Alkamist7

i just got my license past nov. 2010 i baught my first car with a permitt sept.2010, 05 civic auto never really drove before so i had to practice in my own car illegaly with just a permitt lmao but now i want to learn manual what is a good way to learn or practice if i could convince a friend could i fukc his tranny up . im prob gonna get clowned lol

2005civiclx

the way i learned was my dad gave me the keys to his project car he was building and said go, and thats basically how i learned. you just cant be afraid and dont be intimidated. if you mess up its not gonna be that big of a deal. just dont ride the clutch and try not to scratch when you shift.

MelJ

Visit www.standardshift.com
I'm a member there and they have a really helpful handful of members. My Si is my first manual and they were of a great help to me. A few words of advice to add to the above poster. Once the car starts to move, you aren't done with the clutch. You have to either slow down clutch release or pause for a brief moment. Practice no gas launching to familiarize yourself with your cars friction zone. That basically means where the clutch begins to "hook up" and transfer torque to the drive wheels. Stalling happens. Find a vacant parking lot and have at it.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

The way I learned, is that my friend bought a manual car, I watched him drive for a while, then he left for the air force, and i just grew a pair and took it out for a spin, stalled once and the rest was history

lollygagger

My friend got a Hyundai Accent for free. We burned that up and then he sold it lol problem??

MelJ

Lol. My friend brought my Si to my job after he took care of the registration for me. I was fine until I got to my first light. There has never been a line of cars at this light. Well, apparently it was my lucky day. I stalled like 5 times and there was a sea of horns blaring at me. Lol. Good times. Good times. Hondas are pretty easy to learn stick on.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Hahahaha, kind of same thing happened to me
The only reason I stalled my 1 time, was because someone did a rolling stop at his stop sign, and I panicked. Slammed on the brakes in 3rd gear, to a dead stop, and engine turned off :P

Good times good times
Oh, I might add that my first experience with a stickshift was with a turbo charged 1st gen MX5. I had a blast with that thing

shwoogie420

the hardest thing is to get going...once you get going it is much easier...the way that i learned was first and reverse in the driveway until i could do it without stalling...then just jumped on the road...

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

oh, gooood...
they are powerful and light in the rear... wish my miata had that power...
I learned with a beetle, rear engine, rear drive - they rarely stall, they jump...
I also remember my first hill on a FWD with a 44 single webber VW - it had 1/4 an inch useful throttle until you get up to 6kRPM (red was at 8500, but no rev limiter - old cars - died from a overrev...)

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

did the OBX fit your car, BTW? since it relates to launching? g'luck with the turbo rebuild, BTW.

shwoogie420

OBX are you talking about my turbo manifold??? yea i bought another rebuild kit(a better one and it should be here at the end of the week hopefully

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

non, non, your LSD (limited slip diff - spelled, so no one misunderstands ). g'luck with the turbo!

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Lol, this thing was a beast, and a nightmare
Never had it properly dynoed, but I know that it was prolly around, or more than 200bhp
Faster than the vic no doubt :3

shwoogie420

lol my bad forgot about that....haven't done anything...its sitting in the box about 5ft away from me now....ran into other issues like the turbo and the intake manifold hopefully everything goes good with the turbo and got to change my 2.5" downpipe to 3" to match the exhaust then on to the lsd

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

there is the flyin' miata v-8 kit or the V-12 jaguar swap - yes, they are for real...

to alkamist7, just remember that each car have the engaging point of the clutch slightly different and train your shifting with engine off - recently there was another one that did shift 3rd to 2nd and it was not pretty... still wonder how a straight line shift went sideways, though... I had that on the 73 VW bus, but there was at the least 10 feet from the shifter to the trans, which gives a lot of play, so hard to know between straight and sideways...

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

then g'luck with the turbo and then g'luck with the LSD afterwards they are not easy tasks... as you know well too.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

I think the most popular are monster miata, and LS1 swaps

I'd def rock a LS1 Miata sleeper, stock exterior

shwoogie420

yea pretty much everything i have done to my car has sucked(bad luck) but got to learn some way

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

they are a handful, for sure, steering corrections in straight line... shifts the weight 50lb to the front? softer springs in the rear to compensate? but still have slower lauch than a 2.3 liter beetle (imagine a porsche...)
but i guess the FWD are trickier to get traction after all... never matched the miata lauch with the civic, no matter how much grippier tires i had... and with corrected front camber...

Alkamist7

so you mean i can shift through the gears with the engine off? will the stick move with out the proper foot work? do you take foot all the way off the gas when hitting clutch or just give a little gas when hitting clutch? so when you in third and your slowing down do you have to go 3-2-1 or can u go 3-1??
it would be hard for me i live in a city a lot of stop signs and lights

THANKS EVERYBODY FOR THE INPUT

2005civiclx

when your in third or any other gear and your slowing down you can just put it in neutral and press the brakes or you can downshift either way it doesnt matter and just putting it in neutral is way easier.

once you start driving you'll learn the feel of the car. like i said dont ride the clutch, just try to make each shift as smooth as possible. at first you'll be dumping the clutch but dont worry about it just try to get better with each and every shift.

DarkSouljur

Just look up everything. I watched youtube vids then when i bought my car i didn't know manual. My dad came in the car and was like "go". So i went. It took me like about a week but i'm used to it now and driving an automatic is just weird to me lol. As long as you know what the clutch does, where the different gears are, and what you should avoid doing ... it's pretty simple :P

Alkamist7

im gonna call some driving schools to see if they do lessons on manual. i want an si coupe sooo baad or a k-swap in my sedan that would b crazy who would expect a K in a sedan lol......someday...

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, if engine is off, you step the clutch and you would normally while changing to each gear - yes you can change the gears - no damage done. Preferrably do it after a short drive, so the gears and synchros are lubbed well.

shifting up or down? Also, it's not when hitting the clutch, but when releasing - depend on the conditions.
If the speed is adequate to the gearing, no harm done - check manual for the speeds adequate to each gearing, though - if you shift 2nd at 70 MPH many things could fly out from under your hood - this is a no-no.

lowlife9

the best way to learn is in somebody else's car lol. i learned to drive standerd at a toyota dealer i worked for i told them i didn't know how so they gave me a brand new FJ cruiser and told me to learn quickly.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Sit down and go... it's the only way to learn After a few dozen stalls youll figure out just how sensative that clutch pedal is, and how slow you need to release off of it at the important point. After a month or so you will be shifting so fast you won't even know your doing it

MelJ

I got thrown to the sharks, too. My friend was pretty much there for any questions I had. After sitting in the car with someone who drives manual for a while, you kinda pick things up without even knowing it. I seriously think the only thing he helped me with were hill launches. Plus the fact that the Si was the only source of transportation I now had was a pretty big motivator. I wouldn't really worry about destroying the tranny in one session. As long as you fully floor the clutch when shifting, you'll be good. That's a habit I've seen many people not do. It really isn't that great for the synchros in the long run.

BrokeLX

1. Learn how to double clutch. You don't want to get made fun of for granny shifting.

2. At stop lights make sure to rock back and forth so people know you are in a manual.

3. Always rev to 5-5.5k rpm while stopped and in first, then dump the clutch.

4. Rev match every downshift.

5. In Parking Garages, Tunnels, and any other enclosed space, make sure to blip the throttle... a lot.

6. Save your brake pads and engine brake as much as possible.

7. Redline: It is there for a reason. Hit it before shifting.

8. Refer to Automatic Transmissions as "Slush Boxes" even when speaking of an Enzo or Veyron.

9. LED shift ***** are your friend. You will never mis-shift at a night race.

10. Do left legged pistol squats everyday. This will help you in stop and go traffic.

Follow those 10 rules and you are good to go my friend.

MelJ

Alkamist7

wwooww so thats why everyone thaught i already had a manual lmao