I don't have anything against either way...but personally i think that having a MT in this car would be extremely fun...the only thing is that i don't know how to drive one ... is it easy to learn...if it is then i'm going manual!.. and what are some benifits other than the brembos and the tighter suspension??..thanks

 

99% buy Auto???!!!

NismoCPV-35

 

Well here's my take. I've driven manual transmissions for 12 years straight (station wagon, then Eclipse Spyder for the past 8 yrs) so I promised myself (and my left leg) that my next car would be a lazy-shifter. And wouldn't you know my next car would be the G. Oh the humanity!!! You know it really, really was a tough decision to go w/ the AT over the MT. This car really does scream for you to get the MT. It really does. If my previous car was an AT then no doubt my G would have been the 6MT. But, alas, I did make that promise to lefty, and she's been thanking me going on 4 weeks now. I definitely KNOW how to drive a stick. And I promise you I'll get some grief from purported "REAL drivers" on getting the AT over the MT... but in the end, it's what *YOU* really care about in a car. Manual would have been fun for me, but all in all I don't race that much (too much to live for), I test drove both MT and AT and found the AT to be more than adequate to the MT (by that I mean there was only a very minimal loss of power or speed, both stock). Am I getting old?

Finally, one last comment: I think there is nothing wrong with getting the G35 Auto as a show off car. It's a pretty piece of metal, no matter what controls the power underneath the hood. I mean, are you guys saying there's something wrong with getting a new Mercedes SL 55 AMG as a showoff? Cuz I'm pretty sure they only come in automatic transmission, and I'm pretty sure they're really REALLY freakin fast, and I'm pretty sure if you roll up in one you'll be getting looks from the "REAL drivers", and their girlfriends.

-T

 

Okay, enough of this BS. I cut the MT-uber-alles some slack because finding an MT version of <insert car model> is becoming increasingly difficult and frustrating, and they need to do self-promotion in order to maintain themselves as an attractive market, but drop the absurd superiority complex.

I have one AT/MM car and one MT car. Wouldn't have it any other way. The vast majority of time there is no opportunity to unleash a MT in Boston. Streets are narrow, congested, and not particularly well lit or maintained. Fellow drivers are not the least bit cooperative or trustworthy. In the time it takes me to spot an opening and downshift, I'll get cut off without warning. And you'll still need to weave through traffic on the expressway at 1am. Even if you don't, big deal. Upshift-upshift-upshift, your stick work is done. No big, windy mountain freeways here like the ones you always see in the BMW ads to give you any reason to downshift. As for the ground level, if your idea of elite driving is getting 1st gear up near redline before slamming on the brakes as someone casually walks out in the middle of the road, this is the town for you. Instead, I found I was concentrating on shifting as quietly and smoothly as possible just to take the herky-jerkiness out of it and prevent the veins in my temples from rupturing. In other words, putting out alot of effort to do a poor imitation of an automatic. Which is what you need in a tight, congested, European-esque road system.

Now, get 50+ miles outside the city (about a 90 minute drive each way) on some windy back road along the rocky coast, and that's where I can drive my MT. Especially after midnight (they don't call them sleepy little New England towns for nothing). That's left-right, up-down, pavement-to-loose-sand driving. But I still wouldn't want my G for that. Too big, heavy, and powerful. Not enough room to safely test its limits. A lightweight car with a tight suspension is the way to go.

There are 4 places a high powered MT sports car belongs:
1. Those mythical places in the BMW ads. I do know there's a place in the Carolinas like that though (the "Dragon's Tail", I think). I'm envious. I've driven through most of New Hampshire, and the bastards actually blew boulders apart with dynamite rather than let you have a good turn around them.
2. A bonafide race track. You are "wasting the car's potential" if you drive it anywhere but a track. Or a menace to society, if you drive it like it's on a track.
3. A dragstrip, sort of. The serious dragsters are automatics. Automatics are better for bracket racing. Automatics work better with nitrous. And although dragging an AT is indeed mindless, what's the big allure of upshift-upshift-upshift? Strips are for tuners first, drivers a distant second. Tuning doesn't require a stick. Frankly, the inconsistency of the stick just muddies it up.
4. If you have the good(?) fortune of living in one of those overdeveloped, underpopulated places that resembles a huge, empty expanse of asphalt, you can pretend you're on #2 or 3 above.

Even something like autocross... you put it in second gear and leave it there unless things are going very well. The AT has a little more drivetrain loss in that situation, that's about it. I'm gonna spend hour-after-hour, day-after-day humping my clutch in gridlocked traffic in exchange for a couple tenths of a second at one of these venues 1 weekend a month? The manumatic is there with a flick of the wrist if the planets align and I get an opening. Doesn't feel nearly as good, but the rpms are where I want them along with 95% of the power. More than a fair trade. Having a stick in a traffic jam is like having a huge rear wing on a Civic: all for show.

What are you doing driving a G35 anyway? The thing has the same platform and engine as a 350Z, but carries around an extra 350 pounds. That slows the car down as much if not more than the AT. How will you ever reach the car's full potential carrying around all those luxury features? What's with the air conditioner and stereo? Are you some sort of poseur who likes to cruise around in comfort?

-Jack
Obsidian '03 G35 Sports Coupe
Titanium '03 MX-5 Shinsen #532

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

This car pushes "drivers" to get the 6MT version by giving you Brembo brakes and a tighter suspension (I am POSITIVE about the tighter suspension, so please don't argue with me, kthxbye)

<hr></blockquote>

Nowhere in any Infiniti documentation can I find support for your claim of "tighter" suspension in the 6MT version. Neither the website nor the large G35 Coupe brochure I have indicates anything that would affect chassis dynamics in the 6MT package other than the 18" wheels/tires, Brembo brakes and limited slip differential. A tighter suspension would pretty much have to include either stiffer bushings, springs, shocks or anti-roll bars, a change in ride height or suspension geometry, or some combination of the above.

Where did you obtain the information you're "positive" is accurate, and what part/calibration changes are made to acheive the additional tightness?

 

Wow, good discussion.

Personally, I think people that are against driving a manual trans G35 are at least one of the following:

1) Blind to the pleasures of driving this type of car with 3 pedals.

2) Too lazy to deal with a clutch pedal in traffic

3) Thinking of driving as a chore, rather than the fun experience it should be.

I would never consider a G35 coupe with an AT. Not that I have anything against an AT (I have one in my 4x4), but a sporty car like the G35c really benefits from having a clutch pedal.

Did you guys know that a lot of European countries have roughly 90% of the cars on their roads with MT? Just about the opposite of what we see here in the USA. It's a damn shame that there aren't more people that love to drive MT here. I'm thankful for the few of us diehards that have kept the MT alive here.....and thankful for all our European friends as well. If it weren't for them, everybody would probably be driving an automatic car today.

 

JDMan,

The only thing I can say to your post is this--

You don't need wide open roads and redline slamming shifts to enjoy a MT. You don't need curvy mountain roads in the middle of the night to enjoy a MT.

I find fun in driving a MT in ANY conditions, even bumper to bumper traffic.

To ask someone why they're even driving the G35C (instead of a lighter 350Z) doesn't make much sense-- obviously, there was a reason, whether it be styling, refinement, interior layout, luxury features etc..that someone chooses the C over the Z. And once that choice is made, there's nothing wrong with him/her wanting the most efficient/fun version of it sitting in their driveway.

 

Hi:

I have been driving stick shifts in Stop and Go traffic for years. All you need is a car that has great low end torque so that you can travel at less than 5 mph in first gear without using the clutch. You should be able to nearly stop the car in first gear without using the clutch. My '82 Supra can do this, my '89 Supra can do this and so can the G35. It has great low end torque!

I would never ever trade the ability to romp through the gears for an automatic. Driving an automatic is like eating a day old hamburger. Fills you up, but there's no flavor or satisfaction.

 

I think people should get whichever transmission they like, for whetever reasons they might have. The G35C is a great car either way, and not significantly faster with the 6MT unless it's driven expertly. It's still gonna be fun whether you row it yourself or leave it to the slushbox.

Having said that however, for me, the 6MT is a no-brainer. All automatic transmission cars I've ever driven (including the G35C) feel much sloppier and looser in the engine/drivetrain connection compared to a manual gearbox. I love the crisp, rightnow throttle response and engine-hardwired-to tires-feel of a manual at all speeds and conditions. I'm willing to put up with the admittedly more annoying nature of it in stop-and-go traffic to get the responsiveness the rest of the time.

Of course I might eventually be forced to switch to an automatic. Hopefully not until around the same time I find myself needing a wheelchair...

 

Interesting discussion - but it seems to come up every week on this board!
My take on the topic is as follows:

1). Suspension - as stated, the 5AT and 6MT have the same suspension. So far the person that said they are sure there is a difference, has not posted any proof. Per Infiniti, the only difference is Brembo Brakes on the 6 MT.
2). 80% of Europeans have manuals -what does that prove? Aren't these the same people that are dying because they do not have air conditioners either?
3). The fact is the car is a fast & great handling sports car in either form. The choice between 5AT and 6MT is a personal preference choice only. That is why they make both. The 6MT is surely more "fun" to drive - but at the expense of 1% of the time for "fun" driving vs. 99% of the time pain in ***! The 5AT in this car is a good one and the manual mode at least allows a lot of extra control.

So, in my opinion, AT drivers are missing more "fun" 1% of the time, missing a clutch, missing Brembo Brakes, and maybe a couple tenths of a second in the quarter mile (assuming a perfect driver). For daily driver cars, you have to ask yourself, is any of that of any real significance? If you are honestly racing the car or it is a weekend driver only, you may make a different discision.

 

all i want is to say is AT drivers respect MT drivers then i think AT drivers deserve a good respect from MT drivers... AT drivers chose AT due to their living conditions, personal taste etc.. and MT driver chose MT cuz same reasons i stated for AT... but most of time i see MT drivers look down to AT drivers... like they say "haha u drive pu**y automatic.." what's wrong with AT?? i want all g35cs get along each other regardless of drivetrain... peace(hopefully)..