DFR30

Hi all, Im new here. today I Just bought my first mustang after wanting one for a long time. Its a 2006 mustang gt premium edition and im very happy about it. However i am a bit itimidated by the car because it is a manual and i have never driven one before and this car is very powerful. I am very willing to learn because it seems like driving a manual would be fun. Any helpful tips? Is the clutch pretty forgiving on this car? is it real easy to stall? have any of you learned on a mustang gt?

Gary Ugarek

Cool, congrats on the purchase. I learned stick on a brand new 1988 5.0 LX Notchback. Blew the clutch in a week. =O)

But don't let that discourage you. Here is what I suggest.

1. You can learn on the car. but just go easy. Find a parking lot to practice in. or 2. Call a driving school and learn stick on their car. The down side to driving school is it won't be a Mustang GT, but you're not beating your clutch up. However, the grab on a 4 banger vs an 8 is a lot different. So let's go with Example 1... your car...

from a stand still and in 1st. slowly let the clutch out until you feel the grab. On a flat surface the car will probably slowly inch forward. Lightly apply the accelerator, trying to keep RPMs below 1000 to get the car moving (I can launch in mine at 700 rpm). Practice doing that in the parking lot, preferably flat surface and smooth.

The S197 Mustangs have hydraulic clutch systems, which means grab can be inconsistent. so be prepared for that, also with this being a 2006 we don't know the condition of the existing clutch, so will assume it is at least 50% or more through its life. So practing on this clutch and getting good at grab points/take offs is crucial, then you move on to hill starts.

Now hills will be tricky. the newer MT-82 6 speeds seem to have anti rollback, but your model does not, so this is a fine balancing act. Never try to learn hill starts during the day with traffic. Because there will always be that one jackass who pulls right up on your bumper and if you're not ready you can end up stalling the car and rolling into them, so I suggest practicing on a hill at night.

Again the same principle applies, feeling the grab. you really want to concentrate on that grab at first. Once you master the grab, then you become immune and just learn where to launch without even feeling the grab. I can't feel the grab because I lost about 20% of the feeling in my left foot from a surgery 5 years ago, so I go by memory of launch/rpm.

Things to remember, never rev the car above 1000-1250 rpms on hill starts. Many folks new to manual rev the engines to 3-4k and end up burning up a clutch in 10,000 miles.

Don't panic if you stall out, evenin traffic once you get comfortable. It happens to all of us.

Good luck and have fun, once you have learned how to drive manual, you'll be a fan for life.

steev

Manuals are the best.

From my driving lessons back in the UK, balancing the car on the clutch when you're at a hill isn't good for the car. Just because you don't have ant rollback doesn't mean you can't stop yourself from rolling back. My way on hills is:
-approaching red light, slow down, put your foot on the clutch as I'm stopping
-car is stationery (ary?) and my left foot has clutch pedal down, right foot has brake pedal down.
-pull handbrake (e-brake) up, put into neutral, let both feet up.
-now you have an anti rollback system. Wait for the other traffic's lights to go amber, left foot down on the clutch, select 1st gear, put your hand on the handbrake, pop the button, ready to let the handbrake down
-set the gas at Gary's rpm, light's go green, get the clutch to bite, let the handbrake down, get a little more road speed and let off of the clutch, then change to 2nd at about 10mph.

The way I see it, rear pads, handbrake cables and rear rotors are much cheaper to replace than clutches...

ghunt

You're going to be learning on one of the worst possible vehicles to learn stick on.

I've been driving a stick since I was 17, so 14 years now. When I got this car I had a pretty difficult time getting used to it. You have a hydraulic clutch that's like an on/off switch, and a touchy drive-by-wire throttle that has a big dead spot at the bottom and then comes on very quickly.

After I put the 93 Race tune on my car, which adjusts the throttle and takes out that dead spot, it was WAY easier to start off in.

steev

Oh yeah, a little weak Vauxhall Nova with a 1200cc engine was much easier to learn how to use a clutch! You're pretty much restricted to learning in manuals over there though, insurance is crazy for kids there (like $4000 a year when converted from pounds in a little economy car) plus if you take your test in an automatic you aren't licensed to drive a manual car. Then there's the whole $9/gallon of fuel thing.

aquajr

A buddy spent a few minutes teaching me when I was 16. I managed to get his old Honda Accord rolling in first gear a couple times without stalling.

I bought my 06GT 4 years later and had to drive it 40 miles home. I hadn't touched a manual since I first learned. I was pretty nervous. The salesman asked me if I wanted him to get out of the lot for me since it was cornered in a tight spot. My pride told him no, so I was sweating in the car and making a lot of noise as I inched back and forth out of the spot.

I was able to figure it out pretty quickly and made it home fine, if not smoothly. It took a couple days for my leg to get used to the weight of clutch and a couple months before I really felt like I could drive smoothly all the time.

I would say the clutch isn't very forgiving. It's harder to find the middle ground between stalling and grabbing. A lot of other manuals I've drive just kind of slip into gear without a whole lot of drama. In the Mustang it felt like the clutch grabs a lot more as opposed to slipping. 300HP isn't enough power to truly make it scary in my opinion. You could try starting in second gear if you're worried about launching too hard. Just take your time and make sure you're always going into the gear you want to be in.

Gary's advice is spot on for any new manual driver. Pick a parking lot without a lot of cars, curbs, poles, etc. That way you can just concentrate on working the clutch and gas pedals. It's also nice to be able to start and stop a bunch of times without having to turn around.

Steev's tip about the handbrake on a hill is a great way to make sure you don't role back too far. After a while you'll be able to get the car going without too much backward movement, even on a steeper slope.

Stick with it and it'll be really fun and satisfying. Plus you'll be able to drive any car thrown your way. Welcome to the forums and the Mustang community.

Gary Ugarek

Thanks AquaJr...

While I toasted that clutch in the 88, and Ford Replaced it for free, I haven't friend one since that time.

Now that is the advice I give every one, even if I got teach them myself. My first hill start was the scariest thing in the world. East Adams Street in Syracuse, NY. Talk about an incline. Twas nuts.

Haven't heard back from the OP, wonder how they're doing?

xx10Gt

i learned on a '10 gt when i was 17. my father took me in a parking lot and let me drive it and i stalled about 4 or 5 times. after about 45 minutes or so, i was driving on some local streets. within a week it was flawless. now its just second nature and i dont even think about it. Learn the manual, you wont regret it. I wouldnt even look at an auto mustang to be honest

dcarlinf1

Watch some of the videos on youtube that demonstrate how to do it and also get a friend that knows how to help you learn. Plan on taking the RPM's to about 3000 RPM's in each gear until you develop your own shift points that you feel comfortable with. Also, practice in a school or mall parking lot initially. Once you become comfortable head to a road with light traffic. And, don't be afraid to stall it. That happens to everyone. Just be prepared to re-start it quickly.

steev

Don't be too worried about stalling. It's what you do after that counts the most, panicking and trying to restart too quickly with the clutch engaged isn't going to be a good thing.

Pull up the handbrake, take it into neutral, start the car and take a breathe, then you're ready to try again. Don't worry about the people behind you too much.

I found that after a few months of driving, I'd pull away be concentrating on the road and find that I'd cycled through the gears without a conscious effort.