How to drive a manual Z smoothly?

Matt

The Z, so far, has been one of the easier manuals to drive smoothly for me. My 72 Bug is nearly impossible to get a "perfect" take-off from 1st -> 4th. Even my tC was a little clunkier in lower gears, IIRC.

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"Any man who can drive a 370z while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the Z the attention it deserves." Albert Einstein....modified.

The BlueMax

The clutch in the Z is real sensitive, but I'm getting better. When the tranny is cold shift slowly from 1st to 2nd as it comes up to tempature you can shift faster. I drove my 97 WS6 on Sunday and the clutch engagement was so much easier. It uses a pull type pressure plate, the T-56 tranny felt more solid, but the clutch pedal required more effort

iKnoYooNikka

Put a cup of tofu filled nearly to the edge in your cupholder than drive around and it'll get you driving smoothly in no time.

Ok on a serious note as everyone said like every car, it'll take time for you to adjust to how your car likes it. The biggest tip I gave to my bud who owns a Z is to not FORCE your shifts, but try to SMOOTHLY TRANSITION the shifter into the gears. The car knows you want to go into a higher/lower gear, just feel it and work with it and it shall be smooth for you. With patience and practice, you'll learn how to make your car feel smooth as an automatic, yet still deliver the sportiness of the Z legacy.

I know the Z is extremely fun to drive, and you'll like slamming the gearbox, but there is a time when someone is filling in that ever so vital 2nd seat in your ride. Make sure to treat your baby right so she can treat your special guest to a righteous smooth ride.

370Zsteve

I find things go much more smoothly if I gradually bring the revs to 3000+ in 1st gear, then shift to 2nd. But as someone else said, it's all about learning the clutch, feathering a bit when necessary, I just turned 2k miles and it gets easier every day. You should have driven my '84 Alfa GTV6. Twin-plate clutch was a bitch.

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SOLD MY Z MARCH 2018 - another Core OG moves on - new ride 2019 Z Corvette Grand Sport - no mods necessary but already have eyes on HFC and intakes LOL IT NEVER ENDS.

sktvietdragon

i have the same problem. driving my friends 8th gen si is easier than my z. but im getting a little bit better though

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Drift Motion

just keep on learning

haha

its not that hard

Endgame

Practice Practice Practice... And always pay close attention to your driving. You will get it after a short while....

IDZRVIT

same here. Starting off and shifting into 2nd, the car shifts better at higher revs. The drivetrain is stout enough that the Z doesn't need to be babied.

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"America.... still builds rockets!"
Vette: 355 cid, 400 rwhp
'13 CTS-V Coupe: 6.2L LSA, 556HP

kenchan

get a AT.

tonybui

I bet you once had to learn how to drive stick. So AT for me is a NO. I have been driving AT all my life

370degreesNY

I learned how to drive stick on my Z...not the easiest way to go about learning how to drive a MT.

kenchan

but do you realize there is a difference between DRIVING a MT car and just making it move... driving MT is like learning a musical instrument. takes years not months to master.

Vegitto-kun

I always lol at people talking about MT like this.

I guess that has something to do with places like america being filled with AT.

pretty much everybody here drives MT so we drive MT from the beginning.

Is there a big difference between the MT of the 350 and 370 since I test drove one with MT and I found it quite smooth to ride

DIGItonium

I actually tried and learned how to make smoother engagements in the 370Z. Of the 6 years of owning the 350Z, I never really figured out how to make smooth engagements especially with the 1st-2nd shift. It has been a pain with the clunky gearbox and inconsistent clutch action.

The Z tends to shudder when shifting from 1st to 2nd with low RPM, so it tends to be more happy beyond 2.5k RPM. Sharabivas hits the spot in regards to shift speed (when driving slow, shift slow or get the dreaded clunk; when driving faster with higher revs, you can shift faster).

I also notice the foot action of the clutch pedal seems to affects smoothness when letting out the clutch. My heel is on the floor when starting in 1st to make it easy to pivot my foot, and off the floor when pressing down the clutch pedal for other gears. When my heel is off the floor, I can use my whole leg to press down the clutch pedal. Then I can release and slowly pivot my foot away as I release the clutch pedal. Also, I notice engagements are smoother when pressing down the clutch pedal quicker than usual between shifts and casually releasing it.

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g96818

^^ put a few washers behind the clutch pedal so you dont have to use your whole leg to press the clutch. i threw some washers behind to occupy the extra clutch travel to about where it starts to grab, that way all i need to do is pivot my foot when shifting.

someone said this clutch is sensitive, not at all! my celica's ACT clutch was way more sensitive than this and it grabbed within an inch of lifting the peddle after being fully depressed.

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CZP are lying thieves!