I have a question about stick shifting cars. Say, im driving about 25 on gear 2, then i approach a hill or mountain kinda road. How do you go up without letting the car roll back, and also... say your driving on gear 4, and then the traffic in front of you, or the car in front of you suddenly stops.. What do i do? Clutch - Neutral - Step on brakes??? I dont know.. ack im like really new to this.. Or are there any good websites that teaches you how to drive stick? I've looked and havent found any good ones... Well, if you can help.. Please reply. Thanks

 

Clutch in, slow gas, clutch out. Give or take a little on each one depending on the hill. Steeper hill=more gas. Experience is the best teacher. Multi-level parking garages are nice to practice on. Where I cut my teeth.

 

best way from a stop on hill, to not roll back at all, is to have the e-brake engaged, and give a lil gas/remove clutch..then just release the e-brake

 

Oh, i see.. Thanks for replying

 

thing is: on a hill it is ok to roll back. you will get used to the feeling of rolling back a little then having the clutch engage. you just have to remember that on a hill you have to give it more gas than usual, but not too much to spin the tires. find a slight slope and practice trying to keep the car steady by applying even amounts of gas and clutch (try to make the car not move at all). this will help you get the feel of where the clutch engages.

if you have to stop suddenly, the best thing to do is to slam the brake and the clutch at the same time (and if you can remember pop the shifter into neutral and release the clutch). most of the time if you have to stop very quickly you don't have much time to think or react so slamming on both will do the trick and prevent you from stalling.

 

if your in 4th and have to stop quickly then just stomp on the brakes you have plenty of time to hit the clutch.

 

also good practice is to keep the car between 2k and 4k rpm. if you start to drop below (goin up a hill, etc.) downshift. but never downshift into first. only use first gear if you are starting from a stop, or are very confident with your driving and can use first from a roll. otherwise you are going to **** up your tranny. read your owners manual for reccomended shifting points to get an idea of what gear you should be in at what speed. read up on exactly what gears are so you have a better understanding of how to properly select gears and what is good/bad. here's some good sites:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm
http://www.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm

 

What if say, i was slowing down at the red light, but im about to make a right turn? what do i do? I heard my friend saying about putting it into 1st gear, and let the car roll and then stop there, and then accelerate then make the turn.. I dont know.. blah

 

If you're taking a turn where you don't have to stop or yield for a light or traffic, and you're in forth, the lowest you'd want to drop is probably 2nd gear. Any faster and odds are you'll slide/flip or if you drop to 3rd, you'll flood it coming out of the turn. Just take some time to practice. Shouldn't be out and about yet if don't know the basics of using a manual in city driving anyways.

 

keep the car in the proper gear for the range of speed that is indicated in the owner's manual. usually it is somewhere like this:
1st gear=0-18mph
2nd gear=18-28
3rd gear=28-36
4th gear=36-45
5th gear=45+

but it is not advised to downshift into 1st gear unless you are at a stop or rolling VERY slowly. depending upon what speed you are driving at, select the proper gear for that speed.

 

Oh, i see... So is it better if i took the lessons at a class, or just practice around my area with someone who knows how to drive a stickshift?

 

you are your own teacher, practice a lot and get a feel for it. Rolling stop is always on second gear. On steep incline a rolling stop is like a full stop and that is where you can use 1st gear to avoid stalling. brake first then clutch to neutral when you are almost stalling when coming from 4th or 5th gear.