Manual Transmission

[kelvin1262003]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post. I\'m getting my Mazda 3 tommorow, I kinda know how to drive manual but not really that great. I was wondering from people\'s experience here, what are the best RPM\'s to shift at.

Also, how do you creep slowly with a manual car? It seems to be really hard.

[Cardinal Fang]

Welcome to the board kelvin1262003.

[majic]

Originally posted by kelvin1262003


Hi Everyone,

This is my first post. I\'m getting my Mazda 3 tommorow, I kinda know how to drive manual but not really that great. I was wondering from people\'s experience here, what are the best RPM\'s to shift at.

Also, how do you creep slowly with a manual car? It seems to be really hard.

welcome.. before you ask anything stupid, click here (http://torontomazda3.com/forum/search.php) :D

as for shift points.. 2500-3000 is the nice range to start.. and \'creeping\' slowly, you mean in 1st? SLOWLY let out the clutch until you find the point that it \'grabs\' then you can release quicker (but not TOO abruptly or you\'ll kiss the steering wheel) and you\'ll be \'creeping\' with no gas :) practice uphill starts after that.. fun fun fun..

oh yah and WELCOME again :) !

[SABIO]

Welcome:D

[rktsci]

Originally posted by kelvin1262003


Hi Everyone,

This is my first post. I\'m getting my Mazda 3 tommorow, I kinda know how to drive manual but not really that great. I was wondering from people\'s experience here, what are the best RPM\'s to shift at.

Also, how do you creep slowly with a manual car? It seems to be really hard.

I was in the same position when I ordered my 3 and actually drove it off the lot in Markham and back to my place in Woodbridge with a 1 hour parking lot visit in between!

[Fuman]

the BEST thing to do,
is to ask them for the demo for maybe 30 minutes, and learn on that.
bring someone that can drive stick with you, so they can teach you

[chaser]

Asked for a demo to drive around was what I did to refresh my stick-driving skill ;)

Welcome to the club

[SGT06]

The MT on the 3 is not one of the greatest out there and learning to drive manual on a brand new car is a bad idea unless you don\'t plan to keep it for too long.

How to creep slowly..put in first gear, do not touch the gas, slowly release clutch til car starts moving but do not remove foot pressure. Please don\'t try this on the road while you are learning for the sake of other drivers.

[Fuman]

get a family member to take you (a demo or your new car)
to a parking lot. After school at a school parking lot is usually good.

[lukel90]

i sort of disagree, the manual on the 3 is one of the better compact trannies out there. the 6speed in the RSX, and the S2000 are the only other cars ive driven that had crisper shifts. ive driven many cars and the 3\'s manual is simply brilliant. many people have different opinions and this is only my opinion. i would agree though that learning to drive a stick on a manual is not the smartest thing in the world. but its your car and your paying for it so go right ahead. Just take your time and dont rush. Forget about people behind you in your rearview and just go at your own pace. let them honk all they want. itll take you a few hours to get the hang of it, its really not that difficult. after a day or 2 you should be having no trouble if you practise. Good luck

[Medic22]

anyone know of any decent driving schools that can teach a newbie how to drive a manual transmission in the scarborough/TO area?

[cyberscorpi0]

Originally posted by Medic22


anyone know of any decent driving schools that can teach a newbie how to drive a manual transmission in the scarborough/TO area?

If you know how to drive Auto, It will be easy to learn MT. Just practice and I guarantee, after a couple of hours you\'ll be smooth sailing. :)

[wtom]

Originally posted by kelvin1262003

what are the best RPM\'s to shift at.

Also, how do you creep slowly with a manual car? It seems to be really hard.

Depending on what you want to do. Normal driving tho, shift between 2500 to 3000. If you are more of a harder/faster :p driver, shift between 3000 and 4000.

Creeping slowly isn\'t too difficult. Usually I just give it a bit of gas around 1000RPM (I idle at around 650 to 700RPM) and slowly let the clutch back in. It takes a bit of practice; that which you can perform in an empty parking lot. ;)

EDIT: I had my back towards majic and his post above... :p

[1flycdnM3]

Honestly, I agree with all the comments here about diving MT!

I would like to add though. The BEST time to learn standard on any car... is when it is new! (maybe have someone else drive it during the \"break-in\" period)

Reason being: Older cars have not only more wear & tear on the clutch, but also arent built as well so they break-down more easily. I drove 2 Honda\'s before owning my \"3\" and after almost a year of driving the \"3\" i am very impressed with the transmission. I learned on my Si-R when i drove it off the lot and i think you should do the same with your \"3\"....


.... Just my $0.02 :)

[Medic22]

Thanks for the comments...I guess driving manual transmission on another car will help with getting the concept and feel for it but it is best to obviously learn on the new car. I just want to have an idea of what it is like before i go about damaging my own transmission. Planning to learn on my brother-in-law\'s mazdaspeed protege tomorrow before his lease is done this Wednesday. It shall be fun...:sarc

[Xenon]

moved to Engine/Drivetrain

[Skarbro]

Although I\'m not an expert on this car (I\'m buying one too), the manual says this:


Upshifting
For normal acceleration, we recommend
these shift points.
Gear Vehicle speed
1 to 2 - 21 km/h (13 mph)
2 to 3 - 39 km/h (24 mph)
3 to 4 - 55 km/h (34 mph)
4 to 5 - 78 km/h (49 mph)

For cruising
Gear Vehicle speed
1 to 2 - 18 km/h (11 mph)
2 to 3 - 29 km/h (18 mph)
3 to 4 - 47 km/h (29 mph)
4 to 5 - 68 km/h (42 mph)