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stick shift vs automatic

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effzee

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how hard is it drive stick? im thinking of buying a car for college, got this pretty good deal cept the car is 5 speed, and ive never driven stick b4 in my life. how hard is it to learn? whats the diff, or the advantage? i always hear how much more fun it is or somehting like that.

also i need to learn to drive it within a month lol...is that possible?
 
What kind of driving will you do?

If you live in a rural area without a lot of stopping and starting, stick can be kinda fun.

If it's a lot of stopping and starting stick can get tiresome.
 
You're in NYC. You'll shoot yourself in the face. It's a pain in the ass. The traffic. The hills. The traffic...oh God the traffic...I drove a friends Eclipse a few times, and it's way too annoying here in NY. If I lived in some hillbilly state/county where the traffic lights aren't positioned 3-feet away from each other, and the highways don't jam up for absolutely no reason...then I'd get it.

But NYC and you're not even experienced? Avoid.
 
Won't you have to pass a new license? I learnt on manual and just take automatic as an occasional bonus, so I don't know how hard it'll be to pick up when you already think you know how to drive. It's bloody fun, but if you are living in a city it makes precious little sense.

I love to drive, I love the control stemming from having to make decisions about what gear you'll need to use to get 'round that corner then up that hill'. But that only comes once you're really used to the physical aspect of using a clutch pedal to slip from one gear to another; it's definitely an acquired skill. Suck it and see, guy.
 
Manual - Without question. (Sorry, but calling it stickshift seriously sucks, call it manual damn it).

And real manual too, not some stupid semi-manual flappy paddle shit.
 
B-B-Bomba! said:
Won't you have to pass a new license? I learnt on manual and just take automatic as an occasional bonus, so I don't know how hard it'll be to pick up when you already think you know how to drive. It's bloody fun, but if you are living in a city it makes precious little sense.
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Not in the US no. I know in almost every European country that is required; and also including Israel, Egypt, Jordan, etc.
 
Manual.

Though, if I lived in a major city, in constant rush hour, Auto would be better.

But I don't, so Manual.
 
Take a stick. It'll usually cut $1000 off the price of the car; the gas mileage will be better; and long-term reliability will be better without all the insanely complicated electrical components in an automatic transmission just waiting to fail.
 
sonarrat said:
Take a stick. It'll usually cut $1000 off the price of the car; the gas mileage will be better; and long-term reliability will be better without all the insanely complicated hydraulic components in an automatic transmission just waiting to fail.
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FIXED SIR
 
Wow, really? So you'll effectively let someone loose on the road who has no real knowledge of how to control their vehicle? Ludicrous ...
 
B-B-Bomba! said:
Wow, really? So you'll effectively let someone loose on the road who has no real knowledge of how to control their vehicle? Ludicrous ...
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Yeah. I mean, most people usually learn in some beater car with a friend or instructor in a parking lot. But of course there is that potential for a cocky dumbass to try something stupid.
 
Manual transmission all the way. I don't ever want automatic ever again.

Even factoring in annoying traffic with your constant clutch hopping, I'd still take it over an auto tranny.
 
Stick is really easy to learn and drive, but keep in mind that some stick shfits are easier than others. Cars leaning towards performance generally have the grip point near the end of the clutch's release, making them a bit harder to learn and drive smoothly. On the other hand, if you're getting a Toyota Corolla, or some other car meant for fuel mileage, reliability, and basic, yet unspectacular, transportation, the grip point of the clutch will begin right off the floor - these cars are much more acceptable for big city driving, in my opinion, because you can ride the clutch easier, giving your left knee a bit of a break (the consequences of riding the clutch on these cars is much less dire too).
 
OpinionatedCyborg said:
Stick is really easy to learn and drive, but keep in mind that some stick shfits are easier than others. Cars leaning towards performance generally have the grip point near the end of the clutch's release, making them a bit harder to learn and drive smoothly. On the other hand, if you're getting a Toyota Corolla, or some other car meant for fuel mileage, reliability, and basic, yet unspectacular, transportation, the grip point of the clutch will begin right off the floor - these cars are much more acceptable for big city driving, in my opinion, because you can ride the clutch easier, giving your left knee a bit of a break (the consequences of riding the clutch on these cars is much less dire too).
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Definitely. I drove a Toyota Celica for 5 years in stop-and-go traffic; it had the same running gear as a contemporary Corolla, so the same comments above applied to my car. A stick-shift Civic or Corolla will be a lot more livable than a stick-shift pickup or Mustang.
 
MaverickX9 said:
What is this "grip point" that you speak of?
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It's like the right spot to make a shift without jerking the car. Eventually it's something you feel through the pedal.
 
I want a 350z, and unfornately I can't drive a manual and it's some unwritten rule that if you have a sports car it has to be a manual. So I guess I'm goign to have to learn to drive a manual (of which no one in my family has)... I'm so lazy I may just get a goddamn automatic and be done with it.
 
the friction point is the point along the clutch pedal travel where the clutch plate begins to slip against the flywheel
 
I've had a stick for the past 4 years, I'd def get an Auto now. I hate the stop and go traffic with the manual, sooooooooooo annoying. Once you get older, you'll want a manual generally speaking. The younger crowd can usually deal with a manual tranmission. Yes and there's no need to have a seperate license to operate a manual in the US. Gotta love it. I don't think it's really that different though. I mean the hardest part when you first start out with a stick is getting out of first gear...the only situations you'll face with a manual that require lots of experince are situations that no license test would be able to put you through anyway... So it really doesn't matter in the end.
 
I drove a manual vehicle for years.. and I miss it... maybe as a new manual driver driving in stop and go traffic would be hard for you, but for someone whose been doing it for years, it's subconscious and becomes like riding a bike, you don't even think about it, it just happens.

So personally no I don't see any problem with driving a stick in stop and go traffic, which I use to do every day to and from work.
 
I know if you say automatic you'll get labeled "weaksauce" and all...

But I don't miss manual one bit.

I feel these people are leading you down the wrong path!
 
AlphaSnake said:
It's like the right spot to make a shift without jerking the car. Eventually it's something you feel through the pedal.
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Sort of. Maybe we're talking about the same thing.

I'm referring to the point where the engine is sending power to the wheels through the clutch. When you have the car at a standstill in first gear, the grip/friction point is the point where the car begins moving forward after lifting (well, when you let it up in the car you're actually pushing it in) the clutch and applying the gas. If my terminology is incorrect, I apologize, but that's what I was referring to.
 
I'd only get manual if buying sports car. Otherwise get auto. Standard is only fun when you have lots of power
3gears.gif
Manual on a crappy car is boring and tedious.
 
OpinionatedCyborg said:
Sort of. Maybe we're talking about the same thing.

I'm referring to the point where the engine is sending power to the wheels through the clutch. When you have the car at a standstill in first gear, the grip/friction point is the point where the car begins moving forward after lifting (well, when you let it up in the car you're actually pushing it in) the clutch and applying the gas. If my terminology is incorrect, I apologize, but that's what I was referring to.
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Yep, you're right. And you need to know that point in order to avoid jerking the car. :)
 
It'll only take a couple of days to get used to a manual transmition and after that you'll never want to drive an automatic. Sticks are more fun, you have more control, and they're usually less expensive.
 
Mashing said:
I want a 350z, and unfornately I can't drive a manual and it's some unwritten rule that if you have a sports car it has to be a manual. So I guess I'm goign to have to learn to drive a manual (of which no one in my family has)... I'm so lazy I may just get a goddamn automatic and be done with it.
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If you buy a 350z with an auto you've failed at life.
 
Hmmm, if you have zero experience at manual, it can be extremely frustrating picking it up. And yeah, it totally depends on the traffic conditions in your area. It sucks to always have to deal with first gear every 5 minutes.
 
i should have made it clear. its for school...i go to school upstate ny and wont be using it much in nyc, although i live in nyc.

2ndly the reason im considerin it is cause its a 96 civic coupe, only 40,000 miles, for very cheap. it has a japanese sohc motor swap...it has a short ram intake, headres and a sway bar... the car has 1 piece japanese angel eyes headlamps, civic si back lights, and is dropped on civic si rims with integra gsr struts and brand new skunk 2 adjustable coilover springs. the car has biege acura integra leather seats.

my dad knwos how to drive manual, as do some of my best friends...so they all say i can pick it up quickly.
 
Mashing said:
I want a 350z, and unfornately I can't drive a manual and it's some unwritten rule that if you have a sports car it has to be a manual.
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The Corvette, as a symbol and as a car, DIED when they made an automatic model.

Think about that.
 
daegan said:
The Corvette, as a symbol and as a car, DIED when they made an automatic model.

Think about that.
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Funny that the original 1953 model was only available with a six-cylinder engine and a two-speed automatic... it didn't last very long like that. They only sold a couple hundred. It wasn't until it got a V-8 and a stick shift that it sold at all.
 
effzee said:
i should have made it clear. its for school...i go to school upstate ny and wont be using it much in nyc, although i live in nyc.

2ndly the reason im considerin it is cause its a 96 civic coupe, only 40,000 miles, for very cheap. it has a japanese sohc motor swap...it has a short ram intake, headres and a sway bar... the car has 1 piece japanese angel eyes headlamps, civic si back lights, and is dropped on civic si rims with integra gsr struts and brand new skunk 2 adjustable coilover springs. the car has biege acura integra leather seats.

my dad knwos how to drive manual, as do some of my best friends...so they all say i can pick it up quickly.
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honestly i wouldnt get a car with that much done on it (have you checked the title through say carfax?)... dunno, unless it was a really good deal, i prefer to destroy the car on my own
 
golem said:
honestly i wouldnt get a car with that much done on it (have you checked the title through say carfax?)... dunno, unless it was a really good deal, i prefer to destroy the car on my own
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Yeah... with a car like that, if it has 40,000 miles on it, it was probably a quarter-mile at a time.
 
yeah well im going to check the car out tom. ill see....i did always want to learn to drive manual....maybe now i have a good reason.
 
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