My Standard Experience Journal

Read the FAQ and still not sure about something? Want to shift faster? Post here.
Pinky Demon
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My Standard Experience Journal

Post by Pinky Demon »

This idea popped up into my head today as I was driving. I figured you guys might find it interesting to see how I progress as I drive a manual more and more, and how far I come. I'm going to record my progress as I practice in this thread and if I have any questions, I'll ask. Sweet, let's get started.

2006: Realized that I wanted a semi-sporty car and realized the stupidity of my slush box. Did a research paper on Manual vs. Automatic. :D

Early March 2007: Went to Greater Cleveland International Auto Show. Looked at Cobalt SS Supercharged, Charger, Mazdaspeed3, G5, and some others.

April 2007: Looked at Mazda6 and 350z.

May 2007: Decided on Mazdaspeed3! (hello beastie!)

June 2007: Finally pestered my dad enough for him to let me turn around a manual F-150 in our driveway. (It's a lonnnnnnnnng driveway) Did somewhat decent, hard launches with wheel spins though, and I stalled once. :oops:

July 2007: Pestered dad enough again that he finally broke down and brought the F-150 home again. Did horrible this time. Must of stalled over 20 times. :oops: Had horribly hard launches with wheel spin, and if it wasn't that, it was bucking from not enough revs. :oops: Finally, when almost at breaking point and resigning to a slush box, a breakthrough was made. 1-2-3 method was developed. (See thread: http://www.standardshift.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7941) Launches and shifts became as smooth as butter! :P

Random dates in July: Occasionally moved a manual F-550 at work. Launches were mostly smooth, and morale boosting. Even got to pwn a cocky co-worker who thought I couldn't drive a manual. :lol:

July 21: Drove that F-150 again, two weeks later after training incident. Never stalled on flat ground. All launches were perfect, and shifts as smooth as butter! :D Decided to do some hill launching on a decent sloped hill. Not too good... :( I can't launch fast enough smoothly! Must try to launch on level ground faster, then try again. Although out of the 4 times I tried, I got up twice and stalled twice.

So that's my experience so far. I'll keep updating as I progress. I think it will be an interesting read for me when I am finally shifting 24/7, and for anybody who enjoys an "epic"... Hopefully, I get some more practice soon! I'm really excited about this. I'll post more updates as they come! Hope you guys enjoy this, I know I do! [/i]
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NonChalant
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Post by NonChalant »

cool little idea. I was thinking of this myself but then I figured that I most likely wouldn't stick to the idea (i'm not very dedicated to these kinds of things haha).

When are you getting the MS3?
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mikebai1990
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Post by mikebai1990 »

Cool! I also have a similar "journal" on another forum, except it's my journal of learning to drive a car :) I'm practicing in an automatic because we don't have a manual, but in the future, I definitely want to drive a manual car.
Last edited by mikebai1990 on Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Pinky Demon
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Post by Pinky Demon »

mikebai1990 wrote:Cool! I also have a similar "journal", except it's my journal of learning to drive a car :) I'm practicing in an automatic because we don't have a manual, but in the future, I definitely want to drive a manual car.
It's a better idea to learn on an automatic anyway, that way, your not overwhelmed with driving and trying to shift at the same time.
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mikebai1990
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Post by mikebai1990 »

Yea, I agree. Learning in an automatic is already hard enough. However, I've definitely gotten better after, I'd say, 5 hours of so of driving. I'm still looking forward to driving a manual in the future though :) I have all of this theoretical stuff on how to drive a manual, but I don't have any hands on experience :)

Alright, I'll stop hijacking your thread now :)
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Post by Sypher »

Pinky Demon wrote:
mikebai1990 wrote:Cool! I also have a similar "journal", except it's my journal of learning to drive a car :) I'm practicing in an automatic because we don't have a manual, but in the future, I definitely want to drive a manual car.
It's a better idea to learn on an automatic anyway, that way, your not overwhelmed with driving and trying to shift at the same time.
debatable... people all over the world do not have the "privilege" of learning on an automatic, and yet they become great drivers. IMO, it doesnt matter what you learn on. I would've actually prefer to learn in a manual instead of an automatic. it teaches you good driving habits to begin with.
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Prodigal Son
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Post by Prodigal Son »

Pinky Demon wrote: It's a better idea to learn on an automatic anyway, that way, your not overwhelmed with driving and trying to shift at the same time.
It's best to learn on the type of car you are going to be driving. If you are going to drive both types, it is better to learn on a manual. If you learn on an automatic and switch to manual without proper instruction, you will not learn to drive manual correctly. By and large, however, if you learn to drive on a manual and switch to an automatic, you will be able to drive the automatic correctly (if not necessarily the way that automatic-only drivers drive them).

In either case, you need to learn to control the car in a safe environment before you venture out onto the streets in traffic. With a manual, that learning may take slightly longer, but the principle is the same. You should not be on the public streets at all until you have mastered basic car control.
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Post by hockeystyx16 »

its better to start in a manual, so you dont start developing the slushie habits.

here in america, theres a big difference between driving stick and automatic. anywhere else in the world (especially europe) somebody gets in a automatic car, to them its nothing different, only the car shifts for them. they still drive the same way, nothing changes
here in america, getting in a automatic is a green flag to talk on the phone, stuff your face, change your pants on the way to work, put on makeup, etc.
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kiseki
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Post by kiseki »

Prodigal Son wrote:In either case, you need to learn to control the car in a safe environment before you venture out onto the streets in traffic. With a manual, that learning may take slightly longer, but the principle is the same. You should not be on the public streets at all until you have mastered basic car control.
It seems to me very little can be learnt until one gets on the road. Learning how to drive is still a relatively recent thing for me. I remember driving around in parking lots and very quiet streets before hitting a real street, and i realized that no amount of parking lot driving could prepare me for the roads. The "simple" act of changing lanes was a huge feat for me at first. I would glance at the mirrors, and get absolutely no information out of them because i didn't know what to look for. It took a lot of real driving before i became comfortable with sharing the streets with other drivers. Looking back, i think not having to worry about shifting allowed me to concentrate on other more critical aspects of driving.
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Post by PhotoJim »

I learned to drive an automatic first, but my first car (bought at age 21 after about 5 years of driving) was a manual. I found that to be a good experience.

At 21 I was still an inexperienced enough driver that my driving habits weren't cast in stone yet, but I had a few years to learn the basics without being overwhelmed by the issues of the transmission too.

I was taught to be very diligent about signaling lane changes and turns, shoulder checking, etc. and that helped. I was also taught to anticipate other drivers' actions. That helped learning a manual, too, because you need to be more aware.

I don't think it's impossible to learn on a manual - it's just harder. However, I do think people should jump into a manual as young as they can once they have the basics under their belt. In the first or second year of driving is not too soon. I think if I learned on a manual later in life, it would have been more difficult.

Interestingly this is a debate we have in photography too. Lots of photographers think people should learn to take pictures with manual focus and manual metering first. However, the implications of failure (missing the image) are less serious than they are in a car (rear-ending the driver in front of you :) ).

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Pinky Demon
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Post by Pinky Demon »

July 28th: Finally got onto the open road with the F-150. Went a couple miles. All launches were pretty smooth, except once where I bucked and rectified with clutch in. Stalled once on a reverse in an industrial parkway lot. Getting better. Must launch faster though! Urghh!
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six
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Post by six »

Practicing on a truck is actually pretty good. Trucks have relatively stiff tough clutches. It forces you to learn good clutch control from the get-go. Right-on, Pinky. Keep practicing!

I will await your induction into the zoom-zoom family :)
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Post by Johnf514 »

Well done Pinky! I did some SS learning on an 5MT F-150 myself. Huge vehicles, and they will make driving a manual car a lot easier. What's the word on a Zoom-Zoom mobile? :)
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Pinky Demon
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Post by Pinky Demon »

Honestly guys, not good right now. I love Mazda to death, and I would love to get my hands on a Speed3, but I recently got into an accident August 3rd. My priorities for car buying has changed. Right now, I hoping to get something with a manual, but it's been narrowed down to the Ford Ranger, Fusion, Pontiac G6 Coupe, or Dodge Charger. Even if I don't get a manual, don't worry, cause it will be some form of tiptronic. Right now, the Ranger is looking real good. If I get it, it will be a 5 spd. manual.
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Post by Johnf514 »

Just curious - what do you need the truck for?
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