Learning to drive stick

[GangStarr]

For a person who have driven manual for years, 2 hours in a parking lot maybe boring. But there are beginners like me. I would prefer to learn the basics safely with least distraction than in the traffic. Btw, I could go all the way to 3rd gear, do downshifting, reverse, uphill start etc in that 2 hours, and everything were new for me.

If what you're saying is true, then sitting in a flight similator for a student pilot will be a waste of time!!!!

yes very intresting that you register a new nick to defend your business. The truth is no matter how cocky you think you are in a parking lot. The real test is when your on Avenue rd between St.Clair and Dupont on that huge hill with tons of traffic and you gotta get moving.

I think the parking lot is probably to minimize the chance of an insurance claim.

I hate to knock [your] business but you really need to learn how to be professional on the phone. Tip, next time someone asks you a valid question, dont laugh at them.

[Rehan]

Looks like suupaa = nalgene = jetrider
They were all posting from the same IP address and the first two accounts even used the same e-mail address.

[nopn]

Looks like suupaa = nalgene = jetrider
They were all posting from the same IP address and the first two accounts even used the same e-mail address.

BANNED the shiftnation guy. He is too desperate to look for new customers.
I believe learning in a parking lot is pretty suck. Boring. IMO 60? I dont think is worth.

[nopn]

........

[Sinical]

I'm happy I didn't go to the Shift Nation clown

I signed up with Shifters (which is more expensive), but it was worth every penny.

He picked me up and we drove to a side street where there weren't a lot of cars and I could learn a little bit at a time while still in a real setting. I started slow and worked my way up. My lessons started with launching the car properly, progressed to shifted to 2nd and 3rd, then to launching on hills (still on small streets). That took about an hour.

Second lesson was a quick review (just to launch the car) and then off to real traffic (we drove around on Bloor St at 3PM in stop and go then to the South Kingsway to Queensway and around that area). 1.5 hours of driving around and learning proper control of the car in real life settings

Third lesson we did really steep hills, parallel parking, shopping mall parking (with hills), highway driving and rush hour traffic for another 1.5 hours

Total of all three lessons was $250 with tax and worth every penny. The guy was a real teacher and answered any question I had professionally. This was honestly one of the best investments I have ever made and I have since gone to test manual transmission cars at dealerships and put my deposit down on a new 6 speed car last week

I HIGHLY recommend Shifters to anyone that want to do this the right way
www.shifters.ca

[ElvaSoShexai]

um.. i have a question... everyone says not to downshift to 1st... and those online tutorials say don't shift to 1st unless ur at a complete stop... but if you are gonna go at really slow speeds for a bit (like up ur driveway) do u just do that in 2nd or at that point it's ok to shift to first?

[doanster]

I learned by telling my friend I have driven stick before but I really havn't, and convinced him to let me drive his car... then I learned on the fly my first time in a standard... only stalled once in a busy saturday afternoon mall parking lot

A good way to learn would be to test drive new cars at a dealership. The nicer (non-performance) cars have forgiving clutches and engines, making them harder to stall/damage compared to older cars (unless the older car has a worn out clutch, which are perfect to learn on as well)

[mudmojo]

um.. i have a question... everyone says not to downshift to 1st... and those online tutorials say don't shift to 1st unless ur at a complete stop... but if you are gonna go at really slow speeds for a bit (like up ur driveway) do u just do that in 2nd or at that point it's ok to shift to first?

That's because in most (if not all) OE MT cars, double clutching is required to execute a 2-1 downshift (at speeds significantly above idle speed in 1st) and I would guesstimate 95+% of MT drivers out there have no clue as to how to execute this smoothly, if at all. To be fair, it's easy to botch because of the MASSIVE relative differences in ratios between these two gears. I know I screwed 2-1 double clutch heel toe downshifts many times before but eventually perfect practice makes perfect.

I don't see any reason why civilian driving teachers would want to teach this unless it's with the students' own cars by special request.

[ElvaSoShexai]

That's because in most (if not all) OE MT cars, double clutching is required to execute a 2-1 downshift (at speeds significantly above idle speed in 1st) and I would guesstimate 95+% of MT drivers out there have no clue as to how to execute this smoothly, if at all. To be fair, it's easy to botch because of the MASSIVE relative differences in ratios between these two gears. I know I screwed 2-1 double clutch heel toe downshifts many times before but eventually perfect practice makes perfect.

I don't see any reason why civilian driving teachers would want to teach this unless it's with the students' own cars by special request.

so if i'm driving @ like... 5km/h (or less) in 2nd trying to position my car and make sure it fits in a tight spot downshifting to 1st should be ok?

[mudmojo]

so if i'm driving @ like... 5km/h (or less) in 2nd trying to position my car and make sure it fits in a tight spot downshifting to 1st should be ok?

Well I believe that in most passenger cars, one's driveline can't be fully engaged in 2nd and holding throttle, doing 5kph. The car would be stalled or you'd be patching out in 2nd (ie. car's going 5kph but tires spinning at 10kph). Try 10kph maybe, for argument's sake.

So if 10kph is your speed in 2nd, sure one can downshift to 1st if one knows how to downshift to 1st. I mean I regularly downshift to 1st from 2nd at speeds above 35KPH (get downshifting done before corner during straightline braking for potential clear road upon exit)... not good for the car but I don't mind breaking things and replacing them afterwards but I gather a good 99% of the people on the road do not share my mentality and that's fine.

Ask yourself why you want to do this and if you're willing to spend potentially thousands a year on drivetrain bits first because, if you're like me, your curiosity will get the better of you. Today 10kph, tomorrow 15kph, next week 20kph... you get the idea.

This is really outside the scope of this thread though IMO. Start up another thread in MVA and I'm sure the stick whizzes here will chime in.

[plucky duck]

I'm happy I didn't go to the Shift Nation clown

I signed up with Shifters (which is more expensive), but it was worth every penny.

He picked me up and we drove to a side street where there weren't a lot of cars and I could learn a little bit at a time while still in a real setting. I started slow and worked my way up. My lessons started with launching the car properly, progressed to shifted to 2nd and 3rd, then to launching on hills (still on small streets). That took about an hour.

Second lesson was a quick review (just to launch the car) and then off to real traffic (we drove around on Bloor St at 3PM in stop and go then to the South Kingsway to Queensway and around that area). 1.5 hours of driving around and learning proper control of the car in real life settings

Third lesson we did really steep hills, parallel parking, shopping mall parking (with hills), highway driving and rush hour traffic for another 1.5 hours

Total of all three lessons was $250 with tax and worth every penny. The guy was a real teacher and answered any question I had professionally. This was honestly one of the best investments I have ever made and I have since gone to test manual transmission cars at dealerships and put my deposit down on a new 6 speed car last week

I HIGHLY recommend Shifters to anyone that want to do this the right way
www.shifters.ca

Congrats. I bought my first car and went with a manual despite all objections. I didn't even have the basic grasp of how manual transmissions work and learned on the fly driving it out of the lot. Stalled once but got through the rest of the way home. Now I'm just loving what it has to offer compared to boring automatics.

[Beradon]

I didn't even have the basic grasp of how manual transmissions work and learned on the fly driving it out of the lot. Stalled once but got through the rest of the way home. Now I'm just loving what it has to offer compared to boring automatics.

That's all fine and dandy but have fun driving the manual in the city plus the stop and go traffic.

[Sinical]

picked up my car this afternoon and drove it home without any problems ... I actually really enjoyed going through the gears and can't wait until the breakin period is through so that I can really open her up ...

[doanster]

um.. i have a question... everyone says not to downshift to 1st... and those online tutorials say don't shift to 1st unless ur at a complete stop... but if you are gonna go at really slow speeds for a bit (like up ur driveway) do u just do that in 2nd or at that point it's ok to shift to first?

I downshift to 1st all the time - it's better than lugging your engine in 2nd.
They just don't suggest it for beginners because if you don't properly rev-match, you get a nasty lurch because of the high gear ratio.