MT Learning Curve
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Joined: Oct 2006
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From: Minnesota
MT Learning Curve
Greetings,
My Name is Pete, but all my friends call me Pedro. This is my first post on the “EvolutionM Forums”. I live in Minnesota and am currently looking into getting an Evo (VII or IX). I have been a huge Evo enthusiast, and when I heard rumor that they were coming to the states (a few years back), I was ecstatic. For the last five years I have been going to college and recently graduated and was able to pickup a full time engineering position. To put it simply, I am young (23), unmarried, living on my own, and I finally have the money to afford something like the Evo.
But now we come to my question. I have scanned thorough the forums and found a handful of threads that have touched on this question, but I am in a bit of a different situation then many of those threads. I want to purchase a Lancer Evolution, but have limited experience driving a manual transmission. I have practiced on my co-workers 1998 Nissan Maxima a few times over the last two weeks and have gotten the hang of leaving from a stop on flat ground and driving around a parking lot thru 1st 2nd and 3rd gear. I plan on continuing to practice with him over the next few weeks. I know I have a long way to go, and my co-worker says I have enough skill to be able to learn on my own. The problem is, my co-worker won’t let me simply take is car on a daily basis to learn on, and I have no other access to co-workers or friends that have manual transmissions. Thus, I have a couple options.
Do I:
A) Purchase an inexpensive manual transmission car and learn on that for a month or two, then purchase an Evo?
B) Just buy the Evo and take the next learning step in the actual car I will get in the end anyway?
Just as a heads up because I have seen some other suggestions in other threads that I cannot do.
1. I do not have easy access to a car rental business. So renting a car and learning on that is not really an option
2. I do have a friend that would be willing to lend me his manual dodge pickup, but he lives over 4 hours away. So the distance kinda kills that option. Plus its gas milage is horrible, I may spend less just burning out the clutch on the Evo
.
There are another couple of thoughts that I should inform you about as well. First of all, will the money I loose purchasing a older manual transmission car be nearly the same as the value I would reduce my new Evo by if I were to simply get the Evo? Also, its not like I am an immature child and going to take the car and pound it into dust. Although, if I was really like that, I think the Evo would chew me up and spit me out first. I understand the fact that the Evolution is a potent Car, and with AWD and what I hear is a touchy clutch the car may be unforgiving to a newer MT driver. Also, winter is coming soon and when you combine snow, a high horsepower Evo, and a inexperienced MT driver, things could get pretty tough for me. Thus, I really want to get driving an MT prior to the snow fall.
I know this is a relatively long post, especially for it being my first one. But for those who read through it all I really appreciate it. I just wanted to make sure you all heard the entire story before any questions were answered, and I will be very thankful of any feedback I can get.
Yours truly,
Pedro
My Name is Pete, but all my friends call me Pedro. This is my first post on the “EvolutionM Forums”. I live in Minnesota and am currently looking into getting an Evo (VII or IX). I have been a huge Evo enthusiast, and when I heard rumor that they were coming to the states (a few years back), I was ecstatic. For the last five years I have been going to college and recently graduated and was able to pickup a full time engineering position. To put it simply, I am young (23), unmarried, living on my own, and I finally have the money to afford something like the Evo.
But now we come to my question. I have scanned thorough the forums and found a handful of threads that have touched on this question, but I am in a bit of a different situation then many of those threads. I want to purchase a Lancer Evolution, but have limited experience driving a manual transmission. I have practiced on my co-workers 1998 Nissan Maxima a few times over the last two weeks and have gotten the hang of leaving from a stop on flat ground and driving around a parking lot thru 1st 2nd and 3rd gear. I plan on continuing to practice with him over the next few weeks. I know I have a long way to go, and my co-worker says I have enough skill to be able to learn on my own. The problem is, my co-worker won’t let me simply take is car on a daily basis to learn on, and I have no other access to co-workers or friends that have manual transmissions. Thus, I have a couple options.
Do I:
A) Purchase an inexpensive manual transmission car and learn on that for a month or two, then purchase an Evo?
B) Just buy the Evo and take the next learning step in the actual car I will get in the end anyway?
Just as a heads up because I have seen some other suggestions in other threads that I cannot do.
1. I do not have easy access to a car rental business. So renting a car and learning on that is not really an option
2. I do have a friend that would be willing to lend me his manual dodge pickup, but he lives over 4 hours away. So the distance kinda kills that option. Plus its gas milage is horrible, I may spend less just burning out the clutch on the Evo
.There are another couple of thoughts that I should inform you about as well. First of all, will the money I loose purchasing a older manual transmission car be nearly the same as the value I would reduce my new Evo by if I were to simply get the Evo? Also, its not like I am an immature child and going to take the car and pound it into dust. Although, if I was really like that, I think the Evo would chew me up and spit me out first. I understand the fact that the Evolution is a potent Car, and with AWD and what I hear is a touchy clutch the car may be unforgiving to a newer MT driver. Also, winter is coming soon and when you combine snow, a high horsepower Evo, and a inexperienced MT driver, things could get pretty tough for me. Thus, I really want to get driving an MT prior to the snow fall.
I know this is a relatively long post, especially for it being my first one. But for those who read through it all I really appreciate it. I just wanted to make sure you all heard the entire story before any questions were answered, and I will be very thankful of any feedback I can get.
Yours truly,
Pedro
hey petey!! welcome.. i see you've worked hard enough, paid your dues.. hell, go out and buy an evo, the clutches are crap anyways!!!
i also bought a car (90 gsx 5spd) w/out knowing how to drive a stick.. it took around 2 weeks to get the hang of it... i would never compare the gsx to the evo, but they are from the same gene pool!
i also bought a car (90 gsx 5spd) w/out knowing how to drive a stick.. it took around 2 weeks to get the hang of it... i would never compare the gsx to the evo, but they are from the same gene pool!
Evolved Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,080
Likes: 27
From: Southern California
If you've got the basics down, then you can go ahead and just get an Evo. But do you need to purchase it right now? If I were you, I'd keep practicing until I got the hang of it. While the Evo was the first manual that I've owned, I've driven manuals many times before and had already gotten a really good grasp on rev-matching and heel-toeing, which should definitely be utilized on the Evo not just for spirited driving, but for daily use to reduce stress and wear on parts like the clutch and drivetrain. You'd probably be fine just getting an Evo now, but if you're making decent money, then give it a shot. But keep in mind that in the process of learning how to properly drive stick, especially on an Evo, you'll probably wear your clutch down at a quicker rate until you learn. So be prepared to buy a new one, but not right away. (Some people tend to exaggerate the wear on the clutch, it won't go out within a couple thousand miles, even with poor driving.) But if you can master the important stuff I named before getting the car, then there's a good chance that your clutch will last well past 40k miles.
As a side note, I used to post on a variety of WRX forums when I was into those cars, and there was a WRX know-it-all who bought one of the first WRXs and was the first on the board to hit 100k miles, and he was still on his ORIGINAL clutch. And for those of you familiar with the earliest U.S.-spec WRXs, they were even more notorious for weak clutches than the earliest Evo VIIIs. He did a pretty good mixing of daily driving and autocrossing, so it's not like he babied his car all the time. He just had really good driving technique.
As a side note, I used to post on a variety of WRX forums when I was into those cars, and there was a WRX know-it-all who bought one of the first WRXs and was the first on the board to hit 100k miles, and he was still on his ORIGINAL clutch. And for those of you familiar with the earliest U.S.-spec WRXs, they were even more notorious for weak clutches than the earliest Evo VIIIs. He did a pretty good mixing of daily driving and autocrossing, so it's not like he babied his car all the time. He just had really good driving technique.
Evolving Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 477
Likes: 32
From: VT
A few years back I too was nervous of purchasing a new car with a manual transmission, but really wanted to learn. I went ahead and got a 5 speed Tiburon, and sure I fell off the horse a few times, but eventually got the hang of it. Within a few months I was going all over without any problems.
If you jump right in and get the Evo, just remember that it WILL be a little frustrating to learn. The power of the Evo doesn't really help things for a beginner, but honestly I see no legitimate reason to buy a whole nother car just to learn. As long as you don't drive like a fool you're not going to burn out the clutch or do any serious damage, so in my opinion, just get the car you want and learn to drive it.
Like me, you may have a few issues along the way, as everyone does, but in the end it's well worth it.
Good luck!
If you jump right in and get the Evo, just remember that it WILL be a little frustrating to learn. The power of the Evo doesn't really help things for a beginner, but honestly I see no legitimate reason to buy a whole nother car just to learn. As long as you don't drive like a fool you're not going to burn out the clutch or do any serious damage, so in my opinion, just get the car you want and learn to drive it.
Like me, you may have a few issues along the way, as everyone does, but in the end it's well worth it.
Good luck!
First off getting a learner car shouldn't be a real issue if you don't do stupid things like high rev drops or slam the brakes with the clutch in at high rpm.
My remaining thoughts:
If you use it alot it shouldn't take more than a day to get the feel of it, though that being said mastering a manual wont come until you push yourself.
I feel most people can drive a manual with ease though with my personal background having driven everything from bikes, honda's, mazda's, camaro's, diesel dumptrucks picking up the evo was more than a breeze.
The biggest problem i've run into with new MT learners is trying to get them to "Feel" the clutch rather than one giant sweeping motion. There is this semi grippy point where you should be able to use effeciently to get her rolling.
Also a word of advice, stay calm when you goof up and relax...
My remaining thoughts:
If you use it alot it shouldn't take more than a day to get the feel of it, though that being said mastering a manual wont come until you push yourself.
I feel most people can drive a manual with ease though with my personal background having driven everything from bikes, honda's, mazda's, camaro's, diesel dumptrucks picking up the evo was more than a breeze.
The biggest problem i've run into with new MT learners is trying to get them to "Feel" the clutch rather than one giant sweeping motion. There is this semi grippy point where you should be able to use effeciently to get her rolling.
Also a word of advice, stay calm when you goof up and relax...
Originally Posted by Pedro9237
Greetings,
My Name is Pete, but all my friends call me Pedro. This is my first post on the “EvolutionM Forums”. I live in Minnesota and am currently looking into getting an Evo (VII or IX). I have been a huge Evo enthusiast, and when I heard rumor that they were coming to the states (a few years back), I was ecstatic. For the last five years I have been going to college and recently graduated and was able to pickup a full time engineering position. To put it simply, I am young (23), unmarried, living on my own, and I finally have the money to afford something like the Evo.
But now we come to my question. I have scanned thorough the forums and found a handful of threads that have touched on this question, but I am in a bit of a different situation then many of those threads. I want to purchase a Lancer Evolution, but have limited experience driving a manual transmission. I have practiced on my co-workers 1998 Nissan Maxima a few times over the last two weeks and have gotten the hang of leaving from a stop on flat ground and driving around a parking lot thru 1st 2nd and 3rd gear. I plan on continuing to practice with him over the next few weeks. I know I have a long way to go, and my co-worker says I have enough skill to be able to learn on my own. The problem is, my co-worker won’t let me simply take is car on a daily basis to learn on, and I have no other access to co-workers or friends that have manual transmissions. Thus, I have a couple options.
Do I:
A) Purchase an inexpensive manual transmission car and learn on that for a month or two, then purchase an Evo?
B) Just buy the Evo and take the next learning step in the actual car I will get in the end anyway?
Just as a heads up because I have seen some other suggestions in other threads that I cannot do.
1. I do not have easy access to a car rental business. So renting a car and learning on that is not really an option
2. I do have a friend that would be willing to lend me his manual dodge pickup, but he lives over 4 hours away. So the distance kinda kills that option. Plus its gas milage is horrible, I may spend less just burning out the clutch on the Evo .
There are another couple of thoughts that I should inform you about as well. First of all, will the money I loose purchasing a older manual transmission car be nearly the same as the value I would reduce my new Evo by if I were to simply get the Evo? Also, its not like I am an immature child and going to take the car and pound it into dust. Although, if I was really like that, I think the Evo would chew me up and spit me out first. I understand the fact that the Evolution is a potent Car, and with AWD and what I hear is a touchy clutch the car may be unforgiving to a newer MT driver. Also, winter is coming soon and when you combine snow, a high horsepower Evo, and a inexperienced MT driver, things could get pretty tough for me. Thus, I really want to get driving an MT prior to the snow fall.
I know this is a relatively long post, especially for it being my first one. But for those who read through it all I really appreciate it. I just wanted to make sure you all heard the entire story before any questions were answered, and I will be very thankful of any feedback I can get.
Yours truly,
Pedro
My Name is Pete, but all my friends call me Pedro. This is my first post on the “EvolutionM Forums”. I live in Minnesota and am currently looking into getting an Evo (VII or IX). I have been a huge Evo enthusiast, and when I heard rumor that they were coming to the states (a few years back), I was ecstatic. For the last five years I have been going to college and recently graduated and was able to pickup a full time engineering position. To put it simply, I am young (23), unmarried, living on my own, and I finally have the money to afford something like the Evo.
But now we come to my question. I have scanned thorough the forums and found a handful of threads that have touched on this question, but I am in a bit of a different situation then many of those threads. I want to purchase a Lancer Evolution, but have limited experience driving a manual transmission. I have practiced on my co-workers 1998 Nissan Maxima a few times over the last two weeks and have gotten the hang of leaving from a stop on flat ground and driving around a parking lot thru 1st 2nd and 3rd gear. I plan on continuing to practice with him over the next few weeks. I know I have a long way to go, and my co-worker says I have enough skill to be able to learn on my own. The problem is, my co-worker won’t let me simply take is car on a daily basis to learn on, and I have no other access to co-workers or friends that have manual transmissions. Thus, I have a couple options.
Do I:
A) Purchase an inexpensive manual transmission car and learn on that for a month or two, then purchase an Evo?
B) Just buy the Evo and take the next learning step in the actual car I will get in the end anyway?
Just as a heads up because I have seen some other suggestions in other threads that I cannot do.
1. I do not have easy access to a car rental business. So renting a car and learning on that is not really an option
2. I do have a friend that would be willing to lend me his manual dodge pickup, but he lives over 4 hours away. So the distance kinda kills that option. Plus its gas milage is horrible, I may spend less just burning out the clutch on the Evo
.There are another couple of thoughts that I should inform you about as well. First of all, will the money I loose purchasing a older manual transmission car be nearly the same as the value I would reduce my new Evo by if I were to simply get the Evo? Also, its not like I am an immature child and going to take the car and pound it into dust. Although, if I was really like that, I think the Evo would chew me up and spit me out first. I understand the fact that the Evolution is a potent Car, and with AWD and what I hear is a touchy clutch the car may be unforgiving to a newer MT driver. Also, winter is coming soon and when you combine snow, a high horsepower Evo, and a inexperienced MT driver, things could get pretty tough for me. Thus, I really want to get driving an MT prior to the snow fall.
I know this is a relatively long post, especially for it being my first one. But for those who read through it all I really appreciate it. I just wanted to make sure you all heard the entire story before any questions were answered, and I will be very thankful of any feedback I can get.
Yours truly,
Pedro
Be safe and don't try to drive like an experienced driver right off the bat. Take it nice and slow and get yourself acquainted with the car. The Evo does have a slightly tricky clutch pedal because of the restrictor in the clutch line, but you'll get the hang of it. Just avoid hills for awhile.
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Evolving Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 477
Likes: 32
From: VT
Originally Posted by RoadSpike
The biggest problem i've run into with new MT learners is trying to get them to "Feel" the clutch rather than one giant sweeping motion. There is this semi grippy point where you should be able to use effeciently to get her rolling.
Or you could just drop the sucker and accelerate like a bat out of hell, either way works
Evolved Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,080
Likes: 27
From: Southern California
Originally Posted by rane
Or you could just drop the sucker and accelerate like a bat out of hell, either way works
If you know the basics, you'll do fine. I learned how to drive a manual transmission with my IX and its doing great with about 8,700 miles or so all while making a lot more power than stock since 1500 miles.
Evolving Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 477
Likes: 32
From: VT
Originally Posted by DeeezNuuuts83
Please don't recommend that ever again, unless you've already got a beefed up clutch and transmission or at least money for replacements.
joke [johk] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, joked, jok‧ing.
–noun 1. something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act: He tells very funny jokes. She played a joke on him.
2. something that is amusing or ridiculous, esp. because of being ludicrously inadequate or a sham; a thing, situation, or person laughed at rather than taken seriously; farce: Their pretense of generosity is a joke. An officer with no ability to command is a joke.
After driving a MT s10 for the past 3 years I got my first test drive on an evo tonight and had no problems at all. With all the talk about how bad the clutches are I was afraid i was going to stall it a couple times, but I had no problems at all.
smiley or something... s'all good.
Evolving Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 477
Likes: 32
From: VT
Originally Posted by XtoEvolution
After driving a MT s10 for the past 3 years I got my first test drive on an evo tonight and had no problems at all. With all the talk about how bad the clutches are I was afraid i was going to stall it a couple times, but I had no problems at all.
But all in all, it feels great to me. As long as you let up nice and easy you move fine. Hell, I'm able to creep up at least a hundred times better than I could in my last car.