My 1st Manual Camaro. Now what?

[Rogue Leader]

Originally Posted by The Great KJ

THIS IS A FACT. I GOT 83,000 MILES ON MY FIRST SET OF BRAKES WITH MY 87 5 SPEED IROC. I THINK HAVING A STICK GIVES YOU SO MUCH MORE SPEED CONTROL THAT I USED THE BRAKES FAR LESS THAN DRIVING AN AUTO.

KJ

It all depends how you are using those downshifts, and in the end you are likely not doing yourself any service by downshifting to slow down. Just think about it, clutch and brakes are made of basically the same material. So you have 4 big brakes made for stopping the car, or 1 small clutch, not made for stopping the car. And those 4 big brakes are much easier and far less expensive to change.

If there is one thing I learned in racing school it is that you downshift to put yourself into the gear you will need to accelerate out of the next corner. That is why I double clutch all my downshifts. Its smoother, and takes the stress off the clutch. 100k+ on the original clutch on my 99 TA and was still going strong, 160k plus on my current Volkswagen, and 80k plus on my C5.

Much rather save the clutches which take hours and hours and a lot of torture (or $1000 at the dealer) to change, than brake pads which take 30 minutes to do.....

[RadarJammer]

Originally Posted by camaro_corvette

So for a test drive. Would it be common for a person that knows how to drive a stick pretty good, to still kill a car, just because it was their first time driving it and "every car is different"?

You got that right!

Every car has a different "feel" when it comes to the point at which the clutch catches with the flywheel to initiate the turning of the axles.

All I was saying was, that to drive a standard car, u just need some time with it.
Just because you know how to drive, and have experience with a manual, doesn't mean you wont kill another car you drive later.

[linkwpc]

Originally Posted by blackZbandit

As much as I would love to get a stick, traffic in L.A. is so bad my feet/legs get tired driving my auto! Anybody intimately familiar with the 405 will agree!

I fully understand... but its a V8 with 422hp..... you need a stick!

[Camaro_Corvette]

Thanks for the info guys, I've learned alot in this thread.

[CWI]

[QUOTE=garfin;206659]I learned to drive a stick on a 1947 International Harvester Farmall Cub tractor when I was 8 years old.[QUOTE]

I have to admit I learned under very similar circumstances. I was about the same age as you when I learned on a '48 Chevy pickup in a hay field. Then an old Ford tractor and eventually a D2 and D4 Caterpillar, no stalling that unless you're pulling a stump out of the ground.

Originally Posted by camaro5

I understand.

Your tractor jogged my memory, and I remembered I learned to clutch on a Honda Trail 70.

funny, I had one of those too. Crashed on a gravel road doing 50mph, not fun. Those folding handlebars had a weak spot at the bottom bend, mine broke, I went down.

Originally Posted by linkwpc

I fully understand... but its a V8 with 422hp..... you need a stick!

I agree, gotta be a stick in a perfromance car.

Now for something different that happened to me. I drove long haul 48 states about ten years ago, only for a year. I had a load from California to North Bend, Indiana. Somewhere in Arizona, the pressure plate broke but I wanted to make it to my time off in Georgia the following week. I keep going, making my delivery in Indiana continuing to start and shift without disengaging the clutch. Amazing what you can do with torque, even with 80K pounds. Then i go to Jolliet, IL for a load and head to Georgia.
We had a terminal in Atlanta so when I got there I took the truck through the inspection bay, I told the head mechanic there was a problem with the clutch so they moved it to the service bay. When they pulled the inpection cover, as I was there watching, I wasn't going to miss this, all the springs in the pressure plate including the spring fingers fell out on the floor. They ask me how long it was like that so I told them. They didn't beleive me till I showed them the message I had sent my dispatcher when I was still in Arizona. The truck I was driving only had 300HP but it had a lot of torque.

The thing about this is that the more torque a vehicle has, the easier it is to use the clutch and less likely to stall. You may get it bucking a bit till you figure out how to blend the throttle. It's like most things that sound intimidating, once you get the hang of it, there's nothing to it. Good luck.

[fad1]

Originally Posted by blackZbandit

As much as I would love to get a stick, traffic in L.A. is so bad my feet/legs get tired driving my auto! Anybody intimately familiar with the 405 will agree!

AMEN to that !!!!! Dude that 405 is something else. problem is that all freeways are jammed in L.A.

[BowtieGuy]

I learned how to drive in a 1990 454ci Silverado, it had a stickshift. Moving down each row of hay while my dad threw the bales in the back. I'm no expert, but I like to think I'm pretty good. Sometimes I have to pull the standard cars around to the shop because we hired a service driver who has no idea what a clutch is.

Everyone should at least be familiar with how to drive manual. It's just one of those things you can't lead a complete life without.

[lalometalik]

reading through this thread is making me think twice about going with the automatic tranny...
you bastards
i miss my 5 speed '85

[MerlinZero]

Yeah to speak the truth this WILL be my first manual.... I think i've finally grown out of breaking my leg every year so its about time i learned.

[DeLegend]

The first time I learned how to drive stick was on a 1998 Nissan Almera with at 5spd..... IN SWEDEN! I was on vacation to see my relatives, and my uncle offered to teach me to drive manual. Now I know haha

[The Great KJ]

One thing I hated was not having a cup holder in my 87 IROC, it was a bitch to shift and hold the 44oz.

[Milk 1027]

Originally Posted by The Great KJ

One thing I hated was not having a cup holder in my 87 IROC, it was a bitch to shift and hold the 44oz.

Just breaking and turning is hard enough in an automatic with a cup between your legs I can't imagine how it would be in a manual.

[The Great KJ]

Originally Posted by Milk 1027

Just breaking and turning is hard enough in an automatic with a cup between your legs I can't imagine how it would be in a manual.

haha oh so true, several shampoo jobs let me tell ya

[RadarJammer]

I dont like the fact that some cars have their cup holders right behind the manual shifter, so that you cant place a large drink there without your arm being blocked to shift like normal.

It drives me so crazy that I opt to not even carry a drink into my car.