First 6MT. Questions on driving stick...

AlphaSnacks

Hey guys,

I'll hopefully be the owner of a fully loaded 2010 Black Cherry next week. It'll be my first manual. I've driven stick here and there before, though never in a good amount of traffic, so I'm not extremely confident yet and so forgive me for my stupid questions. But here they are:

1) I drove one 370Z where the clutch grabbed more than half-way up (6K miles), and another 370Z where the clutch grabbed maybe about 1/4 up (40 miles). I have a feeling the 6K mile car was abused. But I'm still curious around where is the clutch supposed to grab when it's totally new?

2) When driving in traffic where I'll be averaging about 10MPH and frequently stopping and then immediately going again, is it okay to be in first gear as I'm about to stop with my clutch all the way down? I've been told as long as the clutch is fully depressed, it's not creating any wear. Is this correct?

2a) I know a lot of people throw the car into neutral immediately, but isn't that pointless since 3 seconds later it has to go back into gear? And instead of neutral you could've used the brakes with the clutch depressed, allowing you to get back on the throttle and ease off the clutch as soon as you need to start going again?

3) We don't have many hills here in NYC, but when I get to one, is it okay to have the clutch at the grabbing point as the light is about to turn green, that way I can get on the gas without rolling back? I know this does create a bit of extra wear, but I'm literally talking about a few seconds where I anticipate the turn of a light, lift my foot to the grabbing point to prepare the clutch, and then throttle as soon as I see green. Is this okay?

ThoriumHotdog

Those are not stupid questions at all.

1) Others may have various opinions on this and even more accurate opinions when it comes to the Z but from my experience, you want the clutch to feel as if its engaging when you first let up on the pedal and feel fully engaged toward the end of the pedal movement. New clutches should definitely feel as if they're beginning to engage very early in the movement.

2) Absolutely. As long as you foot is on the clutch you can leave it in gear especially if you're going to start moving again soon. I will quite frequently have the clutch fully depressed with my left foot while my right foot is on the brake. [I always put my foot on the brake just in case the guy behind me isn't paying attention]

3) I wouldn't let up on the clutch until the light is actually green. You can use the handbrake trick if you're worried about rolling backwards when you let off the foot brake. Another little thing, if someone is coming up behind me while I'm sitting on the hill I'll take my foot off my brake and let my car roll backwards a bit to let them know I'm in a standard and warn them not to get to close.

CrownR426

I didn't want to read all this but I will say this!
Live and learn!
If you do not learn quickly you will damage your tranny/clutch and some more goodies!

Goodluck, have fun and please be safe!

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spearfish25

The Z has a long clutch throw. If you have it depressed, it starts to 'take' about an inch or two off the floor, but isn't fully engaged until you're an inch or two from being fully released. Guys that have lost their secondary slave cylinders have noted the clutch action moves progressively closer to the floor as it goes.

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bigdog1250

It's important to note that all clutchs will be a bit different, usually with the same car they should catch in around the same spot, but that isn't a for sure thing. A car with 6k miles even driven hard should not be showing any negative clutch signs, so you don't have to worry about that. As for hill starts... I've lived in San Francisco for many years and learned how to drive stick here. Getting into the friction zone of the clutch right before a green light is totally fine. The handbrake trick is for rookies, when you get good, you can be depressing the clutch and brake, slightly let the clutch out while doing a heel-toe action onto the gas and you will have a very smooth, no roll back start.

Way to go with the 6spd!

*If you understand this simple point about a clutch, you should be able to answer all your own questions.... When the clutch is depressed, the power is disconnected, doesn't matter what gear you're in, once let out it slowly begins to make contact (friction) until it is fully engaged.

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Liquid_G

Other than the clutch, wouldn't it be really hard (read: do something really dumb) to mess up the trans?

Besides if you burn up the clutch in the first yr of ownership, wouldn't he be able to get that fixed up warranty?

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AlphaSnacks

Some solid advice here, gang. Definitely helps out a lot! Thanks, everyone!

GZ3

arnoldk did you get your 370 yet? i remember you from the 350 forums

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09 GT-R
12' 370Z 7AT HANDED DOWN
12'+13' 5.0 SOLD

AlphaSnacks

I'm putting the deposit down tomorrow. It should hopefully be mine next Saturday.

GZ3

practice hills and declines allot before your in a traffic situation that demands it...

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09 GT-R
12' 370Z 7AT HANDED DOWN
12'+13' 5.0 SOLD

GZ3

you gonna effing love this car, especially coming from a DE

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09 GT-R
12' 370Z 7AT HANDED DOWN
12'+13' 5.0 SOLD

kenchan

op- thumbs up to you for taking the effort to learn how to drive MT.

make sure you also master heel and toe with auto-rev off. you dont want to be too dependant on technology if you want to really learn how to drive.

AlphaSnacks

Thanks. I've done a revmatch here and there before, but never as a heel-toe. But you are right, it must be learned.

christian370z

My 370Z 6MT is the first manual transmission car I have ever owned (I have driven many manual cars before for short periods of time) and it was one of the trickier cars I have driven. The clutch engagement point is pretty high which means you have the let the clutch pedal out further than most cars before the clutch starts to engage. This is hard for beginners but as with many things, you get used to it as I now have no problems whatsoever with it at this point. On hills, you will always need to give it more gas and revs to keep the car from stalling or rolling back. I hold the brake while gently letting the clutch start to grab and then I give it gas and release the brake.

Be careful about constantly keeping the clutch pedal depressed while waiting at lights and such in gear because it wears out the throwout bearing. Trust me, once you get the hang of it you won't feel the need to do that anymore.

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Cmike2780

By heel and toe you mean blipping the throttle right. With your toe on the brake and heel on the gas... Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but it's tricky with the pivot style accelerator pedal.

This should be practiced somewhere safe by the way.

Just wanted to clarify because some people get the heel & toe technique confused with rev matching downshifts. No need to really heel toe unless your flying thru corners.

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