Welcome man, I was having a lot of problems getting used to the clutch and gear ratios myself. If you shift around 2k rpms, which is what I do when driving conservatively you'll find shifting smoothly is very easy.

Ps. Do the 08's have the lock switches on the door illuminated, I HATE that the 07's don't I need to know if it's true.

practice on backroads where you can just pull over if someone makes you nervous . and work on being on a hill driving upward and letting off the clutch so you can prevent rolling backwards . once you have that down youll be less petrified to drive.

ivanv06 wrote:

practice on backroads where you can just pull over if someone makes you nervous . and work on being on a hill driving upward and letting off the clutch so you can prevent rolling backwards . once you have that down youll be less petrified to drive.

Thanks guys,
definitely not petrified to drive, I was thinking it over and I am more of a perfectionist really.  That damn hill though WTF! getting the 1st shift down a lot better now and the 2nd is always there, albeit a little rough, I will try what you suggested. seems as though on normal driving i am shifiting a little more aggressively around 3-4 never above 4500.  Should I be taking it even more easy till i get about 1500 miles on her or is that a good spot.  I just cant help but hear that sweet sound, cant wait till the engine is nice and wore in and I can really open it up.  Heres the specs

Metallic Gray
Limited Slip
Fostgate
Moonroof
I found it odd but......the lock door button lights up BUT only the lock, not the unlock you can just barely see which is what I thought was weird.

it is a lease so I havnt decided If i want to keep yet for mods sake. But outlook is good im loving this thing.
Will post pics tonight hopefully

I decided to buy it because my girlfriend sells nissans here in ohio and when I saw the spec V for the 1st time, when she was looking for cars, I was in love.  But she did not want it b/c of red stiching !! So she got a maxima and I waited till now and of course she wants to drive it every damn second and I no longer want anything to do with the maxima

Last edited by SpecVBrad (2007-11-13 08:03:03)

ivanv06 wrote:

what kind of money does she make and how long has she been working there . does she sell alot of cars?

good unless she sells armadas or z's, then great

1 year

in a good month 8-10

Nope but thanks, there were a few isolated incident 3500 to 4k is the average i do mostly less really and I guess i should say I knew how to drive stick before getting the car just never had my own car.  It is a lot different though either way thanks for that

what is the break in period 1500 miles?

......i guess i need to go read tha manual

Last edited by SpecVBrad (2007-11-13 08:34:51)

welcome, and i didnt even know there was a break in period o.0 Oh well I guess.

Let's hope you have better luck than some of us 07 owners.. I feel like this is better built than the b15s... yet my car has been @ the dealer 8 days out of the 3.5 to 4 weeks I have owned it

sup

eh... i took it to 5k for the first 500 miles.... after that i had fun.  the break in is garbage.  honestly, theres a motor, theres oil, it lubricates.  period

SpecVBrad wrote:

Nope but thanks, there were a few isolated incident 3500 to 4k is the average i do mostly less really and I guess i should say I knew how to drive stick before getting the car just never had my own car.  It is a lot different though either way thanks for that

what is the break in period 1500 miles?

......i guess i need to go read tha manual

You're fine man.   Some people even think it's better to skip the break in process and drive it how you want. As long as you've been nice to it and not running it to redline all the time and junk for the first 500 miles, I'd say you're good to go. That's what I did with mine, just kept getting more and more aggressive till about 500.

awesome guys super informative....thanks..

Did have a question though.  That "sweet spot" I do believe I have found it, now I have been very paranoid as this is also the my first purchased car and I have been reading a lot about just like stick shifts and keeping em in good shape and what not.

When I shift into 1st my foot is still resting in that sweet spot till i really feel it catch.  I had been weary of that because I thought that waiting in that sweet area for the catch was causing excessive wear on my clutch. Could anyone tell me if this is fact or if i am being to paranoid.  Also any general info on how to keep that clutch and tranny in great condition would be great.  I pretty much figure driving it hard is a stickler for lots of wear on tranny/clutch.   ALso one last question, I have read also that it is best not to shift "hard" seems odd to me but should my shifts be nice and easy?  I am not slamming it in gear but i have a little authority there being new to it.

Also Major Mods - Im with ya man that was my thought....wtf they built they engine for what? Performance oriented driving.....so what the hell.  But I will still be safe for a little while longer

Pics soon....takin when i leave in 20 and be back in about an hour to post.

SpecVBrad wrote:

awesome guys super informative....thanks..

Did have a question though.  That "sweet spot" I do believe I have found it, now I have been very paranoid as this is also the my first purchased car and I have been reading a lot about just like stick shifts and keeping em in good shape and what not.

When I shift into 1st my foot is still resting in that sweet spot till i really feel it catch.  I had been weary of that because I thought that waiting in that sweet area for the catch was causing excessive wear on my clutch. Could anyone tell me if this is fact or if i am being to paranoid.  Also any general info on how to keep that clutch and tranny in great condition would be great.  I pretty much figure driving it hard is a stickler for lots of wear on tranny/clutch.   ALso one last question, I have read also that it is best not to shift "hard" seems odd to me but should my shifts be nice and easy?  I am not slamming it in gear but i have a little authority there being new to it.

Also Major Mods - Im with ya man that was my thought....wtf they built they engine for what? Performance oriented driving.....so what the hell.  But I will still be safe for a little while longer

Pics soon....takin when i leave in 20 and be back in about an hour to post.

eh, you're fine with riding the clutch in 1st, as long as you're not doing excessive launches with slipping the clutch, or taking an extremely long amount of time to shift in the higher gears while keeping the clutch slipping, you're fine. you'll get used to it and figure out how to release the clutch sooner after it's caught traction.

i guess im not the only one having issues on 2nd gear..  its getting anoying!!

Spec-V WannaBe wrote:

Congrats man. I did a similar thing. I also had a 98 Altima GXE. I sold it to my dad for my 03 2.5LE. You will enjoy the power of the QR!!!

those old altimas dont quit

also am very much lovin that QR power ......have been on cloud nine

thought i saw a post about posting pics somewhere special but looked around and did not find...so ill just put 1

Volkswagen's are a piece of S%$t  ... i lhave owned two of them and both of them burned two quarts of oil, both had tranny issues... and both ran like sh%t.

I dont think it had anything to do with the break in... lol. 

i will never buy another volkswagen... i have also owned a 95 altima and it was one of the best built cars ive owned... the best built car that i have owned were my 95 and 99 nissan maxima.

serious wrote:

I didnt go over 4k for 300 then 5k at around 600 miles and 6800 around 750 miles. yet to hit fuel cut off..

And i have done the break in thing for 1000-3000 miles on other  cars and as a result..
03 1.8t engine oil sludge issue (only ever used synthetic)
06 2.0t GLi burned 1-1.5 quarts of oil between oil changes..

Just beat on the car have fun.

helodriver wrote:

OK Brandon, I have taught both of my kids to drive manual transmissions (yes, I'm kind of old) so I will provide one piece of advice.  Each clutch has a "sweet" spot - that spot where the clutch starts to engage as you let out the clutch pedal.  Once you find that spot you've got it made.  Now here is how I advise finding it (of course I recommend doing this in an empty parking lot).  With the car in first gear, the goal is to fully release the clutch and get the car moving forward (at idle speed) without touching the accelerator.  It is very doable, but you must be very slow with the clutch and pay specific attention to the spot where the clutch starts to engage - you may even need to pause momentarily here as the car starts to move forward.  You will find that you can release the clutch pedal a little more quickly (still relatively slow though) once you reach that spot.  Once you get good with first gear, try the same process starting in second gear.  Once you've found the "sweet" spot you will be best able to properly sychronize the application of accelerator with the release of the clutch pedal.  Take your time, and you'll be good to go.

I'm sure in the 6 weeks since this post was alive the original poster has gotten a lot better at driving his new SpecV Despite that being the case I find this to be awesome advice and exactly how I have taught a number of people to drive their first ever manual transmission. As for shifting gears I find that shifting lower in the RPM range does infact smooth out shifts. As well it has seemed to help significantly if slight pressure is applied to the shifter before the clutch is engaged to shift. If this is the case easing off the throttle while pushing in the should pop the shifter out of that gear and headed towards the next gear. Also in this case a smooth motion with the clutch pedal to the floor and almost instantaneously back out again should be the proper amount of time for the engine to drop in RPMs and make smooth engagement of the clutch into the next gear.


Hope this helps a little in perfecting your manual transmission driving technique!

Yo whats up guys im new to the forums i've got an 08 spec v too i've had it for about four months now i love it for such a small car its got some power behind it...this car is my life does anyone know where i can find some more aftermarket performance parts because all i really find is the same intakes and exhausts i still havent found headers and i've already put in a Injen CAI and a header back exhaust system im trying to get this thing to move even quicker