New Manual Driver

vooshhz

Hey guys,

Hopefully this is the right place to put this thread.

I recently purchased a brand new 2016 370z. My dad who is a very experienced manual driver has been teaching me. Although he's really good at driving my car, he's not a very patient teacher. I was wondering if I could ask you guys some questions and maybe you can tell me if I am doing something wrong.

First of all the dealer told me my clutch is going to be really stiff, which actually makes it difficult for me to get the exact point where the clutch "grabs" the "transmission". (hopefully that made sense) This takes getting started in 1st gear about 5 seconds, because if I try to hurry up the clutch release, I mostly stall the car. Is this just something that'll come with practice or is there a way to always hit your engage point with your clutch?

Secondly, I've been worrying about how much damage i'm causing my brand new car by stalling? I stalled about 10 times on my 1st day, and now i don't stall at all.

Third, sometimes when i switch gears, the transition isn't smooth and threes a jerk. My assumtion is because i'm releasing the clutch too fast. Is that also causing damage to my transmission?

Overall in 2 days i'm driving my car mostly fine, kinda slow at the first gear thing but after that it's easy. I'm afraid that until I can get started in 1st gear in less than 1 second, I won't be able to drive around confortably as I'll always be afraid of rolling back and hitting a car behind me on a hill.

Also, what does it mean to "ride the clutch"? I've been told to avoid that, but I'm not sure what that means.

Thanks,

Vishu

2009_370z

You guys don't have another car for you to practice on?

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SEIBON/EVO-R/AAM COMPETITION/TSW WHEELS/MICHELIN/Z1/EBC

2009_370z

Congrats on the new 370z by the way!

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SEIBON/EVO-R/AAM COMPETITION/TSW WHEELS/MICHELIN/Z1/EBC

wanker

Don't worry, clutches are tough. You're not going to break it by stalling. Be patient. Learning to drive a clutch takes some time. Just like learning to drive, find a large empty parking lot and practice, practice.

What wears out clutches is when you launch (high revs and then pop the clutch) and half clutching (where you partially engage the clutch and hold it at its engagement point.)

binary0x01

I kinda jumped into it on my new stang 16 years ago; so my advice would be to go somewhere like an empty parking lot and practice till you have the 'feathering' of the clutch down pat. Then get an RJM pedal asap and enjoy the car

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Tune (by Seb@SpecialtyZ) -- Upgraded Parts List : When in doubt, use brute force; if it doesn't work, you aren't using enough.

binary0x01

Basically for max clutch life (and least smell) the name of the game is to engage/dis-engage the clutch as quickly as possible without jerking everything to hell, which just like everything else takes perfect timing, which takes practice which takes time, which you (hopefully) have plenty of

__________________
Tune (by Seb@SpecialtyZ) -- Upgraded Parts List : When in doubt, use brute force; if it doesn't work, you aren't using enough.

kenchan

riding the clutch means you sound like a CVT when getting off the line. not good (too much clutch slip)

madwi

You picked a fun car to learn on. The engagement point is pretty high up so maybe try not pushing it in to the floor and shifting. Also 1-2 shift seems to like higher RPMs so try the shift at about 3500 rpms.

jshare1

Just happened to go to jalopnik andddd

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"only acceptable trades are turtles or beer"

Akurei

They tried to make the 370z have a racing shift point (engagement/disengagement), where people adjust their clutches engagement/disengagement) at the top of pedal height. However, normal day to day driving, the clutch engagement/disengagement is usually half way from pedal height (at rest) and the floor.

Wish I learned on a 370Z (Financially). Anyhow, it is all about coordination and balance between your left foot and right foot, you have to find the right balance of gas pedal pressure when you are "feeling the clutch engaging point. It takes practice, and like everyone else says, you picked the wrong clutch system to learn on.

Forgot to mention, speed will come with time as far as shifting. The smoother the shift the better. It is better to use your clutch than rock your motor/tranny mounts. Either one is a pain in the butt to replace, but at least with learning how to shift smooth, you'll learn the right way and fastest way of shifting.

darkphantom

OP - congrats on the car!

I will tell that after having driving so many cars, the Z is not a fun car to learn manual on. It makes even the most talented manual drivers feel like they don't know what they are doing.


Stalling isn't super bad as long as you aren't doing it constantly - it basically means the engine is not getting enough revs and "conks" out.

1st to 2nd gear is smoothest at about 3k RPMS +/- 200 depending on how heavy your foot is.

Just practice smoothly engaging and disengaging the clutch while parked. Get a feel for where the "engagement" point is.

I HIGHLY recommend the RJM clutch pedal as it will make your life ALOT easier. I have it on my car and love it!

As for shifting, 1->2 is going to be the hardest, but after that, around 2.5k or so is normal and should be fairly smooth unless you are "stabbing" the clutch.

Hope this helps!

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'13 PW M6 | Takeda | ARK GRiP V2 | H&R

kenchan

but i would hint that u want to be around 2000rpm when you engage 1st gear from a standstill. that seems quite high on a normal MT car, but not on the Z.

count ichi, ni, san while you engage. you will need the full 3 seconds, otherwise u will stumble.

kenchan

and look like a dumbarse fool who cant drive a sports car..

darkphantom

OP - also forgot to mention that one thing no one ever told me when I started to drive stick was that you can be in first, slowly let out the clutch and it will keep moving like an automatic - you don't need to add gas to get it moving in first (as long as you are on a flat surface).

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'13 PW M6 | Takeda | ARK GRiP V2 | H&R

kenchan

u knowz this is free invitation for bald headed middle aged losers in minivans to smoke the living kakaz out of ur Z with their caravan.