Do you know how to drive a manual transmission automobile?

[TITAN308]

I can, poorly. It's that neutral to first that always gets me, once I'm actually driving, up-shifting and downshifting is easy. I'm certain it's all in my perception of things.

Its easy. What people who are trained poorly are taught like this:

"Ok, now press the gas while at the same time letting up the clutch".

This is a poor way to teach it, what they should say is:

"Ok press the gas first, then after you feel the engine revving up slowly let the clutch out".

One of my ex girlfriends had trouble getting a manual going (stalling) until I told her you don't have to perfectly time both pedals.

Gas first, then clutch.

After a couple of starts it was like riding a bike for her. Now of course when on steep hills you do have to be a little quicker, but the point remains.

You simply do not have to utilize both pedals with the same amount of pressure at the exact same time.

The easiest way to teach someone how to start going in a manual is to purposefully have them rev up to 1500-2000 rpms THEN work the clutch.

You are not going to damage the engine with a low end pre-rev doing this.

Now if you mash the gas in neutral and let it stick at the redline, sure yea, that might fuck your engine up. Generally speaking the lowest redline I've seen is like 6500rpms, so pre-revving to 1500-2000rpm is nothing.

Once it *clicks* before long you can basically match the gas and clutch perfectly without the extra revving, I just don't think peope should be taught to do this from the beginning.

[Raeph]

Had to learn while on my current job. Had to learn how to drive manual before the end of my probationary period (90 days).

Last year I was giving a chevy cruze as my company car now. automatic.

Hurray for learning a skill I'll never use again.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Its easy. What people who are trained poorly are taught like this:

"Ok, now press the gas while at the same time letting up the clutch".

This is a poor way to teach it, what they should say is:

"Ok press the gas first, then after you feel the engine revving up slowly let the clutch out".

One of my ex girlfriends had trouble getting a manual going (stalling) until I told her you don't have to perfectly time both pedals.

Gas first, then clutch.

After a couple of starts it was like riding a bike for her. Now of course when on steep hills you do have to be a little quicker, but the point remains.

You simply do not have to utilize both pedals with the same amount of pressure at the exact same time.

The easiest way to teach someone how to start going in a manual is to purposefully have them rev up to 1500-2000 rpms THEN work the clutch.

You are not going to damage the engine with a low end pre-rev doing this.

Now if you mash the gas in neutral and let it stick at the redline, sure yea, that might fuck your engine up. Generally speaking the lowest redline I've seen is like 6500rpms, so pre-revving to 1500-2000rpm is nothing.

Once it *clicks* before long you can basically match the gas and clutch perfectly without the extra revving, I just don't think peope should be taught to do this from the beginning.

When I started learning I didn't even touch the accelerator pedal, it was all about clutch control. So holding the car on the bite point, letting the clutch slip and control the speed of the car when moving off solely with the clutch. Then it was about using the accelerator to get enough revs and speed to change to 2nd. I only really pre-revved on hill starts. The car will move on its own without using the gas pedal.

[TITAN308]

When I started learning I didn't even touch the accelerator pedal, it was all about clutch control. So holding the car on the bite point, letting the clutch slip and control the speed of the car when moving off solely with the clutch. Then it was about using the accelerator to get enough revs and speed to change to 2nd. I only really pre-revved on hill starts. The car will move on its own without using the gas pedal.

The problem is if you teach a newbie that for it to work properly you have to let up the clutch while at the same time exactly give it gas, you end up with back and forth whiplash then a stalled car.

If you instill in them from the beginning the car is not going to magically blow up by pre-revving a bit to get them going I promise they will be able to start in first gear no problem within 10 minutes and be able to do it consistently moving forward.

As they get more comfortable they can kick the pre-revving habit back to just hill starts.

When my father in law tried to teach me to drive manual all them years ago I almost quit in frustration. By pure accident I figured out, "Hey wait a minute, if I pre-rev up to about 1500 rpms in 1st gear THEN slowly let out the clutch I can actually do this without stalling or jerking back and forth."

From there it was like riding a bike.

My favorite gear to this day however is going from third to fourth. Nothing like a simple shift down the middle gate of the gear box. Smoothest gear of them all, like driving an automatic.

[wtfzerg]

I know how, and I daily drove a manual RX-7 for a while, I'm just not particularly a big fan.

[Masark]

When I started learning I didn't even touch the accelerator pedal, it was all about clutch control. So holding the car on the bite point, letting the clutch slip and control the speed of the car when moving off solely with the clutch.

That was my father's method of teaching manual. Take the vehicle (a '95 F-350 diesel in my case) out to an empty parking lot and have you practise moving it forwards and backwards with nothing but the clutch and brake.

[Swizzington]

I can drive a manual. As a 17 year old in England an old manual peugeot 206 was all I could reasonably afford. It was fine. But it's effort.
Automatic is just easier. I don't get a thrill or a sense of superiority from driving a manual that some people seem to get.

As a matter of fact, in England you can't drive a manual if you don't have the proper license for it. My mum can only drive automatics. I've been told that here in the US, anyone can drive either a manual or an automatic even if they took the driving test in an auto. Like wat.

[Masark]

I've been told that here in the US, anyone can drive either a manual or an automatic even if they took the driving test in an auto. Like wat.

Yup, it works like that in Canada too.

[TITAN308]

The good thing about manuals in the USA, it serves as a passive anti-theft device.

[Tziva]

I've been told that here in the US, anyone can drive either a manual or an automatic even if they took the driving test in an auto. Like wat.

Although I think people should know how to drive stick provided they are able, I don't think this is weird. Driving tests are largely about whether you understand the laws and rules of the road and are able to abide by them. They're not really based on the functional operation of the automobile. A person who took their license jumping into a manual wouldn't suddenly forget all those things if they proved they know 'em in an auto (and, realistically, are probably just going to stall the car so often they never get anywhere anyway).

It seems unnecessary to make separate tests. People who don't know how to drive a manual, aren't.

The good thing about manuals in the USA, it serves as a passive anti-theft device.

Maybe for teenagers looking to fuck around and joy ride. People who make a living jacking cars are probably going to know how to drive stick.

[Ciddy]

I know how to drive a manual, but I've never actually had to do so. My first car at age 16 was an automatic, and my second car that I got at around age 20 and still drive today is an automatic.

I'm not a huge car/racing enthusiast, so the "it's more fun" thing about driving a stick doesn't really appeal to me.

[drwelfare]

Maybe for teenagers looking to fuck around and joy ride. People who make a living jacking cars are probably going to know how to drive stick.

Working as a garage repairman being able to drive stick is needed, when you need to move the husbands GT-500 that his wife does not know how to drive. I have to do this a couple of times a month, I drive some nice cars short distances.

[Rabbit]

Yes, I do. Not very well though mind you. I can jump in a trans car and drive someone to the hospital with very little problems.

[the game]

Everyone should learn how to drive a standard transmission.

[Muis]

Yea I can. Mostly since I have one.
Majority of cars around here are manual. Automatic ones are alot less common.

We can however get our drivers license for automatic ones if you can't drive stick, but it will only be for automatic cars - whereas if you get a normal license you are allowed to drive both obviously.

Have to admit tho, that I do fancy automatic cars lately , but thats cause I tend to have alot of traffic jams to and from work ^^

[akky]

When I started learning I didn't even touch the accelerator pedal, it was all about clutch control. So holding the car on the bite point, letting the clutch slip and control the speed of the car when moving off solely with the clutch. Then it was about using the accelerator to get enough revs and speed to change to 2nd. I only really pre-revved on hill starts. The car will move on its own without using the gas pedal.

That's how I learnt in a car 16 some years ago, I drove manual until last year sold it to buy an auto since my wife couldn't drive manual. It's also how they teach you to ride a motorbike too at the government approved training courses, hold it in place at the friction point. After that it's just practice makes perfect for changing on the move...

Edit : also looking at a new car atm, I went to a dealer the other night to look at mazda 3s and almost all of them in the yard were manual (australia).

[ranzino]

manual driver, as ususal in europe.