my boyfriend's is, definitely.

 

it's a little touchy, but you have to get used to it, it's not that tough after a while.

 

finding the catching point of your clutch is key. once you find that, you will be considerably smoother. also, release the clutch slowly.

once you get smooth at driving on level ground, try slightly sloped inclines.

 

Finding the catching point of your clutch can be a difficult task. I don't own a Maxima yet but plan on getting one, so I picked up a 5 speed Ford Contour to practice on last year. There's no Tachometer in it so it makes it hard, and the clutch went about 4 months after owning it, but my original owner said he felt like the clutch was about to go... so I wasn't worried about that.

Now, with a new clutch, it almost feels like a very different catching point... same car and all, just new clutch and feels like a huge difference. That is just an example of how it is really dependant on the car for when to take off.

I learned how to drive standard the hard way... didn't get anybody to teach me and just took it out into the city and hoped for luck. Now after a full year of driving stick, I wouldn't have it any other way... Just keep practicing and don't get frustrated... that's all you gotta worry about, everybody will catch on if they want to learn. Practice is really the best advice that can be offered.

 

u need to find nicer friends that will.
the way i learned many years ago was to buy an old car, and take it to flushing muni parking lot late at nite on the 2nd floor. there u have small inclines, and a long straight for u to pretend there is a hill and nice enough to get u into 3rd gear.

my trick was to "learn" where the engagment point was and slip the clutch but do not give any gas. on the max, it is EXTREMELY easy imo to learn as our engagement is not too high.

try driving the matrix xrs (owned for 4 years). that is a tough car to learn to drive stick.

 

I just started driving my Maxima a week ago (my first time driving standard) and I figured it all out in 30 minutes in a parkinglot. My brother, the original Radiohead was quite impressed because he said that Maximas are a PITA to learn how to drive standard in.

Here's some advice that helped me:
1. Starting: Find and know the friction point. It's the point where the RPMs begin to drop and the engine wants to stall. When starting in 1st, let the clutch out to the friction point (but don't stall), hold it there and begin to gas steadily. As the RPMs go up, slowly release the clutch and you should be on your way.

2. On hills, keep your right foot on the brakes and again, slowly let the clutch out to the friction point and hold it there. Now, get off the brakes and begin to gas steadily. Slowly release your clutch so that you stop rolling backwards and begin to roll forward. Once you start moving, gas more and continue to release the clutch. If you gas too much, simply release the clutch slower than usual, otherwise you'll peel out

3. Downshifting: Before you downshift fully, step on the clutch, shift to the lower gear, and release and HOLD the clutch at the friction point so that the RPMs go up without any gas. When you are at an ideal RPM, steadily gas and release the clutch all the way. This should help you downshift more smoothly

You can see how important the friction point is on the clutch. Without knowing it, driving standard can be really tough. Also, remember to release the clutch slowly.

Good luck and have fun! I'm never going back to automatic after driving my Maxima

 

That's part of what makes the VQ so fun. Don't be a puss.

 

okay few things. there is a website called standardshift.com with forums and videos that may help. most people on here are telling you to try the no gas method. do it!!! it works. my buddy said he found it easier to learn barefooted becas he could "feel" what was goin on. so jus find an empty street and practice away. i swear launching is the only hard part once you get going its all good

 

First, like other have said, you need to find the catch point of the clutch. Practice in a large parking lot that is empty on the weekend or after hours.

DO THIS ON LEVEL GROUND, NOT AN INCLINE. Practice lifting your foot off the clutch slowly past the catch point and then pressing it down. Do that several times at a single engine speed...let's say 1000 RPM.

Next, do it again, but raise the RPMs to 1,500, and then again at 2,000 RPMs The reason you do it this way is to learn what happens at different engine speeds.

In other words, you need to first practice letting up and pushing down on the cluth to get the car moving in a straight line on a level roadway but no faster than 20MPH. You do this exercise to understand that you, the driver, has total control of your car via the clutch and gas pedal regardless of engine speed.

You also practice this exercise until you have learned how to depress and raise the clutch slowly and smoothly. Once you have learned that, then the next step is to try shifting from 1st into second, travelling for a short distance, and then downshift from second to first.

Then you learn how to shift from 2nd to third, and back down to second. Then third to fourth, and then back to third.

For the final test in the parking lot on shifting is to shift all through the gears from 1st to fourth and then from fourth to first.

Then you move onto braking using the engine to slow you down, starting with the RPM midpoint for each lower gear, and then and waiting until right before the car begins to stall to depress the clutch and brake. Most first-timers put the transmission into neutral -- orf depress the clutch -- and coast to a stop using only the brake. Not good for the clutch, and not goot for keeping control of the car.

ON the next series, you will take the car up to 30MPH.

 

if you are slowing down you should keep downshifting through the gears one at a time instead of going to nuetral and braking then shifting into a low gear?

 

Well as long as you can rev match what you do doesn't really matter. But personally, if I know I'm going to be stopping soon (like coming up to a red light or stop sign) I'll just slide it into neutral, but if I'm just in traffic and it slows a little I'll drop gears one at a time as necessary.

 

like this, http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...&q=starshifter

is all the downshifting really necessary?

 

Dropping to neutral as you approach a stop sign is actually easier on the car than keeping it in gear, although negligably so. There's no reason you'll need the car in gear approaching a stop sign... it's not as if you'll need an immediate reaction that requires you to accelerate all of a sudden.

 

what about going to 2 for a turn from 5th? its not necessary to shift to 4 3 2 right? i just go 5 -2

 

No. He was just trying to show off. And he really wasn't all that great at double-clutching. It's not that hard to just go from 6th to 3rd or 2nd if you're going slow enough.

Rather eccentric video and rather eccentric man.

 

You can go from any gear to any gear. This isn't a motorcycle

 

The most depressing thing was that he was fumbling around using a pistol grip type shifter. He could be so much faster if he used a ball style...

 

how is it not good for the clutch? i feel like it would be harder on the clutch to downshift through all the gears from 5th to a complete stop rather than shifting into neutral and using the brakes (which are also easier to change).

 

Assuming that there are no other cars, kids, or animals running loose across the roadway, I might agree.

BUT, never say never.

 

I don't have the time to do it, but if you got few minutes to spare try Googling "riding the clutch" and you'll see what I mean.

 

So... if there was something crossing the roadway you would want to accelerate at them?

 

That's completely irrelevant to dropping the car to neutral when coming to a stop.

 

Other than bad grammar in my original post by running together two separate ideas, here's what I originally said: "Most first-timers put the transmission into neutral -- or depress the clutch -- and coast to a stop using only the brake. Not good for the clutch, and not good for keeping control of the car."

I was talking about a car travelling at a fairly high rate of speed, like 35-40mph, and not within stopping distance from a stop sign. The "depressing the clutch" part was in reference to how some newbie shifters will depress the clutch at like 35-40mph and keep their foot on it while using only the brake to come to a complete stop. That's called "riding the clutch" and it leads to premature wear.

The other part -- about putting it into neutral at 35-40mph and using just the brake to come to a stop -- may be great for gas mileage and easy on the feet, but not for maintaining control of the car in the likely event that someone will change lanes right in front of you, and being in neutral may not be the best place you want your tranny to be.

IMHO, I'd rather keep the car in gear until i'm fairly close to where I will actually stop the car...like, about 50 ft. to go.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I kind of agree with MZs point. When in neutral you can still turn and brake. What does accelerating have to do with control of the car when trying to avoid something in front of you?

 

Am I the only one who has had someone literally force you off of the road on your way to a stop light or stop sign, and with another car riding your ***, the ONLY option you had was to accelerate ahead of them?

It happens to me AT LEAST ONCE a day because drivers are constantly jockeying for position to be the first one closest to the stop light, stop sign, or even stopped school bus.

BTW, I only used STOP SIGN in my previous post as an example, and not as a rule.

We have many multi-lane exit ramps coming off the highways, and the MAJORITY of the maneuvering that occurs on those ramps happens right before cars reach the stop light. An open space seems to be an automatic invitation to fill it no matter how far away or close ahead is the freakin' traffic control!!!

You know what happens when you have to make a quick braking maneuver to avoid the idiot who squeezed into the space ahead of you? The guy behind you tries to "teach you a lesson (as if it was your fault)" by seeing how close he can come to your bumper without actually touching it.

Meanwhile, the guy to your right is shadowing you, waiting to pull in behind you to get over to the left turn lane. So, what do I do here?

I give it gas, and take the space to my right just as it is being vacated by the same guy going left to reach the left turn lane. This causes Mr. Leadfoot behind me to speed up and get in front of the guy initially moving left into my lane, and now moving behind Mr. Leadfoot into the nice, comfortable void I left behind me. He is also happy because he can now move into the left-turn lane without much of a hassle.

Moral of the story: keep your gas pedal locked and loaded in rush hour traffic!

For other time periods when traffic is minimal, you may coast to your heart's content.

That is all I have to add on this issue. I'll leave it to the rest of ya to take it from here.

VROOM, VROOM, VROOM...

 

You're not riding the clutch if it is all the way down as u coast to a stop. It is completely disengaged.

 

Yeah they're two different things. But his point is still valid.

 

In some cars, there is actually very minimal contact with the clutch and flywheel when the clutch is all the way down. Thats why its best to keep it in neutral as much as possible.

Also when coming to stop its best to leave it in the gear that it is in already in until you get to about 15-20mph, then pop into neutral, so i've been told. This utilizes engine braking and assists the brakes in stopping the vehicle. When braking in neutral, the brakes are the only things stopping the vehicle.

 

So your saying the car is automatically riding the clutch even with the pedal depressed all the way? Sounds like a pedal adjustment flaw to me.

 

Correct, for many cars. But its a minimal amount. I don't know if the A32 is included in the group or not.