Evening all,

I just wanted to say hello. I'm the proud new owner of a '10 G37S 6MT. I hope you don't mind, but I didn't see a thread dedicated to how to drive the G. Note, that I've never owned a manual car in my life; this will be the first. I know how to drive one, but unfortunately the extent of my ability to well maneuver one is well under-par. Can anyone provide a few dos and donts? Is there anything unique about the 6MT in the G that isn't like any other? Any particular things I may need to know before beginning to drive the car (delivery date is this coming Sunday)? I'm coming from an 5AT Acura TL. Thanks ALL!

Eric

 

It's not really any different from any other 6MT.

do you have any experience at all?

 

The clutch is not very forgiving especially when going from 1st to 2nd gear; I have 22 years of experience driving MT cars and it took me a good week before adjusting to the MT in the G37. Once you master driving MT, it's pure bliss.

 

1) I wouldn't have bought the G as my first M/T haha

2) the G has the most sensitive engagement point of any M/T I've ever driven...take it to a big parking lot or uncrowded area and just learn the feel of the clutch

3) HAVE FUN WITH IT!!!

 

You know, it's funny. My 2004 S4 had the touchiest, hardest to learn clutch I'd ever experienced. For the first year I thought about getting a different car because I was so jerky with it, then I finally got it down and things were fine. There were numerous threads over the years about how difficult a transmission it is to drive smoothly on the S4 forums. Compared to that clutch, the G37S 6MT feels easy. Even my wife has commented on that given that she never mastered the S4's transmission. She previously had a MINI Cooper S Convertible 6MT and before that a BMW Z3 5MT both of which had ridiculously smooth and forgiving transmissions.

Anyway, you'll get used to it and you'll have a great time with it!

 

Eh, every clutch takes while to get used too. Every mt has it's idiosyncrasies, I suppose. My last car had what felt like an extremely soft clutch and a forgiving grabbing point, compared to this one. I drove that for 10 years so in some respects that made switching to this car a little worse. Sometimes unlearning is harder than learning for the first time, if you catch my drift.

Not to mention that in my early 20s I had a job driving a 13-speed manual 18-wheeler truck around the country for a little over a year. Double clutching and everything.

So I think many people will agree that this car's MT has a bit of a learning curve. Even a few weeks after I bought it I would still occasionally stall it when taking off from a light. 0 to 1st and 1st to 2nd will take the most getting used to, but there's nothing that will give you too much trouble considering you at least already have learned to drive an MT in the past.

You'll adapt quickly and you'll be glad you bought the 6MT. You'll find the summer performance tires are a great match for the sport version -- they help make the initial starts a lot smother if you accidentally let out the clutch too fast or rev too much.

 

Youtube for videos on driving a manual, there are some good ones on there. Get a good understand of how their work before you practice. Always helpful to have someone that knows how to drive one too when you practice.
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I have about 15 years exp in MT (ever since my first car at 17 was MT), I never have to replace a clutch in any of my cars. finally got tired of MT and bought the AT G37

1 advice, never ever use your clutch as your brakes, like when you are on a slight uphill waiting for the green light, don't be that id10t that uses the clutch going back and forward.

 

Single best piece of advice I've seen here

The clutch is for shifting, and nothing else

 

I would clarify by saying that it's ok (in fact, a good thing ) to use the biting point for holding the car in place on a hill start as you release the parking ('emergency') brake. Definitely DO NOT be that guy that tries to jump from foot-brake to gas pedal whilst trying to time the clutch engagement too. BAD BOY! BAD!

 

unless you are on an EXTREME hill, I would very much advise AGAINST doing this. It is not hard to take your foot off the brake and engage the gas/clutch in plenty of time w/o hitting the clutch hard at all

 

I do indeed sir. I don't have much problem getting the car going...it's a matter of driving it "correctly" - my concern.

Thanks man! haha the 6MT was a "now or never" type of deal. I'll take my chances

HAHAHA THAT idiot! I know what you're talking about! I most certainly will NOT be. Thanks for the advise!

You're absolutely right! haha

yeah, i've done that in the case of an emergency before. on a steep hill, i'll pull the clutch out in attempt to engage the clutch about half way, until i feel the rpms dropping a tad bit. i was hold to NEVER do that though? i hear holding the car with the clutch in any manner, is a no no?

hm...

 

Gotta disagree. Aside from the issue of increased wear on the clutch (common sense tells me that engaging a clutch whilst the car is rolling backwards will wear it more quickly than engaging it from a stationary position) there's the more pressing aspect of having full control of the vehicle: it always makes me nervous when I see the person rolling back towards me at a precipitous rate because they're trying to do three things at once with only two feet, then suddenly lurch forward as they try to overcome momentum with a heavy stab of the gas. Living in SF, I see it ALL THE TIME.

Not that I want to start a UK vs US pissing war, but you can fail the UK driving test for rolling backwards on a hill start. When I got my license here I don't even remember hill starts as being part of the test. Even in SF!

 

It is HORRIBLE for the clutch to use the clutch to hold the weight of the car against it. Like I said, unless you are on some kind of extreme hill (which I have yet to encounter one steep enough to qualify) it is not difficult to take your foot off the brake and engage the clutch/gas before rolling backwards.

That just doesn't seem like doing 3 things with 2 feet...you move your foot from the brake to the gas, just like you do at red light...

If people are rolling backwards more than MAYBE an inch or so then they just need to learn how to drive a M/T on a hill

 

I don't know what you call extreme, but this is pretty average for SF