by "Vimto" (smudgey)
Published 12/16/2017 at 07:35
by "Vimto" (smudgey)
Published 12/16/2017 at 07:35
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STARS: 0
On Monday, it’s going down. My roommate is looking for a new car and I’ve begged him to let me teach him how to drive a manual, lest he buy an automatic MX-5 or FR-S. we’ve had two previous lessons a year apart, one in my old Sentra and one in my Mustang. and he was picking it up pretty quickly but never got into traffic, just side streets up to 3rd gear or so. Any tips to help us proverbially bring it home? Videos he should watch over the weekend? Techniques I should drill into his head? Ways to prevent any damage to my Mustang?
"Shoop" (shoopdawoop993)
12/16/2017 at 08:00, STARS: 0
Once you get a hang of the clutch it’s pretty much just practice.
"Svend" (svend)
12/16/2017 at 08:08, STARS: 1
The first points are clutch control, finding the biting point of the clutch, listening to the engine it’ll tell you when to change gear up or down if you haven’t before hand, hill starts again this is clutch control, then going up and down the gears.
"PatBateman" (PatBateman)
12/16/2017 at 08:09, STARS: 0
Take him onto a non-rush hour highway and have him try slowing down and speeding up while changing gears. And honestly, the hardest part of learning stick is starting the car going from a dead stop.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
12/16/2017 at 08:17, STARS: 1
Best advice I ever got was to learn to hold 1,500 RPM and let the clutch in slowly. On flat ground that works in almost any car. Later you can work on smoother applications, but that was the best single “rule” I had starting out.
Also, make sure you keep terminology consistent —“pedal down” is “clutch out” but a lot of people use this in-out expression backwards (referring to the pedal vs referring to the clutch). It can quickly turn into Abbott and Costello...
"Vimto" (smudgey)
12/16/2017 at 08:19, STARS: 0
Last time we had a lesson I tried to help him find the biting point of the clutch by getting the car on flat land and then just ease off until the car starts to roll forward without any accelerator input. It seemed to be working but sometimes he’d miss it when trying to use gas. I’m trying to think of what I did when I was learning haha
"E90M3" (e90m3)
12/16/2017 at 08:25, STARS: 0
The first manual vehicle I could really drive was a dirt bike. I wasn’t into them but my friends had them and it was like might as well learn. Best advice I ever got was feel for the bite point in the clutch and then let it out slowly and apply a little throttle.
It’s also one of those things you just have to commit to learning. You’re going to stall a lot, but you’ll get it. Also if it’s your only car then you have to learn. Wanting to learn also helps a lot, if he doesn’t want to learn then it might be a lost cause.
"Bluecold" (Bluecold)
12/16/2017 at 08:34, STARS: 0
Get him to go 20 mph and shift from third to second to third to second without lurching.
same with highway speeds, so he can drop a gear smoothly for overtaking.
Also, handbrake hillstarts to feel where the car stops being held back by the handbrake
Thats all I can think of :)
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
12/16/2017 at 08:39, STARS: 3
My approach is to get the person I’m teaching to do everything slow. I tell them to not even try doing things quickly at first. “First you get used to doing it slowly, and with that, you’ll be able to do things more quickly as you gain experience”.
And I start by bringing them to a big parking lot, have them row through the gears, tell them that they WILL stall the car.. and that’s okay.
Then I work on just getting moving in first gear by slowly releasing the clutch until it engages.... to give them a feel for the engagement point.
I also explain that how quickly you release the clutch depends on how fast you want to get going and that doing things right AND fast takes practice... and don’t even think about doing that today.
Once they get the feel of stopping and starting in first, then I explain the mechanics of shifting gears... and then have them give it a try. I also emphasize to try not to force the shifter into a gear and discuss ways that it can be eased into gear.
Once they get the hang of that, I take them on side streets and have them go to a hill... and have them practice starting in first while facing uphill... and have them use little tricks to prevent the car from rolling back too much (like using the e-brake or staying on the brakes and slowly releasing the clutch until they can feel it engage a little bit). Practice that a few times and from there, it’s just practice.
"Vimto" (smudgey)
12/16/2017 at 08:45, STARS: 0
I appreciate the advice! I’ll be sure to incorporate that, thanks.
"Svend" (svend)
12/16/2017 at 08:46, STARS: 0
When using gas from a stand still, you want the engine to purr slightly, then ease off the clutch till you feel a slight movement in the vehicle without it moving off, if the car is already moving at any speed, get him to cover the gear shift and get ready to shift, cover the clutch and then push down on the clutch easing a little off the gas, change gear and ease off the clutch and then restore previous pressure on the gas. This will ease him in and reduce jolted movements in the car if he comes off the clutch too fast (not for use on inclines).
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
12/16/2017 at 10:37, STARS: 0
Make sure that you get them familiar with “panic mode”. Instead of just hitting the brakes, they will now have to disengage the clutch as part of that reflex. This will also save you a lot of annoying restarts as they get used to the clutch.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
12/16/2017 at 10:38, STARS: 1
This so much. That “clutch in/out” stuff can get really confusing. This would be a great opportunity to -right off the bat- get them used to thinking of the clutch as always engaged unless they disengage it .
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
12/16/2017 at 11:24, STARS: 0
Hard part i remember is if one does not have a manual car then what they learn isnt really practiced. Its mostly forgotten over time. I hope your friend knows something mechanical, like just whats going on with a clutch and why its necessary. That makes most everything else easier to learn.
Parking lots and starting from a stop also coming to a stop. Also do all that on a sloped lot. Hills. Add hills or else hes doomed.
"Vimto" (smudgey)
12/16/2017 at 11:35, STARS: 0
Agreed. I don’t think hes retained anything from our previous lesson which was months ago. Thing is though, sometime this month he wants to replace his Accord hybrid with a ‘fun’ car and I’ve repeatedly told him buying an automatic simply because we didn’t spend enough time teaching manual is silly. I have a second car so once he’s comfortable in the Mustang he’s free to drive it and get more practice
"DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
12/16/2017 at 12:33, STARS: 0
Easy, put some Eurobeat on the stereo, put a glass of water in the cupholder and then make him drift down hill without spilling any. He’ll be a pro in no time!