96explorerxlt

Hey guys!

I just picked up my 1999 5 spd that I posted on here about before, and was wondering how to drive stick? LOL. My dad got it home and kinda showed me but i got kinda frustrated after grinding a gear and several rough jerks. I didnt stall it however (must be pretty hard on a maxima). It just frustrates me its not natural and seems rough but I know it has to be easy. Anyone else learn 5 spd that can suggest on here?

Jason

sean96SE

Avoid steep hills with stop signs/lights There's not much to it, you have to drive more and get a feel for the pedals. A few stalls and grinds aren't going to wear out the clutch so don't worry about that. Just remember not to leave the clutch engaged when stopped, don't get in the habit of holding the pedal down when you don't need to. Soon you'll be shifting without having to think about it at all. Congrats on the new ride, now go practice!

abradic

iTrader: (1)

Congratulations! The best thing I can say, is don't overthink it too much. You know you have to let out the clutch and slight throttle. Get to know your clutch by getting on level ground, depress the clutch and go into first, then only use the left foot and just slowly, slowly, let the clutch out until everything engages. Don't be in a panic and let the clutch out fast, but slowly. After a couple times, you should get a feel for what height the clutch is at when everything engages. Then you can start by slowly letting out, and then lightly applying throttle pressure on the gas pedal. Try not to get above 1200-1500 rpm. Trust me, within a couple hours you'll be fine. It will take you a month or two to truly master it and get it down. Start with the basics, and then you can work on your power downshifts as you get more comfortable, but don't be in too much of a rush on that. Also, when you go from first into second, or second to third, etc... the first couple times just let the clutch out slowly and gently and then apply gentle throttle. Feel it all out and then as you get more comfortable, you can start matching and finessing it more. Hope this helps

abradic

iTrader: (1)

BTW, excellent point above. Always go to neutral at stops, and never ever have your foot on the clutch while driving unless you are depressing to change gears. Not doing those two things will ruin your clutch faster than you will need your next oil change!

Push2TheMax

If you do get into the situation that you are on a hill.......let the clutch out just a little bit faster, and keep your acceleration steady. That's the problem I had was an itchy gas foot. that's when the car starts to get all jerky. All in all, don't panic Play around in a parking lot or your neighborhood. Soon you'll be shifting like it's second nature. Once you go 5speed.......you'll never go auto....unless you are in Atlanta traffic.

MaximamixaM

The tough thing is cordinating the movements, especially since the clutch goes through a long range of travel, and the gas pedal little. And the resistances you push against are different. And then for some added fun, rolling backwards on a hill. So go to a parking lot. Do a ton of 1st gear start and stops. Just focus on letting the clutch out S L O W L Y and a light foot on the gas. After that practice some shifting. Then find a tiny hill on the parking lot, and practice your starts. It doesn't take much of a hill, or much time to start rolling backwards... After a while, it becomes "automatic" without thinking.

WHOS UR DADDY

iTrader: (8)

I dont know why students are teaching another student but you had to get the master onto the thread. First off why would you purchase a car that you dont know how to drive , pass it along to meeeeeeee. But if you insist on keeping it, go out to a fancy restaurant and get yourself a valet job, youll be making money while learning on other peoples cars. You will learn it in a jiffy and the max wont have to suffer (repairs are expensive). Maxima is one of the easy clutches unlike the BMWs, Porches, Vipers, Ferraris that you will drive while valeting, so once u get those down, u wont even notice the difference between autos and sticks. As for the comment quoted above, u can hold down the clutch if you choose to do so but only if you hold it completely to the end cause thats the same as neutral. The clutch only burns if theres friction and that only happens if u hold it anywhere in between . Take it from one that knows, if any of you go home on the BQE during rush hour u will know that i am knowledgeable in this sector, and the boy is complaining about atlanta traffic

sean96SE

hmmm, interesting...

well regardless, I would still say avoid the clutch pedal unless you're shifting gears... since you're just learning.

ohannon7

iTrader: (5)

How much did you pay, mileage, trim, so on and so forth..........

Good luck w/ the stick it'll come w/ time and practice!!!

JJmax

I'm sure he's always wanted a 5 spd but neither of his parents had one to practice on. I had this problem too but got a little practice on my friends cars. So when i went to test drive a 5 spd, i didn't look like a total fool, just a little bit of one when getting into first. just keep practicing.

BOSS

took me 2 days to learn how to drive stick, honestly. It was 7 years ago on my dad's work car - that is, an 87 Toyota Corolla hatchback. I was 15 at the time so you should have no trouble.

Anyway, like someone here already mentioned, you shouldn't really think much about what you're doing. If you do, and that's how it was with me, you'll mess up, stall it, jerk, etc. It should be very natural - focus on driving the car, moving it forward, and not so much about ....

"...hmmm... ok, let foot off gas pedal, foot on clutch, change gear, foot on gas pedal again, foot on clutch... WRONG!!! DAMMIT, what's going on??!!!! GRRRRR!!!!!!!!

good luck

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

No, sean96SE was right. Although holding down the clutch pedal at a stoplight will result in no wear on the clutch plate itself (the point of contact), you are still putting pressure on the throwout bearing, so you are indeed putting wear on a part of the clutch.

Holding down the clutch pedal is NOT equal to being in neutral!

If you are stopped at a stoplight for any length of time, you should shift to neutral and let out the clutch fully.

BTW, hi Jason, we talked on AIM, and believe me, you're not alone. I'm getting the hang of my 5-speed but it's still tough and I'm not very smooth at shifting yet. Last week I was stopped on a steep hill and stalled because I was nervous with an SUV right on my bumper, the fxcker. Started it up again and chirped/jerked the hell outta there, haha. Bruised my confidence pretty badly. My best advice is to STAY AWAY from rush hour traffic until you get some one-on-one time with the clutch pedal in a deserted industrial park or somewhere else with smooth empty roads. Hang in there, we'll be pros in no time.

Good reference: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch2.htm

WHOS UR DADDY

iTrader: (8)

I dont use the clutch for anything except first or reverse, Its something called "power-shifting" where u take the shifter out of the gear at the right time and insert in the next gear without grinding and without using the clutch, that comes with EXPERIENCE! Its amuzing how 17 year olds get their first car and within a month give lessons on how to drive stick, AMETUERS! I got my car brand new in 96 with a factory 5spd, remember 1996 sean, u were about 9 still drawing cars in 4th grade and couldnt even spell MAXIMA, since then i have 8 years and a lot of miles on the same factory clutch. You're right, "a few stalls or grinds wont wear out the clutch" but they will ruin the teeth in your gears and ultimately you will have to rebuild your trans, but you probably knew that (sarcasm). Learn from the best or be like the rest.

Sean if you want to teach other people how to drive stick, why not master it yourself first, initialize by studying this guy

Push2TheMax

Quote:
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Originally Posted by Certified Beast
As for the comment quoted above, u can hold down the clutch if you choose to do so but only if you hold it completely to the end cause thats the same as neutral. The clutch only burns if theres friction and that only happens if u hold it anywhere in between . Take it from one that knows, if any of you go home on the BQE during rush hour u will know that i am knowledgeable in this sector, and the boy is complaining about atlanta traffic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who's the "boy" ?

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

LMAO @ Certified Beast.

OK, do you have any advice for "power-shifting" or can you provide a link that describes it more in-depth? How did you learn it? What is the technique?

I'm very, very skeptical that power-shifting is not hard on the tranny.

venompwr2

iTrader: (27)

So actually based on what you just said, not going in neutral and pressing in the clutch other times than when not shifting gears will not harm the clutch.

WHOS UR DADDY

iTrader: (8)

the "boy" is the person who was complaining about atlanta traffic.

Masaccio - before u laugh at anyone, u should learn a bit more about manual trans through actual driving and not websites, although animations were fun in grade school, some of us matured past that, its now obvious others have not . U seem to talk a lot of **** for someone who still p!sses in his pants when a car comes up behind him on a hill. How bout u keep ur comments to urself until u learn how to pull off without a stall , that should give us a few months on this thread without ur name appearing. If u need private lessons, contact your local driving school, for the basic definition "power-shifting" is not hard on ur tranny at all if u do it right. When you accelerate, u let go of the gas and at that point u take it out of the gear and with the right timing slide it into the next gear. Its something that is hard to explain, just picked it up when driving at skip barber. ANYMORE QUESTIONS OR WISEA$$ COMMENTS?

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

LMGDMFAO!

Certified - The two-sentence explanation would have sufficed, but thanks for all the personal attacks, they're hilarious. Talk about "grade school"...

billy_corgan

learning a 5-speed on a maxima is tough

MaxxAddict

Why do you say that? I learned on my maxima. Didn't seem that difficult at all.

Push2TheMax

I learned on a Civic....talk about difficult. They have really short clutch movement, I'm so glad Max's have a longer clutch.

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

I learned last month on my gf's Civic, which had a really high friction point that made learning hard for me. The Maxima is actually easier to drive and shift *but* it's taking longer for me to get a feel for the clutch for some reason. It's hard for me to get a smooth start in 1st and shift to 2nd.

sean96SE

Man you've got to be joking! seriously

The first car I ever drove was a 5sp, when I was 14... owned 5speed cars since I was 15. And that's not much to brag about, there are plenty of members with more driving experience than that on these boards. If you check my DOB (in profile), you'll see I learned stick in ~'95. You can "power shift" and thats fine with me, I was just offering some more practical advice for a beginner.

We're all proud maxima owners here, no need to hand out all the insults.

BTW, nice ride I checked out your page.

WHOS UR DADDY

iTrader: (8)

Aint no jokes, some people just dont know their place. Just cause we own maximas, doesnt make us all family. Kids that just learned why theres a third pedal in the car shouldnt be correcting people on stick shift driving. Appreciate ur comment on the car, but like i said, doesnt make us all friendly.

minsbang

just keep driving and sooner or later, you'll get it.

SinisterPR

You know, it must be harder to pick it up later in life. I have been driving a stick since I was 10 years old on an old farm truck. And that was without any level ground to play with. 10 years old and it took me about...20 minutes before my dad trusted me to do it fine. And ever since then, it has just been pure pleasure in a stick. And rush hour traffic, hahaha...try rush hour up hill in a 12000 pound 12 speed dump truck, that will teach you to get confident real fast...or pay for a lot of people's cars when they pull up too close. Oh and if you are wondering about rolling back on someone, they are supposed to give you 15 feet to be able to roll back from a dead stop, so they would have to pay for your bumper if you roll back onto someone's hood. Manual is easy, auto is lazy.

Sinister