Ok so I just bought my first manual transmission car yesterday. A white 03 G35 coupe. Now Im not that bad at driving manual but Im not great either. Today I was stuck in traffic on a hill and I really burnt the crap out of my clutch. And I also smelt clutch once or twice shifting out of first gear. I'm really nervous that I'm going to mess my car up because I have not mastered shifting yet. Will I be ok? The only problems I have are the obvious things. I can get out of first gear going slow, but If I want to get a little bit of speed getting out of first, the car still bucks a little bit. I also am bad at hills, like I said before I smelt clutch bad when i was stuck in traffic on a hill and had to keep starting and stopping. I just cant find the friction zone consistantly. I am actually much better driving my mom's TT, I guess the G35 is just a little bit harder to drive. Can you guys offer me any tips please?? I would really appreciate it, I do not want to mess up my new baby!!

 

I have also been reading about the bad radios in the 03-04 G35s. Does this happen to most G35s or only some? The guy I bought it from said he never had any problems with the radio whatsoever. But the car only has 50k miles... So I really hope that I dont encounter a problem

 

Try removing clutch delay spring, replace the clutch fluid using turkey baster method and spray wd40 into clutch pedal and work it in. Keep in mind the engagement point it almost towards the top of the pedal. You are fine for radio right now but maybe in 30k miles it might act up no saying but expect around 70k-110k miles to crap out.

https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-cou...ml#post6095918


Edit: When time comes to replace clutch labor should be around $400 and parts will be $775.

https://g35driver.com/forums/engine-...-shipping.html

 

Any tips on starting a stopping on a hill. Im so inconsistant with it. Sometimes Im good and other times I stall, roll backwards too far, rev it too much, etc...

Should I give it gas first or let off the clutch a little bit first when starting??

 

I dont know if I feel comfortable doing this mod. How do I access the clutch pedal to remove the spring?? From what Im reading though, this mod really makes the car much easier to drive.

 

If I were you I'd go out and buy a $500 manual beater to practice on, thats what I did. Now, my coupe is an AT, I do plan on buying a 6-Speed afterwards

 

The more I read about this mod, the more it makes me want to do it. It seems pretty straight forward, but I am horrible at fixing cars. I really need to know how to access the clutch pedal assembly so I can remove this spring. I dread driving this thing on hills.

 

Use e-brake on hills to start off so you do not roll back. Once you get the car in first gear and finesse clutch / throttle let off e-brake once you feel the car wanting to move. This will prevent you from rolling back and end up freaking out and burning up your clutch. Also quit being a little girl and grow a pair of nutz and get out there with some basic tools and do the mod. Otherwise sell your car to someone who know how to drive a manual or willing to mod their vehicle.

 

My first manual car was a Honda Prelude SH (The SH is only available in a manual), I had my brother drive it to a parking lot (early when it was empty) to just get a feel for the clutch engaging. I picked it up fairly quickly because I spent some time online looking at various info/tips.

However.. there were a couple places in the city I would avoid because the road dips down under a train track, and there are stoplights at the tops of the hills. I was afraid I'd roll backwards into someone.. So again I went out when it was 1-2 in the morning, pulled up the hill, and stopped my car (regardless of the light). I did this a few times just to know what to expect, without there being traffic around. It's a good way to get some practice without stressing about other drivers.

One of the worst things I experienced was going up 6 stories in a parking garage when there was snow on the ground. The cars got crowded up and I had to stop on a ramp... I let off the clutch as I normally do but the snow made the ramp slick, so I panicked and jammed on the gas. I made it up ok.. but it was scary.. *laughs*

I'm not sure what a manual G is like (I have an auto), but I don't think it can be too bad (most modern cars should be somewhat forgiving). Driving another manual might help, but it can behave different then the G might.

Anyway. I paid more for the Prelude then my g35.. so I just say go for it!

 

Here's the thing, just keep your rpm's under 2k to avoid the clutch burn(ideally you want to start the car under 1.5k,but 1.5-2 is fine for now). I first learned how to drive manual in my g35, but I caught on fast (1st try! )

From a standstill-horizontal

My best tip for you is to learn that sweet spot on the gas pedal, go in your car, and feel how much that pedal needs to be pressed to get your engine rev'd to 1.5k rpm.
Once you get that sweet spot down, all you need to do is to slowly lift off the clutch, keeping the gas constant. (Usually 1-2secs) Now know this, the revs will drop! You do not need to add anymore gas, unless you want to! While slowly lifting off the clutch, the car should begin to move. Keep this feeling in mind, and get used to it! Now once you get used to this feeling, you will notice you are not going fast off the line. If you want to get off a red-light faster, you'll want to add a bit of gas when you're letting off the clutch, not too much so that your revs go to 2k, but enough to keep your revs from dipping and keeping it constant at 1.5k.

From a upward slope- You'll want use the same method as stated above, but you might want to rev your car at around the 1.5-2k range. You need to be aware that the clutch will react differently. Gravity will oppose the engine's RPM's; if you let off the clutch at the same rate, as when the car is horizontal, the revs will dip faster than usual!

Regarding the jerk from 1st to 2nd;

It took me awhile to figure out that I needed to release my clutch a bit slower for 1st to 2nd, compared to 2nd to 3rd and so on. When shifting from 1st to 2nd, you'll want to release the clutch slower depending on the engine's RPM. Our clutches are not babies; they will take a bit of abuse. If your car has, a new clutch installed, then you should play around with it, sure, it will shave some miles down, but if you are going to buy a car for 500, why not just practice and replace your current clutch with that same amount of money . Though if you’re really bad, I would recommend the beater car. *_*

 

@faiz23 I'm gonna try that mod!

oh and i'm a fairly new MT driver, so feel free to critique my post^ , or ignore it.

 

@faiz. Thanks I needed that. Think im gonna at least try to do that mod sometime in the near future.

@jenkin yeah im not horrible. This car just really takes some getting used to. Like I said i can drive my moms tt with no problems at all. Thanks so much for the tips!!

I have a first gen coupe so the mod is going to be a little harder for me. I found info with pictures on this forum on how to do this mod on the first gen g35. I don't feel like searching for it now. But its here

 

You'll get better.

I started learning on my car right after I got my permit at 15. When I started driving full time it took me 2-3weeks to get smooth.

You'll eventually get to the point where it's second nature. Then it'll be time to experiment with double clutch downshifting and heel and toeing.

If you can combine the two, you're a pro.

 

learn how to drive. that's my tip. every car is different with clutch engagement points and how it feels. and also start saving up for a new clutch and flywheel.

 

I can't 100% agree with this part of your statement. I have been driving manual trans as long as I have driven and owned 8 MT cars in my lifetime. I have never had a car to be as difficult to drive and predict as this car. It has less to do with the driver and more with the transmission/clutch IMO. Some days I have really smooth commutes, and others it feels like it is a brand new and completely unfamiliar car.
I am looking seriously into doing the mod to remove the clutch delay spring. According to everything I have been reading, it seems like THE mod to take away this complaint with our cars.
OP- let us know how you like your drive following this mod.