Well I trade my 03 silverstone Z for a 06 redline 6spd All I have to say is WOW...the difference is really HUUUGE! Well anyways I need some advice from all ya'll pros out there. .....am doing really well not stallin out anymore but I still dont really know how to "drive it". I especially need advice on hills And any other tips ya'll can give would be much apreciated...this is my first manual...but I can always practice on my girls civic......thanks

 

Just Remember, Even pressure between the gas peddle and the clutch. Think of it like a see-saw. Balance them out on hill and when shifting. They should both Meet up half way on the up and down.

 

hehe ask you gf to teach you... well as far as hills are concerned, i would first master flat level ground. i mean make flat level nothing to fear about. on the hills, i would be on first gear, and bring the clutch about halfway where it hasnt "bit" yet but is close. and then let go of the brake, put your foot on the gas ( a little more than you would starting from a flat level ground) and let go of the clutch slowly. thats how i do it... i make sure i let go of the clutch enough so that the gear hasnt engaged yet, but yet letting go of it a little more will make the clutch bite. another way you can do it is the handbrake thing, i never did it but many people have and learned with success.

 

Use the e-brake for hill start.

 

LOL she IS teaching me. am just worried am going to roll back on somebody....ok i'll definatlly try that....and the e-brake.... thanks

 

I remember when I was teaching my brother-in-law how to drive a stick in my I6 Jeep Wrangler. We had this steep hill that had a stop at the top before you entered the highway. it was his first time ever taking on a hill in a standard. Unfortunatly a city cop was right behind him and riding his ***. So I tell him to give it more gas than normal so he don't stall... big mistake..

He floored it, dropped the clutch and smoked a black patch infront of the cop right on through the stop sign and then stopped on the center divider of the highway. The cop didnt turn on his lights yet amazingly enough. Then at the center divider he trys to make a normal launch and kicks the damn thing sideways out in to the road.

That cop was mad as hell, he pulled my bro over and came running up to him and asked "What the hell is your problem!" My 16yo Bro was about to cry, I had to explain that I was trying to teach him (un-succcessfully i might add) how to drive a stick. He let us go without incident when I swapped places to drive away.

 

I've accidently touch in the 5-6000 rpm range a few times with only about 500 miles on my car...will this hurt it since its still in brake in.....Some other dude told me to run my engine hard from the get go for better performance of the car in the long run...thats gotta be BS

 

I smacked Red Line in 4 gears right out of the dealership when I bought it.. Love the performance.. Not sure about the whole break in think.. Might be a sham to get people used to driving the car without running it too hard. We had a guy at the local nissan dealer buy a Z and on the way home from the dealer "see how fast it could go" and totaled it (killing the driver I beleive).

 

wow thats crazy........... well so I guess am alright then.....man am inlove with 3 pedals and a stick....my auto was great but I'll never go back

 

OK. Get ready for a lot of problems and anger. i dont hate manuals, but i understand there are alot of issues with them in the Z.

 

It depends on the hill. If you feel anxious, you can hold the car with the emergency brake. With practice you will be driving like a manual old timer in and couple thousand miles.

 

www.standardshift.com

 

go rent a beater that has a manual gear box for the weekend...find a parking lot and a hill and practice till you get the timing down. this way you dont grind your gears on your car

 

What a bunch of nonsense. Just because he's learning doesn't mean he's going to have problems, and it sure doesn't mean he's going to act childish and get mad if things don't go his way.

Get some testicular fortitude and learn yourself before trying to discourage others, you wimp.

 

I think the guy meant that there are a lot of threads about manual transmission issues, and not about getting mad while trying to learn stick.

To the original poster:
Anyway, there are a lot of threads about a lot of things, and most of it isn't that bad. Maybe 2003/2004 was more troubled, but with the latest transmission and some knowledgeable driving/shifting, I doubt there is really a significant problem.

Enjoy the manual! And don't take a steep uphill without the e-brake. Try to avoid riding the clutch (holding it near engagement point too long) or dumping it (letting it snap out) before you really know what you are doing.
Smoothness (without stepping on the clutch for longer than a couple of seconds) is the goal when learning stick!

 

that's funny your girlfriend drives stick but you didn't. welcome to the dark side.

 

Just find some streets with steep grades that have no traffic and practice away. You should have it mastered in no time.

 

I found the Z to have a very unique feel between the gas and clutch meet. Don't worry you made a great decision , see sig.

 

nonsense indeed

 

E-brake is the easiest for a hill: put it on and start driving away like you would normally do on a flat ground. Slowly though and once you feel the car trying to push the front up, release the e-brake.