Manual Transmission Tips
 

Hey everyone,

Some of you know that I recently upgraded to an Infiniti G37S with a 6 spd manual. :driver: This is the first car that I have had with a 6 spd. I have driven manuals before, but only for test drives or driving a friends car. I was wondering if any veteran manual drivers had any tips of suggestions for a newbie. I can drive the car without much hassle, but there area where I am not the best is the initial transfer from clutch to accelerator, from stopping to moving. I tend to either give too much gas without letting of the clutch or I give too little gas. Sometimes I am okay with this, but not as confident as I would like to be. All other aspects of driving a manual I feel comfortable with. It is just the simple stop and go city driving that I need to work on. So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! :thumbup:

Are you sure it's not the car?
Edmunds Inside Line had a lot of issues with the MT trans in their sedan....
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=120445

:goodluck:

practice, practice, practice :goodluck:

Well, the engagement point for every clutch is a tad different. You will eventually get a better feel over time as to how quickly you can release the clutch.

My dad never got used to the BMW clutch even after a week with our rental. Part of the problem is that he was never great with manuals in the first place.

I have found the engaging point of the clutch. It feels like it engages way to high. I think that I am experiencing this problem mostly when I try to accelerate quickly. When I drive slowly, and do not have to worry about merging or moving quickly, I have more time to find the engaging point and give gas accordingly.

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: :iagree: :iagree: :iagree:


Probably shouldn't have picked that car to tighten your skills on. :)

Every car/m'cycle/truck/ manual trans vehicle is slightly different
in feel...impossible to describe what you ought to feel as I've
never driven your car.

Agree on the practice; go find an empty, big parking lot on a Sunday
morning, preferably with some inclines, and practice, practice, practice.

The slight problem for most learners is all the usual inputs and mechnical
skills, (as they vary with driving situ), don't become 2nd nature, while
in traffic or nervous situs, for quite some time. Practice, "feel those
damn pedals" in combo with listening/feeling the engine...

You'll get it and congrats on getting the manual trans.
GL,mD

PS: I have 46+ years of driving "stick" things and I screw
up on occasion...even the F1/Nascar guys dump the clutch
and stall on occasion. No biggie...but, remember to steer
and/or brake in any situation!

I practice as much as I can, the car is leased an I only have 12k per year. I want to keep driving all the time, but I fear that I might exceed the alloted mileage.

This is perfectly normal. When first starting, it still takes awhile before changing gears in critical situations becomes second nature. Just when you think you've got it all down, some unexpected situation comes up and you get a rough shift or a stall. But that's okay. It happens, even to me.

I think the biggest thing to learn is to avoid the urge to stab the gas pedal when you roll backwards or panic.

Sometimes I freak out when I start to roll backward, but I usually catch the clutch. Its new but fun. Its like relearning to drive again. The simplest things to do in an automatic become challenging in a manual.

The biggest thing you should control is how high you rev the engine when you slip the clutch in 1st to get moving. When learning, just hold the engine speed at 1-1.2k rpm and slowly engage (releasing the pedal) the clutch. As the vehicle starts to move forward gradually increase the throttle. When you're proficient you won't have to put any thought into this process.

The other thing about shifting that a lot of drivers (even experienced) make is that they only rely on the clutch pedal when engaging after shifting. Remember that there are two things going on. The engine has a speed it can spin at, the transmission has a speed that it can spin at. When the clutch is engaged, they're both at the same speed.

When you shift don't let the engine speed drop all the way down and then have to come back to the speed it would be at for the next gear. When you push the clutch pedal in to shift, you're off the throttle completely (both movements happening at the same time). As you're about the engage the next higher gear give it a little gas as you slowly release the cluch pedal. This will make transition into the next gear seamless by having the engine at the speed it should be at for the next gear. Hope that made sense. Congrats on picking the right transmission. :thumbup:

Thanks good tip. In my current driving style, I have been reving, holding about 2k rpm before engaging the clutch. I notice sometimes when I need to merge or move quickly that I will hold to about 3k, but only on rare occarsions will I have wheel spin, but only lightly. I was playing around today with quick revving and then engaging the clutch which seemed to be a little bit smoother.

2k is too high, 3k way too high.

Again, this may be a problem with the car itself if it has the same gearbox as the G35.
When you bring it in for service ask them to check for any TSB or whatever for the clutch/gearbox. I think Edmund's G35 had a repair that made the clutch much more manageable.

I will have them check the clutch when I go in for an oil change in a couple of months. I also noticed some odd clunking, shuttering from the clutch.