In another topic I was talking about I wanted to learn to drive manual.
I stalled a lot
Sorry, stalling ain’t cool…
come on man it was my first time.
Can you take off from a stop on a steep hill without rolling backwards or screeching your tires?
Practice practice practice, I learned how to drive stick when I was 16. Did maybe 200 miles of it with other peoples cars in college, and even with all that, when I got a stick shift car (when I was about 25) it was probably 2-3 months before I could drive it as well as an automatic. When I first got it I stalled daily, after a month it was maybe once a week and after that it was very very rarely, usually when I wasn’t paying attention and came to a stop without putting the clutch in. But once you really get the hang of it people won’t even know you’re driving stick unless they see you shifting.
Awww, as much as I like my hybrid, I miss stick shift.
Yes, you are now cool. Congrats.
I just had to re-learn how to do this.
Well, actually, I just fixed the clutch in my F-350, and it feels like a different beast. It used to engage around 1mm from the floor, and now it engages close to the top of the pedal.
Try practicing getting the truck moving without using any gas - it will give you a feel for where the clutch engages, and how to handle almost stalling it.
Bwa???
Driving a standard truck makes you cool? I don’t think so. I’m a middle aged, soon to be soccer mom who knits for shits and giggles and I’ve been driving a stick since I was 16.
I’m afraid you’re going to have to try something else to up your coolness factor. A tattoo maybe? Tongue ring? Seriously - I got nuthin, 'cus I’m just that uncool.
Sorry dude.
I think that’s when it becomes second nature. When it’s just about to stall you typically have two options, more gas or more clutch, when you get to the point where your feet just do what needs to be done without thinking about it, you’ve got it. You’ll get to the point where you almost don’t even realize it just happened, you make a corner to tight and the car in front of you slows down, the engine starts lugging, you hit the clutch and immediately start letting it back out and giving the car some gas and continue on your way…all without giving it any more thought then you would if it were automatic…then you’ve got it.
I know it doesn’t seem like it but if you drive a stick shift car on a daily basis, it all becomes natural.
The only time I’d ever really realize I was driving stick was in heavy rush hour traffic, you’re left foot gets pretty tired after a while.
Also I have a laserdisc player so that is where the bulk of my cool points comes from. The manual is just added coolness
Ahh - well in that case you’re golden.
See - that’s how uncool I am - I had no idea laserdiscs had such coolness cred.
Only maybe in the States. Anywhere else, not only does this not make you cool but even asking the question makes you look very, very uncool.
Stalling is easy to overcome
Take the truck out into traffic. The first time you stall out at a red light with 50 other cars behind you honking their horns…Well let’s just say, you’ll learn FAST how to shift properly 
Ok in what cloud cuckoo land is knowing how to drive a manual cool?
why is everyone being so mean to me. this is the coolest thing I have done for a long time and all you can do is tell me how lame it is. ):
That’s funny to me because I just had to re-learn how to drive an automatic. That’s not a joke, I’m serious.
My right hand kept grabbing the automatic shifter just before a tight turn, or accidentally putting the lever into “D2” when I was accelerating out of a stop. I had brief moments of panic when my left foot couldn’t find the clutch. I was honestly stomping my left foot on the floor board in random places just because my muscle memory forgot that the vehicle doesn’t have a clutch.
I think it’s tres cool. Also, carjackers won’t steal your car, 'cos they can’t drive stick. So there.
Seriously? Because lots of people can’t do it, because it has vague manly-cool-guy undertones, and you can do burnouts.
Sorry, dude, you gotta learn how to drive it first before you’re cool. Maybe you can get a trucker’s cap. Those are cool, right?
To be fair, it is “cool”. Or more precisely, it’s not so much “cool” as it is a requirement to get your man card. It’s a basic skill that every guy should know. To not know how and still be a guy is going to put you in situations where you have to defer to a woman for technical knowhow. That’s not good. When I ask a woman out, my date may know more than me, and she probably does, but she doesn’t want it to be so damn obvious.
A guy has to be capable in the little things, and driving a stick is one of the little things. So kudos to PSXer for finally learning.
Good on you PSXer. I learned to drive on one ofthese.
