After FOUR hours total of driving...

[wtom]

Arrived at Markham Mazda at 5pm as planned. Things were rolling right away. Jason brought the car to the front of the building and started going through everything per the checklist I had posted before (web link).

I was out of the lot by a little bit passed 6pm, probably around 6:15pm. My friend drove it to an empty parking lot and my poor practicing of driving stick began. For about 2.5 hrs I started in the parking lot, stalling more than I wanted (probably around 10 times). I got the hang of things and started going on the small street in that industrial area. Stalled a few more times at the stop signs.

Got on 16th (!!!) and went to nearby his home neighbourhood on the small streets, lots of stop signs. Stalled another few times.

Dropped him off home around 9pm and my gf and I went to Bombay Bhel (south west of Hwy 7 and East Beaver Creek) for dinner. I was starting to feel upset with my stalling all the time trying to get into 1st gear.

After dinner went driving around for another hour... same stalling when trying to get into first. I\'m starting to get really annoyed with it.

Drove back to gf\'s home and rested for a short while and around 11:30pm I left her home to try and get my butt back to my own home. Stalled three times total, including once trying to get into my garage... arghhhhhh!!!

I know I know, I\'m putting too much pressure on myself... ;)

The weekend will be \"fun\"...

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[Dr Butcher]

Heh, like I said at the Mazda forums, it\'ll take a few days to get used to the feel of the clutch. Ease it back gently and you should be good to go.

I learned to drive stick on a 1983 Cavalier, it was brutal. I don\'t know if you\'ve ever driven on Ellesmere by Centennary Hospital, but the hills are massive. Imagine taking your car out there on your first night and hitting a red light, yikes! :D

[wtom]

Hi again Dr B,

A few days? Hmm, then i\'m really being too hard on myself. I was hoping after a few hours I\'d be stalling no more at least... 2nd to 3rd, to 4th, to 5th are all easy and smooth... just going from full-stop to 1st is a pain.

I\'ll keep at it tomorrow!

Hills... I think I\'d stick to the far right, put on my hazards, and then try to go for it when no one is behind me. :D

Yeah I think I gave myself too high an expectation this evening/night... gotta calm myself... sleep... now... good night all... :zzz

[Dr Butcher]

Hmm, I don\'t mean full days of practice. ;) You really can\'t be a pro on a stick in a few hours. It\'ll take a couple of days before you really get used to the feel of it. I can\'t speak for everyone but there\'s the odd time I still stall my truck. If people tell you they never stall they\'re lying :D .

Have fun man, I\'m jealous!

[xoom]

Don\'t worry so much about stalling... when I started learning on my friend\'s car, I stalled the crap out of it and he almost kicked me out of the driving seat. The best way to learn is to have someone who\'s been driving stick for years sit beside you as you struggle. They might laugh at you, but they\'ll also have some good tips for you.

I dunno if this will help you, but the tip that clinched it for me was to not let off the clutch really fast when starting. You almost have to hover the clutch at the sticking point while you give more gas, and you don\'t keep letting the clutch out until you feel the engine has caught. Anyway, I found www.standardshift.com a great help.. read the faq and then the forum. Good luck!

[miggiddy]

You\'ll pick it up, all in good time. I remember the first time I took the car out by myself. My folks were away for the weekend and my mom thought it was smart to take the automatic car with them so I couldn\'t drive the manual. That didn\'t stop me, stalled it a few times but eventually got things right. What was funny was how my dad drove the car the day they got home and then said to me \"so you took the car out\", he could tell by how the clutch felt. I can now tell the difference after someone has driven my car, especially someone who isn\'t use to driving manual, the clutch feels mushy. Anyhow...have fun and we\'ll see you and your car soon.

[wtom]

Thanks, xoom and miggidy!

I went out for another hour today in my old high school parking lot and then went north on McCowan to go back to Markham Mazda to get my garage door opener (totally forgot it in the Buick when dropping it off) and the wheel lock key that I forgot. During the drive, only stalled once!! It\'s getting better for me. :D

Mushy clutch? Uh oh... that\'s the kind of thing I am worried about being a totally new stick driver in a brand spanking new car... :(

[rsx_r04]

Originally posted by wtom
Thanks, xoom and miggidy!
I went out for another hour today in my old high school parking lot and then went north on McCowan to go back to Markham Mazda to get my garage door opener (totally forgot it in the Buick when dropping it off) and the wheel lock key that I forgot. During the drive, only stalled once!! It\'s getting better for me. :D

Mushy clutch? Uh oh... that\'s the kind of thing I am worried about being a totally new stick driver in a brand spanking new car... :(

So, are you used to it now, buddy?

Just to be fair, i feel that this car\'s the easiest to learn how to drive. I had an RSX type S and the clutch was not forgiving at all! The car with the most sensitive clutch i\'ve driven is the Sentra SE-R Spec V.

I think that our 3\'s clutch is very very forgiving, and that by now, you\'re PRO at it!!!

Oh, and don\'t worry too much about mushy clutch. Just don\'t ever ride on your clutch, and you won\'t have to replace it for some time to come!

[bubba1983]

its all good wtom, i learned on my dad\'s 98 cavalier....aside from driving school....it took me awhile to get used to the brand newness of the cluth on the, and the grabbiness of it...aaand how almost all of the clutch is at the bottom of the pedal, in comparison with my dads car....but, no worries, jus takes awhile to get used to everythign...oh, and don\'t get me started on those 4 wheel disk...ugh, what horror...

[-RJ3-]

Everybody stalls sometimes.

[rsx_r04]

Originally posted by -RJ3-
Everybody stalls sometimes.


Yup. Especially if you\'ve a very sensitive clutch. :D

[Melenium]

I got my first car, the Mx-3 back in 2000 just a week or two into school. It was manual transmission (what I wanted), but my only experience was driving a friends golf and jeep for jokes on a Saturday night around a parking lot.

For the first 2 weeks that I had the Mx-3 I didn\'t take it out of the neighbourhood; I\'d bus to and from university and walk home from the bus stop to see my car sitting in the driveway. I\'d take it out for a few hours a day and really practiced on hills to get the hang of it. I found when learning, the first thing to get the hang of was where the friction point was, and then for hills the best way is to use the parking brake (assuming its a hand operated one) to hold and slowly let it down until you take off without stalling. It saves the clutch getting eaten at first. I stopped using the handbrake a few weeks after feeling comfortable, but still on really steep hills or when reversing out of a parking spot on a hill I might use it.

As for stalling, it doesn\'t happen often, but probably once every month or two. Funny enough it almost always happens at a red light when I just edge forward a tiny bit and don\'t give it enough gas.

One more suggestion: when sitting at a light or whatever when you\'re not moving, instead of sitting in first gear with the clutch in, put it in neutral and let out the clutch. That way there\'s no chance of you dropping the clutch and jackrabitting into traffic.

[oh_bs]

Everybody stalls - I have been driving stick for 12 years and I just stalled it the other day (I stopped paying attention at a stop light and lifted the clutch a little too much - thought I put in neutral as I normally do. Nice silent stall. A quick start and no one noticed - except my girlfriend who had a good laugh, I did too.)

The clutch on the 3 is the easiest to drive - I have owned nothing but standard cars since I learned to drive back in \'91. The MX3 was the trickest cause the take up on the clutch was in the last cm of travel.

[Melenium]

Originally posted by oh_bs
The clutch on the 3 is the easiest to drive - I have owned nothing but standard cars since I learned to drive back in \'91. The MX3 was the trickest cause the take up on the clutch was in the last cm of travel.

Since learning to drive standard properly. the only other car that I\'ve driven that was also standard was a friends Civic SIR. That made me realize just how \"sharp\" of a clutch the Mx3 had. It was easy driving the Civic, but when my buddy tried my car, he had a bit of trouble. I think the Mx3 had what is considered a \"sport clutch\" since it can make for faster shifts if you got the hang of it.

[wtom]

Dang I missed a bunch of replies here...

rsx_r04 ... pretty good with it now but I granny shift in normal driving... meaning my rolling starts are a heckuva lot slower than most other cars beside or around me... maybe i\'m just anal and don\'t want to over rev... haha

other than that... oh i stalled twice in the Bramalea GO station parking lot entering the Fall Tour... hehe... never clutched and shifted to and from first so much before in one sitting.

I would like to sit and watch other stick drivers to see how they drive in certain situations... i only worry i\'m clutching more than i should or riding it more than i should (i know not to ride it during normal driving but if going to a near stop or over speed bumps, or up my driveway into the two-door garage, i have to go slow but slower than 1st will like ... so kinda riding the clutch to keep the car from stalling while at the same time moving like half a km/hr

[bluntman]

Out of all of those words, these two stuck out in my mind...


Originally posted by wtom


stick drivers



:D :D :D

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by wtom

other than that... oh i stalled twice in the Bramalea GO station parking lot entering the Fall Tour... hehe... never clutched and shifted to and from first so much before in one sitting.



i had an experience like this.... 2.5 hour bumper to bumper wait/crawl at the Queenston/Lewiston bridge the Victoria Day weekend saturday (one week after i got my car).

that was THE worst...but my left leg did get some exercise :hoho

[wtom]

Originally posted by bluntman


Out of all of those words, these two stuck out in my mind...


Originally posted by wtom


stick drivers



:D :D :D

Somebody had a round or two of bedroom golf last night?

Don\'t answer that question. :)

MajesticBlueN, I can\'t complain then... 20 mins doesn\'t compare to 2.5 hrs. I\'d probably cramp up my left leg by the 1 hr mark.

[chaser]

Originally posted by MajesticBlueN

i had an experience like this.... 2.5 hour bumper to bumper wait/crawl at the Queenston/Lewiston bridge the Victoria Day weekend saturday (one week after i got my car).

that was THE worst...but my left leg did get some exercise :hoho


similar situation here ... crawling for 2 hours from my home to work last Wednesday morning when 2 trucks crashed on 401 ... that was 2 days after i picked up my car ... luckily that i didn\'t get stalled ..... in fact, i\'d some good standard shift driving practices ...;)

[Derksen]

Half of my job is driving from one site to another. Driving standard never bothers me. I like it all the time. It\'s like breathing to me. Don\'t even think about it.

[bluntman]

Originally posted by wtom


Somebody had a round or two of bedroom golf last night?

Don\'t answer that question. :)



Four!