Could'nt have said it better myself.....the wise man who quoted this Was, "Aggro_Al".

 

I have a 6MT ZR, my next door neighbor has the Auto ZR. I have driven them both and I do not think you can go wrong with the one you prefer. I have found that I can get a bit more performance out of the 6MT. It traffic it really won't matter.

After all they are both Z's.

 

of course not "as easily" but still pretty easy, I drive a 1978 280Z, and it doesnt have power steering and I am still able to easily eat/flip drivers off/talk on a cell phone, it is a 5 speed MT.

 

that was kind of my situation. my wife said that i could get whatever i wanted. however, she cannot drive a manual and i wanted her to be able to enjoy driving the car as well. so, i decided to get the auto. sometimes i regret not having a manual tranny, but seeing her smile when she drives the car makes my sacrifice all worth it for me.

the manual mode is fun to use (which i am always using unless i am in traffic or drinking soda) i just wish it would have a bit less of a lag time between shifts.

 

This subject has been beaten to death at least 50 times since this board was started.

The bottom line is, go with what YOU are comfortable with and what YOU prefer. Your choice of transmission does not make you any less of a man/woman and it certainly doesn't make the Z any less of a car.

Anyone notice that the people who have made rather harsh comments on this thread (i.e., "ATs aren't real sports cars", "you're not a true enthusiast if you get a AT") have have very few posts here, i.e., less than 50? This kind of subject really brings the newbies and jerks who like to jump the gun out of the woodwork.

 

Sorry, you're right, I meant MT.

 

Well said.

 

And the idea of the original thread was hijacked once again with the 6sp vs. Auto lawyers.

Originally it was simply to layout the differences in the Auto tranny from 2005 and previous years -- ironically making it a decision factor for me -- hence the reason why I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention.

 

sorry to go off topic, but does anyone know the ratio how many autos they produce for the Z to how many manuals?? thanks

 

Sorry if i missed the answer but how much faster is the 6spd over the auto?

 

They're equal. The difference is driver skill. If you are talking dyno, the 6MT has slightly higher numbers on the high end because of a shorter rear diff gear but the 5AT has better torque management in the low to mid range because of torque multiplication. If you are mag racing, we haven't found any professional reviews that compared the 6MT and the 5AT together. A good comparison would be the Enthusiast 6MT & 5AT with differenct drivers driving both cars multiple times on the same test course. The Enthusiast would be good because they both have the same engine, 4th gear in 5AT and 5th gear in 6MT are very close and tire size & wheels are the same. The biggest factors would be the rear differential, weight and driver skill.

 

so basically what you're trying to say is the 5spd auto isn't too far behind a 6spd in a race? Thanks.

 

If they are both stock and barring any outside circumstances, the race winner will be who ever is the better driver.

 

See my thinking is when I do get married, I'll make sure my wife does not know how to drive a manual transmission... That way I don't have to worry about her giving it curb rash or worse crashing it.

 

Thanks for clearing it up.

I'm in the market for a Z and im deciding if i want to buy a 6spd or an auto. Its nice to hear that the auto Z is close to the performance of a 6spd because in most cars... the difference between a manual and an auto is HUGE. A difference of at least half a second in the 1/4 time.

 

Regardless, what anybody says here, just go drive both the 6MT & 5AT and pick which ever one you like better or is better suited to your needs. Performancewise the difference is insignificant. Let us know when you're "official".

 

my parents own a g35 sedan...how is the Z's auto compared the g35 because i love driving the g35.

 

The 350Z's and the G35C's 5AT is different than the one on the G35 Sedan and the Maxima. The Z and GC have a real-time learning transmission in Auto Mode. The 5AT in the Z and GC will learn the driver's style and continually adapt to the driver. It becomes an extention of the driver. The GS and Maxima aren't driver adaptable. The 5AT in the Z and GC are continually adapting to the driving environment when in Auto Mode. They have shift algorithms with infinitely variable shift points based on the driver and environment. The GS and Maxima have fixed shift points depending on the shift profile used. The Z and GC have variable shift speeds based on the profile used and driver style and enviroment. The GS and Maxima have fixed shift speeds based on the shift profile and throttle tip-in. The Z and GC are faster shifting in Manual Mode than the GS or Maxima. The MY05 5AT Z also has an automatic downshift rev-matching feature in manual mode that the previous Zs don't have. The 5AT is very similar to the Porsche Tiptronic S or the Mercedes-Benz AMG SpeedShift. Check out their sites for a better description. Apparently, Nissan doesn't have very much info on their website regarding the 5AT.

 

That's awesome. I won't let my wife drive my Z for the same reason.