Hi,

Any tips for mastering a manual transmission? I learned in automatic but my new car is standard so I have to learn. I have done it once in my friends car and only stalled it once. Any tips?

Jeff

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I bought my first 5spd over the summer and my dad gave me some good pointers.
First off, he told me to go to an empty parking lot and get a feel for the clutch.
For example, put ur foot on the clutch, slowly let off the clutch while pressing on the gas..
and just alternate back and forth.. so you can get an idea when/how the car catches.

Once you've practiced that and have it down.. practice switching gears.
I always tried to switch gears as fast and smooth as possible.
I always tried to make it seem as if I didn't even drive a manual..

You're going to burn out/stall the car multiple times.. but don't get discouraged.
I must have stalled my car at a traffic light at least 3-5 times. LOL.. its kind of embarassing..
but I started the car and tried again..
It takes time and practice.

There were nights when I'd go to my old high school and just practice alternating the clutch and gas..
and then I'd try it on a hill.
Then I'd just drive around, switching gears and really getting a feel for it.

One more thing.. and this is where I had problems..
DONT THINK TOO MUCH ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
The more u think about it.. more chances you'll make an error.
Everytime I was at a stop sign or a traffic light.. I thought too much about what I need to do when the light turned green.
Don't get stuck on that.. just drive.. don't even think about it.. it'll come naturally.

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1995 Honda Civic EX
2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac

Here's how I've taught people to drive stick, and I've taught about 15-20.

First, like Jas said go find an empty parking lot.
Second, there are really only 2 gears you need to learn, first and reverse.
Third, start up the car, make sure its in nuetral, then push the clutch TO THE FLOOR, far as it can go, put the car in first, SLOWLY and I mean SLOWLY let the clutch out WITHOUT giving any gas. There will come a point where you feel the car begin to push forward, stop letting the clutch out and push it back down to the floor. Do this a few times till you get how far the clutch comes out before engaging.
Fouth, with the clutch to the floor, slowly bring it to where you feel it begin to push forward, push the gas in a lil, at this point start to let the clutch out and push the gas in at the same rate(which if you haven't gotten the idea yet, should be slowly), continue till clutch is all the way out.
Fifth, stop the car, push the clutch back in, place the car in reverse, repeat step 3.
Finally, repeat steps 4 and 5 till you are flawless or damn good, then try building up speed and switching gears.

In step 3 I can't emphasis SLOWLY enough.

i just learned how to drive standerd on my new car (well about 9 months ago) and these are good tips, but let me tell you, the first little wile is goiing to be very frustrating and if you stall it on the street dont worry, just put your 4 ways on till u get it going,dont panic..i did it all the time with tuns of people behind me[sm=headbang.gif][sm=oopssign.gif]..at one point i wanted to go back to auto it was making me so mad[sm=boohoo.gif]..but now,i love it ,its so much fun and i dont think i could ever go back to auto now..oh ya, and i read that it can take a person over a year to truly learn about drving a standerd..and i think its kinda true, all the time i still learn new tricks and little things with standerd so its gunna take a wile..but its worth it![sm=gears.gif]..goodluck[sm=signs003.gif]

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Member since Feb 2005

that happened to me..
and I actually did go back to auto.
mainly because the guy was asking too much for the manual civic,
so i found an auto civic that was cheaper..
but i was in a lot of rush hour traffic and that sucked.. especially for a beginner.
I regret it now.. but that's ok.. the manual civic I had was a complete rip off anyways.
Next summer I'm hoping to get a manual civic again.

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1995 Honda Civic EX
2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac

Easiest way to learn is to push the clutch down all the way, push the gas pedal down to about 3/4 of the way, then pop that clutch and push the gas pedal down as far as it'll go. When the engine gets to "redline", quickly push the clutch all the way in, then while shifting to 2nd gear, push the gas pedal 3/4 of the way down again, and pop that clutch again, then push the gas pedal down all the way. Repeat for all 5 gears.

yer such a dick ngo

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IMO, reverse is the easiest gear to learn. it's possible to kill it when backing up, but it helped me learn how to get my two feet workign together to get the car in motion. my first car was a manual, and i hate admitting this, but i figured i would, because it might happen to you. when you've made it to fourth gear, and you're moving on up to fifth, when you get into the "neutral zone", be sure to move the gear shifter all the way to the right and then up. there were a couple times when i was convinced my car was on its last leg because i would shift into fifth and it would rev really high. turns out i kept shifting it into third. [8D][:@]

when you feel really confident about your clutch skills, go find a big hill to start out on going up.

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xe1002

Everytime you shift try something a little different until you have it perfected, it should feel like as close to an automatic as possable.

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