Electro Z

I shift better when I dont think about it. been working on shifting changing lanes ( with indicator ) and looking somewhere else.

Smooth....

After ballooning all week long.. the Z is comfy and smooth. nothing like dropping out of the sky at 400 ft/min in the middle of 400 balloons to calm your driving down... whew..

All the best

EZ

TRACK350z

Mine shifts up and down the gates flawlessly. I only have 300 miles on it, but its the best shifting car i have ever owned new. I am compareing to lots of cars i have driven new (bmw, nissan, lamborghini, mercedes...) and it ranks at the top!!

Jan Z

Pitlizard

I haave driven 4 and 5 speed transmissions for over 40 years, my 350Z 6 MT is hard to shift. The clutch engages about 1 " from the bottom of the floor. One standing starts, I still have a stalling problem, not enought gas with a slight movement of the clutch.

I believe that the clutch engagement is causeing my shift problem, seems stiff and hard to speed shift and match the revs. Down shifting to crank her up is also difficult.

Were does your clutch engage on smooth shifting 350s?

mike952

My first gear is rough...almost like if I was sliding on a hard bump..while the rest are all simple and sweet...

rep15

I believe most people having difficulty with shifting are having a technique problem or just not used to this particular gearbox. I have been using a stick for the entire 38 years I have been driving and have no complaints about the way it shifts. If the Z does not shift like your previous car that is probably good. It might take a little time for you to get used to it but the entire mechanism is wonderful.

z461

I agree w/ rep15, there is one problem with my shifter though.. When going into 3rd gear the shifter feels loose and the 3rd gear gate isn't well defined, there's a side to side motion when you go from 2nd to 3rd (after it's halfway into the gate)... it's almost like the 3rd gear gate is moving left and right while i'm trying to put it in. Also, the shifter loosens up INCREDIBLY after about 2000 miles.. I have 2600 miles now and the shifter goes in quicker than almost any other car i've driven... You guys don't know hard to shift till you've driven Supra 6-spd's with the Getrag's.

rep15

Or a 1963 VW Beetle with no synchromesh into first gear. You came to a full stop at stop signs with that car.

350Now

I am having trouble with 2nd gear as well. My car only has about 280 miles on it and it's seems hard to get to 2nd. Comparing to my Integra GSR it's a little different with this car. Also the shifter vibrates at 3000 rpm. I hope it is the case where my gears hasn't been broken in yet. Overall the other gears are not that bad. It slides into the gates fairly easily with the exception of 2nd.

Pouya

You guys should look into getting some Redline Mt90 or MTL (whatever is closest to what Nissan recommends) transmission oil. It will make the gear box feel much more "slick" and less notchy. Although, some of the notchy feel on other cars is the shifter bushings wearing in.

Pitlizard

Will Redline fix the clutch engaging close to the Floor instead of at mid-range where is should to shift smooth?

dragonbz99

iTrader: (1)

i have found out that it is very difficult to put it into first gear (clutch depressed) when the car is giong faster thant he gear speed, same thing with second gear as well but not as difficult

i think its just some safety thing not sure though since its my first manual car

2003z

iTrader: (7)

at 2800 miles, mine is loosening up nicely, finally!

integrate

Getting into ALL gears is a bit tough...my friend who drives a 5-speed IS300 said he thought it was normal, but it just doesn't seem smooth at all for me. I think 5-6 shift is the easiest.

bhobson333

This is the first time I've seen this thread & I just read the whole thing. I have a Track with about 600 miles on it. I haven't noticed any unexpected or annoying vibration at all.

Pitlizard, you should take your car to the dealer and have him adjust the clutch. If you aren't happy with it, he should be more than willing to have it adjusted. Personally, I found the clutch to be very easy to get used to, but mine engages at mid-travel as it should.

I have noticed that it's a little difficult getting the shifter into gears, but I'm not really a speed-shifter by nature so it has been merely an annoyance. I'm confident that this tranny will (as has been reported above) loosen up a bit after a few thousand miles. I know from experience that trying to force it into gears more quickly that it wants to go will just burn up the syncros, and that's no good at all.

If you've given the car a decent breakin and your tranny doesn't loosen up to the point that you're satisfied with it, take it to the dealer. You have a 60,000 mile drivetrain warranty.

captj3

iTrader: (1)

Up until a week ago it ****** as smooth as a baby's bottom.
Now it grinds into third gear at 3800 RPMS or higher.Ihave 5100 miles to date.Spoke to NNA, the dealer has to drive it to see if they need to replace it.I have my fingers crossed.

ZCARDRIVER

I have a 6spd toruing, and going into 5th gear is a pain in the a$$. I really have to give it a good amount of pressure to get into the gate. I have another 6spd manual car and it shifts alot smoother. What do you expect with 200 miles on the Z's clocks. 5th gear goes in smoothly if I don't go to the right all the way then up. But unfortunatly, I have become accustomed to my other car where I can slam it to the right and up and slide it into fifth. I imagine either A) it will get easier with miles, B)I will get used to shifting into an up/right diagonal push from the neutral positon to find 5th, or C)I will break the shifter one day having run out of patience. I'm really pulling for option A though.

topeewala

in all honesty, i dont like the way my Z shifts at all...2nd and 3rd are a serious concern of mine.......a freind of mine took his Z back to nissan and they gave him a new tranny. his Syncronization was just off....everytime he threw it into third, it made some nasty grinding noise
if anyone has that same problem, u should talk to nissan bout it

the_bode

The only thing I noticed was an occasional grinding noise when downshifting from 2nd to 1st, but otherwise no problems.

Cheers,

The Bode

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2003 350Z 6sp Touring, Le Mans Sunset / Burnt Orange, everything but aero kit