Manual Gearboxes

Hatmouse

Hatmouse

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2005
Messages
4,791
Location
Bay area, California
Car(s)
'03 Civic Si
So I'm in a quandary.

1. I'm buying a car in September or so, and would like a manual.
2. I have driven a manual in my life once, in a Formula SAE car.
3. Thus, I need to get practice/learn/whatever.

Problem is:
1. All the driving schools have autos
2. All my family has autos

So, now what? I'd like to learn/practice, but haven't the foggiest where/how to do so.

Any advice appreciated.

Also, I'm in Massachusetts if anyone knows any driving schools that do this.
 
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You will pick it up in less than half an hour. Have the salesman help you (they will gladly do so).
 
Its not a problem really. I mastered the basics in under 5 minutes without stalling.
 
As a tip, don't rush the clutch. You can build up your speed with switching gears over time. Just remember it isn't an on off switch.
 
I'm really surprised to hear that the driving schools only have auto's. You might want to check that.

Other than that some rental companies do have manual cars, it's rare, but I've seen them. you could always rent a car for a day and try out your skillz
 
JipJopJones said:
I'm really surprised to hear that the driving schools only have auto's. You might want to check that.

Other than that some rental companies do have manual cars, it's rare, but I've seen them. you could always rent a car for a day and try out your skillz
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That's one of the reasons they are hard to find at rental places.
 
Find a dealership that offers 24 hour test drives and ask for a manual. :p I mean, you are looking to buy a manual equipped car in the future...
 
I was looking at an '04 Tacoma 4x4 with a stick and the dealer readily offered to help. Instead, I got the BMW, spent and hour or so in a middle school parking lot. I stalled at least a million times. I failed at clutch usage, but after a month, I was fine. Now a year later, I'm heel-toeing adroitly and experimenting with left foot braking.

Each car is different, my BMW is rather finicky and I had the hardest time finding the bite point and being smooth. Recently, I drove a 993-easy as pie :cool:
 
TomCat said:
Find a dealership that offers 24 hour test drives and ask for a manual. :p I mean, you are looking to buy a manual equipped car in the future...
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This. You only need to get out of the dealer lot without stalling, after that, It doesn't really matter. Just find a quiet road (preferably with a hill aswell) and spend a good amount of time burning the clutch on a dealership car :). If you've done it before, it should be ok.

When I bought my sierra, which was about 2 months ago, the last time I had driven a manual was in driving school, back in early november. Despite the less than accurate, worn type 9 box and a slightly flexed clutch cable, I managed fine. Just take things slow and steady and you should be ok.:)
 
As my uncle put it, modern manual gear boxes are very hard to ruin and very forgiving so don't worry about it :lol:
 
just take it smoothly and you will eventually do it properly
 
It's actually simple to do- just make sure you feel out the clutch (ie, you don't want to stomp on the clutch of a small sports car or go too lightly on that of a truck). Don't, however, try any advanced techniques such as heel-toe etc until you are quite comfortable with shifting "normally". Also, good on you for getting a manual- proper way to drive ;)

In acquiring a car... a dealership would be your best option. American rental cars are almost universally automatic barges or automatic shitboxes, so even if you found one with a manual it wouldn't be the most ideal machine to learn with. Try BMW (as was said) or Mazda (who, if nothing else, will always have a manual MX5 in stock).
 
Too bad this isn't the 1990's. You could go to Skip Barber and they'd teach you a manual in a Viper. It's hilarious to imagine going for a "new driver" school and getting handed a Viper for the day at the skid pad. :lol:

Or even better, learn a manual ON the Nurburgring!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20kuHApRmUk[/youtube]

I can't quite claim that, I learned on Laguna Seca. Oh well, opportunity missed. ;) It's easy. It'll take you 5 minutes. Ten if you DIY. And like Katwalk's uncle said, modern cars are pretty hardy.
 
argatoga said:
As a tip, don't rush the clutch.
Click to expand...

This is probably the best advice you can get. Start in a parking lot; with it in first gear, SLOWLY bring up the clutch as you feather the throttle (1500-2000 RPMs) and feel the car start to pull forward. As soon as you do that, press the clutch down. Do this a few times to get used to where the clutch grabs. Then try driving it, carefully bringing up the clutch while keeping revs low. When you reach the grab point, slow down on clutch takeup, and ease in on the gas. As you progress, you'll be able to move quicker with the clutch while giving it more gas.

Realistically speaking, the faster you let go of the clutch, the more gas you need. You could move the clutch slow enough so you don't even have to hit the gas to get the car rolling (but it'll take a while to move), or you can dump the clutch with your right foot on the floor (and do a burnout). The goal is to find the balance in the middle to be smooth. When you stall out, you usually will be either releasing the clutch too quickly, or not hitting the gas enough. Start slow and work your way quicker as you feel comfortable.

Once you can get the car moving, shifting 1-2-3-4-5-6(?) is really easy.

For reverse, I usually just bring up the clutch enough to get the car rolling, then press the clutch back down again quickly.

And hills - you just need to get used to the car rolling back, and move quickly with the clutch and gas. If you have to, you can hold the hand brake till you feel the clutch grab and start to pull the car.
 
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