Noob at driving stick, how hard is it with the z??
 

As title said, anyone with same problem? I don't have a problem as I have basic of drving a stick with my cousin SI but is the Z harder since it's a RWD??

The pedal on the right is much more dangerous than in a civic.

hahaha seriously man, I'm not afraid of leaning and probably stall a couple times but its bearable right ?? im a fast learner. It's just that blindspot when backing out of parking lot with a manual trasmission in the Z kinda worry me a bit !!

Go test drive one.

Yeah, I should. Man its gonna be embarrassing if i stall when the sale man is in the car hahahaha

Driving stick is no big deal. The issue is when you combine power with inexperience. Very easy to go wrong if you are a moron, and obviously shifting mistakes can be more dangerous with rwd.

But like it has already been said, the civic is a very weak car compared to the Z... so be careful!

Oh i'm not a racer so being a moron won't likely to be me. But thanks for the input guys !!
I will do a lot of practice in open places before really go out there !!

I have an auto. My last ride was a six speed. i don't miss it. The manual mode works awesome.

IMO, the difference isn't so much about FWD vs RWD, but the amount of power you now have on tap in the Z.

probably the biggest difference you will notice is that the clutch is much beefier and requires more effort to depress and properly time release when engaging 1st and 2nd gear than a car like a civic requires. stock clutches in those cars are almost effortless to depress.

take a test drive and just be careful when taking off from a stop the first few times. Feather the clutch until you get the feel for it. no need to rev above 2K. treat it like you would if you were taking off in any unfamilar car that has a manual transmission.

If the salesman tempts you to give it some gas and take off quick, dont do it no matter how fun it sounds. VDC is nice, but you can still lose control.

The MT is thrilling to drive if you can learn to do so properly, but it's not for everyone. you may want to consider the 7AT and take that for a test drive as well.

i would say go auto but who am i to judge. i learned how to drive stick on the z and after few months im a beast behind the wheel. i love the fact that my car is stick and i would never trade it for an auto. When i drive an automatic car i keep looking for the clutch lol and it gets boring very fast. There is no feeling like the one that you get when your doing 40mph in 5th gear and you hit the clutch rev to 5.5-6k and dump it in 2nd. i wouldnt trade that for anything

Avoid stop lights at the top of a hill if the intersection is busy if you are at all shaky on the clutch engagement. As people have noted here before, people have a tendency to pull up closely to you at a red light

i play with the clutch and the gas a little bit if someone comes really close behind me and if they dont get the point i just let off the brake and roll back really close to them lol

Hey, u might win the arguement since that person is not keeping distance and your car is a stick so it tends to roll back a little up hill. Happened to someone I knew (just in case you hit that car)

:icon14: say whaaaat?

i got a friend in the hospital right now because of inexperience so just be careful

I have a friend who only has a few months experience driving a stick. He learned in the S2000, and he recently bought a tC. I let him test drive my car, and he says it is much more pleasant than the tC and easier than the S2000.

If you're on a hill, just engage the parking brake and then release it as you start to pull forward.

you never done that?

you will win the argument regardless of what happens. The driver behind you is supposed to keep at least one car distance between you and him and if his right in your *** and the car rolls back and hits him then its his fault not yours.

I learned on my 370z for the first time. 370z with rev match is a peace of cake. Makes you look like a pro with super smooth shifts.

but as fairladyz34 said i spent alot of time ONLY driving around at night time until i knew it was safe for me to be out in public with other drivers. I would spend 2 hours every night for 2 weeks trying to master everything until i felt it safe for me to be out and about.

Learn in another car.
PLEASE do not crash the 370z!

+1, and instead of "crash", change it to "trash", because even if he doesn't crash it, it'll be trashed...burned up clutch at the least...

I wouldnt say he'd burn the clutch up, I've toasted mine a few times at the drags/drift competitions, i'd say its a pretty stout tranny/clutch from what i've seen, he'll be ok in about a week or two, no worries.

damn 5th to 2nd i can honestly said ive never done that or wouldnt even try, i dont even think the car would let me do that....then again you are driving 40mph

Enterprise - Hertz
 

Take a friend that can drive a stick and go to Enterprise - Hertz, etc and rent a stick. Have him/her drive to a very large empty parking lot.

1. Learn how to let out the clutch without stalling the car. Do this at idle without giving it any gas at first. After learning how to do this, then and only then apply the gas pedal.

2. Do the above in both forward and reverse until you have it down cold...!

3. Now apply what you have learned to second and third, etc gears.

4. After doing the above on a flat parking lot find one with a slight grade. Apply what you have learned to using the clutch/brake to hold the car on a grade. A little clutch and a lot of brake works great at this point. When the light (in your minds eye) turns green remove your foot from the brake (the car will set for just a second before it starts to roll back) and move your foot to the gas and repeat step #1.

It isn't so hard once you practice it for a while.

Good Luck.........................
:tiphat:

While I always encourage learning stick in a not-so-nice car, whats with all the people claiming he's going to trash the clutch just because he is new? Thats just poppycock, and you guys just dont want him "learning" (even though he already has the basic experience) on the 370.

Take your time, and remember to not be abrupt with ANYTHING. Clutch/throttle skills are all about muscle memory and coordination - both of which come with practice. My friend who recently got a stick car - her FIRST stick car (a Mazda3 btw), had no problems driving it home from the dealership with basic VERBAL instructions. After 1 month, she cant stop talking about how amazed she is that she's doing so well now.

Once the technique of driving a manual is mastered, and for different cars it's different you will enjoy the experience, BUT you do have to practice to understand how it works. lotsa fun, you feel connected to the car and you get a sense of reward when you drive it well.9 times out of ten a person in the same car as an auto will probably be faster off the line than you, all they have to do is mash the throttle, you on the other hand have to balance clutch and throttle to get a perfect launch. BUT launching is not where it is at. It is the overalll driving experience that gets you connected. (Besides"launching" is hard on the car, auto or manual and it i only ******* that "launch" cause that is all they can probably do.

I've had years of manual transmission driving experience and found the 370 a bit more of a challenge than the older Z's I've owned. The 370 has a unique feel and I am almost certain it is due to the DBW (Drive By Wire). The throttle has a slight delay in response since it isn't connected mechanically to the fuel system. Once you get the "feel" it will be smooth but having driven other systems with a mechanical connection I find the memory effect from driving them still causes me to almost stall from a dead start once in a while. It does get better with experience. The 370 could be a challenge for someone just learning.

well first gear goes to 35-40mph and second goes to about 60-65mph and third goes from 95-100 so if your doing 40 in 5th gear you should have no problem dumping it into second.


His not gonna crash the car and his not gonna burn the clutch. The 370 has a pretty good clutch so you shouldnt even worry about that. You just have to take it slow until you get the hang of it and never get nervous.

is there a way to change this? i mean is there a way to make the throttle response quicker? it doesnt take that long for the car to rev up but if it could do it faster i wouldnt mind at all.

from 5th to 2nd is a pretty good shock to the transmission, you might wanna start going from 5th to 3rd unless you want to replace your tranny before 10k

+1 :tup:
At least u kno!

yeah but 3rd doesnt take off as fast as 2nd and plus there is plenty of room to go to second when your doing 40mph. 2nd gear pulls all the way to 65mph if im not wrong.

I actually asked a similar question the first day I bought my Z. But every time I took a small break from driving it, it seemed to get better. The only problem is 1st to 2nd. There is so much torque compared to my rsx that I have not gotten used to it yet. And right around 3.5k rpms be careful speeding up to pass someone if your going to compare the Z to an SI because the Z seems to want to play bumper cars with the car infront of it :tup:

This manual transmission is very user friendly. I have had several and this one's no problem at all for one who knows how to drive a manual transmission. I wouldn't want to learn on it---too powerful and I'd hate to put my new Z through the learning "experience." Nevertheless, I chose the automatic (with the paddle shifters), which I find to be the best of both worlds.

yup thats why i wouldnt even think about doin it
yes it can be done but is it good for the transmission?..NO :P
change ur ways armen lol u havent been to any meets lately

I think I'll be fine since I'm very carefully, expecially with something sexy like the Z. No racing for me so I'll just get used to the clutch before really go out in public !!! I think nothing is impossible, if I can't master this in a month, I will for the next month, and if I really can't I should kill myself, anyone agrees ??

Get as much practice as you can during hours where traffic is light and take routes around town that arent known for particularly steep hills, 2 weeks til your good and proficient max.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack370Z
I've had years of manual transmission driving experience and found the 370 a bit more of a challenge than the older Z's I've owned. The 370 has a unique feel and I am almost certain it is due to the DBW (Drive By Wire). The throttle has a slight delay in response since it isn't connected mechanically to the fuel system. Once you get the "feel" it will be smooth but having driven other systems with a mechanical connection I find the memory effect from driving them still causes me to almost stall from a dead start once in a while. It does get better with experience. The 370 could be a challenge for someone just learning.

is there a way to change this? i mean is there a way to make the throttle response quicker? it doesnt take that long for the car to rev up but if it could do it faster i wouldnt mind at all.


Here is a link to a fix I picked up in an earlier thread...

Sprint Booster USA - MT

a little pricey but if the claims are correct a fix.

anyone tried it yet? if it really works it could potentially make the car faster because you wouldnt waste all that time waiting for the engine response.

i want to come but i just never have the time. When i do decide to show up you know were rolling together :tup:

No. It sounds more like your inexperience driving a manual.

I don't feel any 'delay' at all and question spending over $300 for this "fix" of a "problem" that imho doesn't even exist. Reminds me of those $20 ECU things you see on eBay.