How long till you 'mastered' driving stick?

[Gheybe]

This 330 is the most forgiving car I've ever driven. My clutch feel/travel is perfect for learning.

Now this wasn't where I learned. First car I ever drove that was stick was my dad's 67 Impala SS 4 speed. I had to spartan kick the clutch at every shift. A nightmare. Now after that I feel like I can drive anything that is stick. And that's been the case so far after something so hard, anything else feels really easy.

I wanna say it took me a couple of days to get it to be smooth, then another 2 weeks to get it down to be second nature for me in that car.

In the 330 it was about a few hours of driving it back to SD.

[MasterC17]

CDV Delete really smoothes things out from 1st to 2nd.

[kayger12]

Not sure what the CDV is, can someone elaborate on that?

Clutch Delay Valve. It's essentially a piece that acts as a choke point for the fluid in the clutch line so that no matter how quickly you release the clutch, the effect is delayed as the fluid's travel is, "delayed" as it waits to move through the choke point.

Many owners remove this valve and report a much more satisfying clutch response- especially first to second.

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[lilcdkey]

I got nearly perfect in my E36 in a week or two. That was also my first stick car.

[az3579]

So it seems the CDV is the culprit.. I thought I was just bad at driving stick.. but knowing myself and how I learn new skills rather quickly (and I say this in the most humble way possible), I knew something was weird..

Everyone's also overlooking the fact that the drive-by-wire system makes shifting harder as well, both on the upshift and downshift.
This is most noticeable with rev-matched downshifts; there is considerable lag in the throttle due to all the electronic mumbo-jumbo that has to happen before the throttle body says "hey, I got your signal!".

I've finally reached the point where I have pretty much mastered manual in almost any car. I'm an absolute fanatic when it comes to shifting smoothly, and my goal is to drive like I have passengers all the time; smooth regardless of the amount of passengers.

The auto-x course is a different story, and I revert to the equivalent of an SMG aggressive shift mode; I shift as fast as I can so I don't waste time. Luckily I only ever reach 2nd gear.



I learned to drive manual in a 75hp Russian car, a Lada 110i. The first time I drove a manual truly was on an E39 540i 6-speed, but the CDV in that car made it IMPOSSIBLE for me to get a smooth launch and shift. IMPOSSIBLE.

Then I brushed up in a Nissan 240SX, but that was a one-time thing.


I truly learned everything about manual driving in the Lada, in Budapest downtown traffic. The best training a person could possibly get.
Ever since then, I have had 0 issues adapting to whatever car I get into. I rev-match EVERYTHING because it's just so much fun!

I certainly wish I had a 100% shifting success rate though. I would say only about 6-7 out of 10 shifts are smooth to where you can't feel it, and only 1 or 2 of those shifts are smooth "enough" to pass as decent. I'm afraid it'll take the rest of my life to get anywhere near 90% success. lol

[VA//M3]

Coming from a 1978 porsche 924 and 944 turbos. I instantly knew there was something wrong with the way the clutch felt. I felt disconnected and sure enough the CDV was at fault and it was gone in less then a week into ownership. Then it was smooth sailing. 1st to 2nd was still an issue no matter what due to throttle lag.

However, throttle lag disappeared once I updated the ECU and everything engine wise was taken care of and triple checked. After that now the car feels as it should have felt when I bought it.

Going over all the sensor connections was the last piece of the puzzle in getting rid of all throttle lag along with tuning the clutch switches.

[GreenFrog]

I definitely want to get the CDV deleted and possibly get a tune (shark injector or AA). Are these mods worth it?

[danewilson77]

I definitely want to get the CDV deleted and possibly get a tune (shark injector or AA). Are these mods worth it?

Yes. Worth it.

Wait....

Define worth.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[GreenFrog]

Yes. Worth it.

Wait....

Define worth.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

The cost to get these done. I'm not mechanically-inclined at all so if I get the CDV deleted, I will most definitely have it done by a repair shop specializing in BMWs. As for the shark injector.. aren't those like $500?

[danewilson77]

Shark is 3hundy I believe. Where do you live?

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