***Start reading the 5th paragraph if you don't want to read BS

I am a big fan of 350Z and I am planning to the MT 350z in about 6 months later or so. I am not as lucky as other young people who lives in a rich family that their parents can buy them an expensive car.

So, now I am doing lots of research on the car because I don't want to waste my $$$ that I earned from my job.

I am sharing with my parent's Pathfinder for about 6 years already and I am really tired of it. It's huge and slow seriously (haha It's a SUV so I shouldn't complain). But anyways, I think Pathfinder is still a very well built SUV and it's FUN

Yesterday, a friend of mine traded his Automatic G35 coupe with my Pathfinder for one day because he needs a bigger trunk to transport some huge items.

Anyways, My first impression on the G35 coupe is not that good.
Why? first of all, I think the response of the AT is very slow in both auto shift and manual shift mode. Also, when I start from a dead stop, the car wont move much until I throttle very hard. The power then kicks in around 2500rpm and it's very fast afterward.

Overall the transmission is pretty smooth except start from a dead stop (coz it's response really really slow to me, I think even slower than my parent's Pathfinder). <-- RESPONSE not acceleration.

I have also tried my other friend's RX8 MANUAL, the response is much faster than the AUTOMATIC G35coupe (may be it's because of auto vs manual). However, the handling for the RX8 is much better when cornering (may be the RX8 is much lighter than the G35coupe...).

So my QUESTION is:
Have anyone test drive both the Manual 350Z and Automatic 350Z. Is the Manual one MUCH better than the Automatic?

Also, How's the Manual 350Z handling compared with the Manual RX8? Anyone tried before?

Now I am really dispointed with the AT G35 coupe.... But I still like the 350z more than the RX8. Seriously, I don't care about acceleration, I just want better handling.

I wish another friend of my have the Manual 350z so that I can test drive it

Thanks

 

Search . . . there have been many long debates over this. Garenteed any questions you have will be answered.

 

Drive yourself over to a Nissan dealership and test drive the 5AT and the 6MT back to back. I thought the 5AT wasn't very quick, but I also thought the 6MT wasn't very quick.

It just turns out that I wasn't used to the throttle-by-wire. It's not like other cars where you can get 80% throttle from 1 inch of gas pedal travel. To go WOT, you need to put the pedal to the medal... it's a very linear relationship. Once you get used to it, other cars suck.

I had a 1997 Pathfinder LE before I got the 350Z. You shoudl definitely take the plunge. The last two months have been the best ever!

And trust me, sometimes I'm rolling along at 5mph and there's an opening in traffic, I jam the gas in 1st gear and I am snapped back. Sometimes when I'm going over potholes going from 1st to 2nd gear, the car will bounce (Boston has tons of potholes) and my foot will push all the way down on the gas and I rocket off.

Of course it's not a ***** out dragster, but it's quick.

 

Kinda funny, but I think my Auto easily shifts faster than 95% of the manuals out there.

 

Like Roydiculous said, I think he is just not used to the G35C's linear throttle. He probably not stepping on the throttle enough. He is also probably not shifting right with the 5AT. Lifting off the throttle or not enough throttle will cause the 5AT to shift slow or smooth out the throttle tip in.

He borrowed his friend's G35C. The Nissan 5AT is a real-time learning driver adaptable transmission. The 5AT will learn and adapt to the driver. His driving style is not same as his friends driving style. He would have to drive the G35C for a while until the system learned his style and adapted to him.

Shift speed in the 5AT in its more aggressive profiles is faster than any human can shift. Shift speed in the 5AT is measured in milliseconds. Just for those that don't know 1ms is 1/1000 of a second. The 5AT is almost as fast as the sequential shifters.

Performancewise the 6MT and the 5AT are about equal. On the stock cars driver skill is the deciding factor on which will do better. Just two different ways to drive the same car. Test drive both and find out which one you like better.

I have driven both the 350Z 6MT and the RX-8 manual and this is my opinion on each. In the twisties the RX-8 may have a slight advantage with a good driver and that's it. It is nothing that the 350Z can't hang with. The Z and the RX-8 are just driven differently. The Z is more like brute force on rails. The RX-8 is really neutral in the turns and easy to handle until you go just too far. Without stability control, the RX-8 will let you know in a big way when you have exceeded its capabilities. The Z's mild understeer will give you a little more feedback in the corners and the understeer is controllable by easing off the throttle a little bit. I think that the 350Z 6MT is more fun than the RX-8 but if he wants easy, neutral handling the RX-8 might be up his ally.

 

the rx8 will do much better with handling

 

and that has what to do with the question the guy asked?

 

OK these guys are being asses,so i will answer u straight up. I am a short guy 5foot 6, so i was forcing myself to get the A.T, cuzthe clutch was pretty deep. The AT was nice, but i decided, ah why not, lemme try the MT. I could actually be comfortable with the clutch, so to make a long story short. After driving the MT i will never consider the AT again. In terms of respnse and acceleration. The MT response is crazy fast, and the AT is to me like a G35 coupe which i hated in AT. GET THE STICK!

 

Go to a dealer & test drive each car you are considering. Anything else is just an exercise.

 

Brickyard rat: Right on the money!

tonylittell: Look more carefully, the guy asked a question about the rx-8 too.

The rx-8 comparison has been done many times too. Do a search and bump one of those threads instead of hiding information in an off topic thread.

 

ahhhh i see.....guess i got bored and didnt read all the way through the post...

i appologize nisco

 

I love my AT... Drove a stick for 7 years. Sick of it.. the AT is really nice and still really fast. Get what you want, who really cares. I couldn't stand 2 hrs a day in a manual though.

 

This question has now surpassed "what is the meaning of life?"

My $0.02 is that the control you have over a 6MT is well worth any inconvenience. Of course I don't believe there is any inconvenience. Unless you get the Tilton rally clutch and 8 lb. flywheel like I have. That makes driving it on the street a bit of a challenge. I love it even more.

Why do you want some mechanical brain (read: slushbox) shifting for you, when you can do it yourself? I am a better judge of what gear I should be in at any given moment than some dumb robot, and I am better at sliding in and out of the gears too.

I won't say there is no such thing as a true sports car with an automatic transmission. OH YES I WILL. It's the truth.

 

my auto shifts fast and hard and I don't miss shifts.....ever. No 6MT Z with similar equipment or any form of equipment for that matter has turned better times than me at Infineon. We are talking 8-10 different drivers and Z's over the last year.

this is a daily driver and I would have bought a 6MT, but my left knee hurts like hell sometimes in bumper to bumper traffic. I have also given a good account of myself in canyon carving with several Z 6MT owners as witnesses.

If I didn't have to drive the Z in heavy traffic I would buy a 6MT, but don't let anyone tell you an auto can't perform pretty well.

Poison, did you really get hraes's car? I bet you can launch it better than he did

 

Thanks guys

Actually I wont consider the Automatic Transmission at all for the 350z, because to me I think manual has more control somehow. (I don't know how to explain it, but that's what I feel.) For example, like I can shift from 4th to 2nd with manual within a second and for the Automatic, the computer wont allow me to do that.

For those who drives AT, I am not saying AUTOMATIC sucks and I am currently sharing with my parents AT Pathfinder too. I enjoy with the advantage that AT has I am not that type of MT driver who says AT driver sucks or gay...etc. Please do not think that way, I am not bringing up something to argue here. I am just a newbie here and wanted you guys to teach me too (Thanks in advance

I was posting this tread because I am really disappointed with the response of the Automatic Transmission in the G35 coupe. As Aggro_Al said, may be I am too new with the nissan technology and not get use to it yet.

But anyways, Thanks guys! Thanks for your reply....

 

Sileighty_180sx

Glad you are considering on getting a Z. As long as what you get makes you happy, then you made the right choice for you. Now stop considering and go get the Z.

 

Yup I really bought his car, I'm not gonna say nothing at the moment because I'm still babying it

 

i say that to everyone that takes a look at my Z and say "aww, you got the automatic?"

oh, did you get that job in Atlanta, Poison?

 

I'm still working down in Augusta, not a bad job now at all

 

95%!!!! It's 100% faster than all the manuals out there in the more aggressive profiles.

Show me a driver who says they can shift a manual tranny faster than the tiptronic or sequential trannies, professional or otherwise, and I will show you someone who doesn't know what they are talking about and/or are full of BS. It is possible for a human to pick better shift points but they are not faster shifting. The new tiptronic and sequential shifters can shift in the milliseconds.

Just for reference:
Average human eye blink: ~300ms
BMW SMGII: fastest shift speed: ~80-70ms
Porsche Tiptronic S: adaptable middle profile: <200ms(varies depending on input sensors)