I drove a manual for the first time today

"JR1" (type35bugatti)
08/10/2017 at 19:08 • Filed to: None

It was a 1993 green C4 Convertible. I did not get out of second gear and I was scared shitless I was going to burn up the clutch. It was productive however for a short 15 minute lesson. A had one smooth get away and a coupe of smooth upshifts but for the most part it was terrifying and I thought I would break things.

DISCUSSION (37)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JR1
08/10/2017 at 19:10

My first manual was a Japanese four-banger pickup... Mazda, I think. A C4 would have been more fun.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > JR1
08/10/2017 at 19:15

How does one end up with a Corvette as their stick learning car?

ttyymmnn > JR1
08/10/2017 at 19:29

Probably not the car I would want to learn on, but good on ya. Go find some little Japanese or German car to practice on.

JR1 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
08/10/2017 at 19:30

Would it though? Not to sound like a snob but breaking a C4 (at least to me) is a lot bigger of a deal than breaking an old truck.

JR1 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
08/10/2017 at 19:31

Literally no other possible vehicle in the family fleet to learn on and my grandfather offered to teach me because I once said I thought it was embarrassing I did not know how to drive stick.

Basically my grandpa is a great guy.

JR1 > ttyymmnn
08/10/2017 at 19:33

I would have preferred a cheap Japanese car. A lot more... expendable perhaps is the right word?

ttyymmnn > JR1
08/10/2017 at 19:39

And probably a lot more forgiving.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JR1
08/10/2017 at 19:47

Probably true, but the old truck is hair-raising in another way: extreme ease of stalling. After it’s stalled twice, it’s a rattling thing.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > JR1
08/10/2017 at 19:48

It’s easy to learn in things with really low gearing and cars with a lot of power. Consider yourself lucky.

To really learn to drive manual, you need to do it in something that can barely get itself moving, then drive on hills for a year or so in it. From there, everything will be easy.

crowmolly > JR1
08/10/2017 at 19:48

I dunno man. You’d have to make some big mistakes to break a ZF 6 speed.

All of the torque of the V8 helps prevent stalling too.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > JR1
08/10/2017 at 19:51

Your grandfather is a brave C4 owner, simply because there are no more replacement dual mass flywheels and that ZF6 is an expensive transmission to botch shifts on. That said, they’re otherwise an outstanding choice to learn on. Between the torque, loooong clutch pedal travel and the 38lbs flywheel, they are damn near impossible stall.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > JR1
08/10/2017 at 19:54

Kinja'd!!!

I first drove a manual in one of Team O’Neil’s Fiestas. This exact one to be precise. Wasn’t there for a school or anything, just puttering around with one of my Dad’s friends who is an instructor there. Obviously not me pictured.

TahoeSTi > JR1
08/10/2017 at 19:55

v8s are the best car to learn on, what you need to do is learn to get it to move and start with out touching the gas pedal at all. Just feather the clutch while in first and you’ll start moving, then just keep shifting with out the gas, this will help you get the feel of the clutch.....I’ve tought many to drive stick and v8s or high tq 4.0 jeep motors are the best, you can really learn clutch engagement points.

TahoeSTi > ttyymmnn
08/10/2017 at 19:56

Nah low end tq allows you to really just use the clutch pedal and learn the engagement. No need to touch the gas in a parking lot with that c4.

JR1 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
08/10/2017 at 20:03

I did not think about it that way. Good point.

JR1 > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
08/10/2017 at 20:04

I would prefer that. Something a little less valuable. But the torque and horse power did help

JR1 > crowmolly
08/10/2017 at 20:05

I sure it was more the V8 than my immense skill that prevented me from stalling.

JR1 > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
08/10/2017 at 20:06

Well then I am sure that it why I did not stall it.

JR1 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
08/10/2017 at 20:08

Very cool. I bet that Fiesta is a lot of fun on that dirt.

JR1 > TahoeSTi
08/10/2017 at 20:09

Good to know. I did not realize that!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JR1
08/10/2017 at 20:09

No lie, one of the easiest things to learn stick on is a Land Rover Series like I have. Sounds crazy, I know, but: torquey four-banger with insanely heavy flywheel, long gear throw, nasty noises if you shift too fast, and low gearing. It’s hard to stall, easy to get going, teaches you to match revs, and it’s sturdy.

JR1 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
08/10/2017 at 20:10

I could see that. They were probably over built for military applications.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JR1
08/10/2017 at 20:23

...and farming.

Chariotoflove > JR1
08/10/2017 at 20:25

Hooray! Well done.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > JR1
08/10/2017 at 20:56

I learned on a ‘94 Camaro Z28, LT1s are just so torquey they’re about the perfect engine to learn on. For my money though the ultimate vehicle to learn to drive stick on is a mid 90s Jeep Wrangler with a 4.0...you could start out in 3rd and it’s still almost impossible to stall. Sounds like a good first lesson though, keep it up!

Boxer_4 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
08/10/2017 at 21:45

The same way that I ended up with an E39 M5 as my stick learning car...

blind luck...

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > JR1
08/10/2017 at 22:18

I was more focused on clutch engagement points than hooning but I sure would like to go up and see what they can do.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > JR1
08/10/2017 at 22:25

The first time is always the hardest.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > JR1
08/10/2017 at 22:27

Welcome to the manual-driving fold! Hopefully this makes you want to learn more about it in the future, as much as we all say manual all things, etc, it is sadly a dying skill...one many of us find emotionally and physically satisfying and enjoyable. :)

Congrats! :D Once you’re moving, it’s not bad to learn. The getting moving is the hard part (especially when you throw hills into the mix...and cars behind you, etc. etc.

I first learned in a few brief lessons with two of my friends over 2 years. One had a 2004 Hyundai Elantra sedan that I drove once for something like 10 minutes on a slow rural dirt road, and the other taught me on his 2006 Accord sedan late at night in many city parking lots for 10-15 minute lessons (maybe 4 of them...?) before security chased us away. I never got above 30-40kph or 3rd gear in either case.

My baptism of manual-ness came from the fact I wanted (and still want) every one of my cars to be manual because I just massively prefer the control and driver engagement. No matter how mundane the car, I just really enjoy rowing my own gears and the physical and mental sense I am connected to the machine I sit in. This meant my first car was a stick back in 2008 (my 2002 Subaru Impreza 2.5TS) and I had to finish learning how to drive it, so to speak, by myself in rush hour traffic in the city I went to university in for the 10-15 minute trip home to my dorm from the garage I had it inspected at....talk about trial by fire/do or die situation! Let’s just say several stalls took place, but AWD helps when learning because you can’t accidentally sortof give it too much gas and fly off with wheelspin as the AWD system helps take up some of that, if that makes sense. My current 2009 Hyundai Accent is a stick as well (it replaced the Impreza in 2013). :)

JR1 > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
08/11/2017 at 07:42

A mid 90s Jeep would quickly turn into a Jurassic Park Jeep if I got my hands on one

JR1 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
08/11/2017 at 07:46

Nice! It is kind of sad it is a drying skill. I imagine it will continue to do so well into the future. Makes me wonder what will happen to all the manual classic cars.

I am very glad my situation isn’t a trail by fire like yours. I imagine by the time you got your car though you were fairly confident

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > JR1
08/11/2017 at 08:28

I see that as a positive.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > JR1
08/15/2017 at 08:57

I learned on the way home from buying my Miata. Trial by fire you could say. I only stalled it once while leaving the parking lot and had issues where I kept going from 2nd to 5th and then the car was dogshit slow lol. I made it the two hours home without breaking it though! First time in traffic like 2 weeks later though was intense. It was on a slight incline in stop and go traffic on the highway for a harrowing 15-20 minutes that felt like hours. That REALLY taught me how to drive haha.

JR1 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/15/2017 at 09:30

That’s awesome? Was the owner annoyed you didn’t know how to drive manual when you were test driving it?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > JR1
08/15/2017 at 09:42

I actually didnt test drive the car. I just had him drive me around and that was fine since I wouldnt have known what was good/not good anyways. I actually barely even inspected the car, so I got lucky that it wasnt a trash heap but he had some maintenance records and seemed to care for it.

I probably could have driven it for the test drive, I understood how to drive. I was just too nervous to try it with the guy there and didnt want to mess up the car before buying it.

JR1 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/15/2017 at 09:56

As someone who doesn’t drive regularly I wouldn’t want to screw up the test drive. Always a concern I had. But sounds like you had a good experience so maybe it wouldn’t be that bad.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > JR1
08/15/2017 at 11:00

I mean yeah, just make sure its daylight and decent weather out and not too much traffic around. Just eliminate the variables and it should be fine. I find driving in traffic to always be more stressful and with night and/or rain, its even worse.