yep it looks so badass, but its my first manual and cant drive it for ____. i got caught in stop and go traffic, i stalled it and this guy started going ape ____ behind me blowing his horn at me and waving his arms at me. im thining i need a sign that says I'm learning to drive a stick ____ers!!

 

Yes they need to make those types of signs. If you can stick to back roads, with a lot of stop signs. You might not like the idea but thats one of the best ways to learn a stick. The more you need to shift the better you will get. Good luck on you adventure.

 

In two weeks you'll be a pro

 

I was in the same boat. On the way home from the dealer I got stuck in 2 hours of complete stop and go traffic!

How's that for a crash course?

1 month in and I'm doing good. Don't stall the thing anymore at all.

 

LOL boys.....Girls are much better from the start driving stick.......LOL

Don't mess up too much you will be buying a new clutch...

 

haha

sorry thats a funny subject title

 

man id be mad too if i were behind a guy who stops in the middle of traffic....who wouldnt be?......anyways...yeah just keep at it and ull be fine...i live in LA so traffic is terrible...thats why im sticking to the auto....good luck to ya

 

thats to be expected u r learning...u'll get the hang of it. just drive as much as u can. when i was learning a made sure i got up early on sat and sundays just so i could take long rides and practice with out the traffic. especially drive on hills and in 1st gear. get that part of the learning over with.
u'll hate it for the first couple of weeks but after that u'll wonder why everybody isnt driving them. they are so much fun.

 

basicly the same thing happend to me but after 2 weeks i drive fine so just hang in there

 

You'll be fine. In the meanwile, you're teaching the other drivers patience. It's good for them.

 

I had to learn how to drive stick when i went to War in Iraq... i had to drive a rinkity-dink old ___ 2 1/2 ton truck... which really sucked ___! But believe me, once the rounds started firing, i was a shifting away... Practice makes perfect... now i'm really good at shifting... the clutch took me a while to get used to, but it really aint that bad now.

 

same situation here.. just got my tc last week.

I took mine out to a parking lot at night.. and just stopped and started a bunch.

I'm doing better this week.. it's a blast to drive.. but i still get nervous in traffic ;p

C

 

I'm so relieved there are others like me who bought the manual with no clue how to drive it. Took me about a week of forcing myself to drive in crap situations (hills, traffic, parallel parking, more hills) in order to get the hang of it. Now I'm really starting to enjoy it rather than dreading those long red lights



More power to you guys.

Blaized

5-Speed BSP tC

 

lol i was the same way. if you do stall, its best that you just put your emergency lights on. do you stall frequently in first? if you do, try add more gas next time.

 

i learned to drive a 4 speed at work since the nursery shop is like a quarter mile away it was a blast power shifting, that helped break the transmission :D who needs a clutch when you can power shift (i don't suggest it!!! unless its a POS!!! :twisted: )

 

Well, we all have to learn sometime!
Try practicing getting it going in an empty parking lot. Dead stop - 5 mph - stop - repeat. After a while you will get a feel for where and how the clutch starts to engage. All will be well. Enjoy!

 

dude when your at a stop go to first gear, and release the brakes and slowly pull the clutch out intill your car starts moving fowrad. remember that position on the clutch because thats when you gas it and let go the clutch sametime.


keep doin it.

if you suck at starting off on first gear do the samething (clutch position) but hold your brakes, so when you release the brakes the car moves forward. this is helpful when you stop at hills.
practice this samething till you exactly remember where the clutch moves you forward.

when start off you can put alittle bit of gas in while your releasing the clutch to that position you found. when the car moves slightly then continue on down wit the gas and up with the clutch.

starting off you should release it slowly after your at that position. on the other gears you can let go the clutch and gas down at the same time.

everytime you shift to another gear remember how much gas you pressed down when you release it. so when you get into gear, press down the press down the gas, press same amount at the previous gear


finding that position on your clutch so your car moves foward alittle is important. your gonna do that everytime you shift and start off.

 

The most important thing to get used to is the clutch. Shifting is the easy part. Like everyone else says, learn where your clutch starts to catch. The best way to do this is to find an empty parking lot, put it in 1st and then slowly release the clutch without using the gas. You should feel it start to grab and your car will start to move. That's the position you need to remember. If you are on a hill and are afraid to stall, don't overcompensate by revving the engine too much. When you're beginning, it's sometimes better to stall a few times. That way you learn how to use your clutch better. Within a few weeks, you won't even be thinking about it anymore. In my opinion, it's much easier to learn to drive a manual if you've never driven before... then you're not tainted by the ways of the evil automatic transmission.

 

I tend to listen to the engine so I know it's revving high enough when the clutch is released. You can watch the tach too but I like to keep my eyes on the road. After practicing for a while you'll know what the engine should sound like at each shift point and that makes shifting a lot easier. Keep your stereo and A/C off or very low while you're practicing so you can hear the engine. If you have the TRD exhaust that will help alot! It is difficult to drive a manual transmission if the exhaust is quiet, the car is well insulated (like the tC), the radio and A/C are blasting, and there are talkative passengers in the car.

Another thing that can throw you off is wearing different kinds of shoes. If you're used to driving in sneakers, shoes with stiffer soles and higher heels are going to make the clutch feel different--just go easy until you get used to the new feel. After awhile it will all be second nature.

Oh, yeah, and be sure your clutch is adjusted properly. No one can drive a car that has the clutch engaging when the pedal is only a quarter-inch off the floor board--or the other extreme, where the clutch doesn't grab until the pedal is fully released. If this is happening you should take the car in and have the clutch adjusted or you could end up wearing your clutch out prematurely.

 

I'm still trying to overcome those damn blind spots on the tC. I almost side-swiped a subaru wrx on the freeway saturday night. Thank god I didn't get that window tint!