StandardShift.com

I bought a subaru impreza wrx (hatchback) this past weekend. I have never driven manual before. This weekend I'm going to go pick it up at the dealership but I can't get someone to help me. The dealer is 2.5 hours from my house, but it is all highway (there are literally two stopsigns). With an hour of parking lot practice would this be remotely doable or am I setting myself up to crash my new ride?

You'll be fine. Many of us here, myself included, bought a car from the dealer with little to no manual experience.

You'll stall but don't let that unnerve you. Get the practice in, then go get the car. Stay calm. Make sure you've read the basics and tips here and understand how clutch works, what to do and what not to do. Armed with knowledge, you'll still be nervous but you won't do any damage to the car.

If you can get yourself moving you'll be dandy. An all freeway trip will definitely be easier.

tankinbeans wrote:If you can get yourself moving you'll be dandy. An all freeway trip will definitely be easier.

Eyed practice no-gas launches for a while - Just so you start getting tuned in to where the friction point is. It is virtually impossible to hurt the clutch if you practice engagement with the engine at idle. When the clutch just starts to move the vehicle forward, hesitate right there and don't continue moving you foot up for a second - you'll find the clutch grabs more all by itself as the engine speed dips and the vehicle starts to roll faster.

Ideal situation would be to time the event so there is no traffic around to pressure you as you drive it home.

Except for that guy shifting in his ultrasound pictures, none of us are born driving Amish, but we all are capable of getting there.

As if you didn't already receive enough encouragement, take it from me:

I bought a brand-new 2006 Mazdaspeed6 on a whim, going in with only some knowledge of how manuals work and literally 5 minutes of prior seat time, practiced a bit on the test drive (thankfully they've let me test drive it myself, prior customer of the dealership), and managed to get the thing home in one piece, with no freeway in between. Stalled a few times, but thankfully recovered. Now, the original 1st-generation Mazdaspeed6 with the unmodified clutch is considered to be one of the trickiest clutches of this generation. So much so that Mazda issued a TSB on it and offered free warranty work to modify it. But I still managed to get it home. And if I did it back then, you can easily do it now with a Subaru.

That fact that you're here means you're already three-steps ahead. Good luck!

Well now I want a follow up to this story.

...and they all shifted happily ever-after.

Rope-Pusher wrote:

tankinbeans wrote:If you can get yourself moving you'll be dandy. An all freeway trip will definitely be easier.

Eyed practice no-gas launches for a while - Just so you start getting tuned in to where the friction point is. It is virtually impossible to hurt the clutch if you practice engagement with the engine at idle. When the clutch just starts to move the vehicle forward, hesitate right there and don't continue moving you foot up for a second - you'll find the clutch grabs more all by itself as the engine speed dips and the vehicle starts to roll faster.

Exactly. If you let the clutch out too fast at idle, the engine dies. But if you don't learn that part first and try giving it some gas while letting the clutch out, and let it out too fast, you will get the vehicle bucking like a wild bronco, and that is not good for the main bearings. Or if you really get on the gas you will slip the clutch to the point of smelling it inside the car--I had that happen once!

InlinePaul wrote: Exactly. If you let the clutch out too fast at idle, the engine dies. But if you don't learn that part first and try giving it some gas while letting the clutch out, and let it out too fast, you will get the vehicle bucking like a wild bronco, and that is not good for the main bearings. Or if you really get on the gas you will slip the clutch to the point of smelling it inside the car--I had that happen once!

willkommen zurück IP!!

willkommen zurück!
willkommen zurück!!
willkommen zurück!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZzEzDkeHzI

I was wondering where you'd gone off to, Paul.

tankinbeans wrote:I was wondering where you'd gone off to, Paul.

Thanks. I have been very involved in opera obsession and have spent over $1000 in opera CDs and DVDs over the past 8 months! But I got curious about the stick shift site and missed a few of the folks. My old Ranger is still running strong and is being held together with angle iron and plastidip. Had an ordeal when the clutch master cylinder had to be replaced. Big long story maybe I will tell later.

My first manual transmission car was a 1979 Saab 99, 4-speed. No tach, but it had to be running close to 3k at highway speeds, which back then was only 55 mph in my state, Didn't take long to master it. After a while you'll be to the point where you don't even remember shifting. I had some previous experience with friend's cars, a Chevy Vega 3 on the floor and an Opel Manta.

I remember offering to put gas in my friend's Vega. The gas station was walking distance from where we were, I was gone about a half hour driving around town. When I got back she was mad, but then I knew I wanted a manual.

Speaking a bit before that era - I recall one of the most unusual cars to have a manual shift was my friend's mother's mid 60s Pontiac Catalina, full size like the Bonneville, with a 3 on the tree. The 389 V8 had substantial torque to allow shifting up at quite low rpms.

helooooo folks, long time since on forum
first up, GOOD for you BUYING a manual. you smart person.
todays manual trans cars are very forgiving, they are easy to shift, very little clutch engage pressure, some cars have rev matching between shifts,
so it is very easy to master the manual in a short period of time.
manuals of yesteryear that many of us learned on were difficult to use. very heavy clutches, car stall and hard to start when cold, tire spinning rear wheel drives, long gear throws, wait a minute that was fun. oh that tire spinning, miss that.
I sold my manual shift audi 4000 last year, I have been without a manual for the first time in 36 years. time for another soon, Mustang??
Good day All