Manual Transmission Guide

Learn How To Drive a Manual Car

Are you tired of people stealing your vehicle? If the answer is yes, then get a manual transmission vehicle. As of 2018 80% of vehicles stolen in the United States were automatic transmission. So get a stick shift and learn how to drive it using this guide!

Manual Transmission Environment

Pedals Clutch Shifter E-Brake RPM Gauge

There are three pedals in a manual transmission car, from left to right they are: clutch, brake, and gas.

The clutch controls shifting the gears, which is usually done for you by an automatic vehicle.

The shifter is usually in the center console area, it is a stick which lines and numbers on the knob of it. This is used to perform the gear shifting

The emergency brake, is in all vehicles but in a manual vehicle it can be considered the vehicles park option. It should always be activated when the vehicle is off or when you want the vehicle to stay without pressing the main brake.

The RPM gauge, rotations per minute gauge, is how fast the vehicle engine is going based on the gear. This will be used to know when to switch between gears.

Driving Instructions

1. Starting The Vehicle 2. Taking Off In First Gear 3. Switching To Second Gear 4. Stopping And Slowing Down 5. Parking

Make sure the vehicle is in neutral (no gear engaged), this can be checked using the shifter:

Wiggle the shifter left to right, if it has a lot of freedom to move then the vehicle is in neutral. Test this when the vehicle is in a gear to feel the difference - push the clutch all the way to the floor and hold it there, then move the shifter to a gear and wiggle it left to right, notice how it does not move as much when not in neutral. It is important to hold the clutch down all the way throughout the test.

Now that the vehicle is in neutral, push the clutch all the way down to the floor, hold the brake down, and turn the ignition. Note: If the clutch is not pushed all the way down, the vehicle won't start.

You can now let the clutch go as long as the vehicle is still in neutral

The vehicle is started and now you are ready to start driving

Locate and release the e-brake while holding down the main brake.
Push the clutch all the way down to the floor then switch the shifter to first gear. The vehicle should technically still be in neutral since the clutch is down, but as soon as you release the clutch the car will switch in the first gear and will want to start moving.

This next part is tricky, you may mess up and stall the car a few times but don't give up. When a car stalls that means it turns off because it did not have enough gas for the engine to rotate.

Now to start moving you will slowly take your foot off of the clutch and slightly press the gas. If you feel the vehicle start to shake then you need more gas. When you release the clutch there will be a moment when the transmission grabs the gear, this is noticeable if you pay attention and at that moment is the right time to press the gas more.

This step is all about finding the sweet spot between the clutch and the gas. I recommend practicing starting in first gear a lot because it is considered the hardest part of driving a manual vehicle. Once you get it, the rest should be easy.

Now that you are driving in first gear, you can go up to about 15mph before you will need to switch to the next gear. You may notice that the faster you go the louder the engine and the higher the rpm's go.

So when you are ready to switch to the next gear you will need to release the gas pedal, press the clutch all the way down, switch the shifter into second gear and slowly release the clutch and press the gas.

It will be easier to release the clutch and press the gas than it was in first gear because the car is already moving and the engine is turning.

I recommend that you try to do this without having to look at the shifter gear map so that you will be learn where the gears are without having to look down.

Now that you are in second gear you can increase speed and switch to third gear when the rpm's are anywhere between 2500 and 3500, I recommend around 3000 for a more smooth shift.

When you are ready to slow down or stop all you have to do is hold down the clutch and move the shifter to a neutral position, which if you remember you can test by wiggling the shifter left to right.

From there you can release the clutch and the vehicle will be in neutral so you can use the brake to slow down like any other vehicle.

If you have slowed down but want to speed up again, you will need to choose an appropriate gear to switch into, you will learn the best over time but you have to choose a gear that is not to small and not to big so the vehicle doesn't stall or break a gear. This will be specific to the car but a general guide would be:

Second gear: 20mph - 30mph
Third gear: 30mph - 40mph
Fourth gear: 40mph - 60mph

This will be a good reference for what gear to choose based on miles per hour, each vehicle will be different and over time you will learn to find the sweet spot.

To park I recommend putting the car in neutral and rolling in using the brake without being in a gear.

When you come to a stop make sure the car is in neutral and activate the emergency brake so that your car doesn't roll away.