POLL: Can you drive stick?

I'm in high school and have a DSG but I can drive, and wish I had stick.

McQueen77 said:

Possibly, but the point was that when the DSG or Manual discussion threads happen, a lot of the DSG drivers seem younger (I base this on the way they write and represent themselves i.e. 'DSG FTW yo!' etc. ) and I've met a lot of younger drivers in recent years who never learned to drive a standard so it made me wonder if a lot of the pro DSG camp were biased because that was the only thing they new how to drive. I don't personally care either way and can apprecaite a good automatic, so I was just curious. Too bad most of the guys who can't, won't vote in the poll. Just curious is all.

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good rationale, but i (20) am springing for a manual. I reside in hilly san francisco, and although i may add a little more wear to the clutch with so many hill starts, i think that will still be better in the long run than a dsg.

Plus, girls love the shifting action.:happyanim:

Yeah, girls seem to love stick.

Yep learned on a 1990 ford ranger. Strange as it may sound my mom taught me. Drove nothing mut manual trans until the last few years when I discovered the DSG.

JP

None of my friends or relatives drive stick so I took class at a driving school to get the feel of it. Not that many driving schools offer manual driving classes in my area so I was happy to found one. I took two classes. On the 1st day, the instructor taught me the basics. The 2nd day, he taught me how to start on a hill and rev match/downshift.

A few months later, I got my 1st stick car, 2004 G35 Coupe. The day I drove it home, I stalled like 10 times. I had a friend behind me all the time so I felt less pressured from people on my ass/beeping/honking when I stalled haha (worse when you live in NY too). I practiced everyday after work driving around the neighborhood. After a few days, I got more confident and took the car on highway. In traffic jam, it was a huge PITA.

Now, in the GTI, the cluth is so much lighter and more predictable. The clutch in the G35 was stiff and trickier and harder to learn with.

I am 30 and I have only driven manuals since I got my license. My first car was a hand me down 1989 Nissan 240SX from my dad that I learned on and discovered autocross 1 month later. I am thankful for that car as it really spawned my autolove.

I am amazed at the number of young people who do not know how to drive. I remember a few years ago I went to Munich for a week before going to Afghanistan and I was the only one in my group that could drive a manual. The others had to get what the freulein called "an american transmission."

Personally I judge people on it. I stick driver is a connoisseur. Its like ordering the right wine. For people that appreciate the finer things in life that take effort to learn.

Autos are for the lazy. Plus they are very unreliable relative to manuals. Yes, DSGs are way more unreliable and less involving. I know that they are slightly quicker but how much time do you really spend on the track?

DarkCloak said:

I am 30 and I have only driven manuals since I got my license. My first car was a hand me down 1989 Nissan 240SX from my dad that I learned on and discovered autocross 1 month later. I am thankful for that car as it really spawned my autolove.

I am amazed at the number of young people who do not know how to drive. I remember a few years ago I went to Munich for a week before going to Afghanistan and I was the only one in my group that could drive a manual. The others had to get what the freulein called "an american transmission."

Personally I judge people on it. I stick driver is a connoisseur. Its like ordering the right wine. For people that appreciate the finer things in life that take effort to learn.

Autos are for the lazy. Plus they are very unreliable relative to manuals. Yes, DSGs are way more unreliable and less involving. I know that they are slightly quicker but how much time do you really spend on the track?

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Agreed re: bolded parts.

I didn't learn till I was 17 in a mk4 gti. I loved it but when I was 16 I got a 2008 Gti dsg.

While dsg is quick and what not...

Stick is so much fun, I feel like I missed out now that I'm 19 since I totaled my Gti I picked up a special edition 04 gli and it's a a blast.

I can't wait till I take delivery of my R

nevekd128 said:

good rationale, but i (20) am springing for a manual. I reside in hilly san francisco, and although i may add a little more wear to the clutch with so many hill starts, i think that will still be better in the long run than a dsg.

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Good news, the manual has hill start assist. It gives you about 2 seconds of brake hold while on a hill. Plenty of time to get the revs up and the clutch engaging. :w00t: Probably still a bit more wear on some of the more impressive hills, but infinity easier than the old parking brake feathering.

Fleron230 said:

Yeah, girls seem to love stick.

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Not in San Francisco they don't! LMAO :lol:


BTW, I learned to use stick when I was 7, my paternal grandfather taught me on a farm tractor then on his pickup. To me it's as natural as breathing.

nevekd128 said:

good rationale, but i (20) am springing for a manual. I reside in hilly san francisco, and although i may add a little more wear to the clutch with so many hill starts, i think that will still be better in the long run than a dsg.

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I figured I might as well give my input. I've been lurking for a while but I finally decided to make an account. I live in San Francisco, Ingleside district, and I live on a pretty steep hill. I'm 23 and I only learned how to drive stick in June of this year, with the GTI. I have been driving automatics since I was 18.

I bought the car and learned on the lot before I drove home (when I say I, it means my parents haha). The dealership didn't have someone available to teach stick so I kinda just learned myself. After about an hour and a half of stalling at least 30 times on the new GTI, I took to the streets. It was a very harrowing experience and one I won't forget. Burning tires, burning clutch, burning face, and horn honking does not make my first experience great. Getting off the freeway heading home, where the offramp was a incline, was also not fun. Almost bumping into cars and stalling on hills on the way home was not either.

Eventually I arrived home, used the bathroom, and drove off to the closest parking lot, which was the big parking lot that the community college had (CCSF). Fortunately, I did some extensive reading and video watching beforehand so I wasn't clueless, but videos and reading can only do so much. I did what everyone recommended, which was just have it in gear, lift off the clutch until the car moves and let go. For some reason, that was really hard for me because I lacked dexterity in my feet and I kept stalling or it wouldn't be a smooth start. I did this for about a week, every night, until I was acceptably smooth and quick.

I've been driving for almost half a year now, but I still feel like I have a lot to learn. I still rape my clutch parking on hills, and just driving. I have no one to teach me so I'm just learning and constantly changing based on new information I receive. At the moment, I'm practicing my single clutch downshifts, but I'm not able to do it fast enough. I have tried heel toe but the brake pedal is so high, the right side of my right foot barely reaches the accelerator pedal and I just end up braking really hard instead of shifting.

Personally, even though it's really hard, driving a stick in SF isn't too bad. It's fun and it does make the trip to the local grocery store more exciting. Sorry for the wall of text by the way XD

^ use the handbrake on a steep hill. it's not a very common practice in NA for some reason, everyone just seems to slip the clutch.

the way i heel toe in the city is to use half my foot on the brakes and the other side to tip the top of the gas pedal with my toes. doing the fast and the furious style is cumbersome because of the design of the gas pedal, under light braking it's hard to give enough gas especially if you have large feet like me. on the track it's no problem to do it the "tradition" way, you're hitting the brakes hard enough to have room to lift your heel up.

penpal said:

^ use the handbrake on a steep hill. it's not a very common practice in NA for some reason, everyone just seems to slip the clutch.

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Yeah, learn the handbrake thing for sure. It'll save your clutch. I spent many years living in the bay area on and off, growing up and lived in Bernal Heights for a while above the mission district and drove a manual with all those hills.

@ penpal /McQueen77: I do use handbrakes but not as often as I should. I grind on the clutch because it's the easy way out. The reason I don't use handbrakes is that I don't know how to properly use it. I know I'm supposed to let it go when I feel the car shake a bit, but every time that I practice using it on a steep hill, I over-rev and spin the tires cause I release the clutch too fast (out of nervousness), I overrev and grind the clutch (release too slow), or I underrev and stall (failure on my part because of my lack of experience). Also, the hill assist throws me off, but it throws me off especially when I'm using the handbrake on a hill because it never seems to disengage when I want it to. I am also not that great with the clutch yet, even after 6 months.

It would be nice if I had someone next to me to validate or correct my methods...I really am just winging it at this point. At least the experience is still fun and entertaining.

In high school and proud to say i've recently learned how to drive stick! Gonna get my GTI manual soon!

MKVInce said:

None of my friends or relatives drive stick so I took class at a driving school to get the feel of it. Not that many driving schools offer manual driving classes in my area so I was happy to found one. I took two classes. On the 1st day, the instructor taught me the basics. The 2nd day, he taught me how to start on a hill and rev match/downshift.

A few months later, I got my 1st stick car, 2004 G35 Coupe. The day I drove it home, I stalled like 10 times. I had a friend behind me all the time so I felt less pressured from people on my ass/beeping/honking when I stalled haha (worse when you live in NY too). I practiced everyday after work driving around the neighborhood. After a few days, I got more confident and took the car on highway. In traffic jam, it was a huge PITA.

Now, in the GTI, the cluth is so much lighter and more predictable. The clutch in the G35 was stiff and trickier and harder to learn with.

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i learned on a 04 G35 sedan too!!!!!!!! Damn that car was and is fun. btw, My dad learned that that traction control DOESNT WORK in reverse when he was teaching my sister how to drive it.

Thumper said:

Not in San Francisco they don't! LMAO :lol:

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touche'
Just my dad taught me and a buddy in high school, but he made the mistake of getting new tires the day before he offered to teach me. That parking lot got repainted black.

PolarLights said:

@ penpal /McQueen77: I do use handbrakes but not as often as I should. I grind on the clutch because it's the easy way out. The reason I don't use handbrakes is that I don't know how to properly use it. I know I'm supposed to let it go when I feel the car shake a bit, but every time that I practice using it on a steep hill, I over-rev and spin the tires cause I release the clutch too fast (out of nervousness), I overrev and grind the clutch (release too slow), or I underrev and stall (failure on my part because of my lack of experience). Also, the hill assist throws me off, but it throws me off especially when I'm using the handbrake on a hill because it never seems to disengage when I want it to. I am also not that great with the clutch yet, even after 6 months.

It would be nice if I had someone next to me to validate or correct my methods...I really am just winging it at this point. At least the experience is still fun and entertaining.

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Hey, i live at sfsu and will be bringing my gti back up this january. If you want me to sit in with you as you do some hills i will, I'm pretty much done with finals and just waiting to fly home.