shimz350z

I'm a flaming troll? (I feel I deserve my so called "orange belt"status under my avatar considering the amount of posts made) lol...if so what do I win? Can I get a cookie?

You said...
"I'm getting sick of you girls constantly worried about what everyone else thinks. "

Well said...but the word "girls" is a bit childish, we prefer "boys." At least it would be the correct gender.

You said...
"You could have easily made a more productive thread. It would have required the application of intelligence though."

I guess you beat yourself to the punchline...why reply to this thread at all?


For once, you almost wrote an intelligent response but it always seems to back fire right back at ya.

shimz350z

In defense...

Main function of a car is......

A. To reach a destination.
B. To race.
C. To look pretty.
D. To pick up chicks.
E. To pick up barbie without ****.
F. All of the above.
G. None of the above.

Let me guess...you'd pick "E"?...only because it wouldn't make sense?

shimz350z

Well said, I was trying to figure out the "logic" in his reply.

mofoz

iTrader: (1)

i think its fair to say that everyone manual or automatic, has at one point wish they had the other. i have a manual, and when you're backed up at 90/94 at 4:30 trying to get into the city, i would give anything to just relax and not worry about shifting. but on late nights where you get on the free way theres no feeling like slamming through the gears. either way peopel have their reasons, some for practicality, some just for fun. I went for this car as fun and threw practicality out the window. I had a ford explorer, and i always drove everywhere, could pick up and move anything, used it for work, and it was good in the snow. The Z isnt any of these things. And i gotta say I LIKE IT.

amf813

iTrader: (1)

How many times have you told someone about your Z and had the person ask ".....is it manual?" ?

Whenever I answer"....yes, 6 speed MT....", the person usually says someting like "....cool, I would never drive an automatic sports car....".

I know that automatic vehicles are better in congested traffic conditions because they are less frustrating and easier on your legs. I just don't see that as a strong enough argument though for the AT drivers. I don't want to upset a lot of people, but I just think getting a manual tranny is more masculine on a sports car than an automatic. If you love the car, tough it out and drive it the way it was intended to be driven. If you are buying a car based on what is best in your city and commute then buy a hybrid electric-gas vehicle or carpool.

I guess I am lucky because I bought my Z to drive as a second vehicle only. I couldn't bare to think of subjecting my beautiful car to the rigors of everyday traffic to and from work. I won't even drive it when it rains just because I don't like getting it dirty.

Darthvol

First, it's a bit telling that the first thing you mention is how important it was/is in shaping your opinion that a manual is more "masculine" that other people think it's "cool". Too many folks are concerned about what "other people think". If YOU like the manual better, then good for you. At the elderly age of 36, I don't care that much what other people think anymore; I do what I like. After all, because I do like to go very fast and am planning on modding my Z, and am definitely an "enthusiast," most "other people's" opinions would have kept me in a manual.

BTW, I noticed that your Z is a "second vehicle only." My wife and I do plan to get a weekend fun-type car in the next several years, and it will almost certainly be a manual (we can't agree on which one).

35oZephyR

iTrader: (4)

Jeez guys..

Being on top or bottom, you're still gettin laid.

Zathras

Who said the manual was more expensive in the Z? Going to the NissanUSA webpage an Enthusiast with a manual is $29,010 and with an automatic is $29,980.

I've been driving a manual for 12 years now. I drove both the auto and manual Z's. The Z has a very good auto in my opinion, but I still prefer a manual. Saving 50 pounds and $970 in the process is just gravy.

I live in Columbus, Georgia now. Not much traffic and semi hilly. Now if I lived in congested Atlanta or a hilly town like San Francisco I'd get an automatic in a heartbeat.

Didn't Nissan have a manual with a hill climbing break assist? I seem to remember some Japanese manufacturer that did this. I remember the commercials, must have been more than 10 years ago. Sounds like a great idea still to me. I still fear getting stuck at a stoplight at the top of a steep hill with three cars behind me

joust75

iTrader: (1)

Who cares??????!!!!

Personally I hate auto but I understand why someone would get an auto. Even on the Z.

Me, I love driving and I would never get an auto. MAnuals are just more fun to me. Traffic doesnt bother me either. I usually just keep it in first, keep my foot off the gas and let the torque of the VQ pull me along at 3mph

Auto = Practical.

Manual = more fun to drive.

Why does anyone care about one other people want in their cars?


I was reminded though that Mercedes offers none of its supercars here with a manual. ThAt just sucks. Whoever heard of a supercar with an auto trans????? The SLR is all supercar. I cant believe they didnt offer it in manual as well. What a crime.

nsxpower

5AT is only available in the US. You can't buy a 350Z with AT anywhere else in the world. That said, I think it is stupid to buy a sports/performance car such as 350Z, S2K, M3 etc. with AT ... just doesn't make sense to me. If it is traffic you want to deal with buy a Prius / Insight and you'll save a wad of cash on gas alone, perhaps, enough to buy a second weekend/track car.

Heh, everytime I hear M3 auto go down the street I chase that person down and beat them to a pulp.

Amnbex

How do you catch them? Just because its an auto doesn't mean its not still an M3.

Dissolved

blah blah blah. Justify your purchase of an auto any way you want.

The z is a sports car meant for track driving. Manual transmissions almost always yield better lap times than autos (very few use autos ,if any, with Z cars around a track.) In some Z cars the auto version was almost a half of a second slower in the 1/4. Take the z32tt for example. The auto got different cams, different size turbos and different gear ratio. Which is why they were never as fast (stock vs stock) against a 5spd.

That being said...drive your autos bitchboys (relax, only kidding)

UsafaRice

Let's see how quickly I move the hell out of that state! I do agree with this part though. An auto is much better for the stop and go, but then again, 287 HP isn't really any better for this job than a beater's 80 HP.

Wrong, "real" sports cars are red. Duh. !(Stupid 3 colors of damn silver, why can't they make 3 colors of red?)

In the ALMS, I know the C5R uses a manual, what about all the Porsches?

Make sure you buy two springs when it goes. I'm gonna need one too. I catch myself doing this all the time.


This thread is very entertaining. If the auto was a 6-speed, it would be a lot more enticing to me. However, the number of gear ratios available is just more useful for hustling the car around a track. It being manual also keeps me from worrying that my sister or most people are going to ask to drive it. Heheheh.

I am glad that people buy the car in auto though. It makes more money for Nissan and that means we get more Z cars in the future. Why someone would complain about buying the different trannies is beyond me. I mean, Nissan made the cars first, then shipped them to the US. Then people buy what they have offered.

Did you know that something like 75% of C5 Corvettes are autos? The first year they were out, there were only 28% manual. It was actually an option you had to pay more for.

Zathras

I was looking at getting a C5 Vette a couple of years ago. I couldn't believe they were mostly autos and the stick was a $1000 option.

I test drove a couple of used C5 manuals. Gawd those were fun. You want to talk about torque!

zzz350

Manual only for me on any sportscar (and most other cars if I can).

Skrill

The E46 (current) M3 is not available with an automatic (only SMGII and Manual -- and both use the same gearbox, one just has a Siemans hydrallic clutch and shift acutator, the other does not). The E36 M3 was available in Auto, but I believe only in the 4 door version.

Aggro_Al

Also, from Nissan's website.

Touring 6spd: $33,940
Touring 5spd: $32,350

Go figure! Nissan marketing at work.

Ronny

Automatic is optional and extra cost on an Enthusiast.

Manual is optional and extra cost on a Touring.

Aggro_Al

Yes you are right, the SMG will not upshift on its own in sequential mode but, the Ferrari F1 will. Someone had said that the Ferrari F1s "only" automated function was the clutch. I was just telling them that the F1 does upshift automatically and does have an auto mode and I was also trying to show that the F1 is even more automated than the Z's 5AT.

You are also correct that the SMG uses the same gearbox that the regular manual uses. It uses the same gear cluster and the same pressure/friction plates in the clutch like a manual. Even though they use the same parts, the whole system is automated.

Here is a link to BMW's SMG Dealer Manual: (It's pretty good reading for anyone interested in the SMG)

http://www.m3smg.com/files/smgmanual.pdf

In BMW's own manual that they give to dealers nowhere do they call the Sequential M Gearbox (SMG) a manual transmission. In BMW's own dealer manual they call it a "Fully Automatic" Manual Gearbox Transmission with active manual shifting. They describe the SMGII as having all the capabilities of an automatic with active manual shifting without using a torque converter. Instead of a torque converter, the SMG uses the same inner workings of a manual gearbox and automates it using electronics and computers. BWM calls their own SMG fully automatic.

If I read the manual wrong, please let me know.

KyleB

You're both on the right track, but a little wrong. The Enthusiast comes only with 17" wheels (auto or manual), hence auto is more $$. The touring comes w/ 17" on the auto and 18" on the manual, which is why the manual is more expensive. If you add the 18" wheels to the auto touring (as many dealers do) then the auto is more expensive.