Transitioning from Auto to Manual

[MaxF]

I've driven automatic transmission since i got my license 2 years ago (Honda Accord 1993) which has been a REAL drag and a pain. I am now planning to purchase a 1998 bmw e36 328iS manual (2door, black on black, m contour wheels, hardtop, MANUAL.etc...my dream car baby ).
Anyways, I have never driven manual in my life and i am interested in any advice you guys may have for the best and most reliable way to learn to drive stick. Obviously i will not purchase my dream car until i know i will feel comfortable driving it so i really want to learn fast. I have a couple friends that have manual tranny cars (1 of them w/ a e46 m3,mmmmmmmm) so i am not a complete novice, but unfortunately they are pansies and arent willing to give me a few lessons.

I appreciate any insights you guys may offer.

-Max

 

[KC Ron Carter]

Hmm,

I would rent a Neon.

Just to make it more fun consider some minor modifications.

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/users/gparmer/articles/neon/

Later,

 

[epj3]

Honestly, its not easy to tell someone how to drive manual. Just go to www.howstuffworks.com and under automotive, look at how a clutch works. Once you understand what happens, you'll do it yourself. I taught myself how to drive manual.

 

[codex57]

It takes practice. Can you rent a manual? Practice on that thing? Drive around all day. Not freeways too much (that's easy), but around town. Stop and go. That kind of thing. All manuals are different, but the principle is the same. Once you get fairly comfortable, head to someplace like the Hollywood Hills and practice going uphill.

After you are comfortable driving that stick, you should be fine. Even if you were an experienced stick driver, once you get another car, you're gonna have to learn the nuances of that particular car.

 

[Section_8]

After you are comfortable driving that stick, you should be fine. Even if you were an experienced stick driver, once you get another car, you're gonna have to learn the nuances of that particular car.

True story.

I've owned 6 manual cars, my BMW is the most 'different' one of them all (not the hardest, just the most 'different'). Took me about a week to figure out how to avoid the 1-2 'shuffle' that alot of people mention in BMW manuals.

The most difficult, was one I didn't own but had to drive once(family car).. Old 57 Ford Falcon with 3 on the tree.. At night, and underage!

 

[Kirby]

Welcome to the board!!

I taught my daughter the basics of how to drive stick a while ago, she now drives stick every day. It takes a lot of practice, but I discovered a "method" to learn the very basics quickly. Check this thread out:

http://www.bmwboard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5606

One other tip - when you are first learning, make it 15 - 20 minute sessions. When she was learning in the parking lot and slipping the clutch a lot several times a minute, the clutch plate and flywheel started to heat up, and expand/warp a bit. You can tell because what was a smooth clutch slip becomes a jerky/pulsating slip in 15 - 30 minutes. If you let it cool down, no harm done, it goes back to a nice smooth slip. But if you continue to heat it up, you could be sorry, and looking at repairs.

 

[MaxF]

Thanks for the advice

I guess I will probably go to some rent-a-car place next week after finals and rent some manual car to practice on, the only problem is that I will have to drive it off the lot, lol. [driving2] . If i stall the car 3 times or something before getting off the lot im sure some employee will come out and start breaking my balls .

Still a bit confused about the manual shift MO , namely the significance of letting off the clutch slowly after shifting and also revving it to appropriate rpm band for the next gear before shifting. I followed that link that the reply above me gave for the quick lesson plan, but i tend to get mixed up in all the standard shift argot.
I found a few good articles online that teach manual tranny for newbies and i think if i read those a few times during the next few weeks i will be good to go to take my book knowledge to the streets in a rent-a-car, literally.

Thanks for all the help, gave me some good new ideas.

-Max

1998 BMW 328iS black manual here I come!

 

[Average Jae]

congrats on the purchase! and welcome.
everyone's got their methods to madness, and everyone loves to share! i'm one of them

kirby has some great tips. here's what i did to learn how to drive it. (at first, i just gave it a lot of gas and dropped the clutch. while good for fast starts, a horrible way to start every time.. then i eventually i learned how to do it properly. so by the time i got my car, i was ok.)

slow clutch release: makes the shift smoother, but if you do it too slowly constantly, while revving high, it's not good for the clutch.
for normal driving i shift around 2500-3500 rpm band. during a cold start, i try to keep it under 3k rpm.

only way to really stall a manual is by letting go of the clutch too fast, while not reving high enough. (non-stick driver's left foot just isn't used to "fine" control necessary.) if you rev high and drop the clutch fast, you peel out w/ dsc off of course.

more than anything, i think 2 things are really important in driving a stick (seems universal).
1. rev control w/ no load on the engine. (what kirby had his daughter do. put the parking brake on, car on neutral. practice balancing the rev at a certain point. say 2k or 2.5k. it's not the easiest thing to do, even now for me, but helpful.) esp since it is easy to over rev with the right foot, while concentrating ont he left foot, trying to fine control the release of the clutch.
you can practice doing this on a regular automatic too, before you pick up your manual, just put the tranny on neutral, or even park and bounce the tech around and trying to balance it at the rpm that you want to balance it at.

2. clutch control.
one of the easiest ways to do is is to find an empty parking lot. a flat empty parking lot w/ no hills! (as if you need a reminder ) DO NOT touch the accel! shift the car into first, and release the clutch slowly. and even after the engine engages, and the car starts moving forward, keep slowly releasing the clutch. your car will start rolling forward, just like in an automatic! i was amazed by this the first time! keep doing that until you get a feel for it.

combine 1 and 2 and accel around. and remember, always be slow w/ the clutch. even if you end up stalling, the stall caused by a slow clutch release is much better than an arupt one. (at least you won't cringe at the sound of the stall as much.)

avoid the hills stops if at all possible, but if you are ever stuck in one. Don't panic! turn on your emergency blinker if you have to let other cars pass you, if you have to! and right before starting, while braking, calmly do the slow start tech pointed in #2 as the light turns green. (you should know the engagement point by now) right as the engine engages, keep the clutch there, take your right foot off the brake and give it some gas while slowly lifting off the clutch. (as long as you keep the rev over 1500k or so, you shouldn't stall.) again dont' panic in the situation, remind yourself to stay calm, and do what you have to do

of course, this makes perfect sense to me, but who knows how you'll read it. best way to learn is by practice. as for the rental car, it's pretty hard to find a manual rentals, one of the reasons being that lots of Americans don't know how to drive a manual, and repairing costs far outweigh the savings of getting an automatic in the fleet. imo. (at least aroudn here anyway..) but if you could find one, practice away!

 

[BMW-FW26]

I have never owned a automatic car, infact I had my permit with a manual car, so I don't know where to start. The thing is you will never learn how to drive a manual perfect. I have been driving stick for 10+ years and learn something new all time. My BMW's were the easiest to get used to. I had Nissan's which are good cars, but the newer ones seem to have a wierd clutch. Honda's are easy too. I can shift without a clutch in a couple minutes after not driving a Honda for long periods of time. American standards suck unless it is a foreign made transmission. Thats my 2 cents.

 

[seh]

1-2 shuffle?

Took me about a week to figure out how to avoid the 1-2 'shuffle' that alot of people mention in BMW manuals.

Can you elaborate on what the "1-2 shuffle" is?

 

[Section_8]

Can you elaborate on what the "1-2 shuffle" is?

Basically it's figuring out exactly where your clutch engages, but what the 'shuffle' is that I've 'felt' and heard from other folks is that sometimes 'jerky' response when changing 1st-2nd, bit of a lurch after engagement. After a week or so of driving, I eliminated it by better knowing where my clutch engaged, but I every so often still 'do' it, especially if I've been driving my wife's car for a while (or been out of my own for a few days).

 

[selavia]

Here's a little cheat that helped me on those steep hills when I started driving a stick: Leave the Emergency brake on until you've found equilibrium between the clutch and the gas.

Now, I purposely take the long way home just to get on those steep hills.

Have fun man.

Sean