No, I'm not crazy!!!

[RPM217]

My 18 year old daughter is going off to college in a couple of weeks, and I tried to teach her how to drive a manual tranny on my 2000 Vette convertible, and as she put it, that car wasn't nice to her. The tranny on the vette is nowhere as smooth, and the clutch is also alot stiffer than on the NSX. Sooo, on Saturday afternoon, I drive over to my office park (I taught her how to drive there, two years ago, lots of room, few cars, etc.) and we switch seats and we're off, and we're stalled and we're off again. She did much better on the NSX than she had done in the vette, but still the normal problems of a new manual driver. I've taught many people how to drive a stick, (my two sisters, my wife, numerous friends) so it's not as if I don't have the knowledge, and the patience to teach it, but it really makes your heart go into your stomach, everytime the car seems to go up and down as she pops the clutch up, doesn't feed it enough gas, and stalls it yet again. She got pretty profecient shifting from 1st to 2nd, and also into 3rd, but 1st gear's going to take a few more sessions, and then we'll have to tackle starting on a hill!!! I love my daughter, and love my car, I guess you see how much I love them both!!!

 

[hlweyl]

wow, that IS love. I'd never use my nsx as a teaching tool for my kids! I won't even let them wash it, matter of fact, they are not yet allowed to go on the side of the garage where I keep the nsx. First night I brought my car home, I explained to them how they should not carry anything next to, or even get to close to the car as accidents can happen and it's very important not to scratch the car.

Next morning my 12 year old straight A student was doing skateboard tricks about 10 feet from the front of my car!!!! Since then, I am a garage Nazi!

 

[NSXBill2]

The day I brought the NSX home, I built a fence around it in the garage. I call it the Berlin Wall. Ask Barnman, he's seen it.

Oh, I have 4 and 7 year-olds. The 4 year old is a boy. I was watching F1 the other night...there was an in-car shot going when he wondered by and said "thats a BMW!" "How do you know, I asked?" He'd spotted the roundel on the steering wheel!

Proud dad (until something flies over that fence into the NSX!)

 

[TigerNSX]

My father-in-law loves her daughter (my wife) very much, too, but he wouldn't let her touch his Porsche (big no no!!)

You must love your daughter very very much !!! (I suspect that your future son-in-law will go through numerous tests by you like in "Meet the parents" or in "Father of the bride" )

 

[matteni]

By me you can get a cheap enterprise rent a car for $10/day on the weekend - then she can "cut her teeth" on it before you turn over the NSX. Might be easier on your health and your clutch if you get her some clutch time on something else first.

Still I know how deep the bond is with kids and I salute you for it - none the less.

 

[jlindy]

With that kind of tolerance and faith, would you be interested in adopting a son? Maybe, you have a Ferrari around that you would let me learn my Knight Rider, lean to the side on two wheels trick I would like to master. How about the Dukes of Hazzard move. I mean how hard can it be to jump a pond.

 

[RPM217]

You've got that right

My father-in-law loves her daughter (my wife) very much, too, but he wouldn't let her touch his Porsche (big no no!!)

You must love your daughter very very much !!! (I suspect that your future son-in-law will go through numerous tests by you like in "Meet the parents" or in "Father of the bride" )

I've joke with her before that Meet The Parents is a piece of cake compared to me. My nickname with her and her friends is "The Ogre", I don't mind being compared to "Shrek", but anyother Ogres would be unacceptable. Yes, I do love her, and will miss her when she's away at school. By the way, I still haven't let my wife drive the car, does that mean that I don't love her as much. Ooops, thank God my wife doesn't know about this web site!! LOL

 

[TigerNSX]

Re: You've got that right

Ooops, thank God my wife doesn't know about this web site!! LOL

Haha.. What's her phone number? I am telling on you

 

[NSXBill2]

Three years with the NSX and my wife still has never driven it (of course, many will say I never drive it). My seven year-old daughter will probably drive it before my wife does...(I hope!)

 

[RPM217]

Re: Re: You've got that right

Haha.. What's her phone number? I am telling on you

You know that ticket that you got going home from Don's house, wellllllll.......Haha to you. Ooops, that's not nice, you were just kidding. By the way, whatever happened with that?

My wife is so computer illiterate that after taking 3 courses on how to utilize the internet, she still has my daughter retrieve her e-mail for her. I don't know what she's going to do when our daughter leaves for college in a few weeks, probably drive me crazy!!!

 

[nsxtasy]

I still remember doing the same thing when I was learning to drive stick.

Nobody told me that the clutch action was progressive in the "sweet spot". I thought it was strictly an on-off function (which, come to think of it, some aftermarket clutches approximate).

I would suggest having her hold the revs steady in first gear at say 2500 or 3000 RPM with the clutch pressed full in, and ever so slowly let the clutch out until the car starts to move forward, at which point she should press the clutch back in. Do that a few times to give her the feel of the sweet spot, and also to train her to resist the tendency to lift up on the gas pedal as soon as the clutch starts to grab.

 

[TigerNSX]

Re: Re: Re: You've got that right

By the way, whatever happened with that?

I just mailed it with the check the next day
Oh, well...

 

[Brian2by2]

where's she going to college? maybe i'll make sure to attend the same one, pull up in my NSX and watch her say: "Ohh ohh my dad has one of those! can i drive it?" Then maybe i could be calling you Ogre

 

[Soichiro]

I once heard some good advice on Car Talk - any car can be idled off the line. That is; any car can be made to start moving by using the clutch only, no need to touch the gas at all. This is especially true of high torque cars like your Corvetter. Practice this to get the feel of the clutch, then gradually add gas to the mix.

 

[POWERED by HONDA]

Good advice Soichiro. That is how I learned to drive stick as well.

You will get a feel for where the clutch engages using this method.

After you get a feel, learn to add more gas so you can launch quicker/and easier without laboring the engine.

Then go on a slope.

Then a hill.

My dad also put me on a huge hill and made me "balance" the gas and clutch enough to keep the car at a standstill. This is a good excercise (but not good for your clutch!).

My dad kept the revs at 3000rpm doing that excericse.... so I had to beat him by lowering the revs (save the clutch!) to the point where the engine doesn't labor.

... this was on a 84 Honda Accord. That car was awesome. Original clutch.

My 1992 Honda Accord now has 183,000 miles. Original clutch... includes a few track events and lots of stop and go traffic.

I'm sure the clutch on my NSX will be shorter lifespan! I want my Comptech Powergrip 2 clutch!

 

[nsxtasy]

But this technique doesn't train her to avoid lifting off the gas once it starts to catch.

 

[Brian2by2]

I let my g/f learn to drive on hte NSX...damn...its weird how they don't grasp the concept of driving it. Not all women, but the majority I know don't drive nor care to drive a stick.

I told her: "Ok, now, let off the clutch VERY VERY slowly until the car starts to roll and keep easing off till there is no more clutch to release."

"Which one's the clutch??"

I swear to God she said that!

So I told her: the one I told you to press in. (duh, the other two are gas and brake...the only one remaining...duh!)

She finally got it moving, 2-3, 3-4 shifts were fine. Downshifting was interesting. in first, i had her rev it up to about 3k and then i told her: FLOOR IT!!

She almost shat herself! lol the look on her face was PRICELESS...none-the-less there was some severe engine braking from 7k down...thank God I just had it serviced like the next day!

 

[RPM217]

You've got the method I've taught for years

I once heard some good advice on Car Talk - any car can be idled off the line. That is; any car can be made to start moving by using the clutch only, no need to touch the gas at all. This is especially true of high torque cars like your Corvetter. Practice this to get the feel of the clutch, then gradually add gas to the mix.

This is exactly the way that I've taught numerous people how to find the catch point, the gas pedal is not used launching from 1st gear on level ground, so that the engage point is learned. My daughter's problem (currently) is as soon as that point is felt, she flies off the clutch, and isn't giving it any gas to smooth it out, and thus that lovely up and down feeling prior to the "stall". She will get it, afterall, she's MY DAUGHTER!!!!!!!!

 

[Dtrigg]

My wife asked me to let her drive the NSX the other day. I am always telling her to "...take the NSX to..." and she always refuses. This is my second one, and she would never drive the other one.

She is British and has driven stick shift cars since she began driving. Long story short, she got it into second gear, pulled over and said, "Thanks."

Go figure. When I first met her, she thought my first NSX was a Ford Fiesta!!

 

[BostonNSX]

Enterprise Rent a car doesnt have any manual cars here...

By me you can get a cheap enterprise rent a car for $10/day on the weekend - then she can "cut her teeth" on it before you turn over the NSX. Might be easier on your health and your clutch if you get her some clutch time on something else first.

Still I know how deep the bond is with kids and I salute you for it - none the less.