One of the early drills were taught here is clutch control. Find a hill with a gentle incline which is enough to make the car roll with the E Brake off. Put the car in first and take up the slack on the clutch to hold it stationary. Dip the clutch slightly and let it roll back slightly and then catch it and hold it. Let the clutch out gently and let it creep forward. Catch it and hold it stationary. Put the E Brake on and relax. When you can do that without thinking you've got the clutch control sorted.

Word of warning though. Dont do it for too long at a time or you'll burn your clutch out.

When you've mastered that on a sloppy manual box on your daily driver then is the time to move onto the Vette.

As the guys say, you'll pick it up very quickly with practice.

 

Expand your search area until you find a Vette with a manual tranny. You really need to try one before buying. Manual trannys are great, but they can be a chore if you live in a place where there is a lot of heavy traffic. Both my C5s have been 6-speeds, and I really liked them. But, if you do get an automatic, be sure it has the performance axle.

 

The Vette is one of the easiest manuals to use.
I love mine, but I was in Boston yesterday, and if that was the bulk of my driving I would want an auto.

 

My first Vette was a Auto C5.... then I bought four more vettes and they were all 6-Speeds..... I think that says enough on what my preference is.

get a stick... you'll enjoy it more than a auto

 

How can anyone make that decision for you. You'll be driving it, drive both and make YOUR own decision!

 

I know I am opening a can of worms here...but...REAL race cars have 3 pedals! Go stick man.

 

I just bought a 98 automatic. I wanted a manual, convertible,under 100K miles, under $20K. I got three of the four. I would recommend you make a list of you priorities first then go shopping.

 

How do you know he will enjoy it more? Heck he can't even drive a stick, He is the only one that can say what he wants, Not you or I. Because you like a stick doesn't mean he will.

 

Bottom line they are ALL vettes!! They are all cool and the autos drive well, I have driven one. Do NOT be intimidated by the vette stick transmission. There is plenty of flywheel effect and the clutch is not "heavy" ad it's function/engagement is smooth(at least in the stock ones) A smooth departure is not difficult at all. My school teacher wife has driven it to work on several occasions!! They are both cool cars I prefer the stick(and I'm an old guy) they are one of the easier sticks to drive,,if you are already mastering the skills you should be comfortable in a vette in no time!! But there are a LOT of fast A4s out there both on the strip and auto cross venues!! What ever you get ENJOY IT (and be careful we want you to become an old vetter!!) (There was a post not long ago where a young guy and his girl were killed in a high speed wipe out in a vet) let us know what you get!!

 

I need a knee replacement and can no longer manage the clutch...
If not for that I would NEVER drive an auto...
As I have been known to say...
IF it does note have : pop-up headlights, , a stick and a Vert... it's not coming home....
I have unfortunately for health reasons had to switch to an Auto...
but we have a .410 rear end in it as consolation.....

Brenda

 

Thanks a lot for the replys.

I don't have any free time to check out cars either at auctions or dealers (My buddy can get me into dealer auctions) until I'm out of school, which is like December 12th or something. So until then, I'll keep practicing on the piece of junk civic (if it sells, we were thinknig of buying another 98). I'll see how comfortable I am with the civic. Since some of you stated the clutch work and shifting is not horrible on a vette, if I get comfortable with sitcks that's probably what I'll get. It will not my my DD anyway, so I can slowly practice with it.

Also, at dealer auctions, you're free to test drive any car you wish. My buddy drove all those caddys and jag's, lol. So maybe I can find a stick vette and test it... But most vettes I see are autos. If I'm not mistaken, more vettes were produced with autos than manuals?

Anyway, thank you so much for the info.

 

Auto for me but its what you want the car for auto for cruseing or stick for raceing.

 

I think having the 6-speed for crusing would be fun... I've been driving an auto for the past 5 years (since I was 16) and I've cruised before with people who drove sticks, it seemed more fun

And as I've said, I don't race. Street racing is

 

My MN6 is a daily driver, but I never hit any heavy traffic.

IF I hit heavy, stop and go traffic, I would get an automatic.

Sticks, especially in sports cars, are more fun to drive.

 

your car your choice me old fart =auto

 

karateboi87:
I have an 04 Z06 and it is one of the easiest to shift and the clutch has a good feel to it. The skipshift is the only annoyance(soon to be eliminated). These cars have enough torque that you don't need to rev and slip the clutch and I have not stalled it. I would not hesitate at learning to shift in a Vette providing you have some instruction from someone who knows how to properly shift a manual transmission. Once you have real world experience, you won't regret it.
I do not know why some drivers complain about shfting in traffic. I do it all the time. Piece of cake. Maybe the complainers can't use their right hand to talk on the phone, drink their coffee, eat their lunch, read their paper, etc. and drive and shift at the same time.
I have owned and operated a dozen (if not more) manual transmission cars and trucks and the only one that was ever a challenge to drive on hills and heavy traffic was the Taurus SHO. Fun car(in its day) but it was a challenge to drive(no low end torque and missing clutch feel).
Proper understanding and instruction on the operation of clutch and transmission are key to the pleasure in shifting for yourself.
N Dennis

 

Actually it's one word 2 syllables just kidding......
All kidding aside - Have an A4 now but if I had to do over with my choices -I would've picked a 6 speed. Couple of reasons why I bought an A4. City driving, thought the wife was going to drive her, and last but not least - that's what the dealer have on sale ( for a new one) at the time I bought mine.

 

Thanks Dennis!

Given so much torque in vettes, would giving a little gas give the car a "jump"? But you said it's easy to smooth shiftly?

 

I personally don't understand the appeal of driving an automatic Vette. The way I see it, either you want to DRIVE a world-class sports car or you want a world-class sports car car to drive itself. Its personal preference, but wouldn't you rather drive the car?

 

"Given so much torque in vettes, would giving a little gas give the car a "jump"?"
Not sure what you mean there, but Z06(I believe the term is) throttle tip in is perfect in my opinion. My GF has a X5 and Z3 and the 3.0 motor has a "touchy"(excessive throttle tip in) gas pedal and when accellerating from a dead stop can result in minor whiplash....hard to get a smooth start. Both have the Steptronic 5-sp Auto and it is an excellent auto. I tried to get her to go for the M Roadster(no luck).


"But you said it's easy to smooth shiftly?"
Shifting the transmission is easy...no notchiness as far as I am concerned. The skip-shift is soon to be disabled. Learning to shift smoothly is a matter of practice, practice, practice. The Z06 motor decellerates more quickly in between shifts than my current ride(Cummins Diesel powered). Since I have only 1500 miles of Corvette Z06practice behind me, I am still learning to drive and shift it smoothly. Even with my lack of experience in the Vette, I would have no problem driving one in San Francisco(hills and traffic) today. Get me in my Ram 3500 Cummins 6-speed manual(with 135,000 miles) you won't be able to tell when I shift.
The Corvette (I feel) is going to be easy to master and as long as you don't excessively slip the clutch, the clutch should last a long time. Practice will make you smoother and eventually you will not even have to think about it to get smooth results.

N Dennis