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k so ive been drivin a 95 Celica GT automatic for 1 year...
its broken down and i have around 10grand i can spend on a new used car
i am thinking of an RSX S or Impreza 2.5RS or sc400
anyways whatever car it is I want it to be stick shift!!!
but the thing is i dont know how and all my friends have nice cars so they dont want to teach me in theirs(z28 and GTI).
anyways even to test drive the car i would need to know so anyone know where i can learn?????is there a school or something or what?
thanks
IMO it's not complicated enough to merit a whole different course, the salesman might even be nice enough to teach you. A stick shift adds an extra pedal on the left and the gear shift, otherwise it's similar.. note the H-pattern on the shift knob as that'll be your guide to where the gears are. Starting the car from neutral goes like this.
1) Press left pedal all the way down.
2) Shift into 1st.
3) Rev the engine to about 2k and keep your right foot there while gradually letting go of the pedal with your left foot. This is the hardest part, and first time, you're likely to either stall or overrev; don't worry about this as you'll get used to it.
Then to upshift, put the left pedal all the way down again while cutting off the gas pedal, move the lever straight down into 2nd, and let the clutch out while rolling on the gas, similar but quicker than when you started off. Third is over to the right and up, fourth is straight down from third, fifth is right and up, and if there's a sixth gear it's straight down from fifth.
BTW there are no manual SC400's.. there are stick-shift SC300's but they sold very few.
When my oldest daughter bought her first car at 17 it was a stick and she had no clue how to drive it. Only took her three days to learn after a few lessons from me. Basically she did what okie has suggested, good luck!
The most important thing is to remain patient. Go to an empty parking lot to practive launching. Some guidelines for launching:
Your left heel is going to remain planted while you let out the clutch pedal. Let the pedal out very slowly until you feel the clutch "engage" and the car starts to move. Now gently feed in the gas as you let the clutch all the way out.
It is OK to push the clutch back IN if say you find you let it out too quick (so you can keep the engine from stalling).
You don't HAVE to feed in the gas pedal at all as you let out the clutch. Once you are driving in the streets you will do so. But you should understand that letting the clutch out (slowly) all by itsself will in fact get the car moving. Just something to know in order to understand how everything works. Ties in with the next part:
Don't burn the clutch. You don't need to rev the car to 2K to launch, this is actually a good way to burn up the clutch because the engine will be moving faster than the clutch, which will burn up the clutch and leave you with a very expensive repair bill. Do it the way I described above. As an Impreza owner (WRX) these cars are a bit trickier to launch due to the AWD system creating more drag on the driveline, so if you get one don't worry; they just need a bit more care and concentration on the launch. Till you get the hang of it.
All in all, beside the great element of sporting a manual transmission offers, it also requires that you pay more attention to your driving. Which is only a good thing.
Um... it's like riding a bicycle. You can read about it, you can watch someone else do it... and you still won't be able to ride it without practice.
Practice thoroughly on up hill starts. You don't want to be rolling into the car behind you. If you get an older Subaru or a newish WRX STi or Forester, it comes with anti-rollback device that prevents your car from rolling back while the clutch is pushed in. This is something specific to older Subarus and select models of newer Subarus though.
No amount of studying will replace the considerable amount of practicing needed.
There are only a few things to know other than practice.
Never use your clutch to "hold" your car still on an incline.
Automatic is preferable if you spend substantial amount of time in stop-and-go (i.e. I-5N during busy hours from Portland)
Don't downshift to slow/stop. Brakes are cheaper to fix than the transmission.
Given the same speed, higher the gear, the lower the RPM. The gap between gears is usually greater between 1st and 2nd than anything else on most 5 spd cars.
Shifting at lower RPM encourages fuel economy, while you'd rev up higher through each gear for better acceleration.
Last edited by TechmanOR; 09-01-2008 at 07:16 AM..
Shifting at lower RPM encourages fuel economy, while you'd rev up higher through each gear for better acceleration.
It should be noted though, that attempting to accelerate in too high a gear while at low RMP will put a higher load on the engine (than if in a lower gear at higher RPM) and decrease your gas mileage.
It should be noted though, that attempting to accelerate in too high a gear while at low RMP will put a higher load on the engine (than if in a lower gear at higher RPM) and decrease your gas mileage.
Having higher throttle opening (say up to 70% or so) but not wide enough to trigger full throttle sensor is not bad for mileage. Opening up the throttle reduces intake restrictions.
Putting it in first, immediately going to second, giving 70% gas, moving to 3rd quickly, 70% gas... and so forth is just fine. Going from 1st to 5th right away, then stumbling through... not so much.
k so ive been drivin a 95 Celica GT automatic for 1 year...
its broken down and i have around 10grand i can spend on a new used car
i am thinking of an RSX S or Impreza 2.5RS or sc400
anyways whatever car it is I want it to be stick shift!!!
but the thing is i dont know how and all my friends have nice cars so they dont want to teach me in theirs(z28 and GTI).
anyways even to test drive the car i would need to know so anyone know where i can learn?????is there a school or something or what?
thanks
Why don't you treat yourself to a car with an automatic?
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