My transmission was never good from the moment I got her at 27 miles. I have changed the fluid, it helped for 3000 miles. Now I am back to a clunky transmission again. I have an appointment with Nissan on Tuesday. I fully expect the ******** to send me home telling me nothing is wrong. I just wanted to document it so I can actually send the car into the shop for a month to get all the problems fixed.

Define Clunky? Everyone keeps crying about clunky. Yea its clunky and it does sound like poop sometimes but is it making you shift bad? Mine clunks but I have come to live with it. My Altima and Spec-V where the same way but it never made the shift less precise.

I would really love to hear your comparo between the 7at and pdk??? What makes it more fun? Cuz I drove the pdk, 135I with dct and EVO MR.

The only advantage I see with those trannies is they have a 550-700hp modification capacity depending on brand, while our AT's only can handle 400rwhp, before they need reinforcement.

Did you have a magic clutch in your DCT that made it more fun?

So elaborate... I really need to hear this one.

Who's arguing??? Aight anyway... you run with that story.

i feel for you man. Mine can be loud and annoying at times especially 2nd gear

Im not defending my personal opinion to you when you come off like an a$$.

I didn't know it took that much skill to shift up to second.

You would think right? The whole concept of driving a stick on paper seems easy but there are some people that will never master it.

So in other words... you have absolutely no basis of comparison between the general performance of the PDK and the A7? Other than its on a porsche, and hiding behind the "Way" I asked the question is motivation to evade.

Yeah ok.
.

I drive my 09 MT in rush hour traffic wearing flip flops most days... I've driven easier MT's and trickier MT's than this one but they've all been tamed with just a bit of practice.

What you wrote is NOT an opinion. Its a statement. There's no fact or opinion to it. No information other than a personal preference based on nothing but fun??? Ok. I can't see how pulling one paddle is more fun in one car than another. And DRM makes the Z feel more torquey and aggressive, while PDK is much more smooth and kinda boring if you ask me... i'd rather have a manual porsche and an automatic Z, if I were basing it purely on fun.

This is an opinion. Not," pdk is more fun."

The 350Z and 370Z manual transmissions are rather notchy and unrefined, and really detract from the car.

Here is my short, personal review of why I chose a manual over what UNKNOWN370 thinks is the best transmission, the 7AT and why PDK felt better. After this, I am done with this tread and him. This is all personal opinion from my experience with these and I am not saying one choice is better then another..

I drove a Cayman S with both PDK, an older model with out and the standard. Between PDK and the regular auto they used, not sure exactly how it was set up, PDK shifted smoother and the gear changes seemed to come on quicker. Even though PDk is still automated, it gave off the impression that you still had control compared to the older Cayman's transmission.

The 370z's 7AT is a big step up from the 350 and most trip-tronic autos that cars are coming with today, and having an auto in traffic is a huge advantage. The paddles are with in easy reach and make it easier then using the stick, which is something that never seemed natural to me with an auto. It felt more lively then what I was expecting and was more willing to change gear in both modes, but to me it still felt like an auto and that I was not in complete control over my gear changes compared to a dual clutch set up.

Comparing gear boxes in cars that are almost double the price of the Z isn't really fair but I could feel the difference. I can easily see why the dual clutch gear box is starting to replace a standard in most high end cars where speed is the only goal and once they start to get cheaper, i have a feeling more and more lower end cars will start having them as standard equipment.

Sorry to thread jack.

I think this is an accurate statement. It took some practice but I've finally tamed the beast and can get off the line with no shuddering, shaking, rocking, etc.

I'm not that familiar with a PDK. Does it have a torque converter? If not, I can see where it would be more fun that a traditional automatic like the Z.

A good musician can make any instrument sound good enough to enjoy, I think that also applies to cars, since a car is an instrument of sorts.

That logic (with which I agree whole-heartily btw) can lead one to a false positive of using the old 'practice makes perfect' premise and applying it to the driving of the 370Z with a 6SP-MT. However, a correct way of looking at it would be '-perfect- practice makes perfect' because if you're doing something wrong you will continue to do it wrong and get by that way.

So the best thing is, have someone that has a 370Z and drives it really smoothly, drive your car for you and see how much smoother their able to make things seem and how seamless their shifting is and try to match it, otherwise you're going to continue to just get by and never master your instrument.

The clunky manual transmission is one of the worst aspects of the z34, it really ruined the car for me. I constantly thought it was my driving but every time I jumped into any other manual car I experienced a much smoother experience, hell my friend's 2004 Sti transmission feels light years better than the Z and that transmission is 5 years older than the 2009 model Z!

Sure you can argue that the 7AT is the way to go but not for purists like myself. I can't have the car "drive" for me, there's no better feeling than going from 6th to 3rd and dropping the hammer.

OP, you didn't come off whiny in your original post at all, just another frustrated Z34 owner who loves driving stick and finds it ignorant of Nissan to give the Z, an otherwise well balanced sports car, a really crappy transmission.

this thread has once again turned into me against you... MTvsAT.

can't we all just get along.... The MT guys give the AT guys no credit and the AT guys are the same way....

i would love for someone to start a poll.

something like knowing what you know now would you choose a AT instead of the MT.

and ask the AT guys the same question would you change to the MT if given the chance... i'm betting it wouldn't even be close................

no torque converter. two wet plate clutches in the PDK.

Even though the 7AT is pretty solid for a slushbox, with it's trick multi disc tq converter lockup, it still lags getting into full lockup (when it even goes into full lockup, in D mode, it will only partially lock unless in 7th) compared to a DCT. It's definitely a great system, and the full lockup available in manual mode is helpful, but it is notably softer than a true dual clutch trans. Of course, at the end of the day, the fact that it is cheaper is really the most important part.

You thread jacked when you made an unsubstantiated statement on auto vs pdk. But thanks for filling in. I agree with some of your observations but to a limt. The pdk shifts too smooth. If you're going to have a manual mode? Why do you want to drive like you're in auto? And if you are trying to paddle shift so smoothly? Why not just leave it in auto mode? And if you want to master being smooth on shifts? Why not buy a manual. Just a thought...
The evo imho has a slightly courser but way more punchier dct than the porsche. Part of that experience might be shifting on boost. But compared to the pdk. I like the feel of the evo better. Maybe I like crude more than refined.

I can go on about this topic but I'm a leave it be. Next time keep autos and DCT's out of manual threads if you consider this thread jacking.

[Assumes General Eisenhower stance: standing as though a monolith, one mud-caked boot resting on a rock; sturdy, inscrutable, determined. Buttery light of an afternoon sun shines through the smoke of a ruined battlefield.]

Men. Blood has been let these past few days. Some have raised valid points, others excellent information, and yet others steadfastly stayed true to the title of the thread. Well done. Bravely done.

Now, we stand at a crossroads, not as brothers in arms, but as brothers in the 370z, no matter which altar we worship upon- be it the mighty 6M, or the elegant 7A. With honed skills and strength of mind and spirit, soaked with the sweat of honest work, we have earned these cars, these wondrous mechanisms of brilliance - these statues of motion and soul - that challenge the silent heavens above to produce something better, something godly. Gods we are not, yet the beauty and speed of our cars etch the sky with grace and design fit for Ares.

As we disband from the wreckage of this ultimately pointless thread - started in earnest though edged with jest - we might wonder: Why? Why has such a thing happened? For we are humans, with hearts and visions and thoughts of our own. We were not created to get along, but to question and challenge and grow!

And grow we have. And now, we depart; consoled by the panacea of Knowledge, earned through the tutelage of Experience - able to seek solace in the assurance that another fight, another chance at internet valor -

Begins at the thread below this one.

Thanks for playing, folks!

[Exit stage left]
[Curtain]

I'm voting for your for President. :driving:

Tbh my transmission is loud, it sounds like plates rattling when you put the clutch down in 1st or 2nd, sometimes getting into 2nd is a little clunky or feels like it's catching the sides. If your coming off the gas and shifting into second but sorta coasting to a stop then there's a rattle again sounding like two plates hitting each other or something under the car. Once i'm out of 2nd I don't have any problems with any other gear just 1st and 2nd. Also I think your right, sometimes I have to be very slow and deliberate to get smooth sweet gear changes, other times this just doesn;t work and makes the journey very jerky and I have to move quickly through the gears, revving high in first to get a smooth gear change. But sometimes if i rev high in first the gear change is horrendous lol. I'm putting it down to me 1. not being a professional driver, 2. Change in weather conditions/how much the car has warmed up 3. Maybe a slightly weaker point of the car in comparison to how well put together the rest of it is. Mine in a 62 (late 2012) plate car, I bought it with 2,000 miles on and it now has 6k on the clock... oh and it did it from the day i picked it up lol so thats why i believe i haven't done it to the car. I took it to nissan dealership who said they couldn't hear anything wrong with it lol... must have just been my ears picking up the clunks, and plate rattle then... tbh now i've just put it down to the car being pretty manly, australian almost in it's rawness haha!

Your Honor, I object on the basis that the witness is avoiding the question, the witness was asked to whether or not identify the culprit in this case. Instead the witness is going on about how there was a battle between the AT and the MT, we already know that this has happened and this is why we are at trial to determine who was the war criminals in this case.

all normal. look into replacing/removing the clutch helper spring to help your shifts be smoother.

"Purple prose thread"