JustRockinIt6996

i am ready to buy a new 2004 mustang gt, but i have a couple of important questions. i have never driven a stick shift, but that is what i really want to get. even if a friend teaches me to drive it, how long before i will be able to go on the road with enough experience from just parking lots? also since this will be the first time i will be driving a stick (dont know anyone that has a car that i can practice on either), will their be damage done to the transmission or clutch, or the car in the general? i am really nervous about getting a manual because i feel there will be damage done to the brand new vehicle, which of course i do not want. on the other hand i really want to buy the manual because everyone says it is a lot more fun, and it seems a lot more fun as well. or should i just buy the automatic, even though i am REALLY AGAINST buying another automatic. i've read how to operate a manual online, but thats about it. any help/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

00mustangGT_BLK

Just buy the STICK. As far as damage goes..well she (the tranny) is tough enough to handle the worst of beginners. I had to learn to drive a stick AND A CAR at the same time..my father thru a very ugly Datsun B210 4 banger( he purchased for 500 bucks) at me at age 15 and said." If you want to learn to drive ..teach yourself in this." I hated him for that but I am better off for it. I can bang gears with the best of them. If that weak little Datsun can take the abuse i dished at hear im sure any American made Muscle car can handle yours. I learned out in the country with nobody around..You might want to try that. Parking lots just dont have enough room to play in. GOOD LUCK!

Jugador

just get in and do it...if you're really scared of messing up, give it plenty of gas and go real slow with the clutch. eventually you'll be able to use less revs and let it out faster.

muztanggurl

Go to www.howstuffworks.com to learn about how a clutch & transmission work together. Having a little general knowledge of how it all works will help. I learned to drive mine in 1 day... not out of choice. I bought the car when I was overseas not knowing how to drive it, and when I picked it up I had to go. So 'ol Mom taught me the basics and I learned the rest on my own. I've had the car less than a year and she's running fine. I say Go For It. Good luck!

[IMG]local://upfiles/4670/Xv644981367.jpg[/IMG]

muztanggurl

Here's a better link... http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm

Razor19

I felt the exact same way as you did I was afraid I wouldnt be able to learn it. Trust me man its not that hard to learn. I learned on my sister's V6 and that was a really crappy car to learn on in my opinion. It was so easy to stall that thing. When I test drove my GT I got in that thing and I could instantly drive it. If you have no experience of ever driving a stick I'm guessing it will take you a week to 2 weeks to learn to drive it good enough to go on the street and be comformtable but maybe less since you are getting a GT. Definetely get the stick though I had an automatic before I got my GT and now I see how much better and how much more fun a stick car is than an automatic.

JustRockinIt6996

Wow 1 day muztanggurl? That’s amazing, nice car. I also am thinking about getting the dark shadow grey maybe the orange, not sure yet. Everyone seems to think that manual is the way to go and the time frame is 1 to 2 weeks to learn, which isn’t so bad I guess. Even though I have read how to drive a manual online I have a few questions, but I couldn’t get them answered because they were just "how2's". Let me check with you guys if I did indeed learn it, or if I misinterpreted something. First to start the car you have to have it in neutral, push in the clutch, turn the key? Then to go to first gear you push in the clutch again put the car in first, get off the clutch, and push the gas. To go to a higher gear (every 15-20 mph?) you take your foot of the gas, push in the clutch all the way, change your gear, let out the clutch and put it back on the accelerator correct? The problem I believe to have is with braking and fully stopping. I am confused on this and would appreciate an explanation. thanks in advance for the help

JustRockinIt6996

anyone???

jdaniel

I learned to drive a stick pretty easy. In fact I took my first drivers test in a 5 speed GMC Seirra and passed with flying colors. The only thing that took me a while to learn is how to take off on hills with cars behind me. You will eventually learn but I think thats the hardest part to it. You might really wanna find a parking lot with a good hill in it and pratice, because its your fault if you roll back into someone. but DONT buy an auto just because you're scared of a manual. It is well worth the learning experience.

Steuben02

As for breaking, it's pretty easy. For just slowing down while maintaining speed all you do is press the brake like you would in any car. The only difference in a manual is having to downshift if you slow down quite a bit (like by 10+mph) and coming to a complete stop, where all you do is press the clutch and the brake at the same time. I learned to drive a stick on an '87 F150 by driving it around off-road. It wasn't the best, and stalled super easy, but it made driving the stang so much easier. Once you get going the best way to get better is by just driving around. For hills, handbrakes come in handy when you're first learning.