My '07 is by far the touchiest manual I have ever owned, or driven for that matter. Getting the revs a little higher makes things smoother from a stop, but is rarely flawless. Driving in town and with heavy traffic can definately be a pain.

 

idk guys, judging by the responses,my 2003 clutch must be unique like i said in my previous post. en contre to what everyone is saying, the lower the RPMs im at, the smoother it is. when not accelrating hard from a stop, less than 3K rpms, i can do it with my passenger head moving barely at all. im in no way claiming to be a good manual driver, but like i said the 2005 i drove was very jerky for me

 

My 2005 has a jerking problem from 1st to 2nd unless I shift when im under 2k rpm. after that its all smooth driving.

 

Same here if I shift at 2k or less in my 08 my shifting is smooth. I really have to concentrate on shifting if I want to shift smoothly. Buddy of mine always giving me ****. And its funny cause I drove his turboed RX-8 without any problems the first time. Eitherway I get the last laugh, his turbo isn't fully tuned yet, so I kick his a$$ when we race down this lonely piece on road.

 

I still get jerks every now and then...

 

Smooth doesn't drive me, I drive smooth

 

the stock clutch engadgement point is HORRIBLE. I think i drive the car good but yes there are moments where the clutch is annoying.

 

whiner.

 

its just funny when you watch your passengers head bobble back and forth. esp from 1st to 2nd thats the worst ahahaha

 

1st to 2nd shift is very difficult to do smoothly in the Z. I luck out every now and then but having driven MTs ever since I first started driving 14 years ago, I expected to do better.

 

LOL. I thought this topic is pretty funny, because my sister came to visit me during christmas, and when I take the Z out her head would wobble back and forth as i'm shifting (1st to 2nd). She screams at me for not shifting smoothly. The day before she leaves I told her she could drive.....and then she stalled the car about 3 times. After that she said my car is too hard to drive, and she never said a word about my shifting again.

What about just starting off in 2nd gear?

 

I have the same experience. I'm old and have driven lot's of MT cars. The Z is the hardest to drive like a civilized adult. I thought my FD took time to get smooth, but I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I can make starts, and the 1st to 2nd shift as smooth as I would like.

OTOH, every time I drive it I have a little challenge with myself to see how smooth I can make it. A bit silly I know, but at least it is a driving challenge that won't get me a ticket.

 

It's not just you. I drove a 03 Z recently and my jaw dropped when the gears engaged smoothly. Doesn't make real sense since people say the clutch gets worse 03-06 and then better 07-08. Almost makes me wish I had gotten the auto. Almost...

 

I know this seems absurd and boarders on the delusional but what helped to lessen the jerky nature of my Z was a can of injector cleaner...I'm not kiddin'. The first time I added it to the tank the Z suddenly changed from herky jerky to "...is this the same car?" I add a can at every oil change. As for manipulating the clutch, I'll "blip" the throttle to keep the revs up...not down. The closer one can match the rpm between shifts (up or down), the less abruptness the engine needs to catch up. It makes sense...if you shift at the "sweet" spot (3500-4000rpm on my 2004) and wait for the engine rpm to drop to say 2K, then the clutch engages abruptly beacause the clutch plates aren't spinning at the same speed. That's why Nissan invented the SynchroRev for the 2009 370Z so as to lessen the abrupt transitions when down-shifting...otherwise the tires loose grip and the car becomes unstable when cornering.

Just my 2 cents...try the fuel injector cleaner, what do you have to loose...4 bucks???
Steve

 

I think I've resolved the first to second and subsequent shifts thereafter.

The key to smooth shifting is moving the shifter out of the gate and against the gat e of the next gear BEFORE you even press down the clutch. If you have more than 2-2.5k rpms, the shifter should come out pretty easily. At this point, all you have to do is depress the clutch a little (there's about a 2 inch spot when you initially push the clutch down before you feel a great increase in resistance) and it should click into the next gear easily without jerking.

Let me know if I'm being clear. It actually helps you shift smoother AND faster.

 

My 08 Z has less than 3k miles...I'm not sure the injector cleaner is going to work. Plus I've heard that injector cleaners aren't recommened for newer cars. I have an 02 chevy silverado, and the manuel says NOT to use any type of injector cleaner. Haven't studied the Z manuel but I figure it would be the same thing.

Any members try the fuel injector to help with the jerking? If so what brand?

 

+1 hahahaha

I always try to see how far it will go up.

 

Holding the shifter against the gate for the next gear before depressing the clutch will accellerate synchro wear though, I wouldn't recommend doing that all the time.




My old Cobalt had a very similar clutch to what people are describing, the engagement was very quick and you had to really be attentive to avoid having the car lurch. I attribute it partly the electronic throttle making the car more sensitive, partly the hydraulic TOB (on the 07-08 tranny for you guys at least), and partly on the somewhat agressive friction compound in the stock clutch disk. I know a base Cobalt 5 speed was not like that, but my SS was very finicky, as they all were. I've driven many other performance and regular 5-speed cars, none quite so touchy. It comes along with the platform I guess. With proper technique, you can learn to engage smoothly, I found that the ETC made the car hang revs between gears slightly more than normal cars, so you have to hold the clutch down a little bit longer and wait for revs to fall, or else slip the clutch more than you really should to be smooth.

 

my Z is smooth driving, never jerks on me.. 2003 track model.. shes purrfect

 

Mine was at first. But just like anything else you get used to it
No big deal really