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Teaching the wife to drive a manual this Saturday.

amdhunter

amdhunter

Lifer
Car Details: 2009 RX8, 6 speed
Wife Details: New driver, less than 10 minutes driving an automatic, easily frustrated.


First of all - I am NOT going to pay for classes for her to learn to drive at $35 a lesson for 40 minutes of practice. That's not going to happen. I am also not buying a car specifically for her to learn to drive. We've been arguing since she's gotten her permit about this.

I have a manual, and she should learn to drive it. That's it.

Any suggestions on how to make things easier for her? I am going to take her into a fairly empty area to learn, and my plan is to ease her in by using the E-Brake engaged while she learns the basics of getting the car moving.

Anyone have experience teaching a person to drive a manual? I don't think my car is easy to learn on, but it's all I have. Also, I think learning to drive manual would be an overall better experience for her.
 
NutBucket said:
Aren't you a friendly guy.....

IMHO unless she wants to learn this isn't going to turn out well.
Click to expand...

I kind of sold it to her like this: She's young and pretty, and driving around in a manual RX-8 would impress a lot of people.
Then she said OK. She's actually somewhat excited now.

This Saturday I plan to take her out for the first time. I'm hoping she'll pick up at least starting out in 1st in the first hour or so.
 
Just take her out to the country, swap places and tell her to start driving. That's how my old man taught me and it didn't take very long. I never was allowed to use the E-brake trick because my father didn't want me to rely on it later.

Then take her driving somewhere with lots of four-way stops. Nothing teaches you how to get past manual nervousness like three people waiting on you to get moving. That was my second lesson.

Third is starting from a stop on a decent incline.

Once those things are mastered, she should pretty much be good to go.
 
My first vehicle was 94 S-10 with V6 and 5 speed manual. For me, learning what the clutch actually does helped me understand how to drive a manual transmission easier.

The clutch pedal pushed in removes the linkage between the engine and transmission.
The clutch pedal released engages the linkage between the engine and transmission.
Dump the clutch with no throttle, the engine will stall.
Rev the engine too high and dump the clutch, you'll have some fun.
Rev the engine too high and let off the clutch too slow, things will start smelling funny

First, where does the friction point start. Every car is different. I found my mom's 92 Honda Civic much harder to find the friction point versus a similar era Mustang GT. I have never driven an RX-8, but my guess is there is not much torque down low, so the friction point will not be that apparent.

Hills are the biggest challenge for new manual transmission drivers. Practice on a hill somewhere safe. The friction point and the amount of throttle to overcome gravity change on hills.

Everyone will stall out a few times. Don't get frustrated when you do.
 
Yeah, basically once she learns the engagement point it's all downhill. An hour or two in an empty parking lot should do the trick.
 
NutBucket said:
Yeah, basically once she learns the engagement point it's all downhill. An hour or two in an empty parking lot should do the trick.
Click to expand...

Yeah - this is what I tell her. She only needs to learn to get the car moving forward for now. I am not going to try and stress her too much on much else.
 
She'll figure out the rest in due time. A few times when I was still learning I'd forget to shift back to 1st after stopping.
 
I know this is going to sound silly, but I've found that it works.

1) Don't touch the gas (if possible)
2) Get rolling in 1st
3) Stop
4) Get rolling in reverse
5) Stop
6) Goto 1

Something about getting rolling forwards AND backwards helps people pick it up faster in my experience. Not touching the gas lets them focus on working the clutch and helps them to learn how to play the clutch like a fiddle and avoids the red-line clutch dump.

Once this simple drill is mastered... multiple forward gears and using the gas to launch!
 
Yuriman said:
Did you just leave it in gear and hold the clutch? This is a pretty good way to cause an early death for your throwout bearing.
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Meh, not really. Kinda like how driving wears out your wheel bearings, i.e. sure, but it doesn't really matter all that much.
 
I tried teaching a friend to drive stick, it lasted about five minutes when he couldn't get past left foot braking and tried to get his right foot on the clutch pedal, yeah we're done.
 
JCH13 said:
I know this is going to sound silly, but I've found that it works.

1) Don't touch the gas (if possible)
2) Get rolling in 1st
3) Stop
4) Get rolling in reverse
5) Stop
6) Goto 1

Something about getting rolling forwards AND backwards helps people pick it up faster in my experience. Not touching the gas lets them focus on working the clutch and helps them to learn how to play the clutch like a fiddle and avoids the red-line clutch dump.

Once this simple drill is mastered... multiple forward gears and using the gas to launch!
Click to expand...

This is how I plan to teach my wife how to drive stick
 
Find huge empty parking lot during the weekend.
Take HUGE chill pill and be as patient as possible. Make no faces whatsoever. Don't flinch.
On the drive to the parking lot, talk her through what you are doing as you drive the car.
Have her go through the motions with the car off for a couple of minutes.
Turn car on and then have her get the car going just by using the clutch a few times. Stopping the car as soon as she lets her foot off the clutch.
Rest you can figure out.
Just be patient and supportive. Don't be sarcastic.Try not to be to talkative.

Final step is when she decides she wants a new car and its has to be an automatic equipped CUV.
 
I avoid holding the clutch in while stopped for a few reasons: keeps the TOB disengaged, keeps the clutch from wearing (it slips any time the pedal is in), and it makes my leg tired.
 
JCH13 said:
I avoid holding the clutch in while stopped for a few reasons: keeps the TOB disengaged, keeps the clutch from wearing (it slips any time the pedal is in), and it makes my leg tired.
Click to expand...

Sure, but it's not remotely significant enough of a factor to stress out someone learning to drive over it. IMO, anyway.
 
I taught my wife stick on a high strung Honda B18C. She had a few meltdowns within the first few months when she stalled in traffic or on a hill, but now she won't touch an automatic unless she needs to, and she misses that first car to death.
 
As much as I see you don't want to get a second car, do you think a friend would loan you something else manual? Something with a big displacement engine makes learning stick so much easier, I imagine an RX8 of all things will be one of the harder cars to learn on. Sweet car though.

Seriously though, just sit back and watch, don't hover over the center console and invade her space while she's learning.
 
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