[J Dragon]

I finally got my Mazdaspeed6 Last night...Unfortunately, I am an MTX noob. In front of the sales person I stalled my car 6 times. She looked at me with a wtf look like she expected that I knew how to drive it LOL....

Had a shuddering start multiple times when I begin driving(just can't seem to find that sweet spot). I am having trouble on the turns....Do I start in first or second after slowing down...>_<

I really hate the Manual transmission right now, but I know it will get better Everybody goes through it.

Problem is....I am learning on my brand new car unfortunately, so how long do I have till that clutch goes caput on me now? I might as well in advance tell the dealer to have a fresh clutch prepared for me huh...

 

[R_sinist]

Gratz on your purchase!

Yeah it takes some time to get used to the MTX but once you get the hang of it i doubt you'll regret it.

On turns it really depends on your speed. If im going about 10+ i ususaly start out in 2nd unless i want to haul ass. I wouldnt touch first if im going faster then 25.

 

[leakslikeasieve]

I finally got my Mazdaspeed6 Last night...Unfortunately, I am an MTX noob. In front of the sales person I stalled my car 6 times. She looked at me with a wtf look like she expected that I knew how to drive it LOL....

Had a shuddering start multiple times when I begin driving(just can't seem to find that sweet spot). I am having trouble on the turns....Do I start in first or second after slowing down...>_<

I really hate the Manual transmission right now, but I know it will get better Everybody goes through it.

Problem is....I am learning on my brand new car unfortunately, so how long do I have till that clutch goes caput on me now? I might as well in advance tell the dealer to have a fresh clutch prepared for me huh...
[/b]

well as for clutch time left it really depends on how quickly ou pick it up when driving it on a daily basis. stalling the car isnt actually THAT bad for it. its trying to start off and slipping the clutch at 2000 rpm that is bad for it. typically you will smell some clutch like most of us did.

i personally found the clutch adjustment made a HUGE difference for me and getting used to the car. i dont know if you ave a 06 or 07. i believe the 07's have a different adjustment on then( or so i read on the boards). the adjustment is really easy to do and i love the pedal feel now.

Dont assume because your having a bit of trouble getting used to the clutch that it will be gone in 5k, 10, or even 30k. just go with it and see how long it lasts, when it starts slipping or your car randomly doesnt move, thats the time to get on it. hopefully it slips before it just doesnt catch at all.

my best friend learned to drive stick on a camaro z28, he had never even touched a manual car before and his clutch lasted til 40k, about 2 weeks after installing a 374 ci, 250 hp double stage nitrous kit, and a moser 12 bolt rear. bottom line the clutch didnt fail from him, it failed from too much power.

dont assume anything, just hope you get some miles from it. oh, 1 more thing. the manual states do not shift into 1st gear at any speed above 20 mph. they said you can cause automatic clutch failure. i only shift into 1st if im at like 7 mph or lower, and i found that with cia and 3 inch exhaust my car doesnt like vibrate as much. its much smoother in 2nd at 7 mph. if you can say that

 

[Blue Mazda]

Congrats. I am sure you will get the hang of it before you do any real damage to the car. I was in the same boat several years ago when I got my 94 Probe GT. It was actually 2 years old when I got it, but still it was basically new, I was learning stick and I was SO not wanting to hurt the car. Within a couple of days, I got through it. Within a couple of weeks, driving stick was 2nd nature. However, the first time you have to get going on a hill from a stop may freek you out a bit and you may find yourself riding the clutch. You will get the feel of it though. Heck, even being on my 4th car with a stick, each time I change cars there is a learning curve that makes things like taking off on a hill a "challenge" at first. As far as slowing down and being in first or second? PersonallyI don't put the car back into first as I am coasting to a stop unless I am to a complete stop or almost complete stop. If I am moving still, I pop it into 2nd to get going again. If you go back to first you have to make sure to give enough gas to get it there or it will be a little rough. Actually, as I am approaching a stop, and I mean right before, I pop the car into neurtral so at a stop I have the car in neutral and my foot off the clutch at the stop. I have been taught that sitting on the clutch at a stop will wear on the throw out bering if you do it all the time. If I were still seeing traffic coast, maybe the light turns green as I approach, or what ever, I woudn't go to neutral, I would go to 2nd, get back into gear with the clutch out coasting in 2nd and use 1st if traffic was too slow for 2nd. Hope this helps a bit, it is actually hard to put this into written words becasue I do all of this without thinking about it at this point. As far as feeling silly in front of the sales person? I didn't even know how to get my MS6 into reverse when I got it. Never had a 6 speed or a car where you had to push down on the stick to get it into reverse! I felt like an idiot, but seeing as I had to back it out of the space to get it home, I kind of had to ask.

 

[Turbo6Girl]

I finally got my Mazdaspeed6 Last night...Unfortunately, I am an MTX noob. In front of the sales person I stalled my car 6 times. She looked at me with a wtf look like she expected that I knew how to drive it LOL....

Had a shuddering start multiple times when I begin driving(just can't seem to find that sweet spot). I am having trouble on the turns....Do I start in first or second after slowing down...>_<

I really hate the Manual transmission right now, but I know it will get better Everybody goes through it.

Problem is....I am learning on my brand new car unfortunately, so how long do I have till that clutch goes caput on me now? I might as well in advance tell the dealer to have a fresh clutch prepared for me huh...
[/b]

Don't feel too bad, J. The kid that bought my Focus took her on a test drive...failed to mention he's never driven a clutch and made this godawful black smoke come from the clutch...after he stalled out in the intersection almost getting us broadsided

Not to mention, this car is a tough one to drive. I stalled mine a few times driving it too! Congrats tho! Youll love it when you get used to it. Zoom zoom baby.

 

[BREAKTHRGH21]

Were i live, there is a ton of stop signs every other block,

does any one have a re occuring issue were the first gear is locked out at like 10 mph or sometimes slower. In my camaro i could just put the car into first and coast through the stop sign, but now i either have to dog the motor in 2nd, or come to a complete stop which is a pain.

 

[J Dragon]

Thanks for the Advice guys, The weak part about it is that They didn't let me drive It home last night. They gave me a Volkswagon Golf 2.5,(the car sucks btw)....

Not due to the stalling and newbieness, but unfortunately the battery went dead and the car wouldn't start after I stalled it that final time. They Claimed that the battery lost Juice because the car was just sitting there for so long, so they said they are going to recharge it??? Why not just replace it with a new battery right?

Ah well gonna pick it up tonight, and the sales lady told me that she is going to get one of their Professional driver to teach me how to Drive the MTX.

thanks again...

 

[Speed6Turbo]

Congrats and welcome to the speed fam. now. I love my speed6 and the clutch took me some time to get use to. I will also have to do the pedal adjustment... I remember the first time, a 94 Honda Civic SI, and I must have stalled it like 6-10 times the first time I started driving, LOL! It will all come like 2nd nature to you in a week...

 

[Mr.Trees]

Go rent a cheap car with MTX for the day and learn on that. I would rather spend $40 learning on there cars

 

[Blue Mazda]

Not due to the stalling and newbieness, but unfortunately the battery went dead and the car wouldn't start after I stalled it that final time. They Claimed that the battery lost Juice because the car was just sitting there for so long, so they said they are going to recharge it??? Why not just replace it with a new battery right?
[/b]

Well, if it is anything like my Speed 6 it sat for a long time. Mine was delivered to the dealership on 3/28 and I bought it 9/21, and it had like 30 miles on it. You would HOPE during the PDI they would test the battery and if it had a bad cell they would replace it. So long as the cells are ok, they can just recharge it and it will be fine. I had that experince on my first car (Beretta, Chevy POS!!!) and the battery went dead two days into ownership. I bought my oun new battery, which was a better one than the dealer would have given me as a replacement, and went back to them to be reimbursed, which they did. Like I said, hopefully they test yours and take care of any potential issue during the vehicle's pre-delivery inspection. That would be great if they actually have someone show you how to drive the stick. This isn't the easiest car to learn on, at least not compared to the other sticks I owned, but better than I learned on. I learned on an 86 Cavilier (a buddy's car), that thing SUCKED to learn on.

 

[Kokopellian]

Congratulations Dragon! You'll learn how to drive it in no time. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[yomama69]

Don't ever downshift into 1st.

 

[Elicious]

I finally got my Mazdaspeed6 Last night...Unfortunately, I am an MTX noob. In front of the sales person I stalled my car 6 times. She looked at me with a wtf look like she expected that I knew how to drive it LOL....

Had a shuddering start multiple times when I begin driving(just can't seem to find that sweet spot). I am having trouble on the turns....Do I start in first or second after slowing down...>_<

I really hate the Manual transmission right now, but I know it will get better Everybody goes through it.

Problem is....I am learning on my brand new car unfortunately, so how long do I have till that clutch goes caput on me now? I might as well in advance tell the dealer to have a fresh clutch prepared for me huh...
[/b]

:laugh: This post made me laugh!

I'd say take their advice and rent a manual for a day. Learn on that, not on your brand new car! It's cool though that the dealership is giving you lessons. Now that's service!

 

[ninecoronas]

I finally got my Mazdaspeed6 Last night...Unfortunately, I am an MTX noob. In front of the sales person I stalled my car 6 times. She looked at me with a wtf look like she expected that I knew how to drive it LOL....

Had a shuddering start multiple times when I begin driving(just can't seem to find that sweet spot). I am having trouble on the turns....Do I start in first or second after slowing down...>_<

I really hate the Manual transmission right now, but I know it will get better Everybody goes through it.

Problem is....I am learning on my brand new car unfortunately, so how long do I have till that clutch goes caput on me now? I might as well in advance tell the dealer to have a fresh clutch prepared for me huh...
[/b]

Congrats Dragon! You'll love the speed6.

As for learning MTX, I myself was a brand new MTX driver when I got my Speed6. Didn't know squat except for how to shift. Took me about a week to get it down perfectly, to drive without stalling. Now after a month, I can pretty much do anything (in a literal sense) so do not fear my friend, should be easy to get down. Just don't ride the clutch.

Also, make sure you don't punch the shifter, and shift it smoothly and somewhat relaxed. That way the crunchy feeling associated withour tranny won't appear as much. redline mt-90 will help, I'm still waiting for mine to come in.

Have fun and welcome again to the fam.

 

[yomama69]

Congrats Dragon! You'll love the speed6.

As for learning MTX, I myself was a brand new MTX driver when I got my Speed6. Didn't know squat except for how to shift. Took me about a week to get it down perfectly, to drive without stalling. Now after a month, I can pretty much do anything (in a literal sense) so do not fear my friend, should be easy to get down. Just don't ride the clutch.

Also, make sure you don't punch the shifter, and shift it smoothly and somewhat relaxed. That way the crunchy feeling associated withour tranny won't appear as much. redline mt-90 will help, I'm still waiting for mine to come in.

Have fun and welcome again to the fam.
[/b]

I think you are the only one that feels the transmission is "crunchy." As a person who has driven many MTX cars, I love the transmission.

 

[Elicious]

Also, make sure you don't punch the shifter, and shift it smoothly and somewhat relaxed. That way the crunchy feeling associated withour tranny won't appear as much. redline mt-90 will help, I'm still waiting for mine to come in.
[/b]

Don't punch the shifter? Have you seen the video of the guy doing a 13.9 quarter mile and he was recording his shifter? I was impressed. His shifts were lightning fast.

 

[ninecoronas]

Don't punch the shifter? Have you seen the video of the guy doing a 13.9 quarter mile and he was recording his shifter? I was impressed. His shifts were lightning fast.
[/b]

Haha. Should have illustrated better. Don't punch the shifter extremely hard and fast if you don't want any chance of crunchy shifting.

I = n00b.

There now leave me along.

 

[madcar]

Don't punch the shifter? Have you seen the video of the guy doing a 13.9 quarter mile and he was recording his shifter? I was impressed. His shifts were lightning fast.
[/b]

As a noob, the last thing you want to tell this guy is to punch it into gear. "Ham fisting" the thing into gear is the fastest way to crunchy synchro's. There's a long way between the guy on that video and a guy that has NEVER driven a stick.
While learning, nudge it into each gear even if you have to ride the clutch while you search for the gear. Once you are able to smoothly shift to any gear, work on your speed.
The only time you need to worry about real speed shifting is at the track.

 

[Elicious]

As a noob, the last thing you want to tell this guy is to punch it into gear. "Ham fisting" the thing into gear is the fastest way to crunchy synchro's. There's a long way between the guy on that video and a guy that has NEVER driven a stick.
While learning, nudge it into each gear even if you have to ride the clutch while you search for the gear. Once you are able to smoothly shift to any gear, work on your speed.
The only time you need to worry about real speed shifting is at the track.
[/b]

Sorry, that wasn't directed towards J dragon. He shouldn't be too aggressive with his shiftin until he knows what he's doing.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Congrats on the car! Being a noob you will have doubts but that will go away sooner than you think. Unless you're partially engaging the clutch while giving gas, you shouldn't be wearing it out very much. If you smell it a lot, change your shifting habits.

Find an empty parking lot and practice some no-gas starts. Basically, try to get the car rolling in first without using the gas pedal. That'll give you a feel for the engagement point. From then on starting in first will be easier. And don't try to shift fast-n-furious style or race anyone just yet. Drive like a grandma till you're comfortable with the clutch and shift points. Don't worry, you still have lots of time to dust people from a red light. Again, congrats and enjoy the car.