I will explain how to drive a manual car.
Tips:
-Dont get frustrated, keep practicing and youll get it.
-Get a feel for the pedals, mainly the clutch before you start driving.
-Begin practicing in a big empty parking lot where you can get comfortable and used to driving a
manual car before going on the road.
-Always engage your emergency brake before you let off the brakes when parking your car, it is not an automatic and it will begin to roll on almost about any road regardless of the incline.
-Whenever shifting gears make sure to fully engage the clutch by pushing it all the way in, or you will grind and destroy your cars gears.
Tips:
-Dont get frustrated, keep practicing and youll get it.
-Get a feel for the pedals, mainly the clutch before you start driving.
-Begin practicing in a big empty parking lot where you can get comfortable and used to driving a
manual car before going on the road.
-Always engage your emergency brake before you let off the brakes when parking your car, it is not an automatic and it will begin to roll on almost about any road regardless of the incline.
-Whenever shifting gears make sure to fully engage the clutch by pushing it all the way in, or you will grind and destroy your cars gears.
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Turn on the car by completely engaging the clutch (the leftmost pedal) and turning the ignition. Keep the clutch engaged while applying your brakes in order to safely release the emergency brake (avoid the car from rolling).
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First, shouldn't you be learning this stuff at driving school? It is (or should be) common sense. People who need this kind of an instructable shouldn't have manual gear transmission cars in the first place.
And second, about the "european" car's shifter gear placement statement: that has nothing to do with the fact that it an european car (being on the left side). My bet is that this model is a Volkswagen, but being 7-geared, the reverse gear goes automaticaly onto the left side of the stick (just my experience with cars, nothing I've read about).
Audi for example, on 5-gears forward transmission has the reverse on bottom right, so... please.... stop dividing things between "european" and "american", it's bad for ya'.
Peace,
a happy "european".
I have to correct you here. Almost every clutch engages at different point.
So I feel that the best technique is that you keep the clutch fully pressed, then rev the engine between 1400-2000 RPM, and slowly release the clutch pedal (of course this RPM range is relative, you can start even with 7000 RPM if you can but for newbies this range is good because the engine develops enough torque to start and there's less chance to burn the clutch)
I'm from Romania (Europe) and here we learn to drive only manual cars.
Let me give you some advice:
-it is recommended that you keep your car in gear at all times (except when your standing at a stop light or when you are stationary) and that you change down before turning but COASTING IS OK!!! If you need, you can always stick it in gear and drive away.
-NEVER keep the clutch pedal pressed when you are stationary. It is a common mistake even among stick shift drivers. IT WILL destroy your clutch solar spring in time.
-when you park your car ALWAYS leave it in 1st gear. Do not depend completely on the hand brake because it being a stationary brake it tends to stop working over time.
-Remember that you control the car's speed with the gas pedal ONLY. Use the clutch only when starting from a standstill and changing gears, otherwise LEAVE IT ALONE!!! don't even touch the pedal!!!(even when you rest your foot on the clutch you are slowly burning it)
-when you start your engine keep the clutch pedal and the brake pedal pressed all the way in (if the car is in neutral when you start the engine the clutch is optional but recommended)
-Rule of thumb: when going down a hill use the same gear that you'll use when going up that hill, and use the engine brake!!! if you keep using the brakes when going down a hill your brakes will overheat and fade.
-if you have a turbo charged car (especially if it's a turbo diesel) try to keep it over 2500 rpm. If you "under rev" the engine the turbo doesn't spin and you will end up changing the turbo (and that costs a lot of money)
-another advice for turbo diesel owners: if you drive mostly in urban areas, at the end of the week try to take your car for a "spin" out of the city and keep your revs high (you will see some black smoke coming out of the exhaust; that's the mix of oil, smoke particles, and other nasty stuff that has built up in the turbo system)
-when you start the car with high revs, let the clutch pedal go faster so you don't burn the clutch (it will probably make your wheels spin :-) )
There's a lot more to learn about manual cars. If you have any questions please ask.
Make sure the car is in neutral before starting the engine.
Step 2;
You ought to point out that a gearbox with reverse at top-left only engages reverse when a switch under the knob is the gearstick is lifted, or when the stick is pushed down, which is why it's OK to slide the stick to top-left to engage first.
To engage 1st, press the clutch and then move the stick.
Step 3:
It is easier to pull away when the revs are higher than usual and to "slip" the clutch. Lifting the clutch all the way too quickly will cause the car to lurch or stall.
Step 4:
For smooth urban driving, and to save fuel, you should change up at around 2000 revs, allowing a small drop in the revs during the gear-change, otherwise you get a lurch which can make your passengers nervous.
Step 5:
Do not re-apply the revs too slowly, or the car and engine will lose momentum and you will have to change back down a gear. This applies to all changes up a gear.
Step 6:
When changing down, you do not reduce revs until you are in the lower gear, otherwise the change is again uncomfortable for your passengers. Changing down gears without applying any throttle is a useful way of slowing a car when the brakes are unreliable, the the driving surface is very loose or you are heading downhill.
Step 7:
When stopping, you never put the car in neutral until the car is at a full standstill. To do so is dangerous. When you reach a full stop, pushing in the clutch as you slow, pull on the hand-brake and then put the car into neutral.
It's mistakes like these that make it illegal to drive a manual car if you have only learned to drive in an automatic.
Nobody who has learned to drive in an automatic, or who has not learned to drive yet, should attempt to drive a manual car without at least a minimum of hands-on tuition.
(I once spent time chatting to a mechanic who had had to fix the gearbox in a car rented by an American tourist - she had picked the car up at the airport, then driven to Cornwall in first gear. She brought the car in because it had started to smell strange - it was the gears melting.)
Also, step 3 is a good way to require a new clutch. You don't "slip" the clutch (My friends and I call it roasting the clutch, as you can smell it pretty quickly if you do it a lot, such as when teaching a newbie to drive stick :p), you modulate it. You want the clutch to be completely engaged as soon as possible so you don't cause unnecessary clutch friction, or waste engine power. It's all about balance. Your foot should be off the pedal if you are over 1000 rpm in most cars. Quit teaching people to drive stick like a woman! (I would know, my mother taught me to do this exactly, and EVERYONE I know can tell a woman taught me. I've been trying to brake the habit for years. Better advice came from dad "Don't use the clutch to control your speed!". Not being sexist, but it is an observable trend here and thus is fair to note.)
So yeah, done being snooty. Carry on driving a proper vehicle!
Not being sexist, but... absolutely, excuses everything, that, doesn't it? Not.
The driving I describe is not "driving like a woman", it is "driving so that you don't smash your own face on the dash". You clearly did not bother to read my other comments, or you know that I actually drive like a rally-driver.
No motor vehicle is fully safe coasting in neutral, and such an action in the UK would earn you a fine, points on your license and even a driving ban; depending on the exact circumstances, the offence is either "driving without due care and attention" or "careless driving".
In any case, your response was way over the top. Many years of driving do not automatically make you safe, or even any good - it just means you have been getting away with it for a long time (why else do you think many insurers place the over-45 age-group in a higher insurance bracket than the under 25?). I too have driven manual for decades, and at speeds far in excess of the limits (having been taught to drive by an ex-rally driver), and our speed limits are higher than the US anyway.
Do any of you catch my drift?
But here something more constructive:
I think the most important thing - when you change from automatic to manual transmission - is (as it was said already) that you practice much. In the beginning it helps if you give gas to about 2000RPM (hold it there) and then concentrate on the clutch. That way you won't stall the engine, but you also (probably) won't make a burnout. It's important not to release the clutch too quickly as there are many differences between clutches of different cars (or even cars of the same type!). Some are loose, some are firm, ...