3.0si Changing gear

M

Miage

Member
hi all.

so i test drive a high mileage coupe today. i found it very fun to drive but the first 3 gears seemed to be overly stiff - i had to really coax them in. is this normal for a z4? i own an astra 2.0T estate and that gearbox is a lot easy to change.

i suppose i should test a few more examples to make up my own mind but thought i would share :)
 
yeah, 1st and 2nd are difficult to get in/take time to get used to :) some say changing gearbox oil helps but I personally got used to it and it's fine now.

it's a stiff/sporty gear change for sure.
 
Its a positive change , it likes you to recognise nuteral . The 350z is very much the same ..you change 1st N 2nd N 3rd .. Rather than just slamming it through like on a honda S2000 or similar .
 
thanks guys. I had fun test driving it - so much so i forgot to press the sport button. what does that do exactly? is it like the millenium falcons light speed button?
 
Miage said:
thanks guys. I had fun test driving it - so much so i forgot to press the sport button. what does that do exactly? is it like the millenium falcons light speed button?
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Stiffens the steering and increase throttle response on a N52 engined car.

Holds onto gear longer on autos also.
 
Miage said:
thanks guys. I had fun test driving it - so much so i forgot to press the sport button. what does that do exactly? is it like the millenium falcons light speed button?
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Doesn’t give you any extra power, it just feels like it does due to changing the fly by wire throttle map :thumbsup:
Rob
 
Miage said:
thanks guys. I had fun test driving it - so much so i forgot to press the sport button. what does that do exactly? is it like the millenium falcons light speed button?
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Turns the car from a pussy cat into a beast :)
 
A gearbox oil change also helps quite a bit. I'd say they're a notchy box, when I get around to getting a clutch and DMF swap will change the mounts too as that may also help some more.
 
Yes, they don't have the slickest of gear-changes!

Mine has no CDV, and putting a ZHP gear-knob on when I had the gearbox oil changed made a huge difference.

Confession time - I've never used the Sport button. :oops:
 
What annoys me about the sport button is it does not stay on , my jag when you put it in sport it stayed there , stop , switch off engine , go to work , come back , start up , still in sport .
 
Ethicsgradient said:
What annoys me about the sport button is it does not stay on , my jag when you put it in sport it stayed there , stop , switch off engine , go to work , come back , start up , still in sport .
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That would be handy. I press the button with the ignition on before I start, don’t even think about it any more. 1st world problems eh? :wink:
 
Silverzedtom said:
Ethicsgradient said:
What annoys me about the sport button is it does not stay on , my jag when you put it in sport it stayed there , stop , switch off engine , go to work , come back , start up , still in sport .
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That would be handy. I press the button with the ignition on before I start, don’t even think about it any more. 1st world problems eh? :wink:
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Yes , I must go and check my privilage , see how badly my first world problems really are affecting me lol
 
I never use mine either. In the manual it doesn’t add anything flexing my ankle a bit more can’t achieve - I’d rather have the ability to use a bit of finesse at lower revs and just move my ankle that whole cm further for full beans. And the increase in steering weight is so slight I don’t think it’s really noticeable after 5 mins driving.

In an auto though it’s a different story. Only driven one once - but enough to tell me it’s something you wouldn’t want to be without. Delaying the shift point on the auto really does make it change character.
 
Rich8 said:
I never use mine either. In the manual it doesn’t add anything flexing my ankle a bit more can’t achieve - I’d rather have the ability to use a bit of finesse at lower revs and just move my ankle that whole cm further for full beans. And the increase in steering weight is so slight I don’t think it’s really noticeable after 5 mins driving.

In an auto though it’s a different story. Only driven one once - but enough to tell me it’s something you wouldn’t want to be without. Delaying the shift point on the auto really does make it change character.
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That's interesting - I've never driven an auto Z4, but can see why it would make a difference!

As I have a manual I just prefer all of the travel on the accelerator pedal to do something, rather than shift the action - I imagine with Sport on the last bit of travel doesn't really do anything? Maybe I'll try it and see! :)
 
Mr Tidy said:
Rich8 said:
I never use mine either. In the manual it doesn’t add anything flexing my ankle a bit more can’t achieve - I’d rather have the ability to use a bit of finesse at lower revs and just move my ankle that whole cm further for full beans. And the increase in steering weight is so slight I don’t think it’s really noticeable after 5 mins driving.

In an auto though it’s a different story. Only driven one once - but enough to tell me it’s something you wouldn’t want to be without. Delaying the shift point on the auto really does make it change character.
Click to expand...

That's interesting - I've never driven an auto Z4, but can see why it would make a difference!

As I have a manual I just prefer all of the travel on the accelerator pedal to do something, rather than shift the action - I imagine with Sport on the last bit of travel doesn't really do anything? Maybe I'll try it and see! :)
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Dont bother. Its exactly how you are expecting.
Like i said - only driven an auto once, but compared to my manual, all of a sudden the presence of that button made sense.
In the manual id probably go as far to say its a crummy gimmick.
 
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