Debating whether or not to get the MS3 GT..

[HueManatee]

Hi all.

The Mazdaspeed3 will be my first car and since it was a manual, I was wondering if I should still get this car. Is it hard to learn driving a manual? How would I even get it out of the dealership?

No one in my immediate family knows how to drive a manual, but my uncle said he could teach me.

I don't know any other cars that are really nice under $25k that I like..


Thanks for reading!

 

[bluelion]

you can definitely learn....a buddy of mine bought a cavalier z24 several years back and he didn't know how to drive it off the lot, but he made it home and learned on that car..... if this is the car that you like and it's obviously in the price range you're looking at, i'd say get it and learn.

 

[HueManatee]

Hahah how far was his home from the dealership? I'd have to drive 30+ miles in crazy traffic on a slope.

 

[bluelion]

it was a good ways from his house..... i also learned how to drive standard on a whim.... i was a delivery driver for an auto parts store and most of the trucks were standard. i HAD to learn....luckily it wasn't my personal car, but still, i didn't mess anything up.

 

[HueManatee]

Thanks for your input. It really is in my price range and I heard it was a great car for the cost.

 

[farmurr]

Take an introductory lesson from a driving school, which would give you enough info to get it off the lot and home. I'll probably be doing this (with a company named "Shifters" here in Toronto, which only teaches manual transmissions) before I buy my MS3.

Get ready to stall it a few times regardless (lol2)

 

[Saskatchewan17]

Yeah the MS3 is sooooo worth it. Awesome car. I would recomend looking up how to drive stick online. Make sure you get all the bases covered and know how to drive stick. Then see if a friend will let you practice on their car. Just get some practice in (enough where you are confident on main roads) and then you're set from there.

 

[HueManatee]

I think downshifting is the scariest part for me.

 

[Saskatchewan17]

I think downshifting is the scariest part for me.

It's not bad once you get the rev-matching down to a science. As long as you know the workings of gears and which one to select ect... you'll be fine. It's really hard to teach someone stick when they have no concept of what gears are.

 

[ohioan]

*EXPLICIT CONTENT*

learn before you get the car

 

[Saskatchewan17]

This is a pretty good guide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txRTo5eAwrM&feature=related

 

[HueManatee]

How many RPMs do I shift at for the MS3? Is it still 3k?

 

[Invictus]

How many RPMs do I shift at for the MS3? Is it still 3k?

It all depends on what your driving style will be like at that moment. Same goes for every car.

 

[Saskatchewan17]

How many RPMs do I shift at for the MS3? Is it still 3k?

Depends on the situation... you don't shift at 3k if your going down a quiet 20mph zone neighborhood, or if you really want to haul ass. You shift whenever you feel that the car has no more "pull" in the gear you're in. This means, unless you give the car more gas, the rpms will no longer rise and the car will not go faster.

 

[micronesia]

Learning to drive the MS3 is a bit trickier than an average car... keep that in mind.

I got a fair bit of practice on my dad's Neon with his help before I tried driving the MS3. It even took my dad a minute to get used to and he's been driving standards on and off for decades.

 

[Saskatchewan17]

Yeah my parents test drove it first and our last standard car was in 95... it was a Probe... they stalled it and could barely get the thing moving at all... All the porters and salesmen were laughing at them. It was a pretty comical sight.

 

[MaikuMS3]

stick is easy to learn. I learned in 1 night for about 30 mins. After you get the basic down, it is all about trial and error after that. find the sweet spot and etc

 

[dandydaniel]

i had driven stick for a total of about 15 minutes in my life. i bought the car, drove it back home 5 miles. really, if you have any brain capacity what so ever, all you really need to do is read a little bit about how to drive a stick and just apply it.

 

[BillTheCat]

FYI, the MS3 has a touchy clutch. It won't be the easiest to learn on, but I'll tell you what- you learn to drive the MS3 smoothly, and no clutch on a production vehicle will ever scare you again.

Unless the drive home from your dealership is downhill, with zero traffic and no stop lights, I would at least take a manual transmission driving course to get a feel for what you need to do. Or have a friend who does drive stick drive it home for you so you can learn on back roads & side streets with no traffic pressure.

As long as you're not scared of the stick shift (not prone to squealing like a scared 4-year old, not going to close your eyes & pray while driving, etc.) you can learn on almost any car.

 

[oaklandopen]

please remember to push down on the shifter before putting it into reverse. some other member already had problems and said the only way to do it was to put the lever all the way to the right, and slam it to the left.