of thought i knew what i was doing - that was until i got my Z, and now i feel like a learner driver every time i use it! I find it almost impossible to make a smooth (ummmm, make that a smooth anything) in this car!

My last car was a Merc SLK350 i bought new, with a 7 speed auto box, and this helped convince me that auto is the way to go, that, and the fact that the auto is faster (very slightly) and more ecconomical (considerably) than the manual equivalent.

I know the whole manual vs auto subject has been hotly debated so i don't expect anyone to actually agree with me - i just want to enjoy my Z and i think a mod like this may be the solution for me.

Any suggestions anyone? Thanks, Chris

Plasmite

Own a '12 here and never had an issue. It takes some getting used to, but I can launch how I want, when I want.

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