If I needed a 15 minute lesson on how to drive a manual car, what would I need to know?

Because if you start in 1st, your car will only go 30 mph tops.

but wouldn't you start in 1st and go to 2nd?

You have to choose a gear and stay there until the car is restarted. That's why you sometimes see little areas where you can pull over before on ramp to highway. Most people use 5th gear on Highway and 1 is only used for short runs up steep hills.

R is racing mode like one user mentioned. To go backwards in a manual you can just roll.

To come to a complete stop, put in clutch and brake. In an emergency stop you can't just slam the brakes while in gear and clutch engaged or you'll 'hop' forward and kill it.

I'm always amazed at people who explain how to 'go' first. If I'm riding along teaching someone to drive manual I want to be sure they know how to safely stop before o show them how to go.

please don't make OP kill his car... or self

>Clutch in, start engine
>With clutch still in, put it in first
>Give it a little gas, slowly release the clutch
>Clutch in to shift gears
>Clutch in and brake to stop
>Good job you're driving stick

Seriously. There's some troll shit in this thread.

Dude, you do it wrong, car will reset if you not stepping on gas all the way

I learned to drive on a manual Isuzu Tracker. But that was 12-13 years ago and I haven't driven a manual since.

Who gives a shit what you believe? You can start driving manual in a couple of hours, learn reliably operate it within a couple of weeks and gradually achieve precision and smoothness over months.

This idiot is baiting you so hard - don't listen to him.

Manual is intuitive, so trust your gut.
>You only reach 30mph in 1st
Partly true - you don't stay in 1st gear if you want to reach high speeds; 1st gear is to move out of place.

It's impossible/very hard to move out of place in 2nd as you need a high amount of revs (more than is healthy for the engine and clutch).

>R is like racing mode
Also, "R" is not racing mode - it's reverse.

>You have to choose a gear and stay there until the car is restarted
Absolutely retarded - the whole idea is that you change gears up or down depending on your speed or incline.

It depends on the car, really. Starting in 2nd isn't a problem for most V8's, for example - it'll take you a little longer to accelerate but you won't stall like or lug the engine like a mofo like you would with, say, a turbocharged 4 cylinder.

Know how it works, know what to do. With enough prior knowledge like when to shift and what you can get away with you will make a good effort in 15 min and probably do pretty well after some more practice with city driving. It's really not hard, you only need to know what to do.

Same guy here, how to *actually* drive manual:

>Press clutch in fully, turn ignition until car turns on
>While the clutch is still pressed in, move the gear stick into 1st (you cannot change gears without pressing in the clutch)
>Find the biting point of the clutch in order to move off (the point at which you begin to depress the clutch and the rev counter is at 1-2k
This is different for all cars, most of the time it's 1k
>To move off, slowly let up the clutch until your car begins to move, then begin to slowly accelerate as you let up the clutch
This takes over once you let up the clutch
As the clutch comes up, the accelerator comes down. NOTE: If you let up the clutch too fast, then your car stalls - this part takes most practice, and is different for every single clutch and car, so make sure to practice.
>Once you're moving in 1st, use the accelerator to build speed, and switch to 2nd gear (when your revs hit 2-3k) by taking your foot off the accelerator, pressing the clutch in, and shift the gear.
You can normally judge by sound, or once the rev counter doesn't move anymore, but you don't want to go above 3k, definitely not 4k.
>Same procedure applies for moving up or down gears - foot off accelerator, clutch pedal in, switch gear, clutch pedal out, then accelerate.
Keep in mind, letting up the clutch up and balancing with acceleration is only required for 1st gear.

And that's pretty much the basics - practice, get used to your car's clutch, how early it bites etc.
The way the clutch works is that the clutch consists of two plates that transfers the power from your engine to the axle. When you press the clutch in, the plates seperate and there is no power being fed. When you let up the clutch and leave it, the plates are connected and power is transferred (see diagram).

Yeah, but you shouldn't be doing that - it's bad. Sure, it may work but that's not how it's intended and will be detrimental. There's a reason 2nd gear is called 2nd gear; who the fuck starts in 2nd unironically?

Lazy burgers who learned how to manual on 4chin do this.

lol, A+ for the effort. But describing how to drive a manual through a wall of text will never work.

I can start from 2nd in my 1999 gc8 v4 boxer engine

I saw there was a simple version in this thread, figured I'd provide a detailed version if the OP prefers that.

But driving is not something you can study for - it's something you try. The text is to know it works, and the rest is practice.

Stop man, you are going to kill someone.

Thanks for proving my point for me.

>>Find the biting point of the clutch in order to move off (the point at which you begin to depress the clutch and the rev counter is at 1-2k

And you already failed. Only n00bs start with zero gas

all these tryhards

some people just know how to do things

innately.

I'm going to say what I wasn't told while learning and should have been told.

To get going from a stop in first and not stall out you need to press the gas before you start to release the clutch. Rev it to 1500 rpm and hold it there. Then slowly release the clutch. The important part is to hold it at the biting point for a good 3-4 seconds to bring the driving wheels and drivetrain up to speed with the engine. Then release it.

>, but you don't want to go above 3k, definitely not 4k.
Why not?

>3-4
Are you retarded? You don't drop the clutch the second it starts to move but count four seconds in your head, that's way too long.

youtube.com/watch?v=waeOibnmuJk

Looks like someone has to go back to the basics : )

The short answer is that it's bad for your engine/clutch.

The long answer is that being in high revs for longer than needed or possible causes excessive wear and will result in a reduced life of your clutch and will emit more emissions while driving as you burn through more fuel. The reason why multiple gears exist and why more have been added over the years (and continue to still) is so that a car can travel at high speeds using low rpms. You could in theory only use a maximum of 3rd gear (the highest possible forward gear during the 60s or so) and you could go at whatever speeds, but you'll need a high(er) number of rpms to achieve the same workload to provide the same amount of power than a higher gear, which is more efficient.

The difference in gears and why you're taught to be in low gear when going up/down a hill is because low gears provide high torque and low speed to your wheels, whereas high gears provide low torque, high speed; this is why you crawl up a steep hill in a low gear than try to race up in a high gear; high gears won't provide the torque (turning power) needed to crawl up the hill needed.

Hmm what if I want to take it to a track and do some racing. I have peak horsepower at about 6500 rpm

Most cars that have more than 1 ft-lb of Torque can start in second just fine. It's third that's hard on it, and when I was learning I found myself trying to start in third a lot because the synchros were kind of worn out on first and it would slide off to third instead.

I forgot to add that it's bad if it's for extended periods of time, as opposed to racing where you spike to 6-7k for short bursts.

But racing isn't great for your car either desu

But you shouldn't be starting in 2nd or 3rd. Yes, it's doable but not healthy.
>Synchros were kind of worn out
because of retards like you who start in 2nd

I'm not that other guy, I don't start in second. Also that would wear out the clutch more, not the synchros, since you have to shift into first or second to start anyway, and you're not moving so the synchros' job is easier.

Just bee urself :^)

Here you are
>Steps to git gud at stick
>Written by a drunk burger

Step 0(Empty space)
>Find an empty parking lot or somewhere with lots of space for you to fuck around
>Even better if it has a flat section and a slight hill somewhere
>Find spectators so they can laugh as you fail to do the next steps

Step1 (Learn bite point)
>let out clutch slowly till car starts to creep forward
>Get car moving on flat surface without using throttle
>Do this without stalling out

Step 2 (Throttle control)
>Now that you know where clutch grabs
>Same as step one but use throttle this time
>Slowly add throttle as you are letting clutch out (how much throttle depends car to car)
>Repeat until you can go from stopped to moving without being jerky as fuck

Step 3 (Hill Starts)
>Learn to do step 2 while on an incline without rolling backwards
>This is pretty much the same as step 2 but you will roll backwards if you are not fast enough
>add throttle while getting to bite point quickly

(Bitchmode Hillstarts)
>Usehandbrake to prevent rolling backwards
>Same as step 3

Step 4 (Downshifting)
>Learn what the RPM difference between gears
>Learn to blip throttle for desired RPM
>Match RPM with gear you want
>Go down 1 gear (5th-4th/4th-3rd)
>I'm almost a racecar driver mode down 2 gears on one blip
>Practice till you can do this not jerky as fuck

Step 5(Pracetice Practice Practice)
>Go drive
>Go drive more
>Keep doing all these things till you can do them without thinking about it

Step 6 (I'm fucking Dagumi now)
>Now that you can drive and are not jerky as fuck
>Heel Toe Dopwnshift
>Same as step 4
>Left half of ball of foot on brake
>While pushing brake either roll side of foot to blip throttle or twist and use heel to blip throttle (depends on car and pedal distance/setup) do whatever works for you there isnt a right way to do it
>Get the gear you want
>you now down a gear/slowed down and ready to go WOT out of the turn.
>foot off brake and onto throttle

>Press the clutch fully.
>Slowly release the clutch.
>At some point, tone of your engine noise will change noticeably. This is the point where the clutch has just enough "bite" to transfer the power from the engine to the wheels for the car to move forward.
>If you release clutch at his point without accelerating car will either creep forwards or stall, depending on the torque figure of the engine.
>Slowly push down the throttle, car will slowly move, slowly take your foot of the clutch.

>It's impossible/very hard to move out of place in 2nd as you need a high amount of revs
I could literally get my 1997 Golf going from a dead stop in 5th using nothing but the clutch. Git gud at clutch control.

Sure the engine, transmission, gearbox and pretty much everything else won't like it but it's far from impossible to start in 2nd. I lost count of the amount of times I accidentally set off in 3rd the first couple months I had my license.

You sound like a shit rider.

Never drove a manual but I know how it works through my G27.

What are the chances of me stalling if I were to actually drive one?

100%
Everyone stalls when learning and even experienced drivers still sometimes stall, especially if they're in a new car. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Just turn it back on and try again. You can always use more throttle.

Doesn't apply to every car. As mentioned above, most v8 cars with decent low end torque can start in 2nd every bit as easily as a 4 banger econobox starting in 1st. Have previously owned a 5th gen ls3 camaro, and now own a base c6 ls3 with a centrifugal neither car struggles at all to start in 2nd. Even 3rd isnt that bad but is certainly starting to lug a bit.

Clutch and gas until you get it. A few hill starts. Changing from first to second, then to third. And then stop/go traffic and evening it out with coasting. If there's time, shifting for efficiency and smoothness versus shifting for power and acceleration.
Honestly, you need about an hour to learn the basics of manual gearboxes properly. Two if you've got bad automatic habits.

>It took me 2 days to learn how to shift smoothly and take off on a bike.
Jesus fuck. Mandatory bike training is one day here in the UK; half basic instruction, half road riding to get comfortable. The only trouble I had was starting off without stalling, but I got enough of a hang of it to pass.
Still kinda dodgy with startups.

You don't need to hold the clutch in if your car isn't idiot-proofed because of americans.
You CAN change gears without the clutch, but don't. Never ever do that, it shreds the gears.

Play with the clutch and gas until you get the hang of the way the car moves. Your backside and your hand on the gearstick are the best ways of telling what the engine is doing.

Cont'd. No doubt starting in 2nd is slower, but if I'm just going stoplight to stoplight, I don't need the rapid acceleration of first and it saves a gear change in between lights.

I don't doubt that they can, but why would you? Stop being lazy, save yourself a clutch replacement and start in 1st gear you auto nigger

How do I drive a manual fast?

>Select high gear
>Put foot down on accelerator until you reach desired speed
If you have trouble figuring out how to do this, several anons have written a guide itt

>learn clutch bite point
>accept that you will stall
>practice rolling stop and hill starts
>practice
im now month 3 on a manual and loving it.

How do I know what RPM to shift from 1st to 2nd?

Depends on the car, you get a feel for it. Between 2-3k probably.

Depends on what you want.
If you want economy, you shift into 2nd after moving 2 car lengths from the start, at about 2k revs.
If you want to drag race, do it a tick before you hit redline.

Varies from car to car. Some you want to shift at 2k, 3k or somewhere in that threshold. You can normally tell either by sound and/or when the rpm needle still increases but at a slower pace.

Most drivers including me who drive manual do it by sound. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch literally any racing/car video anywhere and listen for acceleration and the increase in pitch, which then drops to a lower pitch when the driver changes gears.

This dude does a good enough impression: youtu.be/U9T-vgtcpN0?t=42s

As the "F1 Car" leaves the "pit lane", you'll hear an increase in pitch, a pause, increase in pitch, pause, increase in pitch etc. - that's moving up in gears. You hear it happen fast because F1 Cars accelerate so fast they switch gears a lot because they hit a high rev number (when they should be switching) pretty fast.

>Revs climbing, pitch increases
*shift* pitch drops to blow
>Revs climbing, pitch increases
*shift*
You get the idea. However, if you max out your revs you will hear a constant high pitch or if you hit the red zone (any supercar when revving in first) you will hear the pitch fluctuate - that's when you shift, as you don't want to stay at that rpm for too long as it strains your clutch.

Also, that "bouncing" pitch you hear in some cars (normally high end) at high rpms is because they have a rev limiter installed: youtube.com/watch?v=VmuyouTK2iQ

Please provide proof that you use notably more clutch taking off in 2nd than taking off in 1st AND shifting to 2nd combined. You're not going to find it because it doesn't matter.

Let me guess, you also shift through every single gear getting up to speed too, right? Just because it has 6 gears (or 7 or 8 or however many cars are getting up to now) doesn't mean you have to use every one....

You won't find it because that makes zero sense, learn how a clutch works.

STFU, either you're a shitty driver, or have never driven one.

It take less than a month to be proficient at it, less than a few hours to learn how to get moving.

Shit like Revmatching, double clutching, etc does take a few months however.

If you're doing it right, 1st to 2nd is less strain on the entire powertrain, ya dingus.

I had to screen cap this, I couldn't stop laughing.

>high gears won't provide the torque (turning power) needed to crawl up the hill needed.
i'm still a new to driving manuals

how do I determine the optimal gear/throttle with inclined roads? I know that my speeds drops down with the same throttle if I stay in 4th as the road inclines up so I just drop down to 3rd.

thing is how much gas do I actually use in comparison if I drop down to 3rd like that (and end up hitting 3K-4K rpm) instead of just adding gas in 4th gear (and still staying within 2K-3K rpm). Is RPM = gas used or is there more to it? Can't really use pedal foot feel when it's throttle by wire anyways.

>how do I determine the optimal gear/throttle with inclined roads?
you get it from feel and practice. if it feels like engine is bogging drop a gear.

OP if you have to read one post in this thread read this one It is detailed and accurate. There are a lot of guys trying to get you to ruin your car by giving bad advice so don't read the other posts. Only that one

yeah but if the rpms go higher when I drop a gear, don't I end up using more gas?

Maybe in my cases I might as well stay in 4th gear and just give gas if I don't need to accelerate that fast anyways?

your optimal and my optimal are different.

unless you are lugging the engine it wont really matter you just wont accelerate as fast if you leave it in a higher gear. If you are just cruising along then it doesn't really matter.

It took me about 4 days to be able to be safe in traffic, and about 2 weeks to get good and clean

This desu. Lower gears have higher acceleration and lower top speeds so waiting until almost redline gives you the most acceleration. This is at the cost of fuel efficiency but who cares.

>The long answer is that being in high revs for longer than needed or possible causes excessive wear and will result in a reduced life of your clutch

Wrong.

The clutch ONLY wears when your foot is on the pedal, and most cars are designed to go above 3 or 4k, with very little wear to the engine.

If you don't understand how a clutch works then you need to shut your pie hole.

rip the ebrake and pow over

>lugging the engine
is this when the engine makes a low/deep sound when the rpms get too low (slowing down/braking) at a higher gear? I figured that was obviously a detrimental sound so I just downshift.

But say I'm already at 3K rpm in 4th gear, it's ok to accelerate from there right? I'm still in my 1st month of manual so I'm just going to say fuck gas mileage for now.

Took me 20km to be safe in traffic and get hill starts. I'm up to 35km and still learning. Right now I'm working on smoothing it out and slipping the clutch less. You must be a retard.

Just as I thought, Veeky Forums doesn't actually know how to drive manual.

I bet none of you even own a car, let alone a manual one.

Don't listen to a single one of these idiots OP, they don't know what they're talking about.

Just listen to the engine
When it sounds uncomfortable, shift up

My dad has a 1987 Toyota Supra Turbo with 6k miles on it in perfect condition, original tires too. He's going to give it to me and Idk how to drive manual so I plan on learning soon. What's the best way to learn if you don't have any buddies with a manual? Should I go to hertz and rent one for a week? I don't want to fuck up the Supra.

in the country i live everyone has a manual car, an automatic one is very rare and more expensive

life is truly different in America

not true, if you are driving a 2.0 liter plus diesel you don't need revs

just gotta be gentle with the clutch