scheißterhöffer

So anyhow, I'm trying to teach my fiancee to drive my 6 speed. I'd say it's not going too well. I just don't think she really "gets" it. Aside from the usual lurching starts and stalls, on three occasions, she did this shift from second to third oh wait that's first thing that completely horrified me. I typically never go into first unless I'm stopped, or when I do, it's under 10 mph and giving it some gas. For that matter, I'm generally unable to get it into first unless I'm pretty close to stopped. Somehow she's managed to get (force?) it into first at around 20 mph, comes off the clutch with little to no gas, and the RPMs shoot up to like 4.5K.

What kind of damage has this done? Car feels the same, but every noise I hear now, I do this paranoid "is that what it has always sounded like?" thing.

tinter

The rpms shot up to 4.5k? That's not going to kill the engine since the redline is much higher. It might cause premature wear on your clutch though.

I would recommend teaching her on an old beater, or at least a non dbw car. The TSX is not the easiest car to drive manual in, IMO.

scheißterhöffer

My concern wasn't so much the engine, but rather the clutch or transmission, since I generally cannot or do not go into first unless I'm stopped or just rolling a bit. Yeah, I'd obviously like to go the beater route, or at least the not my car route, but we don't really have that option.

tinter

ya dropping the clutch would strain the clutch and gears prematurely but once or twice isn't going to kill it.

What about renting a car? I think you can rent a premium sports car that would have a manual tranny.

SoCaliTrojan

I think I read somewhere that it's possible to go into 1st gear close to 20 mph. You have to rev match.

A non-dbw car would be easy for the first few lessons, and then you can switch to the tsx later. DBW sometimes gets in my way too

steeveage

Curious, have you taught her to engage the clutch in first gear without applying gas? i.e. just ease off the clutch and let the natural idling state of the engine move the car. I started using this method as a first step to teaching MT. It takes the whole too much/too little gas mess out of the equation, and lets the person get used to just mastering the movement of the clutch pedal, which I think is the hardest part. It seemed to help. Just a thought. Good luck

aaronng

^^ I agree. The main problem with auto drivers trying to learn manual is that they treat the clutch pedal like the brake pedal and release it very quickly.

evo_to_tsx

^^

or some ride it for too long.. its all about balance

LoveMyTL-S

I taught my wife to drive on a 74 Vega GT four on the floor. That was a beater car. Actually, she did pretty good.

gdcwatt

Have you ever picked up one of those "How to Juggle" books? The one I read said to repeatedly pick up a bean bag, then throw it on the ground, to get your brain used to the idea of automatically doing something that it has been conditioned not to do in a crisis. [The crisis is that eventually another bean bag needs to be caught but your hand is already holding the first bean bag and so you "panic". You need to train yourself to automatically throw the first bean bag away, so that your catching hand is empty.]

How much time has your fiance spent practise "driving" in your driveway? I'm guessing that someone who already knows how to drive won't want to learn by not driving, but... I'm sure you've already pointed out that the springs center the stick in neutral, in the 3-4 gate plane - a useful reference point if you're not in a hurry, which she shouldn't be. And she already can already hold the gas STEADY at 1000 rpm, or 2000 rpm, or 1500 rpm, in neutral.

The TSX's gearing is pretty aggressive; perhaps you should start you next lesson using only 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears; three gears means there's only have as much to do. If that bothers you, wait until the snow is around, and then find a parking lot to practise in.

Shifting gears manually added too many variables for my learning-to-drive daughter [she had enough trouble just working the steering wheel, and worrying about traffic], so I dumped the 12 year old Civic I'd been saving for an automatic Protege. She's not even insured to drive the TSX.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

I taught my gf to drive stick first on my Integra, then on her Miata, and now she's ocassionally driving my TSX. She seemed to get a hang of the Integra and Miata, but the TSX seems to elude her completely. She still can't quite get the hang of driving it even after nearly a month of regular drives. I guess more practice is in order, though I'm starting to wonder how much abuse my clutch can take...

BoxedUp

I haven't driven one yet so would you expand on this statement?

scheißterhöffer

Thanks for the inputs. I've told her about the clutch release with no gas but we've probably not spent as much time on it as we could. Even when (if?) she gets the launches down, I'm still cringing every time she shifts, wondering if she's going to hit the wrong gear. I'm of the opinion that she's not the greatest driver to begin with, maybe this is all just too much for her.

tinter

TSX is drive by wire so the characteristics of the throttle response, mainly a longer inconsistent lag from stepping to actually having the revs go up, is different from traditional cable throttles.

BoxedUp

Thanks, i'll have to pay attention to that when I test drive the 6MT.....it's almost impossible to find one at a dealer near me (tried 5) since it's the end of the model year and the 2007s have not hit the dealers yet.

BoxedUp

I know I'll get for this but,
other than Danica Patrick & Shirley Muldowney, can you name any other females that are good drivers?
I'm putting my nomex on now....

ninjamyst

My TSX is my first MT car and after 3 months, I still have some trouble getting out of 1st and into 2nd. 3rd and 4th are silky smooth but the DBW is driving me nuts at 1st. The car also have no initial pick up and I get honked at about 25% of the time if I am the first car at the light. I drive completely fine though with an older MT without DBW.

Dice

I actually thought TSX was very easy to learn how to drive stick on. I bought my tsx w/out knowing how to drive stick and learned on the way home. BoxedUp you are more then welcome to come down to NJ and id be more then willing to take you for a spin and everything, Im about an hour away from LI.

offset_98

Thank god the first AUTOMATIC my wife ever drove was my Explorer!!

NYSTTSX

I tell you how I tought my sister to drive a stick. First, I convinced her that it was a much better option, and she agreed, and bought a car with a stick. I took her to a park where there was a circle and a little up-hill section. First, make sure there is no traffic, so afterhours help. I made her learn to take off on the up-hill section every time around, and after 1/2 hour she got it down good. But, it might be different for different people. My sister is a pilot, and this was years back. You might need to get a little technical and explain basics how it works.

Of course, I myself was all-automatic untill I got a wife with an old Integra and it had not the most easy to use clutch, like a switch. I was learning on that one. I tell you, if you learn on a difficult car like that, and then jump into an Accord or even TSX, driving a stick is a joke.

Enjoy!

P.S. If you have no patience, don't bother with the task.

BoxedUp

Thanks for the offer, but I'll probably wait for the dealers to get the 2007s in. I'm in no rush at this point.

ILoveMyHonda

i used this method for the Mrs. and she picked it up like that. But then again, she is an agressive driver, so the ability to stay in the revs fit her like a glove. But then again everyone also has different learning curves. Good luck!

ILoveMyHonda

i've got the same issue, its almost like you have to rev to 3500 when shifitng to 2nd to get it to be smooth, or shift at 2200. Dang DBW

Zoopa

It may be hard for you to take, but in the whole scheme of things, it may wear out your clutch prematurely. At least manual trannys can be fixed, unlike automatics that are better off replacing then repairing. I wouldn't worry about engine damage.

What you may be giving her is a deeper appreciation for cars that can only be grasped by driving manual transmission equppied cars. If your car was an auto, it would be just like any other car on the road.

The way to further get her to appreciate cars, I've done this many of times with my wife, would be to take her to one of those test drive events sponsored by Mazda or BMW where they provide a little instruction and let you tear up one of their cars on an autocross track.

In the end a prematurely worn clutch is a small price when you and your fiance have something in common related to cars.