I have a black touring auto on order. My question is : How much performance loss if any will I have with the automatic vs. a 6 speed. I live in Atlanta and traffic sucks here.

 

On auto, your accleration is usally faster than a stick, because you have no gear shifting, but you top end speed will be much lower. Plus, if you ever plan to re-sale your Z in years to come, you will lose a lot of money due to the fact no one wants a sport car which can max at 180mph, 287hp, rear drive, in auto.. lol. I say change it to 6spd ASAP, and learn to drive it in ATL Traffic, it's not that bad, I live in DC. 3rd word traffic in the country, I survived.

 

An auto DOES shift (hence ... 5-speed auto) but its shifts are generally slow (about the same if you were shifting very casually on a manual) and HP is lost in the torque converter, something needed for all auto trannys. Also, the manual is lighter and the gearing is more agressive. If the manual can turn out 0-60 in 5.4, the auto will do it in about 5.8-5.9

 

WTF!? This is only true in cars like Corvettes and Mercedes SL500 AMG's. With the 350Z a manual transmission is much faster then an automatic. Although not a Z, my RSX comes in a 5speed manual (i have), and a 5speed Automatic sportshift (crap) the manual's 0-60 is 7.2sec, and the automatic's is 7.8sec

Thats wrong also. Its a known fact that automatic cars have a higher top speed but it takes them longer to get there (and when will u ever hit that speed in a race?) u need quick acceleration, not a fast top speed.

 

Untrue. The auto makes up 25% of Z sales.

 

Man! Just loaded with misinformation isn't he.

The Z is limited to a much slower top end speed. It's not gonna go 180.

 

Top speed electonically limited to 155mph in all models MT or AT.

Won't be long though before someone starts marketing chips with this "feature" disabled.

 

Depends what you mean "fast."

If you are talking fast 1/4miles... people recommended auto Supra and Z32 TTs. Remember, that's beneficial if you give it performance mods.

The Z N/A... probably wouldn't be the same.

 

Seems like everyone is talking about a quantitative loss in performance but the qualitative loss is just as bad. Whether or not it makes the car faster or slower (BTW, a torque converter saps power; there's no refuting that, not to mention an automatic tranny is what, 20-50 lbs. heavier than a standard), there is much less enjoyment to be derived from driving a automatic-equipped car. It just feels slower. You have less control over the car, since an auto can't read your mind.

As far as resale value, if you check on autotrader.com you will see that manual Rx-7s, 300ZXs, and Supras sell at quite a premium to their automatic brethren. I don't see why this wouldn't be the same in a few years for the Z.

 

For the post that says automatics have faster acceleration than the manuals, he could have been referring the typical driver. The 0-60 speeds we see in magazines are generally done by people who drive cars for a living, your mr. smith off the street isnt going to know how to launch his brand new Z. For those people, the auto in my estimation would yield the better .25 mile times. As far as potential, there is not much doubt that in this car the manual would get you there faster, albiet by .2-.4 seconds.


Cheers,
Tubbs

 

Sounds like someone's left foot is slightly-less-than smooth. I think he thinks an automatic should be faster because you have no gaps when you shift. (This is only relevant if you suck at driving stick).

Let the record show that I don't agree with his line of thinking. I can shift faster than Michael Irvin going after a kilo of china white...

Perhaps our friend here should practice a bit at the Ferrari simulator at Dave & Buster's...

 

Yes manual does go faster, but unless you're a race car driver or you review cars for a living then you won't notice the difference between manual or auto, you people are talking about max speed and all that, for the small minority that is gonna try to max out how many times are you gonna do it, seriously people are you in such a rush to a go a second or two faster, think about it will most of you ever use to the max power to even exprience the slightest difference ? Getting manual in a car like this is just for the fun of shifting gears, and having the sports car spirit.

And by the way selling an auto sports car will not be any harder than selling a manual ther will always be people who prefer auto, and since they're aren't as many as manuals they would sell faster because manuals you can always find one.

 

the auto z will hold better resale value then the manual z since there will be a lot less in the used car market. Supply and demand people!

 

This thread should be deleted.

 

lol man i love it when you guys argue about this. It's as simple as this- with a skilled stick driver and an equal driver with the auto tranny, the stick will no doubt be faster. The auto Z will be more consistent in 1/4 mile times because there's really not much to do in racing an automatic tranny, whereas with a manual you have tons of room for driver error, bad launches, etc.

 

Your intellect is truly dizzying.

Let's see if your logic makes sense....

Fewer people buy automatics so they will be in MORE demand!?!?!??!

You "supply and demand people" is quite ironic after such ridiculous statement.

 

HOly thread revival