How long did it take you before driving stick was "completely natural", automatic so to speak...

How long did it take you before driving stick was "completely natural", automatic so to speak. How often did you drive daily?

I learned at 12, it took 3-4 self taught fuck abouts for half an hour each in a shitty old rover metro around a field.

It's not hard, if you have any amount of mechanical sympathy you'll be fine. If you have none, stick to an auto civic or something and leave the proper cars to the enthusiasts.

I've had pic related in the OP for about a week. I'm not fucking up or stalling it but I still have to think about what I'm doing. Just wondering how long it usually takes before it all becomes instinctive muscle memory and stuff.

1 hour, i drive once a week for 30 minutes

completely automatic?
maybe a week or so?

it wasn't that hard after the first day but i was still very rough.

We're forced to pass the exam in a manual here if we ever want to drive manuals on public roads, so it's what I've learn on since day 1.

Automatics feel more unnatural to me and I sometimes grab the gear shift or tap my left foot looking for the clutch pedal when driving one.

how much do you drive?

i'd say a maximum of a month and after that point it's smooth sailing.

A couple short commutes so a week or so

it is not worth it to learn manual on a brand new car

especially if you live anywhere that has any amount of traffic and you commute to work it will be so much stress

and may god have mercy on your soul if you live somewhere where it snows most of the year and you have to learn in the snow

It literally takes an hour to learn.

> stress
it's not stressful after the first couple days of traffic

ask me how i know

Stop being a pussy. People allover Europe drive manuals in these conditions, even fucking women. Not stressful at all.

Completely natural, honestly you get gud anywhere from 1 week to 1 month depending on how long it takes for you to pick up on stuff.

You never really stop thinking about what you are doing you just learn to think about other things while you are doing it.

well I mean, you have to think a little, but it's mostly muscle memory

kind of like playing sports once you get good

The thing is you have to unlearn automatic driving and replace it with manual driving. Your muscle memory will stick to automatic until you drive manual for a while.

Unlearning is the hardest part.

Manual is fucking outdated grow the fuck up

enjoy paying higher costs for transmission repair and general maintenance

you're fucking outdated grow the fuck up

and you'll be glad you did because it's way better
i'll never buy an automatic because i dont need it

???

Only have an auto DD atm, what's the difference between automatic and manual driving besides the obvious shifting? I'm assuming it's when you travel in traffic/adverse conditions? Or do you just mean you'll naturally brake/accelerate without shifting?

As others said, a week of driving will get you pretty comfortable. Might be embarassing if you stall during the first few days but just start it up again and keep going, nobody is writing a comedy about your feat.

About a month. I learned on a 6 speed diesel 32,000 lb. delivery truck, and I don't think I wanna drive an automatic ever again.
Only drove total for about 3 hours a day, 3 or 4 days a week.

And then it feels even weirder to try and drive an auto again. I'm over at my Dad's and going from a manual sports car to an auto SUV with an electronic throttle is freaky.

100% natural? A year.

Do fancy advanced stuff easily? Like 8 years.

Your thought processes while driving a manual are completely different than in an auto. You have to think for everything an auto does and then some. Your driving style is completely focused on keeping momentum and more "fly by the seat of your pants".

You'll also notice some habits you've formed while driving auto are useless or detrimental when driving manual and that you actually do have more control, especially over the car's speed and acceleration.

a month of regular driving.

Manual is actually easier to drive in snow than auto.

>reach for the clutch
>foot hits the floor

I bought my first car about a month ago, a manual Integra GSR

I already knew how to drive stick so I was able to drive it OK at first. Since then I've driven it over 3000 miles across North America, and now I think I'm decent, but still have much to improve on.

People say you're good after a week or a month, but I think that's BS. Sure, that's the minimal amount where you're able to drive the damn thing, but I think it takes a year or two at least of daily driving to be able to really be able to drive stick well, and I mean *really well*. I find there is so much finesse to it, so many intricacies depending on the situation. There's heel-toeing, flawless downshifting, feathering the clutch, timing shifts based on what's up ahead or what you intend to do to balance smoothness, speed, and mileage, etc. etc. Shifting quickly is not necessarily my goal, but to be able to be perfectly smooth in every situation, that is what I always strive for. It's not quite natural to me yet, but I find that if I concentrate a bit I'm able to shift more smoothly than how an automatic feels, and I know because my friend has an auto integra. It's very rewarding when I'm able to do that consistently.

Anyway, that's my two cents regarding stick. It takes some time and effort, but it really is fun and rewarding in the long run!