elffriend

Hey there,

I need advice. How do I teach my brother how to drive a stick-shift? I've tried, yet he has managed to burn out the clutch in the car I gave him. I never had a moment's problem with that clutch in 9 years, yet in 9 weeks time the clutch is gone. About a year before I gave him the car I tried to teach him on it and ended up having to replace the starter.

Help!!!!

txathlete

I'm no expert at the manual tranny, but I learned from 2 different people. I think the best lesson I learned is to start the car and in first gear, let out the clutch until you feel it catch, but doesn't allow the car to move forward or roll backwards (the neutral spot). After I got that down, I no longer killed the car starting in first gear. As for the other gears, I just listen to the sound of the engine to know when to switch gears. I usually switch between 3000 and 3500 rpms. I do however still get that jerking action changing to 2nd gear. I find to get the smooth shifting between gears, though, I have to let the clutch out slowly and balancing that with depressing the gas pedal.

I get paranoid that I am wearing out the clutch doing that, but if I didn't (in 1st and 2nd gear) I get the jerking motion aka the "whiplash". 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th gear I don't have a problem with (no jerking). I have had people tell me that once the car is in gear, immediately release the clutch, b/c that is all you really need the clutch for (changing gears). Like I said, I'm not an expert at driving a manual, but I have not stalled in the car since learning balancing the car in 1st gear. So now I am more comfortable with driving a manual tranny and the only time I use the clutch is when I switch gears, unless I am sitting in stop-n-go traffic.

Anyone else have any other advice about switching gears in a manual because I am still learning too.
Oh, and I think the first week or so of driving a manual, I was scared about stalling it at a light or grinding the gears and making myself look like an idiot. I think that mental think contributed to me stalling out more than anything else when I first started driving a manual.

I have an NBP/AT so I don't get much opportunity to drive a manual although my gf has a manual Solara. I don't switch cars with her too often because I don't think she takes care of her car(s) as good as I do mine. Respect my ride woman!

ClutchPerformer

Driving stick is something that's difficult to teach. It's similar in a lot of ways to learning to ride a bike (hard to explain that feeling of "balance", once you learn you never forget, etc.). I find that teaching people first what a clutch IS and how it works allows them to learn a little quicker.

Arcticcl9

My suggestions..teach in a large, vacant, flat parking lot, preferably with no light posts or concrete dividers. Just practice the stop and go 1st gear initially. Then, later graduate to 1-2 shifts. Also, use the tach, it's your friend.

majormojo

From the "Bounce and Jerk" dept:

How to teach someone to drive stick:

1) Don't use your car. Use theirs or a rental.

2) Find a big wide open place like an empty parking lot.

3) Start by getting the person to start from a standstill using only the clutch, no accelerator.

4) It helps if the road surface is slippery. Snow/ice in winter or a gravel lot.

5) Watch that your pupil isn't riding the clutch. Administer punishment if necessary.

Working the clutch without the accelerator will teach them to feel where the takeup point is. Driving on a slippery surface will minimize the impact of their mistakes. The wheels can spin instead of jerking the car back and forth, which can cause their foot to bounce up and down on the accelerator, which can cause the car to jerk back and forth . . .

xizor

in 9 weeks, anyone driving a manual every day should be able to be extremely proficient

Helicobacter Pylori

My second nature is kicking in really really slowly... Now my question is, when do I know I need to replace clutch?

vasponger

haha what sucks is gettin it started for me, but once its running i can shift like a pro.

corbs

Whatever you do, don't teach him in a TSX!!!

biker

When it starts slipping. :captobvious:

bob shiftright

When you let the clutch out, give it gas, the revs go up and the car doesn't move.....

Cars that are "good" to learn on tend to be ones that aren't as much fun when you get the hang of it, and vice-versa. Pickup trucks are good to learn on because of the low gearing and old Volvo 240s were maybe the best car ever built to learn how to shift. Porsches are particularly bad. The TSX gets no prizes as a teaching tool. I would not try to teach someone to shift on the TSX.

elffriend

I thought my brother was becoming proficient; he'd even been out on 95! Since he is a new driver that is a very scary thought.

Back when I learned to drive a stick you could still find driving instructors through Sears. I was due to pick up my first car, a VW Fox ( laugh if you want to), which was a 4-speed, and I didn't want to ruin it, hence the driving school. The clutch in the American car I learned on was far different from the Fox's clutch. I was so traumatized by that VW I didn't even want to drive it! Anyway, we looked for a driving school that taught manual for little brother but they are not to be found.

Don't worry, it will be a long, long time before he drives the TSX, if ever.

mg7726

"hey sis, look at this tsx burnout!"

sees that coming...