Teaching wife to drive stick?
 

I tried teaching my wife to drive stick, multiple times, and in a few different vehicles, a jeep and my old civic. She did ok in the jeep, lower gearing harder to kill. She understands what is supposed to happen, but just isn't able to do it yet. She always claims I make her nervous like she is gunna break my baby. So any suggestions on how I could better teach her to drive stick?

We have been to parking lots, going from a stop through second gear, and then same thing over and over again, and then out onto roads, little traffic and she does okay, but kills it a lot and then gets frustrated. So today we will be taking a trip and most of our routes are back roads, through little towns speed limit is 55 most of the way. I am considering letting her drive my frs for the first time on these roads. There won't be much stopping and starting and maybe she will get a chance to row through the gears and feel more comfortable. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

IMO Everyone should learn stick on a 500 dollar beater. The slower the car, the faster you learn.

There is also no pressure or guilt if you roast the clutch.

I will be teaching mine here soon. I wish you luck. I will be following this thread.

I'd suggest that you tell her to act like you're not even there. Tell her to concentrate on feeling the clutch, take her time, and enjoy... We all had to practice and perhaps not having instruction (since you say she understands the concepts) will allow her to figure it out and learn to sense what she is doing.

Other than that? before setting off have her lift the clutch a couple of times to feel and learn where it is engaging. This way she can get comfortable knowing when and where the clutch is going to catch.

Forgot to add... No radio, and silence so she can hear the car/engine etc.

I found that it was easier to learn how to ride a motorcycle/dirtbike first to understand how a clutch works before a car. They're also a lot cheaper (and you really feel your mistakes, so you stop making them :bonk:).

The clutch on my 250's were more forgiving than on the new cars I've driven. You can also do it in a smaller area. Just a tip...

Well ! I have been driving stick for years before I came to Ninja 250.

The clutch and gears didn't surprise me, but the Acceleration did. I was almost fallen off the Motorcycle a few times due to the slippage on a MC is much different than on a car

I honestly advise not to learn stick on a Motor cycle, you have to pay attention to the gearing + Clutch + throttle + body control. Otherwise, you will have a hospitalized wife for sure

**PS** There is an Easier Stick to teach your wife. Make sure you tell her how to position and mimic shifting it into the same gears as your car every night before going to an actual car

:laughabove:

Just make sure not to blow your engine :bellyroll:.

I actually agree with the dirt bike idea, we have 3 but they sit up too high for her to ride, I'm 6'6" and she's 5'5" so she can't sit on the bike and hold it up, makes for a hard start. I think the reason that's easier, is because ppl use their hands more often for precise activities, such as letting the clutch out, versus using their feet. Using the dirt bike is how I learned to clutch many years ago.

This is what rental cars are made for. Just spring for the collision damage waiver and head to a large parking lot, preferably with ramps and inclines to practice e-brake starts.

I once witnessed someone who thought it would be a good idea to learn manual on a new motorcycle. At his first start he panicked full-throttle head on into a parked car on the opposite side of the street, hit his legs on the bars and continued on upside down while caving in the car's windshield with his helmet (one thing done correctly, anyway), tumbled over the roof and landed in a heap at the rear. The front end of the bike was destroyed and the guy was pretty sore but could stand. The cop offered to buy his wrecked bike, a beautiful Triumph Bonneville, and he sold it to him on the spot.

By this logic everyone should instantly understand how to drive a stick the moment they get in the car.

The "use a beater" idea is a solid one, but IMO, only knocks down a mental barrier that you're going hurt something nice. Our tranny's can handle being killed.

FWIW, I learned on my buddy's car who was 16, while I was 15...first time I drove it, all I wanted to do was have fun and smoke the tires and he didn't care. So I did a few burn outs and didn't shift any further than 2nd gear in the massive empty parking lot at our high school. It let me know where one end of the spectrum was in terms of how to manipulate the clutch and, for me, helped. After that, it's just a matter of patience and concentration on using your all of your limbs in sync with the car.

This may seem obvious but the thing that seemed to make the biggest difference in training my wife (and kids) was making sure they understood that if it sounds like the engine will stall, push the clutch in.

The natural reaction is to release the clutch when that happens.

I usually teach someone to do it in a big parking lot, about 5 minutes worth of in-car instruction, give them that reminder and then get out of the car and let them have at it. Usually within just a few minutes they learn enough to make it work without the pressure of you being in the car with them.

Not too many rental car companies will rent you a manual. Probably for this very reason...

EDIT: From Yelp, I found a review stating that the only rental company that stocks manual transmissions here in Los Angeles is Midway:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/midway-car-r...everly-hills-3

"I went here to rent Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500. (540 hp - oh yeah!)

Let me start off by saying this is the ONLY car rental company that rents a MANUAL TRANSMISSION vehicle. I searched nearly ever inch of LA and the internet. Apparently people would learn how to drive stick with a rental and bring it back smoking like a chimney."

:party0030: Driving it like they stole it...

Anyway, I don't know how they do things in AR, but good luck man.