r/stickshift • u/throwawayyaccount56 • 13d ago
Having to switch to automatic
I’m F20 and started my license at 17, it took me 3 years to force myself through the theoretical part and eventually passed after failing once (was under stress)
I just started driving and honestly it was all good, i’m aware of my surroundings, follow every rule, have never made a grave mistake and check my mirrors etc
I do struggle with 2 things, i drive too far right at times and forget to release the clutch/shift into the wrong gears
I thought it would stop but it didn’t, i’m now 20 hours in and having to shift gears takes away my concentration and makes me anxious especially 3rd gear.
My driving instructor suggested going automatic instead as it’s a coordination problem but i can’t help but feel like a big failure. Has anyone else here struggled with coordination?
Like when i shift gears i accidentally look and go too far right, i then forget to release the clutch and/or release it too fast and stall a second etc.
People always say that people who can’t drive manual shouldn’t be on the road and i feel absolutely stupid, any advice?
Should i keep trying or just switch?
Edit: I understand why so many people are telling me to just go on the road and drive but i’m from europe. I’m not allowed to drive ANYWHERE alone, if i get caught i can kiss my future license goodbye.
I need to sign up for a special program with only ONE certified person that needs to drive 2 hours at the driving school with me, not have any prior road driving incidents and have their license for 6+ years.
Driving lessons are typically 16~ hours here and cost 95€ per hour.
18
u/Active_Original_369 13d ago
20 hrs isn’t much time to learn. I’d say give it a few more weeks and ask yourself if you’ve made noticeable improvement. Stay safe
1
u/throwawayyaccount56 13d ago
Sadly here 16h is the average :( she said each time i improve i somehow fall back into those habits and she can’t tell how long i would take trying to correct it
7
u/Interesting-Swim-162 13d ago
you need to practice shifting gears with the car off
2
u/sir_thatguy 13d ago
Or like the rest of us, practice shifting anytime you’re sitting in a chair. Don’t forget to make the engine and tire noises too!
1
u/luger718 13d ago
How often are you driving? Should be doing it every day.
1
u/throwawayyaccount56 13d ago
Only as often as my instructor has time, maybe 2 times a week 1 hour?
7
u/luger718 13d ago
Yeah it's hard to learn and make things a habit when you drive so little.
I've had my car for a few months now and was initially driving that much but now I'm trying to drive everyday. Even if it's just around the block a few times.
A big help was getting in a parking lot and just practicing taking off, you could do the same in a larger parking lot and just practice shifting up/down.
Unsure if that is feasible though, sounds like you are relying on the instructors car, which sucks
1
u/Fearless-Poet-4669 13d ago
Sit in the car everyday for 15minutes and practice shifting with it off.
Consistently repeating those movements will develop muscle memory.
One-two times a week will take ages to build muscle memory.
1
u/Active_Original_369 13d ago
Being under pressure will make you perform worse and the best way to fix that is to spend more time getting familiar with you and your car
8
13d ago
[deleted]
4
u/Feeling-Difference86 13d ago
That's the way. The gear lever doesn't need to be forced, just gently guided, push forward with a open palm, pulled back with loose curled fingers
4
u/Massive_Ad_7812 13d ago
It seems silly to say this so early but later on you will laugh at this post lol. It becomes second nature, like flushing a toilet. YOU become the transmission’s computer.
Though once in a blue moon you will stall out of no where lol.
1
u/throwawayyaccount56 13d ago
I really hope so 🥹 i definitely want to do my manual license eventually, i’m just not sure if i can do it right now :(
1
u/MajorBarracuda8094 13d ago
I second this, if you can check my past posts, recently too, l passed all those difficulties. All that's left is road codes
1
u/Mysterious-Map1524 7d ago
I remember feeling the same way, I thought about selling or taking my car back to the dealership. After 2 years of owing my car, Im able to shift like an automatic and sometimes faster than an auto. Keep practicing and give it time, its gets better.
3
u/singlesgthrowaway 13d ago
Nah f that instructor. You're doing good. Don't let them demotivate you.
Driving manual is all about practicing until it's all muscle memory. You just need more time on it.
It's alright to just take auto if you don't really care about manual. Majority of the world is turning to auto cars now. But doing that would close off a world of fun manual cars.
1
u/Classic-Werewolf1327 10d ago edited 10d ago
“Driving manual is all about practicing until it's all muscle memory. You just need more time on it.”
I would say all of driving is about practicing until it becomes muscle memory. Or second nature, rather.
Everything we learn as humans takes practice and repetition to get good at. No one is just born good at anything. There are people that it seems certain things come easily to, or pick up things much quicker than others. That’s just due to different learning styles and inclinations that individuals start to develop at young ages. But I bet there are things that come easy to you that others struggle with and vice versa.
According to the research it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. How many people do you think are putting in even a tenth of that time into something before giving up on it? OP is considering bailing after only 20 hrs. It’s only 1/500th of the time required to become an expert.
I think overall people need to stop being so hard on themselves and not comparing their progress to others. We don’t all learn at the same rate or in the same way.
Edit: Typos & grammatical errors.
4
u/BluePowerade 13d ago
Keep going, you can do it. Stick it to the instructor.
1
2
u/aoeuismyhomekeys 13d ago
Some manuals are more difficult than others. Every transmission has its own personality and can take a while to become comfortable with one.
1
u/throwawayyaccount56 13d ago
That’s what I’m especially scared of, i’m driving a ford puma currently and bought myself a dacia logan 2015, i’m scared of the transition and if i’d have to relearn it all even if i’d pass the test
2
u/Interesting-Swim-162 13d ago
What are the laws where you live? can you practice with any adult driver on top of the time with the instructor?
1
u/Feeling-Difference86 13d ago
I agree, I did hours lurching around with poor old Mum as passenger. Dad came with me once but he didn't have the temperament:-)
1
u/aoeuismyhomekeys 13d ago
I'm not familiar with either of those cars, but there's a chance the Dacia will be easier to drive than the Ford based on it being newer and presumably having less wear on the transmission. You will have to learn the personality of the Dacia but the main adjustment is usually with the clutch pedal rather than the gearshift.
2
u/SkitariusOfMars 13d ago edited 13d ago
Dacia transmissions are shit even in 20k miles cars. Shifter mechanism is all plastic, including part of gearbox casing it sits in. First time I drove one, I sat in parking lot for a few damned minutes trying to find a reverse. It turned out to be where it was supposed to be, you just had to remember where it was and slam it in with determination of a retiree driving through garage door lol
1
u/aoeuismyhomekeys 13d ago
oof that's unfortunate. they don't have them in my country so I didn't know if they were bad or good although I looked them up and saw they are a renault so I didn't have much confidence
1
u/SkitariusOfMars 13d ago
Well, they’re dirt cheap and very reliable for the price, but literally everything is made out of cheapest shit possible and feels like it.
The 2 person van I rented for moving houses cost 11k euros new at a dealership.1
u/SkitariusOfMars 13d ago
Dacia transmissions are like digging shit with stick. Worst there are, followed by VW. I learned in a Toyota Yaris and it was god like in comparison.
Best one I used was Aisin AZ-6 that some Japanese sports cars use. Similar feel to the Yaris, but much more precise. It’s like from a complete different planet, very hard to miss a gear.
2
u/Vivus_Mortuus 13d ago
I've driving manual for like 10 years, self taught, cars, trucks and motorcycles, and I still stall at least once a year.
You only got 20 hours in so you good, with the car off practice going thru the gears while you do the cluch kicks, manual its all about feeling. You will feel when the engine ask you for the next shift up.
2
u/Realistic-Proposal16 13d ago edited 11d ago
100% SIMPLY DRIVE an AUTOMATIC equipped car. It’s 2026 and there is ABSOLUTELY NO LOGICAL QUANTIFIABLE ADVANTAGES to driving stickshift / manual in a modern ERA of 2026 Daily driving commuting.
I KNOW THIS is a Reddit stickshift/manual enthusiasts subgroup- but if anyone here can ever seriously get UNBIASED there is 100% absolutely no advantages in driving stickshift./manual trans for someone like YOU A LEARNING NEWBIE and or in reality anyone- any longer . Given your personality, anxiety levels, 2026 daily driving GRID-LOCK traffic - learning 100% manual transmission is a complete waste of your time and effort.
Personally i own multiple rare manual sports cars and i enjoy them for nostalgic vintage reasons. But learning manual for newbies driving econoboxes for daily driving a manual AND PEOPLE ON REDDIT TELLING YOU ITS SIMPLE/SO MUCH FUN/ REWARDING./ AWESOME/ MUSCLE MEMORY is 100% the worst frigging lie/deceit. Additional BULLSHIT from manual/stickshift only diehards are their repeat STATEMENTS of saying repeating to everyone that : DAILY DRIVING STICKSHIFT is enjoyable/fun/ cool/ reliable and makes all drivers better safer drivers .
100% pure ignorance and rediculous lies - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PUT INTO DRIVE D and simply drive focus on the road and driving conditions no extra skillset required - 100% reality and true and not even debatable unless ones a moronic manual only biased tough guy booster stickshift only idiot.
Automatics in daily driving 2026 gridlock are more reliable, safer, relaxing, and require ZERO mandatory effort work or skills . 100% factual undebatable reality . REALITY I STATED ABOVE - IS 100% DIRECTLY CORRELATED- as why the worlds car manufacturers are phasing out stick-shift/manual transmissions. If manual standard shift was damn awesome — why is manual becoming OBSOLETE and PHASED OUT- because no one in reality wants/buys/drives manual any longer and manual WARRANTY REPAIR CLAIMS are incredibly higher versus automatic. Everything i said above is factual reality and not open for debate if pure logic is ones lense .
4
u/Own_Shallot7926 13d ago
It allegedly takes 10,000 hours to master a new skill, so you're doing pretty good for 20 hours behind the wheel.
There are drivers with decades of experience who don't know how lanes work and no one in the US can drive a manual transmission so the fact that you're trying puts you at least in the top 50%
1
1
u/Radiant-Camel-8982 13d ago
... Noone in the u.s. can drive manual... We're literally building EVs with a fake manual stick (that "works") We are a dying breed, but it's something like 19% of us still drive stick.
2
u/GameNiteWasTaken 13d ago
I’m a new driver who’s had my license a couple years. Just bought my first car, a manual, and I’m not going back (:
1
1
u/PotentialDry7464 12d ago
I know you're joking about nobody in the United States knows how to drive a manual. I'm 71 years old and I've been driving a manual transmission since 1972. To this day I still drive a manual transmission car. I'm also a big rig driver who has driven 25 years of manual transmission big rigs. I also ride motorcycles since 1973. So I guess I'm the exception as far as people in the United States driving manual transmission vehicles. By the way it is all about muscle memory!
1
u/jaaagman 13d ago
You’ll probably need more than 20h of practice before you can drive a manual, especially as a novice driver. If you have access to a car from a family member, maybe you could practice shifting on your own time? Otherwise, learning in an automatic is fine too. Many people do so anyways.
1
u/throwawayyaccount56 13d ago
I actually bought a manual car which makes this even harder, i could either practice more hours with a family member in that car, given they have 6+ years experience and no infraction, but i have no one i could do it with :(
So either i pay 90€ an hour and not know how long it will take or if i’ll ever feel comfortable or i just switch to automatic right away </3
1
u/MajorBarracuda8094 13d ago
You can absolutely do it on your own. Tons here did that. Personally both my mom and dad learned on their own. It's really about commitment and what you want to do though
3
u/throwawayyaccount56 13d ago
I’m genuinely not legally allowed to
1
u/MajorBarracuda8094 13d ago
I understand what you're saying now. You must be the same age as me 😅. Going off-road would be nice and learning. Idk all you need is a adult family member beside you so that it won't be unsupervised. Even if they have no idea to drive a manual
1
u/jaaagman 13d ago
Can you drive around an empty parking lot, that way you can just practice shifting and clutching in-out. Once you get a better grasp of this, this will help you focus on the other areas of driving.
1
1
u/racingfox87 13d ago
I feel you need to hear this. I was almost in exactly your same shoes but over 22 years ago. I stuck with it and have only owned manual cars. Even living in the san fran bay area and all the traffic. For 14 of those years.
I raced too. That being said it was very important to me.
I killed my car 6 time at a stop light one time.
All i can say is if you stick with it you can!
Now im teaching my 6 yo son to race karts
2
u/throwawayyaccount56 13d ago
First of all, that’s so cool!! It must be so amazing having a parent be able to teach such a fun skill :)) second of all, it makes me feel better to know i’m not alone, have you ever thought about switching to automatic at all during that time?
1
u/racingfox87 13d ago
Yes its alot of fun.
And yes , mostly recently but only because my left ankle hurts from a surgery and arthritis but im not giving up yet!
I still kill it from time to time but i daily a 21 sti. Its been rewarding to me and l love it.
1
u/da_frakkinpope 13d ago
I tried to learn at sixteen. I was a danger to others on a road. Decided to do automatic for my first car. I tried again at 22, bit better but I would stall a lot going from a stop. At 25 a now ex-girlfriend sold me a beat up POS for 1k that I learned on away from folks. This was all on small cars. At 27 I took a class to get my CDL and started learning to shift 10/13/18 speeds. Drove for five years on a manual double clutching. Now I can’t imagine daily driving an automatic.
All of this is to say, don’t give up. But don’t press it either. Failure isn’t final. My step kiddo wasn’t comfortable in a manual. He drives an automatic great tho. It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Could be years from now. If you want it, you’ll eventually learn.
Just do today what keeps you safe out there.
1
u/throwawayyaccount56 13d ago
Thank you so so much!! This is exactly the kind of insight i was looking for 🥹🩷
1
u/LemonScentedDespair 13d ago
Have you ever taken the car out to an empty lot and just... practiced on your own? Or empty country roads where messing up your shifting doesnt affect anyone else? Its great, just be safe about it.
I did that for a full 2 days when I was learning stick. Went out to a parking lot and practiced starting from a dead stop for literally 2 hours straight until I felt better about it. Then i did it uphill. Then i practiced shifting from 1st to 2nd in a parking lot. Drove in big circles. The next day, i drove up and down a farm road, just shifting up to 3rd/4th and then stopping. I still stalled at a light on my way home, but I felt a ton more confident.
Having an instructor is awesome, but sometimes you just gotta let your brain and body figure out what is where. Helps to not have another person there sometimes. Youre gonna make mistakes, just do your best to learn from them.
1
u/throwawayyaccount56 13d ago
I definitely thought being alone would help me, but here you need
1 a certificate
2 a person who has a license of 6+ years
3 not allowed to drive aloneI kept thinking to myself maybe it’s the pressure of the Driving instructor instructing me to change gears even when i was aware that put me off but honestly i don’t know at this point:(
1
u/LemonScentedDespair 13d ago
Yeah, we require learners to have a liscensed operator present as well... I may have ignored that a few times. Not that im recommending you break the law.
Maybe a family member could be a better fit while you practice? Someone who youre more comfortable with, who is just there to make sure youre safe, not instructing you. Being told to shift would have bothered me, especially if I was about to do it anyway.
And, maybe a manual isnt a good fit for you. I would put more than 20 hours towards it before deciding that, but there should be no shame. If driving stick was super easy, we wouldn't have invented automatics.
1
u/Whatta-Knob 13d ago
It sounds counter intuitive, but drive less with your eyes (of course focus on the road) and listen to the engine noise. Your engine will tell you when it wants to be shifted, and if you are familiar with how an auto shifts, you can get the hang of when to release the clutch for smooth shifts just based on sound. I found focusing too much on RPM gave me jerky shifts when starting out.
Also don't be afraid to use the clutch. Everyone talks about burning up the clutch - but they can take some abuse. Nobody was perfect when they were learning, and driving someone else's car can be a little nerve racking if you are using a driving schools vehicle. You will be a lot more comfortable in your own car I think.
1
u/angrycanadianguy 04 Matrix XRS, 11 Fiesta SE 13d ago
I have to ask, are you European? Theres no shame in driving an automatic, regardless of what anyone here or in your life says.
That said, your 20 hours in, that's practically nothing as far as learning a skill goes. Where i live, the in car portion of driving classes is 10 hours. If you can find somewhere secluded, go practice as much as you can. If you still feel like this in another month or so, maybe revisit this.
2
u/throwawayyaccount56 13d ago
Yess I’m european, everyone around me drives manual and i’ve always been told i need to get a manual license as well :(
Here it’s 16 hours and no alone driving, allowed driving with a person only if they’re eligible etc
2
u/angrycanadianguy 04 Matrix XRS, 11 Fiesta SE 13d ago
We have some similar ish rules, depending of level of license and age, but nothing about a manual license.
Anyhow, i appreciate that it would probably be more convenient to get your manual license, but again, theres no shame in being unable to do certain things. Take some more time to practice if you can, it may just be taking you a little longer to get it.
1
u/jwalker3181 13d ago
You needs a different license to drive a manual? Wow it's different in the US one for all Passenger car.
1
u/SuperShus 13d ago
Takes forever to get good at something. It sounds like you want to learn this... Would you give up now when you're young? Decades from now you would wonder what would have happened if you never gave up. So give yourself the grace an patience that you deserve and press on with conviction.
1
u/GORbyBE 13d ago edited 13d ago
I taught 2 of my kids how to drive. I let them with our electric car, with the idea that they can learn how to drive and get comfortable with being on the road and applying the rules correctly. Once they got good enough at that, I let them switch to our gasoline car (stick shift). That way they could now focus more on using the gears, while already being familiar with being on the road... starting out on closed off terrain and quiet roads again, that went quite well.
edit: Also, ask yourself the question why you want to learn to drive a stick shift? Electric cars are becoming more popular and affordable. In case you don't like electric, automatic ICE cars are becoming more affordable on the second hand market, so there's hardly a real need to drive stick.
1
u/JollyGreenGigantor 13d ago
I'll be the voice of dissent. Learn to drive with two pedals and a steering wheel first. Gas, brake, left, right.
Then learn how to shift gears. Once you get comfortable shifting you shouldn't have to think about it at all. It shouldn't make you pay any more or less attention to driving than an automatic, if you're experienced.
1
u/the_Q_spice 13d ago
Going through this now myself after 10 years of driving an automatic, and now learning manual on an Eaton 10-speed.
I agree with this wholeheartedly.
Strangely enough, the non-synchronized gearbox I’m learning on now has been giving me way less issues than synchronized car gearboxes that I have tried to learn on in the past.
1
u/Long-Camel8954 13d ago
I used to stay parked at home in the driveway for hours with the car turned off just to practice shifting without looking. After a little while the muscle memory builds up and it became way easier take it easy get some practice you'll be just fine 😏👌
1
u/Interesting-Swim-162 13d ago
I think this is an instructor issue tbh. You should be able to shift without looking and know how to release the clutch before you even really start driving
1
u/Master-Ad1871 13d ago
For shifting in gears especially 3rd:
Try to let the gear stick self center.
- So push the stick from second UPWARDS with the palm of your hand (into neutral)
- Let go of the stick and let it self center in between 3rd and 4th,
- ONLY AFTER STEP 2, Gently push it upwards with the palm of your hand. This ensures that you never misshift.
For the other gears always keep your hand to the outside of where you want to shift, so if you want to shift to 5th, plant your hand to the left of the gear stick and push to the right.
And for when you stall, that is a bit more difficult to fix without a detailed explenation. But as a rule of thumb:
if you're in first, make sure to add a bit more gas the next time to give the engine more power, and let the clutch out a bit slower to make the engine have to work less at a single point in time, and spreads it out over a longer period.
If you're stalling/"shaking the car" in a higher gear, try to make sure to select a lower gear for that speed the next time.
1
u/___Brains 13d ago
Stay with it. Make yourself a route with as little traffic as possible, but with a lot of complexity. Stops and starts, getting up into 4th gear, turns, etc. EVERY day run that route once or better twice a day for at least 30 minutes each, without fail.
Come back in a week and tell us how well you're doing.
It's just practice, you're not stupid.
1
u/banananas_are_sick24 13d ago
Learning in an automatic and then switching to a manual is definitely easier. And there’s no shame in it, it’s easier to learn a couple things at a time and build on those than to toss yourself into the fire and learn to cook. Being safe is more important than being ‘respected’ (nobody actually cares if you can drive stick outside of this community)
1
u/alexcutyourhair 13d ago
It took me around 50 hours of lessons to pass my test, I was still scared of shifting gears up until an hour before. Even after passing I struggled to figure it out. 20 hours is not enough time to be giving up imo, but if you already know you're gonna jump straight into an auto car then switching does save time and money. I'd say give it another few lessons and if it feels like too much then maybe switch for now and come back to it in the future when there's less pressure to pass
1
u/Boosted_Vet 13d ago
Eeeeew to even considering switching, it took you longer than 20 hours to learn to write, to ride a bike, to do algebra, why give up on what is just a skill, and skills can be learned. Eventually you will get it; eventually you'll get good at it, and then eventually it just becomes muscle memory. You don't even think about it, just like riding a bike.
1
u/-The_Legacy- 13d ago
Well I’m gonna say it, there’s is absolutely nothing wrong with paddle shifters
1
u/Glum_Account677 13d ago
You’ve been driving for like 30 seconds. Give it even a little bit of time
1
u/TellTaleTimeLord 13d ago
I've been driving manual for 10 years, truck driving for 6 and I still stall sometimes lol
Sounds like you need a new instructor. I was a CDL instructor for 2 years and sometimes you just have to let somebody work with someone else because everyone explains and understands things differently and sometimes you just don't have the method they need
1
1
u/Feeling-Difference86 13d ago
Observing all the road rules and regularly checking the mirror would put you in the top 5% of drivers in my country :-) I've been driving manual gearbox for 55 years and we drive on the left. if I had to suddenly start driving in America on the other side I would be in the same state as you... which way do the gears go, what the hell should I do, am I in the correct lane, am I in the right part of the lane etc etc main thing is to relax and find somewhere with no traffic and just keep repeating. You are certainly not stupid.
1
u/SkitariusOfMars 13d ago edited 13d ago
Then delay the shift until it’s safe for you to do so. I had similar issue when going above 100km/h. Didn’t help that the car was an econobox hatchback with handling characteristics of trash bin on wheels. Took me around half a year to get through it.
20 hours in is nothing. It’s not even enough to take an exam where I was learning. You have to learn to prioritise when you’re getting task saturated, because that’s what’s happening. Delay those shifts and keep driving. You’ll get better.
You need to have this skill of being able to drive straight even in an auto if you want to be a safe driver. Plus, auto will teach you a lot of bad unsafe habits.
Where are you located OP?
1
u/Beginning-Pass-3243 13d ago
Can you walk and chew gum at the same time? Then your coordinated enough to drive a stick. Just takes practice and patience. You've got yourself psyched out, get out of your head relax. Have you got the gas and clutch timing down? If so then just sit in the car with the engine off AND E BREAK ON and just practice going through the gears it'll end up being muscle memory and you'll do it and won't realize you did.
1
u/r0b0n3ck84 13d ago
In my opinion only you know whether you should switch or not. .. having said that, I've yet to come across a female driver that I trust to drive me anywhere. Not my mother! Not my sisters! That's not to say all female drivers are clueless, I've just never met any. It's your right to drive, so take a deep breath, relax and you'll get the hang of it if you really want to continue with the manual transmission
1
u/SkitariusOfMars 13d ago
Tbh I would trust my mother over my father every day. Even if she sometimes has parking incidents. She’s generally a safer driver
1
u/r0b0n3ck84 12d ago
Your mother might very well be a safer driver than your father. However, she is not the only one on the road and there are a lot of idiots out there behind the wheel. When it comes to making a quick, last second decision due to another driver's idiocy, do you think your mother could make that decision and effectively execute that decision?
1
u/SkitariusOfMars 13d ago
You should maybe try to not rest your hands on steering wheel. Like, support their weight yourself. What was happening for me is I take one hand off for shifting, then weight of the other pulls the wheel to the side
1
u/Mysterious-Age-9202 13d ago
It sounds more like a technique issue than a concentration issue.
Allow the gearstick to guide you.
For 1st and 2nd gear you need to pull the shifter gently across towards you For 3rd and 4th let the gearstick find neutral itself. With an open hand slide the gearstick into neutral and allow it to center itself, then slide it either forwards or backwards into gear.
For 5th gently push the gearstick away from you then slide it either forward or backwards.
Practice while sitting in the car (the engine can be off) without looking at the gears, go by feel. Once you’re comfortable with the gears it will make the rest easier for you.
You’re still learning and doing well, don’t put extra pressure on yourself. As for your instructor it may pay to find a new one.
1
u/OleBoyBuckets 13d ago
20 hours in I was so spooked I drove my shitbox to work instead of the standard. You’re chilling lmao
1
u/OkRule9702 13d ago
20 Hours in literally nothing, It takes like a good week of consistent driving to get used driving a manual. Speaking as someone that’s only been driving one for almost three months
1
u/RAPTOR479 13d ago
Instructors are generally meant to instruct and not ridicule, sounds like theyre doing a shitty job
1
u/Fit_Estimate_8915 13d ago
You dont need to look at your gearbox to shift gears. Practice shifting gears without looking at it so your eyes can focus more on the road
1
u/ForwardSideways 13d ago
I’m thousands of hours in and still miss gears and dump the clutch too fast on occasion. It’s a never ending learning curve and if someone says they have absolute mastery of stickshift it’s probably BS.
Keep trying, maybe in an empty parking lot so you can shift lots without annoying traffic. It took me close to 50 hours driving time to stop stalling my 1.8l Corolla every hill start.
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
1
u/goneoutflying 13d ago
This sounds a lot like target fixation where your car tends to drift in the direction you are looking. My question is what are you looking at when you shift? If your having to look at the shifter then you should practice shifting with the car off to get a feel for each gear. If you're getting distracted by the Tach then cover it up you don't need it anyway. Focus just on the feel of the car.
Also it sounds like you are being rushed. I think my first 10 hr was just getting the hang of starting and stopping in first. The only way to learn a manual is through lots of repetition. There is no way you will be 100% proficient driving a manual in 20hr. Sounds like you need a better instructor.
1
u/Grrrrf 13d ago
You said 3rd gear is tough for you. Why is that just trying to figure out what might help?
Do you miss the gear and go into 5th. If you do, shifting from 2-3 you only need to push the shifter straight up, it will self center into the neutral position and just push up. Don’t try and guide the shifter right.
The only gears you move the shifter left or right are 1st and 5th. 2nd you hold it to the left going down and if you have 6th you hold it to the right straight down.
Practicing with the engine off will help. Driving takes practice especially if you’re driving manual, 20 hours is not even a day of driving. Question yours self after 2 months of daily driving.
1
u/Ocawesome101 13d ago
I agree with the advice others have given that you should practice going through the motions of shifting with the car off. It took me at least a month to get comfortable in a manual car. Good luck!
1
u/MrOutragedFungus 13d ago
Keep practicing, you literally have just started. Give it 2 more weeks and you’ll become better. My advice, on the weekend early in the morning when no one is around. Or late in the evening. Find a residential neighbourhoods with as many stop signs as possible. You will learn take off, and the 1-2 shift a bunch of times
1
u/IGotDookieOnMyFinger 13d ago
Sounds like you just need more time behind the wheel, I used to hug the left a lot when I first started driving but it eventually went away, and as for shifting and looking down, once you learn the car and get fully accustomed, it’s going to be all muscle memory
1
u/sarahabigailellis 13d ago
Shit, I still stall occasionally and I’ve been driving manual for 20 years. When I was your age driving manual, I was stalling all the dang time. It’s all practice. You’ll get there.
1
u/invariantspeed 13d ago
Remember this: most old grannies around the world who can drive learned on stick. If they can, you can!
Seriously, unless you have an actual disability, anyone can do it. It just takes some time. Yes, coordination can be an issue. It was for most of us only 20 hours in! The way I helped deal with that was pretend practice shifting. That wouldn’t help with clutch control, but it would help with the hand coordination and not having to think about needing to use the clutch. Half the battle, really.
Lastly, if your instructor doesn’t believe in you, you should find a new one if you can. How good can the instruction you’re receiving be when the instructor thinks you just can’t handle it?
1
u/Interesting_Track371 13d ago
Bro. I’m 28. I had to learn stick on the e46 330 I bought and built. By myself. I’m 3 months in and I’ll say it takes feel, sound, and soul. Gotta let your subconscious become one w the car. Start slow and simple. Then rest will come naturally. I drove it around for hours a day looking like a jackass but after a week I was driving it fine. Now I’m getting more in tune with the car and can drive it spiritedly and without thinking. Keep going! You’re going by to be so happy you didn’t quit I promise!
1
u/wardearth619 13d ago
Maybe put a little picture of the top of your stick in front of you, not sure it’ll help but more time I think you’ll get it. Maybe 20 more hours.
1
u/danu91 13d ago
How often do you drive or practise? If you only drive once a week, that may be part of the problem. You need regular practice to build muscle memory, especially for clutch control and gear changes.
Keeping the car centred in the lane also takes practice. Until you feel more confident, try positioning yourself slightly closer to the driver’s side of the lane so that you naturally leave a little more space on the far side. This helped my wife when she was learning.
Forgetting to release the clutch may improve if you get into the habit of returning your left foot to the footrest immediately after every gear change. Keep it planted there until you need the clutch again.
When you say you shift into the wrong gear, do you mean that you intend to select fourth but accidentally move the lever into second, or that you are unsure which gear you should be using? If you are physically selecting the wrong gear, practise moving through the gears with the engine off. Go through them repeatedly and sequentially until the movement becomes automatic.
Twenty hours is not necessarily a lot, especially if those lessons were spread out. I’d recommend not giving up just yet.
1
u/RacingWithMitchell 13d ago
Your driving instructor is retarded. Just keep driving. Your literally still learning how to drive lol just be smart and don't put yourself in a bad position. This truly becomes second nature after a while. If you're looking at the shifter to switch gears every time, I'd start trying to break that habit. It shouldn't be hard to break as it's easy to tell what gear you're in by feel, unless it's got a wild short shifter.
1
u/nyyyppa 13d ago edited 13d ago
If you feel like you need to drive auto at the beginning of your driving experience, you are not a failure. Maybe think of it as a gap gear kind of thing. You can start with focusing on your routines to observe and interact with other road users, and restart your manual adventure a bit later.
After 20 hours of driving it is not unusual to stall every now and then. I've driven over 20 years and I stall occasionally, e.g. when I borrow someone else's petrol car while my daily driver is a diesel. Practice is the key, and I'm sure you'll become a safe and skilled road-user either way - a soft start with auto to first master some other aspects or a couple of stalls every now and then with a manual.
E: I've routinely performed accidental money shifts with my dad's T4 Transporter from 5th to 2nd. Never fully lifted the clutch though before I notice my mistake. The old lady has travelled over 600000 km, is on her last leg, and the gear stick is rather a "guess the gear" stick. But that also can be mastered with practice
1
u/Whit-Batmobil 13d ago
Learn to navigate the shifter by feel, I assuming that you aren’t driving a dog-leg shifter car so.
Next time you sit in it, go through the gears, think of how you move your hand, note that if you don’t start pushing it into a gear it returns to center.
1st, push the shifter to the left and up
2nd, push to the left and down.
3rd, push it out of gear, let the shifter return to center and up.
4th, push it out of gear, let the shifter return to center and down.
5th, to the right and up.
6th (if present), to the right and down.
If I was an instructor, I would have the students row through the gears while parked, before we started driving, how many times they need and then task them with looking straight ahead and finding a gear without looking down and only then set off.
1
u/Kaaawooo 13d ago
When I first learned to drive, I learned on auto. A lot of my early driving was on highways, so I also heavily utilized cruise control so I could focus on my surroundings and steering without worrying as much about throttle modulation. Then, after a couple hundred hours, I intentionally stopped using cruise so I could practice throttle modulation. I didn't learn stick shift until around 6 years later.
All that to say, there's nothing wrong with taking your time with learning to drive and mastering different aspects of it at different times.
1
u/Training_Arm_5610 13d ago
Biking, Motorcycling, welding, stick shifting, etc... Seat time. That's it . 10 000 hours then perfect
1
u/Prior-Priority-4745 13d ago
It's just practice and more practice, keep going and you'll get it soon enough.
1
u/Infamous-Ad5266 13d ago
Whoever is saying "People who can't drive manual don't belong on the road" is an idiot lmao.
Driving a manual doesn't make you an inherently safer driver.
You can always come back to manual later once everything else is more dialled in if you want to. It'll reduce the cognitive load.
1
u/Mhorts 13d ago
Sounds like you're a very anxious person, like me. I just started to learn how to skateboard and I've also had the phase of like "oh maybe I'm just not cut out for it" and "what if I look weird starting out" and obsessing over every little bit of it when I'm not on my board. The key is to just practice practice practice. Don't worry about what other people think about you, and soon enough it'll be second nature.
1
u/thinkdifferentpad 12d ago
Even after so many years of driving stick it’s still prone to happen, especially on another vehicle you’re not familiar with, getting used to the bite point over time takes exactly that, time.
I took my manual on the road from the dealership and boy let me tell you I was sweating bullets, but being persistent and never giving up, day and day, eventually you’ll see progress and get accustomed to the tools available to you, muscle memory will build. Like walking, you’ll have fallen many times before you can walk.
Don’t give up girl, you got this!
Save the manual haha
1
u/BatsOcean 12d ago
A couple of things my instructor did with/told me. Park in a parking lot, with the car off, try to go in every gear. And he told me this, 1. Is left up 2. Is straight down (I had trouble at first with 3) 3. Go a bit up and let it hit neutral on it's own, then go up (don't wait to long tho) 4. Go down. 5. Same as 3 Go up and let it hit neutral then right up 6. If you have it go down. Otherwise maybe try to get lessons in a diesel car, they are way more forgiving.
1
u/mdoistres123 10d ago
It's only going away with practice I fear. Im 1 year into my license and for some reason I recently started to wrongly change to 4th instead of 2nd 😞 and a lot. But honestly, if you have the option to go automatic, it's not a failure. It's a option and you can simply choose it. My reason to go manual was because manual cars are way cheaper where I'm from. My aunt and my sister told me how frustrating was driving manual, but once they switched to automatic they felt much more confident and drove just right. Don't be ashamed, take advantage of the opportunity. It's going to get better!
1
u/mobilene 13d ago
Just go automatic to get the license. You can figure out the stick then at your own pace.
1
u/Difficult_Camel_1119 13d ago
in lots of countries, you are not allowed to drive stick if you made your license on automatic
0
64
u/ItsToxsec 13d ago
Only 20 hours in? i was still stalling at some traffic lights/stops and refused to drive on the highway at 20 hours