erichikov

I learned how to drive stick on my brand new (at the time) 2006 Mustang GT Convertible. I must have stalled over 100 times. Takes a lot of practice but after a couple of days, you'll get the hang of it.

icel0rd

Well, first gear is mostly there to get your car moving from a stop and after it's already moving, 2nd is usually the gear of choice at really slow moving speeds.

If it's a nasty speed bump that you almost have to stop for, I clutch in and ease it over with gas and clutch via first really slowly and if it's one of the speed bumps that doesn't require you to nearly stop, I approach it with 2nd slowly and keep just enough gas on it to not use the clutch to avoid a stall.

Also, it might be worth mentioning some stop and go tips (traffic jams) at this point. There will be times where sometimes I'm at a point where I'm moving so slowly that 2nd might stall without slipping the clutch some in 2nd and I need to keep moving in the "congo line", so I use first with very, very little gas to keep it moving smoothly without the jerkiness. This is the point where 2nd would be lugging and I'd otherwise have to keep using the clutch, which you don't want to leave depressed for long periods or constantly slip it in stop and go.

Generally, first gear is a get in and get out gear, but in severe stop and go I sometimes prefer to use it at really low speeds where 2nd would lug and nearly stall. If you keep just a little amount of gas on it to keep the car moving consistently, the car wont jerk. If you continue get an opportunity to trail behind the rest of the traffic so you can keep moving really slowly in 2nd, take that opportunity to give your leg and clutch a break.

I heard horror stories of other people who like to clutch in and slip 2nd all day in rush hour stop and go. I can't imagine that being good on your car. I also see a lot of manual drivers shift into first with too much gas and have to keep repeating 1-2 shifts in rush hour unnecessarily because they don't ease into first at lower RPMs and try to pace traffic. I bet those are the people who are always bitching about how much they hate driving a manual in heavy traffic.

I learned about a year and a half ago mostly on a G35, and after getting the hang of that (took me maybe 3 weeks to stop stressing), it was ok. I crack up laughing at how I used to stall my old G35 on little hills and how I peeled out by over-gas'ing on hills for fear of rolling back into other cars (even with the e-brake method). Now, it's natural to me and traffic doesn't bother me at all.

I'm sure you are going to love your car even more once you get more comfortable with it. Just drive responsibly and try not to abuse your new travel companion :-)