I just picked up a '99 Z28 with a manual transmission. This is the first car I've owned that has one, I've only learned on other peoples cars so I don't know much about them. Heres some questions I have so far...

Since I've never driven a stick before, I don't know what sounds normal when changing gears and what doesn't. I know I'm not very good at it yet, but when I make good shifts I don't hear any noise. When I make slower, untimely shifts, I hear a little bit of noise and the car tugs a little.

I do o a 2 - 5 shift sometimes by accident, is this ok or am I going to damage something in the long run doing that? It seems almost natural for the car to accept that shift. Theres a skip-shift light that comes on when I'm in first, whats that mean?

Sometimes when I'm leaving from a stop, the car jostles and tugs a little bit when I'm releasing the clutch and giving it a little gas. Will this jostling cause any major problems before I get the hang of it completely?

Also, is it ok to downshift or am I going to mess something up doing that too? Sometimes if traffic slows or whatever, I have to do a downshift to keep the RPMs in a nice spot.

 

Your tranny will be fine. Every car is different, and so is every clutch. Give it some time and youl become very accustomed to it. It just takes a little bit of time to adapt.

 

to help with the skip shift light...
it comes on in first between somethin like 15-20 mph and only will let you shift to 4th (also known as CAGS)
it's just something to help meet federal EPA gas standards and started in 94, just helps fuel economy that's all
you can either accelerate and then go to 2nd, or you can shift to 4th
if you wanted to, you could buy a skip shift eliminator (round 30$) and it takes it away so you can shift to 2nd no matter what
i thought there was a "ghetto" way of rigging it up that costs like 50 cents but, i can't remember
maybe somebody can help on that, because i would do it, it's a lot cheaper than 30$

 

yep the ghetto way is going to radio shack and buyin a 2.5k ohm watt resistor, simply jack your car up and unplug the 'skip shift' solenoid from your tranny bend the resistor and plug it into the female part, cover w/ electrical tape, use some zip tides and your good to go (www.installuniversity) for complete instructions

edit- the cost of the watt resistors, electrical tape, and zip tides should run you bout 4 bucks, the watt resistor is the cheapest

 

Noises are probably normal when you make the car lug by going into too high of a gear. It will sort of lurch right? When the car jolts with a not so smooth shift, you are bound to hear noises. You will get the hang of it. I only learned a few months ago and now it feels natural. Good luck.

 

Same with me man, i had all the lurching and sounds. Just give it a month or two. Youll get the hang of it and ur shifting will smooth out. if u dont like the skip shift just give it some gas in first.
Tony

 

Your doing fine. Not harming anything.
A missed up shift, 2nd to 5th, will not hurt anything but a missed down shift 5th to 2nd can spoil your whole day.
Start your down shifting when your not in a rush. Coasting down from speed for a stop light. Once you have a feel for what gear your in you can pick up the pace.
After you become comfortable start shifting without using the clutch by Blipping the throttle or rpm matching for the gear your going into. This may sound silly but can be a valuable tool and will help fine tune your shifting. Not for daily driving, mind you.