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Deimos

pro-tip: learn to drive

dont buy american cars

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MarchoftheBlackLions

You'll get used to it, just give it time.

One of my first cars had a 454 and a M22 "Rock Crusher" 4-speed behind it. Not a very forgiving combination for someone new to manuals, but I had it down within a week.

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EpicPhail

Believe it or not but I've NEVER driven a car outside of the liscence lot.

Got my M1 bought my cheap *** Suzuki and I don't plan on ever buying a car myself until I'm settled with kids. -.-

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LedZephlin

OP don't worry about driving manual!! Usually the first month is hard, but sooner or later you'll enjoy it even more than automatics.

Just remember:
* clutch + brake pedal = full stop and no engine dying
(If you remove the clutch while you are still in-gear, the car will die, even if you did come to a stop. SO! Put it in neutral to take your foot off the clutch!)

* RPM is a great tool for knowing when to shift! This, and your ear!!

* change to a higher gear if you think your engine is working too fast
(You're fine if your car is revving at 2000 rpm. If the rpm is 2400+, now would be a great time to switch gears up)^^

* switch to a lower gear when you think it's dying out
(Basically anything below 1700 or 1600 rpm is working your engine too hard, so shift down when you feel its dying!)

* I don't know if anyone does this, but when you're close to stopping, just set your car in neutral so it sails smoothly down the road to your stop!
(Judge your distance carefully! Hehe..)

* Most important of all, practice setting off quickly and correctly. This will save you from using the emergency handbrake on small hills and pesky bumper riders.

Oh, as for encouragement, alot of sports cars use manual transmissions. If you can drive the car you have right now, you're set for life!

The only complaint I would have as a manual driver would be bumper riders.... They should all rot in hell....

egoodie

I love manual alot more than automatic you have alot more control over the car my boy has a 2003 honda accord coupe standard i love driving that car in the highway. I have to admit doe after a whyle you get tired of just having to change gears for everything especialy in the city cause theirs alot of traffic.

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LtPurcy

Manual shift cars are all ways the best

im currently doing lessons and 6-7 weeks away from my test

main thing is clutch control, get that right and life becomes a lot easier

gratscorpio

is a cavalier really worth the extra effort to drive?

just saying...

id gladly take a manual for a sport car or off raod based vehicle but for a regualr around the town what ever prolly gonna be stuck in traffic car id just take a crap automatic...


but yes it is just you.


as posted befor learn from someone who know in a parking lot etc


scorpio

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IronyTaken

I turned in my 1998 jeep Cherokee classic in for a new 2009 Dodge Caliber and had to relearn manual.

Took me about 3 drives to work to get used to it.

I live in the hills so there are lot of places where you have to stop while up hill. When the light turns green you must let go of the brake and quickly apply pressure to the accelerator while quickly releasing the clutch halfway until your car starts to move forward then you slowly let off the clutch. You have to do this in about 1-2 seconds or the car will roll backwards into another car.

All cars are different and the reason I had trouble with this manual transmission was because the clutch was so springy. Also since the stick shift is new it was hard shifting gears.

You kind of learn as you go if this was your first time on clutch. Learning things like having to down shift a gear while going up hill or when you slow down and shift to a lower gear that you want to slowly let off the clutch while accelerating forward. When shifting to a higher gear to gain speed it is good to quickly let go of the clutch after you shifted gears.

Simple things like that.

When I first learned to drive manual I would always stall the car when taking off from a stop. I wasn't adding enough pressure to the accelerator and I was letting off the clutch too quickly.

SuperKenshin

Well when I drive my car I just put it in neutral and coast to my stop. Unless that's a bad idea. Or I just put it in neutral and slow down enough to turn then shift back into 3 after I turn and start speeding up again unless that's a bad idea.


Also I saw someone say it's bad to stay at like 1,600 rmp. My car won't stall out unless it gets below 1,000 rpm. Maybe it's because it's a V4.

I like American cars every car/truck at my house is American. But I would love to have a civic or BMW or volvo or scion.

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Ronin

Actually, lower rpm is better for the engine (lower temps/pressure) and it saves gas and it's more environmentally friendly.
It comes with the drag of getting you into the power basin, where it's harder for the engine to get out of, which leaves you inflexible and unable to properly use it to decelerate and accelerate swiftly. You need get a feeling for it and to find the point of compromise for your car and for each gear.

@when to shift gear:
You want to keep in a zone where you have always the following:
A) switch down for additional braking through the engine (a thing autpomatic cars just can't), or to use the additional power at higher rpm to accelerate more quickly (which some automatics will do for you with switching gears down if you fully depress the gas pedal),
Have enough power to get into the zone where you can accelerate fast.

if you run under this rpm area, it's dangerousl, you might end up killing the engine, if you are careless and you are not having the power of the engine at your disposal which is more a more dangerous and less controlled way of driving.

There generally are 3 ways of driving a car (leaving out D) in autmatic):
A) Comfortable
Low fuel
C) Sporty

you adjust your gear-switching to those;
If you go for comfortable, you use the engine brake, if you go for sporty you use it all the time, if you go for low fuel consumption, you let your car roll out in neutral (which certainly will piss other drivers of though).
The same is with rpm, if you want to drive comfortable, you avoid changing the rpm a lot, shift gears slowly, use the neutral if you do turns, if you are not getting into the right region to switch, use the regular brake instead of the engine brake and accelerate moderately in turns to keep the speed constant.
When driving sporty, you theoretically use everything that is at your disposal, which means, that you use both the engine brake and the normal brakes to decelerate before a turn (including the hand-brake) until the last moment where you shift down gears to get out of a turn fast and you boost the rpm as a final step in neutral to come of with a high torque when closing the clutch and you only limit the amount of gas to avoid the tires slipping.
If you want to know how this looks and sounds like, you can just watch any rally driver drive.

Basically if you want to drive economically, more gas means more fule gets injected; Try to drive as if you are on cruise control, as any form of deceleration and acceleration wastes gas and even let it roll in neutral, if you are going downhill and have to decelerate over a long distance anyways, for example.

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