But driving a manual transmission smoothly is actually really easy. You need to know how to properly use the clutch, when to shift gears, and how to use the accelerator pedal correctly. After that, it takes lots of practice to make the gear transitions feel smooth.
Full Answer
The first lesson of driving a manual transmission is locating the friction point or the biting point in the clutch assembly when the two plates come together and the engine reconnects with the drive train and begins to move the vehicle forward. So the first exercise that you do is have the parking brake on, have the vehicle into first gear.
With a manual transmission, you can never truly let your mind wander; there’s always something to do. Every time you will be accelerating, you will need to work your way to higher gears. A good rule of thumb is to shift before your tachometer registers 3,000 rpm, or otherwise feels like it is overworking.
Eric learned to drive a manual transmission when he bought a 2012 Mustang GT. He stalled over and over until mastering this technique. The easiest way to drive a manual, or stick shift, car, from starting the engine to shifting gears without stalling.
Get a feel for this biting point (when the car starts to shudder a bit) because it will make learning to drive manual a lot easier. Practice until you can get to the point quickly. Begin to slowly add some gas by pushing down the gas pedal a little bit. Give it enough gas to move the tachometer needle to like "1" or "2," that is, 1000 to 2000 rpm.
Before you ever turn the key in the ignition, it’s best to get acquainted with the clutch pedal – the extra pedal located to the left of the brake – and stick shift – usually found in the center console between the front seats or adjacent to the steering wheel. Your seating position is critical to operating these two features.
It’s not time to turn on the car just yet, but you are ready to do a bit of work. Keep this in mind at all times when driving a manual: shifting begins with the clutch but ends with the gas.
We promise we’re not teasing you, but there’s one more step to do before firing up the engine and setting off: use your imagination. Pretend you’re driving to work, or running errands. In an automatic car, you probably enter a sort of auto-pilot mode (not fully checking out, but not thinking carefully about all your inputs).
The fateful hour has come. You have permission to turn on the car! We’d recommend finding a big parking lot or a low-trafficked, flat area to start out. You may want to find a family member or buddy to drive the car to this type of setting (and offer some tips or feedback).
Rome wasn’t built in a day and learning how to drive a manual will take longer 24 hours to master. You will stall and you won’t be smooth at first – that’s okay. Take the time to practice before driving in challenging situations. Then, when you’re ready, be the manual-driving hero your friends and family can’t help but admire.
The speed for each gear isn't as important for upshifting as it is for downshifting. Eventually you will be able to tell when to shift by the way the engine sounds and feels .
Put the clutch in, and then move the stick to second. On most cars, to go from first to second, you pull the stick towards you , that is, down to the bottom leg of the "H.". Slowly release the clutch to the biting point, and then add a little bit of gas. Let the clutch all the way out and continue driving around.
This is the horizontal bar of the "H" that's between all the gears. Wiggle the gear shift back and forth to be sure you are in neutral. Make sure the emergency, or parking, brake is on. Note that some cars will not start in neutral unless the clutch (the left pedal) is pressed in all the way.
All gear arrangements are in an "H" shape, but the location of reverse varies. On this stick, reverse is to the right and down. On other stick shifts reverse is to the left and up.
Start the Car in Neutral. To start the car, push the clutch in all the way in, hold it down, and turn the key. Make sure the car is in neutral before releasing the clutch. The neutral slot is the empty space between the gears, represented by the bar in the middle of the "H.".
Now that the car is running, make sure your emergency brake (handbrake) is off. Since you are on flat ground, the car won't roll anywhere while you are figuring out what to do.
Calm down. The car is fine, you didn't hurt it. Just push the clutch back in and turn the key, and that will start the car back up. Make sure the car is in neutral, and go through the steps again.
Now the first thing you need to know about driving a manual transmission is the stick shift . And the stick shift is always a basic H-pattern regardless of which side of the car you're sitting on.
A manual transmission is a direct drive via the clutch. There's two spinning plates in the clutch assembly , and when you push the clutch in , you separate those two plates and disconnect the drive train, the transmission, from the engine. As you let the clutch out, those two plates come together and they spin.
Just push it back in. So that's how you find the friction point on the vehicle that you are driving. Just let the clutch out, let it drop to about 500, push it back in. You'll feel the vehicle move a little bit against the parking brake, but that's how you find the friction point or the biting point of the clutch.
The difference between an automatic and manual transmission is that a automatic transmission, the motor is connected to the drive train via hydraulic pressure. There's hydraulic oil in the transmission that turns the turbine and moves the vehicle forward.
After you find that friction point and you were able to control that clutch against the parking brake, then we move on to the next step, which is actually moving the vehicle forward and controlling the clutch through the friction point.
Going to a truck driving school that teaches manual shifting can only benefit you as you step into your new career as a commercial truck driver. If you don’t train and get certified on a manual semi-truck, you’ll have restrictions on your license. You’ll only be able to drive trucks that are automatic.
If you aren’t licensed to drive a manual transmission semi-truck, you’ll need to get certified to drive one. Avoid needing to go back and get tested on manual shifting by going to a truck driving school that teaches manual transmission as part of their trucking course.