newbie 5 speed driver

[Tuna]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

that would kinda be embarrasing i was thinking more of like a one on one type lesson or soemthing.

Oh I just meant if you can make it to the meet (maybe drive an automatic there or something, or catch a ride with someone) and just get someone to take you for a ride in their car and get them to show you how to use the clutch/gas.

[Kor]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

How many hours have you been practicing this?

Maybe you think you need to be better, if you can drive at all, then the rest comes after time, even if you are a little rough on the clutch or reving up kinda high i would say whatever, good enough until you're more comfortable in the car.

[Bora_4_Me]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

How many hours have you been practicing this?

Maybe you think you need to be better, if you can drive at all, then the rest comes after time, even if you are a little rough on the clutch or reving up kinda high i would say whatever, good enough until you're more comfortable in the car.

I am going to take him out we have been PMing. He seems to be a little embarassed but at least he is asking for help. I think my life insurance has been paid up.

[Tuna]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

How many hours have you been practicing this?

Maybe you think you need to be better, if you can drive at all, then the rest comes after time, even if you are a little rough on the clutch or reving up kinda high i would say whatever, good enough until you're more comfortable in the car.

Yup....

And honestly, I doubt anyone from our group would make fun if you stalled or whatever so don't worry too much about that.

[forreal]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

Bora 4 Me, Barry is the nicest guy his 1hr lesson taught me more then i learned in like 2 weeks.....i've pretty much got everything down now....now just practise practise....thanks Barry and everyone else on this forum for all your help..

[Kor]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

Bora 4 Me, Barry is the nicest guy his 1hr lesson taught me more then i learned in like 2 weeks.....i've pretty much got everything down now....now just practise practise....thanks Barry and everyone else on this forum for all your help..

Glad you're gettin it!

[Bora_4_Me]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

Bora 4 Me, Barry is the nicest guy his 1hr lesson taught me more then i learned in like 2 weeks.....i've pretty much got everything down now....now just practise practise....thanks Barry and everyone else on this forum for all your help..

No problem, glad I could help. When the weather gets good we will have to take some pictures of your ride and post them up.

[Tuna]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

Bora 4 Me, Barry is the nicest guy his 1hr lesson taught me more then i learned in like 2 weeks.....i've pretty much got everything down now....now just practise practise....thanks Barry and everyone else on this forum for all your help..

Nice! hope to see the car sometime.

[forreal]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

hey guys heres an update to my driving 5 speed issue

for the most part i think i've gotten it but the thing that im having troubles with is like lets say im just about to make a turn, and im just rolling doing about 2-5km/h and i check to see if its safe to turn, then what gear should i be going into??

i know that say im going like 2-5km/h, second gear wont enable but then am i just supposed to come to a complete stop and then start off by going into first gear or can i just directly shift into first gear while doing 2-5km/h by just clutch in and move gear shifter to first gear and then giving it gas to accelerate or will i have to do the same thing you have to do to get it into first gear from a complete stop??
thanks guys

[forreal]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

let me re-word my above post as it seems a bit confusing...

whats the slowest i can be going (km/h) wise to downshift straight into first without having to go through the whole start from a complete stop thing (clutch in rev the engine, and let out clutch slowly)?

thanks

[VAG_Tech]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

let me re-word my above post as it seems a bit confusing...

whats the slowest i can be going (km/h) wise to downshift straight into first without having to go through the whole start from a complete stop thing (clutch in rev the engine, and let out clutch slowly)?

thanks

I would say 10-15kph max. The trans will let you know weather it will let you downshift into first.

[forreal]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

I would say 10-15kph max. The trans will let you know weather it will let you downshift into first.

oh alright...so its alright to shift down to 1st gear around 10-15km/h....and lets say if im in neutral rolling doing 3-5km/h i have to do the first gear thing over again (clutch in, rev engine, and let out clutch gradually) to engage first gear again?, is it safe to do that while ure still rolling doing 3-5km/h?

i apperciate the quick reply man thanks

[R_Ethug]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

never go into 1st !!!!!!!!!!!!!

you can start in 2nd if you like.. you do it in winter to afford spinning out even.. but never never downshift into 1st you can slow down to like 2km/hr in 2nd and it will not stall ..

[minutezero]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

Yo fo,
It's good to hear progress is being made. Shouldn't be long now before you know what gear you should be in when, etc.

I'm pretty green with manuals myself, so I don't know much, but I'll just give you some insight to what I've learned as a newbie driver.

It's almost like riding a bike. You can tell someone all day how to do it, but it will only help so much. Eventually it will just click for you, and stuff like what gear you should be on corners etc. I think the swimming reference is well put. Your feet are pretty much opposing each other. So when the clutch is all the way in, generally your foot is off the gas and vice versa. The mid-point is what takes a bit getting used to.

Anyways enough of my rambling, what I was going to post about was that you'd be surprised how the car won't stall when it's rolling. I remember my first drive home in stop and go traffic and I was sweatin' like mad; everytime I would see the car's brake lights in front of me come on, I would push the clutch in. Take your car around sometime and see how slow you can go with it out though, as a newbie myself, that's what I've learned. It made me a lot less nervous to drive. Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but chances are the car will only stall when going from stopped position, or when you're just about to stop (literally, the car is barely moving). Also when downshifting, you don't need to use the gas to successfully get it into gear. Every day when I turn into my alley, from second, the car is almost stopped, I just clutch in, go to first, let it out slowly and then gas once it's fully engaged.

The hills were super tough for me too, but what I was doing was as soon as I felt the car move I would still kind of be in panic mode to not roll back and let the clutch out too fast. The key is when you do start to feel it moving, then you know you're almost in the clear. Keep the clutch at that point and slowly start to bring it out while increasing the gas (flipper feet). This clicked for me one day when I had to park in a stall that was uphill. The car will still move with the clutch in a bit.

Sounds like you're almost there though, don't give up! Once you get over the anxiety of driving you will have more control over your car then all the people driving autos out there!

[VAG_Tech]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

never go into 1st !!!!!!!!!!!!!

you can start in 2nd if you like.. you do it in winter to afford spinning out even.. but never never downshift into 1st you can slow down to like 2km/hr in 2nd and it will not stall ..

I guess only the pros can shift into 1st while rolling almost to a stop. I do it all the time and no damage has come to my trans. I even no clutch shift and downshift.