# Just took delivery today...



## Hegulator (Feb 22, 2006)

...on my new 2006 impulse blue M6.

In short... learning how to drive a manual when i've been driving nothing but automatics for ~5 years.... is harder than I thought it would be.

I took ~20 minutes tooling around a parking lot just trying to get a feel for it, and i'm still by no means comfortable with it.

Did anybody else on here learn to drive stick with their GTO? How did it go for you?

Other than that.... love the car. I can't wait until I'm comfortable enough with it to really drive it.


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## btchplz (Mar 12, 2005)

Congrats on the car. You'll love her.

I too learned how to drive stick in my Goat. I had driven stick before, but never owned one. I probably had a total of 3 hours in my lifetime driving a stick before I got the Goat.

Maybe for the first 2 months I was really frustrated because I was not able to shift through the gears as smoothly as I should be.:willy: I practiced and practiced and it just wouldn't get better. I avoided any steep hills unless I can clear them with the pedal to the floor, and I dreaded driving in traffic because of the stop and go.

But I eventually got it down, and now am very comfortable. Now all I got to learn is hot to burn out in a stand still. Anyone else care to chime in and tell me the secret??


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## 707GTOLS2 (Aug 31, 2005)

I learned on my dads 95 S10 but that was like driving an Automatic,
got better with my brothers 04 STi
basically learn your clutch, learn where the "sweet spot" is and try to remember it.
Shifting will take a little time, because of the gawdy monstrosity they call a shifter, it'll take a while to get used to
After practicing about 2 weeks to a month you'll get it down bro.
Congrats on the GOAT:cheers 
You Got the best colorcombo ever!!!
Welcome to the familyarty:


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## Trukcrazy (Feb 16, 2006)

Good deal on the GTO. The best way to learn a stick is on an incline. Find a hill where traffic won't bother you and practice there. It won't take long until you get it. Stall it a few times on purpose and slip the clutch a few times and you will know where you be in most any situation. It's better to get some time on a hill before you have to do it in real traffic. Good luck.


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## EEZ GOAT (Jul 9, 2005)

congrad on ur goat and welcome. check ur tire psi. it may be still set at 60psi from the long trip over.


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## noz34me (Dec 15, 2005)

Trukcrazy said:


> Good deal on the GTO. The best way to learn a stick is on an incline. Find a hill where traffic won't bother you and practice there. It won't take long until you get it. Stall it a few times on purpose and slip the clutch a few times and you will know where you be in most any situation. It's better to get some time on a hill before you have to do it in real traffic. Good luck.


I think you need to get a general feel for the interaction betwen clutch and gas in a BIG parking lot first, before you get on a hill. If you start trying to do this on a hill, you're going to get frustrated.


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## EEZ GOAT (Jul 9, 2005)

on small incline and then increase the slop of the incline


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## Paisan (Dec 4, 2005)

*STi v. GTO and other ramblings*

Hey 707 how would you compare the GTO to the STi? I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on either a Legacy GT or a GTO. I see you have experience with both so just looking for some feedback.

-mike


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## GM Kid (Mar 21, 2005)

Good for you, Hegulator! Brave of you to commit to a manual, too.

The GTO, with its big motor and mountain of torque, is a very forgiving car with which to learn a stick--nothing at all like trying to learn on a fussy little car with a teeny, rev-happy, easy-to-stall motor. As you may have noticed, you actually can ease up on the clutch--your right foot completely OFF the accelerator--and your GTO will still start to creep forward. It's so easy to get rolling that it'll spoil you if you try anything else.

Practice smoothness for a while. Don't worry about speed; that'll come. Learn where the sweet spot is in the clutch and practice smooth gear-to-gear exchanges under light throttle. Your feet will learn the feel of the pedals (when to get off the clutch and get on the gas), and that'll eventually become a muscle memory you'll never even have to think about--you'll just do it.

For now, swallow your pride and let all those Honda Civics pass you. You're too cool for them anyway. Later, when your feet know their way around, your time will come. Enjoy!


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## Hegulator (Feb 22, 2006)

Thanks for all the encouragement! The first night I took it out, it was pretty frustrating (big, empty parking lot... my dad trying to teach me), but then I was brave enough to take it to work the next morning (~10 min drive, light traffic) and it went pretty well. I'm getting fairly smooth with my starts now, and my upshifts have been going well, but slowing down and downshifting is giving me a hard time still. Like, for example, i'm in 3rd and slowing down... I like to drop it in 2nd when i get down around 1200-1000 rpm. When I do that, it still jerks on me. I'm thinking I maybe have to let the clutch out slower on downshifts? Blip the throttle? I'm not quite sure how that works yet. Otherwise, i'm starting to like going up through the gears. I gave it a little bit of gas on a nice, open stretch of road going to work this morning... and before I knew it I was at like 65. It's crazy how much power this thing has, especially coming from driving an old 1993 thunderbird.


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## Noraku_6.0L (Nov 9, 2005)

btchplz said:


> Now all I got to learn is hot to burn out in a stand still. Anyone else care to chime in and tell me the secret??


Before you take off just let off the clutch by at least 1/4th of the way and step gently on the gas until you feel it catch then your set to go (Equally relieve the pressure on clutch as you increase the force on the gas pedal. I don't use the gas until the clutch is up all the way, usually I ease off the clutch in 1st gear until the car starts rolling then I just press the gas (NO MORE BURNING THE CLUTCH FOR ME !) I learned it the hard way in my 1998 Cobra, it was my first car/standard tranny and I went through my brand new clutch in less than 45 minutes.

Sorry for my mundane approach but that's the best I could put it.


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## Trukcrazy (Feb 16, 2006)

noz34me said:


> I think you need to get a general feel for the interaction betwen clutch and gas in a BIG parking lot first, before you get on a hill. If you start trying to do this on a hill, you're going to get frustrated.


I stand by my advice. The weight of the car on the incline helps you get the general feel better and you will get it alot faster. It actually saves you the frustration, because when you can pull off on an incline without stalling or slipping the clutch, everything else is easy. This is how I taught my wife how to drive a stick and she had it mastered inside 30 minutes.


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## Starrbuck (Dec 13, 2005)

Hegulator said:


> Slowing down and downshifting is giving me a hard time still. Like, for example, i'm in 3rd and slowing down... I like to drop it in 2nd when i get down around 1200-1000 rpm. When I do that, it still jerks on me.


Personally, I wouldn't and don't do that, and most car manuals I have read lately advise against it. Just keep it in 3rd until you drop under 1k rpm and then push the clutch in.


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## Wing_Nut (Mar 6, 2005)

Starrbuck said:


> Personally, I wouldn't and don't do that, and most car manuals I have read lately advise against it. Just keep it in 3rd until you drop under 1k rpm and then push the clutch in.


Good advice if you're in traffic headed to the mall for a latte'.

If you want to use engine braking to set up for a turn and come blasting out in an appropriate gear, not so good advice. Likewise if you just want to drive smoothly and have the right gear at hand all the time.

Downshifting one gear at 1,200 RPM should not harm your drivetrain especially if you match your revs properly. That's the way I drive pretty much all the time except for the aforementioned mall traffic.

With that said, I wouldn't try rev matching or aggressive downshifts until you are comfortable with the car.

Pay attention to the change in engine speed when you shift from 3rd to 2nd at a steady speed. You should see about a 500 RPM increase. That is roughly the amount you will need to compensate for when downshifting. Keep in mind that if you are also braking hard the rev match will be constantly decreasing as you lose speed during your gear change. 

Now memorize the RPM change for each gear change. Keep in mind that if you drop more than one gear, the RPM change is additive. For instance drop from 5th to 3rd and add 500RPM + 500RPM. You'll need 1,000 RPM more engine speed to make the change smoothly. After a while you won't need to think about it. You'll be able to feel & hear the right RPM. Hard to describe in text.

The whole point here is to keep the engine squarely in the fat part of the torque & power curve. Pretty easy to do with the LS2.


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## MeanGoat (Jan 4, 2006)

Something I haven't seen anyone else mention is that your transmission will break in and get a little more 'fluid' feeling after you get a few thousand miles on her.

My M6 took about 3-5 K miles before I felt like it was gliding between the gears. Prior to that, the shifts were much more mechanical.

Hill debate? When I'm sitting on a hill in traffic, I use the power of the car to keep me standing still and not rolling backwards. You will have to get use to the clutch 'sweet spot' before you can do this. Basically, you find the right balance of throttle to clutch release and use the power of the car to keep still instead of the brake. This way when it comes time to go there's no guesswork of not letting enough clutch out or engaging the gas, you're already in the spot to safely go _forward_ only.

Congrats and good luck on learning the stick. It was the _only_ way to go for me in this car.


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## Wing_Nut (Mar 6, 2005)

MeanGoat said:


> Something I haven't seen anyone else mention is that your transmission will break in and get a little more 'fluid' feeling after you get a few thousand miles on her.
> 
> My M6 took about 3-5 K miles before I felt like it was gliding between the gears. Prior to that, the shifts were much more mechanical.
> 
> ...


You will be replacing a clutch soon. 

Signed 

Nostradamus.


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## MeanGoat (Jan 4, 2006)

Wing_Nut said:


> You will be replacing a clutch soon.
> 
> Signed
> 
> Nostradamus.


 

Okay, I know it's not the best thing to do but it's better than rolling backwards into someone.


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## Wing_Nut (Mar 6, 2005)

btchplz said:


> Now all I got to learn is hot to burn out in a stand still. Anyone else care to chime in and tell me the secret??


Secret??? You've got 400HP & 400 LbFt with a manual transmission.


Apply brake and take aim
Lift off brake 
Rev engine to 5,000 RPM+
Let the clutch out very quickly in one fluid motion (don't dump it)
Stay on the gas, don't wussy out when the fun starts.
Correct for rear end slide with steering lest you end up in a ditch
Watch white tire smoke in rear view mirror
Drive to Goodrich dealer for $600 of new rubber + $100 mount and balance.

Enjoy!


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## MeanGoat (Jan 4, 2006)

Wing_Nut said:


> Secret??? You've got 400HP & 400 LbFt with a manual transmission.
> 
> Apply brake and take aim
> *Rev engine to 5,000 RPM+*
> ...


Are you three footed? I'm not. My step-brother tells me this techinique all the time and I don't have the balls or desire to trash my brakes to perform it. Would rather go line-lock route.


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## Wing_Nut (Mar 6, 2005)

MeanGoat said:


> Are you three footed? I'm not. My step-brother tells me this techinique all the time and I don't have the balls or desire to trash my brakes to perform it. Would rather go line-lock route.


Aha, I see what you mean....I had steps 2 & 3 reversed. Fixed original post.

No no no. Three legged but only two feet. The clutch is in when you are in countdown mode. Lift off the brake at standstill and slip your foot to gas and rev to 5,000+ then let out clutch. All of this happens in a fraction of a second. No stress to brakes at all.


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## MeanGoat (Jan 4, 2006)

:lol: :lol: :lol: 

I like the addition of steps 5 and 7. Funny stuff man.

Got about 500 miles left on the stockers and plan on BURNING THEM DOWN on the way to the tire store in the next few months. Will try it out. Thanks a lot


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## Wing_Nut (Mar 6, 2005)

MeanGoat said:


> :lol: :lol: :lol:
> 
> I like the addition of steps 5 and 7. Funny stuff man.
> 
> Got about 500 miles left on the stockers and plan on BURNING THEM DOWN on the way to the tire store in the next few months. Will try it out. Thanks a lot


Same situation here. I had about 15K miles on the OEM tires when I put my snows on this winter. They were cupped (according to dealer) and randomly vibrating. I plan to burn the rubber down to the carcass before putting on new tires in the spring.arty:


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## Cottonfarmer (Jul 11, 2005)

Wing_Nut said:


> You will be replacing a clutch soon.
> 
> Signed
> 
> Nostradamus.


Bet the flywheel is a dull read after a long light. Not a good practice to deliberately slip clutch for more than a second or two. Not only will the practice burn the clutch lining but can warp the pressure plate and glaze the flywheel.

Hold the car on a slope with the brake. When you get ready to roll, get off the brake and quickly catch the back roll with the clutch and then smoothly let the clutch grab and pull away. Also a bad habit some folks get into is resting foot on the clutch. Throw out bearings don't like that practice much.


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## Starrbuck (Dec 13, 2005)

Wing_Nut said:


> Good advice if you're in traffic headed to the mall for a latte'.
> 
> If you want to use engine braking to set up for a turn and come blasting out in an appropriate gear, not so good advice. Likewise if you just want to drive smoothly and have the right gear at hand all the time.


Sorry, I got the impression he was talking about coming to a stop.


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## Wing_Nut (Mar 6, 2005)

Starrbuck said:


> Sorry, I got the impression he was talking about coming to a stop.


Stop???? Why would you do that?arty:


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## baron_iv (Nov 17, 2005)

I wasn't allowed to take my drivers' test until I learned how to drive a stick. 
I learned on a 59 chevy truck with NO power steering. If you can drive one of those, you can drive pretty much anything.
I find that the manual transmission version of the GTO is incredibly easy to drive. The thing practically drives itself once you get the clutch out in first. I would think it would be one of the easier cars to learn to drive a stick. 
You're learning the right way though, jumping right in and doing it. Getting the 6-speed FORCED you to learn...there's no better incentive than that! :lol: 
By the way, the #1 reason that people replace clutches is giving too much gas while having the clutch partially depressed. That seriously eats up the clutch fast. Try to give it as little gas as possible to keep you from stalling.
On a side note...even though I've been driving for 15 years official, and nearly 20 unofficially, I still make mistakes. I was coming up to a toll booth in Oklahoma in 6th gear. I was more concerned about getting the exact change for the toll instead of shifting...so I didn't bother to shift or press in the clutch. The car got down to about 20 mph and starting bucking like a bull. It finally died right in front of the toll booth...with my dad and brother laughing at me as well as the toll booth operator. I'll have to admit, it WAS pretty funny. So don't worry about making mistakes, we all do it (some just don't let you know that they do). :cheers 
Enjoy your goat.


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## noz34me (Dec 15, 2005)

Cottonfarmer said:


> Bet the flywheel is a dull read after a long light. Not a good practice to deliberately slip clutch for more than a second or two. Not only will the practice burn the clutch lining but can warp the pressure plate and glaze the flywheel.
> 
> Hold the car on a slope with the brake. When you get ready to roll, get off the brake and quickly catch the back roll with the clutch and then smoothly let the clutch grab and pull away. Also a bad habit some folks get into is resting foot on the clutch. Throw out bearings don't like that practice much.


:agree Everything you can read above is exactly right. Develop the good habits now, and they'll pay you dividends the rest of your driving career!:agree


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## Starrbuck (Dec 13, 2005)

Wing_Nut said:


> Stop???? Why would you do that?arty:


Party on, Garth!


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## baron_iv (Nov 17, 2005)

Starrbuck said:


> Party on, Garth!


Party on, Wayne!


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## Starrbuck (Dec 13, 2005)

baron_iv said:


> Party on, Wayne!


LOL!

<Starrbuck thinks in the back of his mind: "What have I done?">


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## baron_iv (Nov 17, 2005)

Sorry, I just couldn't resist. 
We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread, already in progress.


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## Hegulator (Feb 22, 2006)

Thanks for all the tips, guys. I'm starting to incorperate some of them into my driving/learning. I'm getting a bit quicker off the clutch now, not riding on the clutch so long when I get going from a stop. I am finally noticing that if you just let up off the clutch smoothly in first, you don't really have to get on the gas, which is nice.


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## baron_iv (Nov 17, 2005)

Yep, gotta love all that low-end torque. 
You couldn't do that with a japanese car unless you had your idle turned up to about 3000 rpm! hehe
Within a couple of weeks, you'll be driving your 6-speed GTO like a pro. This is one of the best cars to learn on.


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## cat1055man (Nov 6, 2005)

I noticed the uneven shifts and slight jerks are more likely when shifting at very low rpm. Try taking the rpms up above 3000 before shifting and you will notice it is easier to smoothly blend into the next gear. :cheers


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## baron_iv (Nov 17, 2005)

It's also better for gas mileage (yes, I know that's contrary to the popular belief that keeping the RPMs as low as possible and taking off slow produces better gas mileage). That's not the case though. Your engine has a very slim point where it works most efficiently (usually around 4000-5000 RPM, depending on the engine), so allowing the engine to make peak power to get you up to speed will actually use LESS gasoline.
I'll have to find a link to the study, 'cause I know there are gonna be some people out there pulling the "bs" flag on me. hehe


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## cat1055man (Nov 6, 2005)

baron_iv said:


> It's also better for gas mileage (yes, I know that's contrary to the popular belief that keeping the RPMs as low as possible and taking off slow produces better gas mileage). That's not the case though. Your engine has a very slim point where it works most efficiently (usually around 4000-5000 RPM, depending on the engine), so allowing the engine to make peak power to get you up to speed will actually use LESS gasoline.
> I'll have to find a link to the study, 'cause I know there are gonna be some people out there pulling the "bs" flag on me. hehe


:agree 
I noticed a slight increase in average fuel economy when easing the rpms up a bit before shifts vs. luging at low rpm and short shifting to keep rpms at minimum. Nothing scientific just a couple short test runs back and forth to work. I usually can't keep my foot out of it for more than a couple 35 mile round trips!


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## Hegulator (Feb 22, 2006)

Hmmmm, good idea. I'll have to try that. I drive it back and forth to work, and it's pretty cold in the mornings, so I don't like to push the RPM's too high when she's still cold, though. This car does seem to warm up pretty fast, though.

As far as somebody saying the shifts are smoother are higher RPM's.... i've noticed mine are actually jerkier at higher RPMs. Maybe it's just because when i'm at higher RPM's, i'm usually on the gas harder and probably don't shift as smoothly?


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## baron_iv (Nov 17, 2005)

When the car is warming up, you do need to take it a bit easier, due to the oil isn't flowing as well as it will be when it gets hot. Lack of oil is BAD. 
The shifts will be jerkier at high RPMs if your RPMs fall below the level of the gear you're shifting into. It tends to be worse when shifting down, but I get a bit of the same effect when upshifting.


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## Hegulator (Feb 22, 2006)

I think i'm just not as smooth with the clutch when i'm upshifting at higher RPMs. I get more excited and tend to be more careless with it, probably. The thing feels like it's going to take off from under me when i start to lay into the go peddle a bit!


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