Accidently shiftinfg from 5th to second?

[Pryme]

It was also hard to tell where l was in gear...l knew l was in 5th and thought "l'll downshift to 4th" then as soon as the rps went flying l immediately knew l was in second and braked, which slowed the rpms down...because l'm a newbie l look at which gear before l shift and becuase it was in the morning, l couldn't see the gear pattern very well...(black on black is really hard to see). I'll get the hang of it soon...lol

Forget hitting the brakes in that situation, that would take forever and wear your brakes. Stab the clutch which take a microsecond and you're all good.

[MacClyver]

Yeah no big deal.

l thought l killed the tranny...being new to stick shift...

The biggest damage you just did was cause undue wear to your synchro on second gear. Synchros are basically mini clutches that match input and output speeds. Otherwise you'd need to precisely rev match to able to change gears. Rev matching isn't all or nothing, blipping the throttle to downshift or waiting a moment for rpm to drop when upshifting will reduce future wear. Closer you get the smoother the shifter will go into gear and the less wear they'll get.

I learned to drive manual trial by fire too. It's an art, one that no driving school will teach you.

Edit: when I was helping a good friend learn manual having a rpm table to become familiar with helped, though not much help when driving.

[Loren]

It's an art, one that no driving school will teach you.

I own a driving school, and we offer manual transmission instruction for those who are willing to pay for it. But, most driving schools don't.

[Mark]

I own a driving school, and we offer manual transmission instruction for those who are willing to pay for it. But, most driving schools don't.

I work for a driving school, & we don't provide that option.

My son-in-law (& daughter) live in Helsinki. If you want to drive a manual in Finland, you must use one to take your driving test. They own an older Fiat Punto (manual) that is shared with his parents & sister. Parking is scarce where they live. They all share one car (which he purchased used from a cousin) & use metro transportation.

They do, however, have a family cabin on a lake 50 miles out of Helsinki. They still manage to share one small car.

[MacClyver]

I own a driving school, and we offer manual transmission instruction

Serves me right for speaking in absolutes...

One I went to only offered behind the wheel in automatic PT cruisers(this was back in 2012). Nor had I heard of any offering to. Sorry Loren, way to give your students the option .

[Loren]

Most schools don't teach it because they don't have a manual trans equipped "official driver's ed car" to teach it in. (We don't, either!) They generally don't because there the demand for it in the US is extremely low. But, as driving school "owner/operators", we get around that by using our personal vehicles to teach manual transmission.

It's probably just slightly outside the rules, and my personal insurance company might have a problem with it. We mitigate the risk by approaching it a little differently than "normal driving instruction".

If I get a student that wants to learn manual trans:

1. They must be a fully licensed driver. No learner's permits. No noobs. You must be a licensed driver who at least knows the basics of driving a basic car with an automatic transmission. I'm trusting you with my own personal vehicle, it's a little different from teaching in the DE car with the instructor brake, and a lot less for a student to get confused about.

2. I have them meet me somewhere, usually a nearby public park. I pick them up our official DE car, and have them drive that first. I evaluate their general driving skill. I'll offer feedback if they have issues (everybody wants to roll through stop signs, signal turns really late -- or not at all, speed, etc), but that's not what they hired me for. If I'm satisfied that they are a competent enough driver, we'll start talking about how the transmission works, and how even an automatic transmission can be shifted manually. Discuss gear ratios and maybe play with that just a little bit.

3. I'll have them drive the DE car to where my car is, usually parked on the street just around the corner from my house. Then *I* will drive them back to the park where we started, demonstrating basic concepts along the way.

4. We actually start with them learning to drive manual trans AT THE PARK. If they pick it up right away, the lesson might end with a brief trip out onto real roads to run through all of the gears. Otherwise, the entire lesson could take place in the park.

5. Most people only take one or two lessons. I'd prefer two or three to get more into the finer points and practice more, but most people stop at "the basics" and just one lesson.

Sorry for the tangent. But, that's how I do it.

[dspace9]

Most schools don't teach it because they don't have a manual trans equipped "official driver's ed car" to teach it in. (We don't, either!) They generally don't because there the demand for it in the US is extremely low. But, as driving school "owner/operators", we get around that by using our personal vehicles to teach manual transmission.

It's probably just slightly outside the rules, and my personal insurance company might have a problem with it. We mitigate the risk by approaching it a little differently than "normal driving instruction".
)

That's interesting Loren. I learned how to drive manual in a big empty parking lot in a Rabbit and an Escort GT my friend had. They say that manuals don't hold their value because people don't want them. So I don't care and bought my 2014 Mirage new in manual. I drive trucks at work, so I'm used to driving a variety of vehicles.

Anyway in some ways the truck license and the drivers ed you describe there is similar with the competent driver aspect. I have had my license renewed like 3 times now I think.

Forklift trucks turn with their rear wheels so it's different.

Anyway I have shifted from 5th to 2nd before, vrooom! but don't make a habit and you're ok I think. Baby the Mirage, still I am finding I have a few issues with my Mirage now, even with low kms and oiled/no rust.

[MirageRally]

Yeah no big deal.


The biggest damage you just did was cause undue wear to your synchro on second gear. Synchros are basically mini clutches that match input and output speeds. Otherwise you'd need to precisely rev match to able to change gears. Rev matching isn't all or nothing, blipping the throttle to downshift or waiting a moment for rpm to drop when upshifting will reduce future wear. Closer you get the smoother the shifter will go into gear and the less wear they'll get.

I learned to drive manual trial by fire too. It's an art, one that no driving school will teach you.

Edit: when I was helping a good friend learn manual having a rpm table to become familiar with helped, though not much help when driving.

yeah, still breaking the transmission in...l'm at 578 miles now and this little car is great. Can do hill starts good and always have car in N and foot off clutch at stop lights....how long do these syncros last? Also does anyone know how much they would cost to replace? Trying to make my car last as long as possible

[klroger]

.how long do these syncros last? Also does anyone know how much they would cost to replace? Trying to make my car last as long as possible

Lets not turn this into the same as discussion as people who are scared about their CVT...It will last eleventeen hundred thousand miles, it will cost twentyteen hundred dollars to fix & it should be fine to get you over the mountains... Just make sure you double clutch every time you shift like a "Billy Big Rigger " driver & the syncros will last forever...

[Eggman]

You might have to explain double-clutch techniques and why it is helpful.