2014 370z automatic transmission - manual mode
 

Hey guys, got a 370z with automatic transmission and you know how when you move the gear stick to the left it goes to a sort of manual transmission not sure what its called think its called s-tronic or something like that?

But my question is how do you know when to down shift using the paddles? I've never driven a manual car in my life so this the closest I gotten I guess to it lol, but ok so I understand when you hear the motor at its peak you upshift but how do you downshift properly. Cause I feel like I'm doing it wrong, like when I start going slower and lets say I'm on 4 gear, I'll downshift when the speedometer seems to be like around the 2 and it feels weird cause the motor makes a loud noise and the speedometer arrow moves way to the right

any help appreciated : )

That's Rev Matching. Totally normal. Don't be scared. As long as you don't downshift when your RPM is @ or above 5k.

wow, 2014...

you down shift prior to a turn to setup for the exit of the turn. watch a few vids on how people are downshifting on youtube.

also down shift a gear or two before making a pass.

...then try it on the Gran Turismo 5 you will be a pro in no time.:tup:

:rofl2:

Are you talking about the tachometer, or the speedometer?:rofl2:

lol good point tachometer indeed :bowrofl:



thanks for the advice guys, was scared i was doing it wrong

:happydance:

First of all, don't downshift for now. The car will absolutely downshift for you and do it just fine. Just use your normal brake and let the car do it's thing until you're more familiar with this.

Second, you can upshift any time it lets you. It'll beep when you shouldn't. And if you take too long and let the tachometer needle get into the red, a light will flash on the dash and you'll hear and feel the engine basically limit itself from going higher until you shift it. You'll eventually learn to just shift before you hit that behavior. But there's no REAL need to stay in that gear all the way up to red.

Third, when you do decide you want to downshift and the engine suddenly roars a little louder and the tachometer needle jumps up, that is completely normal. In fact, that is one of the biggest visceral joys of this car, and any car that rev-matches. It's a great sound, and I try to get it every time I slow down and shift into 2nd. I know, I'm immature, but it's little joys like this that make life fun. :)

Lastly, I usually shift the car downwards myself. But I actually never shift down into first. I always let the car go from 2nd to 1st on its own. This is a historical habit for me. My other car ('03 eclipse) will let me downshift into 1st, but it will basically jerk the car to a crawl if I'm doing it too early; it's pretty violent. So I always let the Eclipse go down on its own, and thus I let the Z do the same. I've found myself accidentally shifting the Z down into 1st, but I've never had it suddenly jerk or heave at all; so it's likely far more safe than with my other car.

Find a large parking lot of long stretch or road and just go up and down the gears as you speed up and speed down. You'll get used to it. :)

The only thing I want to stress, is if you do get into the habit of downshifting with the paddles, don't RELY on the engine braking that will naturally happen as you do; be kind to anyone behind you and use your brake so they see your brake lights and know you're slowing down. I use this for braking a lot, but I always use my brake to some degree when someone is anywhere near behind me.

Just to emphasize, these are the two reasons you want to actually downshift. Another way of saying it and why I usually drive in 2nd-to-4th gears most of the time until I'm up to 60mph is that I like having the power immediate at my fingertips. Punching the accelerator at 40mph while in 5th is unexciting, but doing so in 3rd gives me an immediate, wonderful kick up.

Left in auto, the Z wants to get up to 5th gear and even 6th as soon as it can, like by 30mph. This is pretty boring, to be honest. Using the paddles gives a great sense of driving control and more exciting experience, and without the "hassle" of a manual transmission. :)

^Good advice!

Also I noticed that sometimes I'll be coasting in a higher gear, but as soon as I tap on the brakes the car downshifts automatically. A few times I tried to downshift right when I'm braking and ended up dropping down two gears quickly :eek:

Anyone else ever noticed this?

i think voltmeter... :ugh:

another good reason is to scare any dumbarse prius drivers in a tunnel or going through an underpass with nice exhaust. :tup:

:bowrofl::roflpuke2:

On a serious note OP, I don't think downshift to the 1st gear while the car is moving is a good habit unless it's nearly stopped. Other then that, downshift in this car is pretty bullet proof.

The car will downshift itself when slowing down even in M mode so I mainly downshift to pass.

wow ElVee thanks so much for the really detailed post, taught me alot! much appreciated

Oh also for those who don't know, you can still use the paddles to shift while the shifter is still in the "auto" position. The car will downshift to 5th and temporarily be in manual mode when you tap the down paddle and then return to auto after a few seconds if you don't use the paddles anymore.

wow...

oh and before i forget, lets say im in the rev matching mode, on the highway can i just switch it back to automatic without stopping the car or is that bad?

Lol, these are things that you generally ask the sales person, or try and figure out on your own. Its just a car, not rocket science - Have some fun and take it out for a spin. Downshift at different gears to feel the power change. Hear the car.

You cant really stall the automatic. So theres no need to slow down to change gears.

Good luck..:ugh2:

Yup, the car is smart enough to keep you from from doing anything stupid :tup:

yes you can go back and forth between M and auto mode anytime

Was there not a handy little book somewhere in the car when you bought it? Read it. Front to back.

No harm in playing around with it. The computer will prevent you from doing anything bad. Enjoy the new car!

I don't have that much experience driving automatics
 

What I do know is that to go forward I put it in D drive & give it gas. When I want to slow down, I ease off the gas & use the brake to control the slow down. I don't give it much thought because the car does all that automatically. OK not that funny:p

no real reason to use the paddles unless you are on a track. For daily driving, the car upshifts better than you do (if you don't want it to shift early, press the gas pedal further...), and downshifts as fast as it can when you press the gas.

So about the only time it is useful is when you want to be in a specific gear as you slow down your car. And just about the only reason you would be doing this is because you know a corner is coming up and you want to be in a specific gear and so you are able to gas smoothly as soon as you get off the brakes without waiting for the torque converter.

I find value in daily driving all the time. I can anticipate when I want to have more power response and downshift before I've even given the car a chance to see my inputs and switch.

I would actually argue that I can upshift better than the car. :) Am I more gas-efficient? Heck no. But I consider it "better." The Z is pretty dull and boring in full auto while daily driving 25-45mph. Of course, it still feels ok and looks sexxeh... :)

I downshift at about 2500-3000 RPM, I'd assume it would be the same in the 7AT in manual mode? It was on the F430... :p

Just practice, as others have said before, you'll get the hang of it and learn when to downshift and upshift and for which situations. Plus, if you ever get tired of it, you can switch back to auto mode. Me, I have to sit and shift through traffic... 1st - 2nd - N/stop - 1st -2nd - N/stop... god damn traffic!

And I'm not picking on the OP or anyone, just an observation I've seen amongst friends/friends of friends:

So many people say, "I wouldn't even know how to use a paddle shift!" Confuses me... have they never played a video game (it's exactly the same)? Or, it's just a blip of a paddle, that simple. It's not clutch in - shift - clutch out - gas.

I think the biggest concern (and it's one I had when I first ventured into using it on my Eclipse 11 years ago) is that you can break something by switching into it or doing it wrong. Just need a little encouragement that nothing bad will happen, and to start checking it out. :)

yah, they only know how to play atari 2600's...

:icon17: Old farts.

Err... traditionalists? ;)

Interesting thread so I am going to ask a dumb question also. What if scenario.. I am doing a steady 60mph and I then use the paddle down multiple times to go to first gear, will it over rev and do some damage?

No. It will not let you over rev, BUT when you get to the correct speed, it will let you downshift to the point where (for example) 1st gear runs to 7499 RPM.

The 7at is a great transmission that matches your revs when u downshift .i wonder how come they improve this on the z35 ?

Paddle shifting to me is not as smooth as any manual I've driven. But I'm sure it's operator error right now. Hard part is guessing when to shift since the 7at lags a little when shifting in manual mode. I've read that you should up shift about one to one half second before you would want to so it's smoother transition.

I have not had time to play with it yet

As DE.50 pointed out, the TCM will not downshift if it would take you above red-line (or maybe just a hair above). As with the throttle*, you are flying-by-wire and don't have direct control. The car has a pretty strong self-preservation instinct. But that doesn't mean you should be depending on the limiter and bumping the red-line every time you downshift; it will eventually cause damage.


* Another "neat trick": press on the brake and the gas at the same time - the car will auto-magically limit the throttle until you let off the brake.

Pretty sure it's not being limited by the ECU (as with launch control) but rather stays at that RPM because you've hit the torque converter stall speed (and stressing the trans).

I'd bet it's a function of the brakeover ride safety feature governed by the ECU.

Hopefully we get a watered down version of the gtr transmission. For the upcoming g z35