Manual shifting is easy... my first two cars were automatics and when I got my WRX I wanted it to be a stick (an Automatic WRX is just WRONG).
When I bought it I'd only ever driving a stick twice before and that was YEARS before and only for shot stints just to try it. I bought the WRX and after driving it to work for a week it was like 2nd nature...
Going from a dead stop is the hardest part. once you're fully in 1st and moving shifting into 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc... is easy even for a first time driver.
If its the first time you've driving the car, before you do anything get yourself familiar with the car, make sure your seat, mirrors and HVAC are all adjusted comfortably, you don't want to be screwing with those while you drive. Turn on and off the headlights, high beams, turn signals, emergency lights wipers and washers just so you know where the switches are (they can differ from car to car). Make sure you can push the clutch all the way to the floor and make sure you can easily reach all of the gears (sounds silly but some people have a hard time reaching 1st 3rd and 5th without leaning forward on certain cars).
For reference 1s and 2nd are ALWAYS pulling the shifter towards you and then up or down respectively. 3rd and 4th are straight up and down from neutral and 5th and 6th are always pushing the shifter away from you and up and down. Placement of the reverse gear can change from car to car. take a look at the shift knob or around the shifter and there should be a diagram explaining the layout. for a 5 speed it will usually looks like this: |-|-| With reverse in the lower right. All cars will feature some mechanism that will keep you from accidentally shifting into reverse once the car is moving (it's required by law).
It's important to note that the shifter is spring loaded and should return to center on it's own (like an analog stick) So if you're in 2nd gear after clutching in push the shifter up to take it out of gear, and loosen your grip to let it return to center then push straight up from there into 3rd. Too many first time drivers will push it right forgetting that the spring will do that for them and end up going from 2nd to 5th. It may sound like it takes a long time but it all happens quickly and you can do it in a split second once you have a feel for it.
The first time you try to drive....
-Push in the clutch all the way
-Put the shifter into first (pull it towards you then push up)
-If you've never driving the car don't touch the gas but slowly let out the clutch until you feel it grabbing (the RPMs will start to drop when it does, you should hear the engine slow down a bit too). Letting out the clutch will make the RPMs go down so you have to compensate by giving it some gas to keep the RPMs steady. From a dead stop you'll want to try and hold the RPMs between 1500 and 2000, it varies from car to car but that tends to be the range for most cars. It's best to practice in a large flat parking lot.
Since your goal is basically to let the clutch out completely while holding the RPMs steady. You'll be letting the clutch out while pushing down on the gas and visa versa; essentially your clutch foot and your gas foot work backwards from each other... when the clutch is pushed in completely your gas foot is off the pedal... as you let your clutch foot out your gas foot presses down further and further. Once you've got a feel for it you'll shift without even thinking.
Part of the reason it's easier to shift once the car is moving is because you can pretty much do it without the use of the gas pedal at all, the engine will have enough momentum to pull up the RPMs as you let the clutch out. The faster you're going the easier it is to shift. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use the gas, but it's a lot easier to hold the RPMs steady when you have the help of the engine's momentum.
Always use the same foot (your right foot) for braking as you do for the gas (only fancy racers drive differently
) you should never need to gas and brake at the same time. When you're just slowing down you can leave it in gear, or downshift accordingly. If you're coming to a complete stop you should push the clutch in completely. Legally when you're at a Red light or stop sign the car needs to be in gear and your clutch pushed in completely while you're on the brake. though if I'm at a long light or stop and go traffic I'll often put the car in neutral and let the clutch out (lest I get cramps in my calf from holding the clutch in).
use your judgment for up-shifting and down shifting, listen to the engine and pay attention to the RPMs. In casual day to day driving I'll typically cruse between 2000 and 3000 RPMs I'll up-shift when I accelerate up between 3000 and 3500 I'll down shift when I drop between 1500 and 2000. If I'm accelerating hard (racing or getting up to speed for the highway) I'll go anywhere between 4000 and Red-line before shifting. Most cars however, will tell you NOT to accelerate past 3000RPMs until you've reach 1000 miles, this is to help break in the engine (ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS read your owners manual).
That's all I can think of for now... it's really simple once you get the hang of it. honestly it's just coordination your body isn't used to the synchronized movements, it's just like playing video games or learning to walk. you need to train your muscles to act in a certain way without even thinking about it. And if you drive often you'll get the hang of it really fast.
Author
Topic: Question About Mazda Sport At Transmission (and Others) (Read 157 times)