Teaching a teen to drive a stick shift...

[73ss454]

Yeah, driving an automatic would be like kissing your sister.

I get a kick out of watching PINKS. These guys all use automatics because they have been proven to be faster in most cases while being used for Drag Racing. Funny thing is they all look like they are getting on the highway, looking at each other all the way down the track. When I used to Drag Race I only used a 4 speed and I watched my tach all the way down the 1/4 mile.

 

[73ss454]

This video should help out with learning to drive a stick.


YouTube - scott boys 68 roadrunner 440+6 4 speed in car cam

This video may also help.

http://youtu.be/6D-AMVChm9w

 

[hakuna matata]

This video should help out with learning to drive a stick.

Yea that is all I need her to learn! Power shifting! I am just happy if she doesn't grind the gears! Fun videos though. I remember as a teen wanting this certain Mustang, I used to drive by the dealer all the time, and finally they let me take it for a test drive. Man that was a fun car to drive. I should have bought it, but alas it was beyond my budget then.

However....hmmm...that would be a fun car to have now that I think about it! Nothing stopping me from buying it now. Oh yea-the wife. But I know she likes muscle cars-oh honey...

 

[NW-Bound]

I've only had 3 cars that were automatics and I never enjoyed driving them. If you like to drive then you have a standard. Driving an automatic is like sitting on the couch watching TV.

Heh! I have not owned a stick shift since my Datsun 280Z.

Nowadays, what does this geezer care? Been there, done that!

Has anyone seen a motor home with stick shift?

 

[chris2008]

Yeah, I drove a (small) motor home with a steering column shift once in South Africa.
Great fun, even on gravel roads and in the Kalahari desert!

 

[My Dream]

One tip I read somewhere that really helped: during parking lot practice, have them get the car to move forward (in 1st gear) WITHOUT TOUCHING THE GAS (only touch the accelerator AFTER the car was moving smoothly and the clutch was fully released). I thought this would be impossible, but it actually really helped them get the feel of the clutch.

Good luck!!!!

I skimmed through these posts and stopped at this one....That's exactly how I taught myself to drive a stick 35 years ago and that's how I taught my son to drive one also. He had no idea that it was possible. Mind you the less hp the car has the longer it will take since there is less torque. You've be amazed at how easy it is on a 500 hp car to let the clutch out without pressing the accelerator. I found this method one of the best and the car never jerks, it either works or the car stalls. Once they have that mastered the accelerator to clutch ratio comes much easier since they're not as worried since they realise it can be done with pressing the gas pedal.

I agree.....good luck and it's actually quite easy once you get the hang of it.

I get a kick out of watching PINKS. These guys all use automatics because they have been proven to be faster in most cases while being used for Drag Racing. Funny thing is they all look like they are getting on the highway, looking at each other all the way down the track. When I used to Drag Race I only used a 4 speed and I watched my tach all the way down the 1/4 mile.

Although et, reaction time etc is important I think they like autos due to the consistency which is really important in drag racing. Once you go over your dial in time..........you're outta here!!!.

Can't wait for summer.

 

[Khan]

I used to be able to drive a stick shift in San Francisco (start going up on a hill with clutch and gas and hand brake); growing old sucks.

 

[Khan]

Heh! I have not owned a stick shift since my Datsun 280Z.

Nowadays, what does this geezer care? Been there, done that!

Has anyone seen a motor home with stick shift?

Drove a stick shift from 1971 - 2007.

 

[hakuna matata]

Well she did much better today so there is hope! Overall I would say she has it about 80% there. She still has trouble going up any sort of incline, you know when you start rolling slightly backwards? She panics and pops the clutch and stalls the car. I showed her how to use the emergency brake and that near the end seemed to help. On the level, or going downhill she is golden most of the time.

Not sure she will ever become great at it, but I think she could drive one of the cars with a clutch in an emergency. The two cars we own both have clutches and the truck is an automatic. I had been thinking of keeping the Miata and buying her a little Honda or something, but I don't really need four cars (but I do like the Miata quite a bit).

I had toyed with the idea of giving her the Miata but I have reservations about giving a kid a little sports car. Plus I am just not sure she will really master the clutch enough to not drive me crazy. I figured if I gave her the Miata I could still drive it on occasion! I mean it is a sweet little car, 1994 and it only has 39,000 miles on it. I doubt I can get her a car that nice without spending some big dollars.

I will let the wife take her out one more time and call it good. My intention was really just that she understood the mechanics of how to drive a clutch. I think she does have that now...sort of.'

Thanks again to all for your insights.

 

[rmark]

'have them get the car to move forward (in 1st gear) WITHOUT TOUCHING THE GAS '

I had an 1982 Ford f100, straight six, three speed on the column, power nothing - that's how I drove it every day. Gently let out the clutch and off I'd go, smooth as could be.

Trivia - on the 40's Fords you could move the 3 speed column shift over to the left side of the steering column.

 

[steelyman]

I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know about driving a stick shift until I found myself in an airport in the south of France. It was a medium-sized town with a medium-sized airport and the airline had lost my luggage. Oh well, I went to get my rental car which turned out to be a Citroen.

Took off into this odd circular drive in front of the airport and realized I was driving the wrong way. There were these concrete poles there to keep traffic contained. It wasn't easy to turn around. I tried to veer, back up, and turn the car around, and realized I couldn't figure out how to put the car in reverse. I just sat there while airport traffic backed up. I'm sure they were all muttering (to put it mildly) about me in French.

Finally, this woman walked up and saw I was in trouble, and the ensuing conversation was pretty comical since I had no idea how to say in French that I couldn't go backwards, and she couldn't speak English. But she eventually figured it out and showed me that there was this little lip on the stick that you used to allow yourself to shift into reverse. Man, I was so happy to be on my way.

 

[Meadbh]

My Dad taught me to drive on our 1970 manual VW Beetle, and the driver's test included a little number called "stopping and starting on a steep upward slope". Took a little while to master, but by age 16.5 I had it figured out. Automatics are easy by comparison. I still enjoy "rally driving" a manual vehicle on twisty country roads. Keeping the engine humming smoothly and the fuel consumption to a minimum was a necessary art in Europe!

 

[veremchuka]

Heh! I have not owned a stick shift since my Datsun 280Z.

Nowadays, what does this geezer care? Been there, done that!

Has anyone seen a motor home with stick shift?

Either I am misunderstanding you or you misunderstood me. My "if you enjoy driving" comment means the fun of driving - accelerating out of curves, down shifting into curves, running thru the gears and feeling the car perform, these are things that you can't get from driving an automatic. Driving a motorhome may mean you like to drive and see the country but it's like driving a bus and no one would say there is any thrill to that! Maybe I should have said the "thrill" of driving.

 

[NW-Bound]

Ah, that joy of driving... It's something that I have lost over the years, due to 25 years of driving minivans to haul my kids. I don't think it will come back, but it does not matter anymore. And about the MH, man, driving the beast is a tiring chore, but how do I delegate that task? Sometimes, the MH driving may even cause some thrills, but it is of the wrong kind!

 

[Orchidflower]

Normally, I'm a relatively clam mother; however, when I tried to teach my teenage son to drive my stick I became the Incredible Hulk with a Joan Rivers screaming persona. I'm ashamed to say I wasn't very motherly, calm or rational when he was behind the wheel of our only transportation then. It's embarrassing to even think about how out-of-control/anxiety ridden and neurotic I became with him behind the wheel of my small new truck then, and I hope he has forgiven me by now.

I threw in the towel after about 3 lessons, took him to Sears Driving School where he got an A and he learned. And he's a great driver today....no thanks to me I guess.

 

[braumeister]

Normally, I'm a relatively clam mother.

but in this case you were apparently shell-shocked.

 

[bruce1]

I kept telling him to follow my method: when in doubt, press the clutch in. Also 10 mph corresponds to first gear, 20 miles--second gear, etc.

With my last stick shift in 1982 (1980 Plymouth Horizon with the 2.2 with the big 2 BBL carb that would have run a small V8) 1st = 20MPH 2nd = 45MPH Third = 90 MPH. That death trap would fly.

 

[Orchidflower]

but in this case you were apparently shell-shocked.

Under just tremendous stress with the business trying to get all out on time and everyone to perform as they should. I just lost my cool. I am ashamed of it until today. Thank heaven I've performed much better with the kid on later tasks, so he might just forgive me.

 

[haha]

Under just tremendous stress with the business trying to get all out on time and everyone to perform as they should. I just lost my cool. I am ashamed of it until today. Thank heaven I've performed much better with the kid on later tasks, so he might just forgive me.

Some things are better left untried, and teaching your kids/spouse to drive is likely one of those. That is what driving schools are for.

Ha

 

[Cato]

It't tough - taught 3 of the 4 kids to drive shift stick - by the 4th kid, I no longer saw my way clear to teaching another one and sent her to a driving school.
There is good advice in this thread - especially the bit about only operating the clutch initially. It's a difficult multitasking procedure with information overload and having the feet doing things that are diametrically opposite from one another, is a difficult thing to learn - in the end it's all about the integration of sensation and hearing - just my 2c worth.

I have never played the piano but I would imagine that having the left and right hands coordinated but still doing separate things must be really difficult.

 

[braumeister]

Some things are better left untried, and teaching your kids/spouse to drive is likely one of those. That is what driving schools are for.
Ha

Sage advice. My father drove a bus for a living, and was the best driver I ever knew. No tickets and no accidents in his whole life. Yet he quailed at the thought of teaching me to drive. Instead, he sent me to the driving school run by the AAA. It was a good school, and I was glad for the opportunity.

But the best instruction I ever got was from the phone company when I had a summer job with them in college. Before you could drive one of their vans, you had to take a two day course in defensive driving. It was great. They taught the "Smith system" which was mainly about being extremely observant. What I learned there has stayed with me the rest of my life, and likely saved my bacon a number of times.

 

[packrat44]

My father taught me to drive a manual in a new Porsche roadster (long before Porsche became popular). I tried to be light on the throttle so as not to abuse it and get my dad pi$$ed at me. Instead, he started shouting at me "Don't lug that d@mm engine. Get those revs up." Fast forward many decades, I was taking a newly acquired Miata for spirited run on a twisty road and was having problems with the engine shooting crows (misfiring). After this occurred several times, I realized I was bouncing off the rev limiter that was set for 7,400 RPM. My dad would have been proud, I was keeping the revs up and not lugging the engine.

Presently I have 5 vehicles with manual transmissions, including a new diesel pick up.
Recently ordered a new Honda Accord for DW because I could not find a local dealer that had one with a manual. Tried a new Mustang GT with the 412 HP V8. Very nice power delivery - brought a big smile on my face. Seriously thinking of ordering one with a 6 speed manual with Brembo brakes. DW says I have to get rid of one of my other vehicles. Which one? What a dilemma, I like them all.

 

[Gumby]

My current Honda Civic hybrid is the first (and likely last) automatic that I have ever owned. If it had come in a manual transmission, I would have bought that instead. I do not feel that I am really driving it; just steering.

However, today I awoke my Z3 roadster from its winter slumber, so I can revisit the joy of actually driving. The young wife is complaining that it's still too cold to go top down, but I told her to just wear more clothes.

 

[davemartin88]

We taught our boys to drive on automatics- then later we worked on the manual transmission art. Thought it better to introduce this after they were already experienced drivers.

 

[chinaco]

In 1976, after a couple of beers, my boyfriend took me out on a gravel road and....

I will not comment... I want to, but I wont!

Other than to say it was a popular destination for many at that age!