Ok, here is the answer to all your questions. Just get someone who knows how to drive stick to come with you before you wear out all those clutches! I have taught a few people to drive stick and this was on a wrx - very hard car to drive smoothly.

As long as you do everything slowly - even if you stall out - the car wont jerk.

Someone mentioned this once but no one did again and its probably the most important thing. If you feel the car about to stall (please turn off the radio and drive in a parking lot) just throw your foot as fast as you can on the CLUTCH and your car will not stall out!

Good luck driving - once you drive a stick youll wonder what the hell people are doing with an automatic.

 

just go on a flat street and let go of the clutch. don't use the gas, just let go of the clutch slowly and the car will start to move. just do that a few times so you learn where the catching point is.

 

Probably a dumb question, but if you were driving conservatively and wanted to suddenly drive aggressively, do you all rev match before downshifting or don't even bother and just straight downshift and hit the gas? What's the best way to accelerate when you're already on the go like highway driving? I've done both methods, but never really asked which way was better.

 

if i'm passing someone, especially on a 2-lane highway, i drop from 6th to 4th, hit the gas (rev match) and ease out the clutch. i love how fast this car can accelerate from 60-120mph.

 

As you see from this thread....it's all relative.
The key is to just go out and practice...practice...practice.
I personally think it is one of the EASIEST 6MT's to drive that I have ever owned. The motor has so much torque and coupled with the VDC, you can't do too bad even if you suck.
You youngsters missed the good old days.....when the clutch had gorilla springs and the trans was sooooo sloppy.

 

My G35 is also the first car I owned that was manual transmission, although I learned to drive a stick a few years ago and had been driving manual transmissions here and there. That being said, the G35 manual transmission does take a bit getting used to, but you'll get it soon enough.
The guy who taught me how to drive stick showed me an interesting way to get used to finding the sticking point. I would start pointing at a *slight* downgrade in a parking lot. Then I would push the clutch in and put it into second gear and take my foot off the break. Once the car started rolling a little bit, then I would slowly let the clutch out until the car was in gear. That way you can really feel where the sticking point is.
Good luck

 

just like everyone else is saying, practice makes perfect. i owned an automatic for 4 years. and now i finally have my 6 speed G. i thought i wasnt the best at driving stick since i sometimes have a hard time driving the car smoothly...but at least im not the only one. i valet park for a job. it was hurting my ego, knowing that i drive all the manual cars that come through there perfectly smooth, compared to my own car. ive had the G for 2 weeks now and im definitely becoming a better driver. ill test my abilities out tomorrow when i take it to the 1/4 mile track here in orlando,fl.

 

question for you guys, this is my first stick car.

when going out and doing everyday downshifting, sometimes is it harder to put it into some gears then others? my clutch is all the way in but i definitely feel a little resistance. i'm talking about situations where i'm downshifting to 3rd or 2nd gear when coming to a stop.

is that normal?

 

benster... yes... u have more syncros to help the lower gears. i just recently got my '05... and i find it very 'notchy' in first and second when i start the car up on a cold morning. once it warms up... it gets a lot better. most higher end sport cars will have this. lower end cars just feel more rubbery without any notchiness. if u have trouble putting it into gear just go back into neutral let go off the clutch... push it back in and select your gear. i would recommend only selecting first gear when the car is at a complete (or close to) stop... if u still continue to have problems.

 

GRider35c needs to read this thread.... he is learning how to drive stick and its coming well but still there is jerkiness in his driving and he stalls from time to time...

 

i just got my 05 6mt coupe and honestly, i think the coupe is very easy to drive. after reading this thread a few weeks back, there was a bit of concern on my part. despite driving a stick almost my whole life, i felt rusty since i've been driving the 5at coupe for the past two years. the only thing i have to remember is to press on the gas a bit more from a dead stop. when i first got the 05 ( a coupe days ago ), i stalled it a couple times while pulling into the garage because i didn't press on the gas enough and i was trying to go in slowly. other than that, it was pretty easy. i've driven other sportscars (300zx, porsches, bmw's, 3000gt's, etc) and i found those more difficult.

 

i still learning stick!

one thing i need to remember, more gas, easier on the clutch.....

 

Man, if you guys are chirping from 3rd to 4th, WITH VDC ON, my car must be a dog because, although I've never tried, I find it difficult to believe I could do this if I wanted to!

Therefore, I will try on the way home!


Maybe I need to have my clutch looked at. It just doesn't seem like it grabs anywhere near hard/quick enough to allow for this.

 

Yup the practice did help. I'm doing much better now. Pretty smooth going to into first, still a bit jerky when I go into second and third driving somewhat aggresive.

If I drive normal it all seems smooth to me, althought my passengers heads jolting makes me think otherwise. Everytime I press down on the clutch i see their bodies move back and forth is this normal?

My concern now is when you try to drive stick fast, is it still supposed to be smooth? Do you release the clutch with the same smoothness and gentleness as you would starting off conservatively?

Right now I feel like its jerking too much. I've watched a few videos where people are driving stick and it looks like when they are racing that they kinda drop the clutch cuz I can hear it and see the car jerk. I'm not sure if its because they dont know how to drive it, or if thats just the way it is supposed to be when you are going for quick acceleration. Any tips or advice would be great.

 

It's tough to get the quick shifts right in this car. Because the clutch takes so long to catch you are wholly dependent upon the muscle memory of your leg to remember where that long catch point is.

I do plan to go and *itch to my dealer to at least get my discontent on record with them in case something is acually wrong.