BlueSix

FYI the overall 1st gear ratio of a 5 speed stang w/2.73's and a 6 speed f body w/stock gears is nearly identical.

longdaddy

about 3-4 days to get comfortable driving around town. took me about 2 weeks to learn starting uphill without inching backwards. I learned when I bought Z06, drove it home from the dealer myself

I drive it in stop-and go almost every day (only 2 miles each way though). It's not a big deal.

_JB_

iTrader: (33)

Really? I had to put it up to like 1700-2000RPMs for it to move. When I put 3.55s in it, then it moved no problem.

BlueSix

If i remember correctly the T5's first gear is like a 3.3x, the f body T56 first gear is 2.66. The added low end torque of the LS1 will make all that math less noticeable though.

lilstephsls1

iTrader: (5)

my ws6 was my first stick car. it was VERY easy to learn on. I drove it for about an hour every weekend for a month and i learned really quick.

ebear

After 1 day you'll be able to drive it anywhere without much trouble, but getting "good" just takes time, and getting used to that particular car.

OverLord

what do you have to do, when you are still on a uphill, i had to do it ocne (i am 15) and what i did was, pull up the hand brake, press down the clutch, give it some gas, pull down the hand brake slowy, while easying of the clutch. But is there a better or right way to do it?

_JB_

iTrader: (33)

I'll hold the car with the brake, then when it's time to go, I'll hold the car a little bit with the clutch. All happens in less than a second.

Ghostintheshell

98 TA LS1 - my first manual transmission ever.

After a few hours, you get quite comfortable with it.

Best to have someone in the car with you who knows exactly what they are doing.

RitzBlitz

I too am fifteen.... but I have been drivin sticks since I was a little kid (Im a farm boy). The way I do it (and most people living around here cause we're all farmers) is heal toe it on the brake and gas and just let the clutch out while letting off the brake.... But the again Im used to not havin an ebrake to hold with (72 GMC 6500 with a gross weight of 30,000 plus and the ebrake tends to give up the ghost.. and the lil 366 big block and 5 speed with 2 speed rear doesn't really let u upshift till the top of the hill..... lol).

longdaddy

don't bother with e-brake. find empty street going uphill and just practice switching your foot from brake to gas when the clutch starts grabbing. a little frustrating at first (I even managed to set off the code learning that ) but you never have to bother with e-brake afterwards.

_JB_

iTrader: (33)

I second that. I've never used the E-brake. I tried driving using my right foot to hold the brake and give it gas at the same time, and it didn't work. I've got to big of feet for it.

Swang

iTrader: (3)

its not bad. i learned on a car w/o a lot of uber low end torque. a bmw 323is. made the fbodies seem really easy to drive. you dont even have to give em gas if you slip the clutch. i tought my friend on his 95z how to drive it in about 20 minutes. these cars are easy. you shouldnt have a problem.

Black Z/28

You're just going to do everything faster- which means you really gotta get it right- fast with the clutch and fast with the gas (generous with the gas). I've never used the E brake.

Schwindj

My first car was a manual and I havent looked back. I had the basic idea of stick shifting down in about an hour, but it took about a week before I was proficient. I now refuse to buy an automatic trans car.(dont know if thats just me )
One of the best reccommendations I can make for trying to learn to drive a manual car is find a big gravel parking lot. Since you dont have great traction you wont be jerking around and you will be less frustrated, I know I was when I tried to learn on concrete.
And for taking off on an uphill just start to let the clutch out and take your foot off of the brake at the same time and by the time you have completely taken your foot off of the brake you should have reached the friction point of the clutch, which will hold the car while you give it gas.
Its easy once you have gotten comfortable with the clutch on that car. Just practice on a hill thats not that steep, like your driveway.
James

Cumbias

I learned how to drive stick in my uncle's S10. To me the hardest part was start moving from a dead stop, but once I got goin' it was easy. it took me 2 two-hour sessions to learn. A week later, I bought my T/A. I was suprised at the amount of gas I had to give it to start moving. I had to be careful how fast I releaed the clutch and rev the engine high enough to start moving. With the T/A you need to rev very little or nothing in some cases. I say, rent a car for I day to get the feel of it, then get the F-Body.

EugThinks

I learned stick earlier this year on my SS, right after I bought it... my dad had to test drive it and drive it home for me because I didn't know how to drive a manual transmission yet. I agree with all the comments about LS1s being good cars to learn on, mostly because the clutch is so forgiving. Seems like American cars tend towards having a bigger "slipping range" on the clutch, where a Japanese car (for example) has a much smaller range... meaning it's much easier to accidentally let go of the clutch pedal a tiny bit too much and stall the car. My first night driving stick, I learned on the SS... my second night, I practiced on my friend's Miata, and I stalled that poor Miata more times that night than I've stalled the Camaro total. Having enough torque to keep the car from stalling as easily helps a lot too.

And a suggestion for practicing hill starts... find a multi-level parking garage and practice on the ramps between levels, preferably at night when nobody's moving around in the garage. When nobody's parking or driving around the garage, it's the perfect obstruction-free place to practice.

militant_x

iTrader: (1)

I learned in an 86 corvette. Just bought the car and figured it out, little by little around the block. Didnt take more than maybe 10 min. Stalled out a few times at stop signs or on hills, etc, the norm. Id say about a week max to get comfortable. Yet it has taken much longer to get *good*, that is: shift fast and on time, heel-toe and revmatching, shifting correctly with no traction etc, zero jerkyness. A little while after I got the car I shifted reallllly hard into second while the car was still spinning the wheels hard.... I quickly lost control and did a 360, luckly everything was alright.

High power cars are very unforgiving when it comes to making mistakes. You can break things that are expensive. Ive never driven a 4th gen, but if they have any of the traction issues I had.... have LOTS of fun driving in the rain.

Itll take you a little while to totally have control over the car. You should be good to drive in under a week though. Not trying to scare you off. Get the m6, you drive the car, not the other way around.

DaGeneral

iTrader: (3)

My parents gave me the option to get an LS1 when they were car searching, but I refused to get an automatic.(They wanted an auto because they dont feel like learning a stick) If Im getting a Camaro or TA I want the car to be my dream car and more. Its gonna be an M6 and Im also scared lol. Ive only driven my friends 88 Celica and I was "ripping" through gears, My only problem was with the stupid clutch. I would have to push it too far in and I would at times miss the clutch, also when I had to pull the car up the driveway. Let of a loud screach but didnt move. I also stalled it, they told me to hold the clutch in and not let go until I start giving it gas, I still couldnt get it up...lol, I love Manual cars and when I get my , hopefully, WS6 or SS this summer Im gonna love it ..

YoungGunLs1

I just bought my T/A about a month and a half ago and it was the first manual transmission car I have owned (drove a geo prizm about 2 1/2 years ago a few miles). Drove it 400 miles home from chicago to MN. (340 of it was all 6th gear interstate driving )

I was nervous as hell, and I even regretted buying the 6 speed for the first 3 or 4 days I owned it, but after about 3 weeks, or about 1,000 miles I was comfortable and felt that I was decent at driving a manual.

Now after a month I still am no pro and I have a few moments if you know what i mean, but I don't regret getting it at all and now driving a stick is like tieing my shoes, its just something I do without thinking.

If you get one, just practice, practice, practice (which is what I read on here before I bought mine and is the best advice you can get) and make sure you have proper hand placement, which has been key to good shifting for me (do a search and you will find lots more info and topics on all of this)

Hope that helps!!