Teaching manual

"OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
03/11/2014 at 13:45 • Filed to: None

So back a while I asked for help with teaching my wife how to drive a manual.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

This weekend after treating the WRX to a wash an wax I figured it was time for her to try. Step #1, I downed a beer to calm my nerves and we headed out. I can say that my clutch is still in one piece and no tow trucks were required to get home. Over all she didn't do that bad but there is no way in hell i'm going on the open road with her yet. We started out in a large subdivision neighborhood. Something that was suggested to me was to have her engage the clutch without gas in first to get a feel for how it engages. I didn't even know this was possible so i was learning new stuff too. After that She tried giving it some gas to get it moving. Her first couple tries were nice and smooth and then she stalled but even that wasn't too violent. At the end of the road I wanted her to co around a cul-de-sac stop and try getting going again. Shes doing about 25 and I tell her to push the clutch, put it in neutral and slow down. nothing happens. We're getting closer and shes going too fast so I say it again and nothing. finally I panic and start yelling CLUTCH CLUTCH NOWWWWWWW!!!!. Finally she hits the clutch I pop it out of gear and we both take a second to calm down.

I think the most important part of all this is to stay calm. She get flustered easily and that just snow balls. After a few more runs from stand still to 3rd gear we decide we had had enough for the day. In the end she feels like if she absolutely needed to, she could manage driving the car. I think we will have a couple more practice sessions before getting other cars involved.

DISCUSSION (16)

jkm7680 > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2014 at 13:50

Almost one clutch later, the lady friend almost had the hang of it.

I'm just lucky the clutch was on its way out.

quarterlifecrisis > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2014 at 13:51

I'm not embellishing at all when I say that trying to teach a girlfriend how to drive stick contributed significantly to our relationship ending. And this was a long term girlfriend, like, years. So, props to you both for not killing each other.

RazoE > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2014 at 13:53

I always always mention this to people learning stick: No matter how much gas you give it, if you let the clutch out slow, it'll go slow.

Do that only a few times until you learn the gas pedal. Then you can work on the clutch pedal.

Nibbles > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2014 at 13:55

Let her get frustrated a few times out, then go along with her and say nothing. She'll pick the rest of it up real quick like

The Dummy Gummy > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2014 at 14:00

Teaching my wife how to drive stick on my 5.0 in a small parking lot. It was the scariest 15 minutes of my life. After that's he got the handle of it. I just wish she enjoyed as much as I did.

Jayhawk Jake > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2014 at 14:01

A couple thoughts

1: Stop worrying so much about your clutch. I think that's making everything worse for the both of you. Even if you aren't mentioning it to her, it's on the back of your mind. The clutch will be fine, it would take something monumentally stupid between to two of you to destroy the clutch. Stop thinking about it so much

2: Find a parking lot There's tons of space and nothing to hit (besides light poles). The subdivision was probably OK but an empty parking lot would be better.

3: Even though it's not great for the car, if she's not getting it and you need to pull it out of gear, just pull the stick out of gear. That way you don't freak her out by yelling at her, but still avoid disaster. Of course, being in an empty parking lot would avoid the issue altogether.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Jayhawk Jake
03/11/2014 at 14:16

I think we are both concerned for the car because its more or less brand new. We did try a parking lot first but it was too small and couldn't really even get into second gear. My freak out was due to her lack of response and me visualizing us going up and over the curb as she tried to sling us around the tiny sul-de-sac. I think next time i'm going to try an industrial park on a weekend. That way we can have a road to use without many other people being around. The neighborhood was ok and there were almost no cars parked on the street.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Nibbles
03/11/2014 at 14:19

I cant really let her get frustrated. If she gets frustrated she'll just start freaking out at the car and give up. I got her an ice coffee so every time she started getting worked up, i'd have her take a sip and relax. Her love for ice coffee is unreal.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2014 at 14:22

When in doubt, two feet in.

Nibbles > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2014 at 14:25

That's exactly how my wife behaved, until the 3rd or 4th attempt when I did nothing but sit in the passenger seat, only offering assistance if she explicitly asked for it or we were placed in a dangerous position. During that ride she picked the ins and outs up really quickly, and was driving herself back and forth to work starting the next day

OPPOsaurus WRX > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
03/11/2014 at 14:34

Yea thats something i'm going to push next time.

Sinanigans > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2014 at 14:47

Obligatory clapping GIF please!!!! Thank you for teaching the ways of the manual to another person :-) The world is a better place for it!!! I like to do dry runs before I start the engine when I teach a person to drive stick. That way, they get comfortable with the movement and process, and there's no damage caused.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Sinanigans
03/11/2014 at 14:54

Haha we had to shut the car off for a minute to do that. Once she figured out getting into first, we tried second. She would shift and the engine would shoot to 6500 rpm. She thought she was in second but was only going into neutral. We took a minute to go through all the gears.

Sinanigans > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2014 at 14:56

Good for you for fighting the good fight!!!!

OPPOsaurus WRX > Sinanigans
03/11/2014 at 15:16

Thanks!

FrankAtlanta > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/15/2014 at 12:33

I learned and taught somebody via rental cars...wonder if you can rent manuals anymore...