Hi,

Well picked up my car. WHOOOOO. I had a friend drive it back from the dealership since I am not good with standard but ive been driving it around my neighbour hood all night. At first I stalled every time. Finally my friend got out and showed me "slow" means SLOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW on the clutch. Im starting to get the hang of it but as soon as I think to much or get freaked out I stall it. I am just trying to avoid any left advanced turns. I seem to get the hang of where you have to get really slow and gas at the same time. Just a little trick. see how it goes!

I love my civic

Jeff

 

REMEMBER, DONT THINK ABOUT IT..
lol.. that was my problem..
Don't think about what you've got to do.. just do it.
Do the empty parking lot thing..
just alternate back and forth, back and forth between the clutch and gas.
seriously..
it works.

 

You just have to take your time and practice, practice, and practice. Then you'll be doing everything naturally, without even having to think about it. Don't ever be intimidated by people behind you either. If they have to wait, let them wait. You'll get the hang of it in no time.

 

Hey,

Thanks. I do have a question. How hard is the stalling/jumping on my engine? I am totally prepared to replace my clutch if need be but my friend seems to think I can really **** it up if I do it much more. I stalled it probably 5-10 times before I got the real hang of it and now I still do every so often. I try and get the clutch in asap but sometimes it jumps a little.

Thanks
Jeff

 

just wait until you kill it in the middle of an intersection and start up and do bunny hops as you move out of the intersection. that always feels embarassing!

 

Hey Jeff, if you're worried about f*@king up your car, just get a buddy to drive you to a few dealerships and take out a few cars for a test drive. After you get the hang of it a bbit better, then get back in your car.

 

I don't have too much to say that hasn't been said. Good luck with it, don't get discouraged. It does take some practice. Once you get it down, everytime your left foot goes down, your hand will shift. I don't even think about it anymore. Honestly, it's harder for me to drive an automatic. And, at least you're not learning on a boosted car. I tried to teach my girlfriend how to drive a stick. She launched the car at full boost on accident. It was funny as hell, but scared the hell out of her. I sat there like it was no big deal lol.

EDIT- Also, there's nothing that you can ever do to a car that cannot be repaired. Stalling a motor isn't that bad on it.

 

i agree with se7en about it not being real hard on the engine. i do think though, that it's pretty hard on the clutch. so, if you smell it getting hot, maybe wait 5-10 minutes to let it cool down again before trying. also, ngoti8tor has a good idea of using dealer cars on test drives to get the hang of it. or get a rental, those cars always get abused!

 

i learned on my own. i went to just about every used car lots. once i got out the lot i punished the hell out of the car i was driving. i made sure i knew how to get going and really get going.... know how to do a burnout. its good to know what the car can do. even though youll look like a jackass doing it.

 

My Si was my first manual car. I learned from watching my dad drive his 80s GMC. I know its not the same but the basics are. He even made me drive him around town a couple times when I was like 15. Likes been said slow in 1st and then clutch in, shift, clutch out. I dont even think about it. There have been times when I think I have to shift and I take it outta gear then realize Im already in 5th. Itll be easier after a while. Good luck with the learning.