Learning to drive stick with a NSX?

[DopeScope]

Please understand that while you will find a car at a lower price point, you should have at least $10,000 cash on hand ready to address problems. Most owners who bought 91-92 cars here on prime dumped at least $5k into them within the first few months (tbromley, R13, etc.) The early cars are now over 20 years old and things wear out. If you plan to daily drive, that is even more important. NSX parts are not cheap. Good luck!

I've got the cash that I could probably buy one outright, but I'm planning on financing with PenFed (just setup my account yesterday) so that I'll have more cash on hand just in case. I just don't like the idea of spending $30k+ on a used car, even if it's a really nice used car, so the less I can spend, the better.

 

[BATMANs]

NSX, like most Hondas are easy to learn stick on.

I picked up stick shift in high school in a minute on a RX7.

it was cake for me.

 

[Honcho]

I picked up stick shift in high school in a minute on a RX7.

it was cake for me.

Me too. First car was 1983 RX7.

 

[shawn110975]

this is not your normal used car this is an NSX totally different from a used BMW, or used Porsche that retain no resale value.

you can buy your NSX and in 5 years when the loan is paid off sell it and make money.

this was made with pride in japan and 20+ years later it still shows. and they are still on the roads.

 

[DopeScope]

this is not your normal used car this is an NSX totally different from a used BMW, or used Porsche that retain no resale value.

you can buy your NSX and in 5 years when the loan is paid off sell it and make money.

this was made with pride in japan and 20+ years later it still shows. and they are still on the roads.

Not sure what you intend by this post, are you trying to convince me to spend more on my NSX?

BTW, do you still have that red/ivory 92?

 

[JadeFox]

Forgot to mention DopeScope, I will be renting a manual transmission car for a week before my NSX arrives.

 

[DopeScope]

Forgot to mention DopeScope, I will be renting a manual transmission car for a week before my NSX arrives.

Where are you renting a manual transmission car from?

 

[vivanshah]

Where are you renting a manual transmission car from?

curious as well - i'd love to rent a manual to help teach the wife on, but have never found one.

 

[JadeFox]

I'd Google your local area and look for one. Most likely, it's the smaller rental companies that will have one available. For example, here is one of 4 companies I'm considering in the Los Angeles area.

http://www.carrentalla.com/

Good luck!

 

[Aluminsx]

I would not advise it for many of the reasons mentioned above. I've been driving a stick shift car for the better part of 29 years (since I was 17). It's been my experience that a car with lots of torque is easier to learn to drive a stick on. The NSX does not have that much torque (compared to a diesel or a V8) and therefore would be harder to learn on (you could kill the clutch in 10 minutes if you don't know what you're doing $$$$$$$). If you could score a Jetta TDI manual transmission to learn on you'd be golden. Just food for thought. Good luck to you.

 

[synth19]

First of all, you have not practiced enough. Go with your friend and get on the streets to improve your level of comfort. Practicing in a parking lot is simply not going to cut it. My first manual car was a 350z back in 2003. Although I had a few lessons prior to purchasing this car, it was my first manual car and REALLY learned how to drive stick on the 350z. With that said, it was complete hell for the first two weeks. You guys have no idea how many times I stalled and just simply sucked. But eventually I "got it." With the NSX, I don't advise learning on it, but it is doable and you will probably ease into it alot sooner then I did with my 350z.

The main problem IMHO with new drivers on a manual car is the "pressure" factor. When you're at a stoplight and stall, you have to deal with people honking and being irritated. Instead of just taking a deep breath and starting over, most people get nervous and it takes them longer to get back into gear. You'll have buyers remorse and may even curse the beloved NSX.

On the positive side, Honda's transmissions/manual cars are just plain butter. Any manual Honda is ridiculously easy to drive, and the NSX is no exception. After a few months of driving my Z, I test drove a manual civic and I couldn't believe how easy it was to drive compared to my Nissan.

So if you do end up getting a manual NSX, practice as much as possible on your own time. The hardest thing is getting into first gear and finding that "sweet spot." But once you consistently get it, you'll be fine and driving manual will be second nature. Another thing you may want to do is consider going to work earlier and maybe staying later to avoid traffic so you don't get into too many of those pressure situations I described.

 

[FF Drifter]

You will never be good at driving manual until you have to daily-drive one. An NSX might be that car, but be willing to pay for replacing the clutch early too.

 

[Yinzer]

Has anyone here bought a manual trans car just to learn on? Out of all the friends and people I know who learned how to drive stick, not one burned out their clutch to the point of needing replacement while learning, regardless of car type. With reasonably good instruction, they all got it relatively quickly and moved on with life. Have many here experienced quick clutch kills either thru their own experience or by others? Honest question, not being a smart a** one bit. I can see that happening for sure - I just know of no examples personally and I was lucky enough to have learned stick quickly - I got 85,000 miles on my first car's original clutch before I sold the car.

But on the more pragmatic side of things - the premise of buying a car to learn on sounds like it comes with the implied assumption that you need one with a clutch in reasonably good shape to begin with and that you're likely to wear it out while learning - assuming you might be out ~$600 to $1000+ for replacing it especially if you want to sell the car (unless it was a total beater from the start and bought for under $1000) plus the couple hundred you spent on taxes and insurance and registration for buying the car, plus the possible loss from the sale, plus the time cost of all the shopping/buying/fixing/selling, it kind of sounds equally compelling just to buy an Nsx that likely might be past 1/2 of its current clutch's life anyway and learn on it and then put that $2000+ towards a minty new clutch for yourself in a year or two. Just a counterpoint thought.

 

[nsxtasy]

I was in the same position as you when I bought my NSX. I knew the basics of driving a stick, but the NSX was the first car I owned with a manual. If you know the basics, you'll pick it up quickly with the NSX. I absolutely disagree with the notion that you should go out and buy another car just to learn stick on (although a professional driving lesson and/or the use of a rental car wouldn't hurt).

The biggest problem I've observed with the way others teach how to use a stick is, they teach it like a step-by-step procedure instead of giving you an idea of what you're really trying to accomplish. For example, when moving from a stop, and the car dies the first half dozen times, they tell you to let the clutch out slower - NOT helpful. What they should explain, before you do it, is how the clutch has a "sweet spot", a narrow range in which it works progressively, that until you reach that range when lifting up the pedal, it doesn't work, but within that range, you can "play with it", letting it out slowly to get a feel for how it engages progressively. Similarly, when upshifting or downshifting, they tell you when to shift, and the car jerks into the next gear - again, NOT helpful. What they should explain is the concept of matching revs, how a given speed matches to certain revs in one gear, and how it matches to other revs (typically 30-40 percent higher or lower) in the next gear, and how before letting off the clutch you want to make the revs match what you're expecting the revs to be in the new gear. If you can understand these concepts BEFORE you actually take the NSX out, you'll pick it up very quickly.

 

[FF Drifter]

^agreed with this approach. This is how I try to explain it to others when teaching them manual. This is also why I feel like it is harder to learn how to drive manual if one doesn't have at least a rudimentary understanding of what is going on when the clutch pedal is pressed or what is actually happening with the transmission when it is changing gears.

I too did not purchase a car solely to learn manual on it. I had a very basic understanding, bought the car, then learned on it.

 

[myw]

if you've done your research and reading, understand the philosophy re driving manual, its doable.

have lessons in empty parking lots with a friend for about half a dozen times (itll help bigtime if he/she is a good instructor), slowly graduating to small streets where there is little or no traffic. wayyyy back when i still had a 'job' i used the private work company parking lot (badge access only).

the trick is knowing and holding the 'friction point' and separating the co-ordination of your left foot with your right... ESPECIALLY when you get nervous in traffic, hills etc etc. my first manual car was an integra in 2000. i had an ex-gf that taught me a few basic lessons; but even so i recall screeching from stoplight to stoplight after i first picked up the car, as i clearly needed some more experience. at least i didnt stall haha

after a few days it wasnt a problem. 90s/2000 civics/integras/preludes/nsx/s2000 have some of the easist to learn/use gear boxes. the 2000+ generation of hondas were literally impossible to stall; and for the cost of the car, the overall shifter/clutch feel on these cars is also really good.

while its not 'ideal' to learn driving stick on an nsx, it doesnt get any easier then learning on hondas imo.

the beater idea while can make sense, isnt really necessary... you can always rent a civic for a few days to get the hang out it, you won't need more then a week max.

 

[DopeScope]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! It's been helpful. Though what's surprising the most to me is the helpful tone everyone has, I was half expecting to be mocked for wanting to buy a NSX without knowing how to drive stick. Guess this is what happens when you're in a smaller community and not a public forum =)

 

[JadeFox]

A big reason I bought the NSX was because of the badass community members. Always so helpful and knowledgeable. It's kind of like when you marry someone, you're marrying their family. I feel the same way about the NSX and its owners.

Good luck to you!