One day I was bored and wanted a BRZ...
 

i'm 25 and always wanted to learn how to drive a manual car but never had the chance to. recently paid off my 07 Acura TL Type S and I've been lurking these forums and read about how members rave about how this car was so fun especially with a M/T. So I had to do it. Put the TL on Craigslist and it was sold..

2 days later and I had no car, picked up a beater civic for to learn how to drive M/T. I was scared at first, but had a really good friend walk me through.. I'm still nervous when I drive the car, especially when I'm on a steep decline, like a freeway overpass. still havent driven it to work yet but im getting dropped off.

am i crazy?! has anyone else sold their DD, picked up a beater, and are now waiting for a BRZ?!

Sometimes I miss my ol TL
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...S/DSC_0336.jpg

:burnrubber:

Traded in my DD at the dealership for a frs.
Learned how to drive stick on the spot.
Believe me, I wanted to shit my pants...

Awesome that you made the effort to learn to drive stick. I think the BRZ is a great platform to learn how to drive stick. I can heel and toe with ease in this car because everything from the pedal position and feel to the way the shifter is symmetric and positive.
It's not a fast car but it's the best driver's car that I have ever owned. And my last car I owned was a stage 2 2009 WRX hatchback. Not many cars on the road can compare to that. But the 86 car is a also a special vehicle.

I got bored and bought my BRZ that day.

Lol. Did about 4 hours of research, a test drive, and knew it was what I wanted.

When I sold my Sti, i was driving my girlfriends Nissan Juke and my Mercedes SUV. Not a beater but you defintely get sports car withdrawl.

You have more balls than me! I get really nervous at stop lights when theres people watching me.

A year ago, i wanted a STi really badly but couldnt see myself affording it then comes a few BRZ sightings, forum lurking, and bam..im here!:bellyroll:

I kind of regret not doing this from time to time. Then I get stuck in traffic or a stoplight on a huge hill here in Seattle and I'm like "Nahh, I'm good."

I love getting stopped on steep hills. Rev that motor out... :)

Good on you though OP. I'd suggest finding a decent incline that you can practice on with no one around. That's what I did the first week I got my Impreza. Find a parking lot or something with a decent hill that you can stall and roll back down without worry of hitting anything.

yeah i sold the Sti to buy s2000 or miata, then BRZ came along:)

I actually sold my TL, bought a used civic to learn manual in and got my BRZ a few months later

At least you're making an effort to learn stick shift.

Sold my motorcycle, BMW F650GS, for a down payment on the BRZ. Learned stick on it. Only took a couple weeks before I felt comfortable enough to not get nervous every time I hopped in the driver's seat :)

I almost did what you did when I first learned to drive stick. I was considering a beater 323 or Jetta, then I came across a good deal on a Jeep. If you haven't fully learned yet and the BRZ comes along, just jump on it.

Basically when I first learned to drive stick it was at the dealer where I purchased my first Jeep. I had been practicing in my g/f's Saturn so I was able to get out of the dealer lot (salesman didn't come thankfully), pull into the next parking lot, practice starting and getting up to third. Needless to say the 150 mile drive home was hell on the nerves. After a month it was so worth it and I never looked back.

I pre-ordered my BRZ in February 2012 with a Manual transmission never having owned a stick before and only driving stick in my friends cars a couple times while they were trying to teach me.

I took delivery of one of the first probably 20 BRZ's to hit the streets of New England on June 4th, 2012. I drove it home on the spot myself having almost no prior experience driving stick, on a new clutch in the city of Boston Massachusetts....that was an interesting first week of ownership. There was a lot of honking and me almost shitting myself...especially on hill starts (which Boston has a lot of BTW.)

I didn't give up however....I drove this car around the city every day until the snow hit and it went into storage...I got good, and I got good FAST.

There is no replacement for practical experience, get out, drive it, don't get pissed or scared when the person behind you starts honking at you cause you're going slow. Take you time, go slow when driving, BE CAREFUL, try not to put yourself in any crazy hill start situations unless you have to. If you do get in a hill start situation and you have people behind you, DO NOT be afraid to over-rev the engine and burn the clutch a little bit. That's what it's there for, and a clutch is FAR cheaper to replace than vehicle damage is to repair and it doesn't raise your insurance premiums.

I've been driving the BRZ for just over a year now, I have put 18,000 miles on the BRZ in ONE year. I am now more proficient at driving manual than at least ONE of the two people who taught me how and I'm on par with the other one. Hill starts are easy now, I can upshift, downshift, clutchless upshift and I can shift quick enough that if I'm WOT when I shift from 1st to 2nd the tires will chirp in 2nd gear.

So, for the first year, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO DRIVE. Drive as much as you can, find reasons to drive, and (the environmentalist in me is going to hate me for saying this) find reasons to drive (instead of walk or bus) places you normally wouldn't for the first year. The more experience you can cram into the first year, the better. Trust me it will be frustrating at times, there was more than once I considered driving back to the dealer and trading mine in for an automatic BRZ, a decision I know I would have regretted, but stick with it, once you get over the major hump or starts, hill starts and stops it's all easy sailing from there.

I too went from a TL Type S to a BRZ...no regrets at all! The TL is a great car, however, it was lacking a few things that I *wanted* in a car. Congrats on the purchase!

:bellyroll:

:party0030:

Did this with out the pants shitting. Sold my motorcycle and saved up a bit for my frs. I guess I wasn't all that unfamiliar with the concept of stick shift just that I've learned it in a different form. I did stall test driving :bellyroll:

Good on you for this...I would much rather burn up a beater's clutch than a brand new car's...there is still going to be an adjustment with the BRZ when you get it, but it will be much easier now that you've practiced a bit...

Its the incline that takes getting used to without stalling, but best thing is to go on a hill at night when no cars are around or even a ramp of an empty parking garage and practice....

i was 26 when i got my first MT 3 years ago, i learned on my cousin's accord for a couple hours, then picked up my 370z..... youll be surprised at how quick you learn. i would never drive AT again unless i get a SUV.

Good on you for learning to drive stick. Something everybody should learn how to do in my opinion. On steep inclines, the handbrake is your friend against rolling back. To this day, I still use it to lessen the wear on my clutch going up a hill.

Best way to get used to it is going down a hill to get the clutch to engage and get a feel for where the friction point is and you run less of a chance to stall the car.

Be mindful of whether you are in gear or not when you come to a stop. Everyone I teach to drive stick always forget that they are in gear when they come to a stop and stall the car hard when they suddenly release the clutch in 3rd. Not my car, but their car that they just bought and learn on.

Been driving stick ever since I pass my roadtest.

Echoing what everyone else has said: when the right car comes along, it's totally worth learning to drive stick.

For me, it was when I was 23 in 2007. I bought a Honda Civic SI despite not being able to drive it. I kept my old car for two weeks while I taught myself how to drive stick, then traded it in and never looked back.

When the BRZ came along, despite the knowledge that I "should" get an auto so that the wife can drive it, I still couldn't resist another manual. I look forward to another 6-7 years of truly enjoying my daily driving. It's worth it, and I highly doubt you'll ever regret your decision.

^ Hahaha my gf is pretty annoyed that I want a MT, but i offered to let her use the civic beater to learn!

I learned on my Integra that I bought in 2003. It was a rough couple of first days. I almost drifted back into a car in a Mcdonald's drive thru. I got the hang of it though.

I think I am to used to the Integra, but I am having trouble adjusting to the BRZ shifting.

Edit: BTW your TL was beautiful. IMO once honda/acura stopped making the s2k, they stopped having anything interesting to sell.

I thought the TL Type-S came with a manual only.....*shrug*

Great looking TL-S btw.

The BRZ is my DD and track whore, but I didn't sell anything to get it. I really don't need 3 cars.. or 4 which I might be up to soon. Need to start selling stuff :)

Basically this. Never owned a stick. Day 2 I was sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on the DC Beltway; trial by fire is the best to learn. You QUICKLY understand what does what and why. This is an easy car to drive and very forgiving as far as the clutch goes.

mmmm....driving stick is really tricky the first few months. All throughout college, I drove automatic. As soon as I graduated and got a job, I bought my first stick car. 2008 Subaru Impreza Outback. Brand spanking new with no experience in driving stick, I took delivery of that car at the dealership. Let me just say the drive back home took almost 1 hour when it would take 5 mins......

Traded that car in for a Legacy 2.5GT (stick also), bought the BRZ (m/t) as a second car...sold the Legacy GT because it just ate up gas...now I'm in the market for a fuel efficient awd, but this time a/t for dd. BRZ will be fun car :)

Never owned a stick, and only driven maybe 4 manual cars before my BRZ.... for a total of probably 6 times. Picked up my car and did bumper to bumper traffic on a four lane in-city road on the way home. Got real used to her real fast.

Love the car though. Seriously glad that I went with the M/T.

i learned how to drive stick on my frs. only had driven stick once on my friends truck and it was for about 10 minutes. i got it my first try, but when i drove my new frs, i was sweating out of my hands cuz i was so nervous. it was fun tho

I think your going to like it alot but miss the power everything, huge trunk and torque....the braking and handling are stupid better though.

I was looking at that. But 148 hp.....dunno about overtaking on freeway speeds....

don't want outback coz one of my friends has one, don't want forester coz one of my friends has one :)

I'm going to test drive the Crosstrek Hybrid in the fall...maybe, just maybe.

My car was delivered may 8th 2012 and the only problem Ive had was the tail lights...and my aftermarket tails fixed that while lookin much better. Dropped a new stereo and I'm good. Don't get me wrong it prefer not to have plastic that's easy to scratch inside my car but it doesn't all rattle and nothing is out o place. Everything is flush. No crickets and such. Maybe I'm just lucky lol or they had better quality control for the first86ers

So I wasn't expecting this phone call today but a family friend that works at Toyota called and asked me if I wanted a FRS Series 10 and i said ok :] and it'll be here by the end of the month!! ahh i wasnt expecting a car for a few months!

DO EEET! Seriously though thats awesome news for you....although your stuck with scion badging...I had to remove them as soon as I could. Just really not cool with the "idea" of Scion...

I wish I can put the Toyota badges on lol

Check out the 2014 Mazda Cx5. I traded my Audi s4 with intention of getting brz for a weekend car. I am impressed by the space and power the cx5 makes. Fun to drive as well

Learned for a day on a 92 civic that even at 21 years old seemed to have the buttery smooth honda gearbox everyone raves about. After just a couple hours in the civic my shifting felt smooth, seamless and consistent.

I also don't feel quite comfortable with the shifting the FR-S yet either, especially first to second, granted though I have only been driving stick for 8 months. I find the FR-S gearbox is much more sensitive to my inputs and gives a lot of feedback in the form of clunking and jerkiness when my technique and timing isn't at its best.

The FR-S is a sports car though the shifter feels completely different and much better at higher RPMs.