So today i learned. i had to since i had to learn in my brothers car, and hes leaving for college this weekend. so me and my dad took it to an empty parking lot (lot was made for a store but the store was scraped- so anyone can use it) and i spent 30-40 minutes basically jus doing starting from a stand still. it takes time but i got it. after that my dad made me drive it back to my school so i know what it feels like driving it on the road. it was nerve wrecking to drive it on the road with only 40 minutes of practice FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. i managed to only stall it once on the road . thought i would do it more than that. so yea its cool and i like it alot. alot diff than a auto i can you that.

car: '85 VW GTi

did you try some uphill starts?

Wow, prettyimpressive for a first timer. I remember my first car. It was apain and took me forever to learn but I did. Kepp up and you'll get used to it. Then when you've msatered it you can try heel and toe downshifting.

i was waiting for the first person to mention heel toe hardly something to worry about when youre just concerned with keeping the car on the road and the shifts smooth.

I learned for 20 minutes in a parking lot when I was 14...then I didn't drive stick again until I was 17, in my brother's WRX...driving that on the street was nerve-wracking.

All in all, when I went to pick up my GTI from the dealership, I had maybe 2 hours of experience under my belt

the wrx is a bitch to learn on. compared to the gti, the gas pedal is like god damn ipod buttons.

Yeah, I know, that's the second part of the story.

I drive around town, stalling the WRX frequently, but then get into the GTI and...it's easy. No stress, no stalling, no roughness, just...easy. It was blissful.

well i had to learn now for two reasons:

1) brother going to college (said in post above)
2) i will be driving with my dad most of the time and the car he
usually takes out is our porsche 914 with the V8 and he jus ordered
a new 550hp 490-500 lb/ft in it so i will need to feel as comfortable
as possible in that.

- not worried about toe-heel shifting yet will be in a couple of months tho.

i have to say i was pretty smooth on the street and i can get it down pretty quickly.

and also my dad is looking for a 914 for myself to swap his engine into this one for me.

i didnt really stall it too much, in the beginning it was mostly obscene revs and subsequent stank of clutch.

I was more careful than you, Bankie...so i stalled it a lot

It's a hard car to drive. My brother calls it the 'theft-deterrent system'

you're lucky. I learned to drive on a brand new Saab 9-3 Aero 6 speed convertible. Talk about nerve racking.

"now if you screw this up i'm going to kill you."

it's dad's car. we took it on a road trip over the summer and i did half the driving. Needless to say i can basically pick up most basic manuals and just drive them. Hate the saab... takes way too many revs for a smooth launch, stupid 2.0L.

I learned on a modded 5.0 It was hard to stall, that thing would take off at 300 rpms if it had to.

I also have a similar story. My dad first taught me how to drive a stick when I was six (In 1st grade), I sat on his lap and drove 30 minutes to school in out 1985 Peugot 5000 (I think...), once I hit 2nd grade we got a volvo wagon with an auto, so that was the end of my manual days.
The next time I drove a manual was test driving a wrx sti when I was 21, whcih i stalled every minute , and next I drove a zo6 corvette which I only stalled once .

I got more practice driving a manual driving that MGb from chicago to baltimore, like I told you guys in another thread, and next I got to drive a friends M3 and a 330 ci, and last week I drove a friends RX8.

sheesh, now that i think back on all these cars, im thinking thats pretty impressive

In short, not counting the STi, it took me around 5 minutes to 'relearn' driving a stick. I stalled the sti so many times b/c i didnt have an understanding of how the tranny and clutch work. b/4 driving the vette, i read up on how the tranny works, and voila...

I havent been driving sticks much lately, but i mastered it pretty quick The only thing i had a problem with was hill starts. One afternoon i just couldnt do it, then the next time i went out in it (about a month later) i had no problems at all with it . BTW i gotta practice in an old pajero if i wanna drive a stick compared to a nice, comfy 'auto' commodore.

The only car I have ever had that did have an automatic is my 64 1/2 coupe.
All the rest have been manual.

In Kansas you get to have your learners permit at 14, and you can legally drive to work and school alone. When I finally took drivers ed, I already had my license and had alot of trouble with the auto... didnt know what to do with my left foot and kept putting it on the brake... whoops

heh, when I bought my car I went to test drive it and learned pretty quick. Learning is simple, its getting good at it thats hard.

I cant wait to drive, but most of my mates that have taken their tests so far have failed! My dad would be so disappointed if I didn't pass first time, in a joking way!

THe sad thing is that when I'm able to drive, manuals will be GONE...I hope not though.

I learned standard by words. I was called in for work, and for some reason I said i'd be there soon. I didnt have a car so my brother lent me his car. He basicly told me over the phone that the clutch is kind of like neutral and that 100%gas=no clutch, 50%clutch=50% gas,... yeah... that was horrible. Stalled three times in a intersection. Then after that I was all good.

First time I drove a stick was in an 84 Ford Ranger. I was getting it from my Aunt, I showed up at her house, got dropped off, and only then discovered it was a stick. First time I ever drove manual was through a city, down a highway, and then through town to my house. Didn't stall it once

I'd always been into racing games, and I attribute it to that. The most recent game I'd been playing had a clutch pedal (I think it was Viper Racing or something like that, it was more fun to crush the car into a small cube with wheels).

-Jesse

my dad first taught me stick in an 80's something civic hatchback when i was about 10-11, starts and stops in some parking lot, ah fun times . i was never able to give a smooth start with a stick until a few years ago

now i love it and want more of it

I have never had any trouble driving the WRX. You just suck at the manual I guess

It's what I LEARNED in, Dakian