[The Knight Rider]

Hi Guys. I am seriously looking at buying the 1SS 1LE however, I have very little experience with driving a stick. I tried to start the car moving from a start and stalled the car during the test drive. I have another car for a daily and will be using the Camaro whenever I want, daily or weekend car.

I was thinking that if I bought the car I would practice slowly on it and get my self more and more proficient. Does that sound doable or is it crazy to think about it and should be an expert already?

Thanks.

[50MileSmile]

It’s certainly doable, but please stay off public streets while you’re practicing. I learned how to properly balance the pedals driving up the long, 5-story-tall driveway behind my high school.

Good luck, have fun and stop for the day if you get mad at yourself or the car. Once you’ve mastered the technique, you’ll never want to drive an automatic again. Plus, there’s nothing quite so orgasmic as the perfect 3-2 downshift!

[DaggerMouth]

My first car was a manual. It was a Ford Focus ST I had a little experience before getting it but not enough to be comfortable. I had my dad drive it home for me. I went out and practiced in a parking lot during the day and when I was comfortable enough to go onto the street I went out late at night while the streets were empty. The hardest part of driving a manual is hills. And this car doesn't have a hill assist and it has an electric Ebrake so you can't use it to help with hill starts. With that being said this car feels way easier to drive than my ST. The only way you will ever learn is to just do it. Dont get discouraged and realize we all were in your shoes at one point. It is completely rewarding to learn.

If you decide to get it, when you go to a parking lot to practice, all cars can start rolling if you SLOWLY release the clutch until you feel the car starting to move and then hold there until it picks up enough for you to fully disengage it without it stalling. This isn't practical in everyday use but it will help you learn the bite point when you start adding throttle input. There are plenty of good videos on Youtube on how to drive a manual. One of the best is probably done by TheSmokingTire. Good luck on your decision!

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by DaggerMouth

My first car was a manual. It was a Ford Focus ST I had a little experience before getting it but not enough to be comfortable. I had my dad drive it home for me. I went out and practiced in a parking lot during the day and when I was comfortable enough to go onto the street I went out late at night while the streets were empty. The hardest part of driving a manual is hills. And this car doesn't have a hill assist and it has an electric Ebrake so you can't use it to help with hill starts. With that being said this car feels way easier to drive than my ST. The only way you will ever learn is to just do it. Dont get discouraged and realize we all were in your shoes at one point. It is completely rewarding to learn.

If you decide to get it, when you go to a parking lot to practice, all cars can start rolling if you SLOWLY release the clutch until you feel the car starting to move and then hold there until it picks up enough for you to fully disengage it without it stalling. This isn't practical in everyday use but it will help you learn the bite point when you start adding throttle input. There are plenty of good videos on Youtube on how to drive a manual. One of the best is probably done by TheSmokingTire. Good luck on your decision!

The 1LE does have a hill-assist. I have not experienced that all cars will move forward if you slowly let off the clutch. This one does with gobs of torque so it's actually a decent one to learn in. The ones where you have to add more or just the right amount of power are usually harder IME. You are going to look like an idiot a few times when you stall it, but you'll gain proficiency. The SS is easier on hills and other stuff, again, because of the torque off the line.

If you really don't want a manual, don't get it, you can build a nice SS with a lot of good features otherwise, but the car is tons of fun and probably one of the last great manual cars (one reason that I got it).

[protovack]

Get the manual you won't regret it. You'll be an expert within a couple weeks.

[Ryanbabz71]

My first manual car was my 18 1LE. Over time you will pick it up. Find empty lots and work on driving it. I have 1000 miles on mine and it’s gotten much easier to drive. First few times out I was terrified. Lots of thinking and such. Now it’s so much fun.


Ryan B.

[Boost Creep]

Get a ZL1 with the A10.

[Boost Creep]

Just to be fair, the Camaro has a twin disc clutch that has a different engage point that took some getting use to. I've stalled this car more than any car with a single disc.

[Bad Anvil Garage]

Man up! Get it? Like MANual up.... doh

Seriously, you'll learn. Go for it!!

[USAFS197]

Best advice I could ever give to someone who is looking to get a car like this as their first manual transmission car, is to take it slow.

Press the clutch pedal to the floor.
Put the car into first gear.
Slowly raise your foot until the clutch begins to grab--the car will begin to roll forward.
Press the clutch pedal to the floor.

Do that a couple of times. It'll get you somewhat familiar with where you clutch likes to grab at before you try to feather the clutch while giving it gas at the same time. Once you get it down, you can hop into pretty much any manual transmission car and drive it.

[1970judge]

Originally Posted by USAFS197

Best advice I could ever give to someone who is looking to get a car like this as their first manual transmission car, is to take it slow.

Press the clutch pedal to the floor.
Put the car into first gear.
Slowly raise your foot until the clutch begins to grab--the car will begin to roll forward.
Press the clutch pedal to the floor.

Do that a couple of times. It'll get you somewhat familiar with where you clutch likes to grab at before you try to feather the clutch while giving it gas at the same time. Once you get it down, you can hop into pretty much any manual transmission car and drive it.

This. The manual cars from us are extremely easy to get used to now days. You'll be zipping around in no time, play with the engagement point in a lot, and once you have worked at it it will be come second nature.

[nancygrl]

Everyone sucks in the beginning of learning to drive a manual transmission. But once you get, it's awesome

[D3adpool]

Originally Posted by Boost Creep

Just to be fair, the Camaro has a twin disc clutch that has a different engage point that took some getting use to. I've stalled this car more than any car with a single disc.

LOL, Boost, same here! I so used to my 15 Mustang that it took me a good full day of driving to finally get used to the ultra light clutch on the 1LE. Now that I have, it's lightyears better than any single disk clutch.

As for the OP, this car is going to be a little harder to learn on than some others, but once you master it, trust me, it'll become second nature.

[FlashBang23]

When I was 21 all my car buddies gave me crap about being the only one in our group who couldn't drive a manual. My G8 had some electrical issues and I needed to trade it in so I immediately decided my next car would be a manual. At the time new 5.0s were cheaper than used 5th gen Camaros so I literally went to the dealer and bought a brand new 14 5.0. The salesman took a half hour to make sure I was comfortable with the basics and off I went. Let me tell you, dealing with Atlanta traffic I learned very very quickly how to really drive a manual. Point of the story, if you WANT to drive a manual then buy the 1LE and don't look back. You'll learn quickly and my Camaro is by far the easiest manual to drive I've had.....should be pretty easy for you.