ENGL 1301
Yochim
21 September 2014
How to Drive a Standard Most cars sold today have an automatic transmission, which means that the car shifts gears automatically. Most people over the age of 16 know how to drive automatics, but the real challenge comes when those people are tasked with driving a standard, or a car that doesn’t shift gears on its own. Learning how to drive a standard can be difficult, but with practice and the correct procedure, it can be done.
When someone refers to a manual, standard, or stick shift, they are talking about a car that has a clutch pedal and a gear shift that has gears one through five instead of park, neutral, reverse, drive, and first and second gear. Before even attempting to drive a standard, you should research the topic. It is a good idea to broaden your knowledge about standards before even attempting to drive them because it gives you a better idea of the process. Youtube videos or verbal directions can help you understand what the clutch is actually doing and why shifting needs to be done at a certain time. Articles can also provide pictures that deepen the understanding of what the transmission is actually doing. Sitting in the passenger side while a family member or friend drives is also very beneficial because it gives you a real world demonstration of how to drive a standard. However, nothing is more valuable in your journey to learning how to drive stick than actual hands-on while in the driver’s seat.
The second step in learning how to drive a standard is getting the car started. A big difference between an automatic and standard car becomes clear as soon as you sit in the driver’s seat; there are three pedals in a standard. The pedal on the far left is the clutch. The middle pedal is the brake, and the pedal on the far right is the gas or accelerator. Your left foot will use the clutch while your right foot uses the brake and the gas. When starting the car you need to make sure that the clutch pedal is pushed to the floor, because if it isn’t and you attempt to start the car, the car will either jump forward a couple of feet or it will not start depending on the car. After the clutch is pushed to the floor, turn the key like normal and the car will start right up. Do not take your foot off the clutch after the car has started because the car will die, or stall, if it isn’t in neutral.
The hardest part of driving a standard is getting the car in motion. In order to get the car to move, you need to put the car in first gear and you need to let your foot off of the clutch while also pushing the gas. You need to steadily apply more pressure to the gas as the clutch comes up and eventually comes all the up which means that the wheels are engaged and the car should be in motion. If the clutch is let up too quickly, the car will jerk forward unpredictably and will stall unless you push the clutch back in or apply a lot of gas. If the gas pedal isn’t pressed enough as you let the clutch up, the engine will stall and you will have to repeat the entire process. This step will take a lot of practice and it will seem over whelming at first, but practice and patience is all you need. Reversing is almost identical, but you are just going backwards. You need to let the clutch up as you are pressing the gas.
After you get the car moving, it is important that you switch the gears so the engine isn’t doing more work than it needs to. When you get your car moving, the engine’s revolutions per minute, rpms, will steadily increase. When the rpms get between three thousand and four thousand, it is a good idea to shift into second gear. When this happens, push the clutch all the way to the floor so it disengages the engine from the wheels, take your foot off of the gas, and use the gearshift to shift into second gear. Then apply the gas and release the clutch much like you did to get the car into motion. To shift into third, fourth, or fifth gear, repeat the process. It is important that the clutch is pressed to the floor because if it isn’t, and you attempt to shift gears, you will hear a terrible grinding noise which means that the gears are grinding against each other. If grinding occurs frequently, it can shorten the lifespan of you transmission drastically.
After you are able to get the car moving, you can finally drive it to your desired destination. You will then need to park, which is no different than parking an automatic car except for the fact that you need to use the parking break at all times. Put the car in first gear and pull the parking break. If the parking break isn’t in use when you park a standard, your car has a high chance of rolling away which is never good.
Lastly, you need to practice. There will be an obvious learning curve but don’t give up, practice makes perfect. If the car dies, don’t get upset about it, just turn the key and keep trying you will get it. When you are able to drive a standard, any four wheeled vehicle is yours to drive.