Hi everyone,

This might be a noob question but I did use the search function and did not find anything specifically addressing this but the Z is my first manual car so I was looking for answers from you veterans!

When I am at idle/neutral there is a considerable 'rattle' noise and I mean it's pretty loud. It goes away when I push the clutch in and when I let the clutch out it comes back. Is this normal in the Z's or any manual cars or does anyone else experience this?

Also how do you know if your gears start grinding? Is it when you try to shift into a specific gear you have to really push the shifter ****?

Any other signs I should look out for?

Thanks a lot I appreciate it

 

All modern transmissions have constant-mesh forward gears, so the grinding is the dogs that lock the different gears to the shafts to transmit power. The synchronizer rings on each set of dogs act like little clutches to bring the speeds of the two pieces into synch so they will go together without grinding.

In their eternal quest for better mileage, the manufacturers are using fluids that are extremely slick, so the synchronizers are having a hard time doing their job. Improper shifting technique will accelerate the wear of the synchronizers.

I'd say that the big reason for Nissan's new Rev-Match is to ease the workload on the synchronizers. Of course, it helps that Rev-Match is really cool and relatively easy to do with the modern ECU.

All but one of the 6mt 350s I drove made rattling noise when idling in neutral. The cars drove and shifted well, and it's pretty well accepted that the noise is normal. I didn't like the noise because it sounded like trouble brewing. It was a factor in my decision to get the automatic, a decision I'm increasingly happy with.

 

This is normal for the 350Z's. I originally was concerned too when I first purchased the NISMO but found out it's normal.