Just wondering if those who have the automatics are satisfied w/ the feel, acceleration and general driving exp. with the automatic. I'm still debating in my head whether I should have ordered an auto because I wasn't sure how the manual would handle in traffic. Please let me know whether you are pleased, regret the decision or whatever.

 

You guys bought automatic 350z's .......


JK

 

calm down donny

 

Actually, I ordered a manual . . . I def. wanted to give it a shot before defecting to the dark side. But Nissan is not known for have a great clutch feel. Quite the opposite, nissan MTs in the past have been notchy and difficult to engage with very long throws.

 

Well . . . that's a step in the right direction. I'm glad someone said it. Personally, I have found that the only people who completely write-off automatics are usually very immature individuals who have never had any responsibilities like, I don't know, a JOB.

I'm sure everyone would love to be able to just drive around on back roads revving his or her near 300 hp sports car to redline, but some of us will have to drive to work or school (and no, high school doesn't count) in heavy traffic. And it's not just the quantity of vehicles, its the fact that they have gotten a hell of a lot more bloated and slower in the last 10 years.

So again, anyone with an auto. care to share with the rest of us his/her driving impressions so far?

 

I have the Automatic and i am very happy with it. I have over 1200 miles on the car and i am able to red line it with the Auto/Manual shifter. I didnt buy my car to take to the track every weekend so an automatic seem to fit my tatse better than a manual. I drive in the city alot so it really works out for me. Youll be happy with the auto unless you plan on racing it weekly. Even if you did want to race it im sure you could still hang.

Ive driven a 5 speed manual car for years and the change was welcomed.

 

I have one and it shifts very nicely. In fact, the manual mode shifts pretty quick as well. The only problemm is having it in auto and thinking it is in manual and throwing it into nuetral!

Oh well, time will heal all wounds!

 

I like it a lot, so far, but since I only have 198 miles on mine, I can't give you a definitive answer. I would suggest you do a search for an earlier thread where the suject was discussed at length.

Also, why don't you test drive a G35 Sedan, its the same drivetrain, just 27 hp less than the Z. I was seriously considering the G35 if the Z wasn't what I was expecting.

Boomer
BR/FR/AT

 

Most previous threads have been hypothetical manual v. auto and many of the posts amounted to just a pissing match debating whether the auto is macho enough or whatever.

I figured a lot of auto. owners agonized over whether they should get an auto or not, so I thought they would be sensitive to whether the "fun factor" is still there.

 

I had the opportunity to test drive both the auto and the manual.

Although I prefer and have ordered the 6 speed... I thought the auto (in manual mode) shifted up very quickly... and a littler slower on the downshifts. Overall, I have a very favorable impression --- and if I were living in NY city... or central Tokyo.. I would probably have considered an auto.

In fact, I read a review of the new Z in one magazine in Japan where the test driver thought the automatic was better suited to the engine than the 6-speed. One man's opinion.

 

I would never bother to jump into the auto vs manual arguement. There will always be people on the other side of the spectrum. However, I have to jump in here and comment on your statement.

"Personally, I have found that the only people who completely write-off automatics are usually very immature individuals who have never had any responsibilities like, I don't know, a JOB."

What could possibly be your rational for that statement. Why on earth would having a job (which 99% on this board probably do) have anything to do with people's transmission preference?

"I'm sure everyone would love to be able to just drive around on back roads revving his or her near 300 hp sports car to redline, but some of us will have to drive to work or school (and no, high school doesn't count) in heavy traffic. "

Again, another idiodic and ignorant statement. As I previously said, people do in fact have jobs. The very vast majority of the people who will be owning MT cars will have jobs. They have them because it's their preference. They DO take them to work. Driving through traffic may be less pleasant but they can and do drive through it. It's not difficult and you implying that somehow driving through traffic inhibits your driving is just plain ignorant (again, I won't say which tranny is my preference b/c people will always have their own preference and i don't care). Also, why would driving through traffic to get to high school be any different than driving to a job? Do high school kids have separate traffic-free roads that they go to school on? It sounds like you just had to make an age-discriminating comment (*cough* red herring) just to prove your superiority while also inadvertently proving your own lack of maturity (regardless of whatever age you might be).

Some people like AT. Some people like MT. Just remember to think before you type next time.

 

I drove MTs, sports cars, sports coupes, for 37 years and got the AT because I thought it would be fun when I could open it up, it is, and comfortable in bumper to bumper traffic, it is. Also, my wife who drove our 72 240 Z as her personal car for years can drive a sports car again without having the pain in her elbow aggravated from the wreck she was in with our 65 Triumph TR4 4spd in 1967. So, we both get what we want, without me being selfish or unwilling to consider an AT sports car.

By the way, the CEO, or CFO of Ferrari was quoted in last week's AUTOWEEK that the next generations of the SMG would replace the 6spd manuals in the near future, no 3rd pedal anymore. Hey, us AT owners are the wave of the future! So goes Ferrari, so goes the world of sports(y) cars. Read it and weep, curmudgeons.

Boomer
Brickyard, Frost Leather, AutoManual Transmission

 

Just a guess, but I'm assuming the auto s/b well-matched to the Z's powertrain since the engine is so torquey. In my experience, a Corvette (also a torquey engine) works very well w/ an auto, while an auto would ruin an S2000 (low torque).

My $.02...

 

and i like it...i have over 1700 miles on it and have found the shifts to be very crisp, fast, and smooth (this isn't the manual mode). am actually quite surprise how good the AT is. never had a nissan before, have had a toyota AT for the past 4 years and they make the smoothest AT trannys, but the Z's right there...as for the manual shift, it works pretty well but have found that i don't use it a lot...wish the "+" was pull down and "-" was push up (which is the true characteristic of a sequential shifter)...just a preference though...

 

dbalogh & Chris S...

regarding the auto being best suited for the Z...

What that reviewer was driving at.. is the redline is low... and the torque begins to run flat after 5,000-5,500 RPM -- therefore, he could see no real advantage of the 6 speed... again, this was only one test driver's impression and opinion.

 

I thought that was the guy who runs BMW's M division (I'll have to double-check my Autoweek when I get home)...

-Mike