A small problem.

[Hana22]

I have decided that i wanna get a honda as my next car. I have one picked out already and everything but the problem is it has a manual transmission. I have no idea how to drive one. I've seen people do it and have a basic understanding of what a clutch is any what it does. I would ask the owner to teach me but he is moving on thursday and needs a buyer now. So what can I do? I have my heart set on the car but I'm worried I will go to buy it and not be able to drive it home Anyone have any ideas? How hard is it to drive a manual? I've never driven anything but an automatic but I really want this car and it's a great deal too!

[AnhydrousKitty9]

....... Its something you need to practice to get good at it


in a manual transmission car when the clutch is engaged(when its not pressed in) the tranny and engine are directly connected

If you have ever seen anyone stall out it is because they let the clutch out too fast and this causes the tranny to immediately stop the engine(not good)

you need to let the clutch out slow but there is a certain distance you can let the clutch out before you get to the point where the clutch starts making contact with the flywheel once you find this point this is the point where you need to let the clutch out slowly

what happens then is the clutch sorta grazes the flywheel just enough to get the flywheel to increase the speed of the transmission enough to where you can finally release the clutch fully and the flywheel will spin at the same speed as the clutch because they are directly connected to eachother

P.S the wheels do not spin at the same speed as the engine
the gear ratios divide the engine speed and multiply the torque of the engine

practice,practice and practice

[holloway]

Go to an empty parking lot and learn.

[PartsHookUp]

Just buy it and figure the rest out later. If you have to leave it infront of his house for a day, who cares. If you want it bad enough, things will work out.

[Stealth bubble]

i agree with all....

buy the car ,practice..... in 2-3 hours you'll be good to go

what model ??

[Hana22]

Originally Posted by Stealth bubble

i agree with all....

buy the car ,practice..... in 2-3 hours you'll be good to go

what model ??

It's a honda del sol. Not sure of the year but the price is very right and it's a nice car. I guess I'm gonna buy it and try to learn. Sounds simple enough for me at least to be able to get the car home in one peice Thanks guys.

[clayton]

hondas are easy cars to learn to drive standards in.. the easiest manuals to drive in my experience.

[clayton]

Originally Posted by Hana22

It's a honda del sol. Not sure of the year but the price is very right and it's a nice car. I guess I'm gonna buy it and try to learn. Sounds simple enough for me at least to be able to get the car home in one peice Thanks guys.

bring someone to get you home if you're that unsure though..

[PartsHookUp]

The main things that you have to look out for is "burning the clutch" and "stalling"

Getting the car moving in first gear will be your hardest task. When you are letting the clutch out in first, set your rpm's steady at about 2000 rpm's, and let the clutch out slow. Your rev's will drop as you let the clutch out, and that is fine as long as they stay above approx. 1000 rpm's. One thing to remember is "even though the car will start to move, continue to let it out slowly, until it is all the way out". If the second the car starts to move, you just quickly let it the rest of the way out, the car will go into a front/back rocking motion. To solve this, quickly push the clutch back in and try again. Remember to continue to slowly let the clutch out until it is all the way out. Make sure that you let it all the way out. This will keep you from burning the clutch (driving with it half engaged.)

Stopping without stalling.
When you are first learning, a good thing to remember when applying the brakes is "Clutch before brake", but remember push the clutch all the way down, so that you do not burn the clutch (half way engaged).

Shifting up (from 1 to 2 to 3 ....)
Once you get the car moving, going up to the next gear is easy. Just let off the gas, fully engage the clutch, move the shifter into the next gear, and just let the clutch out as fast as you want. And then apply the gas.

Shifting down (from 5 to 4 to 3 ....) Never down shift into first gear when the car is moving. With that said, when going down a gear, you have to be a little more careful. When going down a gear, it will cause your rpm's to go higher. If you shift into the wrong gear going down, it could cause some damage, so when going down a gear, use these steps. Let off the gas, push the clutch clutch all the way down, and when letting the clutch out, do is slower. Not as slow as getting out of first, but slow enough that if you see your revs increase more than 1000 rpm's, quickly push the clutch back in and find the right gear, because you miss shifted.

When learning, try and keep the rpm's between 2000 and 3000 rpms. If the car gets up to 3000, shift up to the next biggest gear, and the revs will drop back to 2000 at the same speed. If the revs get below 2000, shift down to the next smallest gear, and your rev's should increase somewhere within the 2000 to 3000 range.

This seems like a lot to learn, but it really isn't that bad. Foot positions: The right foot is for the gas and brake, and the left foot is only for the clutch.

I checked youtube for some how to vids, but I couldn't find one worth posting. I recommend that you watch them anyway, because they will help you. Just watch a couple, because some are better than others. After you watch a few, come back and read my notes again, and hopefully they will make more sense. Good Luck

[Shiba-Kun]

Starting from an uphill dead stop (like at a red light) was always my concern when I first started using a stick shift. Both stalling or rolling back into the car behind me were my worries.

But once I mastered that, everything else seemed ultra simple.

Good luck!

[PartsHookUp]

Originally Posted by Shiba-Kun

Starting from an uphill dead stop (like at a red light) was always my concern when I first started using a stick shift. Both stalling or rolling back into the car behind me were my worries.

Yeah, try and stay on level ground and avoid hills when just starting out. Good point.

Another thing is "Stay focused." Don't let the other drivers bother you. I remember when I was learning, I stalled at a stop sign, and this FU*K FACE behind me, laid on his horn. The best thing to do is ignore them, and stay focused.

[Hana22]

Sounds like it's not very hard. I use to ride my friends dirt bike and it sounds like the same ideas but diffrent motions. Thanks for the good advice I'm going to pick it up tommarow

[tytyguy]

im sure there are some you tube videos you could watch or something. A manual is SOOOOO much better than an automatic. So much fun. Hers a video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=t85kDzc76ZE

[Clover]

Motorcycles with clutch are basically same as car's manual transmission. The process is just the same when shifting though auto parts are way too different from bike parts. You're just used of driving cars with automatic transmission, but if you are deeply dedicated in learning the manual way, it's easy. Take the words from the guys here, they've said everything. You can do it! Goodluck!

[Anomoly]

my parents made me learn on a manual when i was 15 and i am glad, we have hills here that are damn near 45 degrees with stoplights at the top, you will get used to it, its not hard at all, if you have to over rev it until you get used to it, once i figured it out i got arrogant, and learned how to go from a dead stop to a full on 1st gear roll using only the clutch no throttle at all, but liek everyone else says dont just dump it once it starts moving