So, I had to travel 300 miles with my dad to pick the car up. But, it was all worth it when I saw it parked in the middle of a huge garage with no cars around it. I got base chrome silver for msrp and I live in California

So, I had to drive the van back home and my dad took the Z.

I drove it around the lot for a little bit..I have been driving stick for about 2 years now and Im OK.. I have driven numerous manual cars and I'd have to say that this is the hardest car to take off with in first gear; my dad who has had A lot of experience with manual stalled a few times. I trailed behind him as we made our way back he made sure to keep it under 4k rpm but he did hit 100mph for a burst.

When we got off the freeway and turned towards our home, we saw a chrome silver Z pass us, not sure if he saw us though.

So i took it out for a couple of hours and pretty much I have taking off down, still a little jerky every once and awhile and when i shift through gears its not the smoothest it can be.

I have a headache right now because the ride is a little rough..its not too bad but its a little annoying especially on rough roads

This thing is really fast, even though I didnt take it past 4k rpm I could feel its potential.

Complaints: Ride; and the stick being soo stiff and the clutch is a little stiff too( I know its a sports car, but just in general...it fits the car well though)

Pros: Looks beautiful, good acceleration from stop, and especially at high speeds... Catches a lot of attention too

I think I've been babbling a bit too much but Im really excited.
One other thing, I REALLY like how the rims look on the base model, I didn't know they were different than enthuis performance etc, but I have to say they look really nice.

 

I've driven manuals for 12 years (all of my cars) and still stalled the Z for the first 1000 miles. I have 9000 miles now, and the clutch is finally starting to engage smoothly. It seemed to have a binary action up til this point. It didn't help that the clutch on my last vehicle was practically worn out. I also have trouble shifting smoothly under medium acceleration because the RPM's don't drop fast enough unless you take a really long time to shift or unless you are at really high RPM's. Minor details...

You'll get used to the Z soon.

Congratulations!!

-D'oh!

 

The engine revs as if it's lubricated with Teflon. The jerky clutch takeup is similar to what I've experienced in a 6-spd Maxima before.

The car is a little rough over rough roads but it handles as flat as an S2000 I drove around a road course two weeks ago.

I think you need to be in the right mindset when driving the car. You can't expect that it will corner flat and ride like a Cadillac. It's a tradeoff and one that I don't mind making.

The gearbox is a bit tight but you just need to use a little more muscle and it works really well... Reminds me of a rifle bolt. It should loosen up a bit as you get more miles on the car.

Enjoy!

I picked mine up on Friday and I'm loving it so far. Except for the tires since I've only been able to drive in 27-35 deg-F weather. I hope that they're atleast grippy on hot tarmac. So far, they're my only complaint. But that's only because the prototype cars had Michelin Pilot Sports and I would've preferred those hands down to the RE040s.

 

You guys must suck at driving stick. I didn't even learn to drive manual until a month after I placed my Z order at 32 years of age. The day I picked up my Z, I had been driving my wife's Civic 5MT for the last 6 months and found the Z to be SO much easier to get going than the torqueless wonder.

I've stalled one time when I got distracted and didn't dis-engage the clutch when I had come to a stop.

 

Congrats on your new Z. It gets better every day.

Drive smart.
WayneTN

 

I totally agree.

I took my Z home on Friday and I found the clutch friction point to be very predictable and just where I like it. After 10 minutes of driving, I got totally used to the feel of the engine, clutch and shifter and I'm in LOVE. The clutch is so much lighter than my old VR-4 and this car is really easy to get going slow on the wet streets of Chicago. I found NO problems at all. The shifter IS like a bolt-action rifle. When the revs are right, the thing slips into gear SO nicely. I've found that the tranny really likes to be rev-matched. The shifter goes in so easily when you match revs right. It is a bit stiff right now and I can feel the synchros working hard when I don't rev-match, but I'm sure that'll loosen up with time.