# New to the M6



## LaPuzza (Jul 13, 2005)

Ok, so i've got about 400 miles on my new 06 IBM M6 18". I'm in love.

I will say, however, that I've never driven a clutch as an everyday driver. I'm taking it real easy on her, but I've got a few questions that I'd like to ask people who know the car.

1) Clutch smell - I'm not talking about it smelling like there's a fire, but I do notice a little smell from the clutch when I park her in the garage and get out. Is that normal?

2) Gear Shift - I'm not often using all my gears, just because of the amount of power the car has. I usually end up 2-4-6 in traffic. Is that bad?

3) parking lots - When I'm trying to travel at super-low speed, I'll just put it in first and move the clutch up and down from the contact point, so it'll push along without me giving her any gas. I know I don't want to be doing this in traffic all day, but is it ok for this occational use?

4) 3rd gear issue - I've noticed that at speed, the shift into 3rd (and to some degree, second) is not that smooth. If I give it a little gas with the clutch in, it seems to slip into position much easier. Is that normal?


I'd also appreciate any other suggestions you have for getting used to driving the M6. I learned on a beat to heck old Dodge, and I don't have the least bit of problem getting around. I just want to make sure I don't have some funny habit that's getting me around at the expense of a transmission in 10K miles.

Thanks


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## enjracing (Jun 7, 2006)

you shouldnt have any clutch smell anymore with that many miles on her. you might be slippping it to much when you do those 2nd gear take offs. be carefull of that. its ok though to keep it in first and push the clutch in and out smootly without using the gas when you are in really slow traffic. i do it all the time, i just do it really smoothly.


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## ponyeater (Jul 8, 2006)

I too just picked up an "06 with the M6 and have been getting used to it. I do start in 2nd and go to 4th when I'm rolling from a stop sign, especially if the wife and kid are in the car, but by myself, I'll sacrifice the rougher shifting through the gears, letting the R's climb more.


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## MeanGoat (Jan 4, 2006)

GMM Ripshifter. Mandatory


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## Clueless (Mar 2, 2006)

LaPuzza said:


> 1) Clutch smell - I'm not talking about it smelling like there's a fire, but I do notice a little smell from the clutch when I park her in the garage and get out. Is that normal?


Is it definately a clutch smell? New GTOs are prone to making a "hot" smell from the exhaust. That can last for up to about 1000 miles.

When I've smelled abused clutch before, it's smelled like burning peanuts to me. I'm not extremely technically savvy and don't know if different types of clutches may smell different, however. I've only smelled burning peanuts. Is it that type of smell or different?



LaPuzza said:


> 2) Gear Shift - I'm not often using all my gears, just because of the amount of power the car has. I usually end up 2-4-6 in traffic. Is that bad?


Wehad a discussion previously and most M6 owners will skip some gears doing normal around-town driving. Most people I've known who have sticks (none with GTOs though) regularly skip gears, and none of them have had abnormal clutch problems. I don't think there's any problem.



LaPuzza said:


> 3) parking lots - When I'm trying to travel at super-low speed, I'll just put it in first and move the clutch up and down from the contact point, so it'll push along without me giving her any gas. I know I don't want to be doing this in traffic all day, but is it ok for this occational use?


While you want to avoid using the clutch (pushing it down or letting it up) any more than is necessary, sometimes in order to drive really slow speeds without stalling the car you have to do it. I doubt there's a problem if you limit it to the situations where it is necessary--I often do that backing out of my driveway, and sometimes have had to in stop-and-go-real-slow traffic. 

I've owned one stick before, which was my first stick. I was not taught "proper" stick driving techniques, so I did things sometimes like rocking the car at a light if I was bored (not often at least), using the clutch more than is necessary, and often driving with my foot resting lightly on the clutch pedal. I never revved it real high, raced, tried to spin the tires or anything like that however. I put 65,000 miles on the car before selling it--and when the mechanic inspected the car before I sold it, the original clutch was still in decent condition.


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## patisi (Oct 23, 2004)

LaPuzza said:


> Ok, so i've got about 400 miles on my new 06 IBM M6 18". I'm in love.
> 
> I will say, however, that I've never driven a clutch as an everyday driver. I'm taking it real easy on her, but I've got a few questions that I'd like to ask people who know the car.
> 
> ...



First of all good question as a lot of us are not really good Manual shift drivers. Your habits will go a long way to preserve your car. You are doing just fine. On all points I found that it took almost 5000 K for the clutch to slip into gears without a notchy feel. I got my car in the summer of '05 and I noticed it more in the beginning of the cold weather. Once she warmed up she was fine though.

I have written on a related topic in this site before on breaking in a car for those that don't think it needs to be broken in. I generally like to have the car idle for a few mins when I first start her up if I have the time to spare. Since there is no oil pressure gauge I do let her idle for about 5 mins in the summer and about 7 mins in the winter months.

My rule of thumb on the clutch is 1) Do not ride the clutch. That is, never rev with your foot on the clutch. This way you greatly reduce the chance of a slight burn. 2) Do not stand on the clutch at a light if you can avoid it. I always try to go to a neutral position at a light and rest my right foot on the brakes, while stretching out my left leg As the lights begin to change, I then re-engage gear and I am ready to ease her off when it changes to green. Less strain on my calves as well. 

Sometimes ar the red light I tap the lever in Neutral and it makes a clicking sound that tells me it is not any gears, a kind of reassurance for me and I also practice to know where my gear gates are. Sometimes at the light I run the lever through all the forwards gears and get a good sense of the distance adn throw to reach the gears I need.

Make sure you alway ssit at your optimal sitting position where you can reach the pedals and that you clutch down enough at all times to ensure smoth enagements of the gears. I have found that the pedal travel upon release is about 1/4 of an inch from the floor for me. This means a quick, clean release is fine with the strength of the clutch plate and springs. they grab quick. This has netted me as low 12.85 at 110 MPH at the track on a bone stock '05 GTO M6 CGM


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## CPO's GTO (Jul 1, 2006)

Very good info Patisi...I appreciate the time you took to write it down.


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## ponyeater (Jul 8, 2006)

Is there a way to adjust where the clutch "grabs". It seems like I have to be more than 1 inch from the floor until it starts grabbing.


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## LaPuzza (Jul 13, 2005)

Thanks everyone for the comments. I'm glad to hear that the smell I'm smelling might not be clutch. Its nice to know that shifts will smooth out a bit after she's got some miles on her. I'm also glad to hear that I don't have a lot of habits that are bad (standing on the clutch at lights, keeping my foot resting on the clutch, etc.)

When you say that I might be letting the clutch slip a little too much when starting in second, what exactly do you mean by that? I'm trying to come on and off the clutch smoothly, but I still spend a little too much time trying to find the exact power/clutch position when on a hill in 1st or 2nd.

Also, _NEVER_ rev the motor when your foot is on the clutch? I always give it a touch of gas as I slowly come off the clutch to smooth out the start. Either I don't understand you, or I'm really half-assing myself about town.

Again, thanks for the help. I really appreciate everyone here for the information and advice I needed before, and now after, buying my Goat.


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## patisi (Oct 23, 2004)

LaPuzza said:


> Also, _NEVER_ rev the motor when your foot is on the clutch? I always give it a touch of gas as I slowly come off the clutch to smooth out the start. Either I don't understand you, or I'm really half-assing myself about town.


That act of "a touch of gas" I call feathering the gas pedal. which fine. I do not consider that reving the car while on the clutch. You are doing just fine. I find that I can pull off from first and second gears at a dead stop with clutch movement only. Maybe it is because the car is still relatively new.


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## LaPuzza (Jul 13, 2005)

patisi said:


> That act of "a touch of gas" I call feathering the gas pedal. which fine. I do not consider that reving the car while on the clutch. You are doing just fine. I find that I can pull off from first and second gears at a dead stop with clutch movement only. Maybe it is because the car is still relatively new.


Great. Thanks Patisi


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## rickbrick (Jul 6, 2006)

*Clutch*

IMO you should not make a habit of starting out in second gear. This requires that you slip the clutch more than you should. I shift from first to third a lot. The worst habit for your clutch is leaving your foot on the clutch pedal. As soon as you complete a shift you should put your left foot on the floor unless you are going to shift again right away. The GTO manual 6 is very forgiving. It is a pleasure to drive! Enjoy! :cheers


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## Clueless (Mar 2, 2006)

rickbrick said:


> As soon as you complete a shift you should put your left foot on the floor unless you are going to shift again right away. The GTO manual 6 is very forgiving. It is a pleasure to drive! Enjoy! :cheers


As a manual driver who never was shown the proper ways myself, I had been wondering about this. I make sure to rest my foot off the clutch when I am crusing. But when I am taking off from a light, I am making a bunch of shifts fairly quickly, and it is a hassle to remove my foot entirely from the clutch (I'll be slower to shift, which can cause difficulty in tight traffic). So, I have been very lightly resting my foot on the clutch until I've reached a levelled out speed that I expect to be at for a while.

From what you say, this should be ok. That is definately good to hear. But if I'm misunderstanding, please let me know.


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## rickbrick (Jul 6, 2006)

If you are going through the gears quickly (which you certainly can do in this AWESOME machine) then no worries about your foot on the clutch pedal. Otherwise put your foot down. And try not to grin so much - people will wonder what you are up to!


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## MJGTOWISH (Jun 15, 2006)

I dont know anything about shifting:confused What do you do when coming up stop do you just leave the car in the current gear then stop and then downshift while you are sitting there or do you shift down as you slowing down?


Also in regard to stop and go traffic cant you just leave it in 1 or 2 while you are moving for the short distance.

any thing else would be helpful.


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## Clueless (Mar 2, 2006)

MJGTOWISH said:


> I dont know anything about shifting:confused What do you do when coming up stop do you just leave the car in the current gear then stop and then downshift while you are sitting there or do you shift down as you slowing down?


When I'm coming up to a stop, I put my car in neutral, use the brakes to stop, and leave it in neutral (with my foot on the floor/not on the clutch) until it turns green or traffic moves. 

If I'm a few cars back or can see the light for the other side has turned amber and know I'm up next, I may then push the clutch in and put the car in first (keeping the clutch to the floor) as I'll be moving very shortly.

Some people engine brake, other people don't--I don't do it myself, but know that I have the option to in the event than I need some extra emergency stoppage.



MJGTOWISH said:


> Also in regard to stop and go traffic cant you just leave it in 1 or 2 while you are moving for the short distance.


I'm not sure I fully understand what you are getting at. Depending on the speed of traffic around you, you may need to frequently shift between 1st and 2nd. Sure, you could leave it in 1st, but I don't like holding at a steady speed with my RPMs at 3k. To me, high RPMs are only for actively acclerating. 

On the same account, I don't want to leave it in 2nd all the time as for one thing, when you go real slow it starts feeling bogged down, and for another thing, first is there for a reason so I'll start in 1st. (I hear sometimes people start in 2nd, but I do not know the technical reason as to whether this is bad).


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## MJGTOWISH (Jun 15, 2006)

Thanks for clearing that up!


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## ShoddyHog (May 17, 2006)

Clueless said:


> I'm not sure I fully understand what you are getting at. Depending on the speed of traffic around you, you may need to frequently shift between 1st and 2nd. Sure, you could leave it in 1st, but I don't like holding at a steady speed with my RPMs at 3k. To me, high RPMs are only for actively acclerating.


Sorry, but I have to disagree with that. I certainly do NOT drive around town in 1st at 3k RPM, but if I did, I don't think that would hurt the motor at all. IMHO, excluding the event of exceeeding red-line, torque will wear an engine much more than RPM. I'd be just as comfortable doing that as I would running at 100 MPH and 3 grand all day...except running in 1st I'd look like an an idiot :rofl: 

Gerry


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## Mad_Dan_Eccles (Mar 25, 2006)

MJGTOWISH said:


> I dont know anything about shifting:confused What do you do when coming up stop do you just leave the car in the current gear then stop and then downshift while you are sitting there or do you shift down as you slowing down?
> 
> 
> Also in regard to stop and go traffic cant you just leave it in 1 or 2 while you are moving for the short distance.
> ...


There's a difference in philosophy which probably depends on when you learned to drive

We not-so-young-as-we-were-but-not-yet-old farts learned to drive with hands at 10 to 2 and use engine braking. Younger drivers learned on cars with airbags which really make it so that 10 to 2 isn't the best hand position and as brake materials have improved it's probably less stressful to the car to use the brakes rather than the engine. 

That said there's a wonderful exhaust burble when you change down as you slow which you will miss if you use the brakes alone. That's proably why Ilike to shift down through the gears, but I only grab 1st when I come to a complete stop

In traffic I tend to shift 1-3, then 4 or 5 depending on conditions. As far as the clutch wear is concerned get your foot off the pedal unless you are going to shift again striaght away- that first fractional movement on the pedal can cause very slight but continual slipping which will eventually mean that you need a new clutch sooner than you really wanted


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## Cottonfarmer (Jul 11, 2005)

<<<1) Clutch smell - I'm not talking about it smelling like there's a fire, but I do notice a little smell from the clutch when I park her in the garage and get out. Is that normal?>>>

If you've ever driven behind a big truck with hot brakes, then that is what a hot clutch smells like.

Sounds like you have gotten some good advice here. The only thing I might add is that clutch wear is not as much a factor of frequency of use as it is of the torque load it experiences at "above normal" engine revs. Heat is the primary enemy of clutches. Avoid extended periods of "slipping" the clutch. High engine revs plus high torque loads also rapidly build heat and accelerate clutch wear. 

Top fuel dragsters and most funny cars only have one forward gear. Power applied to the rear wheels is controlled by designed in slippage of their clutch packs. They use several clutch discs seperated by plates. Torque is managed by progressive engagement of the clutch pack. A lot of the smoke you see behind a top fuel dragster is not tire smoke but actually clutch dust from accelerated wear. They can only get two or three runs out of the clutch pack before it has to be torn down and serviced. Five thousand horsepower has to generate a LOT of heat (probably near red hot). -Jim


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## madkat (Jul 20, 2006)

patisi said:


> First of all good question as a lot of us are not really good Manual shift drivers. Your habits will go a long way to preserve your car. You are doing just fine. On all points I found that it took almost 5000 K for the clutch to slip into gears without a notchy feel. I got my car in the summer of '05 and I noticed it more in the beginning of the cold weather. Once she warmed up she was fine though.
> 
> I have written on a related topic in this site before on breaking in a car for those that don't think it needs to be broken in. I generally like to have the car idle for a few mins when I first start her up if I have the time to spare. Since there is no oil pressure gauge I do let her idle for about 5 mins in the summer and about 7 mins in the winter months.
> 
> ...


Just a suggestion, I used to do the same thing with first gear, I also was bad about not using my brakes to slow down but using clutch only. This got me a trip to the local Dealer just 1000 miles after buys my baby. Check engine light came on with like a code 853, riding the clutch. apparently the M6 doesn't like being used that way.


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## all4goat (Aug 1, 2006)

Hi,
I just got my GTO last night brand new and while I was driving it back home I noticed what I think is the clutch smelling. I am very careful about riding the clutch and when I am at the light I dont hold the clutch down or anything. I take off by letting go of the clutch to about half way until the revs drop just a little and the car starts moving, then I push the gas pedal down to about 1.5k rpm and ease off the clutch all the way within like 1 second. I tried doing it where I got off the clutch as soon as I could and reving it as little as possible but I still smelled the clutch, and it was a very obvious smell that the rest of the people in the car smelled it a little too. Is this normal? I have like 50 miles on her right now.


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## hardball75006 (Aug 4, 2006)

When I picked up my A4 it had a smell to it. Someone else here told me it was some kind of coating they spray under the car. It all burned off after a while and no more smell.


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## LS2 - Light SpeedX2 (Nov 10, 2005)

"When I've smelled abused clutch before, it's smelled like burning peanuts to me."

Ok clueless. I guess the question here is when and how often do you smell burning peanuts? Is it an addiction? Should we be worried? :lol: 

Weekends here. Time to take the Goat out.


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## bergenfelter (Nov 11, 2005)

When our cars are shipped from the land down under, they spray a paraffin material on some of the underbody components to prevent corrosion during shipment, generally you can see it on the underside of the tranny and lower control arms. The smell could be that material burining off during the first few hundred miles.

John.


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## Napoleon_Tanerite (Aug 3, 2006)

i'm in the same boat- this is my first manual car- so i'm kinda learning as I go along. generally i start from a dead stop in 1st, then go to 2nd, then 4th then 6th when i get to the speed I want. my goal is to keep my revs below 2500 unless i'm trying to haul ass, which i usually am not. unless i need to significantly and quickly increase speed, i stay in 6th until it comes time to stop. if i'm comming up on a red light I will clutch, then shift to neutral and coast with clutch in while braking until either i come to a stop or the light turns green. if the light turns green before i stop, i will shift to either 3rd or 4th depending on my speed, and accelerate from there, again, trying for the lowest rpms for speed as possible. in stop and go traffic i keep it in 1st and clutch on/off to move, and brake as needed to stop. i rarely use 3rd gear, and almost never use 5th.


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## PC4STOP (Sep 3, 2006)

Don't start from a dead stop using second gear. You are asking for premature clutch issues. If you are rolling already then second gear is fine.

Downshifting from speed into 3rd or 2nd will cause some whining sound and the transmission will let you know it really doesn't want to do it. As long as the speed isn't too high you will be alright. If you are moving too fast for the gear you will learn to feel the mistake before you take your foot off the clutch and either lock up your rear tires or feel like you are going through the dashboard.

Oh, I did learn that 50 is too fast to drop into second for hard acceleration. It was ugly and I don't recommend it to anyone. The people around me must have thought I was a jackass. To be honest I felt like one and did the only thing I could. I looked at the car like it did something wrong. Same thing I did when I phased out and downshifted my motorcycle instead of upshifting. These things happen I guess.


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## bigmac (Jul 9, 2006)

I dont understand... why would you buy a manual transmission and not downshift when stopping? I always owned a stick and brakes would last forever... Manuals are made todo this!!! :cheers


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## PC4STOP (Sep 3, 2006)

bigmac said:


> I dont understand... why would you buy a manual transmission and not downshift when stopping? I always owned a stick and brakes would last forever... Manuals are made todo this!!! :cheers


Don't take what I said as saying don't downshift. Just be careful of your speed and gear selection. With time you will know when it doesn't feel right.


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## CPO's GTO (Jul 1, 2006)

If it's any consolation to the guys worried about clutch smell coming from their
new m6's...I had the same thing and thought the same thing...Smell is gone,
I have over 800 miles on her now...And of course, no clutch problems...:cheers


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## bluebyeu05 (Mar 14, 2006)

thats one thing mine never had ,did have the exhaust smell when i replace the exhaust but that was it. heres a little tip for you newbes just starting to learn the clutch ive read all the posts here great advise from all the guys but heres mine , when i shift i lissen to the motor going from gear to gear samething down shifting . hope this helps so add this to all the great advice everyone else is giving and youll be a pro. takes time.


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## GoatU (Jul 24, 2007)

Pappy always said to remove your foot from the clutch pedal, as the throw-out bearing is a costly replacement i$$ue!
I have never owned a car that was automatic and 13 cars and 6 motorcycles later, I am yet to replace a clutch! Maybe I have been lucky...

Let's see >> my 2006 GTO has 6 gears and why would I want to skip out of the pleasure of NOT using 3rd gear (or 5th gear)? But that 6th OD gear makes you feel like you are driving a Yugo, unless, of course, you are doing a "bit" over the speed limit, and want to save some MPG while maintaining a steady speed.

My '86 Audi Coupe Quattro manual (RTFM) specifically stated to NEVER hold the stick shift when you are not shifting. Take a look at how the tranny/stick just moves about on the bushings to realize why they would recommend such a notification. 

Summary: Keep left foot off the clutch and keep right hand off the stick!


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