I am hoping to buy a 5 speed max in july. I have no experice, how long did it take you to learn to drive manual? Should I take a course to drive manual before a I buy the car or is it a waste?

 

This max was my first manual car. It only took a few days before I could drive it reliably without stalling and or getting whiplash, but even after driving stick for almost a year I am still learning new things every day.

I'd suggest you find someone with a 5spd beater and buy them lunch if they let you drive it around a little. It's real easy to learn the basics of driving stick, but it takes some time to learn all the subtleties of smooth clutch engagement, smooth shifting, and especially downshifting. I read a real helpful article that someone posted here a while ago, I'll try and dig it up.

 

Same here, i will be buying a 5 speed max this summer and cant drive stick very well either. I have had a little bit of practice on my uncle's BMW. So if i had to i could drive one, but i am still a little jerky with starts. But i dont know how i am going to test drive the car? I dont want to make a fool out of myself by f in up the guys clutch. I guess i really need to get more practice so i can test drive the cars i look at...

 

my brother drove my car on the test drive

 

LOL reminds me of the time I went looking for my first car with my dad (1992) - it was a 1985 VW Polo (I lived in England)
He stalled it about 10 times when he was test driving it. We swapped seats, and I'd been driving like a typical learner driver - exactly by the book, hands at 10 and 2 O Clock... and I showed him up pretty good.

It's all about practice - I'm teaching my wife to drive stick right now - and she's still struggling a bit with starting out, and knowing when to down shift, so when I drive, I tell her exactly what my feet are doing and when I'm using the clutch/brake.

e.g. "clutch down, shift from 3 to 2 clutch up slowly - feel the biting point, engage the clutch fully..now I'm braking.."

JeffersonM has a good idea - if you're not a very competent stick driver, you may not notice a sloppy clutch or bad shifts, so may end up buying a damaged car. take an experienced driver with you to the test drive - that way they'll know what a clean shift should feel like, and they'll get a good feel for the clutch condition etc.

 

Same prob. here.
How funny would that be?
"Hi, I'd like to buy a manual Maxima, sure I'd like to test drive it"

*bangjerkclutchsputterjerk*

"Boy it's great, but can I buy that one over there?"

 

Here are some tips:
1. When clutch goes out, gas goes in. When gas goes in, clutch goes out. Always try to remember this scissor motion.
2. At slow speeds (parking, etc..) use the gas to hold the engine at low RPMs and use the clutch to move the car. Do not hold the clutch in a stationary position and use the gas to move the car.
3. Practice shifting with the car off. You want to be able to disengage the clutch shift and get back on the gas in one fast fluid motion.
4. Maxima has a funny 3rd gear. Learn it.
5. Figure out the clutch engagement point. You can do this by parking in a level area. Pull the handbrake. Step on the clutch and shift in to 1st. Very very slowly let the clutch out while watching the tach. At a certain point the tach will drop. That's when the clutch and the flywheel first touch. That is when you can move the car. The more you let out the clutch, the more clamping force there will be. Note: Don't let the clutch out fast or fully engage the clutch with this excercise. The car can jump forward or stall. This excercise is just so you can figure out the enagement point of the clutch. After you figure this out. Find yourself a small hill and try to keep the car stationary on it withou using any brakes. Just use the clutch and the gas. Keep the RPMs as low as possible to occomplish this feat.

ZuM

 

Thats not a bad idea. I could take someone that knows how to drive stick well and let them drive it and tell me what they think of the shifts, clutch, ect.

 

seems like its all been said...just find a friend that can teach you. it wont take long to learn and you'll like it better in the long run...that is if you like driving.

 

Right on. I figured even if I could drive the stupid thing without stalling or butchering the clutch, I wouldn't have enough experience with a manual to know if the transmission felt okay, clutch gripped okay, etc., so I just sat in the passenger seat and salivated.

 

I tought my idiot of an ex-wife to drive stick in 4 hours in a 1989 mustang gt, she drove it to work the next day by herself. If you dont have a choice it the learning process goes much quicker.

 

I agree fully. I wanted to learn and after a shameful session with my pops in an 84 prelude, I eventually just bought a 5-speed and had to learn to get around. I spent a little time in the neighborhood, probably after an hours worth I was braving the city streets.

I'd definitely take someone else to test drive the car. My dad test-drove my acura. It was amusing to see him do a hard-braking-for-alignment test and a couple other clutch-related tests that might not need to have been done (shift @ high RPMs, quick shifting, etc) because he's like the most mild-mannered, quiet, easy-driving guy I know.

Then again he did own a 240Z back in the day...

 

i got my max without knowing how to drive stick...just in theory
i stalled twice on the way home..and took abot a week to get rid of the jerkiness.
i say the main thing...keep the rev's above 1k at all times.
when learning...people seem to be nervous...not wanting to press the gas too much...and letting out the clutch fast.
doing that will stall for sure. when learning...its ok to rev to 2k to launch and as you get better you'll launch at 1k because you will have the ability to properly regulate the gas and clutch.
only way to learn is practice.
if you have good coordination...i say just get the car and learn...if you're not that quick of a learner...maybe take some standard transmission driving classes and ruin their car instead

 

my dad knows how to drive stick so he can test it. But my unlce has a land rover defender in manual and is that a good car to learn on?

 

I learned how to drive stick when i was 14. This girl i knew took the keys to her moms car and asked me to go pick her boyfriend up from summerschool. We made it there and back without smoking the clutch so im guessing i was a natural. I hope you have the same luck as i did. Any experience you can get driving a manual will help you, the maxima has a hydrolic clutch so it may be alittle different than what u learn on but the concept will still be the same.

 

aight, I guess will try to borrow my uncles car for a few hours. thanks for the help