|
I bought my 2008 Si brand new and had no idea how to drive stick. A friend tried to teach me on his older Miata but I was pretty bad.. I almost felt sorry for him losing his patience with me.
Needless to say, 4 years later I've gotten pretty damn good at it. You learn how to take off without burning up the clutch (near-idle instead of like with 2K+ rpm), the graceful up-hill launch, rev-matching downshifts, and how fast you are going based on just the feel of the car and what gear you are in.
However, the first 3 months were somewhat frustrating. The stall-outs, the bad launches, the up-hill fails, and the few bad shifts with the transmission not agreeing with you. It happens, even to the best rarely, but you just need experience and practice.
I'm so glad I did it and I would recommend it. Even if you later decide to go AT instead of MT on your next car, it's a great skill to have. You should never feel like you can't get the car you want because you can't drive manual (the Si only comes in stick, the FR-S has either). The guys over at the Standard Shift forum offer a ton of information, lots of good answers and techniques.
|