Anonymous wrote:It’s all about the friction point.

Take a manual car out to a flat parking lot. Practice only engaging first gear. Don’t use gas. Only brakes (and brake by pressing both the clutch pedal down and the brake pedal down). Do this until you are accustomed to the friction point. Once you have first gear down, the rest is easier. Use the gas pedal to rev the engine slightly higher to make it easier to get into the next gear. Tip: press gas pedal with big toe to be delicate with gas.

Practice a lot.

Yes break your clutch linkage.

Anonymous wrote:If the guy is a legitimate, skilled instructor who both actually knows how to drive a stick properly and impart that knowledge to others it seems like a good investment. If not it may just lead to the acquisition of bad habits and/or frustration.

I could “drive” a stick shift, but the one professional lesson I had in connection with driving a job vehicle was a huge eye opener. The instructor broke things down in a way I’d never experienced before and taught me about the “friction point” that is the essence of stick driving.

Getting a friend or neighbor to teach you is hit or miss. Like me before the employer lesson they may be able to “drive” a stick but may be doing so inefficiently or in a way that shortens the life of the essential components. Or they may have great technique but no idea how to teach someone else to reproduce it.

Why would it be a good investment? Seriously under 10% of new heavy-duty Class 8 trucks are manual transmissions. Only 1% of passengers cars are.

I learned how to drive on a manual and can drive double clutch or standard. There is absolutely no benefit to learning how to drive a manual transmission.

It seems that if you are ever planning to be a contestant on the Amazing Race, knowing how to drive a stick shift is essential.

Anonymous wrote:Being from the UK I learned how to drive in a stick shift. I had been driving for about 4 years before I ever drove an automatic. I can never imagine a scenario when I would purchase a stick shift again. Don't miss them at all.

I think you are in the wrong thread. Who cares if you don't like it? That's not the topic.

[quote=Anonymous]
You mean you enjoy the act of shifting? You can’t possibly enjoy driving a manual. It actually distracts you from the act of driving.
[/quote]

You obviously have no idea how to employ a manual transmission in the act of driving. And I've never once been "distracted" by shifting. Perhaps you, although you probably shouldn't be driving at all if so.

It’s all about the friction point.

Take a manual car out to a flat parking lot. Practice only engaging first gear. Don’t use gas. Only brakes (and brake by pressing both the clutch pedal down and the brake pedal down). Do this until you are accustomed to the friction point. Once you have first gear down, the rest is easier. Use the gas pedal to rev the engine slightly higher to make it easier to get into the next gear. Tip: press gas pedal with big toe to be delicate with gas.

Practice a lot.

Anonymous wrote:They seem to only be located in MD - we're in NoVA. Anyone had experience with this company? TIA.

https://www.stickshiftdrivingacademy.com/stick-shift-driving-lesson-near-me/id-985-maryland-silver-spring-20906

This is funny. just go out driving a few times and you'll figure it out. you don't need someone to show you how. Listen to the engine, it's pretty obvious when to shift. The how part just needs practice.

Avoid this place! The 'instructors' do not know what to do and have NO certification! They 'teach' coasting which is illegal and dangerous! What scrambled and nonsense 'instructions'. Find a certified person to teach. The 'instructor' taught a way to burn your clutch and destroy your gearbox. What they charge at $100/hr and the main telephone number on the website only gets a message as though the number is fake/bad. That is enough to run away!

Anonymous wrote:If you can’t drive a manual transmission car, your father failed to prepare you for life.

Did your father teach you how to ride a horse? That is a more useful skill than driving a manual.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am in my third season of teaching how to drive manuals. I work with Stick shift Driving Academy in my region. I have a very high success rate and take pride in it. I own a 5speed, 5cylinder station wagon, a powerful car. We cannot take it on public highways due to insurance restrictions. Where I teach, there is a decent hill in the middle of the parking lot so trainees get to practice incline starts in both forward and reverse.The low gear maneuvers I teach are the hardest to do. That includes stop and go traffic, slow, creeping along traffic, and parallel parking. Higher speeds do not require as much finite attention. Manuals are better for several reasons:
1.The most expensive repair on a car is the transmission.the driver of a manual IS the transmission so drive repairs are generally less expensive.
2. Because the driver of a manual has more control over the drive/ spin of the wheels, they can get through snow and ice covered roads more easily and safely.
3.Also because of the control over revs, manuals generally use less fuel.
4.Here is my favorite advantage of driving manuals:For the most part of driving a manual, both feet and usually both hands are busy driving the vehicle, which means the driver cannot be eating, or texting, or doing other things which means the driver needs to be pretty much "hands free" to drive and does so with a lot fewer unnecessary distractions.
-michael



[/quote]

None of your reasons for driving a manual are true anymore or never been true, like you cannot eat while driving. Of course, you can, you only need both hands 1% of the time. The only real reason for driving a manual is you inherited a 30 year old civic from your grandpa and instead of junking it decided to take it to the track[/quote]

The real reason for driving a manual is because you enjoy the act of driving as much, or more, than the mere utility of getting to the destination. [/quote]


You mean you enjoy the act of shifting? You can’t possibly enjoy driving a manual. It actually distracts you from the act of driving.

Anonymous wrote:The real reason for driving a manual is because you enjoy the act of driving as much, or more, than the mere utility of getting to the destination.

I agree. Driving anything other than a manual is like driving in a soulless metal box.

Anonymous wrote:If you can’t drive a manual transmission car, your father failed to prepare you for life.

I guess I better trade in my manual since my mom taught me. That said since having kids I prefer the automatic

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in my third season of teaching how to drive manuals. I work with Stick shift Driving Academy in my region. I have a very high success rate and take pride in it. I own a 5speed, 5cylinder station wagon, a powerful car. We cannot take it on public highways due to insurance restrictions. Where I teach, there is a decent hill in the middle of the parking lot so trainees get to practice incline starts in both forward and reverse.The low gear maneuvers I teach are the hardest to do. That includes stop and go traffic, slow, creeping along traffic, and parallel parking. Higher speeds do not require as much finite attention. Manuals are better for several reasons:
1.The most expensive repair on a car is the transmission.the driver of a manual IS the transmission so drive repairs are generally less expensive.
2. Because the driver of a manual has more control over the drive/ spin of the wheels, they can get through snow and ice covered roads more easily and safely.
3.Also because of the control over revs, manuals generally use less fuel.
4.Here is my favorite advantage of driving manuals:For the most part of driving a manual, both feet and usually both hands are busy driving the vehicle, which means the driver cannot be eating, or texting, or doing other things which means the driver needs to be pretty much "hands free" to drive and does so with a lot fewer unnecessary distractions.
-michael

None of your reasons for driving a manual are true anymore or never been true, like you cannot eat while driving. Of course, you can, you only need both hands 1% of the time. The only real reason for driving a manual is you inherited a 30 year old civic from your grandpa and instead of junking it decided to take it to the track

The real reason for driving a manual is because you enjoy the act of driving as much, or more, than the mere utility of getting to the destination.