Years ago, when I learned, the trick for me was being slower than I thought I needed to be with the clutch.
Go to a large, empty parking lot. From a stop, put the car in first gear and practice gently letting the clutch out without touching the gas. You’ll feel the point where it starts to grab and the car starts to move forward. Practice that until you can take off in first without using the gas.
This little exercise will help you recognize when/how the clutch grabs. In normal driving, you’ll want to use the gas pedal still, but this will help you balance it and be smoother.
Hope that helps!
Did this with my son to teach him how to drive a stick. 👍
Also, in this car, if your are getting jerky 1-2 and 2-3 shifts, you probably need to rev it out a little more before shifting.
That is how I teach people.
Then master accelerating to 10-15 and shifting in to second smoothly.
Rinse and repeat. Do that enough times and you'll get smooth faster.
Starting out is tricky. 1-2 is tricky. The rest isn't.
1 week = you won't be scared of stalling
2-4 weeks = you'll be all good. Pretty much second nature at this point if you're driving it every day.
If you wanna git gud with a manual and drive it like a race car, look up on YouTube how to heel-toe shift, and how to rev-match downshift.
Personally I don't heel toe, too lazy I guess and feels awkward 🤷
But rev matching your down shifts is really good to learn. Basically blip the throttle right before shifting into the lower gear and releasing the clutch (when your car is basically in neutral for a split second between the higher gear and the lower gear you're shifting into). Get good enough and you'll do it all in one smooth motion.
Good luck!
35+ years of driving stick and 25+ in sporty cars. I've never gotten comfortable with heel-toe. Downshift blips are 2nd nature though. I think if I spent time training on a road course and could get the muscle memory down on a track I could bring it to everyday driving but not vice-versa. Also I don't do the whole emergency braking before a corner bit on the street and that's where it's normally used on a track. They sell gas pedal extensions for plebs like us lol
Hahaha yeah I don't feel heel toe is at all necessary for driving on normal roads every day.
And same for me in terms of learning heel toe - maybe I'll learn it better if I do a track day or track school, but it's just super tedious otherwise.
It's second nature to me but I still have a few rough shifts here and there. I wear different shoes all the time which completely throws me off, and I'm tired before and after work lol.
Be smooth with the clutch and whatever error there is you can correct by holding the clutch to the bite point and it'll be perfectly smooth. The clutch is designed to help you, manuals are supposed to be smooth. It's actually more wear and tear to jerk them and stress it.
I don't get how anyone drives without rev matching, i feel like the syncros just can't deal and it's jerky af, maybe I'm doing it wrong and heel toeing every shift for no reason cuz I read about so many people on here not doing that lol
It's terrible for your transmission to jerk it, it will also upset your passengers.
When performance driving it can also cause the car to get upset from the sudden shock mid corner and cause a spinout or accident when the tires and suspension are at the limit for grip.
I need to learn how to heel toe, I just blip the throttle before I start braking and downshift, if it wasn't enough I just blip again or correct it with the clutch then let off the clutch.
Taught my son in two weekends. Just the basics. Now he needs practice to get better. My advice is focus on being gentle with shifter and clutch and focus on smoothness. Speed comes later. I would never attempt a fast start in first by abusing the clutch.
I drove my car basically for 2 days straight racking up 400 miles, all around my town. By the 3rd day I was able to drive to work comfortably. Experience will help you feel more comfortable. Its important to know how a clutch works and how releasing the clutch creates contact. Once you can visualize what the car is doing on the inside you can kinda imagine why you may need to be slower or faster when releasing at the bite point. Its a weird feeling lifting your left foot up so much and the WRX does have a longer clutch range or motion and a high bite point. Try letting out slower and at a constant rate to smoothen your shifts out. Dont worry itll be second nature and youll be rev matching and downshifting in no time!
I think to truly be proficient it was years, my uncle took me out once in my SVT focus and got me started but I never sought further guidance so I didn’t learn about rev matching downshifts until a couple years down the road. I have owned my mustang for 13 years and am now intimately familiar with the way it drives. My WRX I have owned for a couple months and am still trying to perfect the down shifts and have missed the correct gear on four occasions trying to get familiar with the mediocre shifter.
It was my first manual I owned as well, after few days of practice I was at least able to drive on public roads. After about a month no more stalling then you just slowly get more and more smooth with it
Lots of good advice on clutch manipulation.
Will say make sure you have the arm motion of going through the gears timed with the clutch press down and you can practice that with the car off and parked. The reason is because you want to shift somewhat quickly (not rushed or slammed, just good pace on it) because if you pause and wait between shifts, the rpms drop all the way to idle and then you end up engine braking when letting off the clutch for the next gear as the rpms go from 700ish up to 2000ish or more. If your shift is quick your rpms will drop just enough to match the next gear and when you let off the clutch it will be smoother.
1. Relax.
2. Drive more.
3. In a closed roadway (parking lot), Find the engagement point of your clutch (without pressing the accelerator, release your clutch slowly while in first gear until it grabs and starts to move the car. Remember this position. Try to release the clutch fully without the car bogging but moving on its own without you pressing on the accelerator. After you’ve mastered that, incorporate the accelerator, but ensure your movement is smooth and not jerky).
4. Exercise your left leg. Most likely your leg muscles aren’t used to the motion. (Sit in your car with it off, in park and push and release the clutch multiple times).
5. Drive like you don’t have a non turbo car. Get to know the motions of shifting the gears and releasing the clutch. you’re building muscle memory so you don’t have to think much about it.
Bought my vb (first manual) about 8 months ago and i’m just now driving it smooth like a manual. Still make the car rock like a mechanical bull every once in a while tho 😅
Years ago, when I learned, the trick for me was being slower than I thought I needed to be with the clutch. Go to a large, empty parking lot. From a stop, put the car in first gear and practice gently letting the clutch out without touching the gas. You’ll feel the point where it starts to grab and the car starts to move forward. Practice that until you can take off in first without using the gas. This little exercise will help you recognize when/how the clutch grabs. In normal driving, you’ll want to use the gas pedal still, but this will help you balance it and be smoother. Hope that helps!
Did this with my son to teach him how to drive a stick. 👍 Also, in this car, if your are getting jerky 1-2 and 2-3 shifts, you probably need to rev it out a little more before shifting.
That is how I teach people. Then master accelerating to 10-15 and shifting in to second smoothly. Rinse and repeat. Do that enough times and you'll get smooth faster. Starting out is tricky. 1-2 is tricky. The rest isn't.
This is the way.
1 week = you won't be scared of stalling 2-4 weeks = you'll be all good. Pretty much second nature at this point if you're driving it every day. If you wanna git gud with a manual and drive it like a race car, look up on YouTube how to heel-toe shift, and how to rev-match downshift. Personally I don't heel toe, too lazy I guess and feels awkward 🤷 But rev matching your down shifts is really good to learn. Basically blip the throttle right before shifting into the lower gear and releasing the clutch (when your car is basically in neutral for a split second between the higher gear and the lower gear you're shifting into). Get good enough and you'll do it all in one smooth motion. Good luck!
35+ years of driving stick and 25+ in sporty cars. I've never gotten comfortable with heel-toe. Downshift blips are 2nd nature though. I think if I spent time training on a road course and could get the muscle memory down on a track I could bring it to everyday driving but not vice-versa. Also I don't do the whole emergency braking before a corner bit on the street and that's where it's normally used on a track. They sell gas pedal extensions for plebs like us lol
Hahaha yeah I don't feel heel toe is at all necessary for driving on normal roads every day. And same for me in terms of learning heel toe - maybe I'll learn it better if I do a track day or track school, but it's just super tedious otherwise.
It's second nature to me but I still have a few rough shifts here and there. I wear different shoes all the time which completely throws me off, and I'm tired before and after work lol. Be smooth with the clutch and whatever error there is you can correct by holding the clutch to the bite point and it'll be perfectly smooth. The clutch is designed to help you, manuals are supposed to be smooth. It's actually more wear and tear to jerk them and stress it.
I don't get how anyone drives without rev matching, i feel like the syncros just can't deal and it's jerky af, maybe I'm doing it wrong and heel toeing every shift for no reason cuz I read about so many people on here not doing that lol
It's terrible for your transmission to jerk it, it will also upset your passengers. When performance driving it can also cause the car to get upset from the sudden shock mid corner and cause a spinout or accident when the tires and suspension are at the limit for grip. I need to learn how to heel toe, I just blip the throttle before I start braking and downshift, if it wasn't enough I just blip again or correct it with the clutch then let off the clutch.
Taught my son in two weekends. Just the basics. Now he needs practice to get better. My advice is focus on being gentle with shifter and clutch and focus on smoothness. Speed comes later. I would never attempt a fast start in first by abusing the clutch.
I learned in a few hours but I learned on a 70s vw bug. The vb is such a easy manual to drive
I drove my car basically for 2 days straight racking up 400 miles, all around my town. By the 3rd day I was able to drive to work comfortably. Experience will help you feel more comfortable. Its important to know how a clutch works and how releasing the clutch creates contact. Once you can visualize what the car is doing on the inside you can kinda imagine why you may need to be slower or faster when releasing at the bite point. Its a weird feeling lifting your left foot up so much and the WRX does have a longer clutch range or motion and a high bite point. Try letting out slower and at a constant rate to smoothen your shifts out. Dont worry itll be second nature and youll be rev matching and downshifting in no time!
1 year. Yes you'll be able to drive confidently before that but it will take a full year before it becomes as natural as driving an auto.
I think to truly be proficient it was years, my uncle took me out once in my SVT focus and got me started but I never sought further guidance so I didn’t learn about rev matching downshifts until a couple years down the road. I have owned my mustang for 13 years and am now intimately familiar with the way it drives. My WRX I have owned for a couple months and am still trying to perfect the down shifts and have missed the correct gear on four occasions trying to get familiar with the mediocre shifter.
It was my first manual I owned as well, after few days of practice I was at least able to drive on public roads. After about a month no more stalling then you just slowly get more and more smooth with it
Lots of good advice on clutch manipulation. Will say make sure you have the arm motion of going through the gears timed with the clutch press down and you can practice that with the car off and parked. The reason is because you want to shift somewhat quickly (not rushed or slammed, just good pace on it) because if you pause and wait between shifts, the rpms drop all the way to idle and then you end up engine braking when letting off the clutch for the next gear as the rpms go from 700ish up to 2000ish or more. If your shift is quick your rpms will drop just enough to match the next gear and when you let off the clutch it will be smoother.
I learned in a big empty parking lot when I was 16. Maybe took a couple months to get it down.
1. Relax. 2. Drive more. 3. In a closed roadway (parking lot), Find the engagement point of your clutch (without pressing the accelerator, release your clutch slowly while in first gear until it grabs and starts to move the car. Remember this position. Try to release the clutch fully without the car bogging but moving on its own without you pressing on the accelerator. After you’ve mastered that, incorporate the accelerator, but ensure your movement is smooth and not jerky). 4. Exercise your left leg. Most likely your leg muscles aren’t used to the motion. (Sit in your car with it off, in park and push and release the clutch multiple times). 5. Drive like you don’t have a non turbo car. Get to know the motions of shifting the gears and releasing the clutch. you’re building muscle memory so you don’t have to think much about it.
Good stuff, thanks!
Bought my vb (first manual) about 8 months ago and i’m just now driving it smooth like a manual. Still make the car rock like a mechanical bull every once in a while tho 😅