Best way to learn a manual trans

[Time2Kill]

I'm picking up my new car tomorrow, and it is a manual transmission

Only problem is I have never driven a manual before, but I do have someone to drive it home for me.

So what is the quickest/easiest way to learn how to drive a stick, any good sites with some good info?

 

[Viper GTS]

Practice.

Find a parking lot, drive back & forth & back & forth until you're comfortable with the neutral -> 1st, 1st -> 2nd moves. Once you've got those two down the rest are easy.

Viper GTS

 

[arigato]

Learn on a Honda. They have one of the easiest clutches.

 

[Time2Kill]

<< Practice.

Find a parking lot, drive back & forth & back & forth until you're comfortable with the neutral -> 1st, 1st -> 2nd moves. Once you've got those two down the rest are easy.

Viper GTS >>



Thats what I figured. I think I will pick it up pretty quick though.

 

[CraigRT]

Dude it's seriously easy.. the first time i actually drove a standard car, it was totally easy..

All you gotta do is know the basics, realize what has to be done at what times, and after that, it's just a matter of getting used to the specific car.

in your case, your new Camaro SS

go driving with someone who has a 5 speed (or 6 speed ) and watch what they do.. it's seriously not hard to learn!

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

..Is to drive it.

If your looking into buying a manual car..just test drive it. I just test drove a '93 5-spd 240SX today..was a blast. This is someone who rarely drives a 5-spd (don't have one).

btw, its damn hard to find a 240SX 5-spd that has VLSD and/or SuperHICAS in Toronto!

 

[CraigRT]

<< btw, its damn hard to find a 240SX 5-spd that has VLSD and/or SuperHICAS in Toronto! >>



My friend here in London, Ont has one..

great car, runs strong even with 220,000 kms

has Super Hicas and all the options, very spiffy wheels, it was my suggestion to him to get it

 

[mithrandir2001]

Viper's right, though it isn't as simple as some may try to make it. It took me about 3 months before I was really comfortable with it. The biggest obstacle you will probably face is going from a deliberate/conscious effort in shifting to an effortless/subconscious effort. It simply takes time and practice to overcome this obstacle.

Call up your local AAA. They are one of the few driving schools that actually have their own manual-equipped cars and can teach you. It's about $50 an hour.

 

[jjones]

yeah, stick is easy, just takes a little practice. get used to the shift pattern by just shifting while the car isn't even started. then start it up, press the gas to the floor, and dump the clutch.

 

[Kaieye]

Practice with someone else's car...

Don't wear out your own clutch!

 

[Kelvrick]

Don't learn on your new car. Go rent a manual and have someone teach you in that car.

 

[Ladies Man]

best way

have the car in neutral... clutch in... put stick in first gear... slowly release clutch until the car is moving with the clutch completely out.. giving it no gas

keep doing it over and over again

if you can get the car rolling by letting out the clutch with no gas its easy as pie after that

 

[RedRooster]

Don't use the throttle to get going. To learn to moderate the clutch, practice getting moving on a level surface by slowly letting out the clutch without touching the gas. It'll give you an idea of how the clutch works, and then once you can do that, add the gas to make your launches a little less "slow".

 

[JACKHAMMER]

<< Go rent a manual >>



If you can find a place that rents a stick

 

[BamBam215]

i second the parking lot idea... i basically drove around for 4 hours straight on an empty college parking lot, but i got the hang of it.

and i have a 95 prelude... the clutch on that car is really forgiving and it took me about a month to fully comfortable to where i was clutching subconsciously...

have fun!!!

 

[Zenmervolt]

<< Don't learn on your new car. Go rent a manual and have someone teach you in that car. >>



Good luck finding a place in America that will rent a manual. My method for a manual is to slowly let the clutch out until it starts grabbing, at which point I give the car a little throttle, but gently. Smooth as silk (most of the time, but hey, I'm still learning). The hardest thing IMO is just getting used to rev-matching on downshifts ("heel-toe downshifts) and knowing the maximum downshift speeds, neither of which has become second nature on my 914 yet. Next up; Double Clutching.

ZV

 

[TuffGuy]

1) push the clutch in
2) rev the engine to 3000rpm
3) let go of the clutch

 

[TuffGuy]

how-to video

 

[randomlinh]

i hate starting off.. alwasy give it a bit too much and spin the tires a bit But if i do it too slow, i'm already rev'd up to bust into 2nd gear before i even finish getting into first... but damn it, i don't have a car to drive no more.. the month i started playing w/ my dad's car, he engine caught a flames (he didn't clean an oil spill well enough...). repairable, but junked it instead. grrr.. and my friend won't let me drive his mr2

 

[SyahM]

practice with neutral -> 1st till about 15 mph then stop, repeat 35x or till you comfortable, then do neutral -> reverse till about 15 yards then stop, repeat 25x or till you comfortable .. then 'upgrade' to neutral -> 1st -> 2nd and so forth.
some tips;

before moving in 1st gear, with clutch pressed and gear in 1st ... rev the engine to about at least 1800 rpm and hold it still. then release the clutch slowly .. you will notice at some point of the release the car will move, memorize that poiint!!!

to switch from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd, the engine rpm should be at least 3000.

good luck!

 

[montanafan]

I taught my nephew how to drive a manual transmission in no time on a parking lot, but that doesn't cover everything. Take it to a little hill where there's no traffic and practice stopping and then pulling out on an incline so that you don't either: roll back into the idiot who will be right on your back bumper in that situation, overcompensate to keep from rolling back and leapfrog over the car in front of you, kill the engine.

Regardless, it'll take a while to get used to driving it in every situation, just be patient with yourself.

 

[MrBond]

<< best way

have the car in neutral... clutch in... put stick in first gear... slowly release clutch until the car is moving with the clutch completely out.. giving it no gas

keep doing it over and over again

if you can get the car rolling by letting out the clutch with no gas its easy as pie after that >>

A variation on this is to try starting out in 2nd. Thats how I was taught to drive stick because I had some trouble starting out (Sir Stall-a-lot).

Something else that will give you trouble (and I still fear them to this day) are stop signs/lights on hills. Getting going on those can be a real challenge, and almost always someone is right behind you, so rolling back isn't an option. Your best bet, find a friend/relative/anyone with a driveway that goes up a hill. It doesn't have to be steep, but your car should roll backwards if you take your foot off the break at the top. Then, practice, practice, practice until you can do it easily. This is especially important if you've got to stop at the top of a hill on your daily commute (if this is a daily driver), because the last thing you want to do to your new car is roll backwards into someone. I'd get comfortable driving the car normally first, then work on the hills.

Good luck, I love driving a stick, it's so much more fun.

 

[SidewaysN2second]

first things first, Dont learn on the SS!! I'm pretty Sure the SS has CAGS that would make it a little difficult to learn on.!!

but do have fun man!

 

[Ultima]

<<

<< best way

have the car in neutral... clutch in... put stick in first gear... slowly release clutch until the car is moving with the clutch completely out.. giving it no gas

keep doing it over and over again

if you can get the car rolling by letting out the clutch with no gas its easy as pie after that >>

A variation on this is to try starting out in 2nd. Thats how I was taught to drive stick because I had some trouble starting out (Sir Stall-a-lot).

Something else that will give you trouble (and I still fear them to this day) are stop signs/lights on hills. Getting going on those can be a real challenge, and almost always someone is right behind you, so rolling back isn't an option. Your best bet, find a friend/relative/anyone with a driveway that goes up a hill. It doesn't have to be steep, but your car should roll backwards if you take your foot off the break at the top. Then, practice, practice, practice until you can do it easily. This is especially important if you've got to stop at the top of a hill on your daily commute (if this is a daily driver), because the last thing you want to do to your new car is roll backwards into someone. I'd get comfortable driving the car normally first, then work on the hills.

Good luck, I love driving a stick, it's so much more fun. >>



Couldn't you just leave it in first and hold the brakes when in that situation?

 

[Time2Kill]

Thanks for the info guys...

Unfortuanately I dont really have any other cars that I could practice on...unless my bro-in-law lends me his offroad truck which isnt street legal

Anyways, I have a really long driveway I can practice on, and near the house, the drive way goes up a pretty good hill so I will spend all night practicing in my driveway, then I'll drive some of the local roads (I live out in the country so there will be little traffic at night). It just sucks I have to drive the car .8 miles down a dirt road every time I take it out

BTW - Can anyone recommend a good car wax to use on it and where I can get it?

Thanks