Any help for a guy who never learned how to drive a stick shift?

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I’m surprised your friends are surprised; sticks are rarely seen in the US nowadays and most people know only automatics.
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Anyone know the actual percentages? Among my friends, it’s about 5/3 auto/manual.

I learned manual in a car before learning to ride a motorcycle, and knowing the general theory seemed to help, so I’d assume that it would transfer the other way as well. In my limited motorbike experience, it seems as though once you’re moving, you can pop the clutch fairly quickly and unsmoothly without much trauma to the smoothness of travel. This is not true in cars.

And just to offer a counerpoint to Whack-a-Mole’s story of romantic success due to manual skills, it’s really hard to hold hands or whatever (yeah, I know it’s dangerous and I shouldn’t be) with your lady friend (or guy friend if you’re one of those ultra-bitchin girls that drives stick) when you have to shift every ten seconds.

Handy hint #1

Don’t forget that you can change down as well as up.

If you are going up a very steep hill and beginning to lose speed drop down a gear (or two or three)

Last time I drove up Porlock Hill in Devon (UK) I ended up in first gear!!

Handy hint #2

If you are stuck in mud or on an icy road, try pulling away in 2nd gear instead of first

I had a hard time learning to drive manual, as I started with a flatbed dump truck with a hi-lo 6-speed transmission and a screaming father. But I DO know some failsafes that will keep you from getting all nervous when you first try it:

Don’t let the clutch out while you’re in gear and not moving. The only time you should release the clutch when stopped is when 1.) the enging is off, or 2.) you’re in neutral.

If it sounds like the engine is about to die, push the clutch in all the way. It’s the same as neutral, really. You won’t go anywhere while the clutch is engaged (unless you’re on a hill - which you shouldn’t be, silly ass).

**If you have a tachometer (the needle that tells you the rpms), use that to judge when to shift, if you like. Typically you would up-shift between 3,000 and 4,000 rpms.

Your friends not letting you drive their cars are being morons - you can’t possibly do serious damage learning to drive. They had to learn on somebody’s car too - it’s time for them to pay back some karma. Browbeat them a little.

I loved teaching people to drive stick - I like showing off knowledge, I guess. Verry few people took me up on it.

Lazy Americans. I get so bored in automatics.

Nice. Even though I learned how to drive a stick from my then-girlfriend, now-wife, a few years ago, I didn’t know some of the suggestions you guys are offering. Much appreciated.

Some questions, though, if someone wouldn’t mind tackling them:

What is double-clutching? What are the benefit of it? Do some vehicles require it? If so, why? I once had to drive a long U-haul with a manual transmission and, try as I might, I couldn’t get it into fourth gear. I ended up having to get it up really high into third, then go right to fifth. Somebody later told me I should have double-clutched, but his explanation left me unclear. Was he right that I should have done this?

Also, downshifting. From what you guys have said, it’s pretty standard fare. I drove my wife’s stick for three years without ever doing it, though. What’s the advantage? Also, what, exactly, does it mean? If I was driving 50 and wanted to slow down to 20, would I downshift from fifth to fourth, then fourth to third, then third to second? Or does it work differently somehow?

Also, some elaboration on the cool tricks mentioned by Necros would be nice, if anyone is up to it.

I already posted my ideas on the link above, but if you are near Vegas I will teach you. As to the percentage of people that can drive a stick, Office I work in is 15/16 can drive a stick.

The guys at CarTalk recommend learning to drive a manual by not touching the gas pedal. Just let out the clutch until the car starts moving. ONly after getting that down smoothly are you supposed to work the gas pedal into it. sounds like a good plan to me.

And everyone in my family learned to drive a car on a manual transmission. If my uncoordinated sister can do it, anyone can.

I haven’t had to double-clutch since the days of my '65 Rambler (oddly enough, one of the most reliable cars I’ve ever owned—you couldn’t kill that sucker with a bazooka), so my recollection may be wrong/incomplete. If so, I imagine someone will be along to correct/amplify.

Anyway, here goes. To double-clutch:[ul][li]Disengage the clutch (push the pedal down)[/li][li]Shift into neutral[/li][li]Engage the clutch[/li][li]Step on the gas (just a little)[/li][li]Disengage the clutch[/li][li]Shift into the desired gear (usually lower)[/li][li]Engage the clutch[/li][/ul]Why go through such a gyration? You don’t need to if the transmission is syncromesh, as the vast majority have been for years. Double-clutching allows you to get the clutch and the innards of the transmission turning more or less together, thus avoiding that lovely “if you can’t find 'em, grind 'em” noise (in the case of the Rambler, which had a non-syncro first gear). In the case of your truck, it might have allowed you to make the elusive shift into fourth. In extreme cases, it lets you downshift without risking spontaneous decomposition of the drivetrain.

I see on preview that OttoDaFe explained double-cluthing pretty well. I just wanted to add that sometimes, if you are having trouble going into gear, it just helps. I don’t really know if either of the two stick-shifts I’ve owned have them ('86 Nissan pickup and a '93 Subaru Legacy,) but in both cars it seemed to help when the stick just didn’t want to put the car into a certain gear.

And yes, downshifiting is basically a way to slow down. Since the gear ratio of a lower gear is, well, lower, it takes more turns of the engine to get the same speed, since the engine is at it’s current RPM’s, it lowers the speed by turning the drivetrain less. It’s also usefull for going up a hill and you need more torque. Normally, 3rd gear is great for 30 MPH (in most cars,) but on a steep hill, 3rd gear might have trouble moving that much mass, so it’s very likely that 2nd gear will give you enough torque and power to actually go faster up the hill than in 3rd.

Yes, downshifting is a means of slowing down. It’s considered safer than just coasting in neutral and relying on the brake. If something were to happen and you lost control of the vehicle, you’re in neutral and good luck trying to find the right gear while you’re starting to spin. I’ve also heard that its easier on the engine, though it seems to me to be easier on the brakes than the engine.

I drove an tractor trailer for a while and double clutching is a requirement, as is downshifting, in one of those badboys.

As to hills, I learned on a hill. Best thing for you I say, just make sure it’s an isolated area. Start out on level ground, but once you start getting the hang of getting going from a stop and getting up into 2nd and maybe 3rd gear, take on the hill.

The true test is getting going from a dead stop without rolling back more than a few inches. Once you can do that, it’s all cake.

As I heard it this is wrong. You do not want to use downshifting to slow the car. A car’s brakes are made to stop the car and while using the engine to slow the car is easier on the brakes it is harder on the engine and transmission. Brake pads are relatively cheap…your engine and transmission are not.

If you’re downshifting you don’t need to keep the gear shift in the neutral position if you don’t want to. If you’re concerned about needing to re-engage the tranmission for some emergency you can have the gear selected beforehand…just let off the clutch.

Double clutching is useful even in modern cars - if you’re barelling along in fifth and you suddenly come to a steep upwards incline, you’ll probably want to drop straight down to third. Double clutching smooths the transition. Quite easy once you get the hang of it, and you can practice any time you like while driving along a flat road, before you do it for real.

The way I was taught was to engage the handbrake (just enough to engage but not lock) simultaneously with the clutch. Lower the handbrake while you let out the clutch and give it some gas. No rollback at all if you do it right.

Just rev it up to about 1,500 – 2,000 RPM and dump the clutch. Unless you are in something with 300+ lb/ft of tq at low revs you will begin moving forward somewhat briskly. If you are in a Corvette or something you’ll move forward briskly while tiny little wisps of tire smoke and a “CHIRP-P-P” announces your presence.

[sub]…or, do that thing where you don’t use the gas at all… spoilsport…[/sub]

The main thing is to match the revs with the gear. I’ve found that manual transmissions give the user enough instant feedback to greatly enhance the learning curve. If the car is lunging, stalling, and bucking you’re probably doing it wrong and will quickly figure it out. Or, it’s off to get a new clutch.

I’ve had lessons before but it never “stuck” – as in, I could drive stick just fine in a parking lot (at least up to 3rd… I’m an excessively cautious driver so I couldn’t find a parking lot big enough to give me enough space for 4th ) but get me into traffic and I’d have a bit of a freakout.

Hello, my name is Hello Again, I’m 28 and I can’t drive stick.

Anyway, the long-suffering Phatlewt gave me some lessons just this weekend, and I did pretty well. After my initial “I can’t get it into second” meltdown, anyway.

Must say, for all the “it’s more fun” claims I’ve heard, I was damn f-ing thankful to finish my lesson and get back into my automatic. I [heart] automatic.