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How to you drive a manual transmission?

Home » Automobiles » Stick Shift Manual Transmission » How to you drive a manual transmission?

The first thing you'll want to do is get familiar with the car - in particular the gears. Learn the location of and feel of passing through the gears. First learn to shift the gears without the car running (pushing the clutch in each time). Then, from the passenger seat, try it with someone else driving the car and operating the clutch. Be sure to place the stick all the way into gear.

Eventually, you will know when to shift by feel, but early on you'll have to act deliberately. Even if you've never been in a car before, you can tell when a car is in the appropriate gear: the car's not making a coughing and chugging sound (too high of gear) but it's not making a high-revving sound either (too low of gear).

If you have a tachometer, shift around "3" (3000 rpm) on each gear or every 15 miles per hour (1st gear 1-15, 2nd 15-30, 3rd 30-45, etc.). This is only a general rule, of course, and higher powered autos will deviate from this. Shift before you hear that loud revving sound.

The next step is starting the car. Put the car in neutral before starting, or you will jump ahead. Most new cars will not start without the clutch pressed down.

Next you'll learn to use the clutch. It's difficult to avoid some sort of wear and tear on the clutch when learning how to drive a stick shift. If you go slowly at first and pay close attention, you can feel (in your feet) where the clutch engages and disengages. If you learn that well, you'll put less strain on your car. You'll also be able to drive any stick shift more smoothly from the get-go.

Avoid needless acceleration when the clutch is partially engaged. When at a stoplight, don't get in the habit of holding the clutch in for more than a few seconds or you will have other problems down the line. Instead, put the car in neutral while stopped for any period of time.

The goal is to find the place where the clutch comes up and the gas pedal goes down. It makes a seamless transition where the gears are shifted and the car accelerates.

Next Page: What is downshifting and how do I do it?

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