Razor19

You want to have it in first gear when you start the gear at least thats what I do and yes you have to have your clutch down. I'm pretty sure the car will start when u turn key no matter what gear you are in but you have the have the clutch pressed down. Thats the tricky part of stick shift. You cant just lift up off the clutch then press down the gas or your car will stall. You have to slowly let up on your clutch while giving it gas at the same time. If you dont give it enough gas and pick up to fast on the clutch you will stall. Yes, how u described changing gears is correct, I normally go by rpm's when I change gears not by mph. If you look in your owners manual it will tell you at what mph to switch gears to get the best gas mileage. Braking isnt even half as hard to learn as launching is. What I do for braking is I just drop it into neutral when I"m about to come to a stop and then u just treat it like an automatic just press down your brake and come to a complete stop. If you are in neutral you cant stall your car. Another way to brake would be to press in your clutch when you are almost at a complete stop and downshift to first that would work also but then you have to hold in your clutch the entire time you are stopped and thats not good for the clutch. Hope this answered your questsions.

JustRockinIt6996

this is probably a dumb question, but if you have your car in first when you start it, get off the clutch slowly while pushing the gas, won't you then automatically start moving, can't you just start it in neutral? also i now understand how to come to a complete stop (just makin sure, if you drop it in neutral, you only push the brake right, not brake and clutch?), but what about going from lets say 45 mph to 25 mph? would you get off the gas, push the clutch and brake while shifting to 2nd, or whatever gear that may be?

loosenut

lol why u so worried i had 8 hours to learn how to drive a Freightliner semi tractor, talk about a confusing set up ( at first) but every thing is simple with a manual. like it was stated earlier the hardest part is taking off on hills with cars behind you. ive been driving manual transmissions since i was 15(26) now i will only drive stick, with a stick you have added control over your rear wheels, for stopping ,turning,and accelerating. its not as hard as you think jump in and go.

P.S.- you want to learn how to drive stick ( sort of,lol) go to a video arcade and get on the CLOSEST simulator you can find and play it for hours you will get the idea to help transfer to the real thing with a better understanding of what to do.

JustRockinIt6996

Ha yea I am pretty apprehensive about it. I guess the reason being, it is going to be a brand new car, and I just don't want to mess it up soon after I purchase it you know. I figure I want to be as informed as I can before I just "jump in and go."

Dan04COBRA

Go ahead and get the manual. You'll be so excited and determined to learn how to drive it that you'll pick it up in 20 minutes.

I learned to drive a 5 speed in my driveway. Once I figured out how to pop the clutch and roll in 1st gear, I rolled out onto the street and had at it.

Either way, with a brand new transmission and clutch, you'd have to dish out some serious abuse to damage anything.

Loosenut had a great idea. Play some games that offer a manual transmission and it'll help give you an idea of how it all works or watch a friend drive their car.

Razor19

I dont really understand what you are asking. To start your car you have to have the clutch pressed in. I always have it in first when I start the car I dont think I've ever tried starting it in neutral. If you are in first and then you start your car and let up on the clutch slowly and give it gas then yes you will start moving. If you start up in neutral then let up the clutch slowly and give it gas you are just gonna revv it. When braking I press the clutch down when I shift into neutral. I'm not sure if you have to press the clutch down when shifting into neutral but I do. Yea but once you go into neutral you dont have to hold down your clutch anymore and the car will not stall and then you just brake normally just like it was an automatic. Yea downshifting. If you are going 45 and then lets say people start breaking and you go down to 25 you are gonna want to downshift to 3rd or 2nd whichever you choose. When braking but not coming to a complete stop what I do is, If I see somebody braking and I dont know if they are gonna stop all the way I put my clutch down shift into neutral then let up my clutch and brake just like normal, if they dont come to a complete stop and they are going like 25 I will then put my clutch back down shift into 3rd then let up the clutch and give it gas. I do different stuff in different situations like sometimes when only braking a little bit I will just hold down my clutch the whole time then when the traffic starts moving again I already have my clutch down so I just put it into whatever gear then lift up on my clutch give it gas and go. Just remeber when you have your clutch down you cant stall and when you are in neutral you cant stall.

Razor19

What simulator game do you know that is actually realistic? There are none here that I know all. Most of them have the stick with like 4 gears half of them dont even have a clutch, and if they do have a clutch you dont have to use it to switch gears you can just move the stick and it will change gears.

JustRockinIt6996

Thanks alot, I think I now know enough to finally buy it. The question you didn't understand was about starting the car. In an automatic you just turn the the key, the engine turns on, you don't move because you're in Park. But when you explained it, I am under the impression that when you get off the clutch while pushing the gas, you will move. I am asking if you are in neutral, won't this prevent you from moving when you start the car. I don't want to move when I start the car, I want it to be like in automatics where you just simply start the car. Quote: "If you are in first and then you start your car and let up on the clutch slowly and give it gas then yes you will start moving." Thanks for all the help though.

Steuben02

It doesn't matter what gear you're in when you start. Personally, I shift into neutral and then start the car in neutral and then shift into first and go. The reason the car will only start when you press the clutch is because that way you are not engaged in any gear - you're not gonna go anywhere. Even if you start the car with it shifted in 1st, with the clutch depressed you won't go anywhere. This all gets a little more complicated when you start up on a hill, but that's why you always use the parking brake when you park in a manual. Being in neutral in the car is like sitting in a little red wagon...if you're on a hill it's gonna roll down.

The engine won't take the car anywhere until you release the clutch and give it gas. I hope this clears it up. But you shouldn't even worry about it...These posts seem really long and complicated but when you're driving it's really easy and starts to feel so natural you won't even realize all the stuff you're doing.

JustRockinIt6996

Ok i think i understand just about everything I will need to know. I do live in a area where traffic can be bad, but I don't want that to stop me from buying a manual. Again I would just like to say thanks to everyone that helped me out by answering all of my questions. I'm really close to actually buying the new gt now . Again thanks alot, I really appreciate it.