I, well, BlackBIRDVQ and a handful of Midwest org members, converted my 4th gen to a 5spd yesterday. My standard transmission experience is on par with that of a person who has never driven one so to put it lightly, my technique is in dire need of refinement. Getting the car to move is a royal PITA. In first gear, I have a fair bit of torque (the car is pretty well modified) and I find that I either chirp the tires when starting from a stop or I stall the car.

For instance, earlier today, I was at a stoplight and managed to stall the car three times in a row. I gave up on first gear, started in second and went on my way. Even then, the initial movement was jerky.

My question is, how can I stop this? When I have the car moving, I do not have any problems shifting. Here is how I am shifting now:

1. Depress clutch
2. Shift into gear
3. Let the clutch out (do not know the friction point very well yet)
4. Goose the gas a bit
5. Release the clutch all the way
6. Stall/jerk

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

you may be letting the clutch out too quickly. i actually just started driving manual as well and my first 2 steps are the same but i would do:
3. let out the clutch to around catching point
4. put foot on gas just to maintain low rpms
5. slowLY ease off the clutch while depressing the gas
6. don't stall/jerk (although i'll be honest, i have once so far on the first day driving)

 

How about starting while on an incline? Same steps but with faster movements is what I've been advised. I need new, faster feet. And I'm never wearing sandals/flip-flops while driving, ever again.

 

Flip flops are hard to drive in as it is. Even after driving stick for almost two years, driving with those still gives me trouble. Well, just take a day and practice I guess. Get out of traffic, go to a parking lot or something, and learn the friction point. We're really not going to be able to help you all too much over the internet. Try to get someone in the car with you if you still have trouble I guess (after practicing).

 

By the way, check out those M5 driving vids after you get the hand of it - they will teach you EXACTLY what you need to know to drive aggressively safely.

 

Do you have a link handy for those vids?

 

if you have flip flops on, just go bare foot. just practice a lot ty.

 

If it is a steep incline or even a minor one you can use the emergency brake to hold the car. It will take a little coordination to release the brake as you release the clutch to get moving. Just hold your thumb on the release button so you can release the brake smoothly. I'd work first though on getting started smoothly on a level spot.

 

First gear is the hardest. Balance the clutch, try letting out the clutch w/o gas. If you stall or jerk, you're doing it too fast.

 

I can't imagine learning on a Maxima. I learned on my mom's Civic, which only took me about an hour to master 1st gear. First gear is def the only gear you have to work at. Like someone else said go to a empty parking lot and practice shifting into 1st gear. BTW, congrats on the 5 spd swap. Once you master shifting you will never want another autotragic car again.

 

When I teach my friends to drive stick I have them get the car rolling with no gas, if the area is level you should be able to do this without a problem. Using only the friction point can easily get you moving and its the best way to learn how/when to apply gas.

Practice getting the car moving with just the clutch and no gas. Hold the break in and slowly release the clutch until you feel the car want to move. Slowly release the break while still releasing the clutch applying no gas, you should be moving now. Granted this is a slow process, but helps you learn your car the best.

 

i learned that if you are having trouble starting off in first just let your feet off the clutch with no gas at all just letting off the clutch slowly intil the car starts rolling then just let off the clutch and give it gas to start going faster. now trying to do that on an incline is another story. on in incline you have four ways you can do this .

1. never stop at all just keep it in first and keep giving it gas then clutch then gas then clutch you know keep it rolling back and forth never coming to a complete stop.

2.stopping keeping your feet on the brake and clutch while the car is in first and when your ready to move let off the brake quickly giving it some gas to let say 2000 rpms or whatever your car feels good starting smoothly at.

3.trickest of them all. stopping completly with your feet on the clutch and brake while the car is in first gear. let off the clutch and the brake alittle till it feels like it wanna roll. the trick part is you have to push down on the clutch alittle bit more after that so the clutch can keep the car steady while your feet is now completly off brake and is just on the cluth. when your ready to move give it some gas till it starts moving forward then just release the clutch and go.

4. avoid inclines ..

 

I would be inclined to cease starting in 2nd gear as its hard on the clutch. Like others said go to a parking lot and practice.

 

An excellent way to get the friction point down pat is to park on an incline and get the car to stand still using only the clutch and gas.

 

I spent a little bit of time driving around today. With your suggestions, I can now start fine in first gear. However, inclines I still have issues with. Basically, when I start to roll backward, I should release the clutch a little more and give the car some gas, right?

 

right. do it smoothly and slowly so yo udont jerk around

 

Oh please avoid stop lights on hills, its a scary thing.

I have the M5 driving manual videos, I'll post it up tonight on yousendit.
its hard to describe but there is a point when you'll know ok its engaged and you can come off the clutch. Practice is the best way of learning, I stalled so many times in public, on hills at a stop light used to be the scariest thing. I was worried I'd stall, but forget to hit brake, and roll back into the car behind me.

For hill, just give a little more gas like to 1.5K when letting the clutch out, you'll need it to fight the hill.

 

please post that vid i always save it then delete it somehow. and tht practice makes almost perfect. this was my practice spot along with just going out there just driving

 

Good for you for learning stick! I plan on doing this someday, maybe when my auto tranny dies...unfortunately where I live its very hilly...

 

When I first learned how to drive a stick my brother taught me in his S2000. That car is difficult to learn in, but one of the things he told me was too:

1. Leave car in neutral
2. Push clutch in
3. Very slowly let the clutch out
4. Feel for when the clutch just kind of pops out

When you have a feel for where the pedal pops out at you, put it in 1st slowly let out on the clutch as it beginning to force itself out give it some gas and you'll be rolling in no time. The Maxima is really easy to drive in 5spd, even easier than the 91 Eclipse I had, due to the torque of the VQ.

Downtown where I live there is a nasty hill, I mean NASTY even my automatic rolls backwards on it. I remember in my Eclipse I was scared to death I dumped the clutch at 2.5K just so I know I wouldn't roll into the guy behind me. It's a piece of cake now, just get your timing down and you'll be fine

 

I wish I had the money for a 5 speed swap, stuck with driving an auto for now.

Then again, if I did do a swap like that, I would no longer be able to do other things while driving (eat, drink, flip off ricers, etc).

Choices, choices...

 

learning stick driving on a maxima is a breeze... but do yourself a favor & always take off the flip flops when driving, or any other pair of shoes with any kind of weird heel on them.
keep practicing, practicing, practicing...anyone can learn to kick a** on a stick! good luck.

 

I haven't driven a stick since I learned how back in November, but I remember it not being that hard. I also learned on my aunt's 6-speed Miata. She started me off on an incline...in a diagonal parking spot. So I had to master reverse and inclines all just to start the learning process. So for me inclines and 1st gear were pretty easy after that. Never made it out of 3rd gear though since it was just a parking lot.

God I miss it though...wish my Max was manual. So much more fun...

 

You can still do all those things when driving a manual...people make it sound like you're shifting gears all the time and your hands are occupied all the time, but they're not.

 

its still as easy. Many times I've been eating, changing cds , on the phone, adjusting volume, and lane merging with one knee. Fortunately I do this very rarely and its usually when I'm driving long distance in pretty much a straight line.

 

I commuted in LA traffic for over 10 years in stick and never bothered me. Think of making a left turn from stop while on the phone, watch on coming cars and pedestrians, and shift in to second like walking and chewing gum at the same time. Not very safe, but it's done 1000's of time everyday.

 

i don't think that driving with sandals is all that hard. i have an automatic, but i drove my friends gti that was stick all through upstate ny because i'm better with directions, plus he's lazy.....

 

kinda funny i saw this, becuause starting yesterday, i began to teach my 22 year old cousin, amanda to drive standard....below is exactly what i advised her to try after a long while of stalling/squealing the tires:

you just have to find where the engagement point is on your clutch pedal...after you get used to finding that, it is cake...

 

i got a manual last month, it was hard first time but now i have no problems,
all i can add is that if you are about to stall just press the clutch pedal, then relese it
while giving little more gas(1.5 rpm), clutch is your friend.
on a hill i release the clutch fast, while pressing gas at the same time(so there is no roll back), then there is a point where the gears engage and you good to go.

 

This is how I taught my brothers and sister to drive stick, for some reason this works in most Nissans, Sentra's, Z's etc.
The most important thing is to pay attention to your left foot, don't worry about the right foot until you got the left down.

 

I dont feel like reading all the other responses, so I don't know if this has been mentioned, but try these two things:
1. Try starting on a DECLINE, so you don't have to worry about the car rolling backwards, and the car is already going in the right direction.
2. Get on perfectly level ground, and try to engage first gear without using ANY gas. Let up the clutch as slowly as you can, and you will eventually find the engagement point. If this doesn't work, try on a mild decline.

 

Stalled out once today. I need to convince my left leg to slow the F down and my right leg to wake the F up.

 

You'll get it. Don't worry so much on the gas, think of that as auto tran. Is the clutch adjusted right? Could it be set either too low or too high?

 

Well, the initial engagement doesn't start until I release it about 2". I originally thought it was closer to 1" but this morning, I had to let it out more than that. You tell me if it's off

 

hey tht-

you can tell around where the engagement point is. just put the car in first and hold the brake down. slowly let up and you'll notice a point where the rpm's drop. that's around the catch point.

 

No, 1 inch would be too high IMO. Closer to 2 inches is about right. Don't pay attention to how far, pay attention to the feel.

 

Yeah, the engine sorta struggles until I goose the gas a little. I need to work on my coordination w.r.t. releasing the clutch and giving the car gas.

 

Released too quickly will do that. Have a little patience, you'll get it down.

 

So do I give it gas as soon as the initial engagement point is reached?

 

yes, as soon as you feel it grab.. then as you give it gas.. let out the clutch fully