370z hard to drive?
 

So check this out guys. I bought my Z last day of june of 2010. So I had the car for less than 6 months. Recently I was getting very frustrated because I thought when a good driver drives a manual car your supposed feel like your driving an automatic car as in can't feel anything when gears are changing. Well it wasn't the case for me, if I were to really try, yeah i can almost make it feel like an automatic but on regular basis I felt the gears shifting...

So I felt as I was just a bad manual driver....

For black friday my friend asked me if I wanted to drive his 3000gt because he so tired. And I was so scared because I have been driving my Z for about 6 months and I felt as though I wasn't driving good enough. I asked myself "HOW THE **** AM I SUPPOSED TO DRIVE OTHER PEOPLES CAR?!?!" But still I drove his car.

I was shocked!!!

His car was 10000x easier to drive then my car.

Since the owner of 3000gt was very experience manual driver, I told him to drive my Z. Even though he was very experience he stalled many times. LOL!

He said since 370z has lots of horse power, its bit difficult to drive compared to regular cars.

Do you guys agree with this?

Is 370z a difficult manual car to drive? compared to regular cars?

lol after this incident I feel like I am 10x better driver ^_^;;

yea, driving other less powered/torque cars (tc, si, blah blah) was way easier for me to drive, too. Their clutch was not as deep as 370z, and it was a very smooth ride.

So its safe to say that 370z is pretty difficult manual car to drive?
Compared to like coopers and hondas?

my past experiences tell me so.

I think the Z can sometimes be a bit more difficult to drive as cars with more power in general are more difficult. That being said I know when I test drove some 350Z's back in the day a couple of them had like almost a 'digital' clutch where you were either off the clutch or on and there wasn't really anything in between which made it hard to drive.

My 370z is not like that and IMHO isn't all that hard to drive.

yikes... so its either go or stall?! lol...

Just about. I know on the car my dad and I test drove we both stalled it. I only once stalled my 370z (very randomly) and I am not sure how but it was after I had it for months. I would say my 370z is decently easy to drive considering its power but I know not all Z's clutches are created equal =P

lol... when i picked up my Z... and driving out of the dealer tryin to make right turn i stalled... why? was in first gear but i thought i was in neutral... lol...
thats the only way i stall... when parking... if i panic... lol... i always just let go of the clutch when its in first gear... only time i stalled while driving is when i wear sandals and sandals get stuck in between... hahahahaha i laughed so hard!!!!

But u do agree z is still harder to drive than an avg car even though for its hp it might be easier to drive?

I stalled the 370Z when I drove it a few times. The clutch is pretty grabby but offers little to no feed-back and the car produces very little torque. This makes it hard to take off in normal driving, compared to some other cars.

Was it especially difficult? No, you just need to get a feel for the clutch as it doesn't give you much to go on. On/Off and vague. Transmission shifted very easy/smooth. I loved that part of my test drive.

Not to sound cocky but I never stalled the Z when test driving it for the first time nor when I drive it daily. You normally feel when the car is about to stall and your foot should (without any thought from you) clutch in. I can drive the Z like any car and although it the clutch definitely feels strange, I don't find it any different to drive than any other car I've driven. I guess it's cause we Euros have more experience driving manual cars, it's like second nature.

Oh no, i feel you on this one as well... but i just think that 370z is harder car to drive than other manual cars....
and i was just curious to know if others were feeling the same way?

In that case, I'd agree with ya, it's harder to drive cause the clutch feels weird but if you concentrate and judge the clutch then you should be all good. :tiphat:

i almost pissed my pants when i drove my friends 3000gt... it was so easy to drive it wasnt even funny... to a point where i dont think its possible for our z's to be drivin like that... lol...

Clutch is a bit snappy in comparison to other clutches I've driven...and randomly test driven. But I dont think it is a hard car to drive.

Hummmmm werd....I've yet to stall my Z.

i drove my friends saab 900cs. WHOA that is different. its a cable clutch, that engages like ON the floor. talk about a weird feel.

I think the issue is more that the 370z is hard to drive slowly in traffic situations. I believe this is primarily because of the awkward shift from 1-2 when at slow speeds. When driving in locations where you can give it some gas without hitting the car in front of you I find it easy to drive.

Sounds like it's a cable clutch that needs adjusting. I love cable-clutches. They don't have the issues hydraulic ones do. People like to whine about how "hard" to press they are, though.

The Z is not "hard to drive" at all. An 18-wheeler with 22 forward gears is "hard to drive". The Z just magnifies clumsy clutch action and shifting, which becomes apparent by the herky-jerky shifts you'll get.

On the Z, the clutch and transmission require some finesse to make the gear transitions smooth. If you're stalling the car, you're missing some core fundamentals to manual transmission operation. If you'd like to try driving a manual car that's truely 'hard to drive', go try out an early Jaguar X-type manual. The clutch was fully engaged about 1/4" off the floor. If you stall the Z, you'll never get the X-type moving.

definitely was hard to press, but there was definitely a feel to it.

weird thing was the way the pedal traveled. maybe the car was messed up. but 3 pedals were totally loose. like you could push them down 2 inches with no resistance and nothing would happen (no gas, no clutch release, no brake) then you would get resistance, and each pedal would start to do what it was supposed to do. at first i thought it was the lightest clutch in the world. very strange, never seen anything like that on a car.

i didn't stall it though. he was like 'everyone who drives this car stalls it the first time.' i think he had more fun driving my Z though. i had SRM on when he test drove it and he was like WTF?! which i guess i could see being weird if you didn't expect it.

Yes, it has problems. Not normal.

hmm i should let him know. any idea what that would be symptomatic of?

Loose/stretched throttle cable, same for clutch, and needing new hydraulics or to bleed the hydraulics or adjust the drums for the brakes, depending.

Again, just a SWAG as to the issue, but that's jacked up sounding to me.

haha, interesting. i guess he doesn't really care. the car has been in his family as the old crappy car since 1994. It was written off as a total loss when someone drove into it while parked. they took the check, fixed the car, and it runs ok. i guess he'll just drive it till the wheels fall off. tlk about getting your moneys worth out of a car.

I've never had trouble driving this car, and I've driven manuals for 15 years now. I've driven sports cars for most of that time, plus one small SUV and one sedan (these are just the manuals, I've driven plenty of autos as well). It's not "hot knife through butter" like a Mazda short shifter, but it's not Mt Everest either.

that is where you are mistaken my friend.

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...2&d=1292510050


15 years of driving shado? how old are you. you said you were 17 with nice boobs and a sexy butt

Been driving manual Hondas for the last four years and never stalled the Z once. I agree it took me a couple hours of driving to be smooth if a passenger is in the car.

I really think launching a four wheel drive manual is MUCH harder than the Z. My friend has had his Subaru for two years and still struggles to get good starts off the line.

I think this is a great way to explain it. I feel the clutch is somewhat "snappy" as well. Specifically when changing from 1st to 2nd. It's not hard to drive though. Just takes a bit of getting used to it.

Yeah, I've been driving since I was 2.

the biggest difference between my Z and my other MT cars that i currently own and have owned in the past is the delay in the throttle input.

it takes considerably longer for the car to respond to your input. that throws me off a little bit each time i get in my Z after a week of driving my other cars. this is another reason why i keep SRM on becuase im tired of timing myself a fraction earlier than my other MT cars just to setup a downshift.

Why is it difficult for you some of you guys? I drove mine out the dealer without any problems or stalling. Sure the clutch is a bit more sensitive compared to a Honda/Toyota but it isn't to the point where it's hard to drive. I notice a large number of people have trouble with the 370z. I just don't see how people cannot adjust quickly to the difference.

One of my buddies wanted to test drive my 370z and going from a civic's clutch to a 370z he almost stalled it many times over. He was basically dropping the clutch like he would in his civic. That is because the civic has a larger range of engagement compared to the 370z.

When I first got my car, I got used to the clutch within 10 minutes. I didn't bog it or anything either.

cell- yep, that's normal for us MT folks usually. :D

Lots of people do seem to have issues with the Z. It isn't a bad feel, it's just different and takes time. I do wish it had more feedback from the clutch pedal, though. That is all learnable.

this coming from a G20 owner with a super-slush box from the 90's... :shakes head: ;)

You own a 370Z.

What's your point?

I'm sure you have owned more manual cars than I have (2), but I have had about a year's experience working for a Ford dealership driving everything they offered with a stick. The Z and the Ford Ranger rank as the 2 trickiest manuals I have driven, although the Ranger was definitely worse, regarding clutch-feel/lack of torque (we won't even go into shifter throw, lol!).

like you, ive also made the mistake of owning a G20 yrs ago... in AT. it was terrible. i speak from experience. :D

dont get all worked up, im just kidding around.

From how you MT guys describe things, there should be far more love for the AT around here...

:happydance:

not really. they just dont know how to drive MT. there's nothing wrong with the car, just the driver. :tup:

Import,

I think he was partly getting at the fact that you don't own the car yet still comment on the clutch. I once drove a Corvette Grand Sport for one lap around a little test track. Perhaps I should go on the 'Vette forum and tell the owners how their clutches work?

I don't say this abrasively, just pointing out some irony. I do like your enthusiasm for the Z and contributions to our little community.

PEBSWADS...


(Problem Exists Between Steering Wheel And Driver Seat)

lol