New Driver Advice

[pnoiSR20]

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???

[RSX-S777]

Stay away from my car

But congratulations.

[Oz]

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?

[DVSNCYNIKL]

Stay off the sidewalk.

Always use your turn signals.

And under no circumstances ask for directions in the ghetto.

[SniperX13]

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.

[Raz_Kaz]

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

[SiGNAL748]

Originally Posted by SniperX13

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.

[taranaki]

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.

[Raz_Kaz]

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

[Sluttypatton]

A deployed airbag would be a sign.

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

[boingo82]

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.

[SiGNAL748]

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

[taranaki]

Originally Posted by SiGNAL748

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.

[boingo82]

Originally Posted by SiGNAL748

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.

[SiGNAL748]

Originally Posted by taranaki

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.