driving stick and potential problems

My max is my first stick car and I think im fucking it up! Ive been driving for about 3 weeks now and Ive grinded gears twice and accedently shifter to second rather than forth(majorly over the red line)2 times also, I get a gas smell sometimes and a burning smell others, any ideas? and also when i accelorate quickly the wheel turn to the left why is that?

Well, the good think is that most of the time you shift from 1-2-3-4-5th gear and then you don't put in Rocket.... hehe (Reverse). Well, I'm having the same problem with my maxima but the wheels go to the right. I need some advice on that too. Thnx

Originally posted by Corion
My max is my first stick car and I think im fucking it up! Ive been driving for about 3 weeks now and Ive grinded gears twice and accedently shifter to second rather than forth(majorly over the red line)2 times also, I get a gas smell sometimes and a burning smell others, any ideas? and also when i accelorate quickly the wheel turn to the left why is that?


just practice driving your car before you try to drive fast...
when people who aren't used to driving stick tried to push their cars, they end up grinding gears and miss their gears yet...
that burning smell is from your clutch..you're just eating up your clutch..another common thing for inexperienced drivers...don't rev up your motor too much when you engage your gears and don't do half-clutch too much..this will shorten your clutch life considerably...
as far as the wheels turning, that's just torque steer...

If you over-Reved your engine you might want to check your compression and have your engine checked out, you could have easily bent a valve at 8k+ if you exceeded that... :(

You must learn to walk before you run... Learn to drive the stick first, then learn to drive it fast... :rolleyes:

yea i got a little trigger happy it went to about 7.5 both times i did it not to the full 8 still scared the shit out of me, how come hondas (vtec) can rev up to like 9? is there a way to make it safe for maxs to rev that high

Originally posted by Corion
yea i got a little trigger happy it went to about 7.5 both times i did it not to the full 8 still scared the shit out of me, how come hondas (vtec) can rev up to like 9? is there a way to make it safe for maxs to rev that high Hondas that rev that high have much less displacement and less mass moving around.

Learn your shift gate. Know where each gear is. If it doesn't want to go into the gear you're pushing towards, don't force it. Your warranty is not going to cover it if you downshift 3 gears instead of one and blow your engine. Be careful, please. ;)

with practice, you could shift mad quick yo !

remember to always "enjoy the ride" ! :flash:

Learn to feel your clutch travel. Learning where your clutch first engages (you'll feel the engine) is the key to driving stick, not the gears. How do you confuse 2nd and 4th, you're probably trying to kill the gears. You'll notice if you disengage your shifter in any gear it will automatically pop between 3rd and 4th, and it's up to you where you want to shift it from there 1st, 2nd, 3rd,.... good luck!