on thursday i am going to teach my nephew how to drive stick (not on my s, on my saturn). i have never taught anyone how to drive stick. do any of you have tips, of how to help hiim drive stick better. If you have any "tricks" or tips that will help him. Even do's and dont's. because i really dont know how to teach stick!

 

Go to an empty parking lot with a lot of room.

With the parking brake on, have the driver practice shifting (without the gas).

Then go around the lot slowly.

 

IMHO, the most easy mistake for people learn to drive stick the first time is being nervous and release the clutch too fast that kill the engine.

try to make your nephew not to be too nervous, let him watch you how to release the clutch first and after let him do it. make sure he release the clutch very slowly and find out the point when the car start to move. and then carefully release the clutch completely.

the most hard part is 1st gear, after he learn 1st gear, teach him go uphill, then other things will be easy.

again, most important is try to make him not too nervous.

 

What I've done when teaching people is to tell them to forget about the gas pedal, initially. (This works better on a slight downhill or with a car with a resonable high idle) I then have them put it in first gear and let the clutch out until the feel it start to catch and the car to start to move forward. From this point on, it's easy for them to feel at what point they need to have the throttle involved.

 

my nephew wants to learn stick because he wants an s

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by pellisS2k
[B]What I've done when teaching people is to tell them to forget about the gas pedal, initially.

 

I agree with pellisS2k - mainly for the reason that if it does stall out, then he knows what will happen. too much uncertainty about what might happen can raise fears in new drivers.

 

I think when most people start learning to drive stick one of the biggest problems happens when they let the clutch out to fast while not giving it enough gas and end up with the "bucking"....I've always found telling the student to"give it more gas"when this happens rather than"push the clutch back in" will get the car back to a smooth run alot quicker.Don't know why but people seem to react to the more gas command faster than the words,push the clutch back in.

 

1. First show him the shift pattern. Practice with the car engine off. It may be difficult to actually shift through the gears but the important thing is the pattern.
2. Start the car.
3. Shift into first (naturally with the clutch depressed.)
4. Release the clutch slowly until he finds the point where the clutch engages by watching (or feeling if there is no tach) the rpm as it drops.
5. As soon as the drop in the rpm is detected, immediately STOP RELEASING THE CLUTCH, KEEP THE CLUTCH PEDAL STEADY AT THAT POINT.
6. Apply very little gas, make sure NOT TO REV THE ENGINE. This step could be delayed if your car happens to have high idle.
7. VERY slowly continue to release the clutch while gradually apply the gas SLOWLY.

If the engine is killed in the process, repeat steps 2,3 and 4. Suggest to release the clutch at a slower pace while adding a little more gas in step 5. He will be good to go after a few trials if you help him relax by being relaxed yourself. Tell him it's no big deal stalling an engine.

As suggested in other posts, find an empty parking lot for added safety. I prefer to start the practice in a level area so that the student has a better feel for what to expect.

Good luck and have fun,

 

Ferrariman,

Do you work at Wide World of Cars?

My inlaws live in Spring Valley.

There are a lot of roads near the library where you can practice stops and starts between the frequent stop signs. There are also some good hills to build experience on.

You also have a big parking lot for the World food emporium on 59.

The (Nanuet?) mall has a really big parking lot.