So I bought an MR2 which is a stick and I just got my tag for it so I took it out for a spin tonight. I did fairly well I guess, stalled a few times and hit 5th instead of 3rd a few times also but I'm slowly learning since this is the first stick I've ever driven and the second time I've driven the car.

Anybody have some tips and pointers to help a noob out?

Practice practice practice!

And really learn how the transmission works...I found it helps my shifiting if I know exactly what I'm doing to the car when I move the lever or push in the clutch pedal and what not.

My biggest advice to someone learning stick is... RELAX!! Relax... Relax. Take your time... don't rush anything...


What messes most people up is they get too stressed about it and screw up.


Good luck to you in your new ride... I am sure you will do just fine!!

I agree with that wholeheartedly; when you rush it is when you end up stalling or ending up with this horribly disjointed launch. Stay smooth, stay slow; you're not gonna be able to match Peter Solberg's heel and toe abilities right off the bat. Let the basics become solidified and learn the advanced stuff later.

Let the clutch out really slow until you feel the car begin to move. Then give it a little gas and let the clutch the rest of the way and you're rollin'. It's easy!

I think my main problem is the clutch. I found myself letting it out too fast and too slow tonight. Too slow makes the car shake me to death and too fast makes me either stall or shakes me to death and then stall lol

I understand what you guys mean about being rushed though. I ended up rushing myself a few times in an effort to keep from rolling back much and to take off. So I guess I need to let off the clutch more smoothly and give it less gas?

Also another thing is I ended up shifting from 2nd to 5th a few times. Surpising since the first time I drove the car I was hitting all the gears fine so I need to work on that a little. 2nd to 5th may not hurt it much but I don't wanna find myself going from 3rd to reverse or 5th to reverse...now that would be bad...very bad

I think that's impossible, to put the reverse (I don't know how's in the MR2) you probably have to push down the lever and then move it into reverse, or probably other mechanism like that ring that you have to pull (example: Opel Corsa) before moving the lever...

My two cents: practice as much as u can. If somebody (that drives stick) can help you to take a trip to a place without traffic, do it, then practice there. There's nothing more stressing than stalling the car in the middle of traffic (prepare to hear the Horn Symphony), that's why my advice.

Increase gas = Decrease Clutch
Incease Clutch = Decrease gas

That is what I was told when I was learning.

I think putting it into reverse while in forward motion would require enough force to sheer off the synchromesh...I think your shift lever would break before that happened

heh
That's one of my main concerns so I'm practicing driving around at night when there isn't any traffic. The last thing I want is to stall in traffic in an MR2. That'd be imbarrasing since people will be like "He drives a sports car yet can't even drive the shit?"

Thanks, that gives me a little more confidence. Also ups my curiosity and make's me wanna go out and try shoving it in reverse lol

yep

That's bad


reminds me of my brother.

"What's R stand for? Radio? I LOVE THE RADIO!" *shoves it into reverse* *

*Dramatization: May not have happened

LOL

I thought the R was for Racing. So I shifted from 5th to the racing gear and the rest is history. I guess I need a new transmission now
Turns out it really slows the car down really fast!

and then *:










*Dramatization of what happened later

That's a common misconception these days.

Shit happens

Maybe R is for retarded? As in Type-RETARD? Hmmm

Now now, that's anti-easton talk.

POST # 2^11 !!!!

Oops...Sorry easton
Somebody wanna let me learn to drive a stick on their car so I don't risk fucking up my clutch?
The guy I bought my car from said he had a new clutch put in it. Like heavy duty or some shit and said it can handle dropping the clutch from like 4500rpm and stuff like that.
I wonder if it can handle a noob stick driver?

People completely overestimate how much damage a n00b does to a clutch...you're probably wearing it out 3% faster than an experienced stickshift driver.

I'm debating on if i wanna try to drive my mr2 to work tomorrow or not. It has everything, hills, traffic, traffic lights and more hills and traffic. It would be a challenge but it also has cops and my speedometer doesn't work right now. I need to fix that

I may get up early and try driving around a bit to test my new knowledge and decide from there

I've driven stick for all of an hour of my life, and I can get from point A to point B without too much trouble.

It all comes down to practice

Manual is the only way too go.

Jä, it's a lot of fun, although a bit nerve-racking when you're just learning.

Indeed it is....
heh I guess I'll leave early tomorrow and give it a try. If I don't feel comfortable I'll just turn around and come get my truck. I've been driving that lately since my Corsica pissed me off. Stalling in the middle of a turn and causing me to loose power steering and almost send me head on into another car is enough to make me not want to drive it anymore.

I can only imagine

heh it's my fault though. The car is a whore if you remove the battery and dont reset the idle when you put the battery back in. Random stalls!

I don't know what you guys are talking about being calm and nervous. I didn't even think about being nervous and I was calm when I was learning.

Then you're different!!!


And that's......ok

Well the first time I drove it I had somebody with me who was walking me through it. I was pretty calm then and made hardly no mistakes. But this time i was alone so I was neverous

you just gotta get the feel of the car it self, every car is a bit different i have found. though all of the manuals i have driven had shitty clutches. actually i drove an MR2, first thing i drove with a stick, it went better than the first time i drove the nissan truck a few months later.

oh yea i dont know if anyone has said thie but when your starting out let the revs drop befoer you engage the clutch again, until you learn the car better. the noyu can fly through the gears when you figure it out. that was my problem i wanted to fly through the gears, and i would grind all over the place. just let eh revs die down then engage the clutch again.

You seem to be describing double-clutching, and all I can say about that is that, yes, it is smoother, but I, personally, am not quick enough to double-clutch effectively, so I just shift and let the synchros do the work...

heavy duty clutch == heavy pedal. Its hard to descibe what traffic is like. "No dont stop! Shit!" I put a grippier stronger clutch in my car and my god, its fun to powershift with though. Just wait until you learn Rev matching, Heel Toeing, J turns, and a whole nother assortment of fun stuff to do in a manual.

PS: There's a reason why Reverse isn't syncroed... Cause of people like you all.

What are J turns?
Also I have a hard time heel toeing
I think my feet are too big

J turns are when you back up quickly and do a 180 degree spin, then go forward, I believe.

Ohhh... I did that in the Corsica a few times

I only remember it because I remember that Secret Service guys have to be able to do it in limos...

Its a lot easier in FWDs but its super easy to break and axle doing it.

for me driving stick is eazy...
u have to take your driving tests in a manual box here
almost all cars around here have a manual transmission...
except for some beemers and benzes... (mostly old dudes drive them)
automatic transmission over here is considdered for ppl who cant drive a car...
(dont be offended automatic drivers... i know its diffrent in usa...)
ive been in miami in june on vacation and rented a chevy cavalier (automatic) and i kept hitting the brake cuz i was used to use my left foot to press in the clutch :/

manual transmission is so much better imo cuz u can enjoy your car allot more and do much cooler stuff with it

I've only driven an Auto car once, I didn't like it at all. It was an awesome car though, which made it a bit better.

Driving manual is easy, the only thing you can do to get better is practice... and don't ride the damn clutch.

Why's everyone a pussy in America? I was ELITE for knowing how to drive a stick in highschool. Out of my class of 100 about a dozen of us drove sticks...

I know, it's sad....the US needs more stickshift drivers.

PS: Tremec 3560 ('01.5-Up Mustang GTs) has a synchronized reverse.

PPS: The Tremec T-56 (6-speed) has a synch'd reverse, but it locks you out of reverse until you activate the reverse lock-out selonoid.

I might get a tattoo big as an quarter or something. It will be in the shape of the 6-speed transmission.... alot like this... what would u call that pattern?

It's called the "H-pattern"

Or, more speciifcally, "double-H with upper-left dogleg"

K good, I knew the "H-Pattern" part but not the other... thanks.

And a standard five speed with the reverse in the lower right would just be a double-H, while a VW 02J 5-speed would be an H-pattern with upper-left and upper-right doglegs.

I wish I was as smart as you. Sometimes you are too smart. (My school doesn't have motormech , so after school i'll teach my self all this shit and rebuild engines and rebuild my cars)