Nervous about driving manual transmission
Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 519
From: North Carolina
Below is a video covering the basics of driving a manual, there are many others on youtube.
YouTube - how to drive stick manual basics (remake with uphill starts)
YouTube - how to drive stick manual basics (remake with uphill starts)
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 570
From: Tacoma, WA
Mt
The Fit was my first MT too. You'll be able to drive stick, but in a few weeks or so you'll be able to shift smoothly. Don't be afraid to give it some throttle when you're first learning. It's better than stalling.
Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 89
From: Texas
I second that. The fit has no torque at all. Revving too high will not be a problem. Clutches are cheap ; wrecks are not. Burn it up! Just give it gas. You will figure it out.
Master FitFaker. CHEA!
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,317
From: Marble Falls, TX
haha yeah but it was so much fun,
i was just doing 30 on some really crappy windy trails,
they weren't even roads
ahh i love downshifting and ripping into a turn
i was like.. drifting also
none of that in the fit though!
i was just doing 30 on some really crappy windy trails,
they weren't even roads
ahh i love downshifting and ripping into a turn
i was like.. drifting also
none of that in the fit though!
Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 61
From: Columbus OH
well I hear that Honda's are known for going 300,000 miles or more. I hope mine does I'd like to make this car last a long time. ( Everyone I talked to told me if I bought a Honda I would not be sorry) I take better care of my cars than I do me LOL ! If this one gopes the distance I may trade it in for an Accord or maybe even an Acura. Maybe
Member
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 54
From: NL, Canada
Manual transmissions are awful for the first week, better in the second, and then wonderful for the rest of your life.
That is, unless you aren't a stick person. I know a bunch of people who can drive stick, and have done so regularly, and never seem to get bitten by the bug. Generally, though, they are people who don't care that much about cars anyway, so if you're a FitFreak I think you'll be fine.
When I bought my Fit back in June, it was the first MT car that I'd driven regularly in about 15 years (wow, I suddenly feel really old). I was a bit concerned that I would be rusty and have a difficult time picking it back up, but the Fit is by far the easiest MT I've ever driven. Smooth and progressive clutch, precise shifter and lightweight car makes for easy starts and stops. The only issue I had was that the full engagement point of the clutch was a bit closer to the top of the pedal travel than most other MTs I've driven, so when accelerating quickly the engine would rev up when shifting. After a few days my feet adjusted.
And that brings me to another point: Driving a manual is a motor skill, like touch-typing. If you're thinking about it, you're a beginner or you're doing it wrong. Practice, practice, practice until you can get away from a stop smoothly without thinking about what your feet are doing. Once you can get around without stalling or mis-shifting, then work on your smoothness.
That is, unless you aren't a stick person. I know a bunch of people who can drive stick, and have done so regularly, and never seem to get bitten by the bug. Generally, though, they are people who don't care that much about cars anyway, so if you're a FitFreak I think you'll be fine.
When I bought my Fit back in June, it was the first MT car that I'd driven regularly in about 15 years (wow, I suddenly feel really old). I was a bit concerned that I would be rusty and have a difficult time picking it back up, but the Fit is by far the easiest MT I've ever driven. Smooth and progressive clutch, precise shifter and lightweight car makes for easy starts and stops. The only issue I had was that the full engagement point of the clutch was a bit closer to the top of the pedal travel than most other MTs I've driven, so when accelerating quickly the engine would rev up when shifting. After a few days my feet adjusted.
And that brings me to another point: Driving a manual is a motor skill, like touch-typing. If you're thinking about it, you're a beginner or you're doing it wrong. Practice, practice, practice until you can get away from a stop smoothly without thinking about what your feet are doing. Once you can get around without stalling or mis-shifting, then work on your smoothness.
Someone that spends HER life on FitFreak.net
iTrader: (2)
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,963
From: Houston TX
I'm on a list for an 09 MT Fit that the dealer expects to get in around mid-October.
I'm a little nervous about driving a stick since I don't have a lot of experience. I have driven them in the past, but it's been 8 or 9 years and I've never driven one regularly, I just drove my Dad's from time to time, usually with him along for the ride instructing me.
I've always wanted a manual (but they're difficult to find unless you buy certain models new) and I'm sure that after I get an hour of practice in a parking lot and drive the thing for a few days that it won't be an issue, but I'm nervous about taking the car for it's initial test drive once it comes in about driving it for the first few days if I decide to follow through with the purchase (which is likely)
Am I foolish for ordering a manual transmission having never really driven one before? Or am I foolish for being worried about it?
I'm a little nervous about driving a stick since I don't have a lot of experience. I have driven them in the past, but it's been 8 or 9 years and I've never driven one regularly, I just drove my Dad's from time to time, usually with him along for the ride instructing me.
I've always wanted a manual (but they're difficult to find unless you buy certain models new) and I'm sure that after I get an hour of practice in a parking lot and drive the thing for a few days that it won't be an issue, but I'm nervous about taking the car for it's initial test drive once it comes in about driving it for the first few days if I decide to follow through with the purchase (which is likely)
Am I foolish for ordering a manual transmission having never really driven one before? Or am I foolish for being worried about it?
And, you can't text while you are shifting...or eat...or talk on the phone. So don't try it.I test-drove the MT Fit first...I hadn't driven a stick in probably at least 25 years (yes, I'm that old) and it's like riding a bicycle - you don't forget how. The only way to practice is to drive it.
I predict you will get a speeding ticket for red-lining your Fit within 2 weeks of buying it. Heheh.
Last edited by Juliane; Aug 21, 2008 at 08:43 PM.
Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 61
From: Columbus OH
Its been 30 years for me since I drove a stick shift. It came back to me in a few weeks. Now when I go from the stick shift in the Fit to the automatic in the Camaro I keep going for the clutch at certain speeds and have to remember the Camaro is auto and shifts by itself, then when I go back to the Fit I forget to shift and have to remember to shift because it DOESN'T shift by itself, that's the worst of it. I do love having stick shift though. LOL