teaching manual on a new 5

[jandree22]

For the past month or so, I had my dad scan out the dealership he works at for any manual tranny trades that will be just going out to auction, to teach my wife stick on. Well, my 5 is almost here and no such luck in finding what we're looking for. Both brothers have 5MT cars, (Civic and Ion) but I'd feel like a jerk asking "Hey, can my wife eff up your car a little so she doesn't bruise mine?"

If I teach my wife manual on my brand new 5, what kind of damage can be done? I'm not too concerned about the clutch, that's a wearable part anyway, but more worried about grinding gears and particularly stalling it out a few times.

Thanks!

[Lazy Glen]

For the past month or so, I had my dad scan out the dealership he works at for any manual tranny trades that will be just going out to auction, to teach my wife stick on. Well, my 5 is almost here and no such luck in finding what we're looking for. Both brothers have 5MT cars, (Civic and Ion) but I'd feel like a jerk asking "Hey, can my wife eff up your car a little so she doesn't bruise mine?"

If I teach my wife manual on my brand new 5, what kind of damage can be done? I'm not too concerned about the clutch, that's a wearable part anyway, but more worried about grinding gears and particularly stalling it out a few times.

Thanks!

Try calling around to some car rental companies and see if they have any MTX cars for rent - probably not, but would be worth a try.

As light as the Mz5 is I think it should be farily easy to learn, but I know that you are just going to cringe every time you hear a grind or smell clutch. Alas, I'm still trying to cure my darling of "resting" her foot on the clutch between shifts, but since we got 160k out of the Protege we just traded in I guess she isn't doing too much damage.:)

Lazy Glen

[trevd]

If I teach my wife manual on my brand new 5, what kind of damage can be done?


That depends...

How strong is your marriage?

Teaching my then-girlfriend (now wife) how to drive a manual trans in my '93 Honda Civic hatchback was one of the most stressful things we've ever done together... It was a scary, frightening time...

She didn't seem to grasp the concept of having to use both feet at the same time to start off, and having to use both feet to stop. Also, she had some problems with the actual shifting, but that wasn't that bad... it was the starts and stops. She's not what you'd call "automotively inclined", and it was a bit of a struggle. There was a lot of stalling, and I'm sure there are still the tire marks in the parking lot we practised in!

That was about 8 years ago, and to this day, the smell of burning rubber and melting clutch parts still makes me cry... (drive2)

But, the good news is, today she's a great manual transmission driver and is even giving her blessing to buying a 5 with the stick. So in the end it was worth it. :)

Trevor

[jandree22]

Well, I do 99.9% of the driving when we're together and she has her own Auto car. It's just that 0.1% of the time that she'll need to know when, I dunno... I end up in the hospital or something, lol

I half way taught her before. She was able to pull out and if I remember correctly, shift through a few gears in a parking lot. Problem we ran into was pulling out in 1st while making a turn, such as at an intersection. To much coordination required for that ;)

[Zoom5Zoom]

Ummm sounds like a good time for your wife to go for some Mazda 5 MT test drives at your local dealer eh.... get my drift

[doctorz]

If it makes you feel any better, my wife used to hate manuals and hadn't driven one for about six years before we test drove the 5. She'd driven sticks before, but not regularly, and she'd never owned a stick shift car. She liked the stick shift in the 5 so much that we ended up buying one, and it's her daily driver. She adjusted very quickly to it, it's that easy for a beginner.

[dommo_g]

Just teach her in your new car. Tell her the basics, what to do, what not to do. She's gonna pick it up quick enough that she's not going to break anything. As long as she doesn't do that old 2nd to Reverse shift, all will be good.

[jlk_250]

I agree with the others that the Mz5 5 speed manual is about as easy as any car out there. The clutch pedal is very low, there is lots of cush to the takeup, and plenty of flywheel effect. It would be very friendly to beginners. Just practice showing no reaction whatsoever during the inevitable jerks and stalls. The car can handle anything she's likely to do to it.

Jon

[ladygrey]

The newer and smoother the car the easier it will be for her to learn.

My advice to you is to tell her the basics, practice with her in a parking lot for a little while and then make her go for a drive - alone! The pressure of another person in the car wincing at every ground gear and stall is really too much for a person to have to take.

I tried from the time I got my license at 16 until I was 21 to learn to drive a stick. I got to a point where I could do it if my life depended on it (in a new car) - never could get the hang of that damn '77 Mustang II that was our only car in college. But I finally had an opportunity (no choice - either drive or be stranded at the Baltimore airport) to drive a newer mtx by myself and after about 2 hours lost in Baltimore in stop and go traffic, and probably 5 stalls, I had it down. Every car we have purchased new since then has been a stick.

[chuyler1]

I taught my fiance on my Protege5. The hardest part is that she is afraid of hurting my baby so she's very timid and doesn't want to practice when we go places. I don't think she grinded the gears once but she's been a little aggressive on the gas a few times and sometimes she forgets that she has to push the clutch in swiftly but let it out slowly (unlike a brake pedal).

I find it hard to believe that you can't find a cheap 5-spd car in the classifieds.

[zoomzoom mazda5]

My wife drives her matrix xrs 6 speed, she been driving manual shift all her life, she also learn to drive by a cert. driver school. That is where she learn to drive a manual shift, I would check it out on cost, instead of a new tranny. Also how many days left for you to get your 07 mazda5, I got a six pack waiting for your ride to get to you. enjoy!!!(drive2)

[ladygrey]

Well, I do 99.9% of the driving when we're together and she has her own Auto car. It's just that 0.1% of the time that she'll need to know when, I dunno... I end up in the hospital or something, lol

I was just thinking though - if you have problems with sharing you might not want to teach her. But - this car is really damn practical - so you may find that there are reasons to trade cars even if you aren't incapacitated.

[chuyler1]

I wish there was a driving school in New England that taught stick for a reasonable price. When I searched a few months back all I found were racing schools (which required prior experience with stick).

[Jaysanooch]

Well, I do 99.9% of the driving when we're together and she has her own Auto car. It's just that 0.1% of the time that she'll need to know when, I dunno... I end up in the hospital or something, lol

I half way taught her before. She was able to pull out and if I remember correctly, shift through a few gears in a parking lot. Problem we ran into was pulling out in 1st while making a turn, such as at an intersection. To much coordination required for that ;)

This is my situation exactly, I've been putting it off for 8 years now. I think that the only real way for her to learn is if you switched her car to a manual car. If my realtionship does last by next year, that's my plan because practicing once a year...just won't cut it.

It's like my golf game....I suck so bad, but I only make time to play once or twice a year.

[Lazy Glen]

My advice to you is to tell her the basics, practice with her in a parking lot for a little while and then make her go for a drive - alone! The pressure of another person in the car wincing at every ground gear and stall is really too much for a person to have to take.

I'll second this sentiment. When my parents taught me, after I got the basics down, I went out alone and practiced. We lived in a small college town, and it so happened that students were gone on break, so I went down on campus and drove around in parking lots and on the capus roads at night. By the time students got back, I pretty much had it down.

I once attended a class (How to Think Like Leonardo DaVinci) where the instructor (and author of the book) pointed out that we are so afraid to fail, we concentrate on not failing rather than learning. One of the examples he used was learing to drive a stick. It is next to impossible to do it without stalling the car - so don't try not to. One of the first things to do is get in the car and TRY to stall it out. Don't give it enough gas, let the clutch out too fast, keep your foot on the brake. But while doing this - pay attention to the car, what sounds is it making, how does it feel? Once you have this information, you can use it to adjust your behavior once you move to the next steps, instead of feeling dumb because you stalled it again.

Regardless, good luck.
Lazy Glen

[Foolish]

It is next to impossible to do it without stalling the car - so don't try not to. One of the first things to do is get in the car and TRY to stall it out. Don't give it enough gas, let the clutch out too fast, keep your foot on the brake.

Funny you'd mention this. It's exactly what I did last time I gave stick-shift lessons. I also demonstrated stalling from too little gas, and a small burn-out from launching too hard!

[jandree22]

I was just thinking though - if you have problems with sharing you might not want to teach her. But - this car is really damn practical - so you may find that there are reasons to trade cars even if you aren't incapacitated.
Well, the issue isn't really sharing... it's just that I like driving and she doesn't. What can I say, match made in heaven! (lol2) Seriously though, she has a Solara, so once little ones come into the picture, I have a feeling we'll depend more on the 5 more than the former.


And the idea of just buying a POS MTX beater to teach isn't a bad idea, although I hate sellings cars privately, and just got through it a week or two ago with my POS Sunflower(er, I mean Sunfire)... wouldn't look forward to doing it again, lol

Thanks for all the tips though, everyone!

[chuyler1]

The first step to skiing is learning how to fall. If you don't learn that...you end up going down the mountain full speed until you hit a tree.

Likewise, the first step to driving stick is to learn how to stall, then learn how to get the car rolling without any gas. Start slow and work from there. The third step, is to become confident with starting and stopping. Use parking lot lines as markers. Go the length of the lot then stop and turn around. Then try half the length. Then Go 5 lines then stop, start again and go 5 lines. Then drop it down to 4, 3, 2, and 1 line. This will simulate stop-and-go traffic which is common at traffic lights and rush hour highway traffic. It is the quickest way to learn.

[gimpo2]

let her tear the new car up and then just warranty anything that breaks off

[chuyler1]

I wish....

....there was a warranty that covered the stupid things wives/girlfriends did to your car.

[shane02pro5]

I learned in my first car in my parents inclined driveway without even getting on the street. Okay maybe my back wheels a couple times. Learning to balance with the clutch, shifting is the easy part. I stalled at my 1st stop light once I got on the street and had it down after that.

[jandree22]

very good logic, chuyler1. We're both skiers so that was a good example to use, too ;)

...and yeah, I've been trying to think of a parking lot in the area that has a hill on it. I'm sure there's gotta be one somewhere. Both our parents have a hill driveway, but either not steep or long enough to make practicing on it worthwhile.

[210_ZOOM]

i still remember the first MT car (01 LX 2.0 ) she learned to drive . I told her "woman, i cant afford an AT car ,LOL, so you WILL learn to drive it." That was fun, Biggest problem she had was one time couldnt find 1st, had it in 3rd and was stalling like a motha. Needless to say we didnt make the green light.
She loved the upgrade to the MSP but chooses to drive the AT ford P/U instead. Good luck with the instruction.

[perfecto]

Jandree - hate to admit it, but I learned to drive stick on my 5. Took me about 10 minutes to feel confident enough to drive it around the neighborhood.

It's damn easy, the short shifting makes it a breeze. :)

[ladygrey]

So, I'm dying to know. Has she driven it yet??? How's it going?

[jandree22]

Oh, yeah... forgot to update this thread post-delivery :p

YES! She was very eager to drive it so we stopped in a parking lot on the way home from the dealership... only about 15 miles on the odometer, aah! Thankfully though, no grinding or stalling, and she was able to pull out in first on the first try. Later she also made an upshift to second. I was pretty impressed :)

[ladygrey]

Oh, yeah... forgot to update this thread post-delivery :p

YES! She was very eager to drive it so we stopped in a parking lot on the way home from the dealership... only about 15 miles on the odometer, aah! Thankfully though, no grinding or stalling, and she was able to pull out in first on the first try. Later she also made an upshift to second. I was pretty impressed :)


Awesome :) - she's going to have the hang of it in no time and you are going to be over here lamenting how you never get to drive it anymore ;)

[Protege52003]

my wife bought her first NEW car and it was a 5-speed. i test drove and and had to drive it of the lot. we spend a coulpe hours driving that night and now she wants nothing but stick........she wanted the 5-speed back then (01) becasue she was super broke, needed a car, and did not want to spend the 1K+ for the auto......

it was a Sentra (easy car to learn on), proably like the 5.

good luck!

-R

[HotDog88GT]

We picked up our Mazda5 last night. Both me and my wife had 5-speeds once and getting back into one is great.

The Mazda5 is near impossible to stall (for me at least). Takes very little gas to git 'er goin. Only wish the gas pedal had more feedback - too mushy.

[jandree22]

My complaint about the gas pedal is it's too close to the brake pedal for my big ape feet, haha. (monkey) With my sneakers I'm fine, but when I have my work (dress) shoes on, the wider soles barely fit in between the brake pedal and the panel.

Anywho, congrats on your 5!!! It's amazing, ain't it? :D

[P_bouchr]

@Jandree
Absolutely!! I just have the same thing here lol. It take some time to get used to, but it's going toget better.

[jandree22]

Yeah, I found by sliding my heel back so I'm hitting the throttle with my toes rather than ball of my foot, I fit better :)

Glad I'm not alone with this, lol!!!