I have been practicing a lot driving my car, and I do excellent in the driveway getting out of first. Problem is that when I actually get out in traffic I kill it I thought I would try starting out in 2nd gear yesterday and it worked perfect. Would it be ok to keep doing this until I get more comfortable starting in first, or will it hurt the transmission? I can do everything really good except that bloody first gear

 

If you can start out in second gear then there shouldn't be any reason why it's a problem in first gear. You have to use higher revs to start in second which means your having to slip the clutch adn can cause undue wear.

Find a large empty parking lot and practice....practice....practice. Either your letting up the the clutch too fast or not bringing the revs up high enough.

You can do it girl!

 

On the other hand, if you can start in 2nd - and keep practicing on first - it's a lot better then killing it repeatedly in traffic.

 

First just seems too low of a gear to start it in for me. But I'm pretty proud of myself, I have learned everything else quite quickly

 

Once you get rolling it's pretty straight forward from there. Wait until you have to stop on a hill though

 

haha, I am avoiding all hills right now My aunt told me I can practice on her road though this weekend, so I am going to try that Just gotta use the alternate route now to get to the place where I tan

 

WHAT?? No sun in MO

 

We never get sun in Missouri, sometimes it LOOKS like the sun is up there but we know it is really just all of that humidity getting us overheated and making us see things

Sometimes, it looks like it is up there because yesterday was -10 degrees and today is 70.... just messes with your mind.

 

All the mosquitoes block the sun

 

Man, those must be bug suckers Just think tho, now you can outrun 'em in your hot Z

 

Forgot about that... when they are not blocking the sun they are swooping down, picking you up, and flying off with you since they are so big.

 

Starting in second gear is not preferable by any means; you are "lugging" the engine. So get comfy with first as soon as you can.

 

I'm sure everyone has given you advice on learning to drive a standard, but just in case no one mentioned it, when you do encounter a hill you can always use your handbrake as a brake since you (more than likely) don't have three feet. Just lift the handle up and hold the button in and as you take off, slowly put the handbrake down. This will keep you from rolling back into the car behind you. Doing it the normal way (taking your foot off the brake and quickly stepping on the gas) you might "overcompensate" for the hill, floor the accelerator and hit the car in front of you (bad). Then again, if no one is in front of you, you might execute an impressive burnout (good)!

 

That's one way to keep visitors from driving through MO

 

My $0.02. When you get into real traffic, don't rush the takeoff just b/c someone is behind you. Concentrate on what you are doing and you will not kill the engine. So what if they have to wait an extra 2-3 seconds.

Practice on some hills, both with and without the handbrake.

You will get better as time goes by. By June 1 you will be an expert - trust me.

WayneTN

 

omg your first manual car was a Z? wow that was smart. good luck

 

hey you gotta do what you gotta do, what other option was there, buy a car for a few months to learn on? then she probably couldnt afford the Z. learning on it and possibly killing the clutch is only a few hundred $ mistake, less than a trainer car.

 

Every clutch/engine/torque curve being different, it helps me to drive with the radio/CD off to hear the engine, until I become accustomed to the clutch. I wouldn't be worried about the clutch, that's easy to have replaced. JMS in TX

 

Z is my first manual car too. I dont understand why some people here make a big deal at Z being first manual car for someone. Its a car, not a space ship. IMHO, Z is very friendly to learn how to drive manual in. It seems the clutch in Z engages in a "range" instead of one point and this helps the newbies. Took me 1 day to learn and I am doing fine and dandy now. No problems at hills, I am somewhat ok at rev-matching and will start woking on heal and toe technique soon.

 

What an intelligent post. Yeah I wanted a stick so what? Many, many others have got this car and it was their first time with a manual.

I'm doing so much better now. I'm going to practice with it the most of the weekend just to improve on a few things.