First Time Manual Owner

Bring someone with you who knows how to drive when you pick up the car from the dealer. Find a big parking lot and practice taking off in 1st and going through the low gears
Edit let them drive to the parking lot

stevnoof said:

Bring someone with you who knows how to drive when you pick up the car from the dealer. Find a big parking lot and practice taking off in 1st and going through the low gears
Edit let them drive to the parking lot

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Highly agree, that is exactly what I did.

stevnoof said:

Bring someone with you who knows how to drive when you pick up the car from the dealer. Find a big parking lot and practice taking off in 1st and going through the low gears
Edit let them drive to the parking lot

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PFFFT! I didn't bring anyone and it only took me 2 hours to drive 3 miles back home!

:lol:

Since you said you've test drove some and had one overnight for experience that unless you had terrible experiences you will be fine. The MT82 isn't as bad as some make it sound, while not the best it is a solid transmission and clutch setup. For those that act like it is bad then they likely either have never driven a truly bad transmission or aren't the manual shifting masters they think they are. It can be driven smoothly and should hold up fine to the designed power levels if driven correctly. Mine is all stock with MGW which I added to increase the enjoyment of driving but it didn't change the ease of driving it. Getting a manual car anymore isn't a choice because it's faster as today's autos will own you but a choice of driving enjoyment, so whatever you do enjoy it!

OKC S550 said:

I would disable the "hill assist" feature while you are first learning to work the clutch. I think it will be more beneficial in the long run.

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That's going to make for a very stressful learning experience. I remember being 16 and terrified of hills for three months.

It's a good thing technology has advanced enough to have synchros. Before those, beginning drivers would grind the mess out of the transmission.

Do you heel toe?

keith58 said:

That's going to make for a very stressful learning experience. I remember being 16 and terrified of hills for three months.

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I remember my dad making me practice hill starts on my 93 5.0 in the rain for an entire Sunday morning. Definitely stressful but I learned lol

Try and keep the RPM no higher than 2k when engaging the clutch from a stop in 1st gear. All other gear changes, you should never be pressing the gas when your foot is on the clutch.

Keep hill assist ON for the first few hundred miles.

After you master that, think about rev matching down shifts and hill starts with assist off.

Try pausing for a split second during 1 -2 engagement point for a smoother transition.

I learned to drive manual on this car as well, you'll be fine! Like you I rode bikes for a long time before, so I knew the concept. All good advice above, you'll be a pro at shifting very soon. I also turned off hill assist because I didn't like how the car responded to it. Good luck.

I learned manual in my car, and still getting better at it. I'm about 4 months into it so far.

You'll have some hiccups, but it's really easy. Driving manual feels like second nature already.

Good luck! Be confident, and don't get discouraged.

The biggest adaptation for me coming from an auto mustang is that manual feels "rougher" around the edges, in terms of coasting and especially cold starts. Learn how to modulate the gas pedal more, and you'll slowly feel more in tune with the car. With a manual, you truly control the car, whereas auto feels like the car is doing all of the work.

These cars are super easy to learn in because it has enough torque to start rolling without any gas on a level surface. I just started teaching my aunt how to drive stick on my car. Weedy little 4 bangers are a little more difficult because everything is rubbery and they don't communicate well what the car is doing, and it tends to stall before you can really feel the clutch engagement point.

If you've driven stick vehicles before or something with a clutch like a bike you'll be fine in no time. The people that really struggle are the ones who simply don't understand how any of the mechanical system works (and they tend to forget to put the clutch in when focusing on stopping).

I also second turning off the HSA. Drives me nuts in these cars, first thing I shut off when I learned I could. I'm plenty fast enough on the pedals to not roll anywhere even on steep hills.

One last tip - don't forget you have a parking brake. It should be used even in automatics but most people just ignore it.

Ebm said:

Do you heel toe?

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Funny joke! :lol:

Beanpole said:

Try and keep the RPM no higher than 2k when engaging the clutch from a stop in 1st gear. All other gear changes, you should never be pressing the gas when your foot is on the clutch.

Keep hill assist ON for the first few hundred miles.

After you master that, think about rev matching down shifts and hill starts with assist off.

Click to expand...

Yes! For the love of God, keep the hill assist on until you have properly broken in the clutch! Once the clutch is proper, then do as you please. I say this because you are new to manual transmissions.

With that said, I do recommend learning proper clutch engagement on inclined surfaces. Just don't do it until the clutch has been broken in.

I personally have been driving manual transmissions for 25 years and keep the hill assist on. It by no means makes you less of a man. Use the technology when it suits you.

Practice.

Other than that: Steeda clutch spring and BG Syncroshift II fluid. Give it at least a few thousand miles before changing fluid though. It's much, much smoother and better to drive with those two things.