How To Drive A Manual Transmission
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Date: 2019-05-30
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Comments and reviews: 10
Doug F
I learned to drive in a 65 VW Bug (Dads) and my first car was 62 VW Bug. Yeah, they were old when I started driving. For any millennials that may not know, all VWs back then were manual 4 speed transmissions. Well, except in 68 there began some Semi Automatics with Automatic Stickshift. Never drove a semi automatic but I l did love the Bugs. Replaced the clutch on each and also put in a high power pressure plate on both. Second car and thereafter were vehicles with automatics. I am a car enthusiast and I love driving but I have NEVER EVER missed driving a manual transmission. Automatic transmissions are so much more convenient. When I go abroad my only option to drive are manual transmissions and they are fine. But do I miss or prefer a manual? Nope. Current car has a dual clutch transmission. A dual clutch transmission can shift faster than humanly possible, so I just dont understand why some ppl say that only real driving enthusiasts that want an engaged driving experience can only get that in a manual. Alex, as so many say and I agree, you are a wonderful car reviewer. Your content, production quality, voice, delivery and knowledge are outstanding. I especially appreciated your reviews on the Durangos. When I saw the video that you bought one for yourself it made me think, well if ihe has the confidence in it enough to buy it, Ill give Dodge another chance. Side note: man it makes me cringe when I see some ppl riding their clutch to hold their car in position on an incline instead of putting it in neutral and clutch engaged. Curious from whoever knows and has had to replace a clutch, what is the average parts & labor cost for that job nowadays?
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I learned to drive in a 65 VW Bug (Dads) and my first car was 62 VW Bug. Yeah, they were old when I started driving. For any millennials that may not know, all VWs back then were manual 4 speed transmissions. Well, except in 68 there began some Semi Automatics with Automatic Stickshift. Never drove a semi automatic but I l did love the Bugs. Replaced the clutch on each and also put in a high power pressure plate on both. Second car and thereafter were vehicles with automatics. I am a car enthusiast and I love driving but I have NEVER EVER missed driving a manual transmission. Automatic transmissions are so much more convenient. When I go abroad my only option to drive are manual transmissions and they are fine. But do I miss or prefer a manual? Nope. Current car has a dual clutch transmission. A dual clutch transmission can shift faster than humanly possible, so I just dont understand why some ppl say that only real driving enthusiasts that want an engaged driving experience can only get that in a manual. Alex, as so many say and I agree, you are a wonderful car reviewer. Your content, production quality, voice, delivery and knowledge are outstanding. I especially appreciated your reviews on the Durangos. When I saw the video that you bought one for yourself it made me think, well if ihe has the confidence in it enough to buy it, Ill give Dodge another chance. Side note: man it makes me cringe when I see some ppl riding their clutch to hold their car in position on an incline instead of putting it in neutral and clutch engaged. Curious from whoever knows and has had to replace a clutch, what is the average parts & labor cost for that job nowadays?
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Andres Acosta
We went to New Zealand for my honeymoon and we rented a camper van, I had specifically requested an automatic as I had not experience driving a manual, only once when I was 15 and I remember how I stalled out several times. Low and behold they gave us a Manual Camper van with an old style lever hand brake and I had to learn how to drive this thing in the parking lot so we can get on with our 2 week road trip. I had to learn how to drive a manual, as well as adjust to driving on the opposite side of the road. it was so nerve wracking the first 2 days also the mountainous terrain didnt help. coming up to a stop uphill sucked and then starting the car from uphill was horrible the car would start rolling backwards. it was hard to get the handbrake just right so the car wouldnt move backwards and release the break as I started feeling the car engage on first. after about 3 days I was a pro and enjoyed the manual car, I was much more connected with the road and didnt ever want to look at my phone or distractions. I think from a safety standpoint manual car drivers are probably safer drivers because of this, they have to be using both legs and arms to drive and thus distractions drop. This was a terrific video Alex
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We went to New Zealand for my honeymoon and we rented a camper van, I had specifically requested an automatic as I had not experience driving a manual, only once when I was 15 and I remember how I stalled out several times. Low and behold they gave us a Manual Camper van with an old style lever hand brake and I had to learn how to drive this thing in the parking lot so we can get on with our 2 week road trip. I had to learn how to drive a manual, as well as adjust to driving on the opposite side of the road. it was so nerve wracking the first 2 days also the mountainous terrain didnt help. coming up to a stop uphill sucked and then starting the car from uphill was horrible the car would start rolling backwards. it was hard to get the handbrake just right so the car wouldnt move backwards and release the break as I started feeling the car engage on first. after about 3 days I was a pro and enjoyed the manual car, I was much more connected with the road and didnt ever want to look at my phone or distractions. I think from a safety standpoint manual car drivers are probably safer drivers because of this, they have to be using both legs and arms to drive and thus distractions drop. This was a terrific video Alex
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ACitizenOfOurWorld
It has been proven that humans cannot effectively multi-task (Google this research to those that dont believe me) The mind can only switch tasks and that requires time to get back to what you were doing (in this case, paying attention to defensive driving in moving traffic and avoiding the kid/pet that dashes out of their driveway, etc. Therefore, why would any responsible person choose to divert their attention from defensive driving by diddling with a shifter and clutch when todays automatics do the job better? I admit that it is an engaging experience but that is my point. Keep it track days on a closed course. I would no longer consider this a responsible method to use on public roads any more than other distractions that can occur while trying to pay attention to what is happening outside the vehicle.
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It has been proven that humans cannot effectively multi-task (Google this research to those that dont believe me) The mind can only switch tasks and that requires time to get back to what you were doing (in this case, paying attention to defensive driving in moving traffic and avoiding the kid/pet that dashes out of their driveway, etc. Therefore, why would any responsible person choose to divert their attention from defensive driving by diddling with a shifter and clutch when todays automatics do the job better? I admit that it is an engaging experience but that is my point. Keep it track days on a closed course. I would no longer consider this a responsible method to use on public roads any more than other distractions that can occur while trying to pay attention to what is happening outside the vehicle.
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David Malinovsky
I drove a manual for about 30 years. Stopped because I wanted a Prius. One thing i always think I did incorrectly was to hold the clutch pedal down when waiting at a stop light. I understand you are supposed to shift to neutral and let up but i always thought that it would take too long to get going after the light turned green. I also pushed the clutch in when coming to a stop for the whole duration. All that said, the 3 cars i owned in that time never had any transmission/clutch/driveline issues 2 cars went over 200K, the last 125K when i traded it in. I might buy another manual car if something interesting comes along.
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I drove a manual for about 30 years. Stopped because I wanted a Prius. One thing i always think I did incorrectly was to hold the clutch pedal down when waiting at a stop light. I understand you are supposed to shift to neutral and let up but i always thought that it would take too long to get going after the light turned green. I also pushed the clutch in when coming to a stop for the whole duration. All that said, the 3 cars i owned in that time never had any transmission/clutch/driveline issues 2 cars went over 200K, the last 125K when i traded it in. I might buy another manual car if something interesting comes along.
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Tasha Profit
Most of the how to drive stick videos start off great. They spend all the time explaining the clutch and the use of the pedals but then it all falls about. How does a person know when to shift to second or to third or back down to second? How do you know what the RPMs you should be in in order to appropriately rev match? Yes I can drive a stick, I wont stall but how do you understand things to the next level of the mechanics? Most of these videos start off slow and then speed through the second part of the video with no real explanations as to why they are doing things. Just the what.
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Most of the how to drive stick videos start off great. They spend all the time explaining the clutch and the use of the pedals but then it all falls about. How does a person know when to shift to second or to third or back down to second? How do you know what the RPMs you should be in in order to appropriately rev match? Yes I can drive a stick, I wont stall but how do you understand things to the next level of the mechanics? Most of these videos start off slow and then speed through the second part of the video with no real explanations as to why they are doing things. Just the what.
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bl8danjil
Do one on what rev matching means and what to listen and look for on a tachometer. Another topic can be tips for beginners dealing with starting from a dead stop on an steep incline. The type of incline that most novices would stall the vehicle on. Your caption said that the clutch should still be pressed when switching gears even when the engineer is off. Why is that bad? Also, if the vehicle is facing downhill does it still need to be in 1st gear or should it be left in reverse?
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Do one on what rev matching means and what to listen and look for on a tachometer. Another topic can be tips for beginners dealing with starting from a dead stop on an steep incline. The type of incline that most novices would stall the vehicle on. Your caption said that the clutch should still be pressed when switching gears even when the engineer is off. Why is that bad? Also, if the vehicle is facing downhill does it still need to be in 1st gear or should it be left in reverse?
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Pritzl
My first instinct was, who seriously doesnt know how to drive a manual? But then I realized my age group isnt really the target demographic for this video. With that in mind its a good video albeit missing the pros and cons of manual transmissions. I personally think everyone should learn to drive on a manual because the level of attention required is actually a valuable safety feature for new drivers. I doubt you can text or take a selfie while driving a stick. :)
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My first instinct was, who seriously doesnt know how to drive a manual? But then I realized my age group isnt really the target demographic for this video. With that in mind its a good video albeit missing the pros and cons of manual transmissions. I personally think everyone should learn to drive on a manual because the level of attention required is actually a valuable safety feature for new drivers. I doubt you can text or take a selfie while driving a stick. :)
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Glen Boniface
It is amazing how few young people today know how to drive a manual transmission, and one complaint I have with manual transmissions today, is if you try gearing down to slow the vehicle when cruise control is engaged, after you release the clutch pedal, the car accelerates on its own again, which is not what you want to do on an off ramp. Depressing the clutch pedal should disengage the cruise control, but it doesnt anymore. Very bad change.
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It is amazing how few young people today know how to drive a manual transmission, and one complaint I have with manual transmissions today, is if you try gearing down to slow the vehicle when cruise control is engaged, after you release the clutch pedal, the car accelerates on its own again, which is not what you want to do on an off ramp. Depressing the clutch pedal should disengage the cruise control, but it doesnt anymore. Very bad change.
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David Wolf
Alex, thats an excellent tutorial. I learned to drive on both a manual and auto trans. In fact, I learned on two types of manual trans. the old column shift (three on the tree) and the 4-speed on the floor. Im sure there are many young folks out there who will appreciate this video. However, I can also see a day, probably in the not too distant future, where the manual trans will go the way of the model T flat-head 4 cyc.
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Alex, thats an excellent tutorial. I learned to drive on both a manual and auto trans. In fact, I learned on two types of manual trans. the old column shift (three on the tree) and the 4-speed on the floor. Im sure there are many young folks out there who will appreciate this video. However, I can also see a day, probably in the not too distant future, where the manual trans will go the way of the model T flat-head 4 cyc.
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Christine Roy
Because I am over 50 I actually thought this was an April Fools video Everyone I knew; parents, siblings, friends we all learned how as that is how cheap cars came equipped. I guess it is sort of a lost art. My 1st automatic is the car I have now: 2010 Ford Escape. Now that automatics are more than 3 or 4 speeds and computer controlled they are really nice. However out for a drive in country a manual is great fun.
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Because I am over 50 I actually thought this was an April Fools video Everyone I knew; parents, siblings, friends we all learned how as that is how cheap cars came equipped. I guess it is sort of a lost art. My 1st automatic is the car I have now: 2010 Ford Escape. Now that automatics are more than 3 or 4 speeds and computer controlled they are really nice. However out for a drive in country a manual is great fun.
reply
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