How did you learn manual

Alright, i am almost 17, been driving for about a year and a half (including when i had my permit) on ONLY AUTO's. No one in my family or close friends have manuals. The one time i got to drive stick was 2 times with an '85 subaru station wagon, and i didn't so too well. Anyways, i am looking into cars like a Firebird Formula and with any car with power i want a stick for fun and because the car deserves it. My worry is about messing up the clutch a lot learning on the car i get. How did you learn?

I learned on my wife's (girlfriend at the time) old '89 Nissan Pulsar NX. Now I never want an auto tranny again. :D.

Just find a friend that has one, and make 'em show you how. :licker:

I learned on a standard as I learned to drive, when I was 13 in my old '73 Vega:)

I learned by driving crappy-ass manual-transmissioned cars in the Philippines...

Always have driven them, can't stand auto. Tractors, trucks and cars were all manual when I was a kid.

I just can't live without heel/toe and double clutching :D

I learned in the car in the picture below. Learning on a car with a turbo isn't always fun.

Back when I was 14 my dad trained me on a Subaru. I dont remember what kind - its been a couple of decades and the beer has killed off that brain cell.













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I'd like to thank UPS for my knowledge. While on my breaks and times that I would arrive early to work, I used to race their trucks up and down the West Side Highway.:D

Originally posted by DVSNCYNIKL
I'd like to thank UPS for my knowledge. While on my breaks and times that I would arrive early to work, I used to race their trucks up and down the West Side Highway.:D

:hehehe::hehehe::hehehe:

That'd be quite a sight, 2 UPS trucks racing down the highway! :D:D

DVS, just curious, but what do UPS guys make? I have always thought it was a fairly nice salary, but never new a UPS man to ask. :)

Well I leartn how to drive hard in the White GTS-T below \/

It was an Auto but we changed it to 5 Speed... oh the amount of times I spun it around.. and in the wet..

It's a wonder I am still here, or have a licence..

I learnt to drive on a Lada 2109 (obviously a manual). I didnt think it too hard at the time. Then I drove some better cars and it was heaven compared to the Lada. I dont mind autos, I like both transmissions.

You learn by stalling. Sooner or later you can control that with right amount of foot pressure.

Originally posted by F20C
You learn by stalling. Sooner or later you can control that with right amount of foot pressure.

I agree wholeheartedly. I never think much of people that say "I never ever stall". They're the people that, when a light turns green, give it some revs, slowly let the clutch out, and still have a jumpy start. I'd rather risk a stall in order to learn to get the clutch out quicker and smoother.

I learnt by destroying the gearbox on a friends Opel Vectra...........

I learned by buying my own car and practicing.

Okay, so I had one lesson on my ex's Honda Civic before I decided I really thought I would like it.

But in all honesty, the one thing that would have lowered my learning curve would have been if I had first been told to feel where the clutch let out. My jumpy starts were the direct result of letting the clutch out too quickly. I had 2 lessons with my dad in the car, and the last lesson, I drove out to a parking lot and played around a little bit by myself. I was doing well enough after a week to be on the road, but I did sometimes stall--especially when trying to get started on an uphill...

After 2 months I'm doing pretty well, but there's always more to learn :)

Believe it or not, I've never learnt to drive a manual. I've never need to until now (my husband's just bought a manual Skyline). I guess I'd better learn soon!!! ;)

just drive, the more practice you get, the more you better at it. every car is different, u can learn all of them. Some ppl are good with cars and some ppl r not....

so..... its a instinct as well i guess

I learn on a old 60's jeep. 3 speed, 1 reverse. On off road.:D

Ok, i notice a lot of people learn on older cars and not so important ones. Well, this is going to be my car for a while and i wanna keep it from the damage of learning if possible.

After driving for a year w/my permit, I got my car('95 camry, 5spd). Learned in a couple weeks, 3-4 30 minute sessions w/my dad and one of his friends. Probably stalled about a dozen times, and ended up killing the battery(it may have been in bad shape when we got the car). I've stalled twice in the 4 months that I've been driving. The car already had 115k on it when I started driving, and the tranny still seems great to me. I've tended to over-rev(an extra 1000 or so) more often than not leading to a few unexpected chirps, but relatively few stalls. I'm not the most "coordinated" of people, but with a little practice I don't think there's anything at all to be feared in manuals. I've come to appreciate how much I dislike driving auto now, because I see how my dislike of reving(in normal traffic, past 2k, 3k if accelerating) and my desire for acceleration just aren't practical in an auto. Now I'm able to do as much as the cars around me will allow, do it very smoothly(the way I drive auto is much less smooth), and keep my rpms around 2k nearly all the time.

I learnt in my parents 1990 Ford Laser, Ive never driven an auto so i had to learn everything at once.

Modern cars are alot more forgiving, trying to learn on a 30 yo car will only do more damage to the car and increase the time it takes to learn. Use a newer car if possible

I'm an old fart, but I learned any kind of clutch action on a friend's dirt bike. After many years later I was driving muscle cars (went to school in the 70's) I didn't find out whether I could drive a manual trans car until I bought a 76 Ford Pinto. I guess the dirt bike riding paid off!

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I learned the day I got my car (4*15*01). Was pretty easy actually :) Only stalled 2 times while trying to put the car in a different parking spot at my dad's shop.

This was many moons ago.

It was in a early 80's Subaru wagon. My buddie and I had been at a party drinking Everclear and beer. I told him he was too drunk to drive when he almost ran us over a cliff while puking out the window. I was drunk, but at least not puking. Pretty easy car to drive. I think I only stalled it about 6 times.

Well, i learned in my car, which was pretty easy. The clutch is pretty crappy and worn so i have to let it out fast. I have stalled it about 4 times since i first learned. However my dad's 2001 Accord is a touchy queen biotch. Its got the best clutch i have ever used unfortunately, i stall that one about once a trip. I prefer my crappy "stick in a bag of rocks" tranny to my dad's hyper smooth shifter...

I learned to drive a 5-spd when I was 12. I'm not 17, and can drive any manual with no problem. It's better when you start young. :)

i learned to drive a manual by watching mommy when i was like 12....then took it for a spin when i was 13 :coolguy:

Update: I found out a friend with a '94 Toyota 4x4 was willing to let me drive it around for a bit, and of course it had a 5 speed. Well, i learned how to not make it stall, but since i have only driven it for 5-10 minutes each time for about 4-5 times, i haven't gotten it completly down (for that car). I have the fundamentals down, its just getting used to the clutch on the car i will get and driving it around a bit. Oh ya, in my friends truck i decided to take it to the largest hills i could find and practice starting on them....i wasn't that hard, i didn't stall when i started on the hills.

I had been driving an auto for over a year. And last weekend I learned how to drive a manual on my 86 VW jetta. This car doesn't have the reverse lock because my shifter is really dumb. Plus the throw is longer than shit. Anyways, My uncle taught me. My Dad's temper is very short so I didn't want him to teach me. Like everything I do I'm a natural. It took me an hour. Then I drove home and ate a sandwich and drove to work that night all by myself. Only killed it a few times on the way. There's about 5 light and a couple stop signs. all on hills so I think I did fine for the first time. But that's about it.

I first found out when I was about 6 what happens if you put the car in gear and then turn the key, :D

My first car was an auto, but I used to race Moto Cross so switching to a manual car was pretty easy. I did how ever burn the clutch out in the first month. Once I got it down all but 1 of my last cars were manual. I will never go back as you can really get the most out of your car with a manual.

find someone with an old beat up truck take it to a parking lot and drive around till you get a feel for it. try to learn with no help from anyone this way you will learn the best way for you. since the car is a beater you dont have to worrie about anything

I was teaching my son how to drive my F-150 manual yesterday on a dirt road. He must have stalled it 30 times, plus on top of it he let it roll backwards twice while in gear, motor dead... Thank heavens for timing chains! Had this been an older belted motor I would be out retiming the crank, cam and distributor!!

I learned drunk, but the finishing touches were done by myself. I think that helps alot. Nobody in your ear trying to tell you what to do.

i learned how to drive manual from practicing on my dirtbike. well it isn't really the same because on the bike yuo use your hands and on the car you use your feet, but its the same concept.

I never did really "learn" how to drive manual. I got a lesson from a friend who tried to teach me in his VW Jetta. It was about a 30 min lesson and I stalled around 7 times or so :eek:

The crunch time came when I had to take my car in for service work. I needed a ride downtown and asked a different friend if he could give me a ride in his truck. Instead he tossed me the keys and said "you do know how to drive standard right?, just be easy on the clutch" I was like "umm, yea, thanks."

I knew the basics from my lesson in the VW, but the clutch feel, and shift points were ALOT different between the VW and the pickup. It was one hell of a ride, but fortionatly I got the hang of it pretty fast. Had trouble with an uphill start, but all in all I did ok.

i first drove a car when i was 14, it was manual. i've only ever driven one auto and didnt like it. i was pretty mad about cars from a very young age so unlike most people i knew how everything worked. i wont say i was great or smooth but i didnt stall once on my first lesson. My cuz was teaching me in his modified prelude. he made me reverse down a narrow little mountain road with nothing either side 10 mins into my lesson. i was like "are you sure" and he was adamant that i do it. so i did, and to my surprise it worked out ok, i.e. no crash, no one died :D.

cheers,
jay

I learned in a '90 Ford Bronco II when I was 16,I relearned myself in my buddy's '89 Acura Integra when I was 19.Although most of my cars have been automatics,I have no personal preference betwen the two.

Learned on my dads 92 Ferrari 348 ts when I was 13. Hah, that was a sight to see, a 13 y/o zooming down the streets, turned a few eyes. It was hard to learn on a powerful car, gas was so sensitive, but I got the hang of it after 2 weeks.

Your dad actually let u drive his FERARRI when you where thirteen, man your one lucky kid.*sigh*:eek:

Yeah, not on main roads or anything, around our neighbourhood, it was like 10 block by 10 blocks. After driving that, almost everything else seemed weak lol! Yeah my dad is really nice, but I operated the wheel when I was like 6, then slowly boved up to driving auto cars, then a stick. ;)

well i learned off and on from many diff people.. which was bad cause they taught diff...
anyway one was in a civic hatch ... a nice ride to start on .. and the other was a 4 spd. pos ford something.. he let me kill that thing.. it was fun .. but i would never go back ..

would never go back to auto that is.. perhaps later when i have a fam ..

U have to admit autos are cool in the city... there have been numerous times when i wished for an auto box while stuck in traffic

i ended up learning on one of my parents manuals... the gear was not that bad after i'd finished, because its one designed to handle a 253 but it was only powered by a 4cylinder at the time... the clutch was a bit messy afterwards tho

I learned a couple months ago in my dads 1987 jeep cherokee... well we were driving down the train tracks home and i asked if i could learn to drive it... we started on an uphill so i rolled down until the car was in a balenced place and i notice u cant let the clutch out 2 quick without given it gas so i stalled like 5 times then i figured it out and my dad kept makin me stop and try again its really not that hard! now i move the truck whenever he need it move and most the time i start on a hill kinna tricky. but his truck dont have the power for a good spin! now its a breeze:o

my dads truck, standards arent that hard once u get the hang of it

i learned/learning on my truck ( its actually my dads but we all call it mine cuz when i get my liscence its officially mine :D ) And im pretty damn good. I have only stalled like 5 times in a year. My moms 4runner I HATE i hate the feel of the auto. i mean its great for stop and go but i cant stand it on the highway ... im only 15 and havent DRIVEN on the highway.. but when she drives it takes what seems like forever to shift. i love standards ..so much control. you can shift when you want not when the car wants. I cant wait till i get my liscence!!!!!!

I learned in my '88 Accord which was a great car to begin with. The clutch was very forgiving.

1971 Ford Pinto in Washington DC. I liked it so much, I bought one just like it when I was 18. I've had manuals until I bought my 1992 Subaru SVX. No manual. Now my Acura CL doesn't have it either. I am thinking of the VW GTI as my next car with a manual. It will be weird driving one after all these years.

You don't learn to drive on a manual's ? How do you get your driving license ? on an automatic ?
Personnaly, I ever drive on manuals (I learned on a Peugeot 206 at "auto school"). Then I drove only one automatic... in the USA (an Honda Accord) and I hated it.
You can't controll well your car with an auto (braking with motor/gears, go up in the rpm, etc.). It's only a good think in traffic jam.

Nothing like a manual box for a bit of spirited driving. No auto, no steptronic.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE

You're perfectly right !

I only ever drive a manual- and I learnt in a drivers ed Nissan Almera


MY Jetta taught me how to drive a REAL car:D :D

Moss : Do you have a pic of this famous Jetta ??! ;)

Originally posted by Stefanel1
Moss : Do you have a pic of this famous Jetta ??! ;)

I took a fresh batch earlier today- keep a look out for them- I will post them here :D

Ok, I'll be waiting for it :D

I've never ever driven a car with an auto 'box...

Well, i think i started this thread, and it'll be a year i'll have had my car, a manual.

I've figured out a few things. 1 is that there is only one way to learn, go out and do! The second is that trucks are SOOO much more forgiving than my car (firebird formula, 6 speed). I drive any car that is a manual any chance i get, but with trucks i never even have to think about getting used to the clutch. Oh well...

Originally posted by tallpaul81
I've never ever driven a car with an auto 'box...

i only like driving an auto in heavy traffic. stick to manual