New Driver Advice

Hey everyone!!! Im 15 yrs. old and a new driver. Yesterday, my old man let me drive his 89 Nissan Sentra with a manual tranny. Well anyways, he just let me back it up and drive forward. Driving a stick isnt like the video games where you just press a button (I think im speakin 4myself). All the people that drive stick say that is very easy after you get the hang of it, but im determined to learn how to drive it. My Dad told me how to drive stick and many others too. Any advice??? :eek7:

Stay away from my car :biggrin:

But congratulations.

Tips:
-Always be smooth. No movement in driving is sudden.
-Squeeze the pedals instead of pushing/pulling them with your feet. They all require different amounts of pressure at different times.
-Ride the clutch while you're still learning. Easy way to master smooth take offs, then ditch the habit once you're driving OK.
-Go down a hill in the same gear you would go up a hill. The compression from your engine acts as another effective brake, preventing the brakes from overheating.

What else do you want to know?

Stay off the sidewalk.

Always use your turn signals.

And under no circumstances ask for directions in the ghetto. :screwy:

See, I disagree. make sure you dont ride the clutch. after you shift, lift your foot completely off until you plan on depressing the clutch again. dont rest your foot against it. leave it on the floor board. make sure you depress the clutch fully, and ease it out, dont pop it. Riding the clutch will put unneeded pressure against it, will cause wear and tear, can lead to blowing the clutch out, and is a hrd habit to break because learning, you got so used to it.

When they say sex in the car, they meant when it's parked!!!!
Other than that, experience is key

See, I disagree. make sure you dont ride the clutch. after you shift, lift your foot completely off until you plan on depressing the clutch again. dont rest your foot against it. leave it on the floor board. make sure you depress the clutch fully, and ease it out, dont pop it. Riding the clutch will put unneeded pressure against it, will cause wear and tear, can lead to blowing the clutch out, and is a hrd habit to break because learning, you got so used to it.

I think he meant to ride the clutch, as in feather it.

Practice makes perfect does not apply in this case.I've been driving for 25 years and still make the occasional mistake.Until you can shift without thinking about it or looking at the gears,have an experienced driver as your front seat passenger.

Older cars can be much harder to learn in than newer ones,the wear in the gearshift and clutch can make it harder to find the right gear. Dont try any fly stuff until you've learned how to correct a skid.And if you plan on hitting anything,it's less painful to rake along the side of it than hit it full on.

perfect practice makes perfect. If you practice without an experienced driver by your side, how will you know what your doing wrong?

A deployed airbag would be a sign.

But seriously, just practice, you'll get the hang of it.

Go out in the boonies and find some hills. Then practice doing starts going uphill with as little rolling as possible. The hardest thing w/ a stick is starting off up a hill, and you need to learn to do that WITHOUT some asshole pulled right up to the back of your car.

you could always e-brake start it when going uphill. Good thing to use when an asshole actually does pull up right behind you.

you could always e-brake start it when going uphill. Good thing to use when an asshole actually does pull up right behind you.


On a manual,it's good practice to use the hand brake in most stationary situations anyway.It's only an 'e-brake' on an automatic.

you could always e-brake start it when going uphill. Good thing to use when an asshole actually does pull up right behind you.
Yeah, but on the off-chance you get stuck in a car w/out one, it's good to be really fast and smooth moving the right foot from brake->gas.

On a manual,it's good practice to use the hand brake in most stationary situations anyway.It's only an 'e-brake' on an automatic.

Fine, Hand Brake. :p

Older cars can be much harder to learn in than newer ones,the wear in the gearshift and clutch can make it harder to find the right gear.

Older cars can be a real pain if they don't have synchomeshes, but there arn't too many cars around without them. One thing that I found to be really helpful when learning is to find the engagement point of the clutch, and pratice being able to make the transition smooth.

a general bit of advice is to always check your rear view mirror. This is a usefull technique for making decision's with traffic. Equally as important as checking your blindspot..

The number one thing that I had to get used to, when learning stick, was the finesse involved -- the relationship between clutch use and gas pedal use. And think of the clutch as exactly what it is: two plates that operate by increased/decreased friction. The key (and the biggest hurdle for me) was to remember that the clutch isn't just engaged or disengaged, it's those and an infinate variance of levels between. Don't be shy about riding the clutch while you're first learning: clutch quality obviously varies from vehicle to vehicle, but nonetheless, the thing isn't exactly a fragile, brittle piece of equipment either, know what I'm saying?

a general bit of advice is to always check your rear view mirror. This is a usefull technique for making decision's with traffic. Equally as important as checking your blindspot..
Pfft. Who taught you how to drive, hippie? Cars must be different in WA to NSW. I just start merging and wait for someone to lay on the horn so I know it's safe :D

... the thing isn't exactly a fragile, brittle piece of equipment either, know what I'm saying?
http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/2004/May/01.html
Depends what kind of car, and how bad you are at driving....

Pfft. Who taught you how to drive, hippie? Cars must be different in WA to NSW. I just start merging and wait for someone to lay on the horn so I know it's safe

Cops here are harsh bastards, Thats my natural paranoid reaction. But more paronaid of mates who suck at driving trying to follow you.

NSW you spoilt clowns :D, with your cheaper cars!! dammit, we have silvia's still going fo rlike 10k+




Edited by Toksin...sorry mate, that's one word we don't allow on AF :)

Yeah, driving uphill is pretty hard, even without anyone behind me. Thanks 4 the advice though.

Edited by Toksin...sorry mate, that's one word we don't allow on AF

dammit, c**t is half my vocabulary, I'm ruined!

Practice-practice-practice. Dont be afraid of your driving. Dont drive so cautious that you become a hazard. Do not go faster than you are able too..

Last but not least. Be safe...

My grammer sucks, but i dont feel like correcting.

i learned at work with customer's cars. i was forced to learn because sometimes we have to take em for testrives and stuff.

Stay off the sidewalk.

Always use your turn signals.

And under no circumstances ask for directions in the ghetto. :screwy:
hahhah .....great loll

Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes for more practice.

Any stories u guyz remember when u first drove???

My brother took me out to a parking lot in his MR2 to teach me how to drive manual. It's a Mk 1 MR2 with no power steering. He had just installed a short shift kit, so it was even harder (for me) to find the gears. It took me about 30 minutes of starting and stopping before I was able to consistantly get the car moving without shuddering or stalling.

It's not going to win any awards, but it's a story nonetheless.

Bah you guys have it all wrong. Just point the car in the direction you want to go, close your eyes, and mash the gas peddle to the floor. Everyone will get out of your way quickly :D

Ahhhh, the brail method of driving.

Bah you guys have it all wrong. Just point the car in the direction you want to go, close your eyes, and mash the gas peddle to the floor. Everyone will get out of your way quickly :D

Except for the little old lady in the big ass caddy that thinks she is the only one on the road.

The first time that I drove was when my dad put a whole new front end suspension, steering, the whole works in his truck. He said here you go make sure it won't fall apart. It did and I am still here.

Another bit of advice:

No street racing until ur 20 years old and have bought your own car. You should have 5 years under your belt before doing it. I started street racing after 2 years of driving, and things didn't go so well for me, i had to have the engine re-built and new front suspension. That's all i'll say on that one!

As far as stories of learning to drive...my Mom was teaching me. I had the car in 3rd gear @ 30km/h (grumbling tanny!), i went from 2nd to 5th accidentaly while trying to merge (oops!) and almost went right through a red light. All this in my 1st few days of driving ever.

Things will come with time. Its been 6 years of driving for me now, and i paid the 5000 bucks to take a BMW performance driving course, so there's nothing stopping me now other then the need for a new car! My point is, get the experience before you experiment with speed.

Be safe, good luck, have fun! :smokin:

...and i paid the 5000 bucks to take a BMW performance driving course, ...

How was it? I've always thought it would be fun to take.

How was it? I've always thought it would be fun to take.
Yeah, same here. How much did you really learn from there? I'm really considering taking the course in a couple years.