Mastering the Manual: A Comprehensive Guide to Driving Stick Shift

For many drivers today, the manual transmission is a relic of the past, replaced by the convenience of automatics. However, learning to drive a stick shift offers a unique connection to the driving experience, providing a sense of control and engagement that automatics simply can't match. While manual transmission vehicles may only represent a small percentage of annual auto sales in the US, the ability to drive one remains a valuable and rewarding skill.

Why Learn to Drive Stick?

There are several compelling reasons to learn how to drive a manual transmission:

Versatility and preparedness: You never know when you’ll need to know how. What if you need to drive a friend home? What if you need to borrow a friend’s car, and the only one available has a manual transmission? What about renting a car while abroad? Manual transmission cars are much more common internationally than in the US, so automatics are not always available, and if they are, are much more expensive. Knowing how to drive stick means you’ll never be caught flat, clutch-shy-footed, in a pinch.
Potential theft deterrent: Because a manual transmission can act as a possible thief deterrent.
Cost savings: Manual transmission cars are generally less expensive than automatics. Because very few people today know how to drive a stick shift, the demand for them is low. This can be annoying if you’re looking for a specific model of car with a manual transmission and it isn’t offered. But the upside is that manual transmission vehicles are often priced lower than their automatic counterparts, and the lackluster demand for them can be a bargaining chip when you’re buying used.
Fuel efficiency: Manual transmission vehicles generally get better gas mileage. Not only will knowing how to drive a standard save you money when you purchase your car, it can also save you money for years after, as they typically get better gas mileage than their automatic cousins.
Emergency situations: You can sometimes push start a manual transmission car with a dead battery.
Access to unique vehicles: Some really cool cars only come with a manual transmission. If you ever decide to buy a vintage sports car and fix it up, knowing how to drive stick will greatly expand your selection of vehicles.
Driving enjoyment: Driving stick is simply more fun! If you’ve only driven with an automatic transmission your entire life, you don’t know the fun you’ve been missing. Driving an automatic feels passive and artificial - like you’re merely pointing or steering the car instead of controlling it. With a manual, you actually feel like you’re part of the car, and you’re attuned to its vibrations and noises. Plus, manual transmissions are proactive instead of reactive - you get into the gear you need instead of waiting for the automatic tranny to hunt for the right one.

Understanding the Basics

Before you get behind the wheel, it's essential to familiarize yourself with the components of a manual transmission vehicle:

The pedals: clutch, brake, gas. The clutch pedal - absent on your automatic transmission car - is the pedal on the far left. You press the clutch pedal when you shift gears up or down. More on shifting in a minute. The brake is the pedal in the middle; it’s used for, well, braking. The pedal on the far right is the gas. Works just like your gas pedal on your automatic transmission. One of the things that throws people off when driving a stick shift for the first time is the addition of that clutch pedal because you now have to use BOTH feet when driving - not just your right foot. You’ll be using your left foot to press the clutch and your right foot to press the brake and gas pedal.
The gear shifter: Your gear shifter does just that - it shifts the gears on your transmission. Most modern manual transmission vehicles come with six gears: first through fifth gears, and then reverse gear. On the knob of the gear shift you’ll find a diagram that shows what position the shifter needs to be in in order to engage each gear.
The tachometer: The tachometer is a gauge on your dashboard that shows you how many revolutions per minute your engine’s crank shaft is going. When you begin driving a stick shift, the tachometer is a good way to help you determine when you should shift up or down. Generally, you should shift gears up when the tachometer is around “3” or 3,000 RPMs; shift down when the tachometer is around “1” or 1,000 RPMs. After some experience with driving a stick shift, you’ll be able to figure out when to shift by the way your engine sounds and “feels.”

Getting Started: Practice Makes Perfect

A little note before getting into the mechanics of driving stick: I highly recommend that you practice what we’re about to explain with the car turned off and the parking brake engaged. It gives you a chance to get a feel for how the gears engage and disengage and how much give or resistance the clutch has. It also allows you to get comfortable with the general body mechanics of moving the gear shifter and pressing the pedals with both feet versus just one. So after you read the instructions and before you turn on the car, practice going through the motions of shifting.

Starting the Engine

Probably the hardest and most intimidating part of driving a stick shift is actually getting the car going in first gear. It takes a while to figure out how much you need to press down on the gas and how slowly you need to disengage the clutch for the gears in your car to catch and get moving. To prevent any frustration and self-inflicted violence, accept from the outset that you’re going to stall the car. It’s okay. It’s all part of the initiation into the Brotherhood of the Manual Transmission. The good news, though, is once you get the car moving, shifting gears is super easy.

Let’s get this car rolling.

Practice in an empty parking lot. You’re going to stall and lurch the car, so practice where there isn’t any traffic and where you have a flat surface. Empty parking lots are the ideal stick shift practice venue. It’s also a good idea to have somebody in the passenger seat who knows how to drive manual so they can provide pointers.
Press in the clutch and brake pedal, and start the car. To start a manual transmission car, you’ll always need to press the clutch while you turn the ignition switch. While you don’t need to have your foot on the brake to start the car (like you do with an automatic transmission), it’s a good habit to keep. With the clutch pedal pushed down with your left foot, and your right foot pressed on the brake, turn the car on.
Put the car in 1st gear. If it isn’t already, push the gear shifter into 1st gear. If there’s only one thing you get from what I’m about to explain, let it be this: never shift gears without fully depressing the clutch pedal. Failing to do so while the car is on will result in a horrific grinding sound and you making regular trips (and payments) to the transmission shop. So make sure your foot is still pressing the clutch pedal all the way down before shifting into 1st gear. To put the car into 1st gear, use your right hand to move the gear shifter up and to the left.
Make sure the gear is fully engaged. How do you know when it’s fully engaged? You’ll be able to feel it as well as see it - the gear shifter should stay in place when you remove your hand from the gear knob.
Keep the clutch pedal and brake pushed down. Don’t take your left foot off the clutch yet or else you’ll stall out. Keep the brake depressed as well.
Move your right foot off the brake and onto the gas pedal. At the same time, start to release the clutch with your left foot. This is the tricky part when you’re first learning. Take your right foot off the brake, move it onto the gas pedal, and start pressing it…while at the same time slowly letting up on the clutch pedal with your left foot. You don’t want to stop pressing on the gas with your right foot while you do this or else you’ll stall. Keep light pressure on the gas pedal with your right foot so that the tachometer stays around 1,500-2,000 RPM while you’re letting up on the clutch with your left foot. If all goes well, you should begin to feel the gears “bite” or take hold of the spinning engine and you’ll start slowly moving forward. When you’re rolling at a steady clip, you can let up on the clutch completely. Congrats! You’ve successfully got a car moving in first gear.
If you stall, begin from the beginning. If you do stall the car, don’t fret. Just start the above process from the beginning.
Come to a stop. To stop, simply press down on the clutch with your left foot and the brake with your right foot at the same time.
Repeat until you can get the car going in first gear without stalling. Keep practicing getting the car going over and over again until you can do it regularly without stalling the car. If you do stall, laugh at yourself, and start the process over again.

Starting the car in first is basically the same process you’ll use when backing up, only the gear shift will be set in reverse. Sometimes if you’re on even a slight decline, you can get going in reverse without needing to press on the gas by simply taking your foot off the clutch.

Hill Starts

Find a hill and practice there. Once you’ve mastered starting on a flat surface, find a hill to practice on. Starting from a standstill up a hill requires much more finesse with the clutch and gas pedals. You don’t want your first hill start to be in actual traffic with a car directly behind you. Trying to get your car going without stalling or rolling back into the driver behind you can be nerve-racking for a new manual transmission-er.

Hill Hold: Most newer cars have hill hold, so when putting the car into first gear and taking your foot off the brake on a hill, the car won’t roll back.

Shifting Gears: Smooth Transitions

As mentioned earlier, once you can get the car moving from a standstill and into 1st gear, you’ve pretty much mastered 90% of stick shift driving. Upshifting into other gears is a breeze. Generally, you’ll want to upshift when the tachometer hits about 3,000 RPMs. It will be different for every car, but it’s a good rule of thumb. If you shift too soon, you’ll feel the car shudder, and you’ll need to downshift to keep it from stalling.

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Upshifting

When you’re ready to upshift, just follow this pattern:

Take your right foot off the gas pedal and press the clutch all the way down with left foot and move gear shifter fully to next gear in one, synchronized motion.
Release clutch pedal while simultaneously pressing down on the gas pedal with right foot.
Completely let your left foot off of the clutch pedal once you’re in gear and continue to press the gas.

Downshifting

While you shouldn’t downshift to get your car to come to a stop in normal driving conditions (see below), there is a place for it in your stick shift driving arsenal. Obviously it’s needed when you’re driving in traffic that slows and speeds up as you go along. Downshift as your car slows and the tachometer drops to around 1.

Also, when you’re driving on hazardous roads, particularly on snow and ice, you don’t want to rely on your brakes to slow down lest you slide into the car in front of you. Instead, slow the car down by shifting into lower gears. If the roads are really slick, you’ll probably just want to stay in second gear.

Developing a Feel for the Car

You’ll probably rely on the tachometer when you first start driving a stick shift to know when to shift gears. But with experience, you’ll be able to do it by how the car sounds and feels. If the engine is making a high pitched noise and it feels like no matter how much gas you give, you’re getting nowhere, then you’re in too low a gear and need to upshift. If the engine is making a low, rumbling noise and is vibrating a lot, you’re in too high of a gear and you need to downshift.

Avoiding Common Mistakes

Don’t Ride the Clutch You’ll want to avoid “riding the clutch.” What that means is avoiding resting your left foot on the clutch pedal when you’re in gear. While the light pressure of your foot resting on the clutch pedal is not enough to disengage the gear completely, it is enough to partially disengage it which causes premature wear and tear on your clutch. Bottom line: when you’ve successfully shifted into a gear (or neutral), remove your left foot completely from the clutch pedal.
Stalling: If she does take her foot off the clutch without giving it a little gas, she’ll stall the car. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. She needs to understand the point at which a stall happens. Warn her not to ‘pop’ the clutch, or let off it too quickly; if she does, the car will lurch forward.
Braking to come to a full stop: This is really important. When braking to come to a full stop, she should put in the clutch at the same time she applies the brakes to avoid stalling out. You can also teach her to shift into neutral; this will also prevent a stall. For light braking, though, the clutch does not need to be used.

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