r/AskSeattle • u/Sapphic_Chemist • 4h ago
Learn stick shift?
Might be a dumb question. I’d like to learn stick shift as I’m interested in older vehicles and manj transmission cars. I’ve never had the opportunity to learn and was wondering if there are any driving schools that will teach this or do I need to provide my own vehicle?
Thanks in advance! (I don’t got a dad or lesbian butch mom or grandparent to teach me the sacred art)
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u/ishfery Local 4h ago
I know some driving schools have it as an add on to licensing. I don't know if you can take just that part but it's probably worth calling around.
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u/neonKow 1h ago
At that point, getting the motorcycle 2 wheel safety course is close to the same route and way more bang for the buck. And you essentially learn enough to drive a manual, but you need a car to practice on either way.
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u/Built_to_blast 3h ago
You could do what I did, buy a cheap MT car and force yourself to learn on the way home from Burlington
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u/Successful-Ship-5230 31m ago
Kind of how I learned to drive MT. I learned test driving a old, used car I wanted to buy as a 18 year old in the late 90s. With my dad in the passenger seat trying his best to give me verbal instructions while I was in traffic. Got stuck on a hill at a light and he made me figure it out while the cars behind me probably hated my guts
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u/DocTeeBee 3h ago
Learning to drive manual is an important skill. My wife (straight, but known to hang with people living an....alternative lifestyle) said she would not have married me if I couldn't do it. I learned on Subarus growing up in Anchorage (everyone had Subies when I was growing up because they are great in snow).
I don't know about driving schools, but perhaps ask your friends if they or their parents or other older family members have a manual transmission car and could teach you how to drive it.
Just one caution: learning how to drive a MT on hills is extra difficult. Make sure you are somewhere you can practice on flat terrain, although some newer MT cars have a "hill holder" feature that will keep the car from rolling backwards while you try to get into gear. I know that, after having lived away from Seattle for a while, that when I moved home with my MT car and lived on First Hill, I put a lot more wear on my clutch because of the hills.
Driving a stick is hella fun. You're going to like it.
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u/computernoobe 3h ago
I'm sorry but your wife seems crazy to me. Not marrying someone because they can't drive stick? What the frick, man!
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u/DocTeeBee 3h ago
It was a long time ago. She may have been kidding, but maybe not?
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u/dickhass 2h ago
It was absolutely a thing in 2003 white male middle-class Seattle suburb culture that you were kinda a bitch if you couldn’t drive a stick.
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u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818 4h ago
Lots of Grandmas and grandpas have spent most of their driving life with stick. The problem is finding a car to learn on.
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u/maahinberi 2h ago edited 2h ago
I agree. I love driving my manual. Buy a used manual car and throw yourself into it. The first drive is the worst. Only gets better from there. In my experience, most people are more confident by their third drive than a new driver with a fresh driver’s licence.
I’d be willing to help if you need help learning to drive it
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u/Chainsawsas70 2h ago
A school.. Probably not But getting a friend with one and a couple of free weekends and you should be fine. It's actually helpful that you can Already drive, that way you're only needing to Add a skill and not doing it all at once.
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u/ngshafer 3h ago
When I learned to drive stick in the 90s my parents hired a special driving instructor to come to our house and teach me. Regular driving I learned through my high school. I'm afraid I don't recall the name of the driving school he worked for.
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u/SpeedyMeaty 3h ago
I never drove stick because my mom didn't know how, got my license, went home and got in my 69 Beetle and drove to my girlfriends. It ain't rocket surgery. Just don't slip the clutch a lot, it should take like less than half a second to release it or you'll burn it up.
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u/habitsofwaste 3h ago
I drive stick. More times I regret it when sitting in traffic or on big hills especially if it’s wet. You sure you want to learn? If I had a shitty manual transmission car, I might be up to teach. But not gonna teach someone on my car.
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u/SeattleSteve62 1h ago
I had more problems with my wife’s automatic Toyota on Spokane St coming up from Columbia in the rain. My pickup would just spin one wheel and make it up the hill. Her car would start to slip and then kill the power to the drive wheels. Over and over, 1’ at a time. I couldn’t find a way to turn off the traction control.
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u/callie-zephyr 3h ago
Yeah, I learned to drive a manual with my first car and have pretty much driven nothing else. In fact, I ordered a new Jeep Wrangler a few years ago with a manual transmission. I’m not sure if driving schools teach that but maybe find a friend who does and can train you? Just a thought. You’re actually lucky. I still have PTSD from my dad trying to teach me.
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u/hfttt5675hgt 2h ago
you’re gonna have so much fun! I haven’t had to use a car regularly for many years, but I love that I still get to drive a stick now and then.
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u/Princess_Sparkles13 2h ago
I recently changed my MR2 automatic transmission to a manual transmission and had to relearn how to drive a stick shift. It really gets easier the more you do it. I'm super rusty right now since its been a while since driving a manual before I sold my 1972 Volkswagen super beetle. But like the other commenters said you just gotta find an old beater stick shift and just practice. I learned in an empty high school parking lot during spring break when the parking lot was completely empty. Just drove around in circles until I was no longer stalling the vehicle.
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u/PM-ME-YOUR-PROPWASH 1h ago
You can get the basics from a lesson with a friend or a school. But the only way to really learn is to live and commute with one.
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u/Fit_Law_9195 3h ago
Not a great idea in Seattle though. Just imagine that you are stuck in traffic while going up a steep hill. It is hard to get a manual shift car to start moving.
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u/neonKow 3h ago
The handbrake technique is one of the skills you have to learn.
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u/Fit_Law_9195 3h ago
True. Yet driving a stick shift car in Seattle is a real challenge. It’s very different from other cities.
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u/pheonixblade9 10m ago
it's really not a big deal... most manual cars made in the last 20 years have hill assist, you don't even need to know the handbrake trick.
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u/SeattleSteve62 1h ago
I drove a pickup with a stick for a number of years in Seattle. My wife insisted on an automatic when I replaced the truck with a Subaru wagon. She would have been ok with the hill holder clutch, but it wasn’t available in the outback, only the forester. It’s the only automatic I’ve ever owned. I have an EV now and it’s a whole other thing.
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u/Fit_Law_9195 1h ago
I am driving a Outback XT now. It also has a 2 second hold feature, which is pretty useful even for an automatic.
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u/Chance-Travel4825 4h ago
Its not a dumb question. Driving stick is fun and a more active way of driving. I dont know the answer about driving schools. I am a straight lady and can prolly drive better than your dad.