Years ago, my then wife wanted to learn to drive a stick shift. I provided all of the usual instruction, but as days passed by she just wasn't "getting it." We were getting desperate when she failed completely to get the car started on an uphill grade after she had to stop for a red light. Finally, I had an idea. I took here out to the garage where I had a clutch and disk mounted to a flywheel. I showed here how the clutch worked. Bingo. She got into the car and off we went. Never again did she have any trouble getting the car rolling smoothly, even at uphill grades. I guess the conclusion here is that it's a lot easier to drive a stick shift car when you can visualize what that clutch petal is actually doing with the engine and transmission.

 

I learned at age 13 on the family farm.

Ford F150- "Big Stick"

What a pain in the fanny.

Then drove a Nissan pick-up 5 speed through high school.

 

I learned when I was 14 in my parent's cars. I have never owned any but stick cars.

 

In the late 70's my wife (then girlfriend) wanted to drive my 71 Camaro w/a 4 spd. We got going and were doing about 40MPH down a hill in 2nd gear with the engine starting to scream a bit. Said to her "Honey, it's time to shift". So she did, directly back up into 1st gear instead of 3rd and just basically dumped the clutch out. The rear tires locked up for a second and we did a bit of fishtailing followed by a scared "What the h@ll happened?" from her.

Interesting that three days later the clutch starting slipping and had to be replaced. Needless to say she didn't want to drive that car again, and to this day still shys away from driving a stick.

 

I Learned the day of my senior prom in a 96 mazda miata, and let me tell you i damn near ruined those rear tires on the way to the prom, and i must have stalled it about 40 times, but on the way home that night it was smooth sailing, and my date was very happy about that -Danny

 

Thanks man!



I wanted to ask some of you guys who do drive stick, when should I shift for BEST fuel efficiency?

I usually shift to 2nd at 2,000
3rd at 1,500
Usually keep it in third at 1,700

Do you guys know a better way, I'm a stick noob so

 

Stick is standard in UK, but you wouldnt think so the way some people use them You even pay more for an auto box car here, but who wants one anyway!

G

 

Hurumph! Oi, my Vette's an auto It's the 1st auto I've ever owned & I had more problems getting used to it than I did when learning to drive with a stick (manual g/box). What I miss the most is the engine braking that you get with a stick shift. In a way I'm happy that it's an auto, I once drove a stick shift in France that was left hand drive & frequently when I went to change gear I'd dip the clutch... and then open the door! I'm so used to changing gear with my left hand that I had to learn how to change using my right hand. It confused the hell out of the locals seeing a car driving down the road at high rpms & then the revs dropping to idle as the drivers door opened!! In one town I must have scared a pedestrian as he started shouting & waving his arms about, so I just shouted (out of the open door!), "It's OK mate, I'm English". That really confused him Eventually I got used to it, but when I got home & drove my own car I tried to change into 2nd gear by pulling on the drivers armrest
Twin Turbos comments on "crash" g/boxes are so true, but master driving with one & it's great fun (esp. with loud pipes ).
For max fuel economy you want a gear that will let the engine turn at the lowest speed the it feels "happy" at. Changing up too soon, causing the engine to lug, will guzzle fuel & ain't no good for the big ends.
Another thing I miss with having an auto is not being able to slow down from high speed by dipping the cluch, blipping the throttle & dropping it a gear. With loud pipes you can play some good tunes doing that Manual gearboxes (stick shifts) can bring out the hooligan in you, autos are just too darn civilised!

 

My first car was a acura integra 1989(think I was 17) - the sales man asked my dad if I could drive stick when we went for a test drive, and I snatched the keys out of his had and walked toward the car. When my Dad got in the side and asked when I learned to drive stick, I smiled and said buckle up.

Never had problem... well... there was that stoplight and the girl in the passenger seat who caused me to stall... that is another story....

 

Learned to drive the stick by riding motorcyles first.

I will never forget my standard shift Pinto. Driving home from
college classes in Boston ... clutch cable broke. I drove her
home in rush hour traffic (about 40 miles) and stop lights without
a clutch. It had a good starter to turn over in first gear !!

Now, I prefer an auto for ease of driving (gettin' older).

 

I started learning to drive at 13 in a Jeep CJ-5 w/ a 5-speed manual (dad's daily driver at the time). After a number of rough starts I got the hang of it - and still love manual transmissions.

 

One of the challenges with a manual tranny is when you're stopped at a light on an incline and the car behind you is about three feet or less from your bumper. To keep from rolling backward, I usually slip the clutch and take off hard in my '81.

 

When I turned 16, my first car was a stick. I could drive it, but couldn't do hills very well. For the first week or two I had my license I would drive 10 minutes out of my way to avoid intersections with hills. I'm such a tard.

 

Hehehe, wow since I posted my first post I've got pretty much the hang of it, but still far from mastering it!

 

[QUOTE=Twin_Turbo]I never understood why you guys can take driving lessons and exams in an automatic car, if you can drive a stick you can drive pratically anything. Here if you have some kind of disability or another reason why you want to do exam in an automatic you get a license marked for only automatics, no sticks allowed then.

QUOTE]

not in America...In California you can take the test in an automatic honda civic and be issued a class C license, allowing you to drive everything from a geo metro, to a 45 foot 3 axle motorhome, with 20 foot trailer. Automatic or manual, left or right hand drive, kinda scary isn't it?

"autos are just too darn civilised!"

This man obviously has never done a brake stand.

 

I'm with you... my sister's CHEvette... thank god I've graduated to the
CORvette..

 

Nobody over here has a manual to take the test in.

 

hahahaha

Ive NEVER driven a stick

Well I DID drive a stick ONCE...ill advised decision one night because my buddy had just lost his liscence and my Yota was in the shop getting the turbo upgrade...

Lets just say that there has never been an Acura Integra that has scared the sh*t out of more people at an intersection making a left turn...

Strangely enough after that night he never even let me sit in his car...meh...autos are awesome. Why do you think drag racers use em???

 

Hummm car never stalls when ya drop the clutch at 5-6000rpm?

 

Kinda surprised nobody has said this...

I learned on a Ford 8N. That's a tractor for you city-folk. After that, I graduated to a '69 Chevy C/10. Still drive it to this day. Never really had any issues. I guess starting with something that lugs real good, like a truck or tractor, helps some.