......and I meant nothing bad either....just info that may help. Practice and practice more is the only way to make smooth shifts....and even then one misses one once in a while. My big problem was not shifting out of first before red line when playing.....these get to red line a lot faster than my former manual tranny cars did.

 

I almost never use 1st gear, but don't have to give mine a lot of 'down' to go into reverse. I've been surprised a couple times after sitting at a stop light in neutral and going the wrong direction when I take off. Always wonder what the guy behind me thinks when he sees the backup lights go on... and then hope he doesn't know me.

 

I agree with pete 100%... you post that you simply cannot drive the car you bought.. yeah you should of put a flame suit on.

 

I've caught myself being in first a few times, but I've been fortunate enough to not hit anything.

 

I've never had a problem with any of my manual trans cars here, but I recall a visit to the UK where muscle memory tripped me up a couple of times. I had rented a five-speed manual and without thinking moved the shift lever toward my leg and forward. It was an 'oh crap' moment when I realized I was trying to start off in fifth gear.

 

That's to be expected when you grow up driving on the right side of the road and then have to learn how to drive on the wrong side.

 

Wouldn't you be in the right seat?? How could that be muscle memory? Thats just a "this is a ****ed up side to drive on and I shift with my left hand, not my ****ing right" moment. Lol

 

Yep, you are in the right-hand seat. The muscle memory comes in as a memory that first gear is close to your leg and forward. The same type of memory causes you to look up and to your right for the rear view mirror and find yourself looking out the window at the passing trees. It also causes you to use the left-hand steering column stalk to signal for a turn and find that you have turned on the windshield wipers. You get used to it all pretty quickly and then it's a hoot. As you approach a roundabout there are signs with three hash marks, then two, and then one. They indicate hundreds of yards to the entrance to the roundabout. For me they quickly became downshift points to fourth, and then third, and then second and blast around the roundabout (assuming it was clear). Great fun.

 

Dude, first gear and legs?¿ that's not it, you're just used to shifting with your right hand and don't ever do it with your left. Unless you're ambidextrous it's going to take a little getting used too. ...but if you believe it's your legs, okay.

 

If your handy and it is still a issue, run a wire from the reverse lights to a light in the dash or under etc.. Then you would have a indicator letting you know your reverse is engaged.

 

^ I was actually thinking of doing that, thought there'd probably be a connector with something for that more centrally (for auto trans, backup display mirror, etc.).

I like where R is, but would prefer it high right ("7") if it could be done. I have very often not been in reverse when I thought I was, but always caught it before moving. The R spring on mine seems very strong. My new habit (new for this car) is to double-check I'm in reverse. Not a problem, but a nanny indicator for this would be a lot more useful *to me* than the vast majority of them, I'd see this one several times a day.

Been driving stick since '78, this is my first "push down" reverse, though I encountered it in '79 in a French Renault and nobody told me, couldn't get out of the parking space for a long time lol.

 

Maybe the spring is just still a litle stiff from not really being used all that much? Maybe the more you use it, the softer the spring will become.

 

Obviously you're sure of your position, and that's okay. You're wrong, but that's okay.
And by the way, I am for a variety of activities, ambidextrous. Having driven in the UK a number of times now I find that I can hop in a right-hand drive car and feel at home.

 

Hahahahaha I'm right, but you can think I'm wrong, it's cool.

 

I've never had a problem with this. I like where reverse is positioned. The gears you are using when maneuvering into a parking space are 1 and R, so it's nice that they are close together.

Porsche now has a 7-speed manual and so does the 2014 Corvette. The Porsche shifter look like this:

R 1 3 5 7
.. 2 4 6

(Ignore the periods under R. Without it the alignment won't stay in place.)

The 2014 Corvette shifter looks like this:

1 3 5 7
2 4 6 R

In both cases, it's a reach to keep going back and forth between 1 and R. I think I would prefer one like this, if you're going to have 7 speeds:

R 2 4 6
1 3 5 7

Several years ago Porsche's 928 had a shift pattern like the one above but it only went up to 5.