that and do everything slowly, but fast.

 

Back when I was learning to drive, the only vehicles my parents had were stickshifts, and I learned out in cornfields and pastures and such. It took me a long time to get the hang of it, and since my first three vehicles were automatics I did get a little rusty. It didn't take long to get the feel back when I bought my S, though.

 

Me growing up in a country(PI) where there is no Automatic Transmission(only rich people can afford auto tranny back then), had to learn from a manual tranny car. But before even learning how to drive a car, I learned how to ride a motorcycle first(which is of course, manual) back when I was in 4th grade. After a lot of stalls and nearly doing wheelies, within a week It was mastered.

Then my grandpa bought a car(5th grade) for the family to use for daily commute to school and such. My dad sometimes let me drive home from school and thats when I learned how to drive a car. It was the same principles as riding a motorcyle except you clutch with left foot instead of left hand, and shift with right hand instead of left food, gas with right foot instead of right hand and break with right foot only intead of right hand and foot.

 

If you have a friend that has a POS car or truck w/ a stick shift, I'd say you should ask them to teach you. The crappier the car, the easier it will be to learn because the transmission will probably be sloppier and the clutch will be less sensitive.

Have them drive you somewhere very open (a huge empty parking lot or a rural road in the middle of nowhere). That way, you can focus on the mechanics of the transmission/clutch without worrying about running into someone or something.
Then, just practice.

First, start by learning to control the RPMs. With the car in neutral, just press the gas pedal until you figure out how much pressure it takes to raise the RPMs to 1500, 2000, 2500 and 3000. You'll need to get a feel for that, because you should never raise the RPMs above 2000 when you're starting from a stop, as that will cause unnecessary clutch wear.

Once you have that down, just try a few starts in 1st gear. Ease into the gas, and let the clutch out until you feel it start to engage (and the RPMs will start to drop slightly). Then, smoothly continue to let the clutch out and give just a bit more gas to keep the engine from stalling. Get the car moving fast enough that you let the clutch all the way out and cruise along at 5-10mph in 1st gear. Then put the clutch back in and stop. Do this at least 5 times until you're comfortable with the procedure, and can do it without stalling and without revving the engine too high or slipping the clutch too long. With practice, you should be able to completely release the clutch within a matter of a few seconds without "popping" it (i.e., causing a neck-jerk reaction) and without stalling the car.

Once you've mastered the take-off, then you'll need to practice the 1-2 shift. Get the car rolling in 1st and up to about 2500RPMs (that's probably around 15-25mph in most cars). Then, clutch-in while lifting off the gas, shift to 2nd, clutch-out smoothly while adding gas to enable a smooth shift. Once you've done this, accelerate a bit, then clutch-in while lifting off the gas, apply brake & stop. Repeat until you're comfortable with the rolling shift. Once you've completed the take-off and the rolling-shift, you're pretty much good to go. I'd also recommend finding a hill that you can use to practice your uphill take-off. It's better to practice with no pressure than to have to figure it out when there's a car 6" off your rear bumper.


As for me... I grew up in the country. My cousin tossed me the keys to his old Toyota wagon 4MT and said, drive us into town. So, we hopped in and off we went. I slipped the clutch a little too much at first, but after a couple of shifts it came pretty naturally.

The best thing I can tell you is "don't get nervous." If you're in a nice car and you're worried about damaging it, that'll just add extra stress that you don't need. It's much easier to learn when you're in a car that you don't care about. Sure, it might take a bit to get it right, but it's really not that complicated. You just have to acquire the 'feel' for it. When you get it right, you'll know it, and it's just like riding a bicycle after that.

 

Most people learn how to drive stick from people they know. If you can't find one, try looking for driving school that teaches manual and provide their own vehicle.

Personally, I learned driving my friend's Civic. I recently taught my fiance how to drive stick and she only stalled twice, which is amazing.

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the tips and replies!

 

I drove stick shift twice in my life before I bought my S. Taught myself how to drive stick thanks to careful practice and help on this forum. Totally doable and my car's not broken

Also check out http://standardshift.com/

 

i learned on a wrangler. my dad just took me around the neighborhood till i started getting the hang of it. it took about an hour a day for like 3-4 days to get good enough for him to take me on some back roads and then once i got used to that we slowly progressed to hills. i think that was the hardest part for me to learn cause the car will roll back. you can either let the clutch start to catch or pray you can let go of the brake and gas it enough and then catch the clutch

 

here's an idea: have your sales guy teach you. tell him to teach you on a car of his choice (like a civic, fit, or something from his used stock), and when he's comfortable with letting you drive a s2000, you'll test drive (and probably buy) it. i wouldn't be shocked if he just offered to teach you on the S itself, since that's what he's trying to sell.

i actually learned manual from the acura sales guy on the actual integra i was about to buy.

- friends have little to gain and everything to lose by teaching you on their own personal car
- sales guys have corporate insurance and need to make their quotas or draws

 

Thing that aggravated me and took a few days to come natural was hills.

Restarting the car on a hill while in traffic, at a light or stop sign was lame.

A few days of it tho, and all will be good.