I read in the owners manual something about not push (or pop) starting the manual transmission equipped Z's because of possible damage to the 3-way cats. Can this be? I always thought it was perfectly safe to pop-start any car...

 

what do you mean Pop start?

 

You know, roll the car, pop the clutch.

I have roll-started cars in reverse rolling backwards.

 

What I mean is, the car has a dead battery so you roll the car down a hill, put it into first, and abruptly dump the clutch. This cranks the engine and since the key is at the 'ON' position, the car starts right up.

 

I don't see any reason that it wouldn't be safe. Just try not to put any more stress on the transmission/engine than you have to. I don't really pop them I release the clutch in a controlled manner minimizing the abruptness of the engagement of the clutch.

 

Nissan would rather want you to buy a new battery then come back and fix something that broke in your tranny because it's covered by warranty.