Anyone know some schools in the NoVA area that teach you how to drive stick? i need to learn so I can buy my S2K

Its hard searching online because all you find is schools to get your drivers license.

 

Find a parent, friend, or coworker and learn.

 

Or just do what I did... Buy the S and figure it out on the way home.

 

try a local phone book?

 

Talk to friends and family. See if someone has a small pickup truck. Probably the easiest to learn on. If not PM FF2Skip, I'm sure he will let you learn on his S2K

 

That's how I learned. I bought a brand new Toyota pickup in '77 and had my my step father drive it to a church parking lot. After about 5 minutes, I was good to go.

Of course I had been riding mortorcycles with clutches for years, so I suppose that may have helped.

I taught my wife in my TR7 years ago. Same deal. Go to a parking lot, one stall, one burn rubber and presto, she was driving a stick.

Go for it!

 

FF2Skip's Driveway.

Go there... if you can master driving up and down that without rolling back, you're golden and ready for an S2000.

If not... BMW offers the Z4 in an Automatic. I can sell you one cheap too

 

I learned on my S2000. Had a friend who drove the car to a parking lot, we drove around in circles for awhile, and after the first night of learning I was able to drive on my own. Not well or smoothly mind you ... but I was able to get from point A to point B.

The S2000 is a pretty easy car to learn on imho. The clutch is linear and has a very well defined engagement point, and the stick is very precise, its easy to tell when you've gone in gear. Just be careful because the throw is so short its sometimes difficult to tell as a beginner which gear you're in. The "money" shift as its called (a 3->2 downshift when you meant to go 3->4) is a common mistake and will cost you a pretty penny to fix your motor.

I still occasionally make mistakes when I'm not paying attention and think I'm in fourth but I'm actually in sixth and I "upshift" into 5th.

 

too bad rental car companies stopped offering manual transmission cars for this very reason

 

I'd say go on craigslist and find some old beater manuals for sale and test drive them