my 350z was my first stick ever and i just got her a month and a half ago and im not sure if this is normal.

shifting is smooth with the occassional sounds from the tranny that i have read is a common problem to most z owners but when i get on it and start shifting around 4,500-6,000 rpms it feels grainy almost and looses that smooth feel that im comfortable with. its hard to explain but it just feels rough. the z only has 19,000 miles on it and was babied before i had it by an old guy.

i guess what im getting at is this... am i hurting my car or is there something wrong?

 

Sounds pretty normal for a Z; just make sure you're not slipping your clutch at those RPMs.

 

nah, its fully depressed when i go to shift but it still feels like something is wrong

 

Some days on the Z are smooth like butter.. some days are as coarse as sandpaper

 

Wow I never took my car over 4k but anything below it runs and accelerates as smooth as butter.

 

dear god tell me you're joking.

Go, Go right now

 

It's normal, mine does the same thing

 

your missing out, i love it but i was just worried i was hurting her

 

That has to be a joke...

 

sounds normal...if you have a friend with a Z, you may want to test drive theirs just to see.

 

*waits for davidv to chime in*

 

it's not a big deal. it's going to feel rough - tell me a car, aside from compact hondas, focuses, etc., etc., that doesn't start to feel rough around 5000 rpm. my friend's bmw 3 series starts to get loud and almost rough feeling when he starts shifting around that range.

also, it's a very high rpm, so you can't be sluggish in your shifting. if you're going to put your foot to the floor, you better be able to shift smoothly - not just fast and jittery.

god i hope he's kidding.

 

One thing that I wanna add here for Z manual tranny, that from 1st to 2nd gear is the hardest one. So if you rev to the highest rpm, once you shift to 2nd, you might need an extra power to shift.

aftermarket Short shifter may solve this problem, but not sure. I am still using stock shifter so I dont know.

 

How can it be normal to hear or feel a grainy sound when shifting gears?

You should have gotten an 5AT.

 

How about I keep my 6MT, and put $20 on your Z being a 5AT instead.

 

Hey at least I don't have to worry about grinding gears.

 

A 5AT guy starting sh*t? Well that's a first...

 

you shudda got a Prius

i have 14k on my car currently, i drive pretty aggressively and i have NEVER heard any crazy grainey sounds during shift. if i did i would KNOW that cant be normal. this isnt some cheapo honda. i would be concerned if i was you. get her checked just to be sure. you will thank me later.

 

well said

 

Fail.

The OP said the shift feels grainy at those RPMS. In all honesty, it could just be the friction between the clutch and the flywheel and he's not familiar with the higher rotation speeds. A shift, providing that you are shifting correctly, will feel different at 5k+ RPMs than it does at 2.5k RPMs.

OP, get it checked out anyway, I don't think it would hurt. Post back!