370z 7AT interesting (to me) note...

[kannibul]

If accellerating quickly, and letting off quickly (say around 45mph), the engine will drop down to 1K, sometimes below - as if in neutral.

If you get on it again (say, up to 60MPH but with a mild accelleration), and watch the RPM guage, it'll go up (as expected) then drop down a bit...then if you let off, the engine will stay locked to the tranny and you can engine brake.

I assume this is the torque converter "stalling" or is this something else?

It does this both with it in "D", and in the auto-stick mode, though it's MUCH more noticable with the auto-stick mode - for example, you go through 1/2/3 and then shift it to 4th, and let off. While it's unlocked like that, it also seems to mess with the synchro-rev a bit, where it'll rev up, but it just kind of revs down instead of engine braking.

I've not yet noted what RPM it "locks" or for what duration the engine has to be running before it does it (since you can go over 5K in each gear prior, and it doesn't "lock")...


I know most guys (if not all) that track their Z have a standard tranny, but, if one was to track a Z with an auto, I imagine this could be an issue as engine braking is pretty important.


Anyhow, something odd I noticed - then again, can someone confirm their 7AT also does this?