I bought my first daily manual transmission vehicle last week. I'm barely getting the hang of the "biting point" of the clutch so I don't stall that much when I get into 1st gear. I'll really appreciate if anyone can give me some pointers on :
- Speeds for gears
- rpms before shifting
And/or driving manual in general.

Thanks

 

When you drive enough, you just don't look at the RPM on when to shift:
1) you simply just shift base on feel.
2) you can start on 2nd gear if you are on a down slope or you are comfortable on the flat
3) when you can't start your car with your battery, you will feel lucky if you on a hill, you will learn to roll down and start your car
4) careful on the rollback when you stop on an upslope hill
5) if the hill is too steep, you might need to shift into gear to slow the car down instead of using your brake/neutral
6) you will start to hate traffic
7) after awhile, things become automatic
8) you will be driving with one hand(left) on the wheel and your right hand free
- when you see someone driving with their left hand on the wheel and their right hand not doing anything but relaxing to the right, you know that the person drove manual before.

 

Get someone you know to teach you.
Look on youtube for tips.

Practice, Practice, Practice.

Practice until you get perfect.

 

These are good tips.
I'd also like to mention that the 3rd gen of Fit is literally one of the best vehicles to learn manual on (easiest).
The clutch delay valve makes the experience far less stressful than it was when I was learning to drive stick on an 81 Volvo wagon.

 

I don't feel the need to downshift to reduce speed as I approach red lights and stop signs. Brake pads cost much less than clutches and synchros. Save the downshifting for descending long hills or passing, and when you do so, blip the throttle as you shift to raise your RPMs to match the lower gear. This takes some practice.

[Note: Per the note below, our Fit is an automatic and is owned by a kid, but I've driven manual transmission cars daily for 40+ years.]

 

+2

Honda builds great manuals! I also have a 2021 WRX and it's a 6-speed but much more clunky and finicky than any Honda manual I have driven.

 

Agreed on the wear out brake pads instead of clutch. Also I find using the handbrake to help start on upward slopes helps.

 

been driving a stick since '77 but i found the takeup on the fit tricky , it's a rapid take up , felt like the pedal wasn't adjusted right ( not enough slack ) . thing is ,it works . i guess 1st is low
enough and the engine is calibrated just right , so i got used to it . apparently it doesn't take that much gas to get going , doesn' feel like most cluches i've opperated . tip # 2 change the transmission oil at the right interval , just changed mine at 47k ( a bit over the recommendation ) . the car really liked it , got a little bump in the MPG .

 

. . . also , don't get in the habit of moving that stick too fast , it's calibrated to engage gears at it's own pace , you can't force it any faster than it wants to go . as an example , people think a short shifter
kit helps you to shift faster , but it doesn't work that way . and when driving , don't rest your hand on the stick , just when you want to shift

 

Not too get too ahead of yourself, but one thing to watch is if you drive another automaker they will put Reverse in a different location. I had a VW Golf and Reverse is down from 1st. Made parallel parking very tricky. I love that Honda puts it in place that you can't accidently shift into it from 1st*.

I would also add that you can think of clutch as an emergency "get of a jam" lever. Not sure if you shifted into too high or low of gear: depress the clutch. Car starts shaking because you forgot to down shift: depress the clutch.

Your going to love it once you get the hang of it.


*: There is a preventer to prevent it from happening at speed, but that doesn't apply at stop and back up parking.

 

Nobody else knows how to drive stick.

Nobody will ask you to borrow your car.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣