I'd offer to teach her, but I'd definitely rent a manual from Avis or Budget or someone for her to get started. I'd not let her have her first experience with a manual transmission in your S2000.

Here's why. Quite a few owners have clutch or tranny problems at some point. If you happen to have clutch or tranny problems later, you would wonder if it wasn't from her first day driving. It might not be but you'd wonder.

No relationship needs that kind of "test."

Barry

 

I encourage everyone to learn how to drive and enjoy a manual tranny. Teach her correctly and she'll be happy and so will you! I once tought an old G/F how to drive a stick less than one month after getting my brand new '87 CRX Si.

I just demonstrated basic technique by focusing her attention on one thing at a time, and bingo, she was doing fine in 1/2 hour, even starting up a slight grade.

I think the S2000 is an easy car to learn in, plus she'll get a kick knowing you trust her with your "other woman" - Good luck

 

Just let her drive. She can't do any real damage. Just find a big parking lot and enjoy the grin on her face Just make sure she knows that it's your car, and you'll be doing the driving normally

Ole
White/Red

 

Actually letting her drive might solve the problem for you. My wife learned how to drive manual, but that was, like, ten years ago and she hasn't driven one since. She wants to drive the S2K and I have no problem with her driving it, just as long as she knows what she's doing and is comfortable doing it. This is just as much for her safety as it is for the car's. So we started taking time out on the week-ends to let her practice. However, once she actually stalled the car (which happend on the second day of practice), she began to worry that she might actually be damaging it. Now she insists that she learn on another car. I can't get her behind the wheel no matter what I say.

 

Man, you guys need to meet some women, or else stop treating your women like girls.

 

I taught my 17 year old sister how to drive in MY S. Talk about one extremely lucky girl--but I guess that's what you call sisterly love. Result- getting her an automatic (Honda).

Just a little secret from a girl to a guy who has a girlfriend---driving MY S 2000 is total foreplay!!! The exact words that I told my Honda dealer after test driving my baby---"I've never said this about anything, like chocolate but....this was definitely better than SEX!!!" He still remembers my exact words because I brought MY S home with me! Curious to know what you decide to do.

CIAO,
MAY


_______________________________
'00 S 2000 GRAND PRIX WHITE/BLOOD
(did have a "one night stand" with a SILVER/BLACK but was in love with with the WHITE/RED)

 

Dont get me wrong. I'm not acting this way because its a woman who wants to learn how to drive my S. I would act this way even if a guy friend of mine wanted to drive my S2K and he has never driven a stick before and is not a great driver to begin with.

It's not a guy,gal issue.

 

I wouldn't even think about teaching someone how to drive a stick in the S2000. Especially considering the close-ratio 6 speed. No way.

Here's what I did:

I bought my girlfriend a $2000 beater 5-speed Camry. This is the car she used to learn how to drive a stick. Thankfully, in this wonderful little beater car, she made the following mistakes during the first weekend:

1. Stalled the car about five dozen times.
2. Downshifted from fifth gear to first. Amazingly, the engine survived.
3. Rode the clutch while trying to climb a hill from a stop to the point where we could smell the clutch burning.

If she had done the above in my S2K, there may be no more Jennifer

Teaching someone how to drive a stick is a challenging experience. The following tips (in a deserted office park on a Sunday) may help you as an instructor:

1. Using household items (or find an animation on the internet), instruct your student the mechanical relationship between the engine, trans and clutch. Doing this will help the person understand why it is bad, bad, BAD to ride the clutch.
2. Teach your student (on level ground) to accelerate the car from a stop by just releasing the clutch with no gas. This seems to teach the individual the practice of gentle clutch and gas pedal operation.
3. To minimize stalls, instruct your student to only let the clutch out AFTER they are moving. Actually, teaching them to ride the clutch with very little throttle input from a dead stop works quite well.

My g/f has now been driving a stick for 3 months and she's doing great! She never rides her clutch, and hasn't done anything since to harm her beater car. I still, however, haven't let her drive the S2K. It's only a matter of time

Now for the double-clutching and speed-shift lessons!

Remember, buy a beater car to teach someone how to drive a stick. Even if you don't plan on keeping the car, an '89 Camry with 200,000 miles isn't going to depreciate with 5,000 miles. In fact, if you don't keep it yourself for the snowy days or routine drives, you can sell it again for what you paid for it with no damage done to your S2K!

 

I forgot to mention that I don't intend to let my g/f drive the S2K until she passes all of the driving exams feautured on PS2's awesome Gran Turismo 3.

I know, I'm not nice...and I don't care!

 

Using basically Shark's techniques, I taught my wife to drive a stick shift many years ago, and just last weekend began the task of teaching my daughter to use a stick. The difference? I am teaching my daughter in the S2K!!
Actually, it went well and she is only a few more years from being able to handle it on her own!