I'm Stalling! (sometimes)
 

Hello everyone

Just got my brand new 2010 370z PG 6MT + sport yesterday, its the first manual car i got. after a night of practice i can go around without too much trouble. my really worry about stalling from a complete stop :shakes head: . The way my friend who teach me said try to stay around 1 to 1.1k rpm. i want to ask everyone here what you you guys recommend the RPM for Z going into first gear when you release the clutch for the most smooth start.

Thanks in advance

Congrats on the new car! Most people learning to drive manual have a fear of stalling from a stop and especially starting on a hill, so dont worry about it. Not saying that this is right or wrong, but I tend to start at about 1500 RPM.

I wouldn't worry about watching the gauges. Go more by feel and then sound. You will get the feel soon enough.

feather your clutch more and get it up higher and you should be fine

just give it a little more gas. You'd be ok with a little more revs until you get comfortable.

4000RPM + Dump clutch for the best effect!

This is the best way to go. Practice, practice and more practice and pretty soon it is like second nature.

:iagree:

The Z is the first manual car I have owned and it took some getting used to. I had driven other cars with MTs before but the hardest aspect of learning on the Z is that the clutch has a very high engagement point which makes it difficult to modulate how the clutch grabs.

I find the easiest rpm to be at when starting from a stop is around 1,500rpm while simultaneously feathering the throttle. You will get the hang of it, it may take a couple thousand miles but I am now proficient at heel toe downshifts and shifting in all situations to the point where it is almost second nature and that took 3,000 miles of driving.

^That. I also found it to be easier around 1400-1500 RPM.

the way I teach my gf to drive it, is to not touch the gas or brake at all. When the car is on flat ground, in a safe place, just practice your left foot on the clutch. Clutch in... let clutch out slowly until the car moves forward and does not stall when you let the clutch out completely without touching the gas. Then clutch back in...and repeat. Do this 10 times in a row, everyday for a week. You'll be flying after.

Good advice. Except for letting you GF drive your Z.:icon17:

she ripped and killed an LP560 in my GTR, she can drive my N/A Z lol...

Awesome! Keep her.

Thanks for all the advice will try out the letting the clutch out slowly till completely release without gas tomorrow. the clutch just seem release really high relative to the floor. can't wait till the day i'm not worry about stalling and make a fool of my self :D

I rev to about 2k and engage at around 1700-1500rpm. The slip is about 3sec. Most newbs think slipping the clutch killls the clutch. At those rpm, naw. Just count one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand and you should be fully engaged. Your left foot should be pretty linear, no feathering needed unless you're crawling in bumper to bumper.

I didn't read that part and just drove though my garage door at one thousand two :icon14:

practice
 

get out in the open somewhere

I agree with the advice above

congrats on the Z

you can't hurt it

enjoy

:pics:

Well hey, at least Nissan made up for the high engage point and steep learning curve by giving us a really strong stock clutch!

will try all that out tomorrow sorry here the the pic:tup:

http://i54.tinypic.com/3ak3o.jpg

not sure if the link will work or not

i was in this boat last year. The high engagement point was rough, but you'll get it soon. Just compensate by not giving too much gas until your clutch is just before that engagement point because you know it won't engage until around then. Otherwise, you'll be at 3000 rpm by the time you engage, then freak out, almost stall, and slam the gas pedal down to compensate and burn the clutch and spin your tires in a mess of a reactionary action hahahaha. *guilty*

When learning, I would prevent stalls by tapping the gas before I tried my clutch engagement. This blipped the rpm's high enough that I had some wiggle room when it was game-time (gas in, clutch out) and I kept the rpm's high enough to not stall out.

Big advice here: try not to look in the rearview at every stop light. The guy behind you is farther away than you think. You're just freaking yourself out.

Learn the parking brake hill start if you want. It will keep your anxiety down until you learn to not need it.

Keep your clutch foot heel planted on the ground as a fulcrum. Don't try to hover your foot. If you hover your foot, and the car jumps forward, all kinds of craziness goes on when you can't control your clutch foot.

i need a female like that of my own .

Counting is a good starter for reference, but dont get in the habit of "oh i hit three drop clutch" cause you're gonna need more time on a big hill and less if you are looking to beat grandma in her Elantra...

Also, I like to show noobs really how little roll back there is... most people stop a good 2-4 feet behind car in front of them at a light ... you have plenty of time to clutch it before you roll back that distance.

I need a GTR first.

The best way I can explain to learn to drive a manual is "more gas, more gas, more gas" as you let the clutch out. Most people want to press the throttle to a certain RPM and then let the clutch out (they stop advancing the throttle). You need a coordinated combination of the two. As you gently let the clutch out you need a gentle advance of the throttle and it all works smoothly but remember "more gas, more gas, more gas" (not to the floor just enough to keep the car moving smoothly). You'll get the hang of it but the Z is a tough one to learn on.

Oh, congrats on the purchase. You'll love it but don't worry about people tailgateing you...they are just trying to figure out what kind of car that is they are following.

Nice Z, OP!

What's with all the white stuff still on the ground? You'd think you lived in northern New England or something!

Hahaha, there are pleanty of how to's in the detailing section. :D

I do a heel toe start on a hill so there is zero roll back. Backing up in an incline parking lot i use my ebrake. :)

Heel Toe is a pita to learn but probably one of the best things to learn. Its all feel, just like a motorcycle you just need more saddle time. Its been 10 years since I drove a stick, but it still feels like second nature. Finding the sweet spot is a little harder on this it seems with the high engage point.