So after about 4 months of living with my second Z car I have come to appreciate my 280z even more.  I purchased a 2006 350z as an alternative toy to my 1977.  I also thought it would make a nice little Touring car for the wife and myself and it does do that very well.  The car had the options I wanted, I.E. Brembo's,  staggered Ray's wheels, Touring Trim with a 6 speed manual & very clean for $6,200.00!  Deal!

The thing that shocked me about this car is how truely horrible the car shifts for a reasonably modern car.  The car is a real beast to drive in traffic.  I understand that the manual is becoming a thing of the past for most looking for a new car these days and well, I can't say I blame them.  I found myself driving the 77 more than ever, not exactly the plan.  

I have spent the last couple months as time and budget allows refining the 350's clutch/shifting system.  I was very surprised to find that much of the short comings of the system resides in the clutch pedal itself.  A guy in Canada who operates a company called RJM Performance thankfully has developed a clutch pedal that address the issues with the stock Nissan piece.  This pedal along with a new more refined shifter makes the car much more civalized but still not as smooth and sweet as the old 280z!   

Sometimes new does not mean better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weird. From what I've heard about those transmissions, they are smooth shifters. Of course, they say the same about the shifting feel of the trans in my E30, and although my trans has a lot of miles on it, and may be worn, I really don't much care for the shifter feel, so ya never know.

Weird. From what I've heard about those transmissions, they are smooth shifters. Of course, they say the same about the shifting feel of the trans in my E30, and although my trans has a lot of miles on it, and may be worn, I really don't much care for the shifter feel, so ya never know.

Actually they are very well known for being very “notchy”. To make matters worse the stock clutch pedal relies on the master/slave to help push the clutch pedal back to the top of the stroke, stressing the system resulting in premature failure of these components. Really bad design. The RJM pedal eliminates this strain on the system.


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The clutch feel in my 2017 370 was also horrible. Nearly impossible to start out smoothly, crazy long travel. The shifter itself was generally "ok" but I'd often find myself hunting for the right "next" gear when driving it hard and shifting fast. Pretty crappy overall for a modern car. 

All of my older Datsun's feel a million times better. Bit hard to comprehend.

Edited December 30, 20177 yr by zKars

We have had the clutch issues with my wife's 350z. I will have to look into RJM Performance

The clutch issues are even worse on the internal slave system cars