I unironically never tried driving stick. Apparently a lot of people starting out have a hard time just getting going, but it's the downshifting, braking, and stopping that sounds difficult to me.
So what is actually the hardest part about driving a manual?
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Learning how to drive manual
driving manual without making your passengers hate life
Using the goddamn clutch pedal.
just shift in your cars rev range you dolt, that way your car dosent jerk when you shift gears
Everyone I've ever taught how to drive manual does the same thing: once they start to engage the clutch, and the car starts moving, they take their foot off the clutch and buck the car like an angry bull. The movement is smooth ALL the way out.
I'm going to summarize what you need to do when driving stick.
When starting: Give it a little gas, let out the clutch slowly until you feel grip / resistance. At that point let out the clutch a tiny bit more and keep it there, maybe give it a little bit more gas. After 2-3 seconds let out the clutch fully. Congrats you got it rolling, reverse is the same except you go the other way.
To upshift just slam the clutch put in the next gear and let the clutch out, faster than when you start, but don't let it snap, the higher gear you are in / want to go to the faster you can let the clutch out.
Downshifting for beginners (without revmatching) is the same as upshifting, except the other way and you need to be much slower with the clutch.
If you want to come to a stop keep the clutch in, put it in neutral, then you can put it in neutral, don't keep the clutch in while waiting for a stoplight.
When parking leave it in first (remember to turn it off before letting your foot off the clutch) AND use the handbrake.
Any questions?
even my mom can drive manual.
kids today.
just kill yourself.
Uphill starts are the hardest, especially for beginners.
Shifting is easy, although knowing when to shift may not be obvious at first.
Stopping is the easiest, just shift into neutral as your RPMs start to drop. Don't listen to spergs who tell you to cycle down through the gears to stop.
Learning hillstarts.
Is it worth learning manual if assholes cut you off as I heard you are suppose to leave some space between you and the car in front of you?
Other way around. If you're on a hill and somebody is on your ass you can roll back into them if you're not paying attention.
If you are driving it in traffic all day just get an automatic. Stop and go traffic will rape your clutch and make you want to kill yourself.
There are no hills here in Florida so I can get over that but there is constant stop and go traffic.
Guess my next car will be another automatic.
I live in Los Angeles and drive a manual. Stop and go traffic isn't that bad.
>Stop and go traffic isn't that bad
I can't think of a place without stop and go traffic unless you work on a farm.
Rush hour is brutal for me.
Live in SF. I never owned a manual car, but would it be less infuriating if I had a car with an "easy" clutch? Based on my understanding and assumptions, a light clutch that provides good feedback without being overly numb or stiff, yet still engaging. I forgot what car I tried to learn on, but the clutch just felt like a on/off switch and could not figure it out. I have no clue what cars are considered easy to drive, except maybe miatas.
Hill starts. Feathering the throttle and the clutch at the same time. Takes some practice to get it right, but once you do it's like riding a bicycle, you never forget.
>tfw so used a 5 speed and bought a 6 speed i sometimes still go into 6th to reverse.
Still, a clutch job is cheaper than an auto tranny rebuild. And in theory you can replace the clutch yourself, even if all you have are Harbor Freight jackstands and tools. Do it out on the street, like a Mexican.
If an auto tranny goes, it's $$$$$$$$$ and it usually has to be sent away to get it rebuilt.
Same thing with a manual. Unless you're abusing the thing, I've never seen a manual tranny need to get rebuilt, ever. I'm sure someone will pipe saying "nuh-uh I've seen one get rebuilt" but compared to auto trannies, your typical manual is rock solid reliable.
>braking and stopping
You literally just put the clutch in and press the brake. That's it. You can try engine braking if you want (where you shift into lower gears and let the clutch off so that the engine slows the car down), but it's by no means a necessity.
>doesn't explain to the clearly retarded Mexican why phone no work
>gets pissed when retarded Mexican doesn't grasp the concept of why phone no work
Maybe he should do his fucking job.
Cars are easy try driving a 10 or 15 speed in city limits. I used to drive my focus without the clutch but I would not suggest this to a beginner you can seriously damage your transmission. One thing I have found that helps even in smaller vehicles when you go to down shift rev the engine up a little while the clutch is in. Because the engine RPM is up it is a smoother shift into your lower gear as the engine and tranny are closer to being synchronized in speed. Practice is the only way to learn it, stay on flat land until you are comfortable.
It's literally not even a thing I think about when driving in rush hour, or ever.
Manual becomes second nature eventually.
For hills, just use your e-brake to help out if it's a hand one which it probably will be. Engage it enough to hold your car in place and disengage it once you have the clutch pedal released enough that the car is pulling itself up.
>Any questions?
I have a question, I'm actually attending a driving school right now and the instructor guy never asked me to use gas when starting, I'm only put it in first and start by releasing the clutch. But I keep hearing about using gas to start, it really bothers me. Maybe he just doesn't want to make me do to much stuff simultaneously when I'm not on public roads.
Using only the clutch is the best way to learn, as it'll teach you to be smooth rather than just booting it and burning up your clutch.
You can give it some gas once you hit the clutch's biting point, but not using the gas is the best way to find that biting point.
>If you want to come to a stop keep the clutch in, put it in neutral, then you can put it in neutral, don't keep the clutch in while waiting for a stoplight.
Why is this I never knew
I was always told that it was OK to hold the clutch in at a stop light with the car in gear or in neutral
Anyone got an answer?
Your foot will get tired. If it's a short stop, then hold the pedal, for longer stops put it in neutral. Whatever feels comfortable to you. Keeping the pedal fully pressed doesn't wear out your clutch because it's not connected to to anything with the pedal pressed.
>Stop and go traffic will rape your clutch and make you want to kill yourself.
Only if you suck ass at driving manual
Same, I don't even think about it. I can only see it being an issue in a car that has a really stiff clutch or something.
An "easy" clutch usually just means less resistance when depressing the pedal. Feedback is really only an issue when you're first feeling the car out, and it involves more than the clutch itself (suspension, motor/trans mounts, cabin insulation etc). Once you learn where that bite point is, you just remember it.
Rather than changing cars, it might be easier to start out in an empty, flat parking lot or something similar that will allow you to start the car rolling with just the clutch, with less going on around you so you can concentrate on feeling the car.
What said. Once you get the routine down, you can use the gas to get off the line a bit faster. When you're just starting to learn, though, too much gas too early can smoke the clutch or spin the tires.
Also, some vehicles are easier than others to get moving without the gas- it depends on the car's power and the ratio of its first gear. Underpowered cars tend to be more difficult to get rolling without a bit of gas.
Holding the clutch down unnecessarily doesn't put any additional wear on the clutch, but it does slightly increase wear on the throwout bearing.
It wears out your throwout bearing. At least that's what I was told. I don't actually know if holding it in more will wear out the throwout bearing faster than your clutch will wear out normally though.
Trying not to look like a creep while smiling
Easier said than done in city driving.
You just have to time that shit in perfectly
It just takes practice. Bought a manual Mazda6 a few days ago, and it's my first manual vehicle I've driven. 5 days into ownership and I feel comfortable to drive mostly anywhere. Only thing that makes me nervous is ridiculously steep starts. Be prepared to have the cunt soccer moms in the honda CRV's bitching and squawking while honking their horns the second the light turns green. It does get annoying.
I live in LA too, and all I drive are sticks.
But I don't commute either, so my left knee still works.
hold the brake, start releasing the clutch slowly, when you feel the slightest shaking in the car, release brake and gas gently
driving a manuel really really sucks
i drive manuel for a year now and still ocacionally stall on launch.
It could also be my shitty cars clutch or the fact that its just slow.
FUCKING SUCKS
also shifting makes me cringe as it kills my clutch
this guy is a downy, please ignore.
My Grandmother drives stick and always has.
And so has my Mother and my sister and every other girl I know about.
Dealing with all the people that think that driving manual is somehow special, or hard.
>Stop and go traffic will rape your clutch and make you want to kill yourself.
Stop and go traffic makes me want to kill myself because it's stop and go, not because I'm driving a manual. Fucking Americans, I swear. Why are you all so retarded when it comes to manual vs automatic?
It's timing and coordination. Muscle memory.
It just takes practice, and putting in the time and actually IMPROVING as you go is the difficult part.
This is how I downshift. It just makes sense, otherwise the ride isn't as smooth as you let out the clutch (no matter how slowly) and you start to get that floaty feeling.
How to drive a manuel ferrara?
The hardest part is learning how to get past 1st.
Once you get the hang of not stalling, it's pretty straightforward.
Believe it or not, the mechanics of shifting through gears is easier than getting rolling smoothly.
Once you're moving, it's cake.
Shifting up? Cake
Shifting down? Cake, except slightly more mental processing to do it smoothly
Getting going is where it is difficult.
Here's how to learn it:
>Find an empty parking lot
>Have someone else drive you/their manual car there
>Hop in
>Press clutch in all the way while holding brake pedal down
>Shift into 1st
>Let off the brake
>Let off the clutch SSSLLLOOOWWWLLLYYY
>Make it a personal contest- how slow can you let out of the clutch...
>Do that 20-30 times, absolutely NO GAS
Is this how you drive normally? God no. This just helps you develop the muscle memory for the friction point
Once you are comfortable with the friction point, try finding a happy medium of gas + clutch to take off faster and smoother. We're talking 1/4" or less of gas pedal movement.
Do not increase speed until you are comfortable doing so
If it is jerky, you're probably modulating one pedal at a time and releasing the clutch too quickly. Try to move both evenly once you're at the friction point.
When you get really good at cruising around normally, then introduce rpm matching on downshifts.
It's a debatably-important skill to know.
>Be in 3rd or 4th gear
>Let out of gas
>Push in clutch
>Shift into 1 lower gear
>Give a quick blip of throttle
>Release clutch to "catch" the tach right at the new rpm
>Super smooth downshift
It's easier to practice this at lower rpms where you really can't fuck things up.
Do not attempt it at higher rpms until you're comfortable with it.
Back when I had my motorcycles, this was second nature to prevent the rear tire from sliding out from behind me when I approached a curve too quickly.
In the same boat OP, except I have to learn how to do this in the narrow-ass rice field-lined alleys of rural japan in a 14 year old k-car.
Ive noticed that whenever I shift from 2nd into 3rd the whole car tends to rumble a bit (I'm usually going around 30 kph when I shift)
Anyway the hardest part is getting started from a stop, especially if you have to do it multiple times in quick succession (IE in traffic).
Braking and stopping is easy (I think,), what I do is I stay in gear and press the brake until the car starts to shudder, then press in on the clutch and shift to neutral (if I'm at a light) or first if it's a stop sign.
I can go from Point A to B pretty decently after a few days of practice but it's far from smooth, I still often jerk when I'm getting started or when I switch gears. And to park I have to reverse up a hill, and so far every time I've tried to do it I've stalled at least once.
All said, I think i'm beginning to understand why they say driving manual is more fun than automatic, especially when you get to the higher gears.
Pic related, what I'm driving
ITT: Retards who think its hard or it's something you can't learn in an afternoon and elitist retards who want it to seem hard so they can feel better about themselves
Can you learn how to drive stick in an afternoon? Sure.
But can you learn how to drive a stick WELL in an afternoon?
the hardest part is not having jerky shifts.
I dunno but whenever I have passengers, my rev matches are always off
nah i think its muscle control
Just drive manual for a week and you'll be ok at it, unless you're really shit for some reason
>Holding the clutch down unnecessarily doesn't put any additional wear on the clutch, but it does slightly increase wear on the throwout bearing.
How about you just put it on neutral while holding the clutch down? then put it on 1st when the crawl starts again?
heel toe
there's no reason to press down on the clutch if the car is in neutral anyway
well you remove depressing the clutch so you can move quickly
>amerifats think driving a manual is hard
kek
>He doesn't redline his car and dump the shit out of the clutch
i did this and I had terrible wheel spin and tire squeealing. How do I avoid it?
If you are learning on a diesel, it's much easier if you are not using gas, then petrol engines. Also much harder with the smoothness. One thing it doesn't teach you is timing gas/clutch
The hardest things are
- Rev matching
- Clutchless shifting
- Heel toe
Bonus: I cannot double clutch for the life of me. My brain goes complete blank when I try it.
>Clutchless shifting
>Heel toe
>Double clutch
Holy shit do you actually think the memes are real?
There is literally no point in any of this unless you're racing, and even then only heel toe is an actually used technique.
>Clutchless shifting
>Double clutching
Gearboxes are not made for this and it's both retarded and copletely pointless
The hardest part was when youre going to junction and you have to brake, clutch, change gear, use blinkers, but now Im not even thinking about it.
Practise makes perfect
I am not saying any of these are important/relevant/useful. I am saying that they are hard. Both double shifting and clutchless shifting are completely pointless in a modern transmission.
you are actually allowed to drive stick without having passed a test for it?
i germany you can have two types of license
one for auto and stick
and one just for auto
Oh god germanbro, we let women and faggy dudes drive cars without telling them the car isn't a magical machine that doesn't need any maintenance whatsoever, let alone drive a standard.
In America they barely need to take a test to drive anything at all
im kinda jealous
ill have to take an extra test to drive anything above 3,5 tons
and motorcycles
and trailers
and basically anything that is interisting to drive
and they all require me to take expensive lessons
my normal license cost me around 1000 euros
This. Plus remember to push the clutch in when you go to stop are the most common problems.
In mt province in Canada it's one license for both but there are three stages
Written test -> G1 (learner's permit) -> Level 1 road test -> G2 (restricted license) -> Level 2 road test -> Full License
>two fucking road tests
Jesus Christ, what did you do to deserve that?
I do a bit of rev matching in my everyday driving. It's fun to do and makes downshifts way smoother.
OP, never put the car in neutral and coast. If you're doing speeds above 50-60km/h, down shift.
>Other way around. If you're on a hill and somebody is on your ass you can roll back into them if you're not paying attention.
Jesus Christ. You have two options in this scenario:
1. Use the handbrake so you don't have to worry about rolling back, and release it when you're ready to go.
2. Give the engine enough gas after you release the brake and while you're releasing the clutch.
Out of all of Veeky Forums's complaints regarding manuals, this one baffles me the most.
That wears out your clutch too quickly. Just use the handbrake.
Probably lots of drunken teenagers killing themselves and others.
As a Canadian: most drivers in Canada are incompetent fuckwits.
the second one is identical to the first with the addition of a highway driving portion
supposedly this three-tiered system has reduced accidents and improved driving skills and etc etc etc
In the US it's pretty much just a normal license or a motorcycle license for normal everyday drivers.
The rest of the licensing is mostly just for commercial trucks.
What's really bullshit is some 90 year old fuck can get behind the wheel of a massive RV towing a Jeep behind it with a normal Class C license.
Just practice really, I am from the UK and pretty much everyone here learns to drive in a manual.
I have never owned an automatic car, so I just do it without thinking now. Trick is not to use loads of revs and slip the clutch when setting off as that will wear it out. Clutches should last a long time, my car is on 145k and on the original. Rev matching is really easy and becomes second nature on downshifts too, you just blip the throttle while the clutch is in and you are downshifting, then it is much smoother.
I actually find it harder to drive an automatic now, I keep remembering to keep my left foot planted on the carpet. Learned that the hard way after going for the clutch without thinking in one of my Dad's cars and slamming the brakes on by mistake. Also feels strange not having engine braking in an auto. Will stick to manual as I prefer it, and no it isn't a hassle in traffic.
>what is actually the hardest part about driving a manual
When you get into your other pickup, and try to find the clutch in a panic situation, only to remember its auto...
Accidental full force left foot braking when you forget you're driving an automatic
Can confirm, Albertafag here and everyone is horrible at driving.
Honda and Volkswagen have some of the best feeling manuals out there.
I'm learning now. The hard part is constantly fucking up and having the car jump, skip, and jerk forward and you just know you're fucking up the transmission, but you have to learn some how. I got a 2004 base Mustang cause if I'm gonna fuck up a car, it might as well be a POS, then when I get good, I can actually invest in something.
You aren't actually fucking up the transmission dude don't stress about it
>sees one person's post
>"all Americans are retarded and incapable of driving stick"
good meme. at least we can afford gas here..
fuck that, all my friends tell me i drive effortlessly in my stick shift car. some even said they didnt know i had a manual until i told them or i moved their leg from hitting the fifth gear zone. even my friend with a beater 80s truck doesnt shift terribly
i have a friend who cant rev match to save his life (poor clutch), every shift is a jerk, even in city driving
i daily drive a manual in los angeles. its difficulty and annoyance is greatly exaggerated. i will always drive a manual car and will always prefer it.
the hardest part is basically just mastering it. it takes a couple days to a week to get on the road, but a couple months to really get it to your 6th sense. once you think you know it, you dont. but its fucking awesome.
>find old shitbox no one cares about (optional)
>find local hill
>start
>then stop
>repeat 30 times
that's how I learned to drive a manual when I was 12, takes less than 30 minutes
most of Veeky Forums is autistic and probably scared of revving too high because someone could notice them.
this is satire right? no one is that reatrded right?
When you push your foot on the clutch, the throwout bearing is used to pull the clutch back and hold it there, and it is just gonna keep wearing and wearing. Granted, it'll take a while, but eventually it will fuck up.
I like the shift pattern on my 6 speed cruze can literally never happen. Reverse is to the left of first and you have to pull the ring on the lever to go into reverse
My dad did the opposite and ripped it into reverse from 5th on the freeway. Needless to say the car was completely fucked up after that.
Honestly I think this layout is pretty stupid unless the car does something to prevent you from putting it in R. I've never had a problem with it myself but it is like a trap for people who are used to 6-speed.
honestly driving a manual is pretty easy but getting to grips with the clutch is 90% of learning to drive a car imo
actually no you don't
you brake, only depressing the clutch before you come to a stop to avoid stalling or to select an appropriate gear for your speed. this is literally also engine braking btw, it's more efficient braking in gear than it is in neutral (which is what you are in if the clutch is depressed)
lol this
havent been for me. but thats cause my auto rolled back on hills.
I've been driving stick about a month and I brought my car to the dealer and he parked it in first gear. I was wondering why until I brought it somewhere else and they parked it in first too. I stalled right in the lot because I never noticed. I always pop it into neutral with the handbrake up.
Why do people park it in 1st? Is it bad I park in neutral?
Because if the hand brake fails the car won't roll away. Like sticking an automatic in park instead of neutral.
I always leave mine in gear, friend of mine left his car on a hill in neutral and came out in the morning to find it had rolled away and through a shop window. That was an insurance nightmare, almost faced criminal charges
>make it so the reverse gear is blocked unless the brakes are fully engaged
problem solved