Hey all,

Just wanted to say hi, I am going to pick up my G on Thursday and I can't wait!!!! I couldn't believe there were no 2005 MT models in my area, the dealer had to have my car shipped up from Charlotte, NC. Any of you have this happen? It's my first new car, so I guess I am excited (gotta love the new car smell ). Some of you may think I am nuts, but I decided to go with a manual instead of auto. The thing is, I have never driven stick before in my life! A lot of people have told me I would like driving with a manual tranny. I love to drive and have really enjoyed the mods I have done to my current car. Though, I look forward to the "more connected feel" with the manual. I know the technical side/theory of driving stick, but realize I need the seat time in order to really learn. I also will be driving with a few knowlegeable people who drive manual trannies themseleves. I have been searching around this forum a lot in the past week and have already learned some great information. I have a couple questions though that I haven't read too much about yet.

1. If any of you guys who could give me pointers about driving stick I would appreciate it. Points about driving stick in general, or specifically with driving the G, would be great. I guess my main concerns are:
2. I have read a couple How-To's on the board about doing a double-din conversion for the head unit on the G35 Coupe. Would the process be the same on our sedans, like needing to order the Skyline JDM parts, along with needing to solder for Dual Climate Control?

3. Since I don't have the car yet, I haven't been able to read the owers manual. What would you guys say is the best way to break-in the engine? Also, what would be a safe point to start to driving the car harder, 1,200 miles?

4. If my Check Engine Light comes on, is there any way to check to see what the code is without a handheld programming unit? How much do those handheld devices usually go for anyway?

Thanks guys for any help you can give! I look forward to contributing to the board.

 

Mis-shifting - just get in the habit of a slight right bias when shifting and you will hit the right gear. The 6MT will naturally try to hit 4th from 3rd. It takes some effort to hit 6th, but dropping into 4th by accident should not be a Rev problem (unless you are speeding).

Clutch - this has been the hardest clutch for me to get used to (been driving them for 26 years). Took a good 600 miles to get comfortable.

Rev-matching - I have never bothered and never replaced a clutch.

Break in is 1,200 miles (4,000 rpm max). Use the REV light to help remind you. Set it to 4,000. Will start blinking around 3,600 rpm. After break in, set it to peak of tourqe curve, max hp, or just turn it off.

Congrats on the 6MT, an awesome auto!

 

The hardest gear to properly engage is 1st, 2nd is a little easier, and as you go up in gears they become progressively easier. The main key is to learn how much clutch to release and how much gas to give in 1st without bucking or stalling. Once you master 1st and 2nd the rest is a no brainer. With that said you can learn the basics without going over 20 mph and this is best learned on a side street without traffic. The next thing to master before you head out to the main streets is starting on a hill as it requires a quicker move from the clutch to the gas as the car will roll backward during this time. Find a hill on a side street and practice. Remember you can always use your emergency brake on a hill for extra security.

The G's clutch is very unforgiving and you might be better served learning on a different car plus the fact that everything is just breaking in and stalling and bucking may not be good for the car in its first 50 miles. I have been driving sticks for 21 yrs and I still am not consistently smooth in the 1 to 2 shift after 1000 miles of driving my new 05 G.

There is nothing like driving a stick if you are into being connecting with your car. So just sit back and enjoy the ride-you will love the G.

 

Go to AutoZone, they will pull the codes for free.

 

Owner's Manual: www.infinititechinfo.com. Select Owners Manual from the Publications menu at the top. You can download a PDF of the complete owner's manual, and the Nav manual too, if you're getting that option.

The hard parts are getting the car to move, and then the 1->2 shift. Once you get those down, the rest is pretty easy. Don't practice during rush hour on hilly streets. If you do get into a spot where you're having trouble and stalling the car, and people are waiting on you to get moving, don't panic -- and remember that in such situations, it's better to spin the tires than to stall the engine -- more gas.

You shouldn't worry about downshifting right now at all. Most of the time, you'll be coming to a complete stop and then putting it back into first. Sometimes you might just be slowing down for a corner, and you may need to put it in second, but don't worry about it until you get to the part where you need to accelerate again -- at that point you'll be moving the shift lever down to second, but everything else will feel like a 1->2 shift. Don't try to cycle down through the gears, just push in the clutch and the brake. A brake job is generally cheaper than a clutch job.

 

I echo what Corgi and ryoken said... 1st and 2nd are the hardest, so don't worry if you aren't smooth in those two. Also, don't worry if you do stall your car at a stop sign/light, just be patient, put the clutch in and try it again (after starting the car of course). In my test driving experience, I found the clutch "sweet spot" (technically called friction point I think) to be high. This means that you have to let the clutch pedal off of the floor a good ways before it starts to engage and the car wants to go forward. For comparisons, the TL has a very low friction point.

If I were you I would ask the dealer to show you how to get the car in reverse, since you never drove a 6MT before, I believe you have to put the car in N, then push in on the shifter (towards the pavement), and then to where it says "R" is on the shifter? Not sure as mine has not arrived yet! Good luck and welcome!

 

I have owned 10 different cars with standard transmissions. For me, the clutch in the G is the easiest to shift. Matching engine speed with gear speed is the better than any I have owned. Having a car with this kind of refinement is why I bought the G. I agree the 1st to 2nd shift is the one that is the hardest to get right.

The only complaint I have is the gear shift is a bit notchy downshifting from 6th to 5th. You need be sure you are pushing the gear shift against the gate when downshifting to 5th.

Having said that I have never had any problem with misshifting this transmission. Good luck and I am sure you will have a big s___ eating grin on your face when you drive the G.

 

Mis-shifting: You'll know when you shift to the wrong gear. Since the G will do 60 in 2nd, you probably don't need to worry too much about over-revving. If you do mis-shift, just push the clutch back in, count to 1, and get the right gear. Don't worry about shifting fast in the beginning. It's more imporatant to build the muscle memory of where the gears are than to be fast.

Clutch technique: I agree, the G35 is probably not the best choice to learn on. But it can't be worse than the 78 Chevy 3speed (on the column, no less) that I learned on. It just takes practice. If you can remember than the clutch is not an on/off switch and not get frustrated, that's a good start.

General tips:

It takes both feet and both hands to drive the car now. If you used to holding something in your "free hand"...coffee, sandwich, bible, your package...get unused to it.

If the car feels jerky, select a different gear. E.g. on/off-throttle at 35mph downhill is smoother in 4th gear than 3rd. rolling through a parking lot looking for a space is smoother in 2nd gear than 1st.

Cruise control is not going to be as smooth as in an automatic. Just a fact of life.

You don't need to be in first gear to use the clutch friction zone. In commuter traffic it may be easier to have the car in 2nd and use the clutch to control your speed between 5-15mph than it is to try to keep the car in 1st gear.

 

Could you please explain what you mean by this exactly? Ride the clutch?

 

Thanks for all the replies guys, any info you give helps! Couple more questions I have:

When coming to a stop at a light, at what point do you press the clutch in? Around 5 mph or so?

Also, when in traffic, what is the best method as to shifting? Should I contantly be shifting from neutral to first, or should I leave the car in first gear. I have read that it is dangerous to leave the car in first in case someone rear-ends you.

Anyone have an idea as to my second question in my first post?

 

Basic rule of clutch life is when the car is not moving you should be in neutral-never in 1st with the clutch depressed. To answer your question in stop and go traffic you are shifting between 1st and neutral. In fact when I am in stop and go traffic I just feather the clutch into neutral without depressing the clutch. I have never replaced a clutch in 21 yrs of stick driving and it just amazes me to see people at a light with the clutch depressed in 1st gear waiting. Also when getting into first give it as little gas as possible while the clutch is fully depressed to minimize wear.

 

No. Today was a perfect example of what I mean. Driving along on I-5, traffic slowed down due to an accident way ahead of me somewhere. Not quite "stop and go"...more like just slow enough I had to push in the clutch (around 5mph)...then immediately speed up to 15 or 20...then slow down again.

I find it easier to just stay in 2nd, in situations like that. Instead of constantly trying to shift back and forth between 1st and 2nd. I guess the same sort of thing applies at any speed. If you push in the clutch while slowing down, but don't come to a full stop, select the gear you need (whether you going 5 or 20 or 40) then release the clutch. But you don't just release it, you glide it out though it's engagement zone, just like you would in 1st gear from a stop.

I don't feel like I'm explaining it right...do you understand what I mean?

 

Hey Jwise, congrats on the 6MT decision. Some words of advice, RENT-A-Car. Get any kind of car you can that is a Manual and learn on that. That way you don't fick up your beautiful new G, especially when its brand new. You'll love your 6MT, just don't speeed. Good Luck

 

What you are doing in this case is lugging the engine. In this case the engine is not producing enough hp in the gear that you are in. You risk damaging vital engine components and you are at high risk for engine knock which will also damange components.

Just think about it like this: Say you are on a bike - in traffic - and you are in high gear... If your bike is at a complete stop, it will be difficult for you to move it... you will have to really get on the pedals to make the bike move. When you do this, you are putting very high stress on the bearings - the same things happens in your engine when you are in too low a gear.

Note also, in the g35 manual it states "do not lugg the engine"

 

No, not lugging the engine. Obviously, I'm not explaining what I mean correctly.