350z-Jim

iTrader: (1)

hahaha.. but is so isn't. The S4 runs 13.2 stock (just about every one of them do) and with a cat back exhaust with H pipe (40whp gain) they run 12's... It is a V8 after all.

To the other comments about autos:

I find it easier to hold a clutch once you push past its hydraulic breaking point. Where with brakes they don't do this. The pressure is very liniar all the way down. Once you break the pressure plates springs, it takes almost no pressure to hold it to the floor. And if you want, you can take the car out of gear and sit without touching any pedals. Honestly it's just preference I love my S4 (trust me it's super pimp) but miss the 350z.

ja_Z_on

I dont know, i have an early 350Z and the clutch is way more stiffer than those built in 2005 and up. Even my buddy who has driven all kinds of cars including porsches and alfas..... not to mention he goes to the gym everyday.......even he was taken by surprised when i first let him drive my car. Its a heavy clutch, not heavy as a frickin Mack truck, but by todays standards especially, the first years of the 350Z were pretty stiff. I guess after a while you get used to it, but when i drive someone elses car and come back to drive mine again, I can immediately feel how stiff it is. It says here you have a 2006 right? Yeah i agree that the clutch on those newer 350's is way different than mine. I did some research , and in 2005 they changed the pressure plates and hydralic unit to make it easier because so many people complained about the stiffness on the 2003 and 2004. You have any pics of your car dude? What all do you have done to yours? I am looking to get the Nismo cat back and intake but i am not sure if its worth the cash? Anyways, this is a pretty cool thread, so many opinions and different experiences...hahahaha. That is why i love this forum

ufoz8mycow

Fixed.

khmerpimpin

iTrader: (1)

compared to other cars i've driven/owned the 350z is cake

TheChineyz

If you think that the clutch on the 350 is hard to manage dont ever even think about driving a mazdaspeed6. High engagement + the need for more gas pedal to get that thing to roll off the line will = your damnation of all things mazda.

I have never owned an automatic(in fact my 52 year old mum still drives a stick), but I give credit to anyone who can own one for over a year and not feel disappointed that they didnt take the manual. Whether your buying a civic or an Aston 3 pedals makes you feel more connected to the car.

Phantom Menace

iTrader: (4)

+2. To me driving an AT is NOT driving.

sportbiketed

iTrader: (11)

I dont think the Z clutch is that bad, but then again my last DD had a ACT stage 3 clutch in it.

ja_Z_on

I test drove mazda speed six and speed three. The clutch on my 04 Z still feels way stiffer than those. All of the old 350 Z 03-04 had high engagement points on the clutch. So i didnt mind the mazda speed six clutch at all. Mazda's clutches are not really stiff. They feel lighter and more progressive with a easy spring loaded can of feeling. The RX8 clutch is way to soft in my opinion.

Asterix

That's because there's a helper spring on the clutch pedal, not because of the pressure plate or the hydraulic system. It's very obvious when you bleed the fluid, since the pedal doesn't come back up on its own. Stick your head under the dash and take a look.

Asterix

zman600

iTrader: (4)

manual ftw

Flick Montana

Whenever I drive my wife's AT Accord, I feel like I am doing something wrong. My left foot gets bored and starts kicking the right one.

TheChineyz

Well I own an 06 Speed6 and can promise you that the 350's clutch is much better. In fact there was a huge recall to rectify its engagement issues. My 07 350 is higher than my old s2k but not horrible.

ja_Z_on

but your 07 Z has a totally different clutch than on the 2003-2004 models. The early model Z cars had really stiff clutches and very high engagement points. 2005 Z cars and newer have really soft clutches and are easy to use. I drove an 06 Z and it was so easy to drive. My 2004 Z has much heavier clutch and is very touchy in terms of engagement. ITs kinda like an on/off switch. hahaha. But i get use to it. But after driving other cars and coming back to mine, I immediately notice the heavy feel in mine. What model is your 07 Z ? I have an 04 performance model. (silver)

mydaytonablueZ

I went straight from my 2003 Touring 6-speed into my mom's Toyota Avalon the other day and I felt like I was sitting in a damned Range Rover haha. Plus, I went for the clutch to both start the car in the drive way and stop it at a red light. LOL

Also, I feel like my Z is extremely dificult to drive smoothe. Now it may be because I have owned the car for a month and it is the first MT car I have owned and I guess I am still working the kinks out of how to drive it normally. BUT, I feel like the clutch is quite heavy and extremely tricky to engage.

Kolia

iTrader: (2)

The Z's clutch is very easy to operate.

You "MT Newbies" need to give it some time. Operating a clutch requires your left foot to be making millimeter adjustments. That's something that requires practice. A "dumb" left foot who has never done anything but lay on the footrest just doesn't have the dexterity.

It'll come on its own.

my04fairlady

iTrader: (1)

Most people don't know how to drive stick. So it's good when people ask can I take it for a drive.

zlatan

I own an 03, I've driven stick for as long as I can remember. The Z was a different animal, its not really that hard to drive it once you get used to it, but there is a steep learning curve. The car is very unforgiving, but fun. The gearbox does have a tendency to be stiff as **** in the cold, and not want to fly into gear as fast as I'd like when doing some racing in mexico on closed courses.

TenTilFour

I love the manual transmission ( I have an 03 touring) and I learned how to drive the stick on this car, with no assistance 1100 miles from my place of residence. At the time when I bought it I had spent the better part of 15 months calling dealerships and trying to marshal a Z I could afford.... So if you can imagine the trepidation of trying learning how to dive the car in the parking lot of the dealership and then tackling downtown Philadelphia with no friends or family... In retrospect, highly irresponsible but I really had no access to any manual transmission aside from farm equipment (Insert Iowa joke here).

I never realized the Z's transmission was such a clunker, I was at a small get-together and someone who was drinking needed to get home but there were only a few people who even knew how to drive stick and I was the only one sober so I ended up driving early 1990's SAAB and I remember thinking "Holy **** this gearbox is shorter and much more forgiving than mine." I've had family members drive my vehicle and they all complain about the annoyance of the stick on this car, especially if you end up needing 1st gear for something as shifting from 1st to 2nd requires a certain knack to do if you want to actually match the RPM as it drops and you shift up into the next gear from such a high RPM. ( I almost never use first unless I'm on a hill, and if it's cold outside I'll actually opt for 2nd before I'll try first on a hill because the oil pressure can't handle the RPM)

It's a whole hell of a lot of fun, and to be honest I think you just get used to driving something like that when it's you DD. I can be half asleep and can go several miles before I really even think about the shifting, which is interesting because I have a lot of "stop and go" traffic routes so I'm constantly in and out. I've eaten through my front breaks + tires twice so far but I've yet to need a clutch replacement and I know I wasn't very kind on the poor thing the first couple of months I bought it back in 06.

I like the long foot on the clutch, and I'm all of 5'6" 120 lbs so I'm a small man and I don't see what's really troubling about fully disengaging the clutch. I forbid my gf to touch the clutch on my car, she used to drive an old slushly manual Honda and never fully disengages the clutch when she tries to change gears which kills me a little inside.

jasabeast

iTrader: (3)

i drove my buddies 5spd BMW 325ci.. then drove my Z wow.. my clutch was insane stiff way better handling and the thro was insane shorter..esp. with the voodoo **** lol.. in my opion the Z is easy but anyone else that drives my Z always stalls and says its so hard to drive..

evets

Heaviest clutch I ever drove was on a 1970 Hemi RoadRunner. That was a work out! My 2007 350 Z's clutch, in relationship to the RoadRunner, is just right. Stiff enough, but nothing extreme!