The next step...after the new 'shifter' gets comfortable is to get out of
the parking lot and hit the road. Find quiet neighborhoods. And start the
shifting up through the gears...one hiccup here is when the new 'shifter'
gets into fourth gear, s/he seems to go at a speed where the engine is
turning comfortably; only trouble is, the speed limit is, say, 40 mph, if
you're lucky, and you're traveling 60 mph. Next step is to teach the new
'shifter' is to find the speedometer and take a look now and then. :) We
established goals to visit, like new home displays, which supplied odd
parking angles, reverse, and a few hills. Makes for an interesting day or
two. :)
--Pat K
----------
>From: "Loughmiller, Scott" <scott@radiate.com>
>To: boris@elpiner.net
>Cc: ba-autox@autox.team.net
>Subject: RE: renting a car with a manual tranny
>Date: Mon, Aug 20, 2001, 10:03 PM
>
>After teaching several of my friends to drive a stick, including my
>girlfriend, who is now my wife, I've found a little trick that makes it
>easier, and keeps them from causing much damage to the transmission.
>
>It's Mike's suggestion, don't worry about the gas at first, but instead of
>just letting them try to get going, have them let the clutch out slowly
>until they feel the clutch start to engage and then push the clutch back
>down. If you have them do this like 10 times before they do anything else,
>they learn that pushing the clutch down is the "safe" position, and they'll
>get a feel for where the clutch engages and all that jazz.
>
>The best effect of this is that the first time they try to actually get the
>car moving, when the car starts to move, and they invariably freak out, they
>push the clutch down instead of taking their foot off of it which is most
>people's first instinct.
>
>I'll probably try the speed bump lesson next time, that seems like a good
>one as well.
>
>-Scott
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Allendorfer, Mike [mailto:mwa96imp@regionofdoom.com]
>> Sent: Monday, August 20, 2001 21:28
>> To: boris@elpiner.net
>> Cc: ba-autox@autox.team.net
>> Subject: Re: renting a car with a manual tranny
>>
>>
>> One suggestion I have heard is to teach the student to let
>> the clutch out in
>> a parking w/o touching the gas. When they can do that w/o killing the
>> engine, they are ready to learn to add throttle. The rest is
>> fairly simple.
>> Oh, having them start at a speed bump is a good second
>> lesson. Just park
>> them on the start of the bump and then have her start up the
>> speed bum w/o
>> killing the engine.
>> I'm assuming she knows how to steer and pay attention
>> already. Of course
>> when my daughter was learning, she would change lanes while
>> looking down to
>> the lever and figuring out where to move it to next :-)
>> Mike
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