Learning to Drive Standard

[max_boost]

Took my brother out today and taught him to drive standard on the RSX. Getting him ready since the car is going to be his in a few months. He thought it was going to be easy. Like playing a video game perhaps? haha Well he stalled 8 times and it basically crushed him. He was pretty quiet on the drive home. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Do you guys remember how many times you stalled trying to get the thing going? Did you guys catch on right away or did it take awhile? I remember I use to avoid inclines for awhile because I couldn't start and was worried about it always rolling back hehe

[Palmiros]

So in other words you doubt his intelectual ability?
You want to figure out if HE is slow, or if it's normal?
I'll take a wild guess here and say like every other thing(*that you do for the first time*) it will be different, and harder to catch on. Or were you born with the stick in your hand, shifting gears?
Think about it.

[2.2vtec]

a whole day of practising on a uphill road and I was able to drive decently in traffic. I know I had to get a new clutch though within the first month.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by Palmiros
So in other words you doubt his intelectual ability?
You want to figure out if HE is slow, or if it's normal?
I'll take a wild guess here and say like every other thing(*that you do for the first time*) it will be different, and harder to catch on. Or were you born with the stick in your hand, shifting gears?
Think about it.

LOL

Easy man. He just wants to know how everyone else did the first time out........:dunno:

[EK 2.0]

Sam...I STILL stall every once in a while and I have been driving manual for over 10 years now...

My first time out though...I took about a half day to get the concept down...and in about a week was very smooth...for that first week though I did a LOT of clutch riding and higher and required rev to clutch engagement...

[Spatz]

i stalled three times when i took the test to get my driver licence, i was kinda nervous but i passed

[carter_prelude]

The day i got my licence i took my 88 Prelude out to the country and learned how to drive it on my own lol. I knew the concept so all that was left to learn was the right RPM and the amount of movement needed to engage the clutch. Your brother is lucky...i wouldn't let my brother NEAR my Pathfinder or any of my cars that i've had lol.

I know a girl who just bought a 2002 Honda Civic from a dealer. In 3 months her clutch is now burnt out and she has to ride the bus now :rofl: she sucks the big one at stick. I TRIED teaching her...but after going from the END of 3rd gear INTO 2nd more than 5 times i gave up on teaching her and told her dad to try lol...:drama:

[TEAMFaint]

I did fairly well on my first time learning how to drive standard when I was 14, it was on my dads 86 Honda Accord.

The big thing is always getting started, once you are actually driving its not so hard to shift into the next gear.

I only drove his car a few times (2 or 3 for about 10 minutes each time) in the 2 years that I had my learners.

The most practice I had was actually on a video game that was in the local mall at the cineplex. You had the option of choosing standard or automatic..the game was reallllly old school, shittiest graphics ever, however it was very realistic and helped me a lot to learn a standard.

Here's a tip for your brother:
Was he wearing big huge skater shoes at all? If he was he probably isnt used to getting the feel of the pedal thus causing him to not ease off the pedal, but totally release it, causing it to stall. Get him to wear actual runners so he can get more of a feel for the pedal.

Another thing, is let him know, that there is actually a space in the clutch when you release it a small bit, it does nothing, it does have some free play.

These are two things that helped me out when I was first learning, wish him goodluck and to enjoy the RSX!

[Lo)2enz0]

i still stall from time to time as well. i still think its like an auto and you just need to take your foot off the brake. thats what driving an auto does to you.

now its all cool

[ogpog]

I bought my first manual vehicle years ago (jeep), and drove it home from airdrie with no problems. I just happened to understand how the transmission, wheels, and clutch related to each other previous to driving it, and it was fine. Then i bought my 2006 civic, and it was like a kick in the teeth, because it was soo different to drive.

[Kaos]

Best car to drive standard on is....... a BMW.
It's got torque, so even if you were in too low of a gear, it wouldn't have the vibration you get in Honda's. :thumbsup: :devil:

Should've let the little bro drive the bimmer.

[95EagleAWD]

I learned to drive on my dad's 1G Talon... took me fifteen minutes to figure it out.

My Talon had a 6-puck clutch in it... had to readjust a bit with that one.

The twin-disc unit in the NSX took more readjusting, mainly getting used to how loud twin-disc clutches are (they chatter like mad).

Haven't stalled the NSX ever. Stalled my 6-puck twice.

[seer_claw]

I learned on a Toyota Landcruiser while 4x4'ing in sand dunes in the middle east. We were traversing a slope and I stalled it after I almost shit my pants when the truck started sliding sideways. Let me tell you learning how to use a clutch while on the side of a sand slope = very very stressful. :D

[jdmakkord]

My sis taught me the ebrake trick on hills, so that didn't bother me much. Took me about a week, and I was driving fine, without the ebrake.

[WWJAI]

When i first started learning, i had to be the most shittiest person to drive. I taught myself and I stalled out way more than 8 times the first time i drove and even after a week, I wasn't great. I just felt like giving up and selling the car and getting an auto. I was so unconfident with driving standard that i didn't even bring out the car on the roads for regular driving and only kept it for practicing on residential roads. After practicing always, I finally figured out a whole bunch of pointers with how much to rev and when to release the clutch/shift and now, i'm still not the best standard driver..nor ever will be..but i get around decent and have no problem driving stick and never stall out.

I too avoided uphills as much as i could because i was afriad of it rolling back and me hitting the car behind me.

[KoukiS14]

Stalled it the first few times, after that i was laying rubber. Now i rev match, heel-toe and no clutch shift.

[WWJAI]

Originally posted by Kaos
Best car to drive standard on is....... a BMW.
It's got torque, so even if you were in too low of a gear, it wouldn't have the vibration you get in Honda's. :thumbsup: :devil:


haha. i drive a honda and know what you mean..i still get that vibration once in a while and its damn annoying.

[Tik-Tok]

I learned on one of the easist vehicles to learn on, lol

F-350 diesel, in 4-low you have to go out of your way to stall one of those fawkers, especially since I was in southern sask. at the time (in seismic)

[Aleks]

I stalled 2-3 times learing here. I can't remember last time I stalled since then.

I got an early start tho, when I was 12 years old in the old country on back roads. No police there.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

I stalled about 4 times the first day... the once in a while after that... I was really rough starting in first gear as well. Took me about two days to get the entire concept in my head.

[jdm_eg6]

I stalled once, and my first time was in a FIAT with a porsche motor :drool: :drool:, my cousins in Poland and stalled it once and drove pretty well i never have had problems but my brother stalled about every one second when he started and it took him about 3-4 days to actually start fully being able to drive. Alot of people have troubles ive only met one other person who hasnt had troubles learning standard.

-jdm

it depends on the person but i like EK 2.0 said stall every once and a while from either being to lazy or w.e it happens its not the end of the day! woot!

[Dehvee]

Yeah its easy to get the hang of it when you actually start moving. I just kept stalling when I was trying to move it at first and then when I came to a complete stop. No I wasn't wearing big skater shoes. Also at first I didn't know you had to fully depress the clutch, just thought u step on it lightly and it would go.

[IhateDomestic]

Hmmmm I taught myself standard sneaking out my parents car when it was snowing LOL

1st gear i stalled about 3-4 times then i got the hang of it
2,3,4th+ gears are the easiest and after a month i was perfect at it

learnt how to drive it smoothly, downshift, all that stuff on a piece of shit car without stallingg took about 3 weeks to get used to it and 4 weeks to master it

[ga16i]

I still stall once in a while, mostly if I have stuff that I don't ususally have on, turned on (e.g., defrost, A/C, etc).

I've been teaching the g/f how to drive schtick and she doesn't stall much on starts, just forgets to clutch or shift to neutral to stop. Starting without stalling is fairly easy if you watch the tach. Shifting to neutral or clutching in when stopping may take some time to get use to.

[Kirbs17]

I stalled a few times tryin to catch on, avoided inclines all toether for about a month :rofl:

[Zero102]

Bought my old subaru at 6PM from PYP, drove it home in rush hour traffic on glenmore through construction.
First time I ever drove a standard......
I did so poorly I refused to get out of the car until 11:30 that night, I just kept driving around until I got the hang of it.

After about a week I was really good at it, but it wasn't until I understood how everything actually worked together that I started to do all the smart things, like not holding the clutch at lights, rev matching on down shifts, etc.

After that week I've probably stalled whatever car I'm driving 10 or 12 times, and I've been driving standards for 5 years.

Education is key. The driver needs to know what is moving and when to understand the right way to drive, other than that it's just a matter of getting the fine touch.

[GTS Jeff]

I stall my car all the time. That's what happens when you use a 3.6kg flywheel along with a Cusco clutch...and if you're obsessed with slipping the clutch from idle so the car drives like an automatic.

[RWD]

when i first learned i kept stalling on a POS car then the next time i tried i drove a better car and stalled less.. then why i decided to buy a car i just naturally got better

[nusneak]

I learned to drive standard on the fly while test driving my first car. Stalled once, drove off out of the parking lot into traffic :thumbsup:

[Payner]

ya I'mearning it now just have the concept of it and the determination to get better.

But then again I'm heavy on the clutch foot

[jcrules99]

i stalled around 20 times my first time trying.. in my friends jetta, then my other friend taught me in his rx7, much easier, couple burnouts and couple stalls haha, when i bought my first standard car, i drove around till 4am practicing, i had a good teacher too!

[nusneak]

Its quite a simple concept.
dont slip the clutch.
slowly raise the clutch till you feel it engage, then hold there.
start pressing on the accelerator and slowly let the clutch up (1-1.5 seconds)
the less your on the clutch the better

[HiSpec]

i stalled like mad the first time i tried standard on a celica.
then stopped for a while... meanwhile I started doing some reasearch on a forum, and it gave me a few tips on driving the stick.
After when i got my first standard vehicle, it used all the tips the forum gave me and i was able to drive without stalling.
The key to learning to drive standard is the "NO GAS METHOD"... it works like a charm... after about 1-2 hours of learning the feel of the clutch, you will feel much much more confidence towards your driving.

[Hash_man]

I showed up to a new job when I was 16 and they assumed I knew how to drive standard, lol.

Needless to say once you spend 8 hours driving standard when you have to get places you catch on pretty quick. I didn't get the pleasure of learning on a quiet road, I had to leard on Macleod Tr., Barlow Tr, etc.

I had to learn in a Mazda pickup too, which is a pretty shitty car to learn on.

I'd say the best way to learn is on roads he is really familiar with, otherwise it can be kinda intimidating.
But I drive auto usually and whenever I get back in a standard I feel a bit rusty, and I like lorenzo, I sometimes forget I'm driving a standard and stall it, its pretty funny.

[DC2]

not many stalls but lots of burnouts! worst was hills had to use the e-brake sometimes when i was in heavy traffic and when there is an asskisser behind you..

i still remember my 1st burnout. it was in the KFC drive thru. 6grand and dropped the clutch...

[FiveFreshFish]

Self-taught at age 15. Bought a manual transmission car and nobody in the family knew how to drive one. Drove up and down the alley and got the hang of it in a few days.

[rc2002]

Yeah, I had to teach myself too. I stalled probably 5 times in all my years of driving standard, but had lots of starts with high revs.

[marko polo]

stalled my car first day i got it cause my music was to loud. but thats about it, i had a alot of time riding a d-bike under my belt so that pretty much taught me the basics of using a clutch :)

[carter_prelude]

i stalled for the first time in awhile today actually lol...i was waiting for my bro and forgot it was in gear and dumped the clutch, jerks forward and scared the shit out of me becuase there was a car in front of my truck :rofl:

[seeyouu]

I think if you have any friends who have manual trans. Suvs ask them if he can try to learn on that they seem to be easier to learn on get the concept . then move on to smaller cars liek the rsx. I learnt on a SUV and now i drive my cousins and friends cars, trust me its a big difference.

[/////AMG]

I think I stalled 2 or 3 times when I had my first maual driving lesson. I though tI knew it all so I took out my dads car to hand in a assigment, which was about a 25 inutes ride there and back.

It was fucking terrible. I didn't stall once on the way there, bu ton the way back. :banghead:
Stalled about 3-4 times IN A ROW trying to get in a round-a-bout, then once more later on. Then I stalled just as the car got into the garage and sad "hmm, perfect parking" and left it there.

I didn't touch my dads car for another few lessons.
And I also tried to avoid hills as much as possible.

I now drive my Benz which is a great and easy to drive. Got into an '02 Golf the other day and I just kept over revving it.

[Vagabond142]

Heh... when I first started to learn standard, I bunnyhopped the car so hard I broke the radiator casing :D :D :D

After getting the basics down, it was a week of driving to get smooth, then after a month I started to learn revmatch downshifting properly (ie clutch, blip-n-shift, clutch). Still learning all the little tricks like clutch kicks, double clutching, etc :D

[l8braker]

My dad's clutch was finished after my brother's and i were learning on it. I owe him. the last time i stalled my car was 3 or 4 months ago on 17th coming home infront of 50-60 people :cry:

[msommers]

My first time was with my old 240. Didni't even stall it on the straight away but as soon as I started on a hill, I smelt clutch!


Originally posted by Kirbs17
I stalled a few times tryin to catch on, avoided inclines all toether for about a month :rofl:

I was the same way! I was so scared I was going to roll back, I'd rev the shit out of it and burn out by accident sometimes! Even now I always check behind me on steep hils, especially downtown you always have some ass RIGHT behind you. Glad it won't be my fault if I ever roll back into them!

The one huge difference I notice is driving a Nissan for a long time and then going to a volkswagen. Most OEM jap clutches are so soft and you barely have to engage the clutch pedal. Volkswagens are so different its nuts!

[theken]

yeah i still stall every now and then, and i drive a kenworth for most of the day :nut: i blame when i stall on driving a truck haha. The stalls always catch me off gaurd too, like i'll forget to take it out of gear or something and stall, and i am always confused like wtf just happened here.

anyways i stalled a bunch when i started driving, but i learned quick

[ashee]

I have yet to learn...:thumbsdow

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by ashee
I have yet to learn...:thumbsdow

The sooner the better. Most of the people I know who learned later in life generally aren't as natural as those who learned young.

[EK 2.0]

Originally posted by ashee
I have yet to learn...:thumbsdow


*ahem*

I'll teach you to drive stick...

*ahem*

[SilverBoost]

Speaking of which, saw some guy downtown today looking liek he was having a little trouble starting off a few times. Thankfully there was an impatient guy behind him laying on the horn to make sure he got used to the clutch quicker. :rolleyes:

[tentacles]

*ahem*

I'll teach you to drive stick...

*ahem*


I don't think a short shift is the best place to be learning.

[iceburns288]

^Damn!:rofl: :rofl:

[EK 2.0]

Originally posted by tentacles
I don't think a short shift is the best place to be learning.


damn....:thumbsup:

[tentacles]

Like you didn't see that one coming a mile away. Do you actually have a short shifter? In your car, I mean.

[kerry]

Learned to Drive standard on my friends 2000 Cavalier =).
I learned in the winter which helped a lot... well my ego at
least. If I was goin to stall I'd just let go of the clutch and
spin the tires hahahahhahahaa.

But I learned on that, and then got my first Civic Si.
I still stall every now and then and I've been driving
standard for oh.... 4 years now.

It happens.... and you'll get laughed at, but when your
friends do it, just laugh at them.

[A2VR6]

Luckily before I got my first car with a stick, I had a little experience with driving a stick (friends miata) but still, in order for me to be comfortable with myself on the road, the first day I got the car I just found a fairly steep hill and tried hill starts over and over again until i got it. I dont think my clutch will ever forgive me for that... ( and from letting the clutch out slowly at 7 grand :banghead: )

[freakystyley_73]

Beyond is the only place a man will admit that he has (or still does occasionally) stall. It's because us beyond-goers are all one happy family. :burnout:

[AzN'SKillZ]

i just started driving stander like a month ago, i still stall occasionaly like once a week or maybe more, usually cuz my leg slips of the clutch while im waiting at lights, or i forget im in gear after i parked my car.

so i got down shifting mastered, is there anything else i should practice to make me a better stander driver?

[Donmega]

yeahhhh i pretty much wasted a whole green light LOL

[freakystyley_73]

Originally posted by AzN'SKillZ
i just started driving stander like a month ago, i still stall occasionaly like once a week or maybe more, usually cuz my leg slips of the clutch while im waiting at lights, or i forget im in gear after i parked my car.

so i got down shifting mastered, is there anything else i should practice to make me a better stander driver?
ya man... lol it's standard. :)

[van]

Took me about 3 days.

First day was practicing getting out of 1st gear. I think that's the hardest part about learning standard. After 1st gear, 2nd gear and into 3rd, 4th and 5th gear it's just like driving an automatic until you need to either shift down or out into neutral.

Second day was all about the hills, my friend and I just drove to the maxbell arena and practiced stopping and going on the hills until I got it down pat.

Third day was mostly just practicing driving around and making sure I don't stall or anything.

I think it's pretty easy when you get a hang of knowing where the clutch and gas needs to be equal.

I'm about to teach my girlfriend to drive standard as well :(

[Annoyingrob]

I stalled the car SO many times when I was learning. It was also the first time I had ever driven a car though. My father insisted that I learn to drive on a standard. I spent several days in the GO train parking lots in Toronto on weekends practising starting and stopping. It was funny, every weekend flocks of young kids would be in the parking lots learning to drive.

I also had a GIANT hill right by my house with a light at the top that would ALWAYS turn red on you. I had to learn hill starts pretty damn quick, no choice. The E-brake helps a lot when you're first starting out.

I ended up taking drivers education in standard, which really helped my stick skills. I still left a few black marks on hills when starting on them though :)

I think between my brother and I we toasted the clutch, and went through a nice set of tires in my father's car too. Haha. Well, I replaced the clutch for him last winter, it's all good now.

It's since been 5 years since I learned to drive, all of which has been on a standard. I have never ever stalled my supra since I got it back in march (while driving). I always put it in neutral, and put the brake on when I park the car, there's been 3 times that I forget to put it in neutral, and bring the clutch up in 1st with the e-brake on. whoops :). I also once let the clutch up at a red light when I was on the brake. The car lunged forward, almost hitting the car in front of me. I freaked out, and pushed the clutch back down, and the engine went right back idling. Impossibly hard to stall this car.

I have several friends that bought a standard vehicle without ever driving one, and got the hang of it within a week. It's amusing to hear their stalling stories though.

[SilverBoost]

Originally posted by defekt1


I'm about to teach my girlfriend to drive standard as well :(

My g/f actually found it easier to learn on mine after I got the JWT clutch and a short sifter installed.

When she tried before that she found it really difficult to find where that friction point was with the clutch, but since the JWT is so much stiffer and grabs harder, it's a lot easier to find the grab point and to know when to start applying the gas. The short shifter helped because she said the gears were just easier to find.

So everyone who's having a problem learning stick, get a clutch and a short shifter and you'll be golden. ;) :thumbsup:

[WWJAI]

Originally posted by AzN'SKillZ
i still stall occasionaly like once a week or maybe more, usually cuz my leg slips of the clutch while im waiting at lights, or i forget im in gear after i parked my car.



Originally posted by Annoyingrob
I also once let the clutch up at a red light when I was on the brake. The car lunged forward, almost hitting the car in front of me. I freaked out, and pushed the clutch back down, and the engine went right back idling.


Someone mind confirming on which way is right or wrong? Because at red lights I usually just throw the car into neutral and let go of the clutch because i've been told its bad on the throwout bearing to hold it for so long and when I think the lights about to turn green, i just put it into first gear and get ready to go. Before, I just would keep my foot on the clutch with the shifter in 1st gear while waiting at the lights. Which way is proper?

[drox]

Originally posted by TEAMFaint

The most practice I had was actually on a video game that was in the local mall at the cineplex. You had the option of choosing standard or automatic..the game was reallllly old school, shittiest graphics ever, however it was very realistic and helped me a lot to learn a standard. Haha, that ferrari game :drool: :D

[drox]

Originally posted by WWJAI




Someone mind confirming on which way is right or wrong? Because at red lights I usually just throw the car into neutral and let go of the clutch because i've been told its bad on the throwout bearing to hold it for so long and when I think the lights about to turn green, i just put it into first gear and get ready to go. Before, I just would keep my foot on the clutch with the shifter in 1st gear while waiting at the lights. Which way is proper? Keep it out of gear. You wont look like an idiot when you rear end a vehicle or hit a pedestrian when your foot slips off the clutch. :burnout: :thumbsup:

[Annoyingrob]

I usually put it in neutral, and let off the clutch, mainly because my clutch is really stiff, and my leg gets tired.

I would agree that leaving it in neutral with the clutch up is the best way keep it at a red light. I've heard arguments that you should always start the car in neutral with the clutch up as well. Apperantly it helps prevent crankwalk on cars that are prone to it. Not sure if thats true, but I do it anyways.

[95EagleAWD]

Originally posted by drox
Haha, that ferrari game :drool: :D

F355 Challenge. Pretty fun when you're hammered too!

[adidas]

Since i lived in a apt building and my parking stall was the first one coming in....i would just go backwards and forwards until i was good at it...i got a really good hang of it in about 2-3 weeks.

I still dont know how to shift fast, while im in high rpm which kinda pisses me off but oh well ill learn sooner or later.

[abyss]

The first time I ever drove a car, I was 14 or 15 and didn't even have my lisc yet. My dad pulled over and told me to drive, we were out on the 2A so it wasn't busy or anything, but it was an 88 Mustang that had an IMPOSSIBLE clutch. I didn't quite understand how it worked and I stalled like 40 times before my dad finally said "you know if you feel it's going to stall you know you can push the clutch back in right?" I was so mad at him. I had no idea how a standard worked and I thought you only had one shot at it, like once you started letting off the clutch that was it you'd better get it right. After stalling like 30 times I was like "GOD! HOW DO PEOPLE DRIVE LIKE THIS EVERY DAY!!! THIS IS SO HARD!!" After I learned it wasn't a one shot deal I drove it fine down the straight non hilly highway.

Then I got to drive a Boxter when I worked at Canadian Tire, the guys in the shop were like "you're sure you know how to drive standard right?" I'm like "oh yeah, I drive them all the time..." haha I got it out of the garage and around the block just fine (I just wanted to see what it had, no long drive or anything) but then I stalled it coming back into the garage, the guys were all there watching laughing their asses off at me. I just parked it in front of the garage and told them all to go to hell. :rofl:

Then Hampstor tried to teach me in the SpecV. Haha, I pulled up to a stop sign on a slight hill and he said "okay honey, you're gonna need to rev it a bit higher and let off the clutch a tad faster"....so I dumped the clutch at 4500 RPM successfully burning the tires all through first and second (haha I even managed not to forget to change gears in this time too). Poor Hampstor, all he could say was "Why didn't you get scared and stall it like a normal person would've done?!!!" I can drive it fine now but I still don't like the hills much though. ;)

[mekeni]

my gf got the worse of it...
she, trying to learn while I scream on her right ear !!!!

she was so nervous that she got another person to teach her std... :poosie: :drama:

[HRD2PLZ]

I learnt when I was 16, I stalled a few times. The e-brake thing on hills is what saved me way back when. A friend taught me the basics but I more or less taught myself on the way home from Silverhill in my new car at the time :rofl:

On another note... I tried teaching my sister numerous times and it took her a while to get the hang of it. She probably stalled a good 15 times before giving up for another day.

Your brother is lucky though, the RSX is an easy manual to drive :)

[AzN'SKillZ]

for ppl that hav problems on hills try this

wen im on a hill i usually leave my clutch half way down not all the way, or depending on the car u want the clutch at the point were its about to stall, this makes the car move forward slowly, but wen ur at a hill the car just sits still. wen ur ready to go give her some gas let go of the clutch and its very easy and fast.

[T-Dubbs]

i learnt the best way, my dad and i test drove an acura EL (5 speed) and i learnt on that, then returned the car.:D

[Dehvee]

Originally posted by T-Dubbs
i learnt the best way, my dad and i test drove an acura EL (5 speed) and i learnt on that, then returned the car.:D

:rofl: :rofl:

[liquidboi69]

Originally posted by AzN'SKillZ
for ppl that hav problems on hills try this

wen im on a hill i usually leave my clutch half way down not all the way, or depending on the car u want the clutch at the point were its about to stall, this makes the car move forward slowly, but wen ur at a hill the car just sits still. wen ur ready to go give her some gas let go of the clutch and its very easy and fast.
Do NOT do that. THe first thing people will tell you to do on hills/lights is to not let the clutch hold you...and to use the e-brake instead.

If you do that you will burn out your clutch.

[tentacles]

I guess I'm sort of a weird one, because I never learned the e-brake-on-hill thing. The first couple times I rolled back a little bit but after that it was fine, and I would only roll back a few inches.

I'm *still* not sure how to do the e-brake thing, I think I tried it once or twice, but just said fuck it and did it the normal way. I guess I wouldn't be a very good drifter.

[V6-BoI]

Heh I think I'm one of the rare cases (maybe the only case) where my gf drives standard, and I drive an auto, haha.

But I first learned standard when I was like 16. I stalled so many times when I first tried standard. I was told to release the clutch the at the same rate you push the gas pedal. But I was never told you do that when you find the engaging point. So I was in the parking lot liek revving the car and it wasn't even going. Then I eventually just released the clutch and it stalls. Haha, at the time I thought if you are about to stall you just let go of the clutch, so yeah the car was all jerky and stuff. But after a while I kinda borrowed my uncles car in a parking lot and kinda taught myself how to drive it, and now I am okay. Heh like going out and taking my gf's cuz her car is standard.

[EK 2.0]

Originally posted by AzN'SKillZ
for ppl that hav problems on hills try this

wen im on a hill i usually leave my clutch half way down not all the way, or depending on the car u want the clutch at the point were its about to stall, this makes the car move forward slowly, but wen ur at a hill the car just sits still. wen ur ready to go give her some gas let go of the clutch and its very easy and fast.


what your AzN'SKillZ don't encompass pulling your parking brake on a hill when stopped at a light?

[WWJAI]

Originally posted by tentacles
I guess I'm sort of a weird one, because I never learned the e-brake-on-hill thing. The first couple times I rolled back a little bit but after that it was fine, and I would only roll back a few inches.

I'm *still* not sure how to do the e-brake thing, I think I tried it once or twice, but just said fuck it and did it the normal way. I guess I wouldn't be a very good drifter.

Me too. I've never even tried the e-brake method on uphill. At uphill lights, I just still throw it in neutral and release the clutch and just step on the brake. Once green light hits, I just drive like any other situation..pop it in 1st and rev it a bit higher and usually it rolls back just a bit and i'm off..

[frozenrice]

My first experience with a manual was in a 78 Civic wagon. I got to drive around for about 1/2 hour. I didn't get to drive a manual again for about a year until I got my own car. I'm not sure if Subaru still has the "hill holder" clutch system, but it was nice to have on inclines or hills.

[black13]

I've never driven an automatic car.

Standard is all I drive.

[signature7]

i remember being a cocky lil bastard when i first got my bimmer i thought i could learn to drive in an hour hah, at first i wasn't bad at accelerating, but starting was a concern, also the first few days i drove at night in my community...no cars, thought i'd be fine, but i guess i crack un pressure casue when i brought it out to go see my gf i stalled it badly, i was 1st in the turning lane and there were at least 7 cars behind me....

reverse was a problem for me, as i either go too fast or stall it. and getting out of certain parking lots to this day worries me, like the hampton co op, i haven't had to drive to eau claire market but just thinking of that hill where the tollbooth is to enter the parking lot scares me.

[Woz]

My grandpa used to let me drive his old 1980 GMC s10 down the back roads by our cabin when i was 14ish. You had to push the pedal down about 2 feet with 100lbs of force to disengage it. After doing that for a summer all other cars were a snap, lol

[Woz]

I also learned in Manitoba where there weren't any hills and no fear of rollback, lol.

[ZedMan]

I'd been riding dirtbikes for a while, so it only took ~15 mins to adjust and be able stop, go and shift. Hills took a while, though, because on a motorbike you can just put your foot down and not have to worry about rollback.

[Hirosimezz]

It is all too easy and predictable, huh? Keep the right revs, feel the engaging point, blah-blah:D
Now what about learning to drive on something the size of F-350 but with a non-synchromech 'box, non-assisted brakes and steering?

Or passing a test on a car with a clutch slipping so badly that to simply engage the 1st you had to use 2 hands? :eek: :D :D
Or whose gearlever in Neutral had a play of exactly 1 feet?
Oh, and the handbrake did anything but 'braking" - for example, it rattled real nice and loud... :D :D
Now you wonder where and what kind of car?

Ok, the location was Moscow, Russia, 1990. The car in question - yeah, nothing but a Lada - Samara :D
http://www.coches.net/central/cochesnet/modelos/t/t0000382.jpg
And the first truck was GAZ (an approximate late 50's big Chevy clone)
http://www.automedia.ru/catalog/foto/4610_gaz-53a.jpg

So now if I do drive a manual I still double - declutch and blip the throttle when downshifting... :D :D And no hillstart is ever a problem... Pity I drive an auto merc now :rofl:

[AzN'SKillZ]

^ waht is blip the throttle downshifting and declutch?

[Hirosimezz]

When you downshift normally in a modern car you jsut disengage (press on) the clutch, shift into lower gear, release the clutch pedal - presto!
When there is no synchromech to equalize the rotational sppeds of the cogs, you first press on the clutch, shift into neutral, depress the clutch, momentarily blip (press on) the throttle press the clutch one more time and engage the gear. Once you learn how to do it you do it just as fast as normally. Allows you to downshift imperceptably for passengers and saves the life of the synchromech (if it is present).

[FiveFreshFish]

This was posted somewhere else.

http://standardshift.com/videos.html

[Chester]

I stalled today when I pulled into a parking spot at work and I was already parked with the e-brake up haha, actually I did it twice today, once at home and once at work. I stall a couple times a month and its usually the oddest situation.