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I am a deprived boy. I will be getting my first car very soon and plan to get a 95 Integra or 1991 RX-7. Of course I plan on getting it stick, but the thing is my parents both drive automatics and dont know how to drive stick, how hard it is, etc. Also I would like to know how long it takes to learn becasue the only way i see myself learning it is to rent a car and practice off but money per day will be expensive. If you know any other ways for me to learn stick in my situation plz share it. Also explain the steps into starting out because i heard once u pull out of 1st its easy from there

This post has been edited by mercy on May 29 2004, 06:38 PM

learning to drive a stick is VERY easy; takes about 30 mintues to learn how to do it.. maybe a couple hours to be decent at it, but youll be able to get around.

if you have any questions really just IM me on AIM; freelancer900. if its technique related i can probably help ya, or 86/4age..yaa whatever

steps:

this i learned actually behind the wheel because no one told me... first Hold the clutch in to start the damn car, i thought you just had to be in neutral

biggest thing you can do is practice pressing the throttle in and holding it to about 2000-2500 rpms, dont move on until you can keep it there easily.. a well taught foot is your best friend so learn the pressure points

with the stick in 1st grear, slowly , SLOWLY release the clutch... keep doing it and youll start to move but your rpms will drop, so push slightly in on the gas to keep yourself around 2-3k rpms.

getting into first is the hardest part really- getting into 2nd is a breeze compared to this. Clutch in, select 2nd, releaset he clutch. If your slow on the clutch you make shake a bit, so youll have to compensate with a bit of gas as you release on the clutch to be "smooth".

braking is a little different as there are many ways to do it... You can just hold in the clutch (your rpms will drop to idle) and let your self cost, you can select a lower gear and use a bit of engine braking, you can alwyas use the brake pedal too- i find this one to work well.

most important thing when your learning is just let the clutch out slowly and be as "smooth" as possible on the clutch. as ive said, IM me on aim if you got other questions.

This post has been edited by sidewaysgts on Nov 25 2004, 08:31 PM

sideways explained it well. but I'd like to correct something. when you're driving and you're coasting then press the clutch the car will go faster a bit because the driveline is free...no restrictions anymore so your wheels just turn. may not be the same for all cars but I would suspect so...I've only driven 3 manual cars(Nissan NX1600, bmw 318i and nissan 200sx) but it's been the same.

as for time...to get started...only a few hours tops. to get it down well, up to a week. it took me 5 days to learn going out @ 1/2 hr - 1 hr sessions each time.

the hardest part, like was stated, is starting. so I suggest you practice that the most. try to start and go up to 3rd gear smoothly then slowdown and park on the road and then start out in first again. the more you get the hang of balancing your clutch, the easier it will become.

the way I learned clutch control was when i got stuck in a traffic jam going uphill...not the best places to learn cause the margin of error was so low but it forced me to keep calm and make sure I got the steps right.

g'luck learning. don't get discouraged if you keep stalling. take your time and learn how far you can let the clutch up before it dies.

soon enough you'll be able to drive as well as the best of us drivers out there heh.

just cause you have nobody to teach you doesnt mean you can't learn. as long as you figure out what you're supposed to do, the only other thing you need is practice.

I taught myself how to drive stick too.

hmm my car slows down right away as soon as i push in and hold the clutch...the momentum will carry the car for a few but since its only coasting itll only go so far... oh well not a problem for me; i usually heel toe actually unless im comming to a full stop then i just hold in the clutch and brake to a stop.

added: oh ya.. thought you might like to know why; from my experience heel-toe is one of the best ways to down shift and slow down, its much smoother for me and its nicer on the transmission (plus i enjoy showing off )..

and i wanted to comment about braking with the clutch as i had mentioned before; t works and it works great but you shouldnt get used to JUST doing that, brakes are easier and cheaper to replace then a clutch.

This post has been edited by sidewaysgts on Nov 25 2004, 08:32 PM

so wen you're driving...you have to be on the clutch? like you can't take your foot off of it?

This post has been edited by TRD-hachi-roku on May 30 2004, 12:37 AM

As you push in the clutch; it releases the transmission from the engine.. as you realease it, it slowly pushes it back against it

...so in other words to ur question; no, other way around.

but is it true that whenever you break u have to tap or hold the clutch. Thank you for the steps for I understand, but dont know what to do when you slow down. Also I heard you can downshift 2-3 gears as long as your braking to the mph for that specific gear. Is this true

As long as you are at the right gear for the current speed, there is no problem. If you are too low, the rev will skyrocket. If you are too high, the engine will bug down. Just learn what speed your gears are good for...

you only really have to step on the clutch when you're at or close to a complete stop, when you upshift and when you downshift.

when you're at a complete stop you can clutch in, shift to neutral and then let go of the clutch...but if you want to go again you'll have to put it into first gear before you go.

well, i grew up riding dirt bikes and racing 4wheelers so if you have that experiance atleast you'd have some practice finding gears and slipping clutches.

remember that the clutch is NOT an on/off button, you need to slip it. while it does wear when you slip, they key is to learn just how mutch to slip it and do it no more than needed. also never use the clutch slip to hold you on a hill, that's way into the catagory of too much cluch work. use the brakes in that situation.

remember that it's also NOT how mad quick you shift yo, it's how mad smooth. focus on smoothness and the quickness will come on it's own.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm

read and learn how manual trannies actually work to understand what's going on and why.

This post has been edited by VRr1FD on May 30 2004, 12:01 PM

ahhaha, I always balance on hills...s'ok..I want a new clutch neways ahha

one of the hardest thing about stick is getting into gear on a hill (if your going up hill i mean, down hill is easy). and in traffic man... since you roll back a little your worried if the idiot behind you left you room.. but if you can get into first wuickly on a hill, you can get into first anywhere

how many times are we gonna go over this topic ><

until we BEAT IT TO DEATH!!!!...too late eh?

if you want, put together the best info and make a sticky about it so we can just close every thread hereafter and refer to that thread. easiest solution.

as many times as someone asks, i don mind answering it even if it has been asnwered before. i personally hate the search button; besides i like re-opening an old topic, makes it fresh and brings it new ideas without 10 pages of bs to sift through right away.

A buddy of mine stalled 3 times in arow in his 86. haha i but then he drove it really well very soon, learner really quick, he says i can learn in his car. Gotta get my learners, so lame, 1 year and 7 months late.

NEXT WEEK!!! (i said that so many times it hurts..)

i only stalled while trying to get into first with no gas... you gotta go REAAALLLYYY slowl

This post has been edited by sidewaysgts on Nov 25 2004, 08:33 PM

I think he stalled cause of very bad clutch. cause the car wouldent get in gear after 3k rpm, the clutch is terrible, he gettin new one installed. Cant wait for him to get new one!!

Other time we were sittin in car and he was just runnin the engine in nuetral and i accidently put the gear in 5th while reaching for cell. O_O

"vrooooooom..vrooooom. puhpuh..*silence*" hehe

This post has been edited by fr86 on May 30 2004, 07:33 PM

lol this car makes it hard to put into 5th and reverse on purpose.. good feat; you sure you didnt put it into 4th? lol

i put into the top right gear i think, maybe top middle. cant forth cause i know it went up. Either 3rd or 5th.. Everyon laughed, it was really funny at the moment cause it was a short while after he stalled the car the first 3 times. Everyone with us laughed at him.

3rd thats right... lol forth is down oops

a week to learn a month to master, you get better as tme goes. it isnt hard at all.

the only things to remember is engagint the clutch froma stop to go and getting used to third gear from second.

So you ALWAYS have to let off VERY slowly? Can't wait till my uncle teaches me in person so I can see just how slow... but on the otherhand, my uncle doesn't take the best care of his Mitsu, so he may just let that clutch off the second he puts it in the gear he wants.

How do you find the right RPM to shift? I know in racing, you shift in a high RPM, near the redline, but for daily driving, on the average car what's the right shift point? And what's a "powerband"? I've heard of it, but only have skimmed the surface as of what it really is.

I heard that during daily drving u change gears at 3500 rpm or you change it when you hear the engine giving off more power than it can take. The engine makes noises to alert you whether its giving too much or too little power but im pretty sure its 3500 rpm

Every car is different, but 3500 is good for most Japanese/Corean car. Larger engine car/truck like most American ones shift pretty low since they don't rev as high and they have a pretty low redline...