Ok, does anyone have passengers (gfs or wives mostly I'd assume) that complain about how the car isn't as smooth as an automatic? My previous car was an auto ('95 Honda Accord V6), which also had a softer suspension set up (don't feel the bumps in the road as much), and now that I have the 6sp, my gf complains that it's not as smooth. I tried to explain to her that a manual will never be as smooth as an auto simply because a human can't make a perfect shift 100% of the time (and if you say YOU can, you're lying...).

Also, I know that the Max is a powerful car, it's hard to be super smooth with it. For example, even though the shifts themselves can be smooth, when you're accelerating, then take your foot off the gas to switch gears, the passenger's body lunges forward a little because of the abrupt decrease in throttle. I can see this slight "lunging" in my peripheral vision.

Anyhow, does anyone else have a similar situation? Or am I alone on this?

 

i had the same problem in the last 5 speed i had, but it was a jeep wrangler
you are right, it will NEVER be as smooth even for the best driver. there will always be that split second decrease in speed/jerk during shifting.

 

Tell them to stop *****ing or get out and walk.

Also, there should not be that noticable a 'jerking' unless you need more practice and/or need to lay off the throttle a bit. I am not saying 100% perfect shifts, but if you have passengers who don't appreciate being 'jerked around', it is up to you to drive the car more smoothly.

 

but there is NO WAY to have a completely smooth shift with a manual!!!
and tell them it is better then walking

 

Ok, good, I'm not alone. I'm not talking about "riding the bronco" jerking that a rookie would make, but rather the sometimes noticeable jerk in the lower gears (neutral-1 and 1-2 mostly). Of course if I granny shift and slip the clutch like a madman, it would eliminate virtually all of the jerks, but the clutch life would go down the tube.

And I agree with JT--you cannot have a completely smooth shift ALL of the time. When I'm driving home and I'm tired, I may not pay attention just as much as when I'm fresh, and so may end up letting the clutch out too quickly/too soon, or something like that. However, I also don't think that peeps should ***** about it, and it's always people that don't drive stick--the ones that drive stick don't say anything to me cause they know it comes with the territory.

 

try shifting early. I shift at like around 1500 to 2000 RPMS and have little problems with jerking. but I also drive like a grandpa. I just like to take care of my baby and not rev the engine. Its my very first new car. hehe. but like i said, dont try to let the tach rev too high. higher the rpms, more jerking there is on shifting

 

Gotcha.

Just a side note....you may want to evaluate this relationship right now. If she is complaining about something this small, I would not want to be you over the next 5-10 years or more. Just a thought.

 

Nah man, it's not like she *****es me out for it, but rather complains once in a while when she comes up to visit (she's in NYC and I'm in Boston for the time). It's not a big issue, but it happened this weekend, so I just wanted to make sure I'm not alone.

 

tell her to buy you another maxima. auto this time so you can drive that one when she comes and visit.

 

, I'll see if I can get that idea by her! She's in law school right now, so I already told her that the first big purchase will be an M5 for me (she doesn't drive at all, so it would be for me),

Let's just hope the economy cooperates by then!

 

Ah!!

 

...but my g/f made a comment about my Maxima this weekend. We were driving my 2000 Explorer (new station / upgraded beater car) and because the gas mileage is so horrific (12 MPH ) I bearly take it over 2000 RPMs. I said "Isn't this a nice smooth ride?" She replied "Yes, the Maxima makes me nauseous"

I will admit, when ever I drive my Maxima it's usually at red line in every gear so not as smooth as she would like it.

But to answer your question, you cannot drive stick as smooth as an auto without killing your clutch - however it is much more tolorable when you are in the driver's seat than a passenger.

 

Tell her in some asian countries the women walk 10 paces behind the men... then tell her to drive her car behind you wherever you go and she won't feel a bump, shift, or jerk.

 

That's a nice beater/station car that you have! I still have the '95 Accord I mentioned earlier that serves this purpose (very reliable though, so I'm not complaining).

As far as being nauseous is concerned, this is how my speech went down...I was talking to a friend of mine who currently has a 2000 Acura TL (auto obviously), and he wanted to drive my Max around the parking lot to just play around with stick shift, and I said to him "you should definitely get your next car in stick", to which my gf replies "babe, no offense, but the stick makes me sick because of the jerking..." . She never said this since the first time I got the car, and was still learning. So this came as a little surprise when she said that, and also sort of embarrased me in front of my friend by making it sound like I can't drive!

Anyhow, I guess all girls are like that--they want to be riding around on a couch!

 

Bro, the funny thing is that she doesn't even have a license yet! She's been procrastinating to the extreme and since she has friends and me that all have cars, I guess it's not that urgent for her. However, she IS supposedly starting up driving lessons in the next few weeks.

She'll definitely need to start driving once she graduates from law school.

 

I would have taken that exactly the same way. However I would have said something like "The jerking makes me sick too...that's why I have you around"