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!