just curious, i drive a 90 auto and i love the some what smooth ride, i cant drive stick, at least not yet, but when i buy a newwer max 97-99, i just might want the 5speed, but i am not sure how the ride will be.. is it smooth when u shift or jerky? or does i t just depend on how you drive? thanks for some comments...

 

Q. How is the ride in a manual?
A. It's faster

Actually, you can drive a manual as smooth as an auto. It's all up to the driver...

 

shift_jerky

 

depends if you have an ACT or stock clutch

act grabs like mad and chatters when engaging, stock is silky smooth, but not anywhere near the grip

 

its really all about the driver. averagly a 5speed is rougher with jerkey shifts, but thats just for more power, if shift at lower rpm's and grab the clutch well it can shift just as smooth as an auto, sometimes on my uncles prelude i dont even feel the shift at all.

 

I think the Maxima 5 speed is a hard car to drive (shift) smoothly. But as you get used to the car you should be able to drive it pretty smoothly. The 5 speed is well worth it though

 

Ditto, it took me a year. But wait, here's some advice: find a rhythm between depressing the clutch and actually shifting gears and then letting the clutch go again. This helped me quite a bit.

RL

 

i find that masturbation actually helps my shifting skills

 

stick control, just don't put your thumb on the top

 

The 5-speed is harder to learn to shift smoothly because the engine revs so quickly. Its hard to engage the clutch at the right rpm. Practice makes perfect tho. If you shift at low rpms the shifts are smoother. 1st gear is geared very low, so you can rev high before you shift into 2nd. That's where I have the most trouble driving the car. After I'm in 2nd, the rest is easy.

 

compared to other manual cars i have driven, i'd say the maxima is harder to drive that other cars.

i think the synchros on the maxima isn't all that great, so you basically have to rev match perfectly to get a good smooth shift.

also, first gear can be made to be very jerky and must be feathered for smoothness.

 

I disagree about these comments about the ACT. When someone rides in my car for the first time (in the back), they almost always comment that they thought I was driving an automatic. Hell, I've even had three people tell me my automatic transmission is "very smoothe".

 

The whining sound in first and second gear can sometimes drive u nuts...

 

i totally agree
this is one of the stupidest "normal" sounds i ever heard.

also sin, whats up with your passengers?
don't they see a stick shift?
doesn't matter how smooth anyone drives...it is still different from auto.
the shifts are so much slower during normal driving, and there's a pause.
im assumming you don't speed shift during normal driving.
even if you just listen you can hear the difference.

 

The compliment I remember when I was driving a few people in the back of my car was:

"This car is so smooth even though its a stick. It doesn't feel jerky at all."

 

I only get that in reverse.

 

actually im *****ing about my differential bearings problem lol

 

Don't ask me man, that's what they said. It's really hard for me to describe, but I REALLY REALLY care about driving as well as possible. Perfect rev matched heel and toe downshifts are like instant thalamus stimulation for me. I simply love driving well. Heck, I just got in from a 1/2 hour cruise where all I was doing was consistently repeating about 120km/h in 4th to 40km/h in 2nd heal and toe downshifts to setup for corners.

As for driving "normally", I've even been commented by stick shift drivers by just how seemless my shifts are. Although I'm sure all this means didly squat to you guys.

Man, all this talk abou rev matchin, heel and toe downshifting, just makes me all anxious about this summer when the RIM folk are going to rent MoSport for one Sat. We did this not too long ago, and it was AWESOME! I got to drive my best friend's uncle's 2002 M3 (too bad for the nasty kinda mustardy yellow though EWW). Man can that thing motor. I can still remember my shock at the words he said to me right after a run. "C'mon Sin, I know you can push it harder than that" with a big smile on his face. That thing is just a beast. Too bad the car likes to be slightly sideways to get the fastest times. It's fun at first, but after a while, you think you can go faster if you don't, but you're wrong. This summer, I want to see if the big guys at RIM with their Dinan M5's with 600hp, and 11 second C5 vettes, and supercharged NSX's, and modded Supras will let me take 'em for a run. I've already run a bone stock NSX, a bone stock C5, and a bone stock TT Supra before, so these should be even more fun. I think I need to calm down, I'm about to have a cargasm, lol.

 

hey, i believe your driving skills are good if you can seamlessly drive a stick max.

i was just commenting on the ignorance (no offence) of the passengers if they can't tell an auto from stick.

i can tell a manual car from an auto from outside, just driving beside someone, let alone from inside the car...

anyways bro...you'll have to show me that heal toe shifting sometime, i find it hard to do the way the pedals are set up in the max.

 

If you're in the Toronto area, no problem. You'll just have to wait for my exams to finish It's pretty easy, I just basically put the ball of my right foot on the brake pedal, start breaking, then clutch in, then angle my heel towards the gas pedal, you don't actually use your heel, atleast I don't. half way between the heel and the other side of the ball of the foot, is the part of my foot that I use to depress the gas pedal. And to get the modulation right, it's kinda like a rotation of your ankle. When the revs are blipped to the rpm you want, just let the clutch out, and it should be totally smooth. About the only thing you should notice is the change in sounds you are hearing from the engine. The deceleration force should be smooth. I remember back when I wasn't too good at it, it wasn't very fun. But once you get it, it's AWESOME.