I, with my friend, test-drove black 06 Z base and it was fast and very nice.. very very very nice~. I have to buy and I will! But my friend tells me that clutch pedal is too stiff or firm compared to his Accord V6. I remember my old Z24 8 years ago and its clutch was very stiff and my leg hurt in stop-and-go traffic. But that was 8 years ago and Z24 was slow. I can drive stick, but I didn't drive any other cars with stick. Is it really that firm compared to other cars' stick? Can any1 tell me if it's true? Should I go drive other cars like RX8, WRX, EVO, etc? I just cant spend over $30k for a car and I cant buy Sti or Evo. I dont wanna buy any other car. I will only buy 350Z. But I dunno if I should buy Z mt or at. Thx.

 

Actually, the Zs clutch became very soft for the 06s...my 05 Anniv. has the same clutch as the 06 and it's too soft IMO, i'd rather have a clutch that kicks back at me for feedback, sometimes i wish my clutch was harder, but that's just me

 

actually i think 05's were the year the clutch and stick shift were made a little easier. I just bought an 05 and the clutch seems pretty light to me.

 

A few people complain about the high engagement point.

 

you can adjust the engagement point. i did. what a difference. its like having a new clutch! faster release, faster engagement.


as for the stiffness of the clutch, its a sportscar. the clutch is supposed to be stiff, as opposed to that of the accord. i thought i couldnt handle the stiffness, but after getting used to it, its hard for me to drive a car with a light clutch. response is so much better with the heavy clutch.

 

My 05's clutch was pretty soft from the factory.
The clutch also engaged pretty high up.
Now I have JWT clutch, and it isn't any stiffer than my stock.
But then again, my left leg is a lot stronger than back then lol

 

The 03's clutch is definitely stiffer than the 06's but then again I like my clutch stiff

 

you like to clutch your stiff?

 

Don't be a wuss george bush. Don't you have more important things to worry about than a clutch? How's the weather on the ranch??

haha ok just kidding...

The Z's clutch is perfectly fine for daily driving/stop&go traffic. Pedal pressure on my '04.5 clutch is firm. Of course it's stiffer than your average econobox though. You could fart and accidentally disengage an accords clutch. When you get used to a car being one way(your friend and his accord), and then switch to another car, it will probably seem weird. The Z is in a completely different class than an accord so don't let your friend even try to compare the two. His accord gets better gas mileage too, so what??? You will run circles around him.... you could probably even do squares.

Quit wasting time and go claim your Z.

 

 

the clutch feels fine to me, but that shouldn't matter to you. Neither should what your friend thinks. The only thing that should matter is what you think about it. Here's my advice, test drive all the cars you want to buy and get the one you like the best.

 

Clutch on the '06 is soft - not stiff at all. It does have a high release as mentioned - there is a DIY somewhere about how to adjust it lower (one of those things I haven't gotten around to yet).

 

Honestly, I really wonder the real reason *why* the engagement point is so high? I'm pretty sure Nissan knows about it from day 1, they're not idiots and pretend like its engaging midway.
Any ideas?

 

How do you adjust the clutch? I don't like the high engagement point myself.

Rob

 

what is your friend talking about? the 06 has the nicest clutch I trade that clutch anytime for my 05 touring because the 05 touring to me catches up to high and I mean it's no problem to me but the 06 has a very nice clutch

 

I only drove 06 Z base mt and I dunno how prev. Z's mt feels like. But my friend's just saying it's stiff compared to Accord. I used to drive Z24 in stop-and-go traffic almost everyday and man~ my left leg gained more muscle than any part of my body. I still got thick left leg and it's ready for more work-out. Any1 drove any other cars with mt?

 

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-and-drivetrain/128253-high-clutch-want-to-lower-your-clutch-engagement-point.html

Here's the link...but read the posts though, ppl have reported that it's messed up their clutch in the long run...i was thinking about doing it but i dropped the mod because of some ppl's posts, good luck!

 

The clutch on the Z is hydraulic and clutch pedal pressure was lowered for 05. It has an appropriate stiffness for the horsepower. I personally think the pick up point is too high, but this may be due to the need for extra travel for mechanical advantage. As the hp goes up the clutch pressure will go up to handle the power, unless the manufacturer builds in some mechanical/hydraulic advantage. So yes, the Z clutch should be heavier than an Accord, but is way lighter than say an 03 M5.

 

The high engagement on my '06 Z is taking me a while to get used to. My first manual car was a '95 Stang Gt and I haven't driven a stick in atleast 5 years. I've been jerking the Z all around town trying to used to the clutch. I've had a few close moments in stop-n-go traffic on inclines.

 

hmm... some of you people say the high engagement point is like that soo it can handle the power of hp... soo what are u trying too say vipers, vettes, 911's, etc. are like that too... do they all have high engagement points cuz they have a lot of hp?

People its just a question don't spaz out and start flaming.