from when i learned....

when the light turns green, don't let the jackass honking at u from his big red hummer make u nervous... take ur time to engage... at these times, the rear view mirror is ur worst enemy

 

I'm just relaying what my engine builder said on this one...you'll start to see degradation in rwhp and torque after 30k...i hate to quote without dyno's to prove but maybe someone else has heard or seen similar...basically your running your engine at high rpm's and lean...oh he also mentioned general wear on the transmission...but said the engine was what loosens up fastest when people down shift hard to brake the car. (this came up when discussing breaking in my new engine, when he stippulated even after the break in I wasn't supposed to do it - he corrected me when i test drove it)

now if you mean learn to down shift and rev match...yea, you need to learn that it will shave seconds off your track times, but you have at least a year or two of practice before you start playing that game.

 

I would learn to drive stick on a ****ty car like me =]. Wouldn't want to hurt a precious 07!

 

I know what you mean and I understand where your coming from, I guess i didnt mean sudden rpm jumps by downshifting to slow you down. I was leaning towards the application of assisted engine braking in everyday driving where you mash the clutch in match the rpm and downshift.....

 

learning to drive on a 350z is actually a pretty good idea, it makes u learn to drive an MT alot better.

i have a friend who drove for 5 years in civics and his recent car... scion TC.... omg he pisses me off the way he drives... he doesnt rev-match when down****... he just let go off the clutch slowly... *** -_-

gl... u'd feel better after a month.

 

I'm currently teaching my gf to drive a manual in my car. I told her if I smell clutch she's getting out and we're switching seats, but actually she's not doing half bad.

Anyway, get comfortable learning where the friction point is. That's the main thing when starting out. Next would be learning how to make your shifts smooth (knowing what rpm to let the clutch back out). Don't worry about heel-toeing or double clutching yet. I can do both but I don't understand why either are necessary. Anyone wanna clue me in? Isn't double clutching for getting your rpms to drop faster when you shift?

 

dont be afraid of giving it too much gas. imo its better to have more gas than not enough, after you learn how to at least get going, you can get better at using less gas...just dont rev the engine to 4k and drop the clutch

 

heel toeing is for a situation where you might need to manipulate the brake and accelerator at the same time, or when you might need to work them back and forth very quickly. it frees up your other foot to work the clutch if need be. a good example would be power braking, or tight corners where you will need to be getting off the brakes and onto the gas, while negotiating gears.

double clutching is pretty much entirely useless with modern transmissions, but every so often one will lock up and you will need to do it. it really has no function in racing, or driving, except to slow down your shift times. basically sometimes you will have problems getting the trans into gear, and if this happens, let the clutch out in neutral, pop it back in, then try to put it in gear.

at least thats what i understand double clutching to be. it really has no functional use. it is even listed in your owners manual .

 

ooo ! please don't drive in the snow !

 

Another 1st time manual driver here. I just drove it home from about 1000 miles away last night. Most of it was highway miles, so still struggling on getting it into first from a stop, lots of damn jerking going on still. Great tips though!

 

Just go to an empty parking lot and learn the point where you can make the car move just using the clutch, and not giving it any gas at all. After you have that mastered, then start using the gas pedal a little before that point. Don't listen to people that say let go of the clutch and give it gas at the same time. I had a lot of people tell me that...It's all about feeling the clutch.

 

+1 thats how I learned..took me a day or so but it comes natural after that. Good luck!

 

It's funny that if the OP was a guy, people here will jump on and flame the poor guy for asking this question. Oh the hypocrisy.

Anyway, +1 on the the 'no radio, windows down, listen to the engine' part. Also, I was more concerned on stopping on hills when I was learning to drive MT. I found a quiet residential with almost no traffic and drove around the block a hundred times on this little hill to get the feel for the engagement point.

 

"oh my god, thank you guys so much for teaching me how to drive, free sex for those that helped!"

 

congras on the new Z car, first things first whe you start the enine turn off the traction control, now your really ready to learn. YOu should be in large empty parking lot and take your time to find the point where the clutch grabs, practice, practice. You can be fairly aggressive with the revs approx 3500 - 4000 to really feel the car. Don't worry about completely braking the tires loose, it won't happen even with the TCS off, it won't take to many times stalling the car before you get the feel o your car, when you have more confidence turn the TCS back on. You now have learned what the Z likes, let's learn to crawl before we run ( rev matching to downshift or double cutching)

 

I agree with all who said learn how to engage first gear with only the clutch. I learned how to drive stick on my new 2005 at the dealership so I could drive my car home. I still have to practice and take advantage of time when no one is around to work on rev matching. I let someone who knows how to drive a Z (hard clutch with good torque) drive with me in the car and that helped give me perspective of what good rev matching and shifitng should feel like. Your head does not have to jerk unless you want it to. enjoy.

 

4eels, single file, line forms to the left lol.