My 6MT vs Auto driving impression. Opinions please

Bucketlist2012

Sorry.

I meant I drove the auto in manual mode..I was actually faster when I left it in automatic. I was able to keep both hands on the wheel in the 350Z..

But I just got the 370Z with the paddle shifters and I have not gone out and driven it hard yet..

I am sure that the 370z and the paddle shifters are going to be fun.. I will be able to keep both hands on the wheel..

I do believe that a manual tranny is better for road racing, but the the new auto tranny is getting really good..

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2009 Sport/Touring 370Z
1971 Z/28 with coil overs, rushforth's, willwoods, Hotchkis. 4 speed
GMC Sierra1500

buddyZ

Im starting to wish i had gotten the automatic, almost all of my driving is stop and go driving in traffic and this manual is not only brutal, but kind of slow off the line.

MacLean

We will all have our doubts here & there about our purchases (AT or MT). Yes having a manual & in constant rush hr traffic (morning or evening) can be brutal, but when there isn't any traffic that makes up the difference hopefully.

wstar

I can't let a 7AT thread go by without commenting

The 7AT is pretty awesome, but personally I don't buy the "learning" thing.

The ECU does do some realtime self-tuning of the engine, and this does tend to "learn" a bit by homing in on previously-seen values, such that it will adapt to breathing mods, fuel grade changes, ambient/air temp changes, oil/coolant temp changes, etc.

But when it comes to user driving style, I don't think the ECU or especially the 7AT's TCM is doing any real learning. It's a myth. It's the driver who's doing the learning, adapting your brain and reactions to how the car likes to operate.

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Zenki370

+1 exactly what I was thinking

UNKNOWN_370

This is what I described as "LEARNING". And if you read carefully? I did say IT DOES NOT REALLY LEARN, but adjusts according to drive style. But with time, it will self-tune itself a lot faster than new.

I will agree "Self-Tuning is a much better term than learning. But learrning was the only word I can think of at the moment. I do also believe SOME IS OUR ADJUSTMENT but the ecu seems to work faster as you add miles to the car and reverts quicker after a few thousand miles.. so there is adjustment on the ecu side.

Shotta

Im surprised to hear such great things about the 370 AT, I maybe should have considered it before I purchased my Z. I have been completely against Auto's in sports cars but reading here I think maybe I will consider it next time around. Before I bought the Z I did test drive a Mercedes 350c with sports pkg but still felt like an old mans automatic car.

I love the Z so far but I do have to say, compared to my much older car that is heaview with a lot less horsepower, th Z feels like I am driving a Sherman tank off the line, feels like something not right for a car with over 300 HP.

FPenvy

i have the 7AT and mine feels like a missile off the line (once it hooks up lol). from a dead stop and smashing the gas will result in some spin in first and some spin in second given the road temp and tires. my tires now are gettin bald but i got brand new Michelin pilot SS ready to go for summer. my only performance mod now is my CBE exhaust and Test Pipes and i drop peoples jaws when the ride in the passenger seat. it's funny watching them panic and try to find a "OH SH!T" handle but there isn't any lol

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324whp/258wtq AAM Tuned |F.I. NonRes CF CBE/NonRes TestPipes #373|UpRev Tuner|Akuma Motorsports Intakes|Z1 34 Row Oil Cooler

UNKNOWN_370

Hahahahaaaaaa... you just descibed my wife. When I got the Z she said. "Damn, No **** Bar" lol. Now she holds on to the seat with one hand the door handle with the other... lol

UNKNOWN_370

Hey, the manuals are fun. I don't think buying an auto is better or worse, just different. Its not like you're missing out in a manual. But I don't think auto owners miss out either. Its a trade off.

Autos will accelerate faster. But manuals will go fast if you shift "perfectly". There is marginally more control in some driving conditions. You don't lose out either way. But this particular auto can't be dismissed as garbage like some wish they could WITH credibilty, but they CAN'T. Anyone with enough experience behind one knows how good it is.
As far as not feeling fast? How many miles on your Z? Give it time for a good break in. As well, bolt ons may be your solution. Another thing. If you don't shift above 4600rpm, you won't feel the torque. Shift at 6500 and you will feel a punch you didn't know was there. If you have test pipes? They rob you of torque feel. That's why I won't get one. I rather HFC.

Shotta

I just bought the car a few weeks ago, its a 2010 with 22K KMS on it (just under 14K miles).

Its in very good shape with no accidents but did notice the last owner already installed K&N Typhoon's and a magnaflow catback, other then that no mods I can see. I should maybe look over the engine compartment again to make sure everything is good and nothing kinked due to the aftermarket intake.

You may be on the money with the shift points, most of the time I am shifting way lower than 4600 and launching at around 2K (for normal driving).

I dont like to drive like too much of an *** hat on the public roads so I am going to sign up for the next available track day so I can get a better feel for what this car is all about.

Sorry to get off topic guys...Im new here, I will learn.

VCuomo

As wstar has said, the ASC just adjusts (adapts) the shift points based on how hard you're pushing the car. It's "adaptive" memory is just a few minutes, from what I can tell. Whether or not the car is "new" isn't a factor with respect to ASC. Self-tuning as far as engine parameters (not transmission parameters) are concerned is a different ballgame.

And, contrary to what some others have posted, I'm pretty certain that ASC is disabled when the 7AT is in manual shift mode. The assumption is that the driver is in manual control of the shift points, so the ASC does not get involved.

DarkJak

I haven't observed this in the 370z, but I do know for a fact that in the G37's 7AT, the shift points change after hard driving (foot deep in the pedal, hard braking). The car would downshift much earlier and upshift later. The change is even more noticeable in the sport mode of the transmission, which our 370Z automatics don't have. There, it will always downshift to keep revs above 3 or 4k. It's been a while, so I can't remember the actual cutoff. If I wasn't already driving it hard, then the auto wouldn't do that.

I haven't seen anything as drastic on the 370Z, since I keep it in manual mode in all but the most boring of drives. But if there was any learning, I doubt it'd be anything other than changing the shift points.

wstar

The shift points likely do change a bit based on driving conditions, but IMHO that would be a reaction to things like trans fluid temperature changes. That specific example is actually documented in the Service Manual: different shift strategies in different temp ranges. I still don't think it's making any conscious effort to adapt to "driving style".

Given the same current inputs (which there are a *ton* of: current RPM, current speed, gas/brake pedal positions, very short term gas/brake pedal history, ABS/ABLS/VDC state, fluid temps, available engine torque (which is a function of many inputs there: MAF/O2 readings, ambient air temp, coolant temp, dynamic timing from knock sensors, etc), etc...)...

... I think every car with the same code versions will react identically. They don't learn your "driving style" over the long term. Your driving style just changes those inputs directly or indirectly.

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wstar

^ But again, that's just adaptability to current environmental/driving parameters, not a long-term "learning the style of the user". The patent is describing in detail loosely the same stuff that I wrote a couple posts above.

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