Eh, not really. Coming from the near perfect manual transmission of a s2000 the 6mt in the G37 feels like garbage.

 

i prefer the 7AT........the better mpg makes up for the annoying gear hunt at lower speeds. shifts are decent....and still has plenty of pull when I need it

 

I used to own a g37s 6 spd and now own a g37x 7at. I can tell you the 7at is the best auto ive been in, i've come from all manuals prior. I wish the X had a manual but maybe in time..... No knock on stick cause i love it but the 6 spd I had in the S was pretty poor. It had huge scraping, knocking issues with the clutch which I heard is due to the flywheel and it sounds like the car is breaking. Also other than that I didn't mind it but after driving a s2000 every other 6 speed feels like crap. Did feel notchy, all I can say is when I had the S my only complain was the transmission, take it how you want.

 

One other thing, it's real hard to evalute the trans on a test drive. Both I'm sure will be at their harshest when they're new and before break-in. As far as the transmission learning... it doesn't, it monitors sensors and the enviroment in real time and picks the appropriate gear based on it's programming for that given situation. The learning statement isn't entirely inacurrate when you consider it does "learn" what your doing right now, it's just many assume a history of driving habits is evaluated.. that's the inaccurate part.

I can tell you however on a broke-in G37 5AT you do not feel or hear gears changing in D, it truely drives like a luxury car should, and I've never noticed an inability to coast or feeling like you're dragging a fridge. Logic as well as the plethora of 7AT comments on the topic should surely put that question to rest.

In DS mode, you do feel gears changing as if the stig shifted them himself.. and done rather nicely I might add. It's the primary mode I use for that reason, in addition to it maintaining high RPM and gearing. I only use D on the highway to prevent downshift when slowing a bit due to traffic. As soon as I exit on the ramp I move to DS mode and it smoothly shifts to 4th with a nice pur and with mild engine braking unless I get agressive with the brakes in which case it will engage high RPM engine braking with faster downshifts.

One complaint about the 5AT is the long 2-3 gear. If you have this issue, get a tune. In addition to being able to run through the gear quicker, the improvment in the ability to run up RPM's quicker has the affect of smoothing out and speeding up gear changing as well. I use to use manual shifting when I first got my G for fun. I no longer use it because I can't shift fast enough. I think much of the 7AT's complaints can be addressed with a tune as well. The 7AT is programmed for fuel economy however and will try to maintain low RPM unless driven agressively and that I think is the one difference that makes the driving experience differ. While the 5AT shares similar programming it's gearing doesn't support sub 3K RPM cruising in general. Con... less fuel economy, Pro... more responsive.

 

ok i'll chime in. I have owned an 08 5AT and now an 09 7AT. 7AT trans is by far better. the gas milage is way better it suits the RPM range better. ( crashed the 08 that is why i now have an 09) only issue i hav eso far is that i am SC'd and with my driving style the small clutches in the upper gears of the 7AT did not hold up and i am down one trans and at 11K a pop it ain't fun. Overall hands down though I would say 7AT over the 5AT

 

Id disagree. I wish I knew more about the technical aspects to comment, but I can only compare to actual scenarios.

I was on travel for almost a month and my wife had my car and drove it daily for that time. Shes a much softer driver than I am, doesnt accelerate as fast, much softer on brakes, much softer on the gas. When I returned from travel, I drove my car and for the first week, it was searching for the right gear. Always stuck between 2/3 and 3/4. After a week of me only driving it, it was back and knew my sweet spots. I tend to accelerate to the speed limit quickly, and when I first got the car back, I would accelerate to 50 and then let off the gas pedal once I hit 50 and hold it at 50. The transmission would stay at high rpms and wait a few seconds before it downshifted into the lower gear. Once I started to drive it for 2 weeks, and I would accelerate quickly and then let off the gas, it would downshift much quicker.

And I had my TCM reprogrammed with an update and the same issue during the first 2 weeks. I would also notice that on certain roads where there was an incline, it would not downshift. For example, on a 45 mph highway theres a hill and I always press the gas pedal a little more to maintain my exact speed so I dont slow down going up the hill. I drive the same exact route every day at the same exact speeds every day. After I got the car back, it was stuck between gears and finally after 2 weeks of my driving, it re-learned my sweet spots. Going up the hill when I would give it slightly more gas to maintain 45, it would downshift and stay at a higher rpm in the lower gear. After 2 weeks, it would stay in the higher gear, not downshift, and just let the rpm's get a little higher to accomodate me pushing down on the gas pedal a little more.

I wish I knew more about the electronics and programming of it to explain the reasons better, but for anyone who does the same drive at the same speed on the same roads every day, ie your normal commute, when your TCM is reflashed or you get a rental car when yours is in for service, you notice the differences the car does.

 

Me too, save a bit of typing , just kidding. The idea's rather ludicrous for the various reasons you pointed out, hell owners wouldn't want to let their wives drive the car . I suggest you tell someone their car learns their driving style, they want to believe it and wala.. they'll see it. There's also nothing in the service manual about the car learning your driving style, just the functionality I previously described.

I shutter to think how much the AI would cost to learn my driving style, factor in sensors and the enviroment... I'd rather of had the DSG, not the cheap low cost Jatco DSG wantabe Infiniti put in.

 

We'll there's one confirmation a tune/SC solved the problem.

 

I don't believe in the whole "adaptive transmission" BS. A transmission has one job, to upshift and downshift as quickly as possible, regardless of driving style. What does it need to adjust to? It makes no sense, do you know why nobody else offers a "adaptive transmission"? Because it's a marketing scam. The Infiniti 7A has such a lagging issue that makes it almost dangerous in certain occasions, try flooring it while doing about 30MPH when entering a highway, it downshifts so slowly you feel like you're gonna get killed by the oncoming cars. I don't care about a "adaptive transmission", just give me something that downshifts quickly and efficiently.

 

Um, pretty much every car company has adaptive transmissions. BMW has been using them since the mid 1990s. The "adaptive" part just refers to a component of the transmission software.

 

Drive every 7at on the lot. Take the exact route and the exact speed. Then explain to me why each one shifts differently.

Each time I get a rental car, which has always been another 7at G37 coupe. I drive the same route home, at the same speeds, and each one shifts differently.

Electrical programming is not my forte, but I know what I feel and there are a few spots going uphill where its obvious that each cars transmission is doing something different. And Im driving the same exact speed in each of them. Some of them stay in gear and just raise the rpms, others downshift and raise the rpms then shift up a gear quickly, and others downshift and raise the rpms and stay there and take much longer to upshift.

I can reproduce it like clockwork.

 

I take highways every day to work. And I floor it coming off the entrance ramp. I dont know whats wrong with your car, but mine takes off and I have no problem entering traffic which is going 70-80 mph. Mine never takes more than a second from when I floor it to when the power kicks in.

I think you are exaggerating a little bit. If its really as bad as you say, well then trade in the car and get something else.

Google "drive by wire throttle control". Almost all newer automatic cars have some sort of lag from when you floor it to when the power kicks in.

And yes, the 135, 335, IS350, TL, and A4 I test drove when cross shopping also had the same issue. Although I found the 135 and 335 and G37's AT were the quickest of the bunch. For a non-DSG transmission, I think its one of the better ones.

 

There's a host of sensors it's monitoring to interpret the enviroment, obviously there's tolerances and no two cars are going to be identical. The programming itself as documented in the manual uses a range of speeds for shift points. All sensors would need to be in a true state, including highly variable ones like engine torque. You'll notice the service manual description below on slope and curve behavior fails to mention the TCM analyzing driver characteristics. The only driver input in the transmission logic is the accelerator pedal position and that's monitored along with other sensors in real-time and it will infulence one of two shift states, high RPM or low. DS or D mode also has impact to shift state and perpensity to either hold high RPM or shoot for low RPM.

A/T System Description
The A/T senses vehicle operating conditions through various sensors or signals. It always controls the optimum shift position and reduces shifting and lock-up shocks.

TCM FUNCTION
The function of the TCM is to:
• Receive input signals transmitted from various switches and sensors.
• Determine required line pressure, shifting point, lock-up operation, engine brake operation, etc.
• Transmit required output signals to the respective solenoids.

ASC (Adoptive Shift Control)
ASC automatically shifts or hold at the 2nd, 3rd or 4th gear on certain roads (up/down slope and curve) and driving conditions.

When Driving On an Up/Down Slope
• ASC judges up/down slope according to engine torque data transmitted from the ECM and vehicle speed.
Holding gear at the 3rd or 4th on an up-slope prevents shift hunting and controls the vehicle to gain optimum driving force. On a down-slope, automatic shift-down to the 3rd or 4th gear controls to gain optimum engine brake.

When Driving On a Curve
• TCM receives the lateral G sensor signal from the ABS actuator control unit. It locks the gear to the 3rd or 4th position in moderate cornering or to the 2nd position in sharp cornering based on this signal. This prevents any upshift and kickdown during cornering, maintaining smooth vehicle travel.

DS Mode
• Changes to the shift schedule that mainly utilizes the high engine speed zone when ASC is active.
• DS mode can be switched according to the following method.
- When the selector lever is in the “D” position, shifting the selector lever to manual shift gate enables switching
to DS mode.
- When in DS mode, shifting the selector lever to the main gate enables to cancel DS mode.
- After switching to manual mode with paddle shifter, switching to DS mode can not be enabled even when the selector lever is shifted to the manual gate. (With paddle shifter)

 

6MT for the win!!

 

No thanks... I'd rather leave my right hand where it's at with this car...