Quite simply actually. Its easier to drive the G because it has what the S2k doesn't have, low end torque.

 

Yeah I figured the low end torque difference must make the G much easier to drive.

 

hills takes getting used to when you first start out.... the clutch is kinda heavy on the G so learning on it is gonna feel weird... just don't grind your gears by accident that can do some trannny damage

 

lol. I had to explain to my g/f the same thing. But you gotta admit, it does make you sound like a pro when you do it right.

Btw.. I don't use my heel and toe.. it's impossible for me because my feet are too big, and I don't own a pair of racing shoes. I just use the right side of my right shoe to blip while still braking with the left side of my right shoe. I use wider shoes to do it.

Oh, and don't forget powershifting.. sticks are great.

 

I also learned manual on my 05 coupe. First stick car. Drove it home about 20+ miles from the dealership.. stalled about two times on the local road before getting on the highway. Shifting was no problem. The only hard part of course was first to second and second to third. Sometimes I find myself missing third gear every now and then and go into fifth instead. After two months of owning the car, I don't stall anymore, I can downshift, and I've redlined and chirped my tires on 1st and 2nd.

At first, the clutch engagement point was very high on my car but now it's pretty much lower. I'm not sure if this is supposed to happen or if the Infiniti mechanic lowered my engagement point but I now depress the clutch all the way to the floor on first and second gear. When I first had it, I only had to press it about 1/2 of the way down.

Question to those who do the heel toe technique: Do you guys blip the throttle while in neutral, THEN downshift into gear and let go of the clutch? Or do you brake, then downshift into gear and THEN blip the throttle and let go of the clutch?

I've been doing the latter method for some time now and it works fine, but I realized that blipping the throttle before putting it into gear (while in neutral) and then quickly downshifting provides a smoother downshift with less jerking. However I have been using both methods depending on which gear I'm in.

I've been watching those Japanese racing clips where they show you their feet when they shift.. not quite sure which method's right.. or maybe both are correct ways to downshift.. they do it so quickly that you're either watching them shifting or watching their feet.

 

*edit*

I have foot on brake, clutch+blip while downshifting. It seems like a lot of steps but it's acutally very quick and is like one step. Clutch is second nature so I'm not thinking about it.. only way to blip the throttle is to depress the clutch, so it's like one "motion" already. Atleast that's how I do it.

 

lol. I need to get in the car and drive around the block just to see how I'm doing it. It's all one move to me now.

 

Try both methods I mentioned.. drive at like 3,000 RPM on third gear, then downshift to second.. try blipping the throttle the second you're in neutral before you downshift to second gear..

This is the "new" way I've been doing it the past few days..

The previous way was.. at 3,000 RPM third, press clutch (put it in 2nd, and the split second it's into 2nd gear you blip the throttle as you release clutch)

 

Yeah, that's pretty much how to do it. The point is to blip the throttle before downshifting to literally match the revs. I think my explaination wasn't as thorough as yours. I just take for granted that the car is in "neutral" while you clutch and shift.

Honestly, I've been doing it for awhile, so that it feels pretty natural. At this point I'm doing it by sound and feel.. not looking at the revolutions.

 

Driving a stick is the best!! I figured if I could drive stick, then I could drive auto, but not the other way around, so I learned stick first. Since then, I've only ever owned stick vehicles. I learned on a truck, so it was different from a car. I went off-roading a lot so starts and slow moving are no problem. I have an atv and there "stick" too. You either get a stick or watch from the sides.

Also, a previous post said to push in the clutch, then brake. Thats not eniterly correct. If you do that, you make the brakes do all the work. If you push in the brake without pushing in the clutch, or even downshifting would be better, then the engine helps slow you down. That puts less wear on your brakes.

 

Brakes cost less AND do a much better job of slowing your car down than the drivetrain. You WANT your brakes to do all the work when decellerating. Do not use engine braking to slow your car. Matter of fact, there really aren't too many cases of when you should use engine braking, except maybe when towing or crawling down a long, steep grade. (so this probably doesn't apply to your G) If you graduate to heel and toe downshifts, you take the effect of engine braking out of your driving. Just my .02.

 

Exactly. Although I admit that I still engine brake sometimes while braking. I don't think that is going to kill your transmission. I engine brake more so when I'm not driving aggressively (i.e., dont engine brake at high revs.)

 

You are doing it the correct way. The term heel/toe is kinda a misnomer of sorts.

 

Can someone elaborate on what "engine braking" is? Does that mean downshifting and letting the RPM slowly drop by itself without using the brake?