Standard vs Automatic

[MyCamaro5]

Hey guys I just can't make up my mind on whether im going to get a Manual or an Automatic. I'm 19, 20 in april (living in the OC) and a certain part of me deep down just really really wants to drive a manual car sometime while im young and kickin but within a year i will hopefully be transferring to USC in LA for school and i hear from some people that its a hassle to drive manual in traffic etc but on the other hand people say that driving manual just becomes second nature and you really don't notice it after a while... but the problem is I DONT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE MANUAL YET So if i do decide to get a manual i would have to learn before i get my car.. Ok so i know the basic concepts of driving a manual car and i've driven my friends car around the block once or twice but thats about it...

WHAT TO DO!?

Advice from experience manual drivers please!

Is it hard to learn? how long would it take (to get good)? could i get good enough just from lessons via a friend?

Thanks

[Black5thgen]

I have a manual, second manual car I have owned. It takes about 10-12 times behind the wheel of a stick car to drive it OK. I would say about a month to really learn the car.

Best decision I made. It's fun to drive and with all the torque of the LS3 it's very easy to drive as well.

I just don't believe you're 19, nobody under the age off 55 calls it a standard trans.

[mrcowboy]

If you the standard take it, by the time u move u will be a selfshiftin god.

[zebra]

i've been driving a standard since i was 11. it's that easy. once you get used to it, it really ain't a problem in traffic (unless you have a problem with your left leg). just practice & it'll get easier & easier


ps - you will stall it. just go ahead & accept it

[jpsuperman81]

Its not hard to learn, its not hard to get good it just takes time. Nothing hard about it just takes time. Get the manual its more fun and cheaper, unless your unable to drive one medically or face terrible traffic daily get the manual. First manual I had was a Silverado pickup and I bought it not knowing how to drive one. My girlfriend drove it home for me but I practiced and I had to drive it to work so i picked it up pretty quickly. I stalled a few times but never any major problems. Just practice stopping and starting aand hills, small ones at first and you will be fine. There is nothing more fun than driving a manual, autos are very boring. Tapshift is ok but his kinda car V6 or V8 is more fun with a manual. I am not auto bashing so no wars please.

[Kelso]

Hey man im only 17 and been driving manual from little on. Its way more fun to run through the gears than have the car shift for u...and by the way about two weeks of driving it does become second nature

[mrcowboy]

O btw my wife said that she like driving manual because it's scary! That's why I love her lol

[Croatcamaro2010]

manual, funk the auto, plus with the manual there are people who dont know how to drive it so then you will have an excuse to not let others drive it

[MyCamaro5]

The problem is that i don't have a manual car in the family but i know someone who does have a standard g35

This is kind of off topic but what exactly happens when you stall your car? does it just stop or what? lets say for example you were going 65 on the freeway and you stalled your car what would happen? vs going 40 on local? Thanks again! ^^

[Kelso]

Thats true talk croatcamaro2010 and i like it!

[MyCamaro5]

Originally Posted by Croatcamaro2010

manual, funk the auto, plus with the manual there are people who dont know how to drive it so then you will have an excuse to not let others drive it

hahahahaha this is one reason why i want the standard transmission! hahaha keep my baby to myself

[deljaso]

Originally Posted by MyCamaro5

The problem is that i don't have a manual car in the family but i know someone who does have a standard g35

This is kind of off topic but what exactly happens when you stall your car? does it just stop or what? lets say for example you were going 65 on the freeway and you stalled your car what would happen? vs going 40 on local? Thanks again! ^^

You only stall it when you're trying to get moving from a stop, everything after that is easy.

[jpsuperman81]

You willl never stall a car going down the freeway, only time you will stall is on take off if you don't give it enough gas to engage, it will stall and lurch forward some, so make sure never happens close to someones rear or anything that doesn't move. Shifting a manual while in motion is so easy a caveman could do it, you press the clutch you shift you let go, easy right. Taking off especially on inclines is what has to be learned. Each clutch has a sweet spot where it engaes and the car moves and every car is different and thats what must ne learned. You will learn your everyday car pretty fast and a great manual driver can jump in almost any car with no problems even if the clutch is little different.

[MyCamaro5]

Ohhh so you can't even stall it after you're moving? haha that makes things seem a lot easier than i imagined... i thought you could stall the car in any gear at any speed..

Another random question about standard transmissions... Is engine braking bad for the engine? like shifting down to slow down?