So tomorrow I'm going to go test-drive a G35 6MT. One problem, I've only driven stick a couple times. Anybody had this same experience? Any tips? This is going to be embarassing.



Also, anyone in NC have any experience with either Lake Norman Infiniti or Infiniti of Charlotte?

Thanks.

 

Oh my. I remember the first time I drove a 6MT G. It was the night before I picked up my own. What a disaster. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you cause you're going to need it.

 

i hope they dont have a problem with you being an inexperienced MT drivder

 

if they want to sell a car, they will not care what you do to it, stalling the engine will not hurt it, and the salesguy never care if you burn a lil rubber either....at least that's what I experienced... Just take it easy at first, get use to the clutch, let the sales guy know youre a rookie driving a stick, what are they going to do?, say no and not let you test drive it??

 

Can you go into a bit more detail?

Thanks.

 

Well I literally stole a friend's G to drive it around the block (you know who you are ). I thought I'd be just fine since I had driven stick here and there a long time ago. The most difficult part for you as a newbie is the clutch on this car. It's really high, so take your time letting it off and don't worry if you stall a million times. The second thing you will find really hard is the 1-2 shift. It's really jerky if you don't apply some gas because the revs drop too fast and you want to blip the throttle to bring them back up so that your shift is smooth. Overall, the G is a very unforgiving car if you're new to manual. I find the '05 slightly easier to learn on than the '04 because of the lighter clutch. Just like with everything else, practice makes perfect.

I don't want to discourage you, but what I'm saying is that you won't be able to test out what the car is capable of on your own, but I'm sure the salesman will ride with you and drive it for you. Are you looking to see if the G is the right car for you? Or if the 6MT is for you?

There's other things to the G too from my own experience.. e.g it doesn't feel that fast, the first time I drove one (it was an automatic) I was kind of disappointed that even my Maxima felt faster off the line. Maybe you'll get a better idea of the overall performance of the car if you test drive a 5AT? You can always buy the 6MT and drive it all you want after that.