Advice on teaching...

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sonsorae

What now?!
my 16 yo how to drive a manual.

My daughter just got her learners this week and I'm trying to teach her to drive my car (her car will also be manual). I've tried every possible trick I've learned and she still releases the clutch entirely too fast. I tried the "let the clutch out half way then give gas and slowly release the rest of the clutch". Instead, she tries to gauge what is half-way and upon releasing, she then gives it gas. I don't know about my child sometimes. :shrug:

Does anyone have any advice on drills or tricks I can teach her about the clutch?
 
Chasey_Lane

Chasey_Lane

Salt Life
You either know it, or you don't. My first car was a manual, and I had only driven one once or twice before. :shocking: Both my b/f and Mom tried to help, but it only made things worse. Instead, I had my b/f drive me to the school parking lot, told him to get out, and I learned on my own. :yay:
 
S

sonsorae

What now?!
Chasey_Lane said:
You either know it, or you don't. My first car was a manual, and I had only driven one once or twice before. :shocking: Both my b/f and Mom tried to help, but it only made things worse. Instead, I had my b/f drive me to the school parking lot, told him to get out, and I learned on my own. :yay:
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Great idea :yay: I will have to definitely try that this weekend. Thanks.
 
Chasey_Lane

Chasey_Lane

Salt Life
sonsorae said:
Great idea :yay: I will have to definitely try that this weekend. Thanks.
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It really did work for me. You can have one person tell you one thing and another person tell you something entirely different. Instead, let your daughter learn on her own and at her own speed. If she doesn't feel pressured, she'll probably be able to judge when/how to engage and let go of the clutch. :yay:
 
cattitude

cattitude

My Sweetest Boy
I was such a know-it-all. My boyfriend, exasperated at trying to teach me how to drive a stick, took me to the steepest hill in our town, told me to switch places with him so I was beind the wheel. He said, "if you are so smart, get yourself off of this hill, and don't burn up my clutch." :lol: It didn't take me long. It was a 1965 Impala. It was one of those clutches that when you released it, it felt like your leg was gonna push you out of your seat.
 
baileydog

baileydog

I wanna be a SMIB
I learned how to drive a clutch in a CHEVELLE back in 1973. Burnt up the first one, had to replace it, then just kept it up till I got it right. Some people still say I never got it right, but the car gets from point A to B. I am still pretty hard on a clutch.
 
P

Pegster710

The Pegster
Good advice, Chasey! I taught my oldest two on the farm. I told them to engage the clutch, put it in first gear, and very slowly let it out WITHOUT giving it any gas - so they could feel it catch... They choked the car out a few times but it taught them when and how much gas they needed to get going without launching themselves! lol!!

:roflmao:

Don't think their pros just because they get it - my daughter choked out on the uphill grade in the middle of the Chancellors Run / 235 intersection... People were blowing horns and going around us... She yelled - I quit! I can't do it! I calmly told her to start the car and get us the hell out of there before someone killed us! Whew! What a day! But she got it!
 
mrweb

mrweb

Iron City
baileydog said:
I learned how to drive a clutch in a CHEVELLE back in 1973. Burnt up the first one, had to replace it, then just kept it up till I got it right. Some people still say I never got it right, but the car gets from point A to B. I am still pretty hard on a clutch.
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That's how I learned, also in a Chevelle SS. Just did it until I got it right. It's hard to teach someone the "right" feel, I've tried and failed.
 
E

Ernie

Guest
cattitude said:
It was a 1965 Impala. It was one of those clutches that when you released it, it felt like your leg was gonna push you out of your seat.
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Nice car :yay:
 
K

Kizzy

Guest
I learned on a brand new Mustang. I was the only one sober enough to drive, actually, I was the only one that had nothing to drink. I stalled it a few times on the way home from Solomons to Waldorf, but once I crossed the county line, I had the hang of it. I was kinda by myself. Everyone else was passed out in the car.
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
It just takes time and practice. The good news is once you've got it, you've got it and can drive any stick.

Chasey, you're just full of good advice today. :lol: That's how I learned. My ex-husband tried and tried to teach me and it just wasn't coming. Then we traded in our automatic for a manual, with the idea that I would be able to practice and learn to drive it. Well. He promptly went on travel and I had to figure out how to get the kids to the sitter and myself to work with this car I couldn't drive. About halfway down 235, it clicked and I've been able to drive a stick ever since.
 
jazz lady

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
I learned on an old pickup truck. It just takes practice to learn where the "sweet spot" is in coordinating the movement of your right and left feet with shifting. I practiced quite a bit in some vacant parking lots before I attempted to get out on the road. After I learned, I preferred cars with clutches for better control and gas mileage. I got over 120K miles on my LeBaron convertible before having to replace the clutch. :diva:

I love to drive a car with clutch, but commuting to Pax from Calvert and the constant backups with numerous shifts made me get an automatic last time. It does have the "Auto Stick" feature where you can control when the car shifts with having to press a clutch, but it's NOT the same. :ohwell: Since I don't have the commuting problem any more, my next vehicle probably will have a clutch. :yay:
 
S

sonsorae

What now?!
RoseRed said:
I thought it was easy to learn. :shrug:

New driver's license + San Francisco = :yay:
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I thought so too, but I do have a drama queen.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience and advice.!
 
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