Teaching myself to drive stick - is this crazy?

[tinyrock]

I'm cat-sitting for my advisor this week, and he and his wife left a key to their manual transmission car. They both know that I'd be teaching myself on it and are okay with this. Neither of them is interested in teaching me to drive it. I don't think I can come up with anyone else to teach me to drive it. It's in a somewhat sloped condo parking lot - there's a fair amount of open space, but also some other cars. I've been driving automatic cars for half my life, so basic driving skills aren't a concern. I know how it's supposed to work and am confident I won't wreck the clutch. Is this a terrible idea? I really want to learn to drive a manual, but haven't had an opportunity. I'm also moving this week, and having a car to do a good run for groceries, etc. would be nice.

Your experiences with learning to drive stick are also welcomed.

[LooseyMama]

Mr. M and I were talking about this the other day with our #1 son (who's 12). Mr. M thinks that by the time #1 is of driving age, all cars will be automatic. Even if that's true of new cars, I still want him to learn to drive a stick. I figure, there may well come a day when he's hangin' with friends and they're getting drunk, and he needs to drive someone home in their old beater car ... which happens to be a stick. So he'd better know how to do it.



I haven't had to teach anyone to drive a stick (yet!), and I learned so many years ago, myself, so ymmv, but I heard about this technique ...

Basically, you find a large parking lot without a lot of obstacles, ideally one that's not perfectly flat (sounds good already, right?). Start the car, put the shifter in first gear, and USING ONLY YOUR LEFT/CLUTCH FOOT slowly let out the clutch so you're rolling ... just using the engine's idling speed, drive around a little without using the accellerator. Brake as necessary and practice putting your left foot onto the clutch at the same time so you get that engrained in your mind/body memory.

That's it. Practice a lot without ever using the accellerator. Get the feel of how slowly/quickly to let out the clutch, and how quickly you'll kill the engine if you brake without engaging the clutch. Do it in a biggish parking lot so you don't have to worry about traffic. Don't try to do it on a perfectly flat surface, nor a steep incline. (Don't plan to visit San Francisco until you've had a LOT more experience! :) And once that all seems natural to you, then go ahead and hit the road.

And just don't freak out. Be patient with yourself. If you can do that, you'll be wayyyy far ahead of people learning to drive a stick with someone else (let's say a parent) in the car with them.

Have fun. And be proud of yourself.
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[Teahugger]

If I could learn it, so can you. :-)

(Not as if I had a choice, though - over here, almost everyone learns to drive manual because if you learn on and take the test on an automatic, you get a license that only allows you to drive automatics...)

[checkersumthing]

I vote do it!

I initially learned how to drive on a stick. It was terrible. Driving did not come naturally for me. I then tried automatic, but I just wasn't into it even though it went a lot better because I had less to think about. Let many years go by, decided that whether I liked it or not, I should learn how to drive, and just did it. I haven't driven stick since, but I'd like to some time soon now that I'm more comfortable with driving in general. My partner recently tried (he had never driven stick before, ever), and he was a bit shaky, but it wasn't dangerous, just bumpy with lots of stalls.

If you're comfortable with it, and understand the basics of how a clutch works, I vote try it out! If you're not comfortable just easing out of a parking space, give it some time and try again. (imo, parking was super easy with a stick, because there is more control modulating using the clutch versus an automatic that is all stop and start).
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[scaredsi11y]

Luci's advice about using just the clutch/brake at first is great. Don't panic if you stall, some cars will really shudder a lot if you stall by letting the clutch out fast. That can be scary if you're not expecting it. In fact, when I was teaching my brother to drive my car (he only lasted one lesson before he lost interest, haha), the first thing I had him do was stall on purpose so he would know what it felt like.

I think it would be best to have someone around to help you, but if that's not an option, you can still try it!
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[Lassi]

I vote yes too! Just be careful on anything slightly sloped. When you've got the clutch in, you're in neutral, so you will roll a little. Just don't panic and hit the brake if you can't engage into first. It's okay to stall too...sometimes, it feels really bad because the car bucks and jumps, but that's alright. One thing that really helped me "get it" with driving stick was just letting the clutch out super, duper as slowly as humanly possible, slowly (I was alone in a flat parking lot). I didn't press the gas or anything, just let the clutch out so slowly, that I got a feel for where it started to shudder a little and ever so slightly creep forward. That's the point where you need to engage the gas into first gear or you're going to stall. It really helped to learn the feel!

I actually think learning to drive stick alone is the best way. Having another person just made me nervous. I never really got it until I did it alone.

[Teahugger]

[Teahugger]

[checkersumthing]

[artichoke]

[PurpleDoor]

I say it's definitely worth learning (I have had jobs that required knowing how to drive stick, believe it or not!). And I loooooove being able to drive stick around macho guys who can't. Heh. BUT, I would really try to find someone else to help you out. I learned to drive on a stick so I can't say how much of my frustration with learning it was the stick and how much was just learning to drive. BUT, a few years ago I did a road trip in a manual car with my mother. She learned to drive with a stickshift and drove stick for many years, but it had been ~10 years since she last drove a stickshift and she had forgotten a LOT. We had a few very sticky moments (like, her having trouble switching gears as we were merging onto a highway and me having to basically direct her feet and switch gears with my left hand for her. We also had a lot of kangaroo starts leaving gas stations, restaurants, etc. because she had trouble remembering to press the clutch as well as the brake when starting the enging. Those can be quite jarring. Basically, it's nice to have someone who can drive it no problem available, so that if it gets too crazy, you can just call it a day and let them drive for a bit, or walk you through what's going wrong.

[tinyrock]

Thanks for all the advice! Unfortunately, they left me the wrong car key, so I can't try it out.

I feel like driving a manual is about the only Important Life Skill I don't have yet. Hopefully I'll get another chance to learn soon.

[IrmaVep]

I much prefer manual to automatic. I learned on a manual, and as soon as I had my full, I asked my friend who had an automatic to let me have a drive so I would know what to do I ever had to drive one.
These days I'm fine driving an automatic if I have to, and after an embarrassing incident with a big hill and the brakes (and Morgan and SlipperyShade), I even know about using low gears, which would have made me a lot more comfortable driving them in the past (big hills are a common feature in my driving landscape, just not where I originally learnt to drive auto).
But anyway, for those of you nervous about trying to drive a manual, the gear changing becomes something you do unconsciously in normal driving circumstances very quickly. Stalling will happen, but that's life. And being able to crash start the engine when your battery is flat is a definite bonus.

[SlipperyShade]

Dood, you should always have the skills. I learned off and on from a couple of friends who had them and it was a good thing too, because when I moved over to NZ friggin' EVERYONE I knew had manuals (including IrmaVep, who patiently finished off my manual basic training and let me drive her sweet ride). My husband works with me still to fine-tune my driving (I was shit at using gears to slow the car, relying heavily on brakes from driving an automatic all my life, getting better though) but I'm glad I learned because I totally got half a car in the marriage and it's a stick.

They're way more fun to drive once you've got the hang of it. I totally zone out when driving an auto, but then the roads in the midwest aren't exactly challenging...
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