r/stickshift

PLEASE FOLLOW RULE 5

Hi I am interested in learning stick shift. I have found a person who is willing to teach me in their car(very confusing story, difficult to explain, long story short they're willing and know how to drive stick well) My mom's main concern with letting me do this(we know who the person is and there's no safety concern there) is if I ruin the clutch. I know how to drive automatic transmission perfectly fine. There will be an instructor in the car to teach me stick, and if they say stop or something I'll be able to follow that. We'll obviously start in parking lots and empty roads.

My main question: Will I ruin the clutch of this person simply from a tiny mistake? I have researched online and it seems like the main issue is an idiot by themselves stalling too long. I'll watch videos and respond to any instructions immediately and competently.

We ideally do not want to mess up the clutch because we'll have to pay for the fixing. I want to prove to my mom that simply learning with a person who knows stick shouldn't be an issue. Any links to articles or videos would be greatly appreciated.

I got my first manual in April. Never drove a manual before but wanted to learn. A few days after delivery I decided I was good enough for some light "city" driving. I say "city" because it's more like a large town than anything but I digress. Was still getting used to downshifting and came to a roundabout. Even worse it was a very busy roundabout. I managed to make my way into the flow of traffic when, as you probably guessed, I stalled it. In th middle of a single land roundabout. Ok, not so bad, just quickly turn the ignition back on. Pressed the electronic ignition and it started beeping telling me fob not detected. WTF! I started panicking. People started honking. A different idiot in a lifted truck decided to drive onto the sidewalk and go around. After a minute I remembered you can hold the fob to the keyless ignition button if it's not being detected.

Luckily only me and a few dozen other people know of my shame. And now you. What learning related horror stories do you all have?

Hi , I bought a 2019 WRX . I wanted to own a WRX and learn to drive stick , my aunt had to show me for 3 hours what to do to learn and I’ve become more comfortable being able to drive to work and overall just around compared to when I first got in but man I still suck. 1. I’m so nervous when coming to certain stops or when there’s a lot of traffic. 2. I can’t learn how to go up hills idk if it’s because I’m not giving enough gas or what , i literally tugged my car twice the last two days trying to get out of work because it’s on a steep ass hill and there’s no way out. Like I never stall ever unless on a hill and I’m worried I am ruining my car and clutch every time . 3. Am I able to go from 6th to neutral to cruise off an exit into a traffic light or do I have to downshift from 6-5-4-3-2-1 ? And lastly when shifting from anything above 1st I can pull away immediately from the clutch once I’m in gear cuz sometimes I do it kind of slow and I jolt the car . Any advice will be appreciated, thank you .

Would you buy a 2003 g35 that was changed from auto to stick shift? It’s being sold for $4k and has 115k miles.

Hello all!

I have my attainable dream car, a Civic Type R, and I’ve been driving manual for about 2.5 years at this point.

The problem is I still get way too in my head about driving it perfectly. If I have one rough 1-2 shift, a slightly awkward takeoff, or slip the clutch a little more than I wanted, I immediately start analyzing what I did wrong instead of just moving on and enjoying the car. Then I usually get in my own head and drive worse the rest of the way.

I know how to drive manual. Most of the time I drive completely fine, and I’m 100x better than I was on day one. I just have this mental block where I feel like every shift and takeoff needs to be flawless or I’m doing something wrong or somehow hurting the car. At this point I feel like it should be completely automatic and second nature.

After particularly shitty drives, I’ve even considered trading it for something like a DSG Golf R or DAT GR Corolla just to remove the manual perfectionism from the equation.
The funny part is I drive my best when I just say “fuck it” and stop thinking. If I have a bad drive home, I’ll literally crave going back out later for a “redemption drive.” It turns into this constant test where I’m trying to prove to myself that I can drive well.

Anyone else deal with this?

Serious question. I love driving manual and I’m just trying to become a really good driver, but at this point the only thing holding me back feels like my own brain.

How did you finally get to the point where you just drove the damn car and stopped grading yourself on every shift?

A completely empty parking lot isn't always the best place to learn stick shift

I've taught manual transmission in NYC for years and tried quite a few different environments for beginner lessons.

One mistake I see is assuming the emptiest, most secluded parking lot must be the best place to learn. I get the logic but have to disagree.

It's useful for your first few starts and stops, but there's a problem, most empty lots are small. You touch off, get into first gear, and almost immediately have to stop again. You never develop any actual driving flow, understanding how to clutch and row with traffic, red lights, pedestrians (all the stuff that makes it hard).

Once someone can reliably get the car moving, I prefer a quiet residential neighborhood with wide streets, little or no commercial activity and minimal bus or public transit.

You still get a relatively docile environment, but now you can actually drive. First to second, second to third, slowing down, downshifting, approaching intersections, stopping and starting again.

Eventually you need to learn how all of these individual skills connect.

You don't need chaos to learn stick shift. But you do eventually need a road.

Got my 1st car - an old VW Pointer with a worn clutch and no power steering. On slightly steep uphills, the car just rolls backwards even when holding the bitepoint of the clutch. I can do handbrake starts just fine, but does someone do some sort of heel and toe for uphills? I do a lot of sim racing so I know how to do it - but is it bad for the car? Is it better for the handbrake?

Background: I’m looking for a car to learn how to drive stick. So I’m looking for something inexpensive, fun and reliable.

With that said, Ive read that the scion tc is very reliable, but it’s a very boring car. Compared to other 4-cylinder cars, why would this particular vehicle be so boring to drive?

Ive posted several questions asking for advice on my first stick shift vehicle. Many Members hace suggested the civic, the Honda fit, the Miata, ford Fiesta, a Focus and even a Corolla. But nobody has mentioned a Scion.

There’s even a mega thread explaining why the Scion tc is so boring. One even said that, although super reliable, he prayed that his Scion got totaled so that he could buy another car since it was incredibly slow.

How come? These are all run of the mill 4-cylinder vehicles.

Hello all,
I am going to purchase my first manual car tomorrow evening (Honda Fit!!), has a relatively new clutch. I have driven stick before once about 8 years ago in my grandparents old rust bucket.

Now this car is 2 hours away, mostly highway driving. I’ll be looking at it in the evening (like 8pm-ish). I have a feeling I will be able to pick it up quickly, I’m generally a fast learner. Would it be a dumb idea for me to drive this back by myself? I will have someone following behind me on the way home.

Any tips, advice appreciated.

So I’m going out on my first real drive tomorrow, and I’m just wondering how you guys handle things like turning into a shopping plaza or gas station—basically a turn where you don’t need to come to a complete stop or put it in neutral. Do you just downshift and stay in a lower gear through the turn