cehome

iTrader: (7)

So as part of my deal with my dealership. My sales person is to teach me how to drive a manual. Today was my first lesson, in a Z no doubt. On level ground, I was fine; However the sales guy took me on this steep hill; And that's where the panic and embarassment kicked in. Stoped at the intersection on the hill, this huge dumpster was on my ***, I simply could not get that car to go forward. I keep stalling and when attempting to move forward, I kept rolling back. I was soo close to the dumpster I finally gave up and told the sales guy to do it. The driver of the dumpster was laughing his *** off, not to mention the high school girls who stopped to witness my plight. Maybe if I wasn't so panicked, I would have thought throuhg it; But I was convinced I was going to hit the dumster. At that point, my mind shut down. How embarassing
How long did you guys take to get the basics down with a stick?

FairladyZ

You should try an empty parking lot first. Drive that for a while, then goto the street.

WayneTN

It does take a while to get used to, so keep practicing in low traffic areas.

Practice on a hill and use the emergency brake to hold the car while you feather the gas and clutch to get the car to want to go up the hill. Then, slowly release the e-brake as the car moves forward. You can watch the tach to see if the engine is starting to bog down - the revs will go below 1,000 - but in real traffic you should be able to do it from feel and sound (although a peek at the tach won't hurt).

Good luck. Practice, practice, practice.

WayneTN

yobri

iTrader: (2)

About 3 hours or so. You'll need more practice then a test drive will allow. Good luck, and keep practicing

kcobean

iTrader: (2)

In cases like this, the e-brake is your best friend. When you're on the hill, set the e-brake. That way, you can take your foot off the brake and engage the clutch and gas at your leisure, without that "panicky" feeling that you're going to roll into whatever is behind you.

When you feel the car start pulling against the e-brake, you know you've got the gas and clutch in a position to overcome gravity, so you can release the e-brake and drive away normally. Don't screw around with trying to be Mr. Speedy getting off the brake pedal and onto the gas. That will only cause over-rev, stall, roll, repeat

hope this helps.

toddius

iTrader: (3)

Don't sweat it. You experienced what every other stick shift newbie has gone through at some point. As you said, it's more in your mind -- you start to panic and then it's hopeless. Everyone's advice here about the e-brake is good advice. Not much to add to that, just thought you'd like to hear that you're perfectly normal and should be proud of yourself for owning up to this experience. I always get a kick out of the posters who say things like, "I never drove stick before my Z, but after about 12.75 minutes of practice I mastered it."

It will take you years to really master a stick shift, but have hope -- a few hours in your Z (not a bad way to spend a few hours) and you'll be plenty functional.

350Zrunnin12s

iTrader: (9)

haha dude dont worry 1st time i got screwed and was on a hill .. kept rollin and ****ing burning my friends clutch out felt like a fooking idiot.. but then by the 3rd day ( about 3-4 hrs of prac at this point) i was good as gold...the z is a great clutch i dont find it hard at all. GL AND PRACTICE UP

Zpeed Freak

Thats nice of the salespeople... I guess they really wanted to sell you a car

The advice above is good. The e-brake is your friend. I still use it on steep hills, even though I could do without. It's good habit.

Good Luck

AV630

LOL okay the high school girl part is just killing me... everything is fine.... when grown men watch you and laugh but when the high school girls do it you give up! lol **** that.... experience my friend...

just keep driving it... i would not learn to drive a stick on a Z tho... i learned on a old *** mazda 626....... never had high school girls laugh at me while driving... and ive put 12k miles on this car.. only stalled it once. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

Jaki

iTrader: (21)

It took me about 30min just to get the start somewhat smooth... and about a week or lil more to learn how to shift/drive smooth.

supra crazy

iTrader: (22)

You could have just turned TCS off rev it to 3500 and dump the clutch. I dont think they would be laughing if you did that.

I learned how to drive manual with my Z it was preety easy only took me a few days to get it down right . your most likely gonna have to change your tranny from the grinding problem any ways so It is fine that you learn how to drive manual in your Z

cehome

iTrader: (7)

I'll try the ebrake trick the next time. My sales guy was pretty cool. I told him "Aren't you worried I'm burning up the clutch of a new car" He just laughed and said forget about it, that's what the service department is for. After my 3 day lessons with the dealer, I plan to rent a POS manual on the weekends to practice on. I sill have 1.5 - 2 months before the car is delivered to me. Knowing when the clutch catches has to be the most difficult thing for me.

boma

iTrader: (2)

my best advice is to be agressive. i wimped out so many times on stick, i thought i'd never learn.

the key is to push the gas down and hold it. as you're letting off the clutch, push the gas down steadily until you completely let off the clutch.

don't rev it and let off, just keep the gas down and you won't stall!

Good Luck! LOL you may have looked bad infront of the ladies.
But you'll look good a bunch of times to make up for it !

04_CS_Z33

Yea I tend to use the e-brake for steep hills and when someone is really close behind. Once you get a real feel for the clutch and gas you can begin to phase out the use of the e-brake on hills.

B-Unit

iTrader: (21)

hahahahahhahaha omg lmao, its ok man, i think allot of stick drivers here have some comprable funny stories. Me, im in college so i am constantly motoring around kids, on time i was at a light (keep in mind this is like 1 day after i just got the car), i tried to go do a uturn at this intersection, there were tons of kids sitting on the sidewalk ready to cross bu my light came before. I start to go and boom, i stall, i felt like such an a$$, everyone on the sidewalk starts laughing too. haha good times, i used to start sweating bulluts at lights on offramps that were at nice inclines. These times are short though, i cant even really remember when the last time i stalled was.

Word of advice that helped me, when ur letting off the clutch, keep ur heel stuck to the ground and lift your foot up letting the pedal slide up the bottom of your foot towards your toes. This helped me smoothen things out becuase before i started doing this, my clutch foot would be like suspended in the air while pushing the clutch in and letting it out, just a newbie thing i did thought maybe it could help. Good luck and have fun.!

King Tut

iTrader: (1)

Took me a couple very frustrating trips to an empty parking lost with my Dad to learn on an old Ford Escort 5 speed. I was trying to hard to let the clutch out and push in the gas at the same time. The easiest way to learn is to find a car where you can launch it without needing the gas. When in doubt turn off the traction control, put the revs at 3000 RPM and drop the clutch. You might get some tire spin, but you won't stall out.

Ruhtra

Yeah hills are a female dog dont worry bro ull get it. I remember my first time it was hell too but practice makes perfect so i recommend lots of practice ull love manual ull see ur one with the car ull know the feeling soon

stevez redline

as my wife and i signed the papers on her new z coupe she drove it around the dealership and took my truck keys and i drove her car home.we practiced in a church parking lot for the first week . we live in the mountains of east tennessee so we have mountains not hills.she was convinced that we needed to practice (but my temper and her tears didnt match)i told her that she needed to take all the advice that everyone gave her and try it alone. she did she still thinks shes doing a great job in her first straight shift and she is almost 40. keep on practicing (just make sure i am not behind you) lol

sausage5000

i have drove stick 8 years total, and i still suck on teh hills. going up 40th in boca i got owned. the people were all loving the car saying ish when i pulled up, then i tried to go and they were all laughing at me. sucked lol.

funny thing if i lived up north i would probably have taken the z back and whined for an autotragic.

use the e-brake.

silink

iTrader: (2)

dont worry, this is what i did wake up early on sat or sun and go practice stop and go and try to feel the engine when you are releasing the clutch(dont listen to any music until you master it ok). when you master stop and go uphill will be nothing, when i got my z i practice for 2 weeks without listening to any music before i take it out on the road , right now i'm good and listening to loud music but not a pro yet hope this help you