How Did You Learn? 

"JKER" (jker) 02/16/2015 at 10:13 • Filed to: None

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How did you learn to first drive stick and when?

For me, when I was 17 my brother put me in his Honda Accord and showed me how to drive it while we went around the block. After that I started driving it to school every day and just taught myself how to drive it smoothly.

Leon711 > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:16

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I learnt at 16 when I went to college (1 day a week because I was considered a stupid kid) to do mechanics, we "race prepped a 80's Mini and got a chance to drive it on a local Oval, it went great! but I didn't know that to stop you had to depress the clutch.

and the school was wrong about me, I got an engineering degree now. I wasn't stupid, just lazy.

JKER > Leon711 02/16/2015 at 10:19

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I am also lazy, which is stupid.

Leon711 > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:21

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I learned how to unlazy in the second year of university, did quite well.

back on the manual side of things, learning stick was a given because I'm from the UK. I've only driven an auto once.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:21

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I was taught for about 20 minutes in My friend's manual Ranger with no power steering and a mostly gone clutch. But I dont count that because I didnt have regular access to a stick until I got my truck so I'm gonna say after I got my license in december with my truck

jkm7680 > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:22

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15, my father taught me the basics and I taught myself the rest for the most part.

Dusty Ventures > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:22

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I learned in 2013 (I was 26). I'd talked myself into a free day at Team O'Neil but had never driven a stick. So I called up my buddy who had a manual lifted Jeep. He let me drive that around for about an hour. Three days later I was at TON. Probably stalled the Fiesta about four or five times over the course of the day, but for the most part I think I did alright. A few months after that I took possession of the TAG rally Subaru and started driving that on weekends to fully get it down.

MIATAAAA > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:23

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My mom taught me when I was 17 in her 2001 BMW Z3 3.0i.

My dad tried to teach me in that car about 6 months prior, but he's not the best instructor. He's much better as a fear-instiller.

cazzyodo > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:24

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Summer of 2013 when I was buying my first car.

Got a dealer to let me take out a beater of a used car then started doing test drives.

DrScientist > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:27

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i learned by closely watching my dad drive his late 80's e30 325i sedan around.

then, when my parents were away, my brother and i would take it out for joyrides. i was 13-14, my brother was 15-16. the car was a blast. (my mom eventually ran it into a tree. poor e30) it looked nearly exactly like this.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:28

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I learned when I was 16 in my uncles wrangler.

Two Drink Minimum > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:31

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I learned when I visited my girlfriend at her college. She had borrowed a friend's car for us to drive the 120 miles to a concert, but she didn't know the car was a manual. We both looked in the car, looked at each other, and laughed. Neither of us knew how to drive stick.

So I faked it. The best thing I can say is that we made it to the concert and back and didn't completely ruin the clutch. But I had more than my share of stalls.

thebigbossyboss > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:32

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I learned on this car with a 4.6L V8. It was a hard car to learn on. Dat shifter position~

JKER > jkm7680 02/16/2015 at 10:33

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That's pretty young! I'm jealous.

5-Speed Gangsta > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:33

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August of last year, just before my 16th birthday. I bought my first car, -1994 BMW 325i- it has a manual transmission. I was at rugby practice when my dad picked it up from the dealer so he brought it to me and let me drive it home after practice. He didn't really give me any instruction or criticism. When we got home he said I did pretty well and said on a scale of 1-10 I did about a 7. The next time I drove it he began to tell me how to get better and now I daily drive it so I'm pretty good at it.

thebigbossyboss > Dusty Ventures 02/16/2015 at 10:33

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Things I never knew about Dusty. I am surprised you learned so late!

thebigbossyboss > MIATAAAA 02/16/2015 at 10:34

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Your mom is awesome!

JKER > MIATAAAA 02/16/2015 at 10:34

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... can we trade parents?

dirt2ride > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:34

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I was 13 and i learned in my school parking lot. My older brother was friends with our schools lacrosse coach who gave me the keys to his 99' civic hatch (with fart can) and told me to go learn! by the end of the season i went down the street hahaha

JKER > thebigbossyboss 02/16/2015 at 10:35

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I can't tell whether that's ugly or beautiful. It's a work of art that's for sure.

JKER > Two Drink Minimum 02/16/2015 at 10:35

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Well at least you made it work, that's the jalop attitude to have.

E. Julius > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:35

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It was actually kind of a funny story for me. When I first got into cars at 16, I knew driving manual was something I would have to learn how to do at some point. I didn't know anybody with a manual that wasn't some high end sports car, so I thought asking was out of the question. Given that situation, I did research. I read about proper technique, watched youtube videos, imagined doing it in my mind, practiced the motions with my hand and feet as best I could. All so I could be ready when the opportunity finally came.

By the time I'm 17, for some crazy reason my cousin's ex–husband let me drive his modded CTS-V that makes around 560rwhp—with a stick. I tried my best to apply my knowledge, but this thing was a beast. The engine was so powerful, with a really light flywheel and a tricky clutch, I could only barely get it to move down the road before we switched back. The owner knew it was a terrible car to learn on and he didn't want me messing up his clutch for his track day that weekend.

Flash forward to the next year, and I've firmly established myself as a "car guy" amongst my friends. I also have this terrible habit of telling people I know how to do things I don't for some reason, but usually it's in circumstances where I have some time to get my shit together. For this reason, when it comes up if I know how to drive stick, I say "Of course, my uncle taught me on his TR6".

My uncle does have a TR6, but I've never driven it.

Anyways, my girlfriend gets a new car, an older Ford Focus with a 5 speed. Her sister gave her a brief tutorial on driving stick with her old Jetta, but she wanted me (with all of my "knowledge") to ride back with her. Of course, given the amount I knew about driving stick, I was actually able to give her some good tips, I'd just never done the actual act before. Finally, when we get it back to her neighborhood, she asks me if I want to drive it.

I get in the driver's seat, adjust everything, review the technique in my mind, and try to get the car going. Miraculously, no stalls, no rough shifts, and I'm rolling down the road in 4th having the time of my life. I did my best to play it cool and not give up that this was the first time I'd ever done it before, but after enjoying myself and the successful execution of my ruse, I finally break the news to her that it was my first time, which she found surprising.

Since then I've driven that car quite a bit, and after a three day trip through the Swiss alps with a rented manual Skoda last month, I've finally reach a point where my shifts are nice and smooth and I can drive one without really thinking about it. I've learned to do a few other things in a similar way, and I've found that avoiding the embarrassment of being revealed is a pretty good motivation for learning some new skills haha

MonkeePuzzle > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:37

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I was a teenager when I started to get interested in such things, first I practiced along in my room, but soon I was ready to try my moves with a partner out and about in public, and now I'm pretty skilled

thebigbossyboss > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:40

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Thanks man, I think it's beautiful. It is my friends Matts. He is a saint for teaching me.

I will say this....wherever we go people stop and stare.

jkm7680 > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:40

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Learning to drive only on a manual transmission car is the way to go!

Tapas > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:42

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Am lazy. Can confirm.

Nonster > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:42

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My brother taught me in his 84 Jeep CJ-7 when I was 13 or 14. It had a pretty heavy clutch pedal, shift throws that were more like rowing a boat, and steering that was more of a suggestion, but I didn't stall it and loved every second of it

JKER > E. Julius 02/16/2015 at 10:46

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Haha! It's too bad you didn't have a chance to learn before the cts-v, that's one of my favorite cars for sure.

JKER > 5-Speed Gangsta 02/16/2015 at 10:46

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Nice! Some people just come by it naturally I guess.

Dusty Ventures > thebigbossyboss 02/16/2015 at 10:48

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It was a case of access. No one in my family had a manual I could learn on, I had very few local friends (none with manuals), and all the friends I knew who did drive stick were far away. It was a 90 minute drive to get to my buddy with the Jeep.

thebigbossyboss > Dusty Ventures 02/16/2015 at 10:48

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As long as you hooned in the end. And hoon you do.

E. Julius > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:49

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That car is insane. Here's an article about the one I drove: http://www.lsxtv.com/features/car-f…

The article was written a little bit before I drove it, and I think he'd done a little more work on it by that point. Nowadays that thing is even meaner than ever, although I haven't seen him since the last time I drove it. Maybe this summer or something I can get a second chance.

revrseat70 > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:53

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This was the car my dad and I worked on while I was growing up. I learned half of what I know now on it. We swapped a built 5.0 engine into it (including some pretty radical cams), as well as other drivetrain work. It had a short shifter, and super heavy racing clutch. At the ripe age of 13 my dad (who was sitting in the chair next to me, watching tv) looked over and said: "get your shoes on, you're learning stick today". It was an extremely intimidating afternoon of learning finesse, patience, confidence, hill starts, and downshifting properly. However, he said I was already one of the smoothest shifters he had seen, and picked it up quicker than he did. My dad told me that since I could drive that mustang before even having a license, I would be able to drive anything. And that's actually been pretty true ever since. He sold that car before I could buy it from him (I was 15), to a 16 year old from Mississippi. If it's not wrapped around a tree by now, I salute that kid.

Übel > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:53

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My dad threw me the keys to his Z3, got in the passenger seat, and told me to figure it out. As scary as that was, I got the hang of it in like a week, in time for me to use the Z3 to take my girlfriend to prom in.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:54

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I bought a 1991 Audi 200 20v offof a guy for 1100$. My friends and I were going to do a top-gear style race next year (this was summer of 2012 when I bought it) so I sold my automatic buick to get the money to buy it. I had to fix the coolant tank and hose in the parking lot, in a thunderstorm, and then learned on the 60 mile drive home how to drive it. It stalled a lot due to a bad idle air control valve. Which is terrifying when it cuts out at 70mph on the freeway.......

I've only owned manual cars since - a 1998 jetta (BIERWAGEN!) and m 2014 Fiesta ST.

AM3R shamefully returns > MIATAAAA 02/16/2015 at 10:54

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your dad sounds like my dad

JKER > revrseat70 02/16/2015 at 10:55

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Good story. Too bad he had to sell it though, that looks clean

Dusty Ventures > thebigbossyboss 02/16/2015 at 10:56

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Added bit: Up until I bought my XT back in November every manual car I'd driven since the TON visit had been a rally car. When you're in a rally car you know you're driving something different. Between the noise, the ride, the feel, the random bits of tubing obstructing your view, there's never a moment when you forget it's not a regular car. At some point that sensation of "this is different" became associated in my mind with driving a stick. The XT, of course, feels like a normal car. Because of that for the first few days I drove it whenever I did a long stint of cruising at a steady speed I'd forget it was a manual. So I'd slow down for a stop sign or a highway exit ramp and it would start to bog. And I'd think "oh shit!" shift down, and feel like an idiot. Fortunately that only lasted a few days.

JKER > Übel 02/16/2015 at 10:56

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Did he also throw you a condom and tell you to "figure it out" on prom night?

Tapas > JKER 02/16/2015 at 10:56

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I was taught by my dad and the our driver how to drive stick. But these sessions didn't involve any practice on the road. Mainly because I lived in India (no traffic rules, yay!) and my dad didn't want me to wreck his new car lol I was in college in another city at the time so I just practiced a couple of times when I visited my home.

I did know how to drive a bike/scooter on the road though; and had been driving since I was 14.

Then I moved to the US for more college. Got an internship unexpectedly and was required to drive to work, when I had no license and had never driven in the US.

I first paid my friend to drive me to work for the first few weeks, while I learned how to drive on my friends cars (stick and auto). Then I "rented" a car from a shady guy with a 2000s Corolla crapcan (low on tranny fluid, coolant and everything else) while I was looking to buy my car.

Bought an '03 Accord with Manual and practiced. At one point, I had a huge sign posted on my read bumper saying "Learning to drive standard. Back off" :D

revrseat70 > JKER 02/16/2015 at 11:01

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Thanks. Honestly, I would have probably killed myself if that had been my first car. Not only was it well into the 400 hp range, but a crazy turn of events landed me in Minnesota for my high school years. And yes, my father is a very fanatical cleaner and detailer. He has owned a detail shop, (several people I run in to figure out I'm his son and swear to me he was the best in the state), created his own compounds, and currently restores, rebuilds, details, and refurbishes motorcycles for a chain of motorcycle dealers, out of his garage.

thebigbossyboss > Dusty Ventures 02/16/2015 at 11:05

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Ok makes sense. Honestly, I learned on my buddies car a bit, but driving my own manual car was the real solution, I still sucked at driving stick when I got it but now some 70,000 miles later, I'm pretty good.

stuttgartobsessed > JKER 02/16/2015 at 11:08

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I was 18 or 19 and my neighbor taught me on her Mini. Didn't have a stick for 2 ears after that though.

camaroboy68ss > JKER 02/16/2015 at 11:09

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I learned about manuals at 12-13 with a dirt bike, so I had the idea down just needed to switch what my leg and hand did. First stick car I ever drove was my 68 Camaro at 15. Grandpa took me to a parking lot gave me 5 min to do a few starts and then had me drive the hilliest part of town. His method was the thrown you into the deep end method.

misfitmascots > JKER 02/16/2015 at 11:17

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I was 15, my cousin taught me in her Mazda protégé. I didn't drive one regularly until I spent a year in Korea.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > JKER 02/16/2015 at 11:18

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Trial by fire. Long story short, I live in the Detroit suburbs and drove with my dad out to Lansing to pick up my first car- a glorious (OK it was a piece of shit) FC RX7. His car, a 2000 Mercury Sable, decided to let go of its engine about 10 miles outside of Lansing, and I had to drive my new wheels alongside the wrecker that towed his car to a garage. I had never driven stick before, and only stalled it a few times on the way, but I was essentially forced to learn quickly.

Dusty Ventures > thebigbossyboss 02/16/2015 at 11:23

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Yeah, I had no trouble driving my car (if you can drive a race clutch with no problem you can drive pretty much anything), I just kept forgetting what I was driving lol

Michael Maguire > thebigbossyboss 02/16/2015 at 11:33

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Wow, I actually like this... Nice Ride!

Michael Maguire > JKER 02/16/2015 at 11:34

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I posted on Oppo about 6 months ago about not having the chance to learn to drive stick. Nobody I knew even had a manual transmission car. Luckily, one fellow oppo who was in St. Louis messaged me and said he would teach me on his car.

It hasn't happened yet, but I am incredibly excited to learn soon!

JKER > Michael Maguire 02/16/2015 at 11:42

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That's awesome! There's a lot of great people on here, I'm sure you'll enjoy learning.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > JKER 02/16/2015 at 11:43

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I learned to drive on tractors when I was 12, including a 1940-something John Deere B (I know it was post-1940 because it had electric start and the 6-speed transmission)... Check out this shift gate ;) Still had a hand-clutch.

Then I rode shitty old dirt bikes... first car (and vehicle with a foot clutch) I drove was a 1986 Mazda B2200 pickup. I didn't drive anything with an automatic until high-school driver's-ed class.

Andrew > JKER 02/16/2015 at 11:48

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I was 16 and fed up with the inherited car I received in HS(96 Ford Explorer) and decided I wanted to feed my enthusiast side and use it towards buying something with a manual transmission(2000 Subaru 2.5RS).

Ended up learning on my friends grandma's 1980s Honda CRX. After a few sessions I was getting the hang of it and it came in real handy when a family friend let me drive his 355 Spider a week later. Talk about a completely differnt driving experience in terms of stick shifts.

Henri915 > JKER 02/16/2015 at 11:54

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1986 in an '85 VW Golf. Both my parent's cars were manual. If you didn't drive stick, you didn't drive.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > JKER 02/16/2015 at 11:55

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My sister taught me how to drive stick just before I got my license in her 86 Notchback Mustang 4 cylinder 4 speed.

Basically a boring version of this:

area man > JKER 02/16/2015 at 12:03

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When I was 18 my mom and I had to make a 14 hour round trip to pick up my brother and all his shit from college, and the only car up to the task was my dad's manual 4Runner, and he couldn't get the time off work. My mom had just had knee surgery so she couldn't work the clutch, so my dad took me out for an hour and showed me the basics before sending me out on this trip. It's easy to learn something when you have no other option. I stalled a few times in the first couple hours but by the return trip I had it down. I recommend trial by fire for anyone who wants to gain this essential skill.

Autofixation > JKER 02/16/2015 at 12:13

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I learned when I was 13. We had a gravel driveway that needed regular maintenance, so one day when we came home with three tons of gravel in the back of our 1985 Dodge D350, my dad stopped the truck at the bottom of the driveway and told me to get in the driver's seat. He got out of the truck and hopped in the bed so he could shovel out gravel as we went up the hill. He gave me instructions on how to hold the brake and let out the clutch then slip over to the gas.

This went well until about half way up the driveway we got to the steepest part, I let out the clutch and held on the brake a little too long. I heard a loud bang, and then a clunk, as the truck started to roll backwards. I pushed the brake harder and held truck on the hill. My dad walked over to the truck, stopped, looked at me, looked under the truck, then back at me. I had snapped the rear yoke on the driveshaft.

Fortunately my dad got new yokes put on the driveshaft, and all was well. He continued to teach me, and by the time I was 14 I was competent enough to drive the truck all around the property. I still have the broken yoke in my office, and have a manual as a daily driver.

Brickman > JKER 02/16/2015 at 12:18

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I was 12. Chevy S-10 and Toyota Paseo. So much restarting, head banging, and gear grinding :D.

Paseo was a lot better. I had a habit of going from 2nd to 5th in the S10 lol.

JKER > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 02/16/2015 at 12:19

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I s'pose I learned on a tractor too, not exactly like driving a car though because I didn't take it as easy on that poor tractor haha

JKER > Autofixation 02/16/2015 at 12:20

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Damn! Not the easiest way to learn that's for sure. That's cool that you kept the yoke though

Übel > JKER 02/16/2015 at 12:36

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Nah,I had to buy my own condom.

Trevor Slattery, ACTOR > JKER 02/16/2015 at 12:41

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Learned to ride a two stroke dirt bike when I was 15. So when I got my first car at age 19 I just got in it and drove.

Trevor Slattery, ACTOR > camaroboy68ss 02/16/2015 at 12:50

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Same here. Once you figure out a dirt bike a car is easy.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > JKER 02/16/2015 at 13:27

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My dad took me out in his Tacoma to the steepest hill in town, parked it halfway up with the handbrake on, put me in the driver's seat, and told me to get it going.

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > JKER 02/16/2015 at 13:44

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I bought and drove a beat to shit 323e E30 about 200km on back county roads. No windows, little brakes, and little to no manual knowledge.

It was a lot of fun until I hit the highway (401) and hit rush hour coming into Oshawa.
It was my first manual car, my first RWD car, and I crashed it twice over the coming months.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > JKER 02/16/2015 at 13:57

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13 years old in a large empty parking lot where a mall used to be, in the snow. Dad took me out in the beater Ford Escort and taught me.

banjo cat ghost of oppo past > JKER 02/16/2015 at 14:58

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Confidently at 17/18, around 2003. My mother, who rode her brother's choppers to highschool in North Dakota and owned a black '69 fastback Mustang in college took me around the block in the Audi coupe I had just bought myself. She's usually not the calm one which got her banned from my general driving instruction.

However after I dared the small dealer to find my dream car the Audi and they succeeded, the day I picked it up I couldn't get out of the sloped entrance. I kept stalling-with my dad watching in his A6 right behind me with a wtf look. He steps out, walks up to my window... "GIT OUT!"

So he drives it home and now we're both pissed at each other so my mom steps up between us, takes me around the neighborhood and gives me the most patient instruction and it takes me like ten minutes to master the Audi's long ass clutch.

Justino6969 > JKER 02/16/2015 at 15:24

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Maybe 19. The car my dad bought was stick, per my request (2001 VW Jetta 1.8T Wolfsburg). It would be my only vehicle and I wanted to learn so I forced myself into the situation. It took me about 30 minutes of start-stop to get the hang of it, thank goodness, because I had class the next day. Haven't looked back since.

JasonStern911 > JKER 02/16/2015 at 15:39

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wish I had a fun story. I grew up riding motorcycles, so my dad basically said "do what you normally do, but with your foot instead of your left hand." so I did that.

Autofixation > JKER 02/16/2015 at 15:41

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Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > JKER 02/16/2015 at 17:45

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I learned in 2009 at the ripe old age of 25. I learned by going to car dealerships (while actually car shopping mind you) and having the sales people take me out and give me lessons. I haven't driven stick much, and I'm sure I'm still not great, but I can definitely manage.

JKER > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) 02/16/2015 at 20:56

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That's a great idea actually, rip up the clutches of brand new cars! Genius

Shoop > JKER 02/16/2015 at 21:40

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my dad taught me in his c6

dr861 > JKER 02/16/2015 at 22:30

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In Dad's 99 corvette convertible when I was 14. Learning to take off smoothly was like a joke to me. I couldn't believe how they expected non car people to understand it. Finally, being able to do it smoothly was maybe the biggest accomplishment of my life up to that point.

pip bip - choose Corrour > JKER 02/17/2015 at 05:17

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my dad taught me to drive , took me out to local backroads and told me to drive.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > JKER 02/17/2015 at 09:09

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Used cars mostly, and they offered so who was I to say no.

CallMeTURBO > camaroboy68ss 02/19/2015 at 20:45

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100 percent, Id been riding dirtbikes since age 9 so when I finally bought my civic Si when I was 16 I hopped in, stalled it once, and after that it was smooth sailing

Skamanda > JKER 05/07/2015 at 14:02

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I bought a 2000 Turbo Beetle. Signed the paperwork, got in, and started learning to drive stick on the way home. MAN were the people at this one light pissed at me with how many times I stalled it... Good times!