370z clutch feel
 

hey all, off the bat, I searched for clutch feel and clutch in the search and got a little info, but wanted to ask anyway.

I'm looking at buying a new car around December, and the 370z, among a few others, is on the list. I've always had a Z, so of course I was inclined to want the 370, but I have to say, the test drive totally killed it for me. I absolutely loathe the clutch. It felt like an on/off switch with a massive spring or something (which I saw in the search can be removed?) snapping it up making for shifts very unsmooth. It just killed the drive for me. I loved the power and the feel was good, though.

SO, is this something that will break in over time? The dealer (union city, didn't really like the dealership, the salesman was way too pushy, but friendly) only had a touring no sport, and a convertible, with the touring being the only stick. What I want is the base+sport.

I was just curious if there's something that would improve the smoothness of the clutch in/out or if it was just the car being new (4 miles!) that made it so....touchy.. Thanks guys!

search helper spring

LMBMike might still have a few to sell.

Removing that spring does wonders, otherwise $250 or so buys a replacement pedal that solves all the problems.

:iagree:

Only regret about the spring is not installing it sooner :shakes head:

Man up! Work that calf.

haha! it wasn't the weight! it felt like halfway up the travel it just popped up real quick. Maybe it's just something you have to get used to. All the other cars I've driven have been smooth in/out with a little resistance where the clutch starts to engage.

I will look at helper springs! Thanks guys.

You don't need a new spring. You can just take out the one that's in there now. There's about 1/4" of slop at the top of the pedal if there's no spring in it at all, but it's not a big deal.

I've had my 370z for about a month now and I just recently started to get the hang of the clutch. It is a little funky at first but now I'm rolling out of 1st gear and hitting the 1-2 fairly smoothly. The engagement seems to be really high up compaired to my previous 2 cars, both 5sp manuals. I'd say if you do pick up the Z, drive it without any mods for a few weeks. If at that point you still aren't happy, look into some of the mentioned fixes.

To this day I still have no idea what you guys are talking about. Yes, the clutch feels a bit different than other manual cars I've owned/driven. But if you are an experienced manual driver I don't see what the issue is. You guys freaked me out so much about this topic that I bought that spring before I even bought my Z. After the test drive I was like "wtf are they talking about", and never even installed it. I still have it somewhere if somebody wants it.

Have you tried just pulling out the spring and seeing how it feels without it? It's markedly better in terms of pedal feel. Sure, it's not as bad stock as people here claim, but the spring absolutely removes a good chunk of the feel.

I'm with you though, the sheer amount of complaints about the clutch and trans in this car baffles me. It's clunky and requires a bit of touch, but it holds a ton of power and (other than the CSC/CMC) rarely breaks. Hell, half the time I'm just grateful that a manual trans is still an option given how they seem to be disappearing.

:iagree:

I can only compare it to my two previous cars I've owned. I wouldn't even call it a complaint or anything like that. Just takes a little bit more time than usual to get used to. Like I said I've been driving it about a month now and it's a non-issue at this point. I have no plans to install any of the "fixes" that are out there.

All we ever hear about this clutch is wah-wah-wah. Some of us actually like it...

I bought my Z two months ago and ordered the reduced power spring after driving it a week. I Pulled the original spring and drove the car with no helper spring while I waited for the reduced power spring to come in. My preference for clutch feel on the Z is:

1) Reduced power spring
2) No helper spring
3) Factory spring, which doesn't allow you to feel the clutch pressure plate engagement very well.

No, I don't think I ever tried taking the spring out. But I did notice with my lightened flywheel, shifting didn't feel as clunky, especially from 1st to 2nd. I just never had a problem with the clutch, as far as shifting smooth. I think some people might be new to a manual gearbox and for whatever reason they are embarrassed to say so.

It's worth trying, especially given how easy it is to do and the put back if it's not your thing. I would have been fine if I hadn't driven a buddy's G37S with the spring out. After that, mine was coming out.

100% agreed on the rest of your post.

Chad, Don't make the clutch the deciding factor, you'll get the hang of it in a little bit. If not, go no or light helper spring, then RJM if you want it even easier. These are not expensive mods at all.

Oh, one more thing. Base + sport = good choice :tup:

It's not the deciding factor, it just overshadowed the whole drive, so it was honestly my main complaint really, besides wanting to drive the sport, haha. Was just wondering if it was the brand new car that made the clutch so different feeling. My old Z had a really smooth clutch, so the "springy" feel was something I'd have to get used to. I appreciate all the replies guys!

I've had my 370Z base for a week, and I agree that when you first get into the car it's alot different than whatever car you're coming from. My gti's clutch was super soft and had no feel what so ever compared to the Z. I felt it was grabby as hell when I first drove it, but after a week and driving around town, I'm really getting used to it. The 1-2 notchy shift is now smooth as glass, and clutch engagement is not a problem. So in simple terms, yes, you get used to it...quickly.

For me it was not the clutch spring (assist?) it was the on off quality of the engagement range and the fact it "floats in the middle of a huge dead space. I tuned my pedal (not really the clutch which only needs a much improved CSC) so that the engagement starts nearer the floor 3/4th inch or so, and the clutch travel ends just a bit after full engagement I left about 1/2 inch for feel. I also widened the engagement window to about twice its OEM size (by changing the actuator attachment point closer to the hinge point)

Now my pedal is more predictable and much easier to feather. As a side benefit the CSC takes much less abuse by not stroking a huge unneeded volume of fluid when I shift.

You can custom tune the pedal like I did, or just put in a tunable pedal, either way the clutch is much more track-able and street-able. If i did it again I'd install the tunable pedal to dial it in "just so". As it is, my clutch (pedal) blows OEM out of the water.

Were really not talking about the actual clutch here, (that is not too bad aside from the huge flywheel) were really just talking pedal geometry, and assist (the spring)

If they'd put in a more user friendly pedal they probably wouldn't have needed the massive flywheel which really just helps smooth out blown/poor shifts.

with my light JWT flywheel synchrorev match gets to speed about 2x as quickly. Handy when downshifting on the track where time matters. The difference is dramatic.

Putting in a weaker helper spring was one of the best mods so far.

:iagree: