by Brandon Lane

Created on: April 25, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

Here it is, the low down on the elusive Stick Shift! I've taught many teenagers the ropes to driving a standard. First off, let me say I personally believe standard cars are far safer than automatics when first beginning to drive. Driving a stick shift forces a driver to, go figure, actually DRIVE. Paying attention to what you are doing is not an option, its a rule when driving a stick shift. Forcing a teenager to pay attention to speed, gears, road conditions, and also cutting down on the distractions of cell phone use, radio changing, all contribute to a safer ride. BUT NOW, to the actual HOW of driving a stick.

My personally coined term, find the RUMBLE POINT. The hardest part driving a stick shift is coming out of first gear so the first thing you must do is get comfortable with your clutch. Find a flat driving surface to practice on, parking lots are a good place to start. So, the rumble point explained. Each car has a different clutch, some are hard to press down, some are easy, so are larger than others, and some are shorter. By larger, I mean the distance the pedal presses down can be much longer than other cars. A good example, a standard Jetta has in my opinion a large clutch which is very easy to press down with your foot. A Nissan 350Z has a very small clutch, and is very hard to press down with your foot.

The rumble point is when you are sitting at a stand still and in first gear and you begin to let out the clutch to begin driving. (Your foot should be off the brake.) When you begin to let out the clutch there is a point where you engine will begin to rumble softly and the car will begin pulling forward with no gas at all. That is the rumble point, and at that point you need to begin giving a steady and moderate amount of gas (pressing the accelerator) in order to make the car go forward, and keep it from stalling.

So let me make sure that is clear. You are in first gear. You are sitting at a stand still. You foot is on the clutch, and only on the clutch. You slowly let the clutch out, waiting for the car to begin pulling forward on its own. When you reach that point the engine should be rumbling softly. Begin to give the car gas, at which point, you should be letting of the clutch more and more, until you finally are off the clutch, on the gas, and cruising!

The any shift above first gear is easy. When you are driving you want to keep you RPM's around 3000 or lower for most cars, so if you are in first and hit 3000 rpm (about 10-15 mph for an average car) take your foot of the gas, press the clutch, shift, and ease back onto the gas. Its all cruising from then on!

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