Manual experience concerns

[Keyser_Soze]

My friend gave me a two hour lesson on his 89 240sx back in 1999. The next weekend I bought my 96 300ZX TwinTurbo 5 speed manual. I practiced a little bit over the weekend and I was off to work on Monday.

Red lights on inclines were the "bane of my existence" for like a month but then I got the hang of it. Learned rev matching on downshifts by myself until it became second nature. It has been manual transmission since then.

Two years ago I traded my 350Z for a SUV for the wife and started driving the wife's old automatic car. Cant wait to start rowing my own gears again!

Man, same situation. Hopefully buying the wife's car first pays dividends, because the wait to order is killing me. February can't get here fast enough.

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[Kongman]

That was a good read, but far too complicated. The first thing you should do when teaching stick is give the driver a safeword, say, banana-hammock. Whenever you say banana-hammock, the driver pushes the clutch in. I've done this a few times now and it's cut down on the stalls 80%. After that they learn gear order, and your incessant shouting of the safe-word when they're about to dump it really teaches them the clutch feel quickly.

How bout "Tinie Bikini" instead??
;)

 

[5.0-PoPo]

WHEW!!!! i thought i was the only one!!

LMAO... Same here! My dealer called yesterday and said he just got in a TY GT PP with a 400a, mine is a 401a (ordered), and asked if I wanted to look it over and take it for a spin... DUH!

I found the 1st gear parking lot pull nice and smooth, no issue easing out from a stop, the clutch felt light, but I could easily feel the point of engagement. The "oh crap" moment was shifting from 1-2 and 2-3 ( with moderate right pedal ). I entered into this rocking horse battle, it took me very much by surprise! Under WOT it was smooth and transitioned very nicely, except me hitting the Rev Limiter, but that's just getting adjusted to the short gearing of a 6 speed. I grew up on 4 speeds and the only manual muscle I've ever owned was in the 80's. I also found giving her light pedal was just fine, but something about that 1-2 and sometime 2-3 under moderate pedal threw me!

I don't claim to be an expert with a stick, but I feel I've got more experience than most. I learned on a farm with a CJ, drove school buses as a young man and have driven everything from a 3 on the tree 50 plymouth to right hand drive Toyota and Mitsubishi "patrol" vans in the military, those were interesting with one having a 5 speed on the tree and the other in the floor, on the left!!!

I guess it's just going to take some time getting adjusted to the amount of torque!!

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!!!!!!

 

[Knight]

The next stang I own will be manual but Ive only driven a manual a handful of times. I really dont want to buy a new stang and tear up the clutch or transmission. Looking to buy in 6-9 mos. Would it be a good idea to trade/sell my current stang which is an auto, and pick up a manual? That way Id have at least a few months to get used to it.

I also ordered a manual and have only driven a manual in a parking lot years ago. I had to have the PP! I ordered on June 6th and thought that by now I would have had some practice on a manual but not so. I guess someone will need to drive it home from the dealer for me, because I just got an email telling me my car will be here on Nov 5th! :shocked:

 

[fionic]

I also ordered a manual and have only driven a manual in a parking lot years ago. I had to have the PP! I ordered on June 6th and thought that by now I would have had some practice on a manual but not so. I guess someone will need to drive it home from the dealer for me, because I just got an email telling me my car will be here on Nov 5th! :shocked:

why not drive it home yourself? you're not going to do any damage to the car.

 

[wilkinda65]

I drove a new 2015 Mustang yesterday just to satisfy a craving till my LE gets here. WOW WOW WOW is all I can say about the clutch on this thing. Smooth as silk and so much "lighter" than my current 2014. This car will be a piece of cake for anyone to learn to drive a manual on.

I taught my daughter how to drive a manual on my 2013 GT500. THAT was a tough car for anyone not used to rowing gears to get the hang of from a stop. The clutch was heavy with the dual springs and would tire her leg out (she weighs 105 lbs). This will be a breeze.

 

[HalfMoon]

I also ordered a manual and have only driven a manual in a parking lot years ago. I had to have the PP! I ordered on June 6th and thought that by now I would have had some practice on a manual but not so. I guess someone will need to drive it home from the dealer for me, because I just got an email telling me my car will be here on Nov 5th! :shocked:

why not drive it home yourself? you're not going to do any damage to the car.

I agree.

Way back when, I bought my first manual transmission (and first brand new) car. It was a 1988 Mustang GT Convertible. The problem was I had maybe 10 minutes experience in a manual transmission prior to this purchase. I was so embarrassed that I didn't even test drive the car, I didn't want the salesman to know.

In the end, I stalled the car 2 times on the way home at the first couple lights. After that, I had no issues and have chosen a manual transmission in every car since that has had it as an available option.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Took a class last week in driving a manual transmission, and I don't think I could do it. I wasn't able to get the car in first. My left leg is either on or off -- there's no muscle memory there to be able to modulate the clutch anywhere between "not touching it at all" and "on the floor." I think I could probably spend a few years practicing with one in a driveway if I had the opportunity to do so, but at the moment it's not feasible.

 

[2015CoyoteV8]

Don't be afraid to drive home yourself. Ask the dealer (or take a friend with you that can drive stick) to show you the basics. Sit in the car (with it off) and go through the gears several times to get a feel of where the gears are. And then just go for it. I did this back in 2007 when I bought by '04 V6 and learned how to drive stick on my own. Drove home with my 4-ways on, stalled at every stop light, but I made it without grinding the gears! you'll get it down quickly, just don't be afraid of it. Learning all the nuances will take time, like pulling off on an incline and rev matching and all the fun things about driving a manual...but you will definitely get it. It's all about learning the car and hearing where it wants to shift and feeling the gears through the shifter (to me anyway). Some say to watch the rpms, but I've always relied on how my car sounds because it can be finicky one day and the next it wants to be driven aggressively.

I've been driving a V6 5 speed for so long that with my car delivery being so close for my GT I'm getting nervous too! I'm used to my gear box and my somewhat stiff clutch that I can feel catch in the gear...the new one will be interesting it sounds like.


Drive fast, pass on the right. [emoji594][emoji100]

 

[OVRKILL]

I drove manual for the first time a week ago, right after buying my Stang. I spent half an hour in an empty parking lot next to the dealership and then I was on my way. I can only imagine how ridiculous it looked bucking and stalling, given that it's such a dignified car. 250 miles later and I barely think about shifting.

Watch a video videos on manual, learn about how the trans and clutch work.. Then just do it. Release the clutch slowly (this was the key for me) and give the tach enough time to settle when upshifting. Turn hill assist on. You'll be fine.

 

[Bcarter88]

I learned 3 days before I went to pick my 2015 up and I learned in a 2015 wrx sti which has a tight clutch so it doesn't take long to learn

 

[mkenny28]

It amazes me how many people can't drive manual. Myself and maybe two of my friends are the only ones out of a large group that know how, and I am the only one that actually still does. I am thankful that my Mom insisted I learn how to drive manual first because she felt it would force me to pay more attention to what I was doing. I don't know about that but it taught me that manuals are more fun on the open road! Anyway, driving a manual gets easier with time and eventually you just do it without a thought. The only time I ever think an automatic would be better is in heavy traffic ( my daily driver is an automatic Explorer Limited). I did test drive an Automatic GT and was definitely impressed with how far automatic transmissions in a sports car have come but I had already test driven the manual so I was already sold.

 

[oyitsagreen]

This cars clutch is ridiculously easy. I was thoroughly surprised when I first drove it.

However , the clutch is very interesting. Maybe I'm used to worn out clutches on older cars, but it is extremely grabby with a high engagement point. Very light, but you gotta put a little more effort in to make the shifts smooth without rocking !

Overall, I love the feel of it.

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