# How was your experience learning to drive manual?



## theseshackles (Apr 23, 2011)

Today has been my second day of driving lessons, and of course the inevitable has happened. The part I hate the most is when I have to make a stop. Sometimes I don't sink the clutch pedal in time and the car will stall, but it's not as bad as when I have to move off. Moving off from first gear is really tricky and I have stalled about two times. 

I understand that you have to synchronize releasing the clutch pedal and applying gas. But the pedals are really sensitive and sometimes I release the clutch pedal too quickly and stall the car.

That's my main problem, learning to release the clutch pedal slowly and smoothly. I am not beating up myself about it as it's only my second day.

I would like feedback on how the experience was for you, and how long it took to become accustomed to driving manual. Automatic drivers, feel free to input.

Thanks.


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## NaturalLogOfZero (Sep 29, 2010)

I was terrified to learn to drive so I started off with automatic. My first car was auto and I drove it for almost 3 years before I needed a newer one. I had gone a few times with my mum to learn during the three years. The first time I was nervous and I had a hard time getting it up to speed. I would always forget to engage the clutch when I was slowing down. I was never that confident with it so I just stuck with driving my car. 

But 4-5 months ago I bought my new car, which was manual, I drove it home by myself (first time driving manual in a year). I pretty much tough myself how to do it there and then. I had looked online for a few guides that really helped out with the fundamentals. It's all about feel. 

It probably helped that I was already comfortable driving before learning to drive manual. But its way more fun! You can be more efficient and drive a lot faster. Once I accepted that it's okay to stall every once in awhile I was fine. The only time I stall now is trying to get into my garage or reversing to correct a shodding parking job.

Once you learn the transition point, you should be okay.
It took me about a week to drive competently and about 2 to drive confidently.


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## revoltra (May 26, 2011)

I started out learning with my mom which just went badly. We just stress each other out and I had a major anxiety attack. After that my dad took over the lessons and it went better (we actually left the parking lot). But it was only for a few times.

My mom is really pushing me to get my license, but It's not a priority for me right now. I have way to much anxiety to even function as a normal person. So for me it's something I've put on ice for now.


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## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

Assuming you've got the hang of where the bite point is on the clutch and don't need to spend ages finding it every time you use it, you're probably stalling on starts because you're being too cautious with the clutch and too conservative with the throttle or opening it too late. It's only important to be smooth with the clutch, as long as you open up the throttle adequately and at the right time (as soon as you hit the bite point, or pre-emptively opening it a little just before then to stop the revs from dipping), you can release it almost instantly. If anything, being slow on the clutch is less smooth than being quick.

Watch an experienced driver and notice how they're off the clutch and on the throttle in one instant motion. As soon as I stopped spending 10 seconds bring the clutch pedal up, worrying about stalling at every start and started doing the whole thing in one motion, my gear changes and starts went from really jerky to flawless.

Also, put your clutch on long before you come to a stop. Has your car got a tachometer? If so, get used to the sound of the engine at different speeds (engine speed not car speed obviously) looking at that, and start using your ears to figure out when to put the clutch on when you're stopping and when to shift.

BTW, some people will tell you ride the clutch when parking/sitting at lights going uphill or in traffic. NEVER, EVER do this. If you need to go slowly, ride the brake (left-foot braking) and if you need to balance the car uphill, just put your brakes on (if you're awesome and use the pedal instead of relying on the handbrake for all starts, just release it, immediately release the clutch and open the throttle wide at the same time when you need to move). You have brakes for a reason, and they're cheaper to replace than clutches.


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## Steelfox (Nov 10, 2003)

My experience was very short. The person that was going to teach me didn't feel like doing it the day I asked. Instead of telling me he would do it some other time he just waited for me to make a mistake and yelled at me for damaging his car. I never asked anyone else and turned down all offers from people.


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## General Shy Guy (May 12, 2011)

I learned to drive a stick at a driving school downtown. I was in high school at that time, so I had to take my driving courses after school. Rush hour :no .

I got honked at so much. I killed it a few times as the light turned green to turn onto a freeway on-ramp. I held up traffic and people were PISSED.

The worst though was on a side street my second day driving. I killed it about 10 times in a row. It was in the university district, so there were a bunch of frat boys sitting on their porch watching me fail. They laughed every time I killed it, and when I finally got going they cheered: "Good job, dumbass!" It was traumatizing at the time, but in hindsight it's hilarious.

I'm so glad I learned how to drive a stick shift. It's like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it.


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## theseshackles (Apr 23, 2011)

Yea I need to practise doing it with a more fluid motion. I'm always wasting time trying to balance the clutch right at the biting point before I decide to accelerate.



Duke of Prunes said:


> BTW, some people will tell you ride the clutch when parking/sitting at lights going uphill or in traffic. NEVER, EVER do this. If you need to go slowly, ride the brake (left-foot braking)


How much can I ride the brake before risking a stall? I was practising parallel parking today and I was riding the clutch which I know is a bad thing.


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## theseshackles (Apr 23, 2011)

^Yes there is an automatic option but...too easy 

If you can drive a manual you can drive anything.

Also


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## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

theseshackles said:


> How much can I ride the brake before risking a stall? I was practising parallel parking today and I was riding the clutch which I know is a bad thing.


Well you're only going to be doing that in first gear anyway and you'll only need a light touch so you can park at a safe speed or move through slow traffic where you would be going too fast at idle. You should be paying more attention to how the engine is revving (with your ears, don't stare at the dashboard) and hear when it's going so slow that you need to put the clutch in.

Don't do it all the time though or you'll wear them out. Don't go around the multistory looking for a space with your brakes half on for 10 minutes and especially never coast down hills riding the brakes to keep your speed down, just go down in a lower gear.

You'll probably fail your test if you take any of my advice btw especially left-foot braking in traffic in a manual (but seriously you try driving in slow slightly-uphill traffic without it, stopping and starting every 5 seconds, zzz, you'll waste lots of fuel though keeping the throttle wide enough to keep the engine ticking through the resistance of the braking and the hill). Don't forget you'll need to move both your feet to stop as well.

If you're still stalling loads even when stopping and aren't very quick on the clutch, you might want to just keep your foot poised over it for now, especially in case you end up slamming the brake instead of the clutch when you go to change gears LOL SMASH


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## wmw87 (Apr 20, 2011)

I learned to drive a manual pickup with my dad. He was a terrible teacher.

"What's the speed limit? How fast should I go?"
"Just go how fast you feel comfortable."

THATS NOT WHAT I ASKED YOU. :blank


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## Akane (Jan 2, 2008)

My learning experience went like this... 

10 years old: "Mom we need more hay moved from the storage barn to the horse stable"
"so go get the green truck and move it"
"ok...."

*get in 30 year old diesel manual missing the top of the gear shifter that tells where reverse is*
"mom why are there 3 pedals?"
"that's a clutch push it before you do anything"
"ok..."
*turn key*
*press random pedals*
*wiggle shifter around*
*press gas and go forward instead of reverse*
*wiggle shifter around*
*repeat while periodically killing the truck*
5hrs later....
"Mom why does it keep dying when I press the brake"
"use the clutch"
"I am!"
*continue killing truck every few minutes on the way to the stable*
3 years later....
*cuss out green truck for 30mins every other month moving more hay*

stupid green truck

another 3 years later....
*upgrade to automatic white truck*

Yay! Never touching a manual again. I miss my white truck but it was having increasing wiring issues. My suv actually has power locks, windows, and auto lights. First vehicle I haven't had to crawl across the seat to lock and unlock the passenger side.


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

I kept stalling in the middle of intersections, so I gave up.


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## theseshackles (Apr 23, 2011)

Akane said:


> My learning experience went like this...
> 
> 10 years old: "Mom we need more hay moved from the storage barn to the horse stable"
> "so go get the green truck and move it"
> ...


I lost it here :rofl


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

There's an auto only license? For serious?

I think that auto should be outlawed and all cars should be manual. I figure if you can't learn to drive standard, then you probably shouldn't be driving, and if you really want to drive, you'll put in the effort to learn how to control the vehicle properly.


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## Lonelyguy (Nov 8, 2003)

I grew up on a farm so I learned how to use a clutch by driving tractors. I also had a small motorcycle when I was younger so I had a lot of practice with that. By the time I was older and drove a manual vehicle for the first time I didn't have any trouble with it. 

Driving semis, on the other hand, took a lot more practice for me to master. I don't drive them for a living but I work on them all the time, so I often take them out on the road for a test drive. There are no synchronizers in the transmission, so you have to learn to match the engine speed to each gear before shifting and you usually shift without using the clutch. That means you have to bump the throttle every time you downshift too, or you'll grind gears all day. Plus, you usually have multiple ranges. Upshift through the first range, flip the range selector up, then start over and shift through the second range. As if that weren't enough, some even have a splitter so you have a low/high range in each gear for a total of 13, 15, or even 18 forward speeds.


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

Yeah, I had to learn how to drive on a standard! It was rough for the first week, then cake afterwards. Thankfully, it was a very patient boyfriend who showed me how. We practiced stopping and going in many a empty parking lots! 

Anyway, let's just hope your car has "hill holder." Most newer cars (I believe) do, but you might want to ask to avoid the surprise of rolling backwards when stopping & going on a hill! 

Good luck learning! And remember, patience is a virtue! :b


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## pollster (Oct 4, 2009)

zookeeper said:


> There's an auto only license? For serious?
> 
> I think that auto should be outlawed and all cars should be manual. I figure if you can't learn to drive standard, then you probably shouldn't be driving, and if you really want to drive, you'll put in the effort to learn how to control the vehicle properly.


There totally is an auto only license. Where I live, you can get your license without ever having to learn manual. I should know. I've never driven a standard vehicle in my life. Probably should learn one day. But since I no longer own a car anyway, it's not at the top of my list.


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

pollster said:


> There totally is an auto only license. Where I live, you can get your license without ever having to learn manual. I should know. I've never driven a standard vehicle in my life. Probably should learn one day. But since I no longer own a car anyway, it's not at the top of my list.


I don't understand the auto only. Does it cost more? Less? What if you're caught driving standard with your auto only? Do they force you to drive home using only one gear?

Around here you don't have to learn to drive standard if you don't want to, and I'm actually quite glad I didn't have to do my driver's test in a standard. No shifting in the intersection? But first gear won't get me through!



Neptunus said:


> Anyway, let's just hope your car has "hill holder." Most newer cars (I believe) do, but you might want to ask to avoid the surprise of rolling backwards when stopping & going on a hill!


There's a _what_ holder?? Serious?! WTF? That's cheating!! If you're not afraid of rolling back into the '85 trans am that's obviously the pride and joy of the mulleted, prison-tattooed meth head in the driver's seat, then you're not really driving!


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## Jemma (Jun 10, 2011)

I learnt manual after learning basics in an auto. It took 3 1 hour lessons (with my dad, not an instructor) to work it out. But I love driving and when you are positive about something then you tend to improve faster.


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## pollster (Oct 4, 2009)

zookeeper said:


> I don't understand the auto only. Does it cost more? Less? What if you're caught driving standard with your auto only? Do they force you to drive home using only one gear?
> 
> Around here you don't have to learn to drive standard if you don't want to, and I'm actually quite glad I didn't have to do my driver's test in a standard. No shifting in the intersection? But first gear won't get me through!


Well, actually, I think I need to correct myself. I think you can get your license here with either auto or standard, and you can learn to drive the other on your current license. So nevermind me. My brother just learned to drive standard and he didn't have to go back to get a special license for it.


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## littlepickles (Apr 29, 2011)

I took some classes to learn how to drive manual back in November and I loved it. Every student starts driving in traffic on the 5th class, but I was the first student to ever drive in traffic on my very first class. My instructor said I learned really fast.
I haven't driven a manual since then (only automatic), so I might have lost the ability, but I remember it being pretty easy although I would occasionally turn the car off by accident.


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## theseshackles (Apr 23, 2011)

My instructor makes you get right to it! Yesterday I was driving in traffic, going through the gears, even reversing through a path, and it was only my first day :lol


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

zookeeper said:


> There's a _what_ holder?? Serious?! WTF? That's cheating!! If you're not afraid of rolling back into the '85 trans am that's obviously the pride and joy of the mulleted, prison-tattooed meth head in the driver's seat, then you're not really driving!


I think you will find it's called a handbrake xD.

I have never come across a manual car with some other divice. If someone who drives a manual can't perform a hill start using the handbrake then why they got their license I will never know.


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

zookeeper said:


> There's a _what_ holder?? Serious?! WTF? That's cheating!! If you're not afraid of rolling back into the '85 trans am that's obviously the pride and joy of the mulleted, prison-tattooed meth head in the driver's seat, then you're not really driving!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill-holder

Hmmm, guess it's not available in as many cars as I thought.

Well, I learned on a Subaru, so I guess I had it easy!


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

Ospi said:


> I think you will find it's called a handbrake xD.
> 
> I have never come across a manual car with some other divice. If someone who drives a manual can't perform a hill start using the handbrake then why they got their license I will never know.


I can even do it without the hand-break! Fast reflexes! :b

(Get yer dirty minds out of the gutter, lol!)


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## zookeeper (Jun 3, 2009)

Neptunus said:


> I can even do it without the hand-break! Fast reflexes! :b
> 
> (Get yer dirty minds out of the gutter, lol!)


I've never used the handbrake! I tell ya, it's all about that moment of terror between foot-off-brake and car-go-forward. That's what makes life worth living.

Also, I learned to drive manual in a 1988 crap-brown ford tempo that I named the _Tempo of Doom_.


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## Akane (Jan 2, 2008)

> I grew up on a farm so I learned how to use a clutch by driving tractors.


My tractor learning experience was much the same as the truck except we have a huge tractor with 2 brakes so you can stop one set of wheels or the other to get out of mud and snow. I couldn't push both brakes at the same time even if I stood up on them. I had to pull myself down by the steering wheel. After figuring out tractors do not start when in gear and it had the long manure spreader hooked to it the first time I got told to move it out of the way myself. My family is useless when it comes to teaching things. When it finally came time to get my drivers license the only on road experience I got was the drive to the dmv while my mom read a newspaper. They then freaked out that I was taking my driving test in a large pickup which was the smallest vehicle we owned at the time. Try parallel parking that. I refused to take it downtown ever again which usually wasn't somewhere I went anyway. Did get it stuck in the barnes and noble parking lot once. The middle lane was not as wide as my truck was long and idiots parked right on the line either side of me.

My husband occasionally asks how I'm still alive today since no one ever supervised us or explained anything to us.


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

Incredibly hot.


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## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

I stole my mom's car while she was at work and learned on dirt roads where cops didn't patrol 
I had no one to teach me so i took matters into my own hands. I took my little brother with me and he learned too.

mom was mad when she found out, but she didn't punish us too harshly.


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## zomgz (Aug 17, 2009)

Ospi said:


> I think you will find it's called a handbrake xD.
> 
> I have never come across a manual car with some other divice. If someone who drives a manual can't perform a hill start using the handbrake then why they got their license I will never know.


What's a handbrake? Lol, j/k.

No but seriously, my car doesn't have one. Only a footbrake... With a release lever thing. I usually put it on when I turn off the car and leave it, is that bad? :afr


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## enpyre (Mar 16, 2011)

ive only had one informal attempt at driving manual. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but still, I've noticed that when I first learned how to drive automatic, I had a little bit of SA while driving. and that was in an automatic.

throw me in a manual car, and that would probably come back. not worth it if I don't have to, tbh.

I still want to learn one day, but in terms of that being my preferred method of transmission? never.


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## Albert11 (Jun 11, 2011)

Fist time driving was a 4 speed, 67 Mustang fastback. Uh hu! I had a great time, but it was back on the dirt roads and I was 15. Well, once you get the hang of a manual, there is nothing like getting rubber in the first 3 gears. Provided you've got the HP to do it.


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## theseshackles (Apr 23, 2011)

Third time's a charm  No stalling today.

Thanks for all the informative posts. They really helped.


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## Katatonic (Jun 13, 2011)

I remember my dad buying me my first joke of a car. A 1994 Geo Tracker. Anyways, he took me out to my old elementary school parking lot (on a weekend of course) and let me have at it. I still remember seeing him suffering from major whiplash out of the corner of my eye and makes me laugh every time I think about it. Its like his spine was made of jelly. But yeah, I lost my patience more than a few times and got out of the car and stormed off. But I always came back and gave it another shot. Since then I've had only 2 cars, but I'd say the Geo was the most fun to drive. Why? Because it was a MANUAL. 

Best manual I ever drove? A '98 Dodge Viper GTS. Reaching 164mph on I-5 was one of the best moments in my life. Worst moment? When someone jumped into the lane I was in and I had to stomp on the brake, breaking loose the rear wheels and almost spinning out and crashing an $80,000 car. Those generation of Vipers were VERY unforgiving of mistakes. My dad ended up wrecking it a few years later when he was at a full stop ready to turn right into an on-ramp, stomped on the gas and swung the back end out causing him to lose control and fly off of the road and into a cyclone fence, stopping about 15ft from an outdoor Starbucks cafe.


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

zookeeper said:


> I've never used the handbrake! I tell ya, it's all about that moment of terror between foot-off-brake and car-go-forward. That's what makes life worth living.
> 
> Also, I learned to drive manual in a 1988 crap-brown ford tempo that I named the _Tempo of Doom_.


True, very true! :yes

And what an awesome name for your car! :lol

My first car was a '94 Hyundai Accent. It was a manual too! I used to call it my_ Hyundai Accident_, as it was a death trap on wheels, and always had the most bizarre mechanical problems. Yep, it was more like a lawn mower engine with a car exterior, lol! (Sounded like one too!) Definitely not as creative as your name, though!


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