M/T in Austin, TX
 

I plan on purchasing a 370Z in the next week or so and am stumped on the transmission. I've read through forums and magazine articles to get as informed about each option as possible, yet I have concluded that there are times when I will want the 6spd and times when I want the 7AT. I'm a student at UT Austin and will be using it around campus and in the Austin area, which tends to be a bit hilly. Also, I've never owned a manual before so I have a bit of anxiety driving such a nice coupe without too much experience.

Regardless, I learn fast and will surely adapt to the 6MT if I purchase it, but I just wanted the opinion of you guys. Thoughts? Thanks in advance. :D

I say test drive both and buy the one you're happier with.

7AT's seem to be faster at the limit usually. But I prefer the control offered in a 6MT personally.

Several Z owners have bought this as their first manual car. Just make sure that if you go that route, you have a nice secluded spot in which to learn

oooh...the road to driftwood is awesome, you'll love having the Z out there :tup:

tbh, you'll be fine with the 6MT in austin, it's not as bad as...say, san francisco? just practice in the parking lots for a while and you'll be alright. just watch for potholes. seems like austin roads are littered with potholes the size of caverns!

I learned on the 370z. It's is easy to learn on, if you have syncro rev match.
I practiced at night at around 3 am when nobody was on the streets.
Took me a good month to get things down. Another 6 months to feel confident and at a year I forgot I was even driving manual.

I would say if you go with a 6mt than don't get mad when you are learning. This wasn't my first mt car so I already knew how to drive but when I was learning how to I seriously regretted getting it in mt. Now any time I drive auto it just feels very dull to me so I would say just go for 6mt you'll be glad you did later on.

Exactly haha, Austin roads are narrow and pretty rough, I was just concerned about having to worry about shifting while also navigating around the many potholes there.

I see so many 350s around campus, but I can't wait to bring a 370 up there:tup:
Final question, have any of you guys had carbon powder coating done on your Rays? I am blacking the car out but can't decide between swapping the Rays for AM wheels or just powder coating them

Go for what ever you like, I have an 7AT decided for that because I do not have the patience to teach my wife to drive MT. But my next Z will definitely be MT as my old 350z

Austin
 

not sure what I envy the most

hmm

young guy

brand new Z

Austin

sigh:tiphat:

it was my first mt car. Get the sport package with synchro rev match.

once you get the hang of shifting you will never thing of it as a "task." it will come natural so your only focus would be avoiding the pot holes.

also once you are comfortable with it you will love the country roads outside of austin....went up to plenty of meets and cruises in atx while i still lived in san antonio.

I concur with many of the above, I love my 6MT in almost every way as it is a much more visceral and direct driving experience in my opinion. It makes your drive more engaging since it requires you to be deliberate in selecting gears depending on driving conditions and style, plus it can handle more horsepower that the 7AT if you choose to go forced induction down the road.

A bit off topic, but you should Join the car club here at UT. I'm the president :tiphat:

The AT owners won't agree with me here, but the AT feels completely *insert r word* to me. The shifts are slow and harsh and it suffers from the throttle lag too, it just doesn't feel good. If the Z came with a real SMG, I think I might have gone for it.

i have an AT, and i agree, that many of the shifts lag. It does get annoying sometimes, however most of the time it works just fine.

I've been reading all the reviews online and there seems to be a mixed reaction to the AT. Some people praise it for its improvement over traditional AT's, but then other critics take the stance that it is not worth owning the AT with the MT option being so much more desirable in several ways. The parents are advising against the MT and their advice to a certain extent has been pretty solid, so we'll see. Either way, there's a sick ride in my near future :stirthepot:

Haha, thanks for the responses guys. I'm pumped to be officially inducted into the community.

I find it to only lag when doing multiple downshifts, otherwise its very responsive, not your average torque converter transmission.
Like shadoquad said, test drive both

Why are you parents advising you against the MT?

I learned to drive manual on my 370Z. When I bought the car, I had my friend come to the dealership at midnight to drive it home for me:icon17:

I'm glad I got the manual cuz it's so much fun shifting gears. There are times I want to be lazy and wish I would have gotten an automatic. But those times are far outweighed by the times I want to have fun with my car by shifting with a clutch & stick. I seriously believe that I relieve stress just by driving a manual on my way home from work.

I would never own anything but M/T. I just love having complete and total control over the shift point. Besides, my wife said if I bought the A/T then she could drive it.....hence the obvious decision to go with the M/T! :tup:

Go Premium and you'll definitely get PUMPED :roflpuke2::bowrofl:

I definitely recommend sport package MT so you get SRM. It will significantly trim your beginner's curve and your parents are most likely not aware of its existence (unless they are car people). Find a nice parking lot and spend most of the time doing stop-first-second-stop. Pay close attention to the RPMs with SRM when shifting between first and second at different speeds. Then when you turn SRM off, you can practice matching those RPMs when shifting. In no time you will be shifting smoothly without even thinking about it. If you don't drive the car a lot you may want to take several parking lot sessions in the first weeks of ownership.

Welcome to your soon-to-be Z family and Hook'em Horns!!

deciding factor for me was the synchro rev match. it's the only car that has it, it's an amazing technology, why blow it? it makes learning easier, if you ever want to drive a MT, start with this one.