amen my brother!

 

AMEN TO THAT, BROTHER - I expect manual transmissions will be outlawed in my lifetime, for some as yet unknown political reason - maybe Nader or his protege's will declare them "unsafe at any speed".

 

I file that under the heading "another reason I don't smoke" -

 

It would be more like Bush to do something that stupid, it would just flow with his agenda over the last 4 years.

 

Definitely auto.

 

Does anyone have an official quarter mile time for the G35C 5A? I saw that the 260HP G35 5A Sedan did 14.7 in the 1/4, but can't find one for the G35C with 280HP. Any help would be appreciated.

 

I am 17 Years old and apporximately 4 months ago my parents bought me a G35 Coupe 5AT. Black with Willow Interior .. its Fully Loaded, Nav, Premium, Aero, Perf. Tire And Wheel. I wanted a 6MT but my parents insisted that i got a 5AT. i sometimes drive my friends MT cars and i miss playing with a Clutch however, i am thankful for getting a car at such a a young age even though its 5AT, I've learned to do a lot with the Manumatic mode and even though it doesn't feel as good as the 6MT ... its good enough for me. I'm looking to trade my car in, in the future for the 7speed Skyline.

 

I got the auto this go around for numerous reasons. Nissan can't seem to design a decent manual transmission. I drove my Maxima 5 speed for 6 years and while I really like the quickness and tranny in racing situations, around town the shifter was balky, notchy, and it vibrated. The G35 manuals felt the same exact way. Those characteristics bothered me in the Maxima for 6 years and I'm sure they'd do the same to me in the G. Then there's the problem with the 6 speed in the G/Z. The problems are everywhere with this tranny. It just wasn't worth it to me. Finally, I got sick of rowing my onw gears. 3 out of the 4 cars I've owned were sticks. My 94 Z28 was an auto and I actually loved driving that car. If it would have had a 5 speed auto, it would have been perfect.

The G35 auto, while marginally slower, does quite well. I like the MM function for when I'm coming up to a fast corner and I want the control. Upshifting with the MM seems a bit pointless and I have little use for it. The gearing is good and the car never feels like it's caught in between gears. In D, the tranny is quite responsive, more so than being in MM mode though I wish this tranny could rip off the hard shifts at WOT my Z28 could. What I do miss is the direct connection to the motor that you typically get with a manual. The torque converter takes quite a bit of that away and the same goes for the throttle by wire. However, the G35 6 speed I drove felt pretty disconnected from the motor also thanks to the throttle by wire.

 

Your saying the mm is useless? I've heard they've improved the mm for the 05 5A's.

 

I don't think the MM is useless, I just think it's pointless for racing. When I want to "race", I turn off the traction control, put the shifter in 1 so that if I spin I can modulate the throttle, once I get traction in 1st I hit the shifter over into D. I feel that the car pulls off better shifts if you let it do it's thing. The MM is great for the control when you're already rolling and want to downshift for a turn or hold a gear. In MM mod, the car will basically hold the gear you choose unless you slam the accelerator to the floor then it will downshift, which is good because you're basically able to hold the gear with less than 80% throttle. Anymore throttle than that then the tranny will downshift, assuming you're not at a speed where a downshift is not possible (ie going WOT in 3rd at 60mph, etc.)

 

It's definitely not the same, but the differences in straightline performance aren't that big. You're talking about .2-.3 seconds and 2mph in the 1/4 mile. With a decent torque converter (which the G has), 5 decent gears, and a strong torque output the difference in performance just isn't that huge.

 

Yeah man I wish I had stick but then again I am glad I have auto. I mean at low speeds, I like switching it to manual mode, keeping it in 2nd gear... and flying by bimmers. 6MT is awesome but like if Im in manual mode and my cell rings, I just put it into auto again with a flick (thats bad though and I'm being a hippocrant when I say that people shouldn't drive while they talk on cell phones). Its harder with stick, but still very cool.

 

Prefer manual but needed awd.

 

5AT for the family aspect....but Daddy still wants to have fun! 280hp works well to make the 5AT down right enjoyable. I only occasionally miss my S2000.