How did you learn? On your own car? What car was it?

 

My brother taught me in his car, which later I bought off him. It was a1987 Celica GT and was my first car.

 

Father. 87 Accord. Bought an old 97 del sol for myself some time later. then briefly later tracked down used a top trim crv with awd and a stick, pretty rare (if not interesting)

Those were my experiences owning manual cars and unless I buy a Miata or brz once the del sol wears out, I don't see myself owning another - but I'll try and own one when my girl is learning to drive seeing as she loves cars already at 5. Aside from having a family member who wants to teach you there is really limited reason to learn. With only 5-10% of the most sporty cars selling with a manual, and most not even offering -- what's the point? Except as a point of pride or class.

 

i stall my honda alot. so i blame it to the heavy wheels lugging launch so i change it to a light wheel. i also blame the clutch delay valve so i reverted to old civic clutch master for better feel, i also blame the very long dead pedal behind the clutch bite point,,so i put clutch stopper behind the clutch pedal to remove all the dead pedal stroke below the clutch bite point,,lastly i know the car is programed to be slower than its real capabilities so i went to a tuner to have a performance remap of the car.now i feel im a pro racer with all the mod that i made to make me a faster driver

 

my first manual car is my current 18 fit sport !

still need a lot practice because it still feels jerky when i start from dead start...

 

My dad taught me in a Passat wagon, but he didn't do a very good job explaining the relationship between letting the clutch out and feeding throttle in. Basically told me just let the clutch out more smoothly, and then got mad every time I killed the engine. Then told me to drive up a hill to a four way stop sign.

 

years ago I got a used Volvo for my birthday and I had to drive it home from the dealer! luckily I kinda knew what I was doing. Just drove around the lot for a few minutes, and then home. I was stoked. and surprised I picked up it so quick without too much stalling and jerkin around... I had tried in my friends vw once before, but it was a turd and I kept stalling so I gave up after like 2 minutes.

that “clutch damper” Honda installs really doesn’t help! when I test drive my fit before I bought it, it felt like I was murdering the clutch, but it just took getting used to...then I got rid of it..and it’s much better

 

My aunt was supposed to show me in her 1983 Tercel. When I got there, she gave me the keys and didn't want to come with me, so I learned on my own!

Then, I borrowed my uncle 1990 Cherokee to get better a bit (the clutch was sooo heavy!)

Then I bought a 1989 Cavalier Z24 with a MT. Finally got better!

 

I'm afraid I would screw up the transmission somehow; like doing something wrong while spacing out. Assuming the R Type ever makes it to the US, do you think it would be manual only? If a person doesn't have a jalopy to learn on, would it be a mistake to try and learn on a vehicle you want to keep in pristine condition?

 

Its not sensitive transmission,, i stall the engine a lot grind gears,, mis shift but it still drives normally, ive not broken anything yet

 

I learned on a Toyota Tercel manual transmission.
And it wasn't easy.
I was trying so hard as a "new" driver, but the vehicle would jerk, or I'd stall the engine. It took me a while to "get it ".

Frustratingly, later after I have finally mastered the manual transmission on our own Tercel, I was afforded the opportunity to drive OTHER manual transmission vehicles. They seemed so easy compared to the Tercel.
When I brought this up to my Dad, he admitted the Tercel, which had a clutch replacement and other work....was really tricky. But he didn't want me to know at the time and didn't tell me.

I guess the silver lining is, having mastered that vehicle out of the gate, everything else seemed easy.

I've owned automatic transmissions now, but I still miss the manual transmission, which once mastered, made driving more fun. It's just that much more connection between machine and driver. But at this point I'm probably too old and lazy to go back.

 

Bought a manual car one week before my senior year of high school and forced myself to learn; it was either that or walk to school. Needless to say, I learned fast.

 

Learned in a Miata at a manual driving course. Then bought my Protege5 and took it Shannonville racetrack for further learning.

 

1988. my mom said get in and drive it. lol

 

Friend, if you need to make that many modifications to drive a car....the issue is you. You really need to take some time and actually learn how to drive a manual transmission/car in general. You're doing damage to the car whether you think so or not.

There will never be a Fit Type R.

That said, learning manual won't hurt your car so long as you set out to learn the right way. I'm going to teach my girlfriend how to drive a manual in my 2012 Fit, still on the original clutch at 112,000 miles and I have zero fears of her doing any damage. Driving a manual is easy so long as you take it slow, listen to the car and have even a reasonably competent teacher.

I learned how to drive manual on my own car. My senior year of high school I wanted a fun car I could modify so I bought a 1991 Civic Si (this took place in 2010) before I could drive a manual. The next weekend my dad drove the two of us to a parking lot for a business that had shut down. He gave me a few basic pointers, got out of the car and read magazines/books for a couple of hours while I just stopped, started, stopped, started, over and over again. I've only owned manual vehicles in the decade since, I have no desire to go back to automatic.

 

OP, if I had to teach someone how to drive manual, the first thing I'd do is find a parking lot with a gentle incline and point the car uphill, then have them find the point where the clutch engages and feed in throttle until the car starts moving. Over and over. Looking back on my own experience, learning manual was nerve racking because I didn't know how far to let out the clutch without stalling it, and I didn't know how much gas to use without revving way too high and sounding like the world's most incompetent drag racer.

If you figure out what it feels like when the clutch starts to bite, and you're not too nervous or herky-jerky with the gas, everything else when you get out on the road should be relatively easy. At first, you'll need more revs and a lot of slip to keep from stalling, but as your skill improves, you can use less gas and control the clutch engagement better.

 

Rented a Mazda GLC 5 Speed after being shown how by my cousin's Datsun B210.

 

I learned on a 1984 Plymouth Voyager that I bought for $200. Yes it was a mini van with a manual transmission .

My dad gave me about a 15 minute lesson; had me start on a downhill, a flat road, and on an uphill. Afterward, I took it on my first solo drive to the gas station and I surprised myself when I only stalled once when leaving the station.

 

I learned on a 93 Ford Ranger with a 4 cylinder. Truck was Plum purple.

 

About 60 years ago, I learned on a Fiat 500. Still driving a stick - when I'm not on a motorcycle.