I've been coming out of stops and lights etc.. in 2nd gear is this bad for the car's transmission? because if it is i want to stop now before i get into a bad habbit and f up my brand new 350z.

by the way the reason i do it is because the comes out smoother in 2nd. ,and dont have to shift as often, oh and this is my first stick shift car so let me know if i should stop ?

 

That's OK for snow driving for better traction, but it causes additional wear on the clutch. I would stop it and use your 6-speed as it was meant to be used.

Steve

 

I wouldn't do it either, unless you're starting off down a steep hill. It just puts extra wear on the clutch b/c you have to slip it a little more when starting in a higher gear.

WayneTN

 

if your at any kind of roll then you can use 2nd. but 1st is there for a reason, your not hurting anything but the clutch(and performance )

use first, dont get into the habit. 1st is there for a reason.

 

how about when you come to a rolling stop (3-5 mph)?i usually put it into second gear because sometimes its hard to get it into first gear. is this still bad?

 

no in theory, 1st is ONLY for dead stops, tho it can be used easily for speeds under 5mph, but as long as your rolling, 2nd is best. 1st should be used on a roll only after double clutching, rev matching, and for racing purposes when you gotta be somewhere NOW.

 

Basically I agree with Ares. I use second gear all of the time if the car is moving. I'm not the car pro others are on here, but the car feels/sounds fine to me using second gear as long as car is moving.

From a dead stop you will be wearing out the clutch if you start in second. Not a good habit.

1st gear is a pain because it is so "short". I'd have been just as happy with a 5 spd tranny but the go-fast, jr. racer guys prefer 6 spd i guess.

 

one of the first cars if not THE first car was the S2000 with its VERY narrow power band, the extra gears let the car utilize it better. this stayed quite useful in the large selection of 4bangers around.

but just as the muscle cars of yesterday only had 3 and 4 speed trannies and managed to move right along, if you have a broad enough torque band it doesnt matter if you revs drop by half in a shift. the Z obviously isnt that rubust, but a 5speed might have reduced wasted shifting time. but damnit, the public sees a 6speed in the honda, audi, and all sorts of other cars, even cheaper ones. the Z damn well better have it, cause 6 is better than 5, right? lots of things are done just to appease the uninformed.