Need Tips for driving stick shift
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2004
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What spork said... take a couple seconds. After a couple months, you'll be able to quickshift without ruining your clutch. You'll notice you'll find the clutch point quicker and quicker. You're just getting used to it and soon shifting and clutching will be second nature.
One more piece of advice: Be careful when you get back into an Auto! You can take your foot off the break on a level road at a light but if you try it with an auto, IT WILL MOVE!
One more thing... DON'T WORRY SO MUCH! You just got an amazingly cool car! Go out and enjoy it. Have some fun. It's a strong car.
One more piece of advice: Be careful when you get back into an Auto! You can take your foot off the break on a level road at a light but if you try it with an auto, IT WILL MOVE!
One more thing... DON'T WORRY SO MUCH! You just got an amazingly cool car! Go out and enjoy it. Have some fun. It's a strong car.
Rotary Powered Decepticon
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,618
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From: Calgary, AB
Heh ... I'm pretty much doing what Spork did. I've ventured out of my neighborhood to drive my brother home but that's late at night. I think the most stressful part for a newbie is starting from a red light with people behind. I usually go to a local parking lot and practice starting and stopping ... no problems there.
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 64
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From: Vancouver, BC
Originally Posted by Grabitquick
Absolutely no shame at all in using the parking brake in these situations. I still do sometimes even with my long experience driving a manual. It may burn the brake a bit, but it beats rolling backwards into somebody's front end. 
In San Francisco, it's a virtual necessity at times to use the brake.
In San Francisco, it's a virtual necessity at times to use the brake.You'll get the hang of it and then when you go back to an Auto it'll feel really weird and disconnected...
Attracts tree branches
Joined: Jun 2004
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Originally Posted by hotpot
I beg to differ. The 8's clutch is not one of the car's strong points.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 138
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From: Malaysia
No you got it all wrong. Learn drums for 3 years (concentrate on kick-drum/double bass techniques). This will increase your muscle mass in your legs & feet by 15%. Your ability to synchronise your feet accurately and rhythmicly will make shift easy.
Okay. I'm a 16 year old who doesn't have a licence (17 is the age to get licence) and I drove a manual car twice. It's easy. Sure I stalled and couldn't go up the hill the first time. But the second time I felt like a ricer boy. Maybe my drumming has something to do with it.
Okay. I'm a 16 year old who doesn't have a licence (17 is the age to get licence) and I drove a manual car twice. It's easy. Sure I stalled and couldn't go up the hill the first time. But the second time I felt like a ricer boy. Maybe my drumming has something to do with it.
Registered
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 126
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From: Tulsa, OK
yep, you'll get the hang of it after some seat time in the car. after test-driving one for the first time, i remembered how much i hated the mazda hydraulic clutch. (i had a '90 miata) oh, i still didn't kill it when i went on the test drive. if you find yourself on a hill and don't feel secure, the parking brake is in the best place for you to apply until you get the car moving forward.(cheating, but it's better than letting the car roll back on the car behind you)
yamajj
yamajj
Last edited by yamajj; Oct 18, 2004 at 10:46 AM.
Registered User
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zyran, unless you are pulling 32nd notes with your clutch and gas, relying on your drumming skills is not a good idea. plus the clutch and gas are much heaview than your bass and hi-hat pedals. trust me... i've been playing for 8 years.
Registered
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 573
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From: Tropical Island, Indian Ocean
I've driven stick for close to 20 years on a wide variety of Japanese and European cars and I've found the 8's clutch to be among the most difficult to get used to. It's taken me about 2 months to really master the clutch. Even now, after one year with the 8 I have to concentrate to get perfect down shifts when driving in a very spirited manner. In my previous cars I could always get the clutch catch point perfectly.
Originally Posted by truemagellen
it is one of the best out there...you just need to practice more and stop smoking the reefer :p then you'll be able to get it to do anything
Registered
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 67
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From: Northern California
Welcome to the club... the 8 was also my first manual. It can be frustrating at first but you'll get the hang of if. I agree with one of the early posters that you can't worry about stalling or get to worked up when it takes you a little while to get going at a light. Just concentrate on what you are doing and forget about the person behind you trying to intimidate you. I came across a lot of a-holes when I was first learning that would honk or get impatient but you can't let that get to you. They'll always be people like that. Definitely practice, practice, practice. Empty parking lots are a great place to start.
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 304
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From: Middletown CT
hotpot,
I wonder if it isn't actually the throttle that's bugging you and not the clutch?
My RX-8 clutch is perfectly consistent, as were my two RX-7 clutches. But the throttle on my 8 is all over the place. Sometimes it kicks in with less than 1cm of travel, the next time it takes 2-3cm before any fuel flows at all. WTF?
That is frustrating. How do you adjust when the throttle engagement point keeps changing? It's the only bad thing about driving this car IMO.
I wonder if it isn't actually the throttle that's bugging you and not the clutch?
My RX-8 clutch is perfectly consistent, as were my two RX-7 clutches. But the throttle on my 8 is all over the place. Sometimes it kicks in with less than 1cm of travel, the next time it takes 2-3cm before any fuel flows at all. WTF?
That is frustrating. How do you adjust when the throttle engagement point keeps changing? It's the only bad thing about driving this car IMO.
RX-8 dreamer
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 557
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From: Bellevue, WA & Portland, OR
Originally Posted by truemagellen
first...RENT A CAR FOR A WEEKEND...before you even touch your 8...let your dad drive it home
go to some POS rental place like rent-a-wreck and get a beater car for $35 the whole weekend and just practice NON-stop all weekend long
the reason why I say this is the 8 has a very responsive (those who drive american manuals call it touchy) transmission...you'll have a hell of a time learning on it but most importantly you could run your transmission into the ground or turn your clutch into a pita sandwitch
oh and CONGRATS on your new 8!
oh and read all of these sites/articles religiously, they are repetative yes but that is the point...practice in your mind:
http://www.standardshift.com/index.html
http://cssdrivertraining.com/manualprimer.htm
http://www2.stlu.com/static_html/lea...556&navbar=yes
http://www.ehow.com/how_3234_drive-car-with.html
here is a technical background to it...lets you learn about the process...but not as helpful for technique:
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/tec...9/article.html
go to some POS rental place like rent-a-wreck and get a beater car for $35 the whole weekend and just practice NON-stop all weekend long
the reason why I say this is the 8 has a very responsive (those who drive american manuals call it touchy) transmission...you'll have a hell of a time learning on it but most importantly you could run your transmission into the ground or turn your clutch into a pita sandwitch
oh and CONGRATS on your new 8!
oh and read all of these sites/articles religiously, they are repetative yes but that is the point...practice in your mind:
http://www.standardshift.com/index.html
http://cssdrivertraining.com/manualprimer.htm
http://www2.stlu.com/static_html/lea...556&navbar=yes
http://www.ehow.com/how_3234_drive-car-with.html
here is a technical background to it...lets you learn about the process...but not as helpful for technique:
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/tec...9/article.html
That's actually a very good idea! Unfortunately for me all the rental car places around my area all have automatics
Giant Space Hamster
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 521
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From: San Jose, California
Originally Posted by o0o0o
I think making it off the dealer's lot is going to be the hard part, once on the highway should be okay until there's a need to slow down again.
Rotary Powered Decepticon
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,618
Likes: 1
From: Calgary, AB
Originally Posted by quack_p
I would have a friend who knows how to drive stick drive the car home for you, and then practice in an area where there's not a lot of traffic. In my case, my dealership delivered my car to my front door. If you've never driven stick, I don't think you want to learn on the highway. What if there's a traffic jam? That would be a nightmare.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 52
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From: Bakersfield, CA
okok.... i have had lots of stick shift cars ande this is one of the harder ones to launch smoothly (esp with L flash).... so when you are with others act confident when the car stalls, clutch in/restart, spool it to 2500-3k quickly and go... it aint your fault! all those cammy cars from the 60's were the same way!
Registered
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 573
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From: Tropical Island, Indian Ocean
I don't think it's the throttle.
Coming to think about it, it's not the actual clutch that's the problem. It's more the travel and feel of the clutch pedal. The catch point is a tad too high up (I guess this can be adjusted by the dealer) and the springy action of the clutch pedal does not provide a good feel. In everyday driving it's not a problem, but when I try to shift very fast, I would sometimes miss the precise clutch release/rev matching required in spirited driving.
I could always shift accurately in my previous Beemer while still focusing on the steering; Shifting/clutching was second nature. In the 8 I need to concentrate a bit more on the clutch release to get it right.
Coming to think about it, it's not the actual clutch that's the problem. It's more the travel and feel of the clutch pedal. The catch point is a tad too high up (I guess this can be adjusted by the dealer) and the springy action of the clutch pedal does not provide a good feel. In everyday driving it's not a problem, but when I try to shift very fast, I would sometimes miss the precise clutch release/rev matching required in spirited driving.
I could always shift accurately in my previous Beemer while still focusing on the steering; Shifting/clutching was second nature. In the 8 I need to concentrate a bit more on the clutch release to get it right.
Originally Posted by SpinninAgain!
hotpot,
I wonder if it isn't actually the throttle that's bugging you and not the clutch?
My RX-8 clutch is perfectly consistent, as were my two RX-7 clutches. But the throttle on my 8 is all over the place. Sometimes it kicks in with less than 1cm of travel, the next time it takes 2-3cm before any fuel flows at all. WTF?
That is frustrating. How do you adjust when the throttle engagement point keeps changing? It's the only bad thing about driving this car IMO.
I wonder if it isn't actually the throttle that's bugging you and not the clutch?
My RX-8 clutch is perfectly consistent, as were my two RX-7 clutches. But the throttle on my 8 is all over the place. Sometimes it kicks in with less than 1cm of travel, the next time it takes 2-3cm before any fuel flows at all. WTF?
That is frustrating. How do you adjust when the throttle engagement point keeps changing? It's the only bad thing about driving this car IMO.