Auto or Manual-never driven stick

tonybui

Alrite guys I bought the z as a 1st manual car and I got it down smooth but still can't get it smooth when driving a bit aggressive going 1st to 2nd. Any suggestions on how to improve my knowledge there?

RayJay

I have been driving manual transmissions most of my life. I recently purchased a new 2010 370Z with manual transmission. All the gear ratios are good, except the low first gear. The first gear ratio was MUCH better in my older 1986 300Z manual transmission than the ratio in the new 370Z. ALL said I still enjoy the manual transmission.

Ricochet48

Don't be discouraged if you have never driven stick. When I bought my RSX-S I had them drive it back to my house. I spent the whole night stalling up and down my driveway. A friend took me the next day and we drove in a parking lot. He just said put it at 1k rpm and let the clutch out as slow as possible. Simple as that. Then I learned rev matching by myself etc.

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I feel like some RWD and torque!

brakedrift12

just be easy on the clutch and rev a bit higher before move on to next gear

force11111

I had never owned a stick car before the 370 but I always wanted a manual. Found the high engagement point to be awkward and the clutch too grabby. Made it really hard to start off in first gear, especially since I'm in Hawaii and have lots of hills. Tried the auto And loved it. Ended up trading in my manual in for auto. Which I traded in for an srt challenger. I plan on going back to the z next year though. I miss the preciseness of the z.

Jeffblue

wait let me get this straight, you bought a manual transmission 370z (car 1), traded it for an automatic 370z (car 2), and traded that for a challenger (car 3) and now are going to trade back for another Z (car 4)?

kfscoll

How long did you own the manual Z for? I found that the "grabbiness" of the clutch decreased after I got some miles on the car. The high engagement point took a little getting used to, but it's old hat now (and I've only had my car for about a month or so). It seems silly to me to have gotten rid of the car over something ("hard to start off in first gear") you'd have completely gotten the hang of in time. But hey, to each his own.

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2009 Brilliant Silver 370Z 6MT coupe w/ Touring, Sport, and Navigation packages

force11111

I had it about 2 months. Put 2400 miles on it. Keep in mind while this is the first stick car I've owned, it's not the first I've driven. I felt good after about 20 minutes behind the wheel of a 6 speed gto. I would have kept it, but the auto felt so impressive. All the control I wanted without any of the work.

gumpy

stick is the best but learn on a rental car which you can abuse without worring. For the sake of your clutch don't learn on the Z...

Vegitto-kun

I honestly never understood the "if you want to controll the car get a MT"

manual mode lets you controll the car too so...wut?

it only stops you from overreving it which is good and stalling so...thats good too

DjSquall

Here's what I do with my 7AT:

my friends bash me for driving auto. Always trying to tell me how manual is so much beter. So I tell them, let's race while I drink a coffee and still beat your ***. They say **** that. Auto is faster and smoother, and it frees up your right hand. So you can do things like drink a coffee or play with your girlfriend. Manual doesn't let you do that.

For me, the choice was pretty obvious.

Jeffblue

Auto allows you to do more things that will get you in an accident. like eating, talking on the phone, texting. so yes, if you want to get a sports car that you'd love to drive, for the purpose of being able to do 14 other things while driving it, go for the auto.

A super computer can beat the best human in a game of chess. does that mean if i buy the super computer, have it play the world champion and it wins, that I am good at chess? Everyone says the 7AT is faster than the 6MT, which it apparently is, but i think for someone who wants MT it takes away from the driving experience. I could also strip my interior, take out the passenger seat, stereo, air bags etc, that that would make my car faster, but i think one might argue that takes away from the driving experience as well. Auto trans does not take away from the driving experience if you don't consider shifting the gears and using the clutch as part of driving a car. that doesn't mean you aren't a good driver if you have an auto, you either never did, or have gotten past the idea that cranking a lever to shift the gears is part of what YOU want to be your driving experience, which is what it comes down to.

If you DO consider that part of driving a car, you will only be happy with a manual, so the question to ask yourself is, do you think shifting and using the clutch is part of driving a sports car. Regardless of your ability to do so: Yes=get 6mt, No get 7AT

Gunzero

^Amen.

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DjSquall

So if people enjoy their manual cars so much, why don't they enjoy driving cars without computers? Auto is far superior to a manual, and manual trannies are going to become obsolete in the near future.

Now my question to you is: WTF do you do in a manual car when the situation on the road requires you to use both hands on the wheel? Like hitting a patch of black ice for example.

terbo

Do you not know how to drive a stick? You take your shifting hand off the wheel, select the correct gear and put your hand back on the wheel. Duh. Unless you only have one hand, then things could get tricky.

Also, true sports cars use MTs, just look at Ferrari and Lamborghini...wait a sec...