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Lately I've been practicing on a friend's '72 240z, and was wondering about how slow (or fast)do you let the clutch out after each shift? Obviously (normal driving), for first gear launch, you let it out slowly.. then 1st to 2nd i am confused.. should you let it out slowly? or just instantly let the clutch out and give it gas? I heard that you do it slow for 1st to 2nd, then 2nd to 3rd you let it out faster, then 3rd to 4th, you let it out instantly.. so the lower the gear, the faster you let the clutch out. True? I love 5 spd, its fun. I just get this burning smell after I get done driving =) I know I'm a n00b at it.

 
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If you smell it, you're riding it too much and burning it up. Try letting it out faster. It's all feel. You don't want to drop it, but you just have to figure out how to release it. Every car is different. Someone told me it's always better to peel out than stall... so make sure you've got enough gas. As far as faster releases through the gears.... I'm not sure... never paid much attention to it, but I guess that's true. Once you've got the flywheel moving, its easer to keep it moving.

 
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that burning u smell is the clutch. smooth[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-nono.gif[/IMG] do you ride the clutch? as for the clutch just do whatever you feel comfortable with. for first gear you have to let it go slow of you want a smooth launch. other than that you can let it go as fast as you want, just dont pop it.

 
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whats that smell? ohhh clutch [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-puke.gif[/IMG]

 
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I'm pretty sure that all the responses to this in the world wouldn't help you learn how to drive stick. You need to get someone to teach you. Thats the easiest way to do it.

 
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You will find that one point when letting out the clutch that the rpms go up from that point start to give it a little gas but make sure your still bringing up the clutch smoothly not to fast not to slow after a couple of tries you will figure it out just keep trying. it dosent take long to learn the ways of the man. trans. it does take a while to learn how to drive it smoothly. my suggestion is to make sure your not hurting anything. as long as your not just keep practicing u will figure it out and it will soon come second nature.

 
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Click ME!

That should help you a little bit, but the only way to really learn is to drive. You have to learn the "catch point" of the clutch. Take it to a parking lot, then let off the clutch as slow as you can without any gas. That helps a lot.

 
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Actually, in my case, i found it easier to just get my friend to hand over the keys to his car, let him ride shotgun, and then crash course myself into learning. He would just advise on what i was doing "wrong" when i was practicing, he never really told me what to do. If you have a friend that is willing to just let you learn and advise i suggest you do that. I would have been too frustrated listening to someone telling me what to do and when to do it...

 
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It's all a matter of getting your own feel for it. Someone tought me how to drive stick one way but now I'm driving a different way. Just learn the basics and do whatever is comfortable. Once you get the basics down, driving a 5spd is like second nature.

 
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I learned to drive a stick my driving my grandfather's work truck around a field for about 3 hours. My civic is an automatic, but i think everyone should know how to drive a stick. Every car is a little bit different you just got to get used to it. But as far as letting the clutch out when starting off and then going through the gears, you just become used to it after a while and don't think of it. Just drive around some more until you feel really comfortable with it.

 
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haha i have driven the delivery truck 3 times now. haha. Today was pretty good except for the fact that the power steering sucks and i was pulling out of the driveway and lets just say i almost hit some Chevy S10. well not really i just crossed over the line a lil bit and the dude had to pull around me. haha. Then when I shifted to 3rd it was fine and then i shifted to 4th and i didnt have it in, and some chick in a civic passed me up. haha. I guess I 40 mph wasnt fast enough for her. I got it to 4th finally and then that chick was way up there already. haha. Later on the 2nd time today I drove the truck again. Everything was good. haha. I only stalled once this time. It was clear and i actually had the gas and clutched balanced, and i didnt peel out. hahaha. I did rev it a few times trying to pull out but i got it in the end. Shifted cleanly 2nd to 3rd, 3rd to 4th. haha. I missed a chance to rev on a ricer. But i did yell "I CAN DRIVE STICK NOW!" ahaha. I think after doing it a couple times you get the hang of it. Starting out is prob the tricky part. I guess just remember to add the gas once you get to the friction point and add the gas slowly. One time I added too much gas and dropped the clutch hahaha. I wanna try driving stick in a civic or some other car. haha. Big Block V8 is fun to drive unless you got hay on the back. lol. haha.

 
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All I can say is if your learning to drive stick make sure you do a good job. I just got home from whooping up on a GT Eclipse... when will people learn to drive? By whooping up I mean 3 inches ahead of him in a drag race. Though I dont condon racing on the street its stupid, but if someone is egging you on sometimes you gotta live up to the challenge.

 
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i learned stick shift when i was learning to drive. i learned to drive on my dads stick shift honda accord when i was 14, lol. HONDA STICK SHIFTS ALL THE WAY! haha