jb772

Im going to be purchasing an evo very soon and it will be my first stick car. I've practiced a few tiumes on my friends dads VW Beetle (Yes I know, GAY, but he owns a dealership and it was the only stick car). I did really well, the only part I had trouble with is downshifting because I was scared to lol.

Adrenaline718

First of all, congratulations on your upcoming purchase. The Evo is a very solid car, and a TON of fun to drive. You're going to love it. As for the driving, here's what I recommend.

Find a friend who has a Dodge SRT-4...
And learn how to drive a stick on HIS car first!

LOL

Good luck man!

jasnm21

iTrader: (3)

Rev it until it stops and let go of the clutch.... Oh wait that's what you do in honduhs... I have taught 3 girls to drive stick with my car and a stiffer clutch than normal so you should do fine. Find the friction point and give enough gas where it doesn't stall and slowly let go.

Don't be afraid of downshifting, just don't try to downshift into first at 50mph, your newly purchased Evo might not like that very much.

You are going to love this car....maybe not the ride quality or interior but the fun factor is there and there are a lot of smart people and knowledgeable people on this forum and in FL to help you with your car. AWD is just a jump away from you.

JACOB3RD

my x was my first car didnt stall it leaving the dealer,or while driving in the streets,but as i pulled up to my drive way hahah pretty embarrassing when most of your neighbors are outside hahaha lol

T-Pain

iTrader: (2)

haha when I picked up my x, I stalled it right at the dealership..they told me to get out

laxplayer14

iTrader: (4)

hey guys, does anyone else's rpm slightly rise maybe 1 or2 hundred rpms after completely letting off the gas and clutching in?

Antonovich

iTrader: (1)

I've only been driving a manual for about a month and i find that from a stop I start quiet slow. Always starting in first from a complete stand still I hit the gas and let the clutch out a bit but before it's fully out, I press it again and switch to second with more gas. so there's a few seconds that are really slow in first then in second while it starts to climb before i hit 3rd. I find if i hit the gas any harder in 1st though, the car will lurch and rock hard. Any suggestion to pull away from red lights and stuff just a little faster?

newb1

The good 'ol X was my first stick car, and I pull some reeally slow starts around the myriad stop signs by my house. Never mind other drivers getting upset with you, it's the fact that you just took 10 seconds to hit 20 mph.

My change of habit was to just become more familiar with the clutch's engagement point on the X. This allowed me to hit the gas at the right time and get moving sooner, whereas before that I would give it gas to ~2000 RPM, then slowly let out the clutch.

Maybe try practicing the "no gas start" approach by just engaging the clutch on a flat road getting used to what will *almost* stall your car, and what's a safe clutch letout. For me the final step was just engaging and giving gas almost instantaneously, which reduced my 0MPH - 20MPH time down by about a 1/2.

Best of Luck

RoMeIX

Just find an empty parking lot and practice until you are comfortable. You will likely stall at first, don't be discouraged, I think most of us have stalled.

Antonovich

iTrader: (1)

thanks guys....i posted this is the ralliart section since it didn't seem like many people read this. Since i've actually been paying attention more to the clutch in 1st the past week, it's been coming along smoothly

DGlory

I've been driving stick for awhile now, but I have an interesting question. My friend told me the other day that it can be "bad" to leave the clutch pedal down while at stop lights, etc. He recommended shifting into neutral and taking foot off the clutch. Supposedly theres some bearing that spins and is under load while the clutch is not engaged.... Does anyone know if this is true?

I never found to have any issues while leaving car in 1st and keeping clutch in, during stops...

laxplayer14

iTrader: (4)

if you keep your foot on the clutch while at stop lights, your throw out bearing will be under constant load and it will heat up. this will reduce its life if you keep it under that constant stress

Musker

accelerate the revs up to 3k RPM, hold the clutch in in first gear, then slowly let the clutch out 'til the revs start to drop, and match slowly by accelerating more.

TME_Manny

2 years ago when I first got to Japan, I didnt know how to drive a manual. When I told people that, they looked at me like I had 3 eyes. Everywhere you go, you always saw the sexy japanese girls driving these expensive super fast rare japanese cars and I felt like I had was living under a rock. So I went and bought myself a 1999 Nissan Silvia S15 Spec-R. They worst part abt it was not even that I had no idea how to drive a stick...IT WAS PARKED ON A HILL IN FRONT OF A WALL lol. I made up in my mind that there was NOOOO way I was going to hit this wall, but at the same time I had no idea what to do. So i turned the car on, pushed in the clutch, put it in reverse, released the clutch while stomping the gas pedal (all of this while the E-brake was still engaged.) Lets just say I learned how to change a clutch within the next month, but hey at least I didnt hit the wall lol.

PaEvo

iTrader: (3)

i didn't read the other posts so i apologize if someone already shared this insight. When giving advice to novice/beginner manual drivers, a few things occur to me. I feel it is very important for the driver to become intimate with the clutch. the point in which a clutch engages is different for every car on the planet. there are so many variables to mention, so i will skip to what is important. At some point when letting out the clutch, the clutch disc begins to engage the flywheel. Obviously, engaged too quickly, the car will lurch and stall. Get comfortable with the way your clutch engages.

so, when letting out the clutch, take time to feel the engagement in your foot. the pedal will start to feel firmer as it engages. once you understand the mechanics of how to properly engage the clutch by feel, you will find it easy to advance in shifting technique.

Bottom line, feel is everything.