As many people have posted on this board asking about the "manual driving experience" in their preperation to purchase a 2005 Mustang. I personally have begun my journey down that road of leaning how to drive a manual transmission. My first time out was a very humbling experience and after an hour I finally got the concept down for the most part... Still lots of work to go .

I'm curious (and already know I'm going to get the "Search newbie" flames) for the 2005 manual owners is the clutch light or heavy and is the shift pattern short? I'm learning on a 2004 Accord with a fairly heavy clutch and I'm geussing an average shift pattern.

 

I have driven manuals before i got my mustang but it was about a 4 year lag time between my last manual car and my mustang. As far as i can tell the mustang has alot shorter thow then previous years and the clutch is a little on the light side thanks to their new hydro setup. Hope this helps!

 

it really depends on what you are used to driving. being that you havent driven a manual, its hard to say. but from my experience...switching from my ranger to my mustang, the mustangs clutch is definitely heavier. maybe its because it is new, but its no big deal. it engages so much faster and smoother than any other manual that i have driven....but it takes a little pressure to hold the pedal down. so city driving might make your leg a bit tired. the throw is very short on the 05. the shifter is so tiny and it is a blast to drive. however, i think the throw from 2nd to 3rd is fairly long. but, the 5spd in this car is so much fun to drive.

 

That's more or less what I was looking for. But I'm learning on a 2004 Honda Accord so that will be my experience. I had heard and read that the throw on the 05 was a nice tight pattern which is nice to hear. It seems like the pattern on the Accord is lengthy. Of course I'm no expert

 

I drive a manual 03 Accord (identical to the 04) and I've test driven a manual GT. The GT is almost as easy to drive as the Accord. The gears in the GT might not "click" into place as smoothly as on the Accord (maybe needs to be broken in), but the clutch is just as easy to engage. 5th gear on the GT is rather tall though, both cars feel about the same when I floor it in 5th on the freeway. You should try driving a 350Z. Now that's a hard car to drive if you're just learning to drive manual. I don't think you'll have any problems adjusting to the GT after learning on an Accord.

 

I had to drive my 05 GT car off the lot in front of about 15 sales guys...man was I nervous about stalling it but it was no problem at all. I had not driven a stick in over 10 years but after about 5 minutes, it felt like I'd been driving one forever.

1. The clutch engages smoothly / easliy. It seems rather hard to "stall" the car. The clutch doesn't not have an "on" and "off" position. It's a very smooth transition to get the car moving.

2. It takes a bit of force to keep the clutch depressed but I attribute that feeling to my 10 year gap driving a car with a manual transmission (and the fact that ther car is only 5 days old).

3. Shifting is a breeze. The feel is great!

I'd highly recommend getting the manual.

 

I was hoping someone on here would have experience with the Honda manual that could compare it with the Ford manual. Thanks a bunch that was really what I was looking for. Seems like I have a good car to learn in.

If I had a chance to do it over again I think I may have learned manual first... Something tells me life would be easier that way

 

I think you'll find a manual Mustang GT easier to drive than your manual Honda.

Unlike the Honda, the Mustang will be a lot harder to stall since it has real torque

 

I have driven almost exclusively manual transmission vehicles since I can remember they're all diffrerent in some fasion:

1. (1979) 1974 Chevy K-5 Blazer 2WD towing package 350CID 2bbl w/4 spd manual. 1st gear granny-gear, 2nd for normal takeoffs: Clutch effort: grave at best, but real forgiving for learners - Lots of torque to pull through the mistakes. Also I learned to drive manual in Rockland County (Nyack) NY – Lots of hills!

2. (1981) 1968 Austin Mini Cooper 850: Clutch is light but not that forgiving due to engine size -lots easier to stall off the line. Also this car was right hand drive. Pedals are in all the right places, shift patter is the same too (1st upper left, 2nd lower right, 4th upper right) – only thing different is where the seat was. (I was stationed in Brawdy Wales UK in the US Navy during this ownership.

3. (1982-3) 1962 Morris Minor 1000 coup: Clutch almost as light as the Mini, but did not have syncro-mesh so shifting had to be accurate otherwise the sound of frequent grinding would make itself known (Still in Wales). This was one cool car – had both electric and hand crank start.

4. (1984) 1985 Mustang LX 3-door 2.3 (first new car): 4 speed manual - What a dog ;looked good but very, very slow. Clutch effort was lots harder than either the Morris or the Austin, but no where near the effort of that Blazer. It was so underpowered that I used to turn the AC off when merging onto highways…

5. 1986 (1982) Toyota Tercel (2nd Car/Commuter): 4 speed (I think – may have been 5 but I don’t think so) Moderate clutch a smidge lighter than the 85 Stang, but light years better shifting overall – this would have been an ideal first-timers manual transmission car…

6. 1988 (1988) Ford Ranger 3.8 V6: 5 speed manual – clutch effort slightly higher than the 85 Stang but easier to drive - more torque.

7. 1989 (1989) Mustang LX 5.0 Sport: My first dream car. T-5 manual - (I still have this car w/32K original miles) clutch effort right up there with the Blazer, but way more fun to drive. This transmission feels absolutely ancient compared to my new Mustang GT.

8. 1991 -2000: Lot s of Fords – Mostly automatics for the wife : 1992 Taurus Wagon, 1995 Windstar Van, 2000 Windstar Van and now the current 2002 Explorer Limited V8.

9. 2003 (2003) Mustang GT Conv –Premium: T-5 manual, this felt much more refined than the 89’s T-5, clutch effort “seemed� to be about 2/3 of the 89. Shifting pattern seemed more precise as well.

10. 2004 (2005) Mustang GT premium: New Tremec 5-speed - Simply awesome; cluch effort is nothing, especially for a V-8 powered car – Clutch effort - I’d say it’s about the same as the Tercel its that light… And the shift pattern is precise and short… Its like it almost vacuums up the stick into the next gear if your shifting in the right RPM ranges… SWEET!

 

The most important factor when driving stick is experience, the more you drive it, the easier it becomes.

 

I seriously doubt an Accord has a "heavy clutch". Are your legs toothpicks?

 

Hardly, remember its my first time out in a manual. It has more to do with expectations then leg strength. I had no problems with the clutch what-so-ever.

 

The only manual I have driven was a Mercedes Kompressor 6 speed, I had lots of fun with it. If I could get an 05 Mustang I would definitly go for the manual too, it's just so much more fun and around here traffic isn't a big problem.

 

BTW, the length of the throw on a tranny really doesn't have much to do with how hard it is to shift...in reality, it is how tight the pattern is which can cause it to seem difficult to shift.

Once you get used to it, it's no problem. I've gotten so used to the gears on Mustangs that I can upshift or downshift without even using the clutch.

 

Fortunately around my neck of the woods traffic is something that occours twice a day for about 2 hours tops. For the most part I don't have to deal with it and hills are a dime a dozen through much of the area until you get to the west side of town or head off for the mountains or beaches.

So my area is pretty manual friendly for the time being.

 

My dad told me I couldn't get a license until I learned to drive a manual... I'm thankful for that today.

That being said, I find this cluth very easy to work with. And with the amount of torque this car has, you'll really have to put some effort to stall it. If anything, you'll give yourself whiplash.

 

I drive tons of different cars each week, some junk, some nice. About two a week are manual. I like maybe 1% of them. I'm not a great stick driver since I don't get to drive one for too many miles, but it's also hard to drive a car 2 miles, then get in another one for two miles, etc.

Having said that, I'm getting a manual '05. When I test drove one, the first time I let the clutch out I said: "This is what I like." The clutch is light, and has the smoothest ingagement of any car I've driven. I was so confortable in the car, I realized later that I was not even paying attention to anything but the act of driving.

I think you will find it to be a VERY easy car to drive. Enjoy!

 

I guess no one here enjoys a strong clutch with a solid engagement?

 

I do. i put a cobra kit in my 96 which is heavier and love it. When i drove the 05 i kinda missed the heavy feel but quickly got over it.