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Old 06-24-2015, 01:04 AM
 
Location: NWA/SWMO
3,106 posts, read 3,954,521 times
Reputation: 3279

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Quote:
Originally Posted by skinsguy37 View Post
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!
My advice?


Get in the vehicle, get comfy (mirrors, seats, etc.)
Crank it up.
Blip the throttle slowly a few times to see how it responds to input.
Parking brake off. Foot off the brake (level ground). Slowly let the clutch out (no throttle!) and find the engagement point and get the vehicle rolling and the clutch fully engaged as quick as possible without choking it.

Do this a few times in the parking lot.

You will take off slowly. This is not how you drive. This is how you get used to the feel of the clutch, how much it will bog the motor, etc. etc.

Then begin feeding it throttle while releasing the clutch. It's a balancing act, and like most balancing acts, you are going to fail the first bit quite possibly.

Things to remember:

-ALWAYS FULLY DEPRESS THE CLUTCH WHEN SHIFTING.
-LET THE SPRING BIAS OF THE SHIFTER SELECT THE GEARS FOR YOU, OR YOU WILL MISS THEM! (especially common on fast 6-3 downshifts, as well as 2-3 upshifts. Sometimes you can even bugger a 3-4 downshift if you're getting after it.)

Other things:

If you spin the car (as in loss of control at the track, etc.), ALWAYS DEPRESS THE CLUTCH! Running the motor backwards will kill 99.999% of all combustion engines deader than ****. Not just "Oh, I need to crank it again", but "Oh...my bank account"
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Old 06-24-2015, 07:43 AM
 
Location: Denver
3,373 posts, read 9,155,282 times
Reputation: 3427
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwilliger View Post
Good call, learning to drive a stick is something that is very satisfying. Practice in an empty lot and practice good clutch control (the clutch is not a footrest!).

The one thing that a lot of drivers with manual transmissions do that is a bad habit is using neutral while their car is in motion.

What I often notice is people putting their vehicle in neutral to coast down a hill or to a stop sign. A lot of drivers say that it saves gas and it is easier. While both 'might' be true, it is dangerous. When you are in neutral your engine isn't connected to your drive train which means you won't be able to accelerate out of dangers way if needed. Also, inertia (something that we have no control over) can pull a car whichever way it likes a lot easier than if your drive train is giving it some resistance. Don't take a graveled or slick corner in neutral or with your foot on the clutch.

Other than that have fun and I'll see you at the drag strip!
To say coasting is dangerous as a blanket statement isn't accurate. Coasting at appropriate times is fine and can save fuel.

Granted if one can't think of when it is appropriate to coast they probably shouldn't coast.
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Old 06-24-2015, 08:06 AM
 
Location: Greensboro, NC
5,915 posts, read 6,400,990 times
Reputation: 4033
Quote:
Originally Posted by troymclure View Post
For years, most of my friends had manual transmission cars, and I was always bugging them to let me try and drive them, without much success.

A few years ago, I was in the market for a new car and was considering a stick shift. One dealer had a lot full of manual transmissions that they weren't going to be able to unload, so I could expect a pretty good deal. The test drive was the sales guy taking me around, teaching me how to drive stick shift.
Did you get a good deal on the car?
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Old 06-24-2015, 09:27 AM
 
Location: Springfield
709 posts, read 762,820 times
Reputation: 1486
Quote:
Originally Posted by skinsguy37 View Post
Did you get a good deal on the car?
I think so, but I will admit I'm probably not the most savvy negotiator. This was a pretty low-end automobile, with things most people take for granted actually listed as options, so I do know that the automatic would have been another $1000 (which should cover one clutch when the time comes).

It was a little unusual for this one car lot to have so many manual transmissions for this particular model - otherwise I think getting the manual may have involved either a special order or getting it from another lot.

Last edited by troymclure; 06-24-2015 at 10:06 AM..
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Old 06-24-2015, 10:58 AM
 
513 posts, read 732,076 times
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"i learned on a john deere tractor long before i drove a car .. plus riding motorcycles and lawn mowers with clutches .."

When I was growing up, most boys and some girls learned to drive the family tractor as soon as their feet could reach the pedals--probably 13-14 yo! Driving a car was a piece of cake after that!
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Old 06-24-2015, 11:14 AM
 
4,761 posts, read 14,216,096 times
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Get a 25 foot length of rope. Have a friend grab one end of the rope. You wear gloves and lightly grab the rope near where your friend is holding the rope.

Now tell your friend to run as fast as he can with the end of the rope.

You quickly grab onto the rope as tight as you can - I'll bet you get jerked toward your friend and your friend may jerk backwards and stop!

Now do it again, but slowly put more and more pressure on the rope as your friend is running. You will slowly begin to move forward and your friend will continue to keep running.

That is how a clutch works - let up SLOWLY with your foot, the engine keeps running (does not stop), and the car slowly begins to start moving forward.

Just takes a bit of practice is all. Do this learning in a large empty parking lot.

Advanced it to start from a dead stop on a hill. You need to, at the same time, press more and more on the accelerator as you are more and more letting off on the clutch - and at the same time keep the car from rolling backwards. The last part is easy if your car has a hand brake (AKA "E-Brake")...

Apply braking with your right hand and the hand brake - that keeps the car from rolling backwards. Then all at the same time...
Press more and more on the accelerator.
Let off a little and a little more and a little more on the clutch.
And slowly let off on the hand brake as the car wants to move forward.
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Old 06-24-2015, 12:09 PM
 
Location: Whittier
3,004 posts, read 6,242,337 times
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I've taught a few people to drive stick and its all about patience, willingness to learn and practicing on a car that you don't mind tearing up for a day or two.

It's not very difficult, just a matter of getting a feel for the clutch and where it engages.

Go to an empty lot. Starting off is admittingly the hardest. Hills are also a pain, but that's either here nor there.

I start out by purposefully stalling out. I want the driver to get a feel how a clutch works and where it grabs.

First hit the point home that the clutch needs to be pushed down in order to start the car.

Put it in 1st and let the clutch out slowly. Obviously the clutch will grab and the car will move forward a bit. When the car does stall, instead of panicking , reiterate that all you have to do is push the clutch in and start the car.

In any case once the driver has learned to not fear stalling and knows about where the clutch engages, then you can add the gas. When the car moves forward then you can start to add the gas.

Now here's where I might get flack...I usually tell people I'd rather them burn the clutch a bit than to stall out. This is in cases where the driver can't really find the clutch engagement or its a very short pick up. So I tell them to give it a bit more gas while letting the clutch out. Usually after a while they get the hang of it and tend to not burn the clutch.

After that its pretty smooth, assuming you don't need to double clutch or need to heel and toe. Let off the gas, press the clutch, change the gear to the next gear.

Downshifting in the beginning, again, can be controversial and often times too much for a beginner. So I usually tell them to keep it in gear until coming to a stop then put it in neutral. Ideally, yes, you'd want to be in the correct gear for the speed you're traveling, but again that's until they have a grasp on starting and stopping.

Although downshifting is easy to do in general, there can be overevving issues if they miss the gear and wear if they constantly choose the wrong gear. Personally, when coming to a gradual stop I'll blip the throttle and get into the appropriate gear, then depending on the stop I'll either have it ready in first, or just be hanging out in neutral. This is an advanced technique that should be focused on later in the training.

General tips: Foot off the clutch unless you plan on changing a gear. Its either all the way up or all the way down. no resting on the clutch.

Try not to engine brake all of the time.

I'd rather you burn out then stall on a hill. Never really used the e-brake method and most newer cars have hill assist so its mute in those cases.
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Old 06-24-2015, 01:45 PM
 
Location: Greensboro, NC
5,915 posts, read 6,400,990 times
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I would say, right now, the two biggest issues for me would be stalling on a hill and downshifting when trying to come to a stop. I picture myself having to come to a quick stop on a highway with heavy traffic and having to make a conscious effort to not only put my foot on the break, but to push in the clutch and downshift at the same time.
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Old 06-24-2015, 04:01 PM
 
Location: Whittier
3,004 posts, read 6,242,337 times
Reputation: 3081
Quote:
Originally Posted by skinsguy37 View Post
I would say, right now, the two biggest issues for me would be stalling on a hill and downshifting when trying to come to a stop. I picture myself having to come to a quick stop on a highway with heavy traffic and having to make a conscious effort to not only put my foot on the break, but to push in the clutch and downshift at the same time.
That just takes time. I guess the only thing to suggest when coming to a stop is "both feet in."
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Old 06-24-2015, 04:06 PM
 
Location: Greensboro, NC
5,915 posts, read 6,400,990 times
Reputation: 4033
Quote:
Originally Posted by harhar View Post
That just takes time. I guess the only thing to suggest when coming to a stop is "both feet in."
This is true! Maybe that's why some people I have ridden with drive while using the left foot on the break and the right foot on the gas - in an automatic! Maybe in the past they were used to driving a manual?
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