Teaching a kid to drive a stick

Help. I'm trying to teach my kids how to drive a manual transmission, (so
they don't always have to drive the new Accord.) Any advice would be
appreciated.

Steve-who'll probably be replacing a clutch soon

 

Drive uphill with lots of stop lights.

 

in a beater. at night, no traffic.

 

Well, it's a skill, so he will stall it several times. Give him a
nice straight away to pull away on. You don't want to have to turn
and fool with the clutch at first. It took me a while to realise that
the car had to move 5-10 feet before I could let the clutch out
completely. As you get better this can reduce quite a bit. Blipping
the throttle on downshifts takes some practice too. At first it
seemed like I wanted to blip the throttle to release the gear and then
again to engage the next gear. Practise, practise. Double clutching
heel and toe (actually side of foot) downshifts if fun because I like
fiddling with the err, fiddly bits. Save that for week two
Roadie Roger

 

I think going to a flat place or even a slight downhill grade and teaching
to slowly modulate the clutch without gas to get moving helps a lot,
especially if they already drive automatics and are familiar with the rest
of the driving dynamics. If they do this about 20 times in a row, they
almost always get it, starting at least, the rest usually comes OK
afterwards. I just had a kooky thought, maybe one could temporarily raise
the idle for such a lesson, HAHA. A big torquey manual are the best for
learning, I learned on a work F150 with a special 'granny' gear where you
always started in 2nd for driving and was just about impossible to stall.

 

eerrrr I don't know why he will need to utilise double clutching - didn't
that become obsolete with the introduction of synchromesh? I don't know.
I thought most American cars were Manuel (stick shift) anyway? I hate
driving autos myself - boring. Actually I have always wondered, is the
clutch still on the left on American cars? or is it the reverse of min and
you use your right foot to put the clutch down?
my advice mate would be to buy a knackered old car and get him to learn on
that, hopefully that will save your clutch for a little longer!

 

I agree with MAT, head for an open parking lot and have your kid release the
clutch WITHOUT using the accelerator. Even with a slight uphill grade the
car won't stall if the clutch is disengaged smoothly.

 

unless its a really heavy car with no torque, or the idle is adjusted too
low.

 

If that was the case Mike I wouldn't want my kids driving the car.

 

Slowly let the clutch out, no gas, and watch the tach.
Keep the RPM steady to get a feel for it.
I can run slowly up through the gears that way.
This method requires a large empty parking lot, but that's where the other
driver's training was being done anyway.

Downshifting with no clutch is a good way to teach RPM matching.

 

I learned to drive a stick by riding in the car when my mom was driving
and just watching.

 

I bought my first car after leaving the Air Force at age 25. It was a
stick shift and I learned to drive it by taking it home from the
dealer. I had driver's training in an automatic. Just teach the theory.
The rest is experience. I've been driving a stick shift for 35 years
and would not change. I'm on my 2004 Civic now.

 

Have them practice muscle control by pressing/releasing the clutch in a
parked car. After they've driven a bit, take them into a multi-level garage
and practice launching on the ramp, when it's vacant.

 

I wouldn't be brave enough to have a student driver behind the wheel
with me as a passenger in a multi-level garage. Must be because of the
possibility of the student driver losing control, flying through/over
a guard rail and falling 4 stories to my death.

I'd rather teach driving a stick on a deserted side street and then on
one that is on a slight hill.

 

I don't know of any car (since about 1970) that needs double clutching. The
vast majority or American cars (regardless of country of origin) are
automatics. Manuals usually need to be special ordered when new and have
very poor resale values in the US because there is no demand for them.

I taught my first two daughters to drive in a diesel VW Rabbit (Golf).
Almost impossible to stall and once you got it going, there was no worry of
it racing off out of control.

I suggest you find a car with a hand brake (disappearing feature on new
American cars) for the teaching car to make starting on hills easier to deal
with (and reduce the chance of rolling back into that car that always seems
to stop two inches from your back bumper on those hills).

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two points:

ONE__ Trying to teach a kid to drive a standard WITHOUT GIVING IT A BIT
OF GAS is like teaching a pig to sing. It's a wast of your time, and
gets the pig really upset. (how will they ever learn to go uphill from a
stop?)

TWO__ Parking lots in Edmonton have signs posted: No driver training.
Great idea for everyone involved, (except the Mall's lawyer)

P.S. One person I know tried to teach his wife to drive without adding
any gas. They divorced soon afterward. Stats probably show that it's
right up there with doing wallpaper together.

'Curly'

 

It's unnecessary, just fun!

I don't know.

Clutch is on the left in America.

Cheers,
Roadie Roger

 

>, The-Central-
says...

I taught my wife to drive stick in a cemetery. Lots of empty road,
little hills, and the neighbors don't complain about the tire screechs
and clutch smell...

--Gene

 

The most important tip I received when learning was: put your hand on the
gear lever *before* pushing the clutch in. Most learners push the clutch
in and then wave their hand around looking for the gear lever.

Another tip, which might not be approved in a driving test but which saves
on foot movement and foot/hand/brain coordination: in slow traffic
ascending a hill, when you're continually stopping and starting in 1st
gear, don't use the foot brake at all - push the handbrake release button
in and hold it in and work the lever up and down as needed.

I think it's always good, especially for a driver of a manual trans to
understand how things work... so a good intro book to auto mechanics helps.

To the question which usually comes up of: how far before I make a turn,
should I signal?... the answer is: if you were a car following, when would
you want to know that the guy in front is going to make the turn?

For me, I made much better progress when my Dad had a friend take me out
for "lessons" - eliminates the emotional complications.

I think it's the gearbox which gets more abuse from a learner.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

Having gone through this a few years ago, I recommend a large empty parking
lot. Concentrate on starting -- let the clutch out slowly while increasing
the gas. Most kids want to dump the clutch which stalls the car. Then move
to a hill with little traffic and do the start routine again. Conveying the
idea of keeping the car in the right gear is also a trick -- they either lug
it too much or keep the revs too high. A Civic would be a car to start
with.