hello everyone,
i just got a 2004 enthusiast last week. used with 20k miles on it.

this is my first MT car and i am not very good at shifting yet.

that being said, i've been noticing some sort of metal clinking, clunking sound from the car. it usually happens when i let go of the clutch a little early and car tries to die on me. not very loud, but i can definately hear it. it can also be heard from outside too.
and i can hear similar (but weaker) clunking sound when i step on the clutch trying to engage second gear. not always tho. rest of the gears seems to be fine.

is it me, just not knowing how to drive a MT car? or is it normal?


oh. and i've been noticing a loud tire grawling when i break. is this the feathering everyone's talking about? will i be able to get it taken care of under warranty even tho it is a 2004 model?

Thank you in advance for your inputs. other than these little problems, this is one hell of a ride. i still can't get used to the fact that im driving a Z. It feels great. lol.

 

That is normal clutch noise and happens when you push the clutch in too far and let the clutch out too fast...

Try adjusting the seat back so that when you push the clutch down and extend your leg to the max, the clutch is only depressed approx. 1" to 1 1/2". The syncros are pretty tight and you can almost shift gears without the clutch if you time your RPM's right.

Remember, the farther you push the clutch in the longer it takes to return.

Try this...

Drive the car and try to shift by using the least amount of clutch depression to get it to dis-enguage and FLOAT your foot off the clutch.

For regular driving try shifting into 2nd gear at around 6-8 MPH or 2,200 RPM's. After you're in second gear, as long as you are above 2,000 RPM's, you'll have the torque to push the car forward.

From a complete stop you can feather the clutch out in second gear and get the car rolling... but I wouldn't suggest doing this often.

Just keep trying to use less depression of the clutch and let her out easy...

Good luck and let me know if this helped.

Rich

 

wow. thank you for your info. it all makes sense now.
just like you said, i've been pushing the clutch almost all the way in. especially on the first gear. is it ok to use only a little bit of the clutch on the first gear too?

it is good to hear the clunking noise is normal. i bought the car used and couldn't tell what it was supposed to sound like. and the metal clunking sound made me thinking that something was seriously wrong with the car.

i will try it out tomorrow and let you know how it went.

thank you.

john

 

wont this cause premature wear on the tranny?

 

Push the clutch to the floor when shifting.

The noise you hear is most likely the motor slapping the strut bar. If not then maybe the throw out bearing.

Not depressing the clutch entirely when shifting is horrible advice.

 

"Not depressing the clutch entirely when shifting is horrible advice."

I will second this.

 

got to press clutch all the way....unless you like grinding gears

 

aw. man. now im all confused.

does this go for every gear? push all the way in?

 

When I first started driving my car I had bad advice from friends. and I struggled to find the right way to shift the car without jerking somewhat from first to third gear.

But after visiting my350z.com what i have learned is that many people have different opinions on how to shift the car.

I think it all comes down to this. Do whatever method that makes your car move, sound, and feel match what you want in the car.
So ask youself what you like.


With that said, PRESS THE CLUTCH DOWN AS FAR AS IT CAN GO DURING EVERY SHIFT. The clutch would not be able to go that far unless its for a purpose right?

Cliffs:
Shift slowly into second at low speeds with the clutch all the way down. Trust me I have tried many different techinques.

 

Not an expert on shifting especially on the Z, however I do have quite a bit of experience w/ MT so..... in my '05 I only have to press the clutch all the way when I start the car. When shifting from 1st to 2nd and so on I depress the cluch probably about half way and I have never grinded my gears, shift is real smooth. I also do not "ride" my clutch. At first I was depressing all the way and I shifted horribly, like I've never driven a MT. So I thought it was just me needing to get used to the Z. Now I've also let 2 friends who have about 30 years experience w/ MT between them drive my car and they have come to same conclusion. Now to back my argument I read somewhere that the clutch travel was adjusted for the '05 maybe even late '04, I'll try and find the thread. Also, from a thread in another forum, details to adjust clutch pedal travel mentions you do not have to depress clutch all the way to shift gears.

The clutch is able to go that far as a safty precaution thought up probably by some lawyer, so that you can not start the car w/ out depressing the clutch and having the car lurch forward and possibly hitting someone. In the write up about pedal adjustment there is a pic that even shows the sensor that the clutch needs to touch in order to start the car.


Sorry for this long a$$ post.

Just my 2 (Philippines) Pesos. Which aren't worth a lot.

 

Here is a link to the thread I mention above.

http://www.350zmotoring.com/forums/s...threadid=16734

 

If you don't press the pedal in all the way or close to it, you are slowly glazing your clutch disc. You'll be ****ed later.

 

I just got the Z last week. this is my first manual car. Before the z, i practiced on my friends beat up cars and few eclipse's.. anyways, driving the z, is like learning manual all over again. its torquy as heck, and once driven right, its soo much fun. my shifts used to be jerky and i wanted to fix that badly... I tried shifting with the clutch not fully pressed, it works, but something tells me its not meant to be this way, my friends who drove the car pushed it in all the way and drove it pefect, not a single jerk. Then i read some more posts on how to shift this bad boy, and all i can tell you is that you should drive the car, and not let the car drive you.. pushing the clutch in all the way, and pushing the shifter to the gear you want in the fastest time possible is the way to go for me.. now my car drives smoother, and much quicker.. feels lighter as well... anyways, i prolly make no sense, but this works for me... let me know how you're coming along..

 

I've passed the stalling phase. thank god.
but i am still having trouble with the first gear.
what i do is, to prevent stalling, while pushing the clutch almost all the way in, i start giving a little gas first, and then i let go of the clutch little bit until the car starts to move a little. when it starts moving, i lock the clutch at that spot (this is where my problem is. scared to let go of the clutch completely), and give more gas, and then foot completely off the clutch.

this is not smooth at all. people honk at me because it takes a few seconds to start going.

how the hell are you guys doing this? tips please~~~

 

for all of you jerking the car when fully depressing the clutch and "fixing" it by shortening your stroke...

you're glazing the clutch friction disc. you'll find out in a few thousand miles when you hit the gas in first and the car sits and revs like it's in neutral.


you need to learn how to clutch. perfect practice makes perfect... bad practice makes bad habits. to prevent jerking in lower gears, you need to control your left leg when letting off... let off slower.


to practice this PROPERLY, take the car out to an empty, FLAT, parking lot. stick it in first gear and slowly lift off the clutch pedal. DO NOT TOUCH THE GAS PEDAL!!!!. keep lifting SLOWLY until you feel the clutch engage and the car begins to lurch. adjust your leg movement as necessary to keep the motor from dying.


you'll hit a point where you'll be able to get the car completely in first without using the gas pedal at all, and your left foot completely off the clutch.


once you've done that, do it over and over. you'll learn at what point your leg is at where you feel the clutch actually begin to grab, and when it's pretty much engaged (the clutch pedal is only pushed a half to quarter inch or so, which is where it's pedal slop, and not actual engagement of the clutch). that short length of stroke is where you need to become comfortable.


before that point, you can let off the clutch as fast as you want, but as soon as it begins to grab, slow up your leg and smooth it down. that's how slow you need to be to keep from jerking.


and from there, you'll be able to better judge pedal feel to move your leg faster and still maintain a smooth, jerk-free transition... your shifts will be slow at first, but they'll become fast quickly as you learn the process.


because it sounds like some of you may be letting off slowly until the clutch begins to engage, then too quickly letting the pedal come to the top... right where the clutch is still slipping, causing the jerking between shifts.


but you guys are fixing this problem by shortening your pedal stroke at the risk of burning up your clutch and/or ramming your synchros.



KEEP PRACTICING AND BE A CLUTCH FU MASTER!!!

 

I fully and wholeheartedly agree as I am a CLUTCH FU MASTER.

 

Hi, @ 50, I have driven many MT. A lot of it has to do with concentration. If the music is pounding, looking at pretty women while driving or letting the engine lug, then, in my opinion, shifting is going to be choppy at best. There definitely is a "catch point" as the driver begins to let out the clutch pedal. As mentioned, let the clutch out slowly, give it some throttle and you should be on your way. Yeah, practice makes perfect. Your goal should be smoothness when shifting. Speed will come in time as you begin to roar & groar on the street.

Not sure about partial depressions of the clutch pedal, however. In all the vehicles I have owned, clutches looked good. No premature wearing. Long ago I changed the throw-out bearing for a '66 Rambler (3 speed, stick on column), but I was very young then and I might have been a little too aggressive in my shifting at the time.

One thing for sure, don't baby your Z...drive it for all it's worth or you may miss out on something...rich

 

Thanks for the tips guys. I see what yall are saying and have tried different things on my Z. So do you guys think that Jason@performancenissan is doing it wrong? Cause even said he only had to press the clutch half way w/ stock clutch. He's at a dealership that works w/ lots of Z so I figured he'd know what his talking about? Just curious.

It will probably take more practice, cause I drove a 240SX for a long time and the clutch definately needed to be depressed all the way on that sucker. I bought it used and I never once had a problem w/ the clutch even after 150K miles. Right now I'm finding that I'm having problems shifting cause I'm trying so hard to keep the revs under 3K. When I'm not being so tentative w/ the accelaration, pushing the clutch all the way doesn't affect my shifting. Thanks guys.

Hey xxlbeerZ what part of Houston man?