so yeah im 16 and i'm paying for half of my maxima that i'm planning on this summer. i found this deep blue 5spd 1995 max close by but my mom says she dosent trust me with a stick.. but that's some major booboo.. i have to settle with an auto"magic"... haha..

but anyways, is it THAT bad to get an auto? i mean i dont really want to get into serious races, all i want to do some simple mods on the engine (hey, i've gotta stay competitive), along with a lotta styling mods.

 

You have to tell her straight out. "I'm not a little boy no more. I want to be able to play with my stick whenever I want to." If not, you'll never be able to call yourself a 'man'


p.s. get a stick, get a stick, get a stick, get a stick--you'll regret it if you don't

 

hey... stop trying to corrupt my young impressionable mind..

 

i made that mistake...i still love my car to death and it's still quick, but there is no comparison to the 5sp, aside from slightly better gas mileage. do what you can to talk her into letting you get it! have you test drove both yet? do whichever you like better and let mom know which you really want. tell her you'll be safer because you're more aware of your speed in a standard too. goodluck!

 

That is some BS man. Getting an auto is not going to stop you from goin out and doing whatever your mom doesnt trust you doing with the 5spd. Talk with your mom and go for a 5spd.

 

I'd have to agree with that.
I love my car but i'm still not completely happy, one of the main things being the automatic transmission.. I live in NYC and there is a lot of traffic here, but as time went on and i drove more and more stickshift cars and got a hang of it.. i really feel like i'm driving the car everytime i drive one now.. it's not even the speed factor, but more of the fun and pleasure thing..
Well... the speed factor is there too I met up with NYC GXE tonight and he took me for a spin in his 5 speed 98 around the back roads.. feeling the car move from the passanger seat, along with the 2nd - 3rd tire chirp and the growl of the intake i nearly stained my pants and his seats.. It's really a big difference, especially in a car like a maxima.. Don't make that mistake and hold over for what you want so you don't regret it later on like I do often....

 

If you're young and are going to beat up a car, you're doing to do it regardless of whether or not it's a manual or auto. That's why I don't really get that line of parental reasoning. I guess it's technically a little easier to lose control of the car in an extreme situation, but really, manuals enhance control in just about every situation provided you have some experience with manuals.

I like manuals not so much for speed, but for control and enjoyment. Tell your mom it'll have you paying a lot more attention to the road in general

 

Get a stick, otherwise you'll regret it.

 

Try to market the "5-spd" idea from the safety/control angle. Suggest to your Mum by saying you'll have more control over your driving (eg. with engine braking when you gear down). Also if you're driving manual, you have to pay attention to your driving so much more than in an auto so that should make your driving safer too.

Where I am, it snows in the winter. I love my manual for the control over the gear selection to reduce wheelspin through snow/slush.

Good luck!

p.s. Damn, I love screaming around in my 5-spd!!

 

i looked for my 4th gen max with one thing in mind...5-SPEED. the other options were a moot point. although i did get lucky and found one with the color and most options that appealed to me. i can honestly say that it is the best thing IMHO that the max has to offer. it doesnt get any better than having full control of the VQ. my .02

 

Get a stick, im 17 and I got an auto, regreted it ever since. I never thought id ever get in serious races, but I did. Im gonna do a 5 spd conv someday!

 

if you do get an auto, do not manual shift it. Put it in drive and go. Trust me from experience, I -3gs cuz of manual shifting and being hard on the tranny.

 

I have to agree with everyone, 5-spd is definitely fun, love mine. Get it if you are capable of driving a stick. On the other side of things, I would rather see a lot of people driving on the road using an automatic than a stick, cause they can't drive 5-spd worth a damn, and it's dangerous for other driver. Some people are born with the hand-eye-leg coordination, some people just aren't that way, never had, never will.

 

Your max wont be cool unless its a 5 spd. Its just a granny car otherwise jk
There's just more control with a 5spd, and they ARE quicker.

If you really cant get the manual, theres stuff you can do to the auto tranny like the VB mod, etc, to make it shift harder like a 5spd, but its just not the same.

 

well your mom not letting you get a stick is gay, but dont stress over it to much. i am also 16 and just bought a max like 3 weeks ago,and much like you I wanted a stick, but couldnt find one for a good price, but my max is still quick and i love it. granite i do wish i had a manual, but the auto is not that bad, still quick, still a max

 

the maxima has recieved one of the 10 best engines for the past 7 or so years. the only weak link about it is its automatic transmission. tell your mom that the 5spd is alot less prone to breaking down and stuff like that.

 

Uh oh, that's what I do when I'm stuck driving my '96 Acura 3.2TL. I'll sometimes shhift from D4 to D3 when I want to slow down & look for that extra torque over a wider rpm range. How does ahifting an AT stress out the car?

 

go for the automatic, those r tight.

 

Just do what I did with my first car. Tell them that if you get an automatic, you'll end up shifting it yourself anyway, which will break the tranny, and then theres the repair cost. Worked for me....

 

If I'm a parent and my 16 year old comes up to me and tell me that. Then I'd say "Well, you really shouldn't be driving anyway then. Take the bus!"

 

I miss driving stick....


































sometimes...

 

hey.. thanks i was loosing confidence.. i called my uncle and asked him he said that its basically down to preference.. and its easier to control (like you guys said) so imma make a list of arguements and try to cut her off sometime next week .

people also tell me that it's a pain in the *** in traffic.. and i live in LA (traffic being miserable). would it be tiring in traffic? or hard to drive up and down hills?

this week shes really busy.. if i bring up the car again, shell get mad.. getting her mad wont help at all. lol

 

ok to get an auto?! ok to get an auto?! do u see people switch from 5 speed to auto?! no no no!! 5 speed all the way, or you'll end up like me having to spend 2,000 dollars because u were unfortunate to get the big black shlong. Serious driver or not, stick is for everyone....

the funny thing is that i am converting to stick, but never drove the 4th gen maxima 5 speed...just hate auto so bad and love maxima's so much, i'm going to straight switch to stick without any testing....

 

If I was 16 and my parents were going to pay for half a Max, I'd take whatever I could get! My first car when I was 17 (legal driving age in England) was a 953cc (just under 1.0 Liter) 1982 VW Polo - sold over here as the Fox. It had a 4 speed manual transmission and was a piece of crap - but I learned the value of saving for your own car and really appreciated the upgrade to a 91 Toyota MR2 GT when I joined the RAF and could afford to buy toys.

Stick vs. Auto - depends on your driving style - are there any curves there in NY where you can really use the stick? I guess there must be at least a cloverleaf or two that's worth having the stick for. Tell them that the experience with a stick will put you in a good position should you ever have to resuce a bus load of schoolchildren in a bus with a bomb in it or something....