I am on the virge of buying an enthusiast Z but I am having trouble trying to decide which transmission to get. I thought I would ask you guys what you think and get your opinions.

Here is the situation. The Z is a sports car and traditionally sports cars come with manual transmissions. The purist in me says stick with convention and get the stick. Manuals can be a lot of fun to drive under the right conditions, and the fun factor of the Z is what drew me to it in the first place.

On the other hand, this car will more or less be my daily driver. During my daily commute I sit in a little bit of traffic. Not much, but enough to make me think that the stick could make me miserable in that situation. I know the automatic does have the manual mode, and I am thinking that could be almost as fun as a stick. I also think the automatic might be a little more forgiving and easier to handle if I ever get cought in bad weather.

I have read quite a few posts on here about people having trouble with the 6mt. Several of you are on your second, third or even fourth transmission. I didn't see anyone who posted who was denied a replacement, and very few even had problems convincing the dealer that it needed to be replaced. I have had transmission problems with my last two cars and I would really like to avoid that with this car. Has nissan resolved the problems with the 6mt, or would I be rolling the dice getting one.

Also, normally manual transmissions are typically the better option in terms of acceleration, but I have heard that the Z's automatic is just as fast, if not faster. Is this true?

Do you guys with the manual ever wish you had the automatic instead? Do you guys with the automatic ever regret that you didn't get the stick? Does the experience with the automatic come close to being as much fun as it would be with a manual?

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks!

 

Get a manual.... its a sports car.... its meant to be driven like a sports car. do they make a porsche 911 in an automatic? didnt think so. anyways i drive my Z every day sit in traffic.... it isnt bad at all. the clutch isnt super stiff its not bad at all....

 

the clutch isn't bad at all, plus everytime you want to drive the car and use the car for what it is, you'll regret every mile with auto. Get the stick.

The other thing, porsche's now come in AUto, its gay, that f-1 shifting thing-a-boby-doo. Its gay, but it shifts really really really fast.



sang

 

get the automatic with manual f1 racing on steering wheel option

 

I traded my 5AT for a 6MT



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Here is what this board has said about the subject:

How much slower is 5 speed automatic Z compare to the 6 speed manual
https://my350z.com/forum/showthr...ght=auto+slower

MT vs. AT
https://my350z.com/forum/showthr...ght=auto+slower

POLL Automatic or Manual?
https://my350z.com/forum/showthr...ght=auto+slower

Manual Vs Auto?
https://my350z.com/forum/showthr...ght=auto+slower

AT or 6 Spd ?
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....manuel+or+auto

 

I have an auto and love it!

Only at first did i sortof regret not getting a manual but now im so happy i got the auto. Since this is my daily driver also i didnt want to deal with a manual in traffic.. and if i want just a tad bit more fun i do put it in manual mode. Sure it might not be as fun as a manual is. But its better than leaving it in drive.. and its tad faster (especially if u are moving, just click it into manual mode and downshift... Just avoid downshifting into second... Some times i get a clunk. I think everyone with the auto gets it..)

If u were buying this as a weekend car or a track car i would say definatly get a manual. But for everyday use the auto isnt a bad choice. Go test drive both and see what u like best

 

It's my daily driver and I have a 6mt. No regret whatsoever. Plus, two of my bosses are car nuts (one drives a Viper, the other an M3; both have owned Porsches, Jags, etc. in the past), and they would have ragged the crap out of me for getting a two-seater with an automatic.

Seriously, if you're getting a Z, you're not getting it for the practicality, or even the luxury. Why compromise with an automatic?

 

^ basically what he said. i never drove a manual car before the Z so the decision was a bit hard. that and they didnt have a 6spd on the lot when i went to get my car. i opted to wait for the MT and have no regrets at all.

My suburb is getting big so theres traffic in the right places and it really isnt too bad. You are getting a sports car, get it the way its supposed to be driven.

 

Thanks to everyone who replied so far. The manual seems to be the popular choice from what I can tell. Does anyone know if nissan has fixed the problems with the 6mt yet? One of the threads I read had an extremely high number of responses about having to have thier transmission replaced. I really don't want to deal with that 5000 miles into ownership.

If I do go for the 6mt it looks like I may end up waiting a bit to get my Z. The dealer couldn't find one like I wanted with the stick and said he would have to order it. He said it would be june at the earliest if he has to order.

 

my Z is a daily driver and it is also 6mt. the only way to shift

 

If I can drive a manual in LA traffic, then you can too

 

manual you will regret the fun

 

F1 cars have no clutch. SMG like the M3s and Ferraris. This is the way of the future. I have no regrets because I know how to use the manual mode. BTW most 6sp Z owners talk **** about how much faster their Zs are. Just look at my time below.

 

I also got that clunk once or twice on my 2004. I've had it for 800 miles so far and that clunk had me worried. Has yours given you any problems? Did you ask Nissan about it? I just hope it's not a serious problem. My Nissan dealer said that it could be because the tranny is all bolt on that I downshifted and the high revs caused it to jump. I think that is bull, but I'm curious as to what others have encountered with their automatics.

As for which tranny to get, I would go with the MT if Nissan has fixed the problem, otherwise I would go with the Automatic. The manual mode makes it more fun than a normal Automatic, but it's still not the same. I had to settle on the automatic because I couldn't teach my wife stick. I tried once and I saw divorce on the horizon. hahaha! All of that being said, I'm happy with the automatic now, as I wouldn't want the problem of replacing trannys every time I got the oil changed!

 

Get the manual. My last sport car was an automatic, I forgot how much fun a stick could be. I have to drive my car daily also, and I still couldn't resist. My husband threw a huge fit, he wanted the AT, so while he was at work i went and got my Z with MT. OOPS!!

 

Philosophically speaking, sports cars generally have had manual transmissions. But, there is nothing sacred about that. Get whatever you feel most comfortable with.

I have the manual and have had no problems with it whatsoever. I think the people who talk most about the transmission problems are those who have problems. Very few of us make comments that everything is fine with the car.

So just buy whatever makes you happy. It really doesn't matter what opinions everyone else has, you are the one who will be driving the car and you need to be comfortable with "your" decision.

Les

 

well it's realy up to you. You should be asking yourself what do you want more. For me its manual all the way. I will never ever ever buy another automatic vehicle. There is no replacement for the feeling of downshifting to the third and having all the ponies pull together, or downshifting when breaking. The safest the best the shortest way to break.
But if you like automatic - go for it.

 

Hmm I could do the same in my manual mode. Even skip gears!

 

Sure they do. It's called Tiptronic S in Porsche terms.