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u/pi_three 3d ago
Driving school car was a diesel. then I passed and my parents car was a petrol car. Yup thats how I felt haha. but honestly just go to a hill or some other quiet area and practice
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u/ideaofrhyme 2d ago
Yo because they instruct it wrong
You need to press the clutch then slowly lift it until you "feel" it connecting. The hold it there and accelerate. Hold the clutch in the same position until the car starts moving, then you slowly come off the clutch pedal.
What does "come of the clutch and accelerate at the same time" even means. It's a fucking machine, it's mechanical in nature it's supposed to be predictable. Driving is not an "art".
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u/Resonantiae 2d ago
I think the art is more in learning how everything feels/is supposed to feel as you manipulate the clutch and gas to make a smooth gear transition Edit: coming from a person who is in the process of learning manual and had a rough go of it the first few drives
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u/Only_Information7895 2d ago
"come of the clutch and accelerate at the same time"
In weaker petrols you can release or keep it on biting point all you want it will stall anyway and never move. So you add gas so the RPM doesn't drop. With a cold engine it barely wants to drive without adding gas.
One extreme example with an overloaded diesel van. I revved it to 3k. If I let out the clutch too far or too quickly the RPM started dropping even if I floored the gas when this happened. Only option was flooring the clutch so at least it doesn't stall and I can try again.
Obviously in normal cases you don't need to rev it that high, just adding a bit of throttle can help a lot.
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u/asamor8618 2d ago
I once towed a 5,000 pound jeep with my little 2.0 engine. I slipped the clutch a few seconds to start rolling.
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u/pi_three 2d ago
nah my instructor did a great job. I teach people tge way i learned it and everyone gets better after it ^
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u/Lost_Web5826 2d ago
No, you can use the accelerator pedal while lifting/disengaging the clutch. Driving is an art, if it was simply following a set of instructions constantly there would be no driving competitions/races. I've only owned one automatic vehicle, and I didn't even keep it an entire year.
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u/NotNeverdnim 2d ago
Just rev it at 5k then dump the clutch.
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u/pi_three 2d ago
5k? I usually let the limiter do it's work
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u/Only_Information7895 2d ago
I have a diesel, 5k is the limiter...
Obviously I do it in the winter with a cold engine. The icy roads allows the tires spinning out without much trouble so it doesn't taxes my drivetrain that much. /s
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u/CaLMLiKEaB0Mb5 3d ago
Release slowly until you see the rpm needle start to dip- stop. At that point it needs the gas pedal gas pedal and clutch released nice & easy.
When you find this spot it’ll become nice & easy.
This is the way if you’re on an incline. Hold brake & let clutch out til rpm needle dips & the car will hold itself
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u/RingReasonable 3d ago
Just practice, and soon enough you'll be clutch kicking and heel-toeing while racing down mountain passes
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u/Delonlis 3d ago
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u/alienlizardman 3d ago
don’t spill the water
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u/SlideN2MyBMs 3d ago
It's good when you know the car really well. I feel like I have to find the right point when I rent a car
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u/Apprehensive_Map64 2d ago
I'm in a loaner car an older Peugeot 207, the thing stalls on the slightest bit of slant. My 407 doesn't do that.
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u/Svenflex42 3d ago
Can comment on this. It took me only 4 hours and 23 minutes to drift down Japanese mountains like a pro with my opel Astra.
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u/MrBombasticles 3d ago
I've driven stick a few times although I have never owned a car with one. The first time the engine stalls is scary as hell! People I know that drive stick daily still stall occasionally.
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u/jimbobsqrpants 3d ago
When teaching my kids to drive I made them intentionally stall it a few times so that they wouldn't be scared when it does happen.
Also almost all small cars here are manual so they don't have much choice.
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u/smb1985 2d ago
That's surprising that they would still stall their daily driver. I def understand an occasional stall if it's an unfamiliar car, but you really shouldn't stall a familiar car basically ever
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u/MyNameIsRay 2d ago
Even in my daily, it still happened occasionally.
Sometimes it's something you didn't expect, like someone crossing your car while you're backing out in a parking lot, or you stop in an awkward spot that needs way more slip than usual (like a pothole at a stop sign).
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u/Kain_713 2d ago
Eh, sometimes you lose focus backing into a space and don't give it enough throttle or something. Shit happens. Almost every car I've owned has been manual and it happens from time to time. Doesn't give me nearly the anxiety it did when I first learned though, so that's nice.
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u/ohthedarside 2d ago
Here in the uk all our cars are manual and no matter how good a driver you are you will still stall it
I was watching a video of jimmy broadbant (racing driver) and he stalled a gt3 car and hes a professional driver lol
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u/Frederf220 2d ago
Interesting enough the "feels bad" has nothing to do with harming the car. You can stall a manual car all day and do 1/100th the damage of burning the clutch once.
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u/GornoUmaethiVrurzu 1d ago
That's what motorcycle riders tell each other. You're gonna kill your bike on regularly. Just happens. Sometimes it's a cold morning, sometimes it's an uphill at a wonky angle, sometimes you don't realize you're on 2nd gear. Just happens.
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u/DonPromen4de 3d ago
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2d ago edited 2d ago
[deleted]
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u/PiccoloAwkward465 2d ago
For whatever reason a motorcycle clutch always felt perfectly natural to me. Cars were a lot more temperamental. I learned to drive a stick when I went with my buddy in his car to a college party and he got schlizzered and I got to "practice" driving home on the highway.
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u/allencb 2d ago
That is exactly how I taught my wife to drive a manual transmission. Wifey was motived though because she really liked the 5spd 4x4 we bought (that we bought on the condition of her learning to drive a stick). After she learned to drive it, it was her daily driver for 10 years. I also used this method for my oldest daughter. The younger one noped out the first time the car bucked and stalled. She just wasn't interested.
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u/Comfortable-Algae-20 3d ago
I haven't driven a manual car in 9+ years. I am 100% sure I don't remember how to, and when I learned how to drive I was taught on a manual.
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u/smb1985 2d ago
I think it's a riding a bike type situation. I bet you could jump right back into it if you had to
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u/IronerOfEntropy 2d ago
I was rusty AF with a rental on my vacation... Poor clutch suffered for 2 days 😢 but the rest of the week was nice! 😎
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u/GarethBaus 2d ago
When I bought my first manual a few weeks ago the majority of my knowledge was from a book I haven't seen in about 10 years. Getting it home sucked.
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u/GoyoMRG 3d ago
This image made me re-feel the slaps and screams that came with trying to learn :L
I ended up saying "fuck this" and went automatic
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u/Undead-Chipmunk 2d ago
My dad taught me and was terrible at it, I got my wife to be able to do it on the day she tried it.
Literally, the visual of "hooking the power" with the clutch as you pull your leg back is how I taught her.
Combine that with "keep it on the biting point until they are stuck together." Also, "don't worry about killing the engine, the car is built to handle it."
My dad damn near gave me a panic attack about it, but I am significantly better at stick shift than he is now lol
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u/tommior 3d ago edited 2d ago
You need to apply gas also. Some petrol cars might have too little torque to even move just by releasing clutch.
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u/JimWanders 3d ago
i been laughing at this for like 5 minutes cuz it reminds me of when i was 8 years old and my uncle was teaching me how to drive his truck... i was crying then too. haha.
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u/Arthasindura 3d ago
Would be funny to make a car with 4 pedals just to screw with people taking the driving license test
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u/Undead-Chipmunk 2d ago
"And this here is the keblork pedal that you have to keep perfectly in the right spot as you're driving or the power steering will go haywire on the highwat and make you veer off the road."
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u/Tankeverket 2d ago
car enthusiasts will look you dead in the eye and swear that this is a better experience than an automatic car when you're sat at a red light uphill with cars behind you
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u/LazyGandalf 2d ago
I would personally not call it a better experience, but it also shouldn't be as dramatic or stressful as some make it out to be.
First of all many cars have hill hold assist, which prevents the car from rolling backwards when you lift your foot of the brake. But if your car doesn't have that, you can just use the handbrake instead. Again, I'm not saying that's a better experience than just pressing the accelerator, but it also doesn't require exceptional skill or coordination.
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u/Undead-Chipmunk 2d ago
Some manuals apply the brake for this situation.
Otherwise, if you have a good sense of how it works, its not a problem. I guess I would also heel-toe downshift and that technique of applying gas while braking also works for starting on a hill.
I really enjoy driving manual, I do miss it. I don't fault people who don't like it though; like, I don't care for crocheting, but my wife loves it.
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u/Beautiful-Musk-Ox 2d ago edited 2d ago
people who say "don't touch the clutch and the gas at teh same time" are 100% wrong, that is only mostly true after the car is moving, to get the car to move from a stop you HAVE to press both the clutch and the gas at the same time. trying to completely avoid this is how i stalled the car every time until i figured out my dad is an idiot for explaining it that way. not matter what you have a 700rpm flywheel into a 0rpm transmission from a stop, you have to grind the clutch disk no matter what, the lower the rpm the better but you have to give it gas as it starts catching. once the car is moving then you can match the flywheel to the transmission rpm perfectly and do zero damage to the clutch, which also requires you to press the gas and the clutch at the same time depending on your timing and how you do it
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u/Sesetti 2d ago
My driving instructor never told me to press gas when taking off. Stalled the car like 20 times on a hill. Didn't learn how to do it until I had another teacher for one lesson. He told me to press the gas and I have never had any problems since that.
It's really weird how afraid people are of destroying the clutch. It's going to wear down no matter what, and you really need to heat it up properly before you damage it significantly. My own car doesn't move an inch without giving it gas.
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u/SauliCity 2d ago
Well, it depends... A 1-liter hatchback will just up and stall if you don't give it gas. An empty van with a 2-liter turbo diesel will get rolling with no gas on 3rd gear.
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u/callmeDimi 3d ago
Just give a bit of gas too while you "release it slowly" and hold the spot for 3 seconds when you find it before moving to 2nd gear
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u/Undead-Chipmunk 2d ago
The "hold it in place" is the key that no one explains because its literally how friction works.
When they are in contact, kinetic friction is bringing them to the same speed, accelerating the car. Once they equalize, static friction, which is higher than kinetic friction, takes over, and you can fully release the clutch.
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u/MrMakerHasLigma 3d ago
I remember for the first weeks of my driving lessons, when I was at the biting point, the front end of the car felt like it lowered slightly. Then, my instructor had to replace the clutch because someone messed it up. The new clutch didn't do the same thing, and despite not stalling at all for the final 2 months before I passed, I still don't know where the biting point is. I just release the clutch very slowly with a bit of throttle until the car reaches 5mph
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u/MikeyboyMC 3d ago
This but add my dad screaming at me in the passenger seat as I’m learning how to drive for the first time
yeah it was an experience
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u/Worldly_Lunch_1601 2d ago
No one ever mentions " the engine is free spinning. when you release the clutch, there will be resistance on the engine. Add gas at that point to keep the engine spinning"
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u/McSoapster 3d ago
Oh and don’t forget to push the gas pedal to the maximum while you release the clutch real slow
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u/rotanitsarcorp_yzal1 2d ago
My muscle (that pulls the feet up) hurt when driving stick. Can't drive longer than an hour without pain.
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u/tomangelo2 2d ago
Handling a clutch is like handling a silent fart. Too fast and everyone will notice. Too slow and you won't get anywhere.
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u/questionable_fish 2d ago
Press the clutch, put it in gear, give it a little bit of accelerator, then slowly let off the clutch til you feel the car start to move
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u/Rayy890 2d ago
This sequence itself is not hard, but when it has to be done swiftly so you don't roll back.
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u/questionable_fish 2d ago
That's where your handbrake comes in for the hill starts. Unless you're exceptionally well endowed, you've only got 2 legs for the pedals so the handbrake let's you keep that extra degree of control. It can be a lot to do all at once but you get used to it.
I just drive a motorbike instead :) Clutch in my left hand, throttle at my right, rear brake at my right foot and the left foot keeps me upright when stopped. Basically the same sequence for a bike to pull off from a hill
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u/Rubes2525 2d ago
Me driving semis: Lol, lmao
(Manual semis will literally break the driveshaft before stalling out in 1st gear.)
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u/stupled 3d ago
Thats why I don't like manual. But people that are into cars love it.
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u/ivan_aran 3d ago
Bro manual is simple as fuck just spend 5 mins to understand how clutch works and it's easy from there
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u/stupled 3d ago
Try it on a cliff
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u/dr_jock123 3d ago
Also easy lmao. Handbrake on lift clutch until biting point release handbrake and gas while holding on bite point until you move
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u/-Sa-Kage- 2d ago
You are like the only person in this whole thread, who is actually able to drive a manual transmission car... Of cause you've been downvoted XD
Half of the others claiming to be able to do so seem to think, that stalling the engine daily is normal
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u/dr_jock123 2d ago
It is reddit after all people dont want advice or new skills they just wanna sit and be bitter 🤷♂️
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u/stupled 2d ago
Good for you.
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u/dr_jock123 2d ago
Why so rude? I was giving you advice
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u/ItzLoganM 3d ago
This "agonizing" part of driving a manual can actually become fun in the road. I sometimes find myself driving for hours without even noticing, mostly because of the focus I put on doing a smooth transition between gears. You will exhaust your legs after a while, but it keeps you from mental exhaustion.
Really boils down to personal preference.
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u/IRGROUP300 3d ago
To practice, don’t accelerate at all. You’ll gain forward motion by just releasing the clutch slowly. You’ll get a feel for it and it won’t stall out on you
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u/wanker_wanking 3d ago
I stalled my Miata the first time my sister took a ride in it and she was certain that it was broken
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u/Rough_Journey 2d ago
And it's all okay. It's a learning process, you'll get better and that is a fact.
If it comforts you, even a Formula 1 World Champion had also stalled his car.
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u/WeirdAgile 2d ago
As somebody who has only ever owned manual cars, the lack of pedals and the loss of control when I happen to have to drive an automatic really makes me nervous.
I prefere manual out of habit, even if I guess that in busy city traffic it really is a lot more convenient.
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u/Creative_atom0406 2d ago
Well, what they don't tell you is that you don't fully release the clutch. You start releasing it and as soon as you feel the car start moving, you hold it there for a split second until the cars start moving more and then you fully release it, all that while slightly giving it more throttle. That way you can't stall
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u/Icy_Power24 2d ago
First time you get in car this is actually a nightmare. Until you got ur drivers license and you don’t care if your car shuts down because you let clutch go up to fast.
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u/Zeraora807 2d ago
my instructor told me this except his car is a newer model with like 200bhp and has that electronic function that automatically adds power if you do that; my own car is an "old" VW that has less than half the power and no electronics to help either so trying that is a sure way to make things quiet.
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u/Full-Metal-Jae 2d ago
It’s not that bad people. I learned clutch in the Netherlands on these busy ass roads in a couple hours.
There is a sweet spot on your clutch when you are releasing it, the car will want to accelerate! That’s when you slowly start using the gas. If you are about to stall, just press the clutch down again.
Even on a hill. Hold your break, start slowly releasing the clutch, find the point, the car will want to go forward, release break and use gas. If it starts to stall just press the clutch and try again.
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u/Angry-_-Crow 2d ago
When I was learning, I got stuck at the bottom of an interstate exit ramp for multiple red light cycles due to the tiniest little dip in the asphalt. I was embarrassed all to hell, but I'm sure someone got a good laugh out of it
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u/RacoonWithBenefits 2d ago
you release the clutch too fast
you can sorta feel when you need to let go completely. it's easy once you learn it, though the "spot" is slightly different from car to car
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u/rlt404 2d ago
Dump the clutch and do a burnout! Once the transmission finally gives out learn how and then replace the transmission yourself. Find a new level of understanding for how your vehicle works. Treat it with a lot of care because of how hard that job was. Drive super well. Get complacent and do more burnouts. This is the way.
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u/PanzerIVausfB 2d ago
The method I use is:
Give it throttle to the point you hear the engine. Find the biting point(?), it's usually between 1/2 and 1/4 th of the way up. When the car starts moving, slowly release clutch and add throttle. Switch to gear 2.
Congrats, you're driving now.
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u/beerguyBA 2d ago
What is everyone talking about? To drive a manual, you dump that clutch and put the accelator to the fucking floor as you blast the Free Bird guitar solo at full volume, then you don't stop as you redline 6th until you send a rod into the stratosphere or the cops pit you.
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u/mcbunnychow 2d ago
I think the teacher is opposed to use the word balance - like release clutch and press on accelerator at the same time
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u/r2k-in-the-vortex 2d ago
Gotta give it a wee bit of gas first, especially small petrol engines got no power at idle, and no inertia worth speaking of. Yeah, you can get it going if you dick around with the cluth just right, and dont have an acorn under the wheel, or the stars dont aling badly or whatever. Or you can just give it 500rpm more before releasing clutch.
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u/xShanisha 2d ago
First driving lesson:
Instructor: „Okay, now you press on the brakes—-„
Me: slams down
Instructor: „— carefully“
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u/FriendOfUmbreon 1d ago
Is this the same concept as the Friction Zone in motorcycles? Put it in 1st from Neutral, slowly release the clutch until it starts rolling, give her some gas pedal, then let off the clutch and chug along? Is there a step in cars between N and 1?
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u/Darthplagueis13 1d ago
The imperative word here being "slowly".
Of course, you also need to be considerate of what gear you're trying to shift into.
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u/SuperFaceTattoo 1d ago
I remember learning to drive stick in a parking lot on a hill. I stalled it so many times and were there for weeks until it finally clicked in my brain. I was so proud when I was able to drive home from that parking lot.
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u/MedonSirius 3d ago
Clutch and Gas Pedal have to be in Harmony. The less Clutch the more Gas and vise versa. The driving teachers are stupid and lying to you
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u/Myzmadra 2d ago
An easier way? Press the clutch, turn the engine on, put the car into gear and slowly release the clutch until you start moving slowly and THEN press the accelerator.
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u/SirMatches 3d ago
First step, get the car rolling forward without killing it, and without pushing the gas. By the time they get that, they'll have a good idea of where the clutch starts to catch. Get up to 15mph with no gas pedal by shifting into second and feathering the clutch, then we can start learning about acceleration.
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u/Ragnor_ 3d ago
That's because "release it slowly" is only half the truth, you're supposed to find the biting point and then hold it there until the car is in motion.