[bender rodriguez]

A friend of mine is looking at buying a new sports car but does not know how to drive stick. I am trying to encourage him that he should learn because one of the cars he likes only comes in stick only. Besides even if he decides he does not like that car maybe he will like stick in general.

They are very reluctant to just buy a car and learn after purchase because they are scared they will get it and then hate to drive it.

I have let him drive around in a parking lot on my car but I wont let him drive in traffic. Is there anything that can be done in this situation to help?

Wish he could rent a car with stick or something. Just seems a shame to buy a sports car in automatic.

[WingZeroX5]

I learned to drive stick on my 1st 2011 m3, but I had experience in all the mechanics of operating a clutch on a sportbike, so it came to me pretty easily.

I think the best way to go at it is get some cones and setup scenarios of traffic lights, stop/go traffic, and uphill starts. It's easy to shift through the gears, but most difficult (at least for me) is to know the balance of clutch/gas pedal operation.

[Dattebayo]

For the record, when I learned how to drive stick, I was absolutely horrible. I probably blown 16 hours over a 2 day period in a parking lot stalling. I burned through every gear including reverse on the third day on the street. I eventually got the hang of it and drive them pretty well now, but with that said, you definitely will experience some extra wear and tear to the clutch.

[bender rodriguez]

Originally Posted by WingZeroX5

I learned to drive stick on my 1st 2011 m3, but I had experience in all the mechanics of operating a clutch on a sportbike, so it came to me pretty easily.

I think the best way to go at it is get some cones and setup scenarios of traffic lights, stop/go traffic, and uphill starts. It's easy to shift through the gears, but most difficult (at least for me) is to know the balance of clutch/gas pedal operation.

I was the same way. When I bought my car I did not know how to drive it. I can understand where he is coming from in not wanting to buy a brand new car and not be able to drive it. I would imagine for some people it would be extremely frustrating and scary to drive a 40 thousand dollar car and worry about stalling out in traffic.

[antych]

Originally Posted by bender rodriguez

Wish he could rent a car with stick or something. Just seems a shame to buy a sports car in automatic.

I'm so glad I stumbled upon your post. I was going to splash out on Ferrari F12, but guess what, it comes with an "automatic". I'll buy a proper sports car from Lamborghini then... oh wait, Huracan is "automatic" as well. Pagani then... nope. Fuck it, I'll buy a German sedan, that will show them.

[sandwi54]

I think this is bad phenomenon we have now. There are very few cars with manual transmissions, so even though some people would like to learn them, they cannot even obtain such cars and eventually just stick with automatic. No one wants to buy a manual transmission as a beginner and takes the risk of burning the clutch.

[w0ady]

I have very little experience driving stick so I know how he feels. I'm happy with my DCT though. Guess it depends on the car he wants as I know it limits my choices as well.

[ethanjoon]

As soon as I got the hand of engaging first gear with no issues, I learned on the streets (foreign dad ). I think your friend will be fine with driving on the street. If he stalls or whatnot, so what? Let the guy behind you wait an extra 5 seconds. But I hear where you guys are coming from; probably easier for me to say than it is for you to allow him on the street with your car

[Ezio]

no one talked me into buying a stick. I wanted one. Point being i wont even bother trying to convince someone. its something you either want to learn or not.

plus everything will or does offer a auto.

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

What is he looking at? He can always buy this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Mustang...m=151713097609

[Meeni]

If you already know how to drive and somebody knowledgeable shows you, it takes 5 minutes to learn. It will not be perfect for another week, but aside from a couple of embarassing stall at startup you will be good to drive on your own after very little time, and without imparting damages to the clutch.

[bender rodriguez]

Originally Posted by Ezio

no one talked me into buying a stick. I wanted one. Point being i wont even bother trying to convince someone. its something you either want to learn or not.

plus everything will or does offer a auto.

WRX STI does not come in auto at all

[SenorFunkyPants]

Definitely get him to rent a manual car for at least several days even a week...preferably in the model of car he is thinking of.
He can learn the basics pretty easy. It takes quite a bit longer to get good at it.

[Tchgrif]

when I was 17 my mother took me to test drive a few vehicles to buy one for college. vehicle 2 was a renault lecar with a stick. I never had driven a stick up till this point but had seen it done thousands of times and how hard could it be considering some of the idiot friends who could do it. anyhow....gave her whiplash... was in a neck brace for weeks. but today I can drive a stick quite well.

[jkoral]

My wife and brother both bought new cars with manual transmissions and both adamantly drove them off the lot. Actually I had given my wife a couple quick lessons, but my brother had never operated one. Regardless of what the salespeople thought (neither pulled out smoothly, jerking and over-revving), you learn best by doing.

I've been thinking about this dilemma recently because my daughter is 16 with her permit. We have an automatic SUV and my manual 135i . I want her to drive stick, I'm just not thrilled to teach her on my babied 1-series.

[wrickem]

How about letting him do what he wants?

[MightyMouseTech]

Best way to start is just to get someone in a parking lot, and just have them practice the balance point. Without stepping on the gas, from a stop, slowly let out clutch till car starts to move, step on clutch, stop car, lather rinse repeat. Once they have that figured out, the rest is easy.

[bahasad]

lol i'm going through this now as Jamesons Viggen knows very well. I never learned how to drive stick while getting my permit and license. My parents don't know either. 7 years after getting my license and driving many many miles over the years I decided to learn this because some of the cars I really want only come in stick. I also wanted to learn this valuable skill. My thoughts:

- get him to watch all the youtube videos on learning how to drive stick. They are a good starting point to at least get the general thoughts/procedure/motions in your mind before actually doing so
- you need to spend time with him giving your advice and tips.
- it will take multiple hours and sessions to do so. Honestly, unless you're willing to lend your car, he should be prepared to rent a stick shift, pay for lessons, or buy a cheap, easily resellable car to have the ease and freedom of practicing on (I bought an older Honda Civic SI, which is arguably the best car to learn on with a light clutch, shorter throw)
- advise him not to go out on public roads and at busy times of the day. take him to a parking lot for one week, every single day, until he can get the basics of starting, clutch control, shifting motion and hill starts. I would say I am a decent driver and have driven all over America and Canada, but I am still finding it challenging to master this.
- have reasonable expectations. expect stalling, don't expect the smoothest shifts. The hardest part which I still have a difficult time on is starting motion in first gear - my recommendation is to get him to practice getting to the engagement/biting point multiple times. Also have him learn how to maintain the accelerator pedal at certain RPMS - 1500-2000-2500 rpm. Then get him to combine motions of gas + clutch.

I'm 3 weeks into my training on stick shift driving, and I've finally gotten the confidence to take the car out on public roads (only at night and at low traffic hours). I still make sure I have another person in the car with me to ease the nerves/anxiety of driving a stick shift on public roads being a n00b. I have stalled at least 50 times.

Just my $0.02

[Meeni]

Youtube video get you confuse with all sort of half truth like you should rematch and heel toe and double clutch etc. All that is true on a racetrack but is utter BS on open roads. Make sure you choose a video that goes for the basics and is not full of it.

As MightyMouse said, practice engagement point for 3/4 minutes, then practice 1st gear start and stop for 2 minutes, then go on a short journey and practice 2nd gear and 3rd, then practice downshift (no revmatch, you are not a race driver...), done.

Ah, and practice panic stop: two feet in!

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by jkoral

I've been thinking about this dilemma recently because my daughter is 16 with her permit. We have an automatic SUV and my manual 135i . I want her to drive stick, I'm just not thrilled to teach her on my babied 1-series.

Here in the UK pretty much everyone drives a car with a manual transmission...so when it came time, I taught my daughter to drive stick, she had lessons and passed her test.
However even months later it is clear that driving stick adds another layer of complication for new drivers...I regret buying her a car with a manual transmission she would have been better served clocking up a lot of miles in a car with an auto transmission and switching to stick when she had more experience.

[Cattivo]

I learned how to drive stick at 13 yo when I use to sneak outa the house late night and steal my fathers E36 M3

[Xiaoxi]

I'm a first time manual.

I found it very helpful to learn on a Logitch G27 sim setup. While it cannot reproduce the clutch feel that you need to familiarize yourself with, it does help getting the routine down (clutch in, shift, clutch out / clutch in, shift, blip throttle, clutch out).

Doing that allowed me to focus much more on the clutch itself when I practiced on my friend's miata weeks before taking delivery of my M235i. I had a couple of stalls on the 235i the first week but it's been smooth sailing ever since