Do You Wish The R35 Came In Manual?

[R34Liner]

Hello R35 owners and those of us who wish we were R35 owners!

I was wondering, since i don't own a R35 or see myself driving one any time soon, if any of you guys wish the R35 came in manual?

Ever since i heard about the R35 i was disappointed it didn't come out in manual, then i realized - wait a minute, i don't drive one - how would i know whether or not the experience is 'lacking' in anyway due to it not being a full blown manual!

so yea thought i would ask you guys just out of curiosity

[Godcla]

Hello R35 owners and those of us who wish we were R35 owners!

I was wondering, since i don't own a R35 or see myself driving one any time soon, if any of you guys wish the R35 came in manual?

Ever since i heard about the R35 i was disappointed it didn't come out in manual, then i realized - wait a minute, i don't drive one - how would i know whether or not the experience is 'lacking' in anyway due to it not being a full blown manual!

so yea thought i would ask you guys just out of curiosity

As you know it is a manual with automated clutches........so when you have it in manual and R Mode it shifts up and down just as

normal manual floor shift would as it will only change up or down when you hit the pedals.......just does it a shit load quicker and

it's one of the reasons why this Car is so brutally efficient from standing start or just anytime you drive it......

All my other cars are floor shift Manuals and now feel like antiques.......Their are some pedal shift mechanisms fitted to some cars to avoid as they are slow

and clumsy........but the R35's fast changing box is one of it 's strenght's .

The R35 would not be as quick and as easy to drive with the floor shift mech..........(my 2 cents worth anyway....)

Edited June 14, 2009 by Godcla

[(OO)SKYLINE(OO)]

Yes I wish the R35 GTR came in a manual.

I would like one with a 6 Speed Holinger gear box, similar to the MCR R34 GTR's gear box.

[Birds]

I think it would be a fun drive (even though I don't own an R35), but hardly anyone would opt for a completely manual version when comparing the models on paper. R35's biggest strength is the many gears, close ratio transmission and how quickly it can change these gears. You would probably find nearly a second added to the 0-100 time with your typical manual clutch, manual shift setup. Not to mention, dealing with the vehicle's weight and power output would be, in short, a bastard.

Edited June 14, 2009 by Birds

[WARLORD BAS]

i work at vw so im very familiar with the DSG box and i would have to say i much prefer it over a typical manual gearbox.

having driven the r32 golf and the gti in both manual and DSG, DSG has been the quicker of the two.

[Ruffels]

quicker ... yes.

but more fun? that is the question.

when i'm driving around town, i can only go as fast as the speed limit allows, so how fast the dsg shifts doesnt really matter all that much to me....

its how involved i am with the driving process, the co-ordination between clutch pedal, accelerator and the shifter in the plam of your hand.

I think this is the real question being posed!

[Godcla]

i work at vw so im very familiar with the DSG box and i would have to say i much prefer it over a typical manual gearbox.

having driven the r32 golf and the gti in both manual and DSG, DSG has been the quicker of the two.

Nothing like being able to keep your hands on the steering wheel when hammering and maximum concentration needed on steering and breaking etc..

Just watch the Youtube clip of the attack on Porsches time at the ring.........Hands on the wheel and little time if any wasted on gear changes.....

Most reviews have given the Box the big as being one of it's main features...........

[handbrake]

out driving tonight, using manual R mode the entire time. had an absolute blast blipping up and down the box, even at normal street speeds.

It is very addictive

[martz]

I'm getting a R35 GTR next year and wish it came in manual cause slower shifts don't bother me, as long as the power output and getting planted in the seat is the same I'm happy... Playing with the revs and clutch etc is where it's at.. but yes I'm willing to sacrifice it for the GTR, lucky it's got the paddle shifts.

[Munro]

The paddle shifts are awesome. The old way is just that..... the old way. The R35 has the best of all worlds.

I have driven BMWs, Maseratis, Ferraris, & Lambos with the single clutch paddle shifts & they were always better than

the old floor shift but were jerky & considering that most motoring journalists never get more than a couple of hundred kays

in each car they tested they often didnt get to "know" each car intimately & learn how to drive them smoothly.

It is no wonder most of them "hate" the "flappy paddle boxes" & yearn for the normal gated floor shift they learnt to use back in the 60s or 70s.

Its 2009.........get with the times. You need at least a couple of thousands kays behind the wheel to get to "know" a new car well & the new dual clutch paddle shift gearboxes are the next evolution of seamless motoring pleasure.

I have had the extreme pleasure of driving three different types of "manual" gearboxes in the last 36 hours so here is a direct comparison.

My R33 "street" GTR has an OS Giken Cross gear set fitted & I love cruising in this car as often as I can. Taking off at lights is always a bit of a pain as with an OS triple plate clutch they often take up differently & smooth take offs are a bit hit & miss ( I have owned this GTR for 7 years & done over 20000ks) & I STILL stall it sometimes. This is a ten second car but unless you sit at the lights on rev limiter & dump the clutch you are usually the slowest over the lights!!! It is great up in the hills & open roads but as a regular traffic car it is a bit of a nightmare & I always avoid peak hour traffic with this car.

My R33 "race" GTR has a Holinger Sequential 6 speed GTR box that I ordered new years ago for this car. It has custom ratios & runs the OS giken Quad plate clutch to match the 8 bolt flywheel on the OS 3 Litre engine. The quad plate is actually easier to take off with (Keir found the same with his 8 second R32 GTR) as they are more progressive & seem to be more streetable than the triple plates! The Holinger is just insane for the track & changes like a hot knife thru butter at higher revs(without having to use the clutch - you just blip the throttle to take the torque off the gearface & pull the next gear) but is pretty grouchy at low speeds & on the street people think you just broke your car putting it into first gear to take off. Not very friendly at all but when it is in its element it is other wordly. I have run low nines with this gearbox & you wouldn't have it any other way.

I am only just "getting to know" my R35 GTR transmission but already I can see the brilliant combination of automatic setting for taking off in the morning in the traffic, then firm manual shifts for overtaking & weaving thru lighter traffic as peak hour calms down, then race mode shifts for those magic moments when someone actually wants to have a go at you off the lights despite what they have read in all the magazines about our launch control function!!!

You want an old floor shift pedal clutch manual? Perhaps you should stay in the old days with pushrods & carbies.

I love the character & style of old school cars. I love the look of them & love to see them drive by. But if I am going to drive something myself & enjoy it, give me the best weapon available. My GUN metallic R35 GTR.

[Mayuri Krab]

"Do You Wish The R35 Came In Manual?"

No as I don't have a manual license.

[Gibbo_R35]

I have always bought manual cars, I loved the connection to the car and if the GTR came in a traditional manual I probably would have bought one, however I would have bought it because that is what I have always owned and what I always thought was a more direct connection to the car. Since having the paddle shift in the GTR and done enough driving in it (well just over 4000km anyway) I must say I am sold. From doddling along in peak hour in normal dricing mode, to putting it in R Auto mode for when you want more of a response to the throttle or to full RRR on the track or R,R,Off this car does everything very very well. As I said I would have bought the manual if it was offered, that was the way I went with my 335 (Manual over paddle shift auto), but I must say I have seen the light and would not go back to a traditional manual, except if I was buying it to drift.

Cheers

[Snowman]

No I don't wish there was a manual.

I only wish I could put the R35 box into my R34.

Once you have really driven a car with one of these boxes hard you'll never want a 3rd pedal back in your car again.

[Birds]

Hope there isn't too much post-purchase dissonance floating around here

I've driven a few DSG cars and they are indeed fun and more reliable for traffic light heroics; more suitable for daily driving etc.

But floor shift is where it's at for me. If I had my way Formula 1 cars would be driven as such. And the push rod, floor shift ZR1 had no problems getting around the Nurburgring with said old technology. If I could afford to import and convert one of them I most certainly would.

[Godcla]

Hope there isn't too much post-purchase dissonance floating around here

I've driven a few DSG cars and they are indeed fun and more reliable for traffic light heroics; more suitable for daily driving etc.

But floor shift is where it's at for me. If I had my way Formula 1 cars would be driven as such. And the push rod, floor shift ZR1 had no problems getting around the Nurburgring with said old technology. If I could afford to import and convert one of them I most certainly would.

ZR1 Pushrods.....? http://www.zr1netregistry.com/ZR1_engine_blowup.htm

Anyways...that's not what the R35 is about....Anytime...Anywhere...Anyone.....

You will find that the ZR1 and cars like the GT2 will not be as good All the time

(depending on conditions) and same with Anywhere and their is no doubt that

one requires a lot more skill to get a GT2 to IT'S LIMITS......so not Anyone ....

But hey it's all good...... You know that the ZR1 will cost twice as much as an R35 Here...right..?

Edited June 15, 2009 by Godcla

[GTR-N1]

...can feel my left leg muscles going into ATROPHY now...

[LSX-438]

Conventional manuals do give you a very different level of "engagement" for sure.

The R35 package yields impressive track results - resetting the performance benchmark (for a sub-$300k road car anyway).

I dont think anyone who has coughed up for one (and driven it on the track) would then go about destroying that package.

[scathing]

I would like one with a 6 Speed Holinger gear box, similar to the MCR R34 GTR's gear box.

If I remember correctly, the Holinger 6 speed GT-R box is a sequential.

So what's the difference between the Holinger and the R35's box, aside from the former having a third pedal and being slower?

At least people who prefer the feel of a Double H pattern have some irrelevant reason for liking outdated tech.

when i'm driving around town, i can only go as fast as the speed limit allows, so how fast the dsg shifts doesnt really matter all that much to me....

When driving around town, you can only use 0.000000000000000001% of the R35's capability, so what's the point of owning it at all? You don't need an active AWD "going as fast as the speed limit allows". Nor do you need active dampers.

its how involved i am with the driving process, the co-ordination between clutch pedal, accelerator and the shifter in the plam of your hand.

Then you wouldn't have one at all. Around town, the R35 is boring. The car feels so isolated as you roll around, you may as well be in a luxo barge.

If you want "feedback" at any speed, you'd be better off buying an Elise. Anything with power assisted brakes or steering corrupts the feeling of the control inputs.

...can feel my left leg muscles going into ATROPHY now...

Terry, you can always left foot brake.

And shouldn't all your limbs be atrophied by now, since your AWD does all your driving for you anyway? Sklled drivers drive RWD.

[Sammy-qld]

Lets be real here, the R35 is not exciting to drive around town. Its just not. The paddle shift doesn't help that either. Thats why you buy a 370Z if you want a manual fun car to drive at slower speeds. I wouldn't want the R35 to be in manual it would take away a huge amount from the performance and would take away the special supercar luxury feel (as most cars do not have such a sporty DSG gearbox).

But yes its not as much fun to drive, and lets face it guys you drive the damn R35 around in Auto mode almost all the time. It quickly shifts to 6th gear at 60km's an hour and if you drove this thing around town in manual mode all the time you'd burn through a tank of gas every 2 days. I drove mine back from Melborone to Gold Coast. It was funny I would hit a nice open road and put the foot to the floor. I could seriously watch the petrol guage going down while I hit the throttle hard, It seriously sucks that much gas when floored. Thats why its rather boring to drive around town in auto. (boring compared to a 350-370Z quick changing gears, semi drifting around round abouts at 50-60km's that is lol). Still not boring when you put your foot down, that is where the fun is. This is just a different type of car, one that can't go slow and feel exciting.

[Godcla]

Lets be real here, the R35 is not exciting to drive around town. Its just not. The paddle shift doesn't help that either. Thats why you buy a 370Z if you want a manual fun car to drive at slower speeds. I wouldn't want the R35 to be in manual it would take away a huge amount from the performance and would take away the special supercar luxury feel (as most cars do not have such a sporty DSG gearbox).

But yes its not as much fun to drive, and lets face it guys you drive the damn R35 around in Auto mode almost all the time. It quickly shifts to 6th gear at 60km's an hour and if you drove this thing around town in manual mode all the time you'd burn through a tank of gas every 2 days. I drove mine back from Melborone to Gold Coast. It was funny I would hit a nice open road and put the foot to the floor. I could seriously watch the petrol guage going down while I hit the throttle hard, It seriously sucks that much gas when floored. Thats why its rather boring to drive around town in auto. (boring compared to a 350-370Z quick changing gears, semi drifting around round abouts at 50-60km's that is lol). Still not boring when you put your foot down, that is where the fun is. This is just a different type of car, one that can't go slow and feel exciting.

I don't know.....It's a real sense of occasion for me every time I get in my R35.......even just sitting in the Garage while I fiddle with the endless

buttons and dials......or just idling around town.

Now have 6000 plus k's and just finding it very hard to spend time behind any other steering wheel.....

I would rather go slow in my R35 then feel like I'm going fast in a 350 or 370.....(Sorry not having a go at 350/370's)