I Can Now Drive Stick!

"Future Heap Owner" (aperiodic)
05/30/2018 at 11:53 • Filed to: save the manuals

On Monday I went out for my second lesson in driving a manual car, and by the end of it I felt pretty confident that I could drive any three-pedaled car if I had to (though I’m not gonna be impressing anyone any time soon).

(My coworker agreed to let me learn on his silver 2017 WRX(!), identical to this one pictured here)

This second time went much better overall than the first lesson a week ago. The first time, I wasn’t thinking and didn’t bring better shoes than the very thick- & stiff-soled street-style cycling shoes I biked over in, so it was very difficult to feel the clutch’s biting point and engagement zone. It felt binary to me: I knew where the biting point was, but after that it seemed like the clutch would engage all the way. I couldn’t even hold it at the biting point. I stalled a lot but eventually got fairly consistent in starting without stalling, but it would still be fairly jerky most of the time.

This time I brought some thin-soled, Converse-style shoes to change into, and the difference was huge. I hopped right in and made three smooth starts, and I could actually feel the clutch gradually engaging as I slowly released the pedal.

After we figured out how to disable the hill start assist feature, I moved on to practicing starts on various grades of inclination. I stalled a lot, but eventually got the hang of feathering the clutch a little bit to apply more gas before it fully engaged and was able to consistently start even on a decent grade (probably 5-7%).

I think I understand the basic techniques now, and it’s mostly a matter of practice. Hopefully I’ll be picking up an old clunker of a manual truck soon to practice on.

DISCUSSION (17)

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Future Heap Owner
05/30/2018 at 13:07

Personally I think this generation WRX is a really difficult car to learn clutch control in. Maybe they’ve improved it for the ‘17 and up models, but I had been driving stick for almost 3 years when I bought mine in 2015 and it took me about a year of daily driving it to really learn to get it smooth. Congratulations though! Manual is a lot of fun once you get more used to it.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Future Heap Owner
05/30/2018 at 13:18

A manual on that is easy, these modern cars are hillariously easy. My dad put me in a big old truck and basically let me figure it out when I was eleven or twelve I would guess. Now I have a 1952 truck with 1st and 2nd unsyncronized so I will be practicing double clutching from 3rd to 2nd, 1st is a granny gear and you don’t use it except slow and offroad. You should be pretty good with that car after driving it for a day, every vehicle is different, some manuals are really precise and touchy and others are loose and finding the gear is the hardest part. I assume that Subie is precise.

Snailkite > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
05/30/2018 at 13:30

Agreed, the rev hang and nonlinear throttle made my 2016 pretty hard to operate smoothly. My current Golf is just a complete breeze to operate in comparison.

wafflesnfalafel > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
05/30/2018 at 13:38

yeah - WRXs are a bit touchy, not the easiest to learn on.

Future Heap Owner > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
05/30/2018 at 13:48

Before I started researching about driving manual I thought shifting would be a lot more complicated, but then I found some videos showing how synchromesh transmissions work and realized that on almost any car newer than the 70s that should be pretty easy. Unsynchronized gears seem like a whole different skill on top of clutch control that I’m glad I don’t have to learn!

I’m interested to see how different it will feel to drive manual on the beater truck I end up buying vs the Subie

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Snailkite
05/30/2018 at 13:52

This and the fact that the bite “point” is more of a bite range...and its AWD so theres little slip...

Future Heap Owner > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
05/30/2018 at 13:56

That’s encouraging to hear! My coworker learned to drive manual when he was 15 and said he stalled it a couple times when he took it for a test drive. My girlfriend, whose first four or five cars were all manual and still regularly drives her sister’s manual Rabbit, gave me a bit of shit for stalling more times than I could count the first time out, so I want to have her take it for a spin both because she’s fond of WRXs and to see if she stalls it once or twice as well.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Future Heap Owner
05/30/2018 at 14:47

Those are at either end of the spectrum I would say. I have tried to drive everything I can. Your gears are probably very close together while my friends old VW bus is what I call a fishing expedition. Clutches can vary widely. I can only say it good to try others when you can. My vehicles are all so different.

Future Heap Owner > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
05/30/2018 at 15:04

What do you mean by “slip” here? How does that help?

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Future Heap Owner
05/30/2018 at 15:38

I stalled a bunch when I first got the car. Its normal. I believe in the ‘17s they corrected some of the rev hang and throttle mapping issues so it should be a bit easier to modulate than the earlier cars.

and slip is the wrong word, I really meant that all four wheels have traction so if you make a mistake you’re not gonna get wheelspin...you’re gonna get launched and put a lot of strain on the drivetrain.

Future Heap Owner > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
05/30/2018 at 15:55

Yeah, I definitely erred on the side of less throttle, both to reduce clutch wear and to avoid launching off real fast

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Future Heap Owner
05/30/2018 at 17:08

Man I still hate traffic on hills in my STi and I live and breathe manual day in and day out. In the Miata it is a piece of cake since the clutch is a little lighter and more predictable. The Miata being a lighter vehicle also makes it easier to move along without much gas. But true stop and go (that is slower than crawl) is just awful when a steep hill is involved. I had even more trouble in a rental mini cooper s that I drove. That clutch would surprise stall me all the time, even with my 3+ years of miata experience at that point. That is the most fascinating part to me, how different some cars can be. Any truly economy car is by far the best to feel like a master on, especially basic VW models like a regular golf or passat. Those cars are made to be so easy that you could drive them with absolutely no skill.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Future Heap Owner
05/30/2018 at 19:54

I think some people consider it a bad idea, or un-gearhead like, but I still use the handbrake on lots of inclines to make sure I don’t roll back at all :)

Future Heap Owner > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
05/30/2018 at 20:26

Oh really? I felt like it was too advanced a maneuver to attempt given that I was still working on coordinating the clutch and gas pedals.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Future Heap Owner
05/30/2018 at 20:45

I’ve always been of the opinion it’s a smart thing to do, but I’ve always had the feeling from some petrolheads that they consider a stick driver who uses the handbrake to be ‘bad at driving stick’ because they use a ‘crutch’ like a handbrake to prevent rollback.

Sortof a ‘ REAL DRIVERS CAN HILL START ON ANY INCLINE WITHOUT NO STINKIN’ HANDBRAKE’ mentality, if that makes sense. :P

Future Heap Owner > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
05/30/2018 at 21:04

Well, those people are entitled to their opinions, but I agree with you. I’m gonna do everything I can to avoid hitting the car behind me, especially given how little space some people will leave.

Future Heap Owner > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/30/2018 at 21:05

So the WRX does have a relatively heavy clutch? My leg was starting to get pretty sore at the end of two hours the first time out.