<Dons flame retardant suit>
As the only guy on the East Coast who owns a 350Z AT I guess I should speak up.
I was in the Army too and sorry to disappoint all you old-timers, but all our Humvees and trucks are automatics these days. I never learned how to drive a stick and I never want to either. I finally got to a point financially that I could afford my dream car and I couldn't give a rat's *** if it's an AT or an MT. And I can guarantee the people sitting beside me stuck in traffic when I-95 is backed up aren't sitting there wondering to themselves "Gee, does that car have a manual transmission?" Every three months you guys start this MT vs. AT war and it really is lame. Can't we just all agree that we own a pretty kick-*** car and leave it at that?

 

In case you (or anyone else) is wondering... back in the day, all cars came with manual transmission (i.e. MT was "standard" equipment). Then, when automatic transmission was developed, it was offered as "optional" equipment. Back then, everybody knew what "standard" meant, even though it's not a very descriptive term.

(P.S. This info may seem obvious to some of us, but I don't expect that everyone - especially younger people - would have a reason to know this.)

 

Comes natural...

 

I've been driving a MT for 30 years and I agree with most that you should learn on something other than the Z. That said, its not a must to do so but keep in mind you will more than likely burn up a few clutches fairly quickly. Even once you're comfortable driving it, most new MT drivers tend to ride it and eat them up pretty fast.


MT's are much more fun to drive, for me anyway. Others think it's just a pain in the a$$. Even those that drive them quite well.

 

Yep. And remember a lot of them were 3 speed "On the Column".

 

As a member of the Z "old guy brigade", I have never owned a manual trans sports car before (I've had 3 others). After blowing out a disk, I didn't think that I would be driving sports cars again because depressing a clutch when your back is tweeked or out is a VERY painful thing. Although the AT Z sort of rolls into gear, I find it smooth and I'm never driving in "automatic" mode. Even in traffic, and we've got lots of that here in So Cal, I'm always..always shifting. Truely a pleasure to drive, and no regrets.

 

Though it would be best to learn on a beater you can learn on the Zzzz. I taught my son on my Zzzz with no damage to his psyche or the Zzzz.

 

MY first manual car was a Civic Si in 2K. Have not bought anything but manual sense. Auto's are no fun to drive once you go manual.

 

Agreed... start with a honda... a nice honda... it will show you the shift gates and smooth out your throttle because they don't have very much torque.
Don't start with an MT Z if you're even a little scared.

 

if you're heart is set on buying a z... get an auto, the risk of you losing control of your car due to inexperience in driving a stick could cost you plenty... you can learn to shift a standard in 6mos, but you won't be a pro with it for a while...

For me it's natural to shift (grew up with a stick shift x 10 years before getting an auto) and I don't think about it, but it doesn't come that way automatically, you learn how to do it.... (with your first beater car) until then you keep consciously thinking about it which could distract you from the road.. .(looking down to figure out where your gear is in vs. knowing by feel)... those few seconds looking down could get you in an accident considering the z's power

the z is a beautiful car, your driving experience is your own... enjoy it the way you know how to best...

 

It's like a lot of things, some people take to it very easily (my son), some will learn over time, a few will never get it right(my daughter). I do think it is double tough to be learning to drive and learning a MT at the same time. Not impossible, just more difficult. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

The Z is fine to learn with. My 03 was the first MT car I had owned, and I had only driven stick once before I bought it. Got it, and learned basically how to drive it over a weekend. Of course I stalled it occasionally, but no harm done. I traded it at 40,000 miles for an 06, and I didn't even consider getting an automatic. Fact is, I don't see myself driving automatic cars anymore.

 

It isn't rocket science...

If you can't figure out the basics of driving a stick shift within ten minutes, just shoot yourself.

 

Why the manual?
The Z is a sophisticated, performance ,sports car that should be driven like one. A manual gives you the race car feel ..the feel of being in control. Dropping into second on a corner, dropping to a lower gear and passing the car in front of you, reaving up the rpm and dropping the clutch!!.. Yea its harder to initially drive then an automatic but its worth it in the end!! The manual is half the fun of driving the Z!!! Without it -well -the automatic just seems like your cheating somehow. JMO

 

Well, I guess I should address the original topic first. Having a 350 as your first manual car. Is it do-able? Sure, you can learn to drive stick on a 350 just like any other manual tranny car. Should you? That depends on a couple things. How much do you really want to wear your new clutch? Because you'll wear it a lot in that first month of driving before you really get it figured out. The transmission is a known problem, even those that have years of experience driving/racing them have had them fail, some even multiple times. And not only because of hard driving. All that grinding you'll be doing isn't gonna help the situation any. Accidentally putting it into 2nd instead of 4th at 70 mph isn't gonna be very nice on your engine. To put it plainly, you're going to put a lot of unnecessary wear on your car. If you're willing to accept that, go for it.

Now, another question, should you get a manual or automatic? Personally, I think a manual transmission is part of the sports car experience. The thing we love the most about these cars is the control you have over it. The steering is direct, the brakes are strong, and the engine responds to the lightest touch on the gas. Having control of the way the power gets from the engine to the wheels is part of that too. In my experiences, a manumatic like the 5AT just isn't the same. But then again, I prefer my cars raw, I guess. Hell, I bought a base model just because I didn't want VDC or traction control. So I say buy a manual, but that's just my opinion based on my preference.

However, I think you should get a manual car before the Z and learn on that. Pick up an $800 beater and drive it for a month. The great thing about beaters is you can buy them for $800 and sell them for $800. No need to put an unnecessary amount of wear and tear on a brand new car. I'm a big fan of beaters anyway, they are just plain fun to drive.

And just a little statistic from motor trend: only 10% of cars sold in the US today are manual transmissions.

 

oh jeezz.... Ive never seen anybody being so **** about TYPOS!!!

 

im from russia... and autos are very rare there... so yeah, I know it's standard. I was just surprised to see that somebody still calls it standard in US...hehe

 

go with the standard anyways. I bought my z without ever having driven a manual before. I drove it around the parking lot for 10 minutes then i headed home. I had a 2 hour drive through the mountains to get home too. You'll regret purchasing an automatic, slushboxes dont belong in sports cars.

 

i learned on my z, clutch is still holding up fine at 30k miles.

 

not going to happen. Automatics do not belong in sports cars.