Driving A Manual Transmission Vehicle.

I just learned stick last year, so I still remember what it was like. And I just taught my daughter how, well enough that she's now electing to drive a stick as her only vehicle. Dunno if any of this is repeated in the video, but honestly that's a long video to watch just to avoid repeats.

The best advice I can give: jump into the deep end and start swimming. You won't get the hang of it without just doing it. I traded in my only vehicle for the stick car, and had to run errands in it in serious traffic. No time for fear; I had to suck it up and get the job done. And I did, just as many others have before me, and just as you will.

Seat position! No, you can't just drive it wherever the seat is. Your left leg will hate you if you do. If you can, get the seat set up right and then ban everyone else from touching it.

Use that dead pedal. Treat the clutch pedal as if it hurts your foot; only touch it when you need to.

You will stall. Lots. Don't think of it as a failure: it's no more than a temporary setback. And those people behind you aren't in a hurry; their horns are lying to you. Ditto for smoothness; it's going to be a bit jerky for a bit. The time to learn smoothness is later. Focus on no stalls and no long delays coming off stops.

You will also burn the tires unexpectedly. Don't freak out; just ease off the throttle a bit. Treat *that* experience as a preview of future joy.

Your clutch will survive this trial. If it doesn't, it wasn't long for this earth anyway.

Give yourself plenty of room, since you're still trying to learn the proper reactions to things, and it's hard to judge at first how quickly you can get yourself moving.

If people give you a hard time for not being smooth or stalling a lot, kick them out of your car for a while. If they really need the ride, they can learn to keep a civil tongue in their heads.

Spend some time in empty parking lots in low gears. Launching is the really hard part, so do lots of launches in the lot. Also, practice stop-and-go traffic.

It's probably best to avoid hills at first, especially with stop signs at the top, if you can. If you can't... well, see the advice above about getting the job done.

Don't neglect practicing in reverse. Reverse is strange in manuals if you're coming off an auto. No more coasting backwards! In particular, don't be shy about giving it gas. I still tend to be a bit timid about reverse; there's something comforting about knowing the car will move just by letting off the brake.

Also spend some time on the highway in overdrive, just cruising, no shifting. If you've still got the heebie-jeebies over the car, lots of boring miles will work wonders.

First gear is for launching; never shift down from second while moving.

In fact, don't worry about downshifting at all. There's lots of advice about downshifting; ignore it for now. Clutches are awesome tools for slowing down. When you've got the upshift licked, then start trying downshifting, one gear at a time. Don't skip gears either way until you get a good feel for what gears work at what speeds.

Even while coasting, stay in gear with the clutch in. You never know when you'll need to apply a little more power. Wait a bit on coasting in neutral.

Don't feel bad about sitting still in first with the clutch in. Yes, you'll probably not want to do that when you're more experienced. But you also don't want to be caught in neutral and suddenly realize the light is green; that's worse for you now, since you don't have the reflexes down yet well enough to get moving in a panic, and you're more likely to stall. Been there, done that.

Don't stare at your tachometer, but don't ignore it either. Get a feel for how your engine sounds at the right times to shift, compared to tach readings. Ideally, you'll get to where you can competently drive the car without a tach, just on feel and noise alone.

Remember: sacrifice now for reward later. With experience, manuals are fun and engaging. When I got frustrated with my driving, I'd remember all the times I'd want to pass someone in an auto, and wait as the car tried to figure out what to do when I mashed the throttle down. Never again!

That should do for now. Good luck!

You can do it. I literally taught myself how to drive stick in a 90-something Rav 4. My brother-in-law is in the military, they got stationed abroad so my chore was to start it up every 2 weeks & let it run til it warmed up. Curiosity got the best of me, and disregarding the fact that I was too young to drive, I eventually made my way a couple blocks from my mom's house. At the time, I lived in quiet suburban south Jersey, so I was not in any risk of getting plowed by a Mack truck while stalled lol. Getting out of 1st without stalling was the biggest challenge for me. So I went to an area with a back to back stop signs & practiced that. Once you get shifting to 2nd without stalling down, you're good, just practice. The way I've always taught noobs how to drive stick is simple.. .slowly let off the clutch til you feel it engage. repeat. learn that spot, then you will get a better feel for when to shift. Each car is different. In my valet days I once drove a 90's Porche 911 Turbo then immediately hopped into a (new at the time) 2009 911, and the clutch engaged at virtually opposite points lol. The best way to learn is to go out there and drive, I don't think any youtube video or online tutorial can really teach you how to drive a manual transmission, but it does help to get the concept down mentally. If you're the geeky type, as I am, get your read on http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm, then go burn some rubber!

True story: I learned how to drive a stickshift by playing Need for Speed on the Playstation 1 back in the day. Swear to God. Practiced letting off the gas, hitting the gearshift button (R1 or R2, depending on if I was shifting up or down) as mental rehersal. Bought a 5-speed '88 Ford Escort EXP without test-driving it as my first manual car, and managed to figure it out within about 2 minutes of getting behind the wheel. Basically just applied the same concept to real-life, just by slipping the clutch a bit more. Pops was completely mindblown.

Things I love about having a manual (currently both of my current cars are sticks):
1. Better gas mileage;
2. Cheaper to rebuild if it guts itself;
3. You can push-start the sucker if the battery goes kaput or there's an ignition switch problem (had to do that more than few times over the years);
4. Lighter;
5. Easier/cheaper fluid changes;
6. Less electronic BS;
7. Youngsters these days are less likely to steal them because they don't have a clue how the hell to drive them;
8. Rowing through the gears manually just has a certain ... "magic" about it.
9. Something;
10. Something else.

Darkwriter77 said:

True story: I learned how to drive a stickshift by playing Need for Speed on the Playstation 1 back in the day. Swear to God. Practiced letting off the gas, hitting the gearshift button (R1 or R2, depending on if I was shifting up or down) as mental rehersal. Bought a 5-speed '88 Ford Escort EXP without test-driving it as my first manual car, and managed to figure it out within about 2 minutes of getting behind the wheel. Basically just applied the same concept to real-life, just by slipping the clutch a bit more. Pops was completely mindblown.

Things I love about having a manual (currently both of my current cars are sticks):
1. Better gas mileage;
2. Cheaper to rebuild if it guts itself;
3. You can push-start the sucker if the battery goes kaput or there's an ignition switch problem (had to do that more than few times over the years);
4. Lighter;
5. Easier/cheaper fluid changes;
6. Less electronic BS;
7. Youngsters these days are less likely to steal them because they don't have a clue how the hell to drive them;
8. Rowing through the gears manually just has a certain ... "magic" about it.
9. Something;
10. Something else.

Click to expand...

Playstation 1, wow ! I have the Need for Speed on PS4, but i almost never play it. Cars look great though, my kid plays it all the time.

Darkwriter77 said:

True story: I learned how to drive a stickshift by playing Need for Speed on the Playstation 1 back in the day. Swear to God. Practiced letting off the gas, hitting the gearshift button (R1 or R2, depending on if I was shifting up or down) as mental rehersal. Bought a 5-speed '88 Ford Escort EXP without test-driving it as my first manual car, and managed to figure it out within about 2 minutes of getting behind the wheel. Basically just applied the same concept to real-life, just by slipping the clutch a bit more. Pops was completely mindblown.

Things I love about having a manual (currently both of my current cars are sticks):
1. Better gas mileage;
2. Cheaper to rebuild if it guts itself;
3. You can push-start the sucker if the battery goes kaput or there's an ignition switch problem (had to do that more than few times over the years);
4. Lighter;
5. Easier/cheaper fluid changes;
6. Less electronic BS;
7. Youngsters these days are less likely to steal them because they don't have a clue how the hell to drive them;
8. Rowing through the gears manually just has a certain ... "magic" about it.
9. Something;
10. Something else.

Click to expand...

I taught myself how to drive a manual by "stealing" my exes (Shawn) '85 Escort.

get yourself a friend or family member with a standard. Head out to a flat piece of flat deserted road or parking lot.

Slowly get used to to the clutch friction point and throttle interaction. it's a transition between throttle and clutch engagement.

Then get used to where the gears are located. Preload left up and down for 1&2, push an pull without pressure gets you 3&4, preload right and up gets you 5th. Reverse is dependent on the car, the shifter pattern on the ball will show you.

Drive it around the parking lot starting and stopping. Shifting up when able to get used to it.

Emergency stops can get dicey for raw beginners, mainly because instead of just learning the brake pedal you have to tromp the clutch pedal and the brake while still modulating the brake to prevent lockup. ABS cars obviously make the lockup part not a problem, but can't help you with the clutch.Cramming just the brake will still stop the car, but the engine will die and power brakes will go hard without vacuum. Braking while moving is different yet again: depending on speed and conditions (slowing down vs stopping), you may not use the clutch at all.

There's also engine braking, where you shift down to slow down vice using brakes at all.

Drive stick is kind of like welding: part procedure, part skill and part art.

It can be learned, but definitely not first time off a dealers lot in a brand new car pushing hundreds of HP. That's a recipe for disaster, both physical and financial, as you almost found out.

faster or slower than an automatic is an "it depends" thing.

Properly set up, and auto will rule the 1/4 mile against all but the most proficient stick shift drivers (normal sticks, like a T5, etc). An auto will shift faster than any normal stick shift and there's always at least some power going through an automatic at the shift points. the driver just keeps his foot in it (in simple terms) and the transmission does the rest. Driver has to lift in a stick, or go to a high dollar standard that lets him just "bang the gears"....go to youtube and search for "lenco transmission" if you want to see it.

Autocross and road course in general will favor the standard, as the driver can more precisely match the engine to the needs of the particular part of the course he's on. IE: engine braking at end of straight before braking, keeping rpms up on corner exit, holding rpm across a short chicane, etc. Paddle shifters and such are closing this gap between auto and manual. Lot's of super high dollar cars using hybrid standard/manual and auto's with paddleshift.

MPG, standard will always win, unless the driver is a retard. There's just not as much parasitic loss in a standard compared to an auto. Although technology is making them very close here as well these days.

Personally, my daily drivers are automatics. I just want to get in the damned thing and have it work while I drink my coffee on the way to work, or talk with my passengers and fiddle with the radio/point things out as we drive. Dealing with stop and go traffic sucks with a standard, period.

My "Sunday car" is a different story. I drive it for fun. So it's a T5 to get that thrill of actually interacting with the machine instead of the disconnected "just get me there" feeling. A hard rip through the gears always puts a smile on my face.

But Monday morning, it's back to the auto with no regrets....

I was also a natural. First car I ever drove with a standard was a 1969 Ford Cortina. Manual everything. Jumped in, tore off, never a problem. Flat, hill starts, traffic, none of it phased me. No jerking or stalling.. My dad didn't understand how I was able to do it, but I've always had a way with machines.

More powerful cars that followed only made it easier and more fun. Or scarry, depending on which of my old girlfriends you asked....

Some people have to learn it though. My ex wife was horrible. Tried to teach her a couple times on my old bronco II and she was so bad when she chugged it I thought I was going to get whiplash for sure. 2nd to 5th shift every time. Never got it down, always had to have an auto around for her to drive...

way back in the mid 70s, i learned to drive a manual trans in about 20 minutes. after a few years i had taught myself to shift p and down without using the clutch, which came in handy when i was working for the local government and had to pull an old 59 five ton international water truck off the ready line. it had an old crash box trans, no synchros in any gear.

By the way you guys, learning to shift a stick shift is one thing, but learning to take hills is very different. I could take the streets no problem after a day or so, but learning to take the hills in my city was hard. I went backwards at least 3 times, lol .. It must have taken me a few days for sure. Here is a picture of a park near my neighborhood, it has the steepest hills ever. But i learned here. And yes, its crowded all the time.

I learned how to drive a manual when I was 9 on a honda motorcycle. My dad bought it for me to play around with it in the backyard during summer break. Two years later he picked up a 72 datsun pickup with a 4 speed and the motorcycle experience transferred over very easily. Then when I was 16, my uncle took me out in a 64 Mack cab over with the old twin stick setup and taught me how to float the gears (shift without using the clutch) and now I can drive about anything.

Like other have said, the only way you will learn is to do it. But on the bright side, it's like riding a bike, once you learn, you'll never forget.