Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So I'm ashamed to say that I have not driven a stick shift manual vehicle since my dad tried to teach me back when I was around 16 years old. The bad thing is, I think he ruined me on manual transmissions. He tried teaching me on a truck that had worn out gears to begin with. I seem to remember the truck never staying in third gear like it should. It was the hardest thing to take off in that truck too! Once I got going, I was OK, but forget about me being able to take off on a hill! Needless to say, it was a nightmare trying to learn and it kind of scared me away from manual transmissions.
Now that I'm a little older (ok, a lot older) and hopefully a little wiser, I kind of want to conquer my fear of the manual transmission. Now, I've heard that a newer car with a manual transmission is a lot simpler to drive and a lot easier to learn on than than older stick shifts. Is this true? I kind of feel left out and almost feel like I need to turn in my man card, because I don't drive a stick. I feel that at some point in my life, I am going to be faces with having to drive someone's car with a manual transmission, and it would be nice to know how to drive it without tearing the gears out, lol!
I can tell you this.. My dad 'taught' me to drive and it was on a stick.. It didn't work well.. I did everything on an automatic and took my driving test and didn't worry about it.
A few years later, one of the work trucks had a manual transmission and it was the only thing available.. I spent 15 minutes in the parking lot and had it down. Though, I wouldn't have tried steep hills or anything after just 15 minutes.
When you're learning to drive, learning on a manual is sometimes the worst thing you can do, because you're learning all the other stuff all at the same time.
So I'm ashamed to say that I have not driven a stick shift manual vehicle since my dad tried to teach me back when I was around 16 years old. The bad thing is, I think he ruined me on manual transmissions. He tried teaching me on a truck that had worn out gears to begin with. I seem to remember the truck never staying in third gear like it should. It was the hardest thing to take off in that truck too! Once I got going, I was OK, but forget about me being able to take off on a hill! Needless to say, it was a nightmare trying to learn and it kind of scared me away from manual transmissions.
Now that I'm a little older (ok, a lot older) and hopefully a little wiser, I kind of want to conquer my fear of the manual transmission. Now, I've heard that a newer car with a manual transmission is a lot simpler to drive and a lot easier to learn on than than older stick shifts. Is this true? I kind of feel left out and almost feel like I need to turn in my man card, because I don't drive a stick. I feel that at some point in my life, I am going to be faces with having to drive someone's car with a manual transmission, and it would be nice to know how to drive it without tearing the gears out, lol!
Newer cars have hydraulic clutches that are much easier on the left leg to use. I would recommend a light-duty pickup truck, like a Toyota Tacoma or Nissan Frontier, for learning how to drive a standard. They are geared low, and so are easier for a newbie to take off in without stalling. As a secondary benefit, you gain the utility of a pickup truck.
Start with something easy like a FWD Honda with a stock clutch.
As for the pickup recommendation, if you have one to practice on, great - but the poor weight balance and (easy) ability to kick the back end out with an aggressive clutch release make them less forgiving as a learner vehicle.
I found out the hard way that some people, no matter who, where they live or how much education they have, cannot ever learn to drive a stick shift car. Before my son graduated high school, he and I spent many weekends in my old stick shift truck. His missed shifts, riding the pedal and unintentional abuse forced the truck into retirement. After college he tried again, this time paying a driving school to learn. After two months the gray haired instructor (whose hair was dark brown before they started) finally admitted defeat and quit.
I taught my daughter to drive stick after she passed her driving test. The goal was to have her drive the stick to school but she had all kinds of problems stalling the first few times and had a fit of crying when she stalled at a stop sign with a car behind her. After she finally got the car moving, I told her she was doing well and taking it to school tomorrow.
A week after driving she was comfortable and now after a semester at school, drives it like a pro and prefers it over automatic. She's going to college and won't need the car so now I'm teaching my other daughter the same way. Auto first, stick second.
Hopefully my poor hyundai will survive 3 children learning stick.
years ago, my wife had 1 lesson on my new Integra and then I broke a finger and couldn't drive the next weekend. She did well. We had hoped to put the kids through MSF course for motorcycle instruction but have yet to do it. So far only my son has any interest in the bikes but he's still 4 years away from driving anything.
There's quite a bit to learn about gear ratios and torque curves (you don't really learn about how those things work, but you learn to deal with them). But the toughest part is getting started from a stop. For that, I suggest you practice finesse with the clutch pedal.
Go to a level place with no traffic, such as an empty parking lot. Point the car in a direction so it's level going forward. Press the clutch pedal, engage the first gear, and let the clutch out gently so that the car moves, until the pedal is all the way up. Do not use the accelerator. This takes practice. You may think that it can't be done, but if the car is in reasonable condition, it can be; it just takes practice. Once you have that level of skill with the clutch pedal, sensing where it starts to grab and controlling the pedal position precisely, getting started the normal way will be easy. Another advantage is that you won't burn up the clutch engaging it with the engine at idle.
Wow, such a disappointment for your dad. My dad taught me in a truck too, with a column shifter, learn to master that one and anything else is easy.
I've taught a couple kids to drive standards, took them out on a county dirt road in the Toyota 4x4, started them out in 4 low so they could not smoke the clutch trying to get it going. Once they had the shifting/clutch timing right switched it to high gear.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
