I have access to a 91 Miata 5 speed once I get the charging system working correctly again, but have driven automatics for the nearly 10 years ive been behind the wheel.

I know there is a difference between knowing how to drive a stick, and how to drive one efficiently and correctly, aka, not burning through evo's clutch in a week.

Anyone have some sort of resource they can point me towards to help me out?

I have no friends that drive sticks, nor is there a local SCCA chapter, so...next best place is the interweb right?

 

Rental car?

 

Def. a rental car. Preferrably a newer one which has some sort of clutch delay valve or device.

 

or from a friend you really hate.

 

1g DSM AWD? I learned on a 5.0 mustang but the EVO is different from most cars as far as clutch slipping is concerned.

 

You'll get a feel for what works and what doesn't .. but here are some general things to look for in doing ...

1.) NEVER rest your foot on the clutch pedal, even between shifts ... that little bit of mechanical motion wears clutches out faster than you really know.
2.) NEVER rest your hand on the shifter for a long period of time ... this puts stress inputs onto the forks. The EVO is a little more forgiving being a cable pull tranny, but why tempt it?
3.) Make sure you fully depress the clutch pedal before shifting. The EVO is not a quick shifting car ... try to feel where it likes to shift, and doesn't.
4.) Read the article on howstuffworks.com on a manual transmission. This will help you visualize your inputs into the transmission on clutching and shifting.

Good Luck,

Enjoy the EVO,

jcnel.

 

you can practice all you want, but in many ways you're gonna have to relearn again once you get in the evo. turbo cars are a different animal.

 

Any bad habits I should avoid learning in the first place? Sides resting foot on clutch and hand on shifter

 

never downshift into first gear if your car is moving

 

edit: "never" [ unless you are experienced enough ] "downshift into first gear..."

 

- don't ride the clutch (meaning, don't take too long to engage it)
- don't get in the habit of soft-launching (where you start from a stop/slight roll in 1st gear at 2000-2500rpms)
- learn to rev match once you have figured out how to properly shift -- this is KEY for down shifts.
- don't downshift at all until you've learned to rev match
- don't try to be all JDM ricer ae86 initial d and heel-toe everywhere -- until you've mastered rev matching

More to come...

 

mine doesnt even like to go into first at all while rolling. i have to fight it to get it in. sometimes second too.

one more hint is dont overgas when shifting gears, it will make the car jump forward. just practice on another car until you get the feel for shifting, then i say get comfortable in the evo because a lot of bad habits will be magnified when driving it so you may not even know you have them.

 

Yikes. (re: 1st/2nd gear)

 

Before i had my EVO I bought a RSX type S and learned how to drive stick in 2 hours. It is not rocket science. Having a friend that knows how to drive stick would be good.

 

go into a big parking lot... dont try and learn it on the street. i had to learn in a porsche (unforgiving) and all i did was slowly roll out in first, shift to second, stop... and repeat until you can smoothly engage the clutch.