1st Time Manual Driver! Need your feedback please

[TheDeadCow]

+1. Worst case you shorten the clutch life. Big deal; it's consumable.

Tip: have someone experienced take you to a flat parking lot and practice getting the car rolling, without stalling, without using the throttle. Once you can do that consistently, the rest is pretty easy. With a high powered car, always get the clutch fully engaged before you feed it much throttle and the clutch will live a long time. If you slip the clutch a lot while applying throttle (engaging gradually as you roll away from a stop, you'll increase wear.

It will take a little time to get the feel, but the key is to get the basic mechanics down in a parking lot first, then just go drive on the road. It's way less scary than you think. My wife learned at age 30 on my BMW and did fine, and the clutch was fine too. Now we don't own any automatics. ;-)

+1 Great advice, this is exactly how I learned.

350 is a good candidate for learning manual because you can get it moving in almost every gear without using the gas.

Sponsored

 

[15pgnatsum]

I myself am new to driving stick, or to be more honest had to learn re-driving stick as I had a stick about seven years ago for a 6-month stretch, and I never mastered toe-heel and downshifting when I had my old car. This year to practice those manual driving procedures, I bought the Logitech steering wheel and shifter for my PS4, bought “Project Cars” the most realistic driving/racing game, pulled out my old Sparco race seat from my car, and bought PS4s virtual reality glasses. I practiced driving a virtual Boss 302 Laguna Seca Race car. With the VR it was a realistic experience. That practice really helped me, so when I bought the 2019 PP2 a month before my GT350R I was able to transition over to the real thing and practice my downshifts.

Ha! That's a really awesome idea/experience in general. The future is now!

 

[5.2 liters of democracy]

The 350 was my first manual car as well. Get the Steeda clutch spring and you will have a lot more success early on. Also driving with soft-sole shoes will help. You don't need to go all out and get driving shoes, but something that lets you feel the pedals will go a long way.

I also installed an auto-blip and used it early on and then slowly stopped using it once I was used to rev-matching downshifts. It's a useful tool to make the learning a little easier at first since it's one less thing you need to do.

 

[Wildcardfox]

The 350 was my first manual car as well. Get the Steeda clutch spring and you will have a lot more success early on. Also driving with soft-sole shoes will help. You don't need to go all out and get driving shoes, but something that lets you feel the pedals will go a long way.

I also installed an auto-blip and used it early on and then slowly stopped using it once I was used to rev-matching downshifts. It's a useful tool to make the learning a little easier at first since it's one less thing you need to do.

+1 imo shoes are a big deal for pedal feel. I returned some shoes that felt like I had bricks attached to me feet. You need that feel to modulate with finesse. Great point!

Sponsored