im still somewhat new to manual as it is but is there much difference with a 3 vs a 5? would i shift at much higher rpms? and stuff like when coming to a stop where you dont completly stop, i would stay in second and only go in first for starting off.
Driving a manual is like riding a bike... once you learn, you just know what to do, no matter if you are riding your bike, or a friends. They might look a bit different, feel a bit different, and certainly be a bit different, but when you pedal, you will know what to do.
The 5 speed will have an overdrive 5th gear (engine will turn at a lower rpm than the driveshaft, usually gving better fuel mileage) where the 3 speed's third gear is 1 to 1 (engine's turning the same rpms as the driveshaft) And the 5 speed's 1st gear will be lower than the 3 speed's 1st, allowing a quicker takeoff from a dead stop. All that said, the 3 speed you have now is pretty much bullet proof (aside from the blocker, or syncronizer rings which are about the only parts in it subject to wear and are pretty easy to replace), where the 5 speeds tend to be more fragile.
I just recently put a 3-speed in my Maverick and the one big difference I notice from driving my other cars with 5 or 6 speeds is that the gaps between the gears are much bigger on the 3-speed, which makes sense. I tend to have to rev a little higher in 2nd before i grab 3rd because of that gap. But other than that, it's just like any other manual tranny. You get used to it and know it becomes second nature after driving it a little bit.
