Learning to drive stick

[Mike Nasty]

getting it into first is harder than it looks

Almost every stick I've driven you can't get to first unless the car has come to an almost complete stop. If you're stopped, put it on neutral and let up off the clutch and then press it down again.

 

[Mr210]

NOBODY WANTS YOU TO WEAR OUT THEIR CLUTCH.

Then it must not be that easy to learn

 

[Regular_P]

Cop you a rental.
Cop you a patient/understanding tutor.
Cop you a bit of Youtube prep before hand so you can know what to expect.
Cop you some flat road/land/parking lot and get a feel for it.

After the first hour or so of ripping shyt up, you should get a hang of it or atleast know what's expected and how to operate. Try and practice on consecutive days, though. That way when you come back the NEXT day, you already know what to expect, alot of the nervousness you had before should be gone to very low provided you learned enough the first day, and just become proficient.

Also, I don't know where you live, but if you have hills...PRAC....TICE. 'cause it's all fun and games dealing with that shyt on the flat, but then you got to climb a hill and some bullshyt in the middle of it and you get stuck and start herking and jerking and you slipping and the car stalls out and you all

Like me and a mate were when we thought we was hot shyt 'cause we could operate standard on flat. Nearly slid into a passenger bus behind us, with traffic behind honking/hollering. shyt was one of the worse driving experiences of my life, bar none and I done been in crashes, nearly fishtailed off of cliffs and did 360's on hills trying to go up wet terrain.

I lived in a hilly town when I was learning. I was silently praying each time I approached a light that was on a hill that it would stay green.

One time, I was the first car at a left turn light. I stalled out through one full light cycle. I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself on the spot.

Then it must not be that easy to learn

It's not as easy as people are making it seem in here. Yeah, you can understand the basics after an hour, but to get a smooth ride...it takes time. Once you get the hang of driving a stick, it's great. Like @Lady.Libra. said, downshifting to a stop is awesome. Saves a TON of wear and tear on your brakes, plus you feel like a race car driver when you learn how to shift quickly.

 

[Amor fati]

Here in the Uk, it's literally the norm for everybody know how to drive stick. It's even hard to find a driving instructor that will teach you how to drive in an auto.

 

[feelosofer]

It's not as easy as some are making it out to be, but the hardest things are operating on a hill and learning how to upshift/downshift smoothly.

 

[MR. SNIFLES]

It's not as easy as some are making it out to be, but the hardest things are operating on a hill and learning how to upshift/downshift smoothly.

THE ONLY 2 GEARS THAT REQUIRE SOME PRACTICE IS 1ST AND 2ND. YOU HAVE A WIDE MARGIN OF ERROR FOR ANYTHING HIGHER THAN THAT UNLESS YOU'RE RACING.

THE HILL IS HARD UNTIL YOU LEARN THE ENGAGEMENT POINT ON YOUR CAR. IT WAS HARD FOR ME BECAUSE I RARELY DROVE THE SAME CAR SO IT WAS DIFFERENT EVERY TIME.

 

[b33lz]

If you get the rpms right you don't even need to use the clutch.

 

[Typical Knicks Fan]

If you get the rpms right you don't even need to use the clutch.

Yup. You simply float the gears into place. You can learn how to drive stick if you know which gear matches up with the RPM and MPH.

Downshifting takes longer to learn but you can get a hang of it in a day. The hardest part is getting the car out of first gear and not stalling in traffic or on a hill.

 

[Obreh Winfrey]

Let me tell you, if you gotta drive a stick to work, and it's the only car available, you pick it up quick. Like others said, you can pick up the basics in a few hours, but it's going to take a few weeks to get comfortable with it. After 2ish months it should all be second nature.

The hardest part is getting started but eventually you get a good feel of what the car is doing. My advice is to practice at night, like 10PM, so there's almost nobody on the road. And even better if you can get out there alone so that you don't have anyone to bail you out if you start to panic and think you can't do it. Also for hills you need to understand that you aren't rolling back as much as you think you are, so don't panic.

Once you can get started smoothly and consistently and get through the gears with no problem you can start trying things like rev matching your downshifts and heel toeing. Getting those smooth and consistent is a beast all its own.

 

[newarkhiphop]

Let me tell you, if you gotta drive a stick to work, and it's the only car available, you pick it up quick. Like others said, you can pick up the basics in a few hours, but it's going to take a few weeks to get comfortable with it. After 2ish months it should all be second nature.

The hardest part is getting started but eventually you get a good feel of what the car is doing. My advice is to practice at night, like 10PM, so there's almost nobody on the road. And even better if you can get out there alone so that you don't have anyone to bail you out if you start to panic and think you can't do it. Also for hills you need to understand that you aren't rolling back as much as you think you are, so don't panic.

Once you can get started smoothly and consistently and get through the gears with no problem you can start trying things like rev matching your downshifts and heel toeing. Getting those smooth and consistent is a beast all its own.

going on the highway for the first time tonight

 

[Obreh Winfrey]

going on the highway for the first time tonight

Don't trip, you won't leave 5/6 much if it all. Leave a little early and don't be in a hurry and you'll be straight.

When I was learning my job was an hour away, freeway and surface roads, down a small mountain pass. Coming back had me like because I wasn't confident enough to downshift so I tried to carry speed in 3rd up the hill. Making matters worse there was a quarry at the base and big rigs would leave going up the hill. One day I'm getting ready to make a left and start up the hill and I see a big rig pull out going up . But I'm like nah we can do this . We get maybe 300 yards up the hill and these fools start to slow down and I'm sat there like

And we come to a complete stop. On this hill. With a good 6 cars behind me. And what I do?


























Stall the shyt out the bytch.
TWICE

I eventually got it going though. If your car has a hill start assist turn it off it'll only get in your way.

 

[hayesc0]

 

[newarkhiphop]

Yup. You simply float the gears into place. You can learn how to drive stick if you know which gear matches up with the RPM and MPH.

Downshifting takes longer to learn but you can get a hang of it in a day. The hardest part is getting the car out of first gear and not stalling in traffic or on a hill.

Lol stalling in traffic is 90% of my fear, fukin red lights seem to take forever now


did good on my first official drive on the street (after 1 hr of practice in a park) my hooptie has no RPM meter so it's all by feel that I shift, didn't have to go higher than 4th

reversing is a bytch tho (parallel parking wise)

 

[Recca Gatsby]

Yeah I need to learn been meaning to

 

[LiveFromLondon]

This how we learn to drive in the UK