I too have been driving manual transmissions for more than 40 years, and the Z was BY FAR, the hardest to drive smooth. I've had the Z since 2011 and this is the first year where I feel that I am one with the car/clutch.

It is all about practice and getting the "feel" of the clutch and where it engages/releases. Drive it like you stole it, and it will get better.

The clutch in our cars is a Pain in the A$$. I have been driving manuals my entire life and 1st gear in the Z is weird. Practice and Enjoy!

Owned and driven a lot of different cars/motorcycles/trucks, also drove semi, currently own a Slingshot, so lots of different clutches. The Z is close to a semi tractor, but with the engine load compensation of a Slingshot, so it's just an odd clutch that takes getting used to.

Here's what I found:

• Turn off the stereo and listen to the engine--it should help a lot. If bad shifts start happening later on, turn off the stereo and work on your shifting skills.
• Keep the right foot straight up and down, especially when moving from the brake pedal to the gas--it provides a lot more control.
• Put the clutch pedal deep in the ball of of the foot (more towards the center of the foot); it uses less foot muscle and more leg muscle for smoother control. It's a hard clutch to control by pivoting the foot because the travel is so long, therefore it's best to use the entire leg for a smooth, consistent release.*
• Let the clutch out smoothly and continuously from fully depressed to fully released (while doing the following):
• When the clutch pedal is 1/3 through its travel, roll on the accelerator slightly; this keeps the engine from stalling yet keeps the RPMs down.
• Use slightly more accelerator at 2/3 of the clutch travel, where the clutch tends to grab, to keep the RPMs from dropping.
• As the clutch is 3/4 of the way released start to accelerate normally.
• Shift from 1st to 2nd at 2,500 or 3K RPM; it's easier to match RPM and not cause whiplash when moving at a moderate speed and the engine has more of the power-band to use in order to accelerate smoothly, but not so much it's in a high-torque band (above 3K RPM).
• Shift from 2nd to 3rd between 2,250 and 3K RPM. 2 & 3, like all the gears, are close together. 3rd is a little more forgiving, but you still want the engine off idle so as not to require too much torque at low RPM (bad for the bearings), yet not have so many RPMs (3K and above) as to be in the power-band and lurch the car forward when giving it a little throttle.
• 4, 5, and 6 are pretty forgiving and run well as low as 1,000 RPM (just accelerate very gently and slowly), great at 1,500 to 2,000 (and are good on fuel) and really grab and go like mad above 3K (and drain the tank accordingly). Over 4,500 RPM and it's almost as if Pac-Man(tm) is eating your fuel dots...

It's a fun car, for sure. The stock clutch...not great--kind of like the 80's electronics and non-LED bulbs.


* The ball of the foot should be on the pedal,

+ left-to-right: the foot should be centered,
+ up-and-down: the middle of ball should be in line with the middle of the pedal (or the ball just a little high)

This allows the driver to use the entire leg when shifting, which is a large and powerful muscle.

I've driven stick for a while, and the best advice I can offer if you find hills, like your driveway, challenging from a standstill, whether going forward or reverse, is this:
1. pull the hand brake up and hold it there
2. press the clutch pedal down fully
3. get in gear, first or reverse as needed
4. release clutch pedal up slowly and get ready to press the gas pedal down when the clutch engages
5. when you feel the clutch biting, bring the hand brake down, press a bit more firmly on the gas and remove your foot off of the clutch
Can and should be practiced on level ground until you get it down pat. Eventually you might find it unnecessary on steep grades to use the hand brake at all. The danger of course is forgetting the hand brake under duress, like I did once at the drag strip (car kept rolling forward at the line).
Montreal has a couple of really steep hills in the downtown area, and I still use this trick there when I get caught at a red light. Stalling and rolling into the person stopped behind you is not a good thing.

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