[turk23]

I'm finally getting my first BMW and it's going to be stick since I've wanted a manual car ever since I was a kid. I'm getting a cpo 335i. Any pointers or tips would def help. I've driven an 09 accord for about a hour and didn't do that bad towards the end. Also the car is a hour away from where I live, is it a bad or good idea to drive it back myself. I feel like it would be the perfect time to get use to but I'm worried I don't have enough experience yet

[Alan@PYSpeed.com[retired]]

if you don't feel confident enough in yourself to do it, then don't. but i say- why not?

[WilliamE92]

You'll be fine, probably wont even stall it.

Just make sure you dont drive it during rush hour traffic your first time.

If you've driven stick before you're good to go. Its when you havent driven stick and dont understand the concept of it that you run into trouble.

[dreamingat30fps]

My first manual car was my 2004 Jetta. I learned to drive stick before I bought the car on my friends old Bronco. Needless to say my experience with the Bronco didnt help me much since the clutch on that thing was so loose I didn't even have to use the clutch half the time.

I drove the Jetta home from the dealer. I went through like 3 red light cycles just to get out to the main street. Needless to say people were not happy. However I eventually got use to it and have been driving stick ever since. I also didn't cause any damage to the Jetta even though I grinded a few gears here and there. That being said that was a $20k Jetta this is a $40-50k BMW and I don't know how well the 335 transmission take to abuse. Also out of the manuals I've owned I would say the 335 has been the "trickiest" to get it to shift nice and smooth.

[FJc335]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

.....Also out of the manuals I've owned I would say the 335 has been the "trickiest" to get it to shift nice and smooth.

[Baldur Abendroth]

You will stall it, I would take 10-20 min and drive it around some relatively uninhabited roads before making the trip home just to get your bearings.

[DJKhan85]

Get a friend to drive it home.

[Quick6EF]

Originally Posted by DJKhan85

Get a friend to drive it home.

I agree. My e92 was my first MT car, though I've driven many cars before with MT. Just drive around side streets and don't worry about hill practice; there is a hill assist and you won't roll backwards for about two seconds.

[335BBS]

Youll be fine. Just go slowly. Maybe find a parking lot as soon as you can on your way home.

[slavke]

bmws have a sensitive clutch compare to average cars plus a high torque engine of 335 makes it even trickier for begginers. If its too long of a drive and during busy trafic get someone else to drive it and then just take it for a spin around the neighbourhood late at night to practise.

[Alexander]

Yes get a friend to drive it home, but most importantly do not put yourself in a tricky drive, like traffic, or your car will be on a tow truck. No super hilly roads either.

When I was 14 I had to drive my brothers 5 speed pathfinder home in hilly roads and I got flustered and had the thing in 4th up a hill at like 10 miles an hour and blew out the tranny.

I'm sure you will do alright, but just be careful. It's not hard to learn, I learned (correctly) on an M3 at 15 and did fine.

[Brey335i]

Drive it around for a bit in the neighborhood first. Or bring a good friend with you

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by Brey335i

Drive it around for a bit in the neighborhood first. Or bring a good friend with you

That's what I did when I was a youngin. I had my brother ride shotgun with him watching my every move and critiquing me, also to take over in case of a crisis.

[3002 tii]

i drove a 335i manual as a loaner believe it or not but anyway i thought the clutch was really forgiving so you have nothing to worry about. good thingi s that even if you suck you'll shift ok, bad thing is you may burn the clutch w/o realizing over the long term if you never get the engagement point right.

[ibimmer954]

I bought an Acura RSX Type-S with very little MT experience. I took it to the local high school parking lot and drove around in circles practicing starts to learn the manual. The exercise that helped me the most was concentrating on the engagement point. Simulate creeping along in slow moving traffic, forcing yourself to drive as slow as possible while feathering the engagement point. That's really the key to MT, I think.

[turk23]

thanx for the quick responses guys. im going to try to find a little more time to practice before i pick up the car. i wanna be the first to drive it lol. if im not able to find the time and get more practice i think im gonna do the safe thing and just get one of my friends to drive it home.

[dibbz]

Just to add on to this discussion. When I took delivery of my 328 in Jan. The clutch was really sensitive and the gear shifting took some effort. After breaking it in and all it feels much better (shift from 1 - 2 is still kind of hard). However, now the clutch almost feels too soft. Is this normal?
The only comparison I have was my old VW Golf which I got as a lease take over. The engagement point felt high and the clutch was really soft so I figured it was abused a bit by the previous owners.

[bkM3]

have somebody drive it home if you dont have the concept down. i drove stick once before i took delivery of my 328 but i picked it up in about an hour and haven't looked back. have somebody drive the car home and then you drive it in a familiar rural area until you get used to it.

[dcorn]

Bought my first mustang without knowing how to drive stick. I'd driven a manual maybe 5 times before. I flubbed around with it a lot when test driving the car lol. Went back a week later to pick it up and drove the car 2 hours home, pretty much learning as I went.

I agree though, the E90's are kinda tough to get used to. The engagement point is very high so you barely have to push in the clutch, plus the gas pedal is super touchy. That combo makes a manual a bit hard to learn. But once you do, man is it fun.

[turk23]

Originally Posted by bkM3

have somebody drive it home if you dont have the concept down. i drove stick once before i took delivery of my 328 but i picked it up in about an hour and haven't looked back. have somebody drive the car home and then you drive it in a familiar rural area until you get used to it.

all this talk is getting me very anxious in a good way though lol. im tryin to get my bros friend to let me practice on his a4. but we'll see

[AppleEater]

I would highly suggest you have a friend with you, if you get on a steep hill with traffic and you don't know how to drive stick it can be nerve racking.

[pcstuff]

Remember to disengage the parking brake before heading out. First time I drove my MT Civic off the lot I kept stalling because I forgot the damn thing was still up.