how do you go about learning to drive stick shifts?

[rh71]

I'm 23 and drive a 1995 Automatic... so I'm not really in the running for a new car yet... but the next car I buy... I'd like it to be manual.

- You think all cars will be either auto or sportshifts by the time I am in the running?
- Nobody I know has a manual car so I can't learn that way... how do I go about learning to drive a stick shift before buying a brand new car?

 

[royaldank]

Really, it's not hard. It takes practice, though. You're going to have to find someone that can drive one to teach you or borrow their car. Otherwise, you'll never get it off the lot

 

[RedRooster]

Buy a $50 dollar beater and go out in the country on dirt roads to practice.
Or move to Canada, and just practice on the highways.

 

[TomC25]

rent a cheap manual shifting car for a day

have a stick driver take it off the lot and teach ya

don't want to burn up your friends clutch

 

[Aenygma]

I taught myself when I was 14. Here is what i did... Obviously you are in a manual then.. just practice going forward, and back. The hardest part about shifiting is 1st. so once you can master that you are pretty much set.

So just put it in first and then go a few feet and then reverse ( repeat )


That's what i did, and it worked great. After that then you can go out and try the other fun things you shall have to learn, like how to get going on a steep hill from a stop ( though you can cheat in the beginning if you like by holding parking brake with right hand till you feel clutch grabbing then let it down and poof off you go)

 

[vi edit]

<< - Nobody I know has a manual car so I can't learn that way... how do I go about learning to drive a stick shift before buying a brand new car? >>



Have a friend rent a stick shift from a car rental place for you for $30 for a day. Take it out to a dirt or gravel road and have fun

Keep in mind that no two cars have the same clutch. They can vary greatly. Honda's tend to be pretty easy to learn on. A focus is pretty easy to drive as well. The longer the travel of the clutch, the easier it is to learn on. Short clutch = lots of stalls.

 

[warlord]

I learned by stealling my parents car when I was 15. somehow, I managed not to get caught too.

 

[Jzero]

I think stick will be around for many years to come for 2 reasons: Cheaper than auto or automanual, and people just plain like driving stick.

Here's how to learn to drive:
1. Push the clutch.
2. Start the car.
3. Give a little gas and slowly start to release the clutch until it catches.
4. Hold there for an instant. If you stall, go back to step 1.
5. If you start to go, keep going. Starting is the hardest part and it's not that hard.
6. Practice, practice, practice.

Have fun!

 

[Scootin159]

A good way to get REALLY GOOD with a stick shift is to do what I did. Go buy a $100 car that has about 45ft/lbs of tourque (really, I'm not kidding, my car has a 1200cc engine), and has a crappy clutch. It will make you feel better about learning on as well because you really could care less if you burn up the clutch. The easiest way though would be to go & rent a new honda civic & practice on it.

 

[Aenygma]

5. If you start to go, keep going. Starting is the hardest part and it's not that hard.

See what he said.. that's why stop right here and do it like I said You will learn very fast the wyst way Would I lie to you?

Clutch in, let out slowly as you feel clutch grab just give a teeny bit more gas and let out clutch and off you go.

 

[swai]

the key is to drive a lot and get a feel for the clutch
driving manual is pretty simple, it just takes time and experience to get used to it

 

[Quaggoth]

Well, the easiest way to not stall the car is to hold the throttle to the floor for about 5 seconds or more, then just let off the clutch.... If you aren't into replacing clutches every few weeks though, go rent a car and have someone that knows go with you to teach you.

P.S., you still have to try the rev and drop thing at least once or twice with a rental though, and if you can find one, try a jump or two as well some Railroad tracks work alright

 

[LAUST]

<< rent a cheap manual shifting car for a day

have a stick driver take it off the lot and teach ya

don't want to burn up your friends clutch >>


Werd, get one of those rental Neon's or something and beat those things up

I seriously learned one day when I was forced to drive on on the way to school, took about 20 minute's.... but remember all people are different, I think my liking for Motor Sports explained some of my ease for learning

 

[SWScorch]

I'm 17... I have never driven an automatic until this year. What is the hardest is finding out exactly how much to release the clutch and how much to press on the gas. But its really not that hard. Just get in and drive. You'll have the hang of it in a few minutes and will have mastered it in a few days.

Oh, BTW, a good way to start off in a standard is:

Push down clutch
Push down gas all the way, until rpms redline
Release clutch all the way quickly
Keep gas down until tires stop spinning and get traction

That is quite fun, especially on gravel

 

[HardcoreRobot]

The way I learned - went to a parking lot and just practiced getting into first. I suggest you try to understand what is going on mechanically. The clutch engages the gear, and if you dont give it enough gas, you stall. Simple as that. The easiest solution to that problem is just giving it a lot of gas!

 

[CraigRT]

It's totally easy... make sure you know the basics of what to do before you start up the car... my advice is to pretend as if you are shifting in the car while it is off, it's still doable.. once you are sure you know what's going on there, then you can try driving it... it's totally easy.. my first time actually driving a standard car was mint.... no stalls at all !!!

now i refuse to drive anything but!

 

[Jejunum]

warlord-
wahahaha LMAO !!!

my parents have managed to catch me in everything i do; its just a matter of time...doh!

 

[astriy]

hmm, are there actually car rental places that rent sticks? if veryone is so smart and want to learn on a rental, I'd imagine they'd be losing a lot of money replaceing clutches.

 

[woodly6]

I learned in a '68 VW Bug almost impossible to stall these things!

 

[Koeppster]

I'm still pissed at my Dad for not teaching me well all those years ago. He was just explaining it all wrong, and I was NOT getting the hang of it.

Then he heard a tip on Cartalk (the radio show, of course). Several weeks of trying to learn were forgotten in the space of ten minutes, 'cause this advice worked for me really well.

Once you find a car to practice with, have your friend take it to a quiet neighborhood or parking lot with no traffic, and make sure it's mostly level (for starters). Put the clutch in, and start the car. Make sure its in first gear. Now just forget about the accelerator pedal completely. Don't even touch it for now. What's much more important is to learn how to feather the clutch...to be able to ease it out to the point that the car starts inching forward on its own, without even giving it gas. Let it out until you feel the car start moving slightly, then hold the clutch in that position for a couple of seconds. If the car gains enough momentum, you can just release the clutch completely and you shouldn't stall. Repeat that a couple of times until you're comfortable with it, THEN you can start giving it gas simultaneously when you are letting the clutch out to that "magic" point where the car starts moving on its own.

Anyway, that worked for me on a '92 Galant. It only took me about 20 minutes to be comfortable with starting. The rest was cake. My method might not work on other cars, YMMV.

 

[glen]

The hard thing to learn is the position of the clutch pedal where it starts to engage.

With the car idling, it normally has enough power to go into first gear if you release the clutch slowly.

So, clutch engaged fully, start car, shift to first, then as slowly as possible release the clutch.
repeat.

 

[SammyBoy]

i just learned last week on a protege 5, not hard at all.

(no, im not a sheltered womanly adult, im 16, thats all)

so get off my back!

hehe, jk

 

[Zenmervolt]

<<You think all cars will be either auto or sportshifts by the time I am in the running?>>

HA! Not at all likely, though I doubt that you will have any problems finding any car you want with an automatic tranny. Almost every car has an automatic available. As for learning how to drive a manual transmission, you get in and keep trying until you are decent at it. Just take some time to practice with it, it's really not that hard.

Zenmervolt

 

[notfred]

put right heel on brake, right toe on gas, left foot on clutch. Put the car in 1st gear. Put a little pressure on the brake with your right heel, and rev the car up to about 4500 rpm with your toe. Drop the clutch, put pressure on the brake as neccesary to keep you from moving.

oh, wait, that's how you do a burnout

 

[MiniGolfIsFun]

<< put right heel on brake, right toe on gas, left foot on clutch. Put the car in 1st gear. Put a little pressure on the brake with your right heel, and rev the car up to about 4500 rpm with your toe. Drop the clutch, put pressure on the brake as neccesary to keep you from moving. >>



Uhh....i think it's the right heel on the gas and the right toe on the brake.