Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > Off-Topic Tech
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 01-04-2010, 08:09 PM   #1 (permalink)
Ecomodder in Training
 
Rainh2o's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Howard City Michigan
Posts: 48

Green Machine - '96 Ford Contour GL
90 day: 34.9 mpg (US)
Thanks: 5
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
learning (teaching) to drive a manual transmission...

Sorry if this is not the right area for this but I had a question about teaching someone to drive a stick. If its not the right area maybe a moderator can move it?

I learned on an old grain truck on the farm when I was about 10, dad threw me the keys and told me to ride my bike back to the barn and get the grain truck...well...never driven it before, after a few times of killing it and revving the crap out of it, sitting on the edge of the seat to operate the pedals and looking through the steering wheel, I got it there and the next time got easier and easier...but that was on like a 55 model chevy who knows what with a granny gear that I found out later that you could if you where gentle with her take off without giving her any gas...but it taught me...

Anyhow my 15 yr old wants to learn to drive a stick now for a couple of reasons,
1) Because he is the only one in his group of friends that would know how.
2) He really wants an S-10 or S15 pickup when its time to get him a car.
3) His older brother doesn't know how and he wants to show off.
4) Dad (me) thinks he should know how.

The only stick I have is my contour and I did take him out once and he had a few good take offs but I then started smelling the clutch so I stopped him and took over. Just didn't want to burn the clutch up on my daily driver.

Anyone have an easy way or any ideas on HOW to teach a kid to drive a stick without burning the clutch up too much? I have never burnt a clutch up but like I said I basically had an easy truck to learn on with the granny gear.

__________________

Last edited by Rainh2o; 01-04-2010 at 08:52 PM..
  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 01-04-2010, 08:49 PM   #2 (permalink)
Moderate your Moderation.
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Troy, Pa.
Posts: 8,919

Pasta - '96 Volkswagen Passat TDi
90 day: 45.22 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,369
Thanked 430 Times in 353 Posts
Taking off is probably the worst part of teaching someone to drive stick, but (wasteful as it sounds) the best way I've ever been able to get anyone to learn is to teach them to hold the engine at ~2k and then "feel" where the clutch starts to grab. Once the car starts moving, it's best to just let the clutch the rest of the way out to prevent burning.

So called "dumping" the clutch won't damage anything but your ears when the tires squeal a little bit, and will usually surprise the hell out of the new driver.

Later, as the driver gets used to the operation and "feel" of the pedals, you drop the RPM down to about 1500 holding and taking off (on flats). Don't go all out and put them on a hill for the first time. Stalling can be very discouraging, and an already inexperienced driver may be completely turned off to the whole idea after a day of getting "nowhere".
__________________
"¿ʞɐǝɹɟ ɐ ǝɹ,noʎ uǝɥʍ 'ʇı ʇ,usı 'ʎlǝuol s,ʇı"

  Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2010, 08:51 PM   #3 (permalink)
Ecomodder in Training
 
Rainh2o's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Howard City Michigan
Posts: 48

Green Machine - '96 Ford Contour GL
90 day: 34.9 mpg (US)
Thanks: 5
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
The one thing that my car does not have is a RPM gauge. That would be easier if it had one. Its actually my first manual that I have owned that didn't have one.
__________________
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2010, 08:55 PM   #4 (permalink)
epic stock master
 
luvit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: US
Posts: 377

86 Accord LX (carb) - '86 Honda Accord LX
90 day: 35.57 mpg (US)
Thanks: 19
Thanked 17 Times in 15 Posts
toss him the keys... lol.

my first car was manual... maybe find the hugest parking lot ever. at first don't let him stop and go over and over, but let him drive slow and up shift and down shift between 1st and 2nd gear... maybe 3rd?

once that's perfected, maybe he'd be smoother at taking off from a dead stop?
__________________
.
single person car thread
.
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2010, 08:59 PM   #5 (permalink)
Moderate your Moderation.
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Troy, Pa.
Posts: 8,919

Pasta - '96 Volkswagen Passat TDi
90 day: 45.22 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,369
Thanked 430 Times in 353 Posts
Without a tach, it's a little harder, but you have the ear for the car as it is, so you tell him where to set the pedal, then teach him to identify the appropriate speed to shift by the sound of the car, NOT the speedometer.

Shifting by the speedometer leaves you SOL if just about anything happens where you can't use/see the speedo, and doesn't teach the driver anything about the car at all. Driving manuals is preferred by my immediate family because you have to be in sync with the car to be doing it correctly, and if you can't identify shift points by vehicle sound, you're definitely not "in sync" with your car.
__________________
"¿ʞɐǝɹɟ ɐ ǝɹ,noʎ uǝɥʍ 'ʇı ʇ,usı 'ʎlǝuol s,ʇı"

  Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2010, 09:44 PM   #6 (permalink)
dcb
needs more cowbell
 
dcb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: ÿ
Posts: 5,038

pimp mobile - '81 suzuki gs 250 t
90 day: 96.29 mpg (US)

schnitzel - '01 Volkswagen Golf TDI
90 day: 53.56 mpg (US)
Thanks: 158
Thanked 269 Times in 212 Posts
you could familiarize the new driver with shifting by letting them shift left handed from the passenger seat. you clutch in, they shift, you clutch out. pretty easy to get in synch with each other that way, maybe help with a couple of the first shifts, they can go through all the gears without a word after a bit of practice under normal acceleration.

I do it all the time, poor mans automatic Would be one less thing to have to learn all at once.
__________________
WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!!!
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2010, 09:46 PM   #7 (permalink)
Moderate your Moderation.
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Troy, Pa.
Posts: 8,919

Pasta - '96 Volkswagen Passat TDi
90 day: 45.22 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,369
Thanked 430 Times in 353 Posts
dcb -

I did that with a friend of mine once... it just further confused him.
__________________
"¿ʞɐǝɹɟ ɐ ǝɹ,noʎ uǝɥʍ 'ʇı ʇ,usı 'ʎlǝuol s,ʇı"

  Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2010, 09:49 PM   #8 (permalink)
dcb
needs more cowbell
 
dcb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: ÿ
Posts: 5,038

pimp mobile - '81 suzuki gs 250 t
90 day: 96.29 mpg (US)

schnitzel - '01 Volkswagen Golf TDI
90 day: 53.56 mpg (US)
Thanks: 158
Thanked 269 Times in 212 Posts
I don't recall being confused by it myself, YMMV of course. Was it the shifting with someone else clutching or the switching hands that was troublesome?
__________________
WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!!!
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2010, 09:51 PM   #9 (permalink)
Moderate your Moderation.
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Troy, Pa.
Posts: 8,919

Pasta - '96 Volkswagen Passat TDi
90 day: 45.22 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,369
Thanked 430 Times in 353 Posts
Switching hands. He associated left and right instead of associating the shift pattern with the car, so he first tried starting in 5th, then tried shifting from 2nd into reverse (VW transmission, reverse is up and left)
__________________
"¿ʞɐǝɹɟ ɐ ǝɹ,noʎ uǝɥʍ 'ʇı ʇ,usı 'ʎlǝuol s,ʇı"

  Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2010, 09:58 PM   #10 (permalink)
Pishtaco
 
SentraSE-R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Bay Area, California
Posts: 1,485

Mean Green Toaster Machine - '06 Scion xB
Team Toyota
90 day: 48.92 mpg (US)
Thanks: 56
Thanked 286 Times in 181 Posts
I taught my daughter to drive a stick shift in the snow, in the winter, in Alaska, when she was 12. Taught my son, stepdaughter, and granddaughter, too. I just told the latter three not to give it any gas at all. They learned to use the clutch to get rolling without killing the engine, and didn't have to worry about barking the tires.

__________________
Darrell

Boycotting Exxon since 1989, BP since 2010
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac? George Carlin
Mean Green Toaster Machine
49.5 mpg avg over 53,000 miles. 176% of '08 EPA
Best flat drive 94.5 mpg for 10.1 mi
Longest tank 1033 km (642 mi) on 10.56 gal = 60.8 mpg
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to SentraSE-R For This Useful Post:
TEiN (01-06-2010)
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Effect of gear oil viscosity on transmission efficiency (Metro owners take note) MetroMPG EcoModding Central 44 12-08-2014 11:22 PM
Longtime Lurker Looking for Miles ZX40 Electric Micro van mods & information rmay635703 Fossil Fuel Free 49 07-06-2014 10:27 PM
New CVT transmission electric-assist with electric assist Ptero Fossil Fuel Free 2 09-23-2010 10:41 PM
Synthetic transmission fluid for a manual transmission? abcdpeterson General Efficiency Discussion 15 10-12-2009 08:56 AM
Choosing a Manual Transmission Fluid for my Mazda Protege 1337 EcoModding Central 5 03-20-2009 12:07 PM



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com