Basic Question- how do I learn how to drive a stick?

[samoz3]

Hey guys, I was wondering if any of you could tell me how to drive a stick shift? I asked my dad but he refuses to teach me, cus hes afraid I'll burn his Corvette's clutch out. His solution is for me to just drive autos, but I really don't want to do that my whole life.

So can anyone help me?

Thanks for any responses.

 

[dave99gst]

thats one of those jump right in and do it kinda of things.
ya gota just learn it by feel --words dont really explain how to do it.
You will HAVE to find somone with a stick that is willing to show you and let you
get a feel for it.

 

[samoz3]

*sigh* well, that sucks. Maybe ill just take the corvette out on my own . . .

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Ya noone can teach you drive stick over the internet.

 

[ozzeran]

Not a very cool dad. I don't care what car i have, i would still let my son learn on it. but yeah it's one of those you have to do it in person and not over the net.

 

[samoz3]

hmm, is there a video game anywhere with accurate stick shift? other than the actual shift. If anyone does computer programmin, maybe they could make me something?Although that seems a bit excessive.

wow . . that made no sense at all . . .

 

[Slipstream]

every stick is different too, the theory remains the same but it's all about the feel. Feeling and knowing how quickly to release the clutch depending on how much gas you're giving it and where the clutch actually releases at. no magic bullets, if you truly want to learn try and find a rental car company that carries a few sticks in their fleet of automatics...save up money, get your dad to rent one for a day and teach you how to drive a stick, that way the wear and tear is on a rental instead of his vette.

 

[samoz3]

hmm, thats a good idea.

Is the theory just press the clutch when you want to shift gears though? In driver's ed they
always talk about a friction point but its an 82 year old guy who talks about his 2-speed tractor, so I don't understand him at all . . . but im pretty sure I could drive a tractor now! :laugh:

 

[psychlow]

Driving a stickshift is one of those things that you have to get a feel for, but the more you know about how the system and the parts work, the better off you'll probably be.

I'd try reading around in the drivetrain/tranny forum and around on sites like howstuffworks.com to get a basic idea of how the systems work.

Basically, the reason you need a clutch is to disconnect the power from the engine to the transmission when you're stopped or are switching gears.

Car engines have to rotate fast to even stay running by themselves, and that generates torque. Since applying all that torque at once would lead to not only a really harsh, jerky ride and probably killing the engine (not to mention broken parts), you have a clutch there to slip while you're accelerating to the point that the car's going fast enough that the engine can stay going by itself. The clutch and the transmission slip at different speeds while applying a bit of pressure, so that eventually they will be going at the same speed.

That's the hardest part for most first time stick drivers - starting off in first. If the car you're using has a tachometer, practice this (in an EMPTY parking lot):
- Rev the car to 1200 RPMs. This should be very little pressure on the gas pedal.
- Let the clutch out VERY slowly while watching the tachometer. When the tachometer falls slightly, that means the clutch is starting to make contact.
- As the needle on the tachometer starts slowly falling, give it just enough gas so that as you're letting out the clutch, the needle doesn't move - it stays solid at 1200 RPMs. Practice that a few times, and that'll give you perfect starts every time.

Once you get that a few times and get into first and start driving around, eventually you'll run the engine too high for 1st gear - you can only run the engine so fast before it'll explode - so you push the clutch pedal in to disconnect the power again, shift the car into 2nd, and slip the clutch a little to engage the transmission again. Same deal - try to slip the clutch and give it gas just enough to keep the tach needle steady.

As mentioned, you have to try it and get a feel for it. Hopefully this'll give you a little help, though.

Good luck!

 

[samoz3]

ok, that makes sense I guess. I thought of something, I'm gonna go grab this car at the junkyard I work at and run with that thing. It has no wheels or nethin though, so I'll just be sittin there spin the axles in place. Least I don't need insurance though!

 

[Aikouka]

ok, that makes sense I guess. I thought of something, I'm gonna go grab this car at the junkyard I work at and run with that thing. It has no wheels or nethin though, so I'll just be sittin there spin the axles in place. Least I don't need insurance though!

Err I'm not sure if that will help you the most. Learning how to drive my car was an adventure, and if you had my AIM profile, you'd see my stall count is 23 so far . The biggest problem you need to realize is WHEN your clutch engages. This is important for stopping and starting on a hill. The problem with hills are, unlike automatics which always have torque applied to the wheels, manuals disenagage the torque completely. So, a manual will always want to go backwards when you let of the brake. So you need to know when the clutch engages so you can rev the engine up enough and go immediately instead of falling backwards.

A method some will mention to alleviate this problem is heel-to-toe (you turn your foot and put your heel on the brake and toe on the gas) that allows you to apply pressure to both the brake and gas. So when you're still braking you can rev your car up to that certain RPM and let the brake out and the clutch engage.

You also need to know when to shift, and you probably will not be used to the shifter. It's sort of like typing. I used to have to look at the keys for typing, but now I can type while looking at the screen at a pretty darn fast rate (CS major ), it's the same when shifting. I remember one time I shifted from 2nd into 5th accidently, because I didn't look, and I was lucky, because the car didn't stall since the rpms were at about idle speed. Now I pretty much never look. Also, you need to get used to the engine itself and when to shift. I still have to look at the tachometer, because I'm still getting used to listening to the engine.

You should try and ask your dad again. Ask him to take you to a parking lot like someone else suggested. It's low speed, and you'll most likely stall a couple times, but you'll get the hang of flat-land driving after a little bit. Or find a friend who owns a manual car.

 

[Defiant]

Another consideration is that cars vary a great deal. My '93 has a clutch like an on/off switch (I've never seen a mechanic not stall it the first time), while I'm sure anyone could drive the '95.

But playing with one on stands won't do much for you.

 

[Aikouka]

Another consideration is that cars vary a great deal. My '93 has a clutch like an on/off switch (I've never seen a mechanic not stall it the first time), while I'm sure anyone could drive the '95.

Do you mean the clutch starter switch or how far the clutch engages from the floor? If it's the engagement point, I think everyone who's tried to drive my car (except my dad) stalled it on the first time too .

 

[Dream On]

Just go to a used car lot and tell them you are interested in one of their manual cars on their lot. Have your dad go with you and have him leave off the lot first, then switch when you get far enough away and just learn that way. Costs nothing, and won't hurt any of your cars.

 

[psychlow]

Another consideration is that cars vary a great deal. My '93 has a clutch like an on/off switch

Sounds like my Mustang with a SPEC stage I clutch. My Tercel's is the exact opposite... it'll let you slip it all day long.

 

[98GSX-WI]

My first manual transmission car was a brand new 1992 5.0L Mustang. I actually had my dad drive it off the lot and take it home for me....talk about embarrassing. For about 2 weeks I would try cruising around in the park and would konk it out in 1st. People were actually laughing at me....probably thinking, what dumb _ss buys a 5.0 and can't drive a stick...and who konks-out a car with some actual power.... :laugh:

Give it some gas and EASE out the clutch.... I've been driving a stick now for about 10 years....feels funning now driving an automatic.

My brother bought a new Talon TSi and his wife would cronically take off in 3rd gear without realizing it....you could hear the engine just racing as she eeked up the street...the clutch was burnt out in less than 15,000 miles....I guess it's better to stall it a few times learning, than to burn out the clutch.....

 

[psychlow]

My first manual transmission car was a brand new 1992 5.0L Mustang.

My 96 GT was my first. I didn't have anyone else there to drive it... it was me and a friend, and neither of us had more than a basic idea.

The worst part was, we took it off the lot and it would NOT shift into 2nd. You put the shifter where 2nd, 3rd, or 4th should be, and it would stay in 1st. You try to go to 5th, it'd hit the reverse gear. I thought it was just me not knowing how to drive it.

Turns out, kid before me that test-drove it broke a shift fork, and they didn't know about it till I drove it off the lot. Luckily, they tore it apart and fixed everything. I was out of a car for about 5 days though.

 

[Shifty]

My dad is all into this spiritual crap when he taught me to drive my 5-spd prelude, and he says. You must be one with the car. First thing he had me do was close my eyes, and listen to the motor. 2nd thing was very slowly release the clutch until you feel the car start to move. Keep your foot off the gas the whole time. You can start a car out with only the clutch given it isn't up hill. It takes time but eventually they get to spinning at the same speed and you can engage with no problem.

 

[zzrok]

Here is a website that has videos on it explaining the theory behind driving a manual transmission.

The following videos (in .mpg format) shows the basics and some more advanced methods of driving a manual transmission.

 

[Jackyll]

One thing i will say about learning how to drive stick (i just started learning with i bought the gsx in march... still learning) is when you're going for your first couple of drives... do it with nobody around (unless you have a close friend teaching you or something). I had a friend teach me on this honda he bought for $300 . Seemed easy enough... but then i bought the gsx and i was driving it home and stalled it A LOT! And being on a street with traffic... it made me really nervous and embarassed... so i'd try to start it up and get going real quick, and I'd just stall the car over and over

 

[wret]

My 16 year old Daughter just got her license a couple of months ago. We bought her a car and she had to have a stick. She ended up with an Eclipse GS, manual (what a coincidence). She was a little scary at first but after a couple weeks she was driving like a pro.

The other day she drove my wife and I out to eat. After pulling up to a stop sign she started up in 2nd gear. "What are you doing starting in 2nd?" I asked.

"You told me I only had to shift into 1st when I make a complete stop," she said.

 

[samoz3]

hmm, thats amusing . . .

 

[Ryans99OZ]

i just taught my g/f how to drive stick the other nite....we spent about 2 hours driving around a hotel parking lot at nite...shes a freakin pro now ....then we had sex in my car

 

[SikRacing97GST]

Just go to a used car lot and tell them you are interested in one of their manual cars on their lot. Have your dad go with you and have him leave off the lot first, then switch when you get far enough away and just learn that way. Costs nothing, and won't hurt any of your cars.

This is seriously the best way to learn. This is how i've tought all my friends, and its free and wont mess up the DSM

*I learned up on Telico Mountain w/ my dad offroad in his 3 spd. 1978 CJ-7 Jeep w/ a 8" lift kit and 44" Swampers, it was something i would never forget, i can remember exactly everything he said. example: Tony!!! Nooo Thats a 200ft Drop Offf ok, now we have winch up to this tree up here and pull ourselves up. Yeah it was exciting being 11 years old and being pulled over and having to get out of a ticket (barely * i used my 11yr old crying ability), But all in all it was fun.

 

[98RedGs]

Ya noone can teach you drive stick over the internet.

.........So true.
Best thing to do is find someone local to you and get them to teach you.

Find a friend that owns a standard car and offer to pay for the fuel that you use while learning and if you break anything you will pay for it too. Someone near you has to own a 5speed other than "dear old dad".