Learning To Drive Stick: 1 Month Report

"Branden J -Reading the Manual" (intakelake)
05/20/2015 at 20:57 • Filed to: None

Things are going quite swimmingly. (And I got a stripe!)

So I’m not going to lie, despite everything I had heard about manual cars being the only way to go, I still wasn’t sold. To put it plainly, I’m lazy, and shifting seemed like a huuuuge inconvenience to me. I thought “there are DCTs, and even plain automatics now that will shift faster and get better fuel economy than a manual, what’s the point?” I decided to give learning stick a shot, and at first it sucked. Like my mouth became a volcano of profanity every time I got in the car. But still, I pressed on.

And now, one month later, I see I couldn’t have been more wrong. These last few weeks as I’ve begun to get the hang of it have been the most fun I’ve had driving, ever. Unlike my old truck which I only drove about 3 times a week I’m out in my Focus every day. I just want to drive, and I can’t stop, it’s fantastic.

At first I was a doubter, I was in the dark, but now I have seen the light, I have learned the sacred ways, I am a believer, I am free.

I shall go to Valhalla shiny and chrome.

(Fury Road was fantastic, I highly recommend it.)

DISCUSSION (20)

jkm7680 > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/20/2015 at 21:02

Woooo! Glad you’re starting to enjoy it.

Can’t stress this enough, but it’s a learning process. Don’t get mad at yourself for stalling, or for rough shifts just forget they even happened and keep going!

Brickman > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/20/2015 at 21:13

Kinja'd!!!

Racing stripe. +2 shift time.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > jkm7680
05/20/2015 at 21:14

Yeah once I just started to let it go it went a lot smoother (though shouting profanity helped calm down sometimes too), the more frustrated I got the more I screwed it up

jkm7680 > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/20/2015 at 21:15

Haha, profanity is sometimes the best stress release.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > Brickman
05/20/2015 at 21:16

Dude I swear it adds like 5 hp, maybe more, but it’s totally faster now, trust me.

Dusty Ventures > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/20/2015 at 21:17

Like jkm said, it’s definitely a learning process. I learned about two years ago but, without regular access to a manual car only drove 700 miles at most total in a manual car up until last December. I bought my manual Outback then, and while I could “drive” it there was still much to learn. The point at which the clutch grips, how much RPM it needed not to stall, etc. I put 3500 miles on it between December and April, then set off on an 8,000 mile trip across the country in it. It wasn’t until halfway through that trip that I felt like I’d really learned how to drive the car and how to truly drive a stick. And I still have things to learn, like heel-toe, rev matching, etc.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > jkm7680
05/20/2015 at 21:17

Except when my mom is in the car... that got real awkward, real fast

jkm7680 > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/20/2015 at 21:18

Haha, my mom has always been really chill about that kind of thing. Except when I told somebody to “eat a dick” or something along the lines of that while driving.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > jkm7680
05/20/2015 at 21:21

I pulled up to a stop sign on a hill and a guy pulled right up to my bumper and I said (and not quietly either) “You son of a bitch” and my mom was like “excuse me?” I didn’t say anything back. I just kept driving.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > Dusty Ventures
05/20/2015 at 21:24

Yeah I still have a long ways to go, but I’ve finally gotten to the point where the fun times outweigh the “I want to kill this car, the man who made it, and his family, with fire” times. It really is a lot more fun than I could have ever expected

jkm7680 > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/20/2015 at 21:27

Haha, I hate that kind of person.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > jkm7680
05/20/2015 at 21:28

A friend of mine does it to me intentionally now because he knows it pisses me off.

jkm7680 > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/20/2015 at 21:30

Smack him in the face?

SlickMcRick > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/20/2015 at 21:44

Manual transmissions in economy cars makes a world of difference. It wakes up all the sleeping unicorns in the engine and makes you want to ring it out. Also since it’s not a powerful motor you can wring it out without worrying about getting into too much trouble.

Honestly at first I had your thinking as well. I tried to learn on my dad’s Accord but gave up after a few lessons. It wasn’t until I was offered a free car from a shop I volunteered at that I decided to get the hang of it. I had everything down pact except hills. Hills were the death of me, especially steep ones when you can roll backwards into a car that is right on your bumper.

buford-t-justice > jkm7680
05/20/2015 at 22:06

Is there really a mum that wouldn’t get mad at their kid saying “eat a dick”?

buford-t-justice > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/20/2015 at 22:07

Hp by the inch?

jkm7680 > buford-t-justice
05/20/2015 at 22:08

Hey, if it’s completely warranted then sure.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > buford-t-justice
05/20/2015 at 22:17

By the square inch, it’s all in area man

sellphones2493 > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/20/2015 at 22:20

I’ll admit - there are certain times where I’m so sick of driving stick. Mostly in situations where it’s untimed stoplights one after the other. But for the most part, it keeps the mundanity out of driving a car.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Branden J -Reading the Manual
05/21/2015 at 06:15

workmate went to see Fury Road , thought it was shit.