Stick Shift & Mechanical Watches

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I did look at the Si... but the boy racer styling was kind of alienating. I am a grown up, not speed racer. I just want a manual gearbox.
Hey now. Nothing wrong with being a grown up boy speed racer. Grown doesn’t have to be boring. The WRX fits two car seats in the back just fine and kids love turbos. Maybe one day I’ll get more classy and try to find an early 2000s Cadillac CTS-V with a stick.
 
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Old school. Double de-clutching down on a non-synchro box on a steep hill in traffic can be a challenge… on the other hand, the manual accelerator was a brave stab at early cruise control, and no problem searching for the keys - she starts fine with a screwdriver.
I love it! Both of my IHs have a manual throttle knobs on the dash.
Edited:
 
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Hey now. Nothing wrong with being a grown up boy speed racer. Grown doesn’t have to be boring. The WRX fits two car seats in the back just fine and kids love turbos. Maybe one day I’ll get more classy and try to find an early 2000s Cadillac CTS-V with a stick.
The former owner of my M5 was an air cooled P-car fanatic, but when he had his second kid he needed space for 2 car seats- thus be bought the M5. When his kids we’re grown enough to no longer need the car seats, he sold it to me and bought another air cooled Porsche.
 
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I was every interested in an air-cooled Porsche but I waited too long and then everyone wanted one. Too much for me.
 
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I did look at the Si... but the boy racer styling was kind of alienating. I am a grown up, not speed racer. I just want a manual gearbox.

The Si is much tamer looking than the Type R, which I agree is too much. And all of the Civics in the current generation are more subdued than the previous one for sure. At first glance it can be hard to pick out an Si from the regular Civic lineup IMO. Which was kind of the reason why I chose an Si Civic to begin with (the Type R was not available in the 2008 generation).

We also have a 2004 4 cylinder Accord that, while not manual, is very rewarding to drive as well. The V-6 Accords were definitely faster but incur a noticeable weight penalty. Of course in later years everything just got turbocharged.
 
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I was every interested in an air-cooled Porsche but I waited too long and then everyone wanted one. Too much for me.
The early 00’s was another time it seems, not that long ago for many of us, but the car/watch market was much different. And it’s not as though “things were just cheaper then”- we aren’t taking about the 50’s, they were actually cheaper in relation to incomes- used goods depreciated as they should and salaries were on the rise. So the system was in balance.
You could buy a used GMT for $2k and a’ very nice 80’s 911SC for $15k… and we knew that was a good deal for those then. It was just a different landscape for used luxury goods- who knew. If only I had a crystal ball….
 
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The early 00’s was another time it seems, not that long ago for many of us, but the car/watch market was much different. And it’s not as though “things were just cheaper then”- we aren’t taking about the 50’s, they were actually cheaper in relation to incomes- used goods depreciated as they should and salaries were on the rise. So the system was in balance.
You could buy a used GMT for $2k and a’ very nice 80’s 911SC for $15k… and we knew that was a good deal for those then. It was just a different landscape for used luxury goods- who knew. If only I had a crystal ball….

Yep. I missed out on that late-70s/early-80s transitional Submariner, too. Just too much now.
 
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My 1976 CJ5, but only driven off paved roads since 1980. After about two excursions I found the short wheelbase was not for civilization nor my or my dad's skeleton.

Bought a dovetail to haul it. Original paint. Levi pkg/original seat covers.

My only manual, now.
 
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After driving lumber and dump trucks in and around Wash DC for quite a few years, if I never have another stick shift it will still be way too soon.
 
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Wife and I both prefer a manual, but only my M2 has it now. Her 335 is an auto...
 
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After driving lumber and dump trucks in and around Wash DC for quite a few years, if I never have another stick shift it will still be way too soon.
Having driven my M5 in DC traffic many times, I can understand- that’s not a light clutch.
 
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My 1976 CJ5, but only driven off paved roads since 1980. After about two excursions I found the short wheelbase was not for civilization nor my or my dad's skeleton.

Bought a dovetail to haul it. Original paint. Levi pkg/original seat covers.

My only manual, now.
Back in August I saw a modern Jeep flip end over end after an altercation with a minivan at a busy four way intersection. Wise to keep to the trails.
 
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I’ve always loved manuals and had an E46 330ci manual for a long time but in a lot of ways that E46 was a pretty bad experience. Around the late 1990s BMW among others moved to dual mass flywheels that are internally failed after about 40,000kms, self adjusting clutches, clutch delay valves to prevent dumping of the clutch and force it to release slowly. Then in 2000 they went fly by wire throttle for the first time, and that throttle has lag or latency.

So in the 330ci manual, when you’re on the hill about to take off the throttle you apply will come at some point within a 200-300ms window, and the clutch will actually bite within about a 400ms window, irrespective of your actual inputs on the pedals, and even when it does bite, because the springs in the DMF are gone it might do nothing then bite again hard. The more recent BMW manuals removed the throttle issue and made the dual mass flywheel more robust but they still use clutch delay valves which you can bypass, but then you’re also voiding your warranty on many drivetrain issues as they’ll blame rough clutch engagement.

Then while Porsche still have manuals in all their sports cars, its not a real H-pattern manual unless you get the 6-speed on the GT3/Speedster, all the 7/8 speed manuals are a dual clutch automatic that has been converted to be a manual with a block of linkages translating your inputs from one selector shaft to dual selector shafts. As a result it’s an odd feeling, inconsistent and sloppy linkage that never feels quite right. But then the GT3/Speedster are impossibility expensive just for the better transmission.

There’s still a semi-retired E34 525i in storage at my parents place and that was the car I learned in many moons ago, and still the nicest feeling clutch and linkage I’ve ever used in a German car, which isn’t saying much because I’ve been disappointed by most German manuals compared to even a Mazda or a Honda.

If I could get a BMW or a Porsche with a Honda S2000 feeling manual that would be perfect, they just don’t quite make that,
 
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I’ve always loved manuals and had an E46 330ci manual for a long time but in a lot of ways that E46 was a pretty bad experience. Around the late 1990s BMW among others moved to dual mass flywheels that are internally failed after about 40,000kms, self adjusting clutches, clutch delay valves to prevent dumping of the clutch and force it to release slowly. Then in 2000 they went fly by wire throttle for the first time, and that throttle has lag or latency.

So in the 330ci manual, when you’re on the hill about to take off the throttle you apply will come at some point within a 200-300ms window, and the clutch will actually bite within about a 400ms window, irrespective of your actual inputs on the pedals, and even when it does bite, because the springs in the DMF are gone it might do nothing then bite again hard. The more recent BMW manuals removed the throttle issue and made the dual mass flywheel more robust but they still use clutch delay valves which you can bypass, but then you’re also voiding your warranty on many drivetrain issues as they’ll blame rough clutch engagement.

Then while Porsche still have manuals in all their sports cars, its not a real H-pattern manual unless you get the 6-speed on the GT3/Speedster, all the 7/8 speed manuals are a dual clutch automatic that has been converted to be a manual with a block of linkages translating your inputs from one selector shaft to dual selector shafts. As a result it’s an odd feeling, inconsistent and sloppy linkage that never feels quite right. But then the GT3/Speedster are impossibility expensive just for the better transmission.

There’s still a semi-retired E34 525i in storage at my parents place and that was the car I learned in many moons ago, and still the nicest feeling clutch and linkage I’ve ever used in a German car, which isn’t saying much because I’ve been disappointed by most German manuals compared to even a Mazda or a Honda.

If I could get a BMW or a Porsche with a Honda S2000 feeling manual that would be perfect, they just don’t quite make that,
The clutch delay valve sucks- it’s in my mini and I plan to have it removed on my next fluid service (car is out of warranty). I have never missed a shift into second in any car except this one (has happened several times) and it’s becuase of that valve-luckily it can be removed fairly easily.
Also not a fan of the match rev system as it engages when you drop the gear before you even release the clutch which isn’t great when you are just slowing to make a turn and and put it into second in preparation as you are slowing down- I don’t need that rev. I am wondering if I can disable that in the software.
 
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The clutch delay valve sucks- it’s in my mini and I plan to have it removed on my next fluid service (car is out of warranty). I have never missed a shift into second in any car except this one (has happened several times) and it’s becuase of that valve-luckily it can be removed fairly easily.
Yea removing that didn’t fix the 330ci but it made a monumental difference having the clutch actually hydraulically connected to the pedal rather than releasing the pedal merely being a suggestion to release the clutch. They no doubt do it to prevent novices from doing harm but when you’ve got the muscle memory of where the bite point is you should be able to just snap to it and have it be there instead of waiting for the slave cylinder to catch up. At this point its really not novices buying manual BMWs anyway though, and I especially don’t get why they still have them on M cars, even the latest Gen M4 and M2.
 
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Around the late 1990s BMW among others moved to dual mass flywheels that are internally failed after about 40,000kms, self adjusting clutches, clutch delay valves to prevent dumping of the clutch and force it to release slowly. Then in 2000 they went fly by wire throttle for the first time, and that throttle has lag or latency.

20 years ago, on one BMW forum I was on, modifying the clutch delay valve was a common mod people were doing. I never did it, but I also never had any issues with it on the Z4 or Z4M, or any subsequent car.

The throttle by wire I’m not a fan of, and the first thing I would always do is start the car, then press the sport button. Throttle response was greatly improved, in particular on my first Z4.
 
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20 years ago, on one BMW forum I was on, modifying the clutch delay valve was a common mod people were doing. I never did it, but I also never had any issues with it on the Z4 or Z4M, or any subsequent car.

The throttle by wire I’m not a fan of, and the first thing I would always do is start the car, then press the sport button. Throttle response was greatly improved, in particular on my first Z4.
Apparently with the dongle and Bimmercode you can set it up so it always starts in sport mode- I need to get one of them. My mini is a slug in normal/green mode.
Not that flicking the switch is that much effort 🤔
 
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Hey now. Nothing wrong with being a grown up boy speed racer. Grown doesn’t have to be boring. The WRX fits two car seats in the back just fine and kids love turbos. Maybe one day I’ll get more classy and try to find an early 2000s Cadillac CTS-V with a stick.
Hey now. Nothing wrong with being a grown up boy speed racer. Grown doesn’t have to be boring. The WRX fits two car seats in the back just fine and kids love turbos. Maybe one day I’ll get more classy and try to find an early 2000s Cadillac CTS-V with a stick.

I owned a Manual 2012 CTS-V coupe, it was a blast to drive. Those "no lift shifts" can get addicting when you get the hang of it. I had an E46 M3 manual that was awesome after it's 2nd transmission. I currently daily a 992 911 manual that's a blast and have a 1/4 of a 2018 Shelby GT350R manual that I bought with three of my boys. So I guess manual for me!