Stick Shift

My old boyfriend decided to teach me to drive his truck which was a stick shift. We went to an empty parking lot (can imagine they don't exists in Silver Springs!) and it took me 3 days to finally get it out of the lot and on the road. Then, my car died, so he decided to get me a car with a clutch ("it was a good deal" he says..."But I can't drive it!!" I said ) Anyway, the first few days I honestly had to drive back and forth on the flat part of the drive before I could get up enough courage to tackle the hill...with, yes...a stop light on the top! Honestly, the first few weeks I wanted to put in sign in my back windshield warning people "learning to drive a clutch...please be forgiving!"

But, once you get it down, it actually does become second nature. I have an automatic, but when my car is in the shop (which is all to often ) I do have to drive DH's car which is stick. I was terrified the first few times but realized that I do remember how. Now, the problem is when I've been driving a stick for a while and go back to an automatic...I almost put my foot through the floor boards trying find the clutch!

Believe me, if I can learn, so can you!

Oh gosh, I honestly can't remember. It's what I learned on when my dad taught me to drive when I was about 12. I took my drivers test on an old International Harvester Scout standard transmission. All my cars have been a standard transmission. When I've tried to drive an automatic...I've slammed the break pedal into the firewall, thinking it was the clutch. I'm dangerous in an automatic, lol!

Originally Posted by Iluvdevons

Well, I learned to drive on a stick, but there is a bit of a learning curve

Here are some suggestions:
1) Go to an empty parking lot
2) Stop car and place in first gear
3) Work clutch and gas until car starts moving
4) Come to a full stop
5) Repeat MANY TIMES (also try in reverse)
6) Once you feel comfortable with engaging the clutch, go to a residential road that is not heavily traveled, but has a sharp incline.
7) Stop car and start the same process that you did in the parking lot. Now you will feel comfortable starting the car on an incline.
8) After all the above, start driving residential streeets, and get used to turning and shifting simultaneously. (It was an odd feeling for me when I first learned.)

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I learned on a stick, since my parents didn't own any automatics. Now that we're grown, of course they have one.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Put the car in Park
.

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Just wanted to mention that manuals don't have "park" like an automatic. There's neutral and a parking brake. Park was one of the things about an automatic that confused me when I was learning to drive (since I learned on manuals).

I was confused as heck when I got in an automatic for the first time...wasn't sure how to start it, and the gear changer on the wheel really confused me.

I miss a manual transmission sometimes. My car has a slap shifter if I want to use it but it's not the same.

Practice makes perfect! My brother taught me and I got the hang of it pretty quickly. My biggest hangup was remembering to take the car out of gear when parking it. I'd leave it in first then take my foot of the clutch before turning off the car. It would lurch and stall.

The biggest thing is to learn where the catch point in the clutch is and how that works with the gas. It's different in every car too. Are you coordinated? If you are it shouldn't be too hard. If you can walk and chew gum learning to use BOTH feet and BOTH hands to drive shouldn't be too hard.

I had to learn quickly once I bought my first car and I learned a lot because it was a piece of junk. I learned how to pop the clutch and how to slip shift... both are very handy things to know. Twice I drove my Jeep 15 miles across town with NO clutch!

Hmmm....It probably took me less than a few hours. I was a farm kid growing up and learned to drive a tractor before anything else (they are stick shift). I think I was 8. Then when I was 11-12 I started driving our little S-10 pickup truck, that was also a stick. (I drove it from farm to farm, they were only about a mile away from eachother on gravel roads).

Then when I was 16 my first car was a stick and then at 18 I got an automatic and at 19 I went back to a stick shift and hope to have a stick shift the the rest of my life!!! I love them

Originally Posted by Isabel

I learned because I had to. I bought a Geo Tracker with a 5-speed (My boyfriend at the time test drove it for me!) and if I wanted to go anywhere I had to learn to drive it. I had driven a stick maybe 3 times before I bought the Tracker (including the one time where I stopped on a hill at a atop sign and rolled into the back of the lady behind me who was waiting for me to take off from the stop sign).

It only took me a day or two to pick it up and I'd say a week before I was shifting and not thinking about it anymore. That was 18 years ago and I still drive a stick...

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Hey that was my first car too!!!!

Boy does that bring back memories!! When I was in college my dad bought me a Pontiac Sunbird. He drove it about a half mile from our house on a rural road and had me practice endlessly shifting !! When I was a bit better he had me drive to town. Of course I was at an intersection really nervous and kept on choking it off!! Like for a good 30 minutes!! I don't remember if he finally took over at that point or not.

But practice and keeping calm is the key!!

Neil wants me to learn our to drive our vintage JD tractor which I'm not sure I'm ready for yet.

In Australia, manual cars are cheaper, and people generally learn to drive in a manual rather than an automatic. We were surprised at how many automtics there were over here!

I had got an automatic license because my car was an auto, and I had only had one driving lesson and didn't want to bothr learning a manual.

Then my now husband and I were driving to Canberra (15 hours drive away), in his manual and I had to learn. He'd taken me out on some quiet streets where I was ok once I got going, but had so much trouble starting without stalling - I wasn't pressing the accelerator hard enough.

So then we started our drive and I pretty much learnt to drive while on the busy highway. At least once I got to 5th gear I was pretty much right. I'd only been driving in general for about 6 months though so was still gaining confidence. It was scary.

My tips:

Hold the clutch all the way in, put your foot on the gas so it's revving a bit, then practise slowly letting go of the clutch until the reach "clutch point" - you'll feel the car move a bit, but it will stay still. Then keep letting go of the clutch until the car starts rolling forward. Once it's moving, push the clutch back in to get to clutch point, and practise just moving the clutch in and out with the gas pedal in until you get used to where clutch point is, and how far you have to let go to get the car moving.

Whenever we go back to Australia for holidays we always hire a manual. It's a little confusing at first switching back to opposite side of the car, other side of the road, reaching to the opposite side of the car for the gears AND driving a manual, but it's cheaper to hire a manual, and it's kinda fun to drive.

Originally Posted by sarahp

Whenever we go back to Australia for holidays we always hire a manual. It's a little confusing at first switching back to opposite side of the car, other side of the road, reaching to the opposite side of the car for the gears AND driving a manual, but it's cheaper to hire a manual, and it's kinda fun to drive.

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Oh my goodness, opposite gears too?! That would make me confused! Well, my husband tried to explain the mechanics of it last night while we were waiting for the tow truck to take away the older car. He says that he'll start teaching me once he gets used to it and finds all of its 'quirks and perks'. One thing is for sure, the first light out of our apartment complex is going to be evil to me, it's on a hill.

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

Hmmm....It probably took me less than a few hours. I was a farm kid growing up and learned to drive a tractor before anything else (they are stick shift). I think I was 8. Then when I was 11-12 I started driving our little S-10 pickup truck, that was also a stick. (I drove it from farm to farm, they were only about a mile away from eachother on gravel roads).

Then when I was 16 my first car was a stick and then at 18 I got an automatic and at 19 I went back to a stick shift and hope to have a stick shift the the rest of my life!!! I love them

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Same here. I had to stand up and put all my weight on the clutch to get it down all the way because I was so young.

From the age of 12 and up I drove my dad's car on our country roads (shift on the steering wheel). I've only ever had one automatic car. I much prefer stick shifts as I feel I have more control, especially in the winter.

When our daughter took driver's ed, we insisted she learn on a manual transmission and then would always have that ability. She chose to drive a manual and loves her Mini Cooper.

I taught my best friend how to drive a manual in a few nights. We just went out and I let her practice (some gears got a good grinding).

When I first moved to the big city (Toronto) from our farm and country, I took a driver's ed course just to be more comfortable in traffic. My instructer told me to put my hand brake on if I were on a hill and after letting the clutch out a bit and giving a bit of gas, then release the brake so that I didn't roll back. I did that for awhile until I felt comfortable with the brake/gas combination and then stopped doing that.

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

Hey that was my first car too!!!!

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I miss mine sometimes. It would go anywhere, and it always started. I bought it brand new in 1990 and sold it in 2003. It was rusting away, unfortunately.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

She chose to drive a manual and loves her Mini Cooper.

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I have a 6-speed Mini Cooper now and to say I love my car is an understatement. I never want any other kind of car. Ever. It is the funnest and best car in the world!

You've had some great advice there. Learning in a manual is pretty much the way of life here in the UK, you don't a full licence unless you learn in a manual car.

We had an automatic for 7 years and our new car is a manual, it's so hard to get used to again (when you don't drive very often). I really ought to go out and practice in it . As hubby does pretty much all the driving, I've been so lazy about doing this.

Originally Posted by StacyD1987

For those who have learned how to drive a stick shift, how long did it take for you to get used to it? I'm going to have to learn now since our car is a stick but I can barely understand mechanics!

Any advice? Ha, I'll probably stall the darn thing a million times before I get good at it.

At hubby's an expert at driving it... not explaining it though.

I might as well ask this too, anybody got a funny story or two when they first started driving a stick shift car?

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I am a world traveller and people in other countries do not drive automatics. I have never driven an automatic in my life. I started with a three speed Renault and have worked myself up to a six speed Porsche. The only funny stories I would have is trying to drive an automatic! Like trying to press on a non-existant clutch or reaching for the non-existant shifter.

Originally Posted by Persi & Alley

The only funny stories I would have is trying to drive an automatic! Like trying to press on a non-existant clutch or reaching for the non-existant shifter.

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You've never driven an automatic?! That would be pretty funny, automatics are easy. My Dad taught me on his Pontiac Sunfire which could've been driven as a manual since it had a 3-speed option but I didn't bother to try.

Originally Posted by Isabel

I miss mine sometimes. It would go anywhere, and it always started. I bought it brand new in 1990 and sold it in 2003. It was rusting away, unfortunately.

I have a 6-speed Mini Cooper now and to say I love my car is an understatement. I never want any other kind of car. Ever. It is the funnest and best car in the world!

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Having a Mini Cooper with automatic would take all the fun away for sure.