New to manual driving...please help!

[Tempted2Speed]

I was thinking so too. It doesnt get TOO bad in traffic does it?

 

[heathcliff57]

I was thinking so too. It doesnt get TOO bad in traffic does it?

Depends on the type of traffic. Stop and go for miles and miles does get irritating. But that's just another excuse to take the back roads. :thumbsup:

But seriously, it's not *that* bad.

 

[-jakrbt-]

:thumbsup:Op, look at it like this. Driving a stick-shift becomes 2nd nature in a very short period of time. Until my recent .:R purchase in Feb., every car I've owned was stick. The first one I drove was a 1985 Honda civic in the mountains. Pretty nerve racking. The next time was a 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass. My mom handed me the keys on graduation day (her car) and said "Don't wreck it." And I didn't. May've given my cousin a slight case of whiplash, but that's it. When you're driving a stick, the only time you have to think about it is when you're starting off from a stop. After that, the rest is cake. If you concentrate on stalling the car on take-off, you will. It's that simple. Sure, it may take you a few times to get it right and sure, you will stall out, or jerk the car some, but it's just growing pains. Nothing major. You won't hurt the car. Just make sure you take it slow the first few days, and like others have said, stay away from hills. Once you're moving, you're fine. Just depress the clutch pedal, shift into the next higher/lower gear, and let out on the pedal again. It's not rocket science. Personally, I think the GTI 6MT would be a good car to learn on. Easy to drive and you will enjoy learning on it. As for occassionally wanting an auto, you will at some point hate driving stick when you're sitting in stop-n-go traffic. But that's negligible compared to every other time. I love my .:R like no other car I've had and I like the DSG, but I can honestly say if I were going to change anything about it, I'd much rather have stick. You just feel more connected to the car that way. No to mention once you get the hang of it, you can do higher RPM launches. With DSG, I only get a 3200 RPM launch. Without spending $1000 for a DSG tune, that's all I get, too. But that's not something to worry yourself with for a good while. So, get your GTI, drive the sh!t out of it and have a good time!

 

[VMRWheels]

You seem like a fairly intelligent and capable person. I wouldn't worry about ruining the transmission as it's really easy to learn how to drive a manual. If there is anything to be concerned about it is to get used to the power of a GTI over say an old beater car. My advice to you in any situation while learning to drive manual with a manual GTI is just don't panic. I've heard more cases of new drivers falling into a panic-mode just before they stall and end up going WOT and into another car or structure.

Be patient with the car and yourself and you'll be fine.

 

[twisted by dezign]

I bought the GTI without knowing how to drive stick. I even test drove it and stalled it a few times before the salesman took over :lol: My dad drove it off the lot for me (and stalled it in front of the tech) then we went to an empty parking lot where I practiced for an hour. After that, I drove across the city without stalling.

It really is easy! Just practice and try not to go to hilly areas until your confidence is up. At first I had trouble climbing my driveway and had to ride the clutch to get it up there, lmao.

 

[boostedGTIguy]

Sorry to be OT but this totally reminded me of this hahahahah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An2kxVA33rg

 

[mazzilli]

ye dude u should get used 2 it real quick...i picked up an mk5 gti mt n i was pretty bad at stick..picked up in no time ..youll b fine in a week tops!!!

 

[mkhighfive]

the first time i drove stick on the road was test driving the gti which i bought and now im actually really good at driving stick. my clutch is fine and it really doesnt take long to master driving stick. go on youtube and watch a couple of how to videos on it they are really helpful but i would go for it. its so good.

 

[Tempted2Speed]

Great advice guys Im psyched to learn it, I have alot of confidence Im going to get it done right. Just too many people around here who drive auto telling me Im going to crash my car or do something like that learning stick especially in a gti.

 

[Silentpirate]

a local guy by me... 18 or 19 yrs old, bought a brand new 09' GTI. doesnt know how to drive stick. he tried racing somebody, did a 3-2 shift when he was supposed to do a 3-4..


blew his motor, well over 12,000rpms it rev'd to. has to pay 7k to buy a new one.

save yourself time and money, either learn stick before even buying it or just buy dsg. you cant fuck it up

my dad has done the same thing didnt blow my motor, and doesnt matter if your new or someone who has been driving for years in my dads case decades sometimes mistakes happen and do be careful on 2/4 they are very close lol always make sure your in the right gear to you really get a feel for it

 

[projekt.kieru]

I bought the GTI without knowing how to drive stick. I even test drove it and stalled it a few times before the salesman took over :lol: My dad drove it off the lot for me (and stalled it in front of the tech) then we went to an empty parking lot where I practiced for an hour. After that, I drove across the city without stalling.

It really is easy! Just practice and try not to go to hilly areas until your confidence is up. At first I had trouble climbing my driveway and had to ride the clutch to get it up there, lmao.

similar story for me as well but it was an Evolution IX MR and it was my roommate who picked up the car for me. i took it off the lot and stalled on a hill on my way back to the dorms. roommate came to rescue me. do not go on hills on your first couple of hours. trust me. rolling back will make you panic and make things worst.

 

[Scharf]

Word of advice. Go out at 3-4 in the morning so you don't have to worry about other people.

Let it roll and carve up those hills. I have more respect for people driving stick over auto even if it is in a cheap old ass car.

 

[rippie74]

How long you guys think it'll take to burn?

Take your time & have someone ride with you who is experienced & they'll show you how to properly work the clutch. You can thrash a clutch in our cars in 1 weekend. That'll = $1000.00 repair bill for you.:thumbsup:

 

[cardeezy47]

Take your time & have someone ride with you who is experienced & they'll show you how to properly work the clutch. You can thrash a clutch in our cars in 1 weekend. That'll = $1000.00 repair bill for you.:thumbsup:

But more than likely you won't. I went from driving an S2000 to the GTI and they have completely different clutches. I was riding the GTI clutch for a long time before I got familiar with it. Most likely you won't have any issues, it's just a learning period.

And as for traffic, our cars have a very soft clutch, I don't mind being stuck in traffic because it's pretty effortless to engage the clutch.

Definitely go for the 6 speed, DSG is fun to brag about and all, but in the end 6 speed gives an all around better driving experience.

 

[Mayday5]

you will get it no worries. i was like many of you here and got the car without ever learning how to drive stick. i drove a friends mini cooper s a few times. then test drove the gti... stalled it once but that was it. the gti (and rabbit) all have great transmissions in my opinion. all though im sure some of you know about this but isn't there a difference between a hydraulic clutch and a mechanical clutch? i test drove a G37 once and it felt a lot different and a lot harder to drive and the salesmen told me it was a mechanical clutch vs. a hydraulic clutch that are in the gti's. he said most newer cars have hydraulic clutches (which he said that's why it's so much smoother) and then i drove a porsche cayman and the clutch felt exactly like the gti, it was weird lol. but i found the G37 a lot harder to drive. i didn't stall it at all it just made for a very bumpy and harsh ride whereas i can drive my gti nice and smooth without problems. and it seemed like driving that car would suck a lot more in traffic. what do you guy's think? i would think if he drove a car with a mechanical clutch, going to the gti or rabbit would be a cakewalk.