Tap the gas to match the revs when down-shifting. Let the revs drop when you're up-shifting/skipping gears. Kinda hard to explain, I learned to drive that way.

I skip gears all the time, especially when I'm granny-ing it around town. 2nd gear in this car is a PITA unless you're shifting around 4k and higher for whatever reason. I've had my 6MT for nearly two years, no issues thus far with my driving habits and my car feels as good as it did when I bought it.

 

I had read not to do this unless I was suicidal...

 

to quote the band Widespread Panic, "time to... LIVE IT UP" ! ! !

 

What? I can't think of an easier way to avoid rolling back quickly ad efficiently than using the hand brake.

 

Or just be really quick at engaging the clutch I think I've been driving MT for way too long. I could be on a really steep grade and barely roll back and get moving.

 

No no! I don't mean hold the car still with the clutch. That would indeed be a horrible idea. Hold it still with the brake, then when you're ready to go, start feathering the clutch, just enough to not roll back, then move your right foot over to the gas and resume as normal. Sorry if my first post wasn't clear. It made sense in my head.

And yea, you can skip gears, but it's not a good idea when you're still learning how to drive a manual tranny.

 

Re: skipping gears.. Just let the rpm's fall enough so you're at the proper engine speed for the gear you're skipping to. I see nothing wrong with this so long as it's done properly. My old camaro, under normal driving would force a 1-4 shift. Eventually I took care of this so I could shift it into any gear at any time.

As for inclines, practice practice practice. Once you get a good feel for where the clutch starts to grab, hold the brake with just enough force to keep the car from rolling back, then quickly shift your foot to the throttle. I can do this relatively well, but some inclines still screw me up.

Finally, if this is your first manual car, you picked the wrong one to learn on. The 08 or 09 I test drove had a very late clutch take up, almost at the end of the pedal travel (furthest from the floor). I didn't find this much of an issue since my camaro was very similar and required much more effort to depress (by comparison, the g37 clutch was a lightweight). If you're just starting out, the short friction zone coupled with the late take up makes for a steep learning curve to drive stick. The wrx sti I test drove had a much more progressive up take (maybe 2" from the floor), with a much greater friction zone, making it much easier to drive. Of course, as with anything, eventually you'll develop muscle memory and it won't be an issue. The question is, how much wear/tear will you cause your clutch in the process. I don't think i've ever revved any car to 3K rpm to take off unless it was going to be a hard launch. Even then, I prefer to take off normally (with minimal clutch slippage), then once car is 2K or higher, goose the throttle. May not make for the fastest times, but does cause least amount of wear.

If you have any friends that drive manuals, spend some time as a passenger in their car and watch what they do.


Yes when up or down shifting. When upshifting it's relatively easy as you let the rpms fall to be at more or less proper speed for the next gear. Downshifting involves blipping the throttle to RAISE the rpm for the lower gear. If you don't blip, you'll cause more wear on the clutch.

What was the reason you got a manual in the first place? If you find this alot of work and don't want to learn, then an automatic is the better choice for you.

 

Don't make it over complicated. Eventually you wont even have to think about it. The question about skipping gears, I had a 96 Firebird TA with a 6-speed and if you were driving normal it would have you shift from 1st gear to 4th gear by blocking 2nd gear. I guess the car had enough power/torque to do that. Lucky for me that feature was easy to disable. I would recommend running through the gears in order, its more fun that way. If you want a transmission that jumps around different gears all the time, get the automatic.

 

Skipping gears is fine but you should learn to go through them sequentially when you are still learning. Sometimes I get real lazy and go from first to 6th in my 08 s5 =D its got the torque for it... haha

And just practice you basic feathered take-offs and sequential shifts and once you get comfortable with your shift timing and upshift rev matching to the point where you don't even think about it anymore (1 week to a few months - depends on the person), start to learn more advanced techniques like downshift rev matching, launches, double clutching, power shifting, heel-toe yada yada yada.. As a beginner its always best to get your basics and feel down before getting to the fun stuff! Its safer for you and better for your car if you know the basics well.

OP - congrats on the G and props for choosing stick =D

 

dm7, go to an empty parking lot and put the car in 1st and verrrrry slowly let the clutch out (without giving any gas) until you feel the car start to creep. this will help you understand when the gear is catching and help you understand when you should be giving it gas. also, don't try any heel-toe clutching. you should be lifting your leg when you let the clutch out.
don't be afraid to turn off vdc, lol. think of all the cars out there that don't have it!

 

sorry to thread jack, but you raise an interesting point. oddly enough, i "heel toe" off the clutch. i actually looked up youtube clips when i was first starting to drive manual, and the heel toe off the clutch is what i saw -- and therefore, learned; it was appropriate more so because i wear a size 13 shoe! despite, trying to teach my girlfriend how to drive the infiniti, and i realized that her toe + heel wasn't long enough to have on the ground + clutch pedal while she was rowing through the gears + letting off the clutch. she was so frustrated at the fact that she gave up -__-; her shifts are extremely rough. she hates the "pop" right after disengaging the clutch per each shift. thoughts? ADVISE? lol

i've tried letting off the clutch with having my foot on the floor...couldn't! (i pivot my foot off the clutch -- with heel planted).

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but do not believe there is such a thing as heel-toe clutching. Heel-toeing is a racing technique where you use your right heel to blip the gas as you use your right ball of foot to control the brakes.

You can plant your left heel on the floor to get better clutch control towards the friction point but I don't think that is called heel toe ><"

 

Some of you are really over-analyzing this.

OP just drive the car, only experience will teach you what works and what doesn't.

 

100% correct. Practice and experience and its a piece of cake. Hell, I've seen girls do it. Once you get it you will never forget it....like riding a bike but all clutches are a little different and takes a few minutes to get smooth when jumping into different cars.

 

As everyone has already said, practice is the best way to learn. For confidence on hills I definitely recommend going to a parking garage and practicing on the ramps between levels. The steeper the incline the better the practice; I have found that smaller parking garages typically have steeper inclines. A mall parking garage after the mall is closed or any corporate parking garage on the weekends should be empty.