New Z Owner (but with a little problem)
 

Salutations all. I am now the proud new owner of a 2014 370z w/ sports package! I love my new car. I love how my friends are jealous of me. I love how aggressive the car looks and powerful it sounds. I love everything about it.
But there is a problem. Three to be specific, that all can be boiled down to one particular issue. My ability (or inability more likely) to properly manipulate the clutch. This is my first ever manual transmission car. Both a good and bad situation. On one side, I believed that getting a Z in automatic would be discussing, and a disservice to the car itself. But on the flip side, I suck at it. Still, I figured that it was about time I learned how to drive manual. I just never anticipated that it would be this difficult.
Here are my three main issues:
1. Getting started from Stop to 1st – I’ve tried many a time to find that ever elusive “sweet spot” between the clutch and gas that would allow me to pull out smoothly, but to little avail (I’ve only managed it once or twice). The vast majority of the times I try to get going, I either jerk forward or stall it out completely. I’m already as tired of that burnt rubber smell as I am my push button start. It’s a cool feature sure, but when having to use it multiple times on a single trip just trying to get from A to B, it becomes a ‘button of shame’ that’s increasingly frustrating to have to push over and over again. I’ve only had ‘that one jackass’ behind me honk one time so far, but that’s more than enough for me. I so wanted to flip the bird to the impatient, inconsiderate moron behind me, but managed to restrain myself. Not sure how many more times I’ll be able to retain my composure though.
2. Shifting from 1st to 2nd – A similar problem from Stop to 1st. Just without the threat of stalling the car. Nearly every time I need to shift from 1st to 2nd, the car jerks forward and my head bobs against the seat’s head restraint. This can happen going from 2nd to 3rd as well, though not nearly as severe. Still, it’s something I wish I could avoid.
3. Reverse – Probably my toughest challenge. Especially when trying to reverse up a hill (like my driveway). Not enough gas, and the car either stalls out or starts rolling forward towards my mom’s SUV. Too much, and I come flying out the drive so fast I can barely turn enough to avoid hitting the trash can.
My mother, who is a manual transmission veteran of 40 plus years, has even said after driving the thing that the clutch on it is indeed very sensitive. She drove it in reverse out the driveway, up the hill, three point turned to come back down, then back into the driveway to park it. It still stalled on her three times during said short trip.
I love my new Z and want to get good at driving it, but this manual transmission is proving to be a big hurdle to clear. Any thoughts/advice on what I can do to better get a handle on this beast?
Thanks in advance!

Welcome!

Happy to hear you are enjoying your Z. I don't have the MT, but do some searching on the forum as there are numerous threads with suggestions for the issues you are having.

Good luck and enjoy!

Congrats on the purchase.

The MT on the Z's are pretty finicky. I've been driving nothing but manual since I was 17. This is my 3rd stick car and I completely agree with just about everything you said. The clutches on these cars aren't the easiest to get used to.

The only advice I have is to drive drive drive! The more practice you get with it, the easier it will become. Try going to an empty lot, put the car in 1st, and practice getting it moving without using the gas. This will help with finding the engagement point on the clutch.

It will take some experimenting on how much gas vs. how fast to come off the clutch you have to do to get a jerking free takeoff in 1st.

WELCOME. practice make perfect just drive it.

This is very good advice and a logical starting point. That said, once you've accomplished the above and feel you're comfortable with taking off on a flat surface go find some place safe that has a good incline (enough of an incline that you roll back quickly) and try working your way up the incline like you were stuck in traffic (stop and go).

You will want to master that in order to deal with those who are impatient or insensitive to those driving a MT.

Welcome! The clutches in our cars are a PITA to get use to. Just go to an empty parking lot and get the car rolling without the gas like what BC416 said. You'll eventually get it.

Sports cars in general are difficult to learn a how to drive a manual transmission. I was determined when I was 16 to get it down, and ended up buying a manual before I knew what I was doing (it was an '84 300zx... beautiful car, and what started my Z infatuation).

I found parking lots to practice in, but to really figure out the clutch, I would drive it around my neighborhood after I got off work at night (when there weren't many other people on the roads, or out walking) and would find the biggest hill that I could. Stop on the incline and work on starting without chirping the tires. Go about 10 feet and then stop and try it again.

Practice makes perfect, and every clutch feels different. You just need to gain some muscle memory and get used to the particular characteristics of your ride.

Diligence and Patience. It'll happen.

like everyone else said, find some empty streets/parking lots and get used to it. the 370z clutch definitely is one of the harder ones to learn on. i've owned 3 others (silverado x2 and a cruze) and it took some getting used to. my parents don't even want to drive my car and they have a mustang gt mt.

Practice, practice, practice. Congrats and welcome!

Welcome to the 370Z forum

:worship:

-Clifford :welcome: :tup:

Hey everyone. Just wanted to give a quick update.

I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this. My boss taught me the golden trick. Put it in 1st, then slowly let out the clutch to the catch point and hold it there. Let the car start rolling forward, and once it gets going, slowly let out on the clutch until it's all the way out and I'm rolling along in 1st. From there, repeat the process for 2nd gear. Clutch in, little gas, release the clutch to the catch point again, and slowly let it out till I'm rolling in 2nd gear. From there on, all the other gears are easy to shift into.
Prior to this knowledge, I had been releasing the clutch way too fast and that's what was causing the car to either stall (not enough gas), or chirp the rear tires (too much gas). It's probably common knowledge to not fully depress the clutch when getting started, but no one had every told me that before now, so I didn't know.
Now, I just have to work on the finesse of it all in order to shift through the gears quickly but smoothly. And I'm sure that's a skill that's only refined through practice. :driving:

Thanks for all the advice. I look forward to a long history with this car, and thanks so much for all the warm welcomes.

It helps as your letting the clutch out to blip the throttle, you can hear then engine as the clutch starts engaging. It might help you with the jerky starts too

Don't be so quick to fully jump off the clutch in traffic or cruising. Only when racing do I ever quickly release the clutch.

I see you already hae lots of great advice so I'll just say "welcome"!

Agree with the others that practice makes perfect. If it's any consolation, even with more than 40 years driving stick, I still found the Z's clutch to be finicky, and invariably the car would lurch at times. especially in my case when shifting from 1st to 2nd. My solution: I switched to the RJM clutch pedal assembly, which is much more forgiving than the stock pedal assembly. Others have switched out the clutch helper spring. But neither of these fixes substitute for practice, practice and more practice … especially for a novice manual driver.

I too have been driving manual transmissions for more than 40 years, and the Z was BY FAR, the hardest to drive smooth. I've had the Z since 2011 and this is the first year where I feel that I am one with the car/clutch.

It is all about practice and getting the "feel" of the clutch and where it engages/releases. Drive it like you stole it, and it will get better.

The clutch in our cars is a Pain in the A$$. I have been driving manuals my entire life and 1st gear in the Z is weird. Practice and Enjoy!

Owned and driven a lot of different cars/motorcycles/trucks, also drove semi, currently own a Slingshot, so lots of different clutches. The Z is close to a semi tractor, but with the engine load compensation of a Slingshot, so it's just an odd clutch that takes getting used to.

Here's what I found:

• Turn off the stereo and listen to the engine--it should help a lot. If bad shifts start happening later on, turn off the stereo and work on your shifting skills.
• Keep the right foot straight up and down, especially when moving from the brake pedal to the gas--it provides a lot more control.
• Put the clutch pedal deep in the ball of of the foot (more towards the center of the foot); it uses less foot muscle and more leg muscle for smoother control. It's a hard clutch to control by pivoting the foot because the travel is so long, therefore it's best to use the entire leg for a smooth, consistent release.*
• Let the clutch out smoothly and continuously from fully depressed to fully released (while doing the following):
• When the clutch pedal is 1/3 through its travel, roll on the accelerator slightly; this keeps the engine from stalling yet keeps the RPMs down.
• Use slightly more accelerator at 2/3 of the clutch travel, where the clutch tends to grab, to keep the RPMs from dropping.
• As the clutch is 3/4 of the way released start to accelerate normally.
• Shift from 1st to 2nd at 2,500 or 3K RPM; it's easier to match RPM and not cause whiplash when moving at a moderate speed and the engine has more of the power-band to use in order to accelerate smoothly, but not so much it's in a high-torque band (above 3K RPM).
• Shift from 2nd to 3rd between 2,250 and 3K RPM. 2 & 3, like all the gears, are close together. 3rd is a little more forgiving, but you still want the engine off idle so as not to require too much torque at low RPM (bad for the bearings), yet not have so many RPMs (3K and above) as to be in the power-band and lurch the car forward when giving it a little throttle.
• 4, 5, and 6 are pretty forgiving and run well as low as 1,000 RPM (just accelerate very gently and slowly), great at 1,500 to 2,000 (and are good on fuel) and really grab and go like mad above 3K (and drain the tank accordingly). Over 4,500 RPM and it's almost as if Pac-Man(tm) is eating your fuel dots...

It's a fun car, for sure. The stock clutch...not great--kind of like the 80's electronics and non-LED bulbs.


* The ball of the foot should be on the pedal,

+ left-to-right: the foot should be centered,
+ up-and-down: the middle of ball should be in line with the middle of the pedal (or the ball just a little high)

This allows the driver to use the entire leg when shifting, which is a large and powerful muscle.

I've driven stick for a while, and the best advice I can offer if you find hills, like your driveway, challenging from a standstill, whether going forward or reverse, is this:
1. pull the hand brake up and hold it there
2. press the clutch pedal down fully
3. get in gear, first or reverse as needed
4. release clutch pedal up slowly and get ready to press the gas pedal down when the clutch engages
5. when you feel the clutch biting, bring the hand brake down, press a bit more firmly on the gas and remove your foot off of the clutch
Can and should be practiced on level ground until you get it down pat. Eventually you might find it unnecessary on steep grades to use the hand brake at all. The danger of course is forgetting the hand brake under duress, like I did once at the drag strip (car kept rolling forward at the line).
Montreal has a couple of really steep hills in the downtown area, and I still use this trick there when I get caught at a red light. Stalling and rolling into the person stopped behind you is not a good thing.

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