How to drive stick

One out of every ten cars sold in the United States has a manual transmission. Being able to operate a manual transmission is a very important skill to have available. There are many reasons that manual transmission cars are the better choice to drive, but the only downfall that manual transmissions have is that the learning curve when starting out can be hard to get used to. What makes operating a manual transmission harder is that there is a third pedal, and you can stall out your car. Once the you get the hang of driving manuals, you will never want to go back to automatics. This essay will tell the basics of operating a manual transmission.

There are some differences between manual transmissions and automatics. First there are new parts that are not in automatic transmissions, one being the clutch pedal. The clutch is located to the left of the break pedal and is the base of the manual transmission. The second is the gear shift, the gearshift is located normally in the front center of the cab. The gear shif does exactly what it sounds like it does, it shifts gears. Another difference between automatics and manuals is that you have to pay attention to the tachometer. The tachometer lets the driver know when to shift, either up or down.

The first thing the driver needs to do is start the car. Starting the car is different with manuals than it is in an automatic. In an automatic you just stick the key in and turn. In a manual transmission, the driver first has to depress the clutch pedal and turn the key. Once the car has started, the driver must make sure the car is in neutral, or the clutch is still depressed, or else the car will stall.

To get the car rolling the driver must first depress the clutch . The driver must then push the gear shift up to the left placing the position in first. Then comes the tricky part. The driver must slowly let pressure up off the clutch. And at the same time, start to give the engine some gasoline. Another way to get the car going is a rolling start. First the car has to be slightly angled down, so I has the ablility to roll forwards. The driver must then release the brake, and as the car gets rolling faster, slowly let up on the clutch so the gear chatches. Then you can give the car gas without having to worry about stalling. A few things can go wrong here; first if the driver takes the clutch off too quickly the car will violently stall. If the driver gives it too much gas, the tachometer may redline, damaging the car. If the driver combines these two actions, the car will either take off too fast, or violently stall. Once drivers get more adavanced with the use of the clutch some learn to combine the gas and clutch at just the right way to take off extra fast. Although this is notr advise because that is dangerous and illegal.

Once the driver gets the car going at a high enough speed, the driver will need to shift into a higher gear. To shift the driver must depress the clutch and push the gear shift into the next highest gear. Then the driver can release the clutch and give the car more gas. The driver can repeat this process when shifting is necessary. Downshifting is essentially the same process. The only difference is the direction the driver moves the shifter.

Evetually, the driver will need to stop. There are two thoughts on how an individual should stop a manual transmission car. The first method is to slow the car by downshifting until the driver gets to second gear and then applying the brakes. The second method is to press the cluch and shift the car to neutral, and then remove the pressure from the clutch pedal, coasting to a stop using the brake pedal as needed. Once the driver has gotten the hang of driving on flat ground they can move on to hills. Hills can be very tricky in a manual transmission when you are starting out. When you try to shift into first on a hill, the car will begin to roll backwards. This may cause begginers to panic, especially if there is a car close behind. But there is really no reason to panic. The driver can set the parking brake and as they are starting up, at the same time release the brake. Once drivers get the hang of shifting, the rollback is not a problem even without the parking brake.

Once you come to a stop there are a few different things you can do to keep the car stable. The first is the most commonly practiced, the driver leaves the car in neutral and keeps their foot on the brake. The second is similar, the driver leaves the car in neutral and sets the parking brake until it is time to move again. The third, that is not advised is to keep the clutch depressed with the brake or parking brake at the same time. The reason this is not advised is that it wears out the clutch and may cause them to brake sooner. The manual transmission is something that everyone should know how to operate. People never know when they may get suck in a situation where they need the skill but they don’t have it. But like anything, the real way to learn it is to go out and practice.