I use it 60/40 when i dont feel lazy. I use it wen getting of the ramp onto the highway and quickly pass by other cars wen they're driving like grandma's....rarely use it in the city now cuz i realized my mpg miles was goin slightyly down probably b/c sometimes i like to punch it at random times wen i see a nice car that's worthy enough to have a fun little race w/ =p 3rd gear is a BEAST!!

 

yeah, me too. It's horrible on gas millage though lol. I use it pretty extensively now that I has the paddles.

 

I'm curious about those who use it all the time. Why didn't you just get 6MT? Plenty of good reasons I'm sure...just wondering.

 

Two main reasons, 1) I bought used, and 6MT sedans are hard to come by in this area, I have only seen one used one on the Infiniti lot since I bought mine. 2) On the very rare occasion my girl drives mine, let's just say, I have seen her drive a stick, not pretty.

 

It's a family sedan and to be honest, the manual is more fun to drive. I've always owned a MT, but really, the paddles are fun and when you don't feel like playing you can put it in D and relax.

 

paddle FTW

 

I love using my manual mode w/paddle shifters, you get better control of the car and no random jerk around if you decide to step on it etc...

 

Curious ??: I notice that shifting into 3rd gear in manual shifting mode with the Auto tranny is the least smooth. 2007 G35X, TSB 028 ECU Update applied about 2 months ago. The upshift into 3rd gear in Auto mode is smoother than before the ECU update, but in DS or Manual seems harder. Anybody sense this too?

 

surprised no one commented on that yet.

i owned all MT cars until this one. Being in toronto i wanted best of both worlds. God forbid you'd get stuck on the 401 with a MT. I figured the Gx with the shiftronic/near future upgrade to paddles would take care of everything I need. The horsepower/trq with the shiftronic lets me play, the auto lets me relax, the AWD and traction control make winter driving extremely enjoyable.

 

Yes, that's intentional. 3rd gear is the banger gear. think about acceleration under full stress. 1st to 2nd occurs around 40MPH and the car is not moving too fast so HP & torque can still rocket the car forward because the gears are low. tranny can slip a little but it goes in smooth. 2nd to 3rd is when your at about 60-65mph and the gear ratio is higher, torque is not enough to spring the car forward so trying to do a smooth transition will wear out the tranny fast. the car is better off just locking into the gear even though it's a bit rougher, it's going to make the tranny last longer and by locking in quickly it's minimizing the loss of momentum. Total loss of momentum occurs in less then 2 seconds. so it needs to get in gear before that other wise the powertrain takes an even nastier hit trying to go forward while the gar is going backwards(at 60 mph).

Think of it this way. from a stop, is it better to go into first gear while rolling forward or rolling backwards? which exerts more stress and wear on the tranny, and which one do you think gets you to 60mph faster?

 

I'm about 3 months away from purchase so my htoughts are subject to change.

I was originally leaning towards a MT sedan but two reasons have me convinced (for now) that I am going to get a AT. Living in Indiana, we get a lot of freezing rain and ice. I am concerned about being able to drive safely in a mix of freezing rain, ice and snow. Therefore I want an x. Second, and less important, I want to be able to rotate tires. I do a lot of highway driving and being able to rotate tires will help with tire wear considerably.

 

I like cruising at about 4K rpm's and then shifting up and stepping on the gas. Makes the car take off really nice and looks effortless as it suddenly shoots off I also donwshift prior tp making my moves in the manumatic. I only drive in manual mode about 25% of the time.

 

Kring: Very good explanation which makes a lot of sense. I guess what concerned me was that in regular AUTO mode, 3rd gear is smoother. Even though I'm driving......OMG..... 38 years, and driven a number of different cars and SUVs, abrupt shifts in the Trannys usually spelled trouble. But the G is a different animal with SWELL accelration.... Love this car!!

 

+1000

 

I such a new owner that I'm still focusing on trying to figure out the radio....I've down shifted a few times for corners using the paddles...still didn't slow down as much as I like...but it helps. No spirited driving yet...I have less than 300 miles in the past 2 weeks driving this thing.