Easiest way to learn how to start rolling is to let the clutch out until you start to roll/bog. That's where the engagement point is. Once you learn that spot slowly start adding gas and then release the clutch fully. Overtime you'll learn how to go quicker and become more smooth. #keepthemanualsalive
best tutorial on RU-vid. You covered all bases thoroughly and precisely. Would have been nice to have had this when I was learning, would have saved me a lot of anxiety!
I have a 2013 HONDA CIVIC SI and it took a couple days to get used to driving with 6 gears. Completely different than my 1990 Acura Integra RS. I look at my RPMS every now and then, but me driving Manual transmissions for 14 years, I've learned to listen to the engine. You have a great tutorial video keep up the good work.
I wanted to thank you greatly sir. I recently purchased a 06 Mazda6 5 speed. I was relatively new to driving stick other than the auto shifting in a Jetta and watching friends drive stick at work. While the dealer was nice enough to give me a crash course I was still lost on a number of things. 1. Starting from a standstill without a number of problems happening. 2. Starting on a hill(love the parking break method for now) and 3. Skipping gears(I was doing this bi-accident and shifting smoothing glad to know I didn't mess up my car). Without this video it would have taken me weeks but today I was able to do all of these things smoothly and without jerking or stalling. I really don't know how to thank you enough.
For all of people who didn't understand what was happening here, let me explain it to you. First you have to understand that a car has 4 important parts. The engine, the clutch, the transmission (gears) and the driving wheels. All these parts can be connected or disconnected from each other. The clutch (pedal) connects the engine with the gears (when released) and disconnects them (when pressed). If you press the clutch pedal, no power is distributed from the engine to the transmission and the wheels. Also when your gearbox is in neutral, the driving wheels are disconnected from the transmission. As result no power from the engine can be distributed to the wheels. To move the car from standing position, the engine has to do a lot of effort because of the heavy weight of the car. This is why you need the clutch, which is nothing else than two round plates that rotate and touch each other when you release the clutch pedal. When you release the clutch you distribute very gently the engine power to the transmission and the wheels. If you release the clutch very fast the engine has not enough power to move the car and the car stalls. To avoid stalling, many people press gently the gas pedal while releasing the clutch. This action gives the engine more power and it avoids stalling the engine. After moving the car from standing position its not a problem releasing the clutch a little faster. Each time you change the gear you have to disconnect it from the engine by pressing the clutch pedal. Each gear has a recommended speed for up shift and down shift. In first gear you drive until 10 mph and above that you up shift at 2d gear. At 2d gear you drive up to 18mph and shift to 3d gear when you drive faster than that speed. You drive at 3d gear up to 31 mph. You drive at 4th gear up to 43 mph. At 5th gear you drive from 56 mph and above. The engine may stall when you try to drive at 5th gear at 10mph because this gear is not recommended for that kind of speed. To avoid stalling while driving (not standing position) you have to lower gears and also avoiding low engine rpm.
Thank you for the no-bullshit explanation, been watching videos on youtube and your comment is the one that made me fully understand how to start and go on a stick-shift while also explaining what is happening inside the engine/car.
This is just what I needed. I just bought a 2015 SI and getting into second while jerking was driving me nuts. Your gas method works smoother, need to keep practicing it. Thanks man.
did this for the first time today and i felt like my soul left my body- i couldnt believe i was driving. Still nervous for second lesson tomorrow but thanks for videos like this. it helps me to brush up on what i learnt earlier.
Yea, best how to drive a manual video I've seen on youtube. I'm trading in my auto for a manual this weekend and haven't driven one in 6 years. I'm much more confident after this. Great work!
I want to congratulate you for the most candid manual transmission lesson on youtube. I've looked through countless videos on how to drive stick, yet yours the best. As I said, straight to the point. I really liked the clear visual for both your feet, and the dashboard. My cousin has the 2012 Si model, and its an awesome car! Sweet dash!
It's a good thing to teach rev match in the same video as the basics how to drive a manual so people know rev match is part of it too and not just a plus.
Thanks for this. Just got my first car with a manual transmission (2016 Ford Focus ST) and this video was a big help. I was able to drive it to work and back today which is a total distance of about 50 miles and it really boosted my confidence. My starts and downshifts are still a little rough and hills are still intimidating as well but I feel like I'm getting the hang of it.
This is one of the best manual tutorial, Ive been looking for one that includes everything from starting the car, to reversing, shifting gears and downshift. Even the hill start. Im planning on getting a manual car in a year from now and I get nervous bout it coz Ive never driven a stick before lol So thanks for the vid man. Really awesome.
Very helpful, thanks. I'm 25 and finally got my hands on a manual, and I'm doing pretty good with it, just wanting to get smoother and smoother with time and practice. A little bit nervous being in traffic right now, but thanks again I find this video helpful on a lot of things.
Thank you much for the vid! Yours is one best on RU-vid. I respect you much for not giving the advice that so many other amateurs do on RU-vid, which is to coast to a stop. Yes it's the lazy way to drive a stick! Rev matching and downshifting is the proper and most safest way to stop when driving a stick. It's nerve racking not being in a gear! I'm getting pretty good at rev matching and it's because of your video! Cheers and, God Bless you!
Best tutorial on youtube. You mention all the little things that the other videos failed to mention like how you have to give a little gas in the 1 to 2 upshift or how the car will lurch a bit when downshifting at a low rpm without rev matching. See, I didn't know these things before. That's probably why my upshifts were so slow and my downshifts were jerky. And it's important to teach beginners those little things or else how would they learn properly? Great job, man.
Love my Si. Such a great shifter and the VTEC engine has so much character past the cross over point. With those VTEC rocker arms locked in it sounds outstanding and begs you to drive it hard
Thank you for the simple, but clear and informative video on driving stick shift. You have a clear, well organized lesson plan and you explain the basics and how thy relate to the topic. One of the best how-to's in general, and the best how-to on learning to drive stick. I learned in ten minutes what a dozen people were not able to tell me. I am now on day 2 of my car (after having driven an automatic for years) and you have cleared up a lot of my questions by just watching your video. After my first day with the car (approximately four hours previous experience on five separate occasions) I knew that I was doing something wrong, but did not know exactly what ; after watching your first video, most of my questions were answered and today I stalled less, but my takeoffs were incredibly smooth. I think the most important lesson from your videos is to spend time finding that engagement point, and holding it, until you engage and then releasing slowly. I tended to get excited and jerk my foot off initially, but no one told me that. I also like that you give people options and let them choose. What most people do not realize is that no matter what technique you choose, it will result in wear-and.tear and that there is a cost to anything, whether it be engine-braking versus brake pads, or wearing out the clutch versus the hand brake on hill starts. And to close, moving from a standstill with out touching on the accelerator was pretty amazing.
Thanks for the video man, this and maybe a couple of other videos have helped me. Well, this one mainly helped me the most. I like the method where you clutch and find engagement point then let the car roll and then press the gas. Rather than the press the gas to 1500-2000k rpm then SLOWLY let off the pedal and it sets you off. When I use that method I tend to stall more but this method that you shown is more comfortable. Seriously man, greatly appreciate the tutorial and everything.
I'm so thankful for this video and your other video. My dad just bought me a stick shift Honda and he's going to teach me to drive it this weekend. I was so nervous until I watched this.
daggit. I just bought a 2013 and LOVE the interior but now seeing your interior makes me want a 2014 lol. been driving stick for almost 10 years. don't know why I watched the whole thing. I love watching other ppl drive I guess lol.
Excellent video, one thing that I would like to add for parking. I was trained to do all what you said, and steer the wheels toward the curb ( To the right). If the hand break would fail and the transmission popped out of gear the car with coast into the curb and not into traffic. :)
@ Shana D You let your foot off of the gas. 1. Clutch in 2. Take shifter out of gear 3. Tap the gas to rev-match 4. Put shifter into the appropriate gear 5. Replease clutch
symawd if you don't push the gas while you release the clutch will it stall out or can it roll without you hitting the gas? and is this on all manuel cars?
Congrats. It is definitely an accomplishment. I wanna know from anybody about how fast are you going before you’re able to engage in six gear? By that I mean for me so far, the RPM shoots up to 4000 -4500 and does not sound happy. I usually shift back into fifth. Any advice??
Ethan Nunnally You can hit the brakes without the clutch, You only use the clutch when you are changing gears or just before stopping to prevent the car from staling.
One of the best video camera teching so far.But there must be some more ways to explain so i could understand.for an example 1,2,3,4,5,6, gear horsepower do this. e.g 1 gear go faster or 6 gear faster or stronger ,when you go up hill or downhill. secondly every time when you change gear just do this something of like that .thanks Teacher you are awesome.
helpful video and unless im crazy that's definitely the town i live in and my old high school. Not many people who care about cars living there lol thx for the tips
This might seem like a weird thing to notice, but I haven't seen any comments say that they noticed he's driving a Honda while he is wearing a Volkswagen shirt. 1:16. Lol. Great video by the way!
nice video very similar to how my friend taught me although my friends car I practice on is a beater 95 civic without an rpm guage and the speedometer doesn't always work XD
@ mykovn What part are you referring to (time in the video)? You really just need to hold the clutch at the catch point until you hit 4 MPH or so and then just let it out while giving gas. You obviously don't want to be riding the clutch either as that will burn it. Really study my feet in the video.
what will happen if I go from gear to neutral without clutching? awesome video btw ive been trying to find a simple and informative video. you nailed it
Most people tell me they learned by finding the engagement point I just learned by adding a little gas and balancing the clutch with it if that makes sense
great video.im kind of new to driving a stick. i have it pretty much down pat. but why cant i get 2ed gear right all the time?? sometimes its really jumpy when i let the clutch out.im i not giving enough gas, or to little gas, or just letting the clutch out wrong?
I’ve been driving manual trans cars since I was like 17, for some reason I have a problem with getting to 1-2nd quickly from like a red light without the car jerking forward when I depress the gas and hit the clutch
Thanks this is the best video I have found. So one question do you hit the gas as your releasing the clutch or do you find the "cut in" point of the clutch then hit the gas? Thanks
Jonathan DiLego Every car has a different "feel" to it, so you have to find your car's sweet spot (engagement point). With experience you'll find it. Just start releasing the clutch slowly, and when you feel the car shaking a little and is about to stall, start giving it some gas slowly.
Just a thought even though you do say it frequently a little window on the bottom right with your current gear would be awesome. Third time watching this XD.
What do you think about pump starting? Wherein you rev the car with the clutch in when stopped to raise the engine RPMs, let off the throttle and dump the clutch to get going? It's certainly more time consuming, but the guy that told me about this said it's better than riding the clutch to start... at least sometimes
I'm learning to drive manual on a 2009 MINI. At first, I thought I wasn't paying enough attention to feel for the bite point on my clutch. After 3 months of driving it daily, I'm starting to think there may be a problem that needs to be serviced. I get very, very little feedback from the clutch pedal. Throughout the entire release, the pressure against my foot feels exactly the same and I find myself guessing where the bite point is.
@chidragon60 If you mean go past red line, yes, but most cars have a rev limiter to prevent that. Now if you mis-shift to too low of a gear, it will go past red line and that is bad.
