The G37 is my first stick car, although I learned stick through several other cars during college (integra, civic). You'll pick it up pretty quick. Save the rev matching and heel & toe lessons for later once you master the basics.

 

yea same situation here...the first time i have ever attempted at driving a manual was in my g37 the day i bought it...was very frustrating the first few days but i got the hang of it...the 1-2 shift definitely still pisses me off because i cant get it smooth but besides for that everythings nice...

and id say its a hard car to learn on because i drove my buddys mini s stick the other day and it was so easy and smooth

 

glad to hear I'm not the only one. My G37S is my first MT also and I had the same problems. I picked mine up on a Thursday, stalled a few times driving home, but I took Friday off of work and practiced all weekend and was able to drive it to work on the following Monday.
I've had it over 2 months now and I'm still learning but the more I learn the more I love the MT. Downshifting is awesome once you get the hang of it. Just keep practicing. and I'm still working on the 1 - 2 shift too.

 

What seems to make the 1-2 shift smoother is to let the clutch out slower than the other shifts.

 

Unless you're trying to get to 60mph in 4.9 seconds (which someone has done on this car), 1st to 2nd needs to be babied a bit. Just something about this car that doesn't like low revs at all. You don't want to destroy your tranny by launching from a stop at 2-3 k, so get it to about 1-1.2k and feather her out.

 

true, the G is not a good car to practice with. The clutch grabs way to late.

 

You can learn how to drive stick very easily. I've always taught people by telling them to keep the rpm's steady at say 2K or 1.5K rpms and slowly letting out the clutch while keeping the RPM's as close to that starting position as possible.

You'll get to a point where you know how fast to release the clutch and at what rpm to put the car for the best results. But at first, you have to get used to how and where the car grabs.

I've taught a lot of girls how to drive stick this way

 

not really because i had nothing to compare it to (started with MT)
but i can imagine people who make a switch from Auto...

 

for some reason, between 2k-3k rpm in a 1-2 or 2-3 shift you cant just let the clutch out. for a jerk-free 1-2, the rpms i found that are smooth without slip are right at 2k rpm (i use this for fuel econ) or something between 3200-4k and higher. for 2-3 same deal at 2k-2200 or 3200-4k and higher.

when you near redline, the shift gets harder to make and i havent been able to master it yet. granted i dont do a lot of redlining so i dont practice.

 

Yeah just let the RPM's drop a bit more on the 1-2 shift than the others. You may notice actually putting the shifter from 1st to 2nd is a bit more arduous of a task than the other shifts. There's a reason why 1-2 shift is harder than say a 5-6 shift. Use that extra time to hold down on the clutch a little bit longer. I remember in the beginning I used to always want to shift fast, which made for a jerky ride.

 

Hey guys,

I've been practicing and have cut down on stalling a little more which is good. Quick question for you guys regarding foot position and placement on the clutch. What I have been doing is basically using my whole leg to control the clutch but it doesnt seem to be the best approach. I have watched some people and it seems like you should keep your heel on the floor and just use the rest of the foot to slowly release the clutch then take your leg of it. I guess it would be similar to pushing and releasing the gas with your right foot. Is this the proper way? I feel like by using my whole leg, with my foot basically never touching the floor, it is making it harder for me. What do you guys think?

 

I learned in my G35, and so did my wife. My clutch lasted well through 30K miles and I assume is still running just fine. As everyone else said, practice makes perfect.

For inclines, I found the easiest way to learn was a buddy of mine would stand behind me at a car's normal distance right at my drivers side. I'd practice taking off with something "back there" that could move but would keep me from rolling to far. Now I don't even roll on the steepest of angles and I taught my wife the same way and she doesn't either. I think sometimes that blind practice doesn't let you know just how far you're rolling. You think you are rolling 5 feet, and it may be only 2 feet. Even with the 2 foot test that my buddy did, you get the hang of it. I'd recommend it to anyone learning to drive a manual tranny.

 

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unless you have some crazy strong calfs, you would have to use your whole foot, ie lift the whole foot off the floor. i dont know of anyone that drives clutch with their heel on the ground. the travel is just too big for heel movement.

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btw. my G was my first manual, never driven a manual before. learning was a nightmare. but it came, and now i can heel toe downshift rev match no probz. but took a lot of practice though.

 

I do whole leg in this car, as using just my foot isn't as comfortable and I don't think you can get the pedal easily all the way to the floor. Two bad habits to avoid:

Not putting the clutch all the way in and out for every shift or other use of it

and

Resting your foot on the clutch without pressure

Number 2 may not seem like it, but over time you can learn to get lazy and start applying pressure. Eventually you start putting enough pressure where you are actually depressing it far enough to remove some contact and can burn it up. I think it would be tough with our clutch since it is stiff, however I wouldn't recommend it

 

If it was a lighter clutch that may be possible. I find that most of the time I'm using most of my leg. The only time I use mostly my calf and even pressure from my toes is for fine adjustments from N to 1 or 1 to 2 on like stop and go traffic on an incline. Gets pretty tiring sometimes though if you're stuck in traffic on a hill.