acn684

I've never driven manual before but I planned to learn. However, this being my first car, I kinda don't want to "learn" mt from it. Where I go to school, the hills are also very steep and snowy. So its best that i get 5at right? Damn...all the fun and extra power im gonna miss out on the 6mt...

SilverStoneTTL

No! Once you learn to drive stick, you won't want to go back to an automatic.

You can learn to drive stick in a day. It's really not that hard. Buy the car and have someone who knows how to drive manual teach you.


I don't know where Bayside is but if I were close to you, I'd teach you. Its a breeze. There's a reason people like cars in manual.

peter_bigblock

Get the manual! The TSX is a fine car on which to learn to drive a standard transmission. If you're so inclined, I wouldn't hesitate. The aura surrounding driving a manual transmission is WAY overblown, it doesn't take but a few tries in a parking lot to get the hang of it and, after a week, you'll be wondering what you were thinking considering an automatic.

The TSX shifts smoothly and positively, and has a very strong gearbox and clutch. That's what you want. Have someone available, if possible, to ride with you the first couple times to answer questions and help if you're doing something wrong. If I could learn as a half-witted 15-yr-old, you'll have no problem. Go for it.

If you buy an auto for your first car, you will be condemned to driving autos the rest of your life and make the wheel-horsepower gods angry.

feliz

I agree that an AT is safer in the snow and easier to learn to operate but I wouldn't let that stop me from buying a MT if that's what you want. Practice somewhere safe or take lessons and you'll be OK. The learning curve is quick and once you learn to use a MT it becomes an automatic thing like eating and something you'll never forget. Heck, when I learned automatics were'nt invented yet and even grannies drove MT cars.

dj Dozhe

My last car (98 taurus) broke down awhile ago (no shock there) which was an automatic, and I ended up driving around a buddy's toyota tocoma which was a manual for a month. It had no tach and no frills, so I not only had to learn to shift but to do so without a tach (IMO it served me better cuz now I'm not tach-dependent) . After that month of actually feelin PART of the driving experience I didn't want my car back. I kept starting my ford with the brake pressed down as if it was the cluth and I would phantom-shift when the gears changed. If you're a hands on kind of person and you really like feeling like you're a part of the car I say manual. BTW the ford had 50,000 miles on it and the tacoma had 250,000. While the tacoma had no power and looked like ass I'd have driven it over the ford any day of the week.

peter_bigblock

I don't know, I think a manual is better in the snow. More control, and the ability to start in 2nd or even 3rd gear. If you learn to drive a manual in a relatively hilly and snowy climate, you'll be an expert in no time and you'll never lose that ability.

acn684

Hrm...you guys are very convincing!!! damn damn damn....lol I gotta think about this one.

jlukja

I wouldn't not buy an MT just because you'd have to learn on a new car. I didn't know how to drive an MT when I bought my IROC-Z waaay back when. However, you should carefully think about what kind of driving you will be doing and which transmission is best for you under those conditions. Driving an MT is a lot of fun, but driving one in rush-hour stop-n-go traffic 1.5hrs. in each direction every day is not fun.

feliz

Well, I was thinking in terms of being an inexperienced driver and generalizing which is always a mistake on this forum, someone always calls you to task. I agree with your comments but still think an automatic would be safer in snow or on ice for a new driver, or granny!!

kyotousa

AT shift around 2000-2500 rpm when you apply break regularly
so i think it should be safer than manual...unless you shift at even lower rpm...

acn684

Hrm...traffic isn't usually bad but I do do alot of local driving.

Let me ask some questions to clear up this uncertainty that I have.

Can someone explain the process to me, right now all i know is that you release the clutch as u step in on the gas, accelerate, and shift at xxx rpm (2500-3000) depending on the performance/mpg you want to achieve).

How does braking work? I suspect that when you break to a stop you can just shift to neutral, np. What about those times where your just braking to slow down cause of something on the road?

What happens if your on the highway on 5th gear going 60, and you have to slow to 40...what do you do?

If you're in gear, say 3rd, and cruising, if u release the accelerator, do you have to depress the clutch?

Can you stall in gears past 1st?

I'm more concerned about braking becasue thats usually why accidents happen, people brake too late or brake wrong. In manuals i always assumed you have to clutch down, shift to neutral and clutch up while your breaking as to not ruin ur clutch pads.

madmanmax3000

Hey man, I got the TSX as my first car at 16. I got it in MT, which I had never tried before, just because I knew it was better . I looked up some tips online, my dad drove it to a parking lot for me and I stayed with it until I could drive it back to my house. It really only took me 20-30 minutes or so to get it going smoothly without stalling. After driving it for a week I was pretty smooth, and up to this date I've stalled less than ten times in the TSX. Get the 6MT, you'll love it! It's like second nature, I feel outa control driving automatics now

Beoshingus

My brother bought a new car with a 6-speed manual last year without knowing how to drive it. It was a GTO. LOL! I had fun teaching him. If a person can learn on car with a 350hp V8, you can certainly learn how to drive stick on a TSX.

InTransit

definately go with a manual. knowing how to drive a stick lets you drive anything if you're ever in a jam... plus it's just a lot more fun IMO. Autos are just so blaaah to me that my right hand gets anxious with no shifting. I went from a 91 B16 powered CR-X to a Camry auto. Now I have my heart set on the 6MT TSX and can't wait to find the time to go test drive one.

Some people complain about a MT, especially in high traffic regions. I look at it this way: Heavy traffic is going to irritate me anyways, the constant shifting and clutch work is only a minor irritant compared to sitting in traffic.

feliz

If you lived near me I would teach you, I taught my kids to drive. Do yourself a favor and get someone to show you, don't try driving off the lot without some practice. It's easy to learn but not something you can pick up over the internet although I'm sure you'll get lots of good advice from this forum. Find some where safe to practice. Good luck.

Beoshingus

Agreed. Which is why I got the 5AT in my TSX.

acn684

its not that im not inexperienced, well not as experience as you guys are but i'd be inexperience with the manual - i would have to learn it well fast. within a month before I have to drive it on 30 degree Plus slopes...oh joy.

Pros to manual and why i feel like i can handle it -
Its fun, true driving.
More power.
My friend whos is considered the clumsy type can drive it...I'd figure I can

Cons to manual
Its a new car...a nice one at that.
AT's aren't that bad, especially with Sportshift I get some good aspects of manual.
Hills...Hills...and more hills....but Im sure i'll know how to use the handbrake efficiently.
I want to be the same driver as I am with an AT, i keep thinking I might not react properly and put myself in a bad situation. (mis shifts, roll backs, stalling in busy areas...)

FromEX2TSX

I was almost involved in an accident once where it was really rainy out and one car lost control on a three lane highway, I was flying along doing 70 which is usual for me in the rain because everyone else drives like old ladies when it starts pouring. Anyway, One car hit a puddle and slid out way up ahead of me but in the next lane and hit the car directly in front of me and that car lost control. I was going at least 70 so I knew I wasn't going to slow down fast enough to avoid the accident so I sped up and lost traction and started hydroplaining and just as I was about to spin out, I shifted gears, turned the wheel and caught myself and If I were driving an automatic that day I would not be posting this today. That doesn't mean you should drive 70 in the rain just because you have a stick but you get the point. Control is the key. The very next day however, I was stuck in rush hour traffic and as someone else posted its always greener on the other side.

dj Dozhe

i've lived in Boston and Philly which pretty much everyone knows has HORRENDOUS traffic. I'm happy, that's a bit much lets say "willing", to put up with 5 days of driving to work in rush hour traffic with a manual to be able to have it at my disposal when the roads aren't filled with mongoloids.

jlukja

try to think of braking and clutching as seperate functions.

Use the brakes to slow yourself down, whether in gear or not.

Use the clutch to change gears. The clutch disengages the engine from the drivetrain. So whether you are shifting up or down you 1. clutch, 2. change gears, and 3. release the clutch. Change gears to keep your engine in the desired power band (typically between 1500rpm and 4000rpm for normal driving). Now to answer some of your questions.

a) The process theory of shifting is as I described above. The art is as you release the clutch, the engine will want to slow down to accomodate the load of the drivetrain. You add gas to speed the engine up so as not to stall. You'll quickly learn to balance the clutch with the throttle for smooth shifts.

b) Braking is seperate from clutching. When slowing down just apply brakes. Keep an eye on the tach to make sure that as you slow down the revs stay above stall speed. You can clutch if you want, especially if you anticipate that you will be accelerating soon. Then, with the clutch in, you can downshift right then and there.

c) If you're in 6th gear on the highway and need to slow down to 40 just apply the brakes. Your tach will show the revs will come down, but they wont come all the way down to stall speed. Its then your choice if you want to accelerate back to 60 in 6th gear or downshift to 5th (or 4th for that matter).

d) You don't have to depress the clutch if you release the accelerator. Releasing the accelelrator will stop you form accelerating/maintaining speed. The drag of the car will slowly start slowing you down. If you stay off the accelerator with the car in gear the car will slow down by itself. As it slows the engine revs will drop proportionally.

e) Yes, you can stall in any gear if you let the engine revs fall enough (below 700?).

Beoshingus

You'll be comfortable driving it within a week. And I don't care how many racing games you've played on your Xbox - that AIN'T a "handbrake" - it's a "parking brake." Don't try to use it for any 360s, ok?

acn684

lol by handbrake i meant pull it up on steep hill, get car in gear, release handbrake slowly while accelerating slowly?

peter_bigblock

Here's a brief explanation: you depress the clutch, put the car into first gear, and simultaneously let out the clutch and depress the gas -- both slowly at first until you get the hang of it. With the clutch all the way out, you can press the gas to accelerate in 1st gear. To shift to 2nd, you depress the clutch and lift off the gas simultaneously, shift from 1st to 2nd, and then let out the clutch and depress the gas simultaneously just like before, again slowly until you get the hang of it. And so on up through the gears. This is called "upshifting".

To reduce your speed while cruising (this is one beauty of an MT) you can simply back off the gas without touching the clutch, brake, or shifter. This will allow you to coast from, say, 70 to 60 in 6th gear without doing anything else. If you want to use the brake to slow down, again say from 70 to 60, more quickly, you just get off the gas and onto the brake. If you're going to slow down enough to need to be in a lower gear (say, 5th) you might depress the clutch, brake normally to slow down, move the shifter to 5th, and let out the clutch while depressing the gas simlutaneously. That's called "downshifting".

To come to a stop, depress the clutch and get off the gas simlutaneously, and just brake to a stop. You don't shift to neutral, you leave the car in gear and, when you've stopped, with the clutch still in and your foot on the brake, you shift into 1st gear to be ready to start all over again.

You can find, I'm sure, lots of info on the internet on shifting a manual and, like most have said, have someone show you. Maybe the salesman will help you, or certainly a friend or relative with a manual. It's a lot more complicated to read than it is to do, kind of like tying your shoe.

dj Dozhe

I wear velcro shoes and drive a manual.

waTSX

Get the stick. It allows the TSX to reach its fullest expression, and it's one hoot to drive.

waTSX

It's easier to get out of being stuck, too. You can rock the car back and forth.

billym7@gmail.com

most everyone here is going to tell u to get a stick, but...man, u live in queens, don't get a manual, you know how driving is here, between all the assholes, traffic, parallel parking, i mean its up to you of course, but i think you may be better off with an auto.

i have always driven automatics, but i know how to drive a stick, that may be your best bet too, it's good to know, but where i am, also in queens, it's just not worth it, not to me at least

however, whatever you do i'm sure you will be happy with it, and after all, if you learn to drive a manual in the conditions you mention, and here in nyc, you can probably do it anywhere, good luck

helraiser

Manual's a great skill to know. I learnt on a very old VW Bug... I forget what year, 76 or so. Still, just read what everyone else's said cuz they're keeping it real

Booyah... 100th post! Ceeelebration time come on!

acn684

im confused with ur explantion of the clutch and brake.

Okay so right now i know that I can brake with the car in gear, as long as I don't drop it below 700rpm approx. I'm going to assume 700 rpm happens when u slow the car down below 5 mph?

So tell me if im right. I'm driving. Traffic slows to 30. I'm going 60. I can press the brake (basically im in gears 4-6 whichever i feel like at the moment i guess). I can slow the car down to 30 and keep 30 with my foot on the accelerator. The car will not stall because im assuming it really can't if im going past 5 mph.

Traffic speeds up. If I had not down shifted already, I can shift gears to 4th by depressing the clutch, shifting, and releasing while accelerating to bring myself back to 60. Now I have to exit on the highway. As I exit a red light hits, I apply my breaks. Approaching close to a stop I know I have to shift to neutral or else I'd stall. I depress my clutch, shift to neutral, and then release my clutch. I come to a stop.

The light turns green. I shift into first, rpms at 2500, shift, 2nd gear, probably going 20 now, 2500 again, shift to 3rd. Drive like I do an automatic. If I come to a stop or a near stop I should shift to neutral.

peter_bigblock

You're super close! You don't have to shift to neutral when coming to a stop, just depress the clutch. With the clutch in, the engine and transmission are uncoupled and you won't stall. At a stop, depress the clutch and leave the car in gear -- it's safer in case you either need to accelerate suddenly (say, to avoid a rear-end) or if you do get rear ended and your feet come off the brake and clutch, with the car in gear it will stall and sit there as opposed to rolling out into the intersection in neutral.

Neutral and clutch-in have the same effect on a stopped car with the engine running. You can have the tranny in neutral and the clutch out at a stop. Or you can have the tranny in gear and the clutch in at a stop. Or both, theoretically, but there's no reason to do both. Make sense?

Keep asking questions, I know you want the manual. You're 19, you're going to have this cool sports sedan, the chicks will dig it. You'll never regret rowing your own, even in city traffic. We're not talking about driving a dump truck, here, the clutch and shifter on the TSX are easy and light.

acn684

i though keeping ur foot on the clutch ruins the clutch plate eventually from wear and tear?

Newplay1

actually anyone can learn in 15-20mins, you get more experience as you drive manual thats all.

TacoBellSauce

get the MT...dont hesitate

i wouldve gotten one but with all the traffic here in NJ/NY, i opted for an AT
but i always drive in SS mode

acn684

^^ lol im from nyc....

weapon-x

My first car was a manual and I learned how to drive in it. It's not that hard, you may stall out a couple of times but you'll get the hang of it quickly. There is definately a lot of advantages to driving a manual over stick (power and quickiness to accelerate being the keys).

That having been said, I live in S.Cali and have to commute in LA traffic (405/5 freeways suck 3hrs to drive 55 miles is sick) which means that you're mostly just switching between first and second (occassionally getting a mini-orgasm when you finally manage to get to 3rd gear.) Which is why I'm now driving an AT.

If traffic isn't an issue where you live. Go for the mt, don't let your fear of learning how to drive one scare you off. As others have said, you'll get the hang of it in no time. Driving a MT is a skill everyone should have and you'll save some $$$ over an AT. Just my

NightShredder

Never heard of that.

I am going to tell you the same as everyone has covered already so I will just say it...go with the MT. I had an AT loaner for a day and in retrospect I don't think that I would have gotten this car if not for the 6 spd.

Speaking from exerience you will not have a hard time. Traffic and parking in NYC will not be an issue after the first few days. I learned at the age of 16 in Yonkers and some of the hills there are very steep (even compared to Colorado) and I stalled it the first couple of times and that was it. Seriously you will learn in a day and braking will come naturally in weeks. It is especially cool in the icy snowy weather you get on the east coast. You can slow the car without using your brakes which helps alot.

biker

Virtually anyone outside of NA would be baffled by this thread. Virtually everyone outside of NA has to know how to drive an MT vehicle to get their license.

If you want the video game version of driving a car get an AT - if you want a more fulfilling experince get the MT.

TacoBellSauce

whoa, didnt notice that
you already know of the traffic and road conditions here , and auto will be your best bet.

it is HELL driving a stick in the city and in queens

theres still the sport shift

dj Dozhe

sport shift is like a rubber nipple

BusyShifter

It's referred as "riding (on) clutch" or something like that... Yes, resting your foot on the clutch pedal and pressing the clutch halfway down would result in premature wear on the clutch plate. However, when you have the clutch pedal all the way down, or clutch in completely, it should not be a problem.

In my opinion, if you are considering about getting a manual, you should go for it. Don't let "I never had a MT car before" stop you. TSX is my first MT car also. You just need to practice and be extra careful when you are getting used to all the shifting. Though, I would be concerned if I have to deal with snow on slopes...