manual trans

Today was my first time driving a manual car. My friend was teaching me how. Im in first gear with the clutch all the way in.....I try to get the car moving by lettin the clutch go slowly then step on the gas pedal ......but the car keeps dying =(. Any tips of when to press on the gas pedal??? I dont kno when to press on the gas pedal.....do you guys understand? my friends say he somehow just feels when to press on the gas pedal and let go of the clutch....I dont. I did sucessfully got the car moving in 1st .... couple of times, but most of the time, it died. tips??? is there a site where it teach how to drive manual?

[AzCivic]

it just takes practice, if your going to mess up though, mess up by giving it too much gas rather than too little. too much and you might get some wheel spin, too little the car dies. i'd rather have a little wheel spin.

[ebpda9]

after a while you will get the hang of it. i learned to drive stick first and now i just feel the car, i do not look at the revs or listen for the engine. i guess it all comes natural with 100k miles of driving under your belt

[pdiggitydogg]

It'll happen...pracitce
took me a whole 30mins to get it right the first time (parking lot)

then when I drove on the streets for the first time alone I was soooo nervous...every 1st gear start was a squealer

[mylittlecivic]

just had to teach my friend but she did pretty good it was hard trying to explain it. just try to balance out the pedals and give it some go, i was told its better to peel out then kill it.

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

Well you should have a feel now for when it dies. Give it gas before that Try letting out the clutch a little slower at first. Its not great to ride the clutch like that, but a few times when you're learning won't kill it.

Basically:
1) start to let clutch out
2) give gas before it starts to catch (just while you're learning... you'll time it better later on). Not too much gas, it doesn't take much.
3) Keep letting clutch out slowly.
4) Drive away

If you're on a flat lot, just let the clutch out until you can feel it start to catch with NO gas. Right at or before that point is where you need to give it the gas. Try this a few times without touching the gas and you'll get a feel for where your left foot should be when it needs gas.

thanks....gonna try again today possible.

I tried to learn and never got it after 3 separate sessions...I tried again like 6 months later and did much better. Now I drive a manual!

im not the greatest at driving a stick, especially on a hill... i always end up spinning tires so bad its not even funny. And most of the time i drive by myself... guess its weird like that

[B16DoHcCrx033003]

i just feel when the clutch grabs then give it a lil gas, but the first manual i ever drove was a 1978 CJ 7, with a 12inch lift and 44 inch swampers, learn on somthing hard then easy things come a lot easier

[blind34_1]

i put a big sign on my car that said "learning stick, please pass", while i drove around my neighborhood. it took my about two weeks to finally convince myself to take it out on the road. those were the most frusting two weeks ever. Just stay with it, once you get it, you'll be so glad you did.

the ultimate test is to be able to balance it on an incline. once you can do that, you can pretty much do anything. remember it requires only VERY small adjustments between the clutch and gas to balance on a hill.

(oh and dont do what my g/f used to do and avoid the stoplights that sit on hills. the roads that you are scared of are the ones you need to drive on the most.)

Originally posted by blind34_1
i put a big sign on my car that said "learning stick, please pass", while i drove around my neighborhood. it took my about two weeks to finally convince myself to take it out on the road. those were the most frusting two weeks ever. Just stay with it, once you get it, you'll be so glad you did.

LMAO thats great.

the first stick i drove was a 1990 F-250 Long Bed Extended cab with a trailer on the back, what fun that was. I even forgot the parking brake. So i would let off the clutch and press the gas and it would go dead. Dad wasnt too happy about that one

[Shaved &/or Laid]

i learned on a nissan hardbody. Man that has one tight clutch.

it's always tricky ur first time..my dad made me learn the day i bought my accord and it sucked...but i learn quickly so it was all good....just rev up the car to like 1500-2000 and start releasing the clutch you'll sense the clutch engaging but dont let your revs go down, then you'll stall. you gotta keep the revs above like 1k and you'll be fine...just practice on a parking lot with NO cars....good luck

[thermal]

yeah.....what they said. Stock clutch is easy to drive especially with Honda tranny. Try driving a race clutch. It's very sensitive. The stage3 clutch on my Teg gives a lot of people a hard time.

1st gear is the hardest. Put plenty of gas and slower on letting go of the clutch. You'll be ok.

Driving a manual tranny is knowing your car well. Shifting becomes natural as you do it more.

[Shaved &/or Laid]

that race clutch cant be as annoying as that damn nissan. lol

[sohc_vtec 2NR]

if the car feels like its "bogging" or it shakes harder than normal then its about to die...so everytime that happens just press on the clutch to prevent it from dying..

practice by releasing the clutch lightly and revving the car up a lil, you'll notice the car will move slightly even if the clutch is still depressed...just get use to that and eventually you'll learn how to mix up the clutch/gas..and after you learn first/reverse then the rest is a piece of cake.