so im in the process of getting my dads 2008 fit base 5 speed manual. ive been driving for 3 ears but never drove a standard. ive actually got the hang of it pretty well but today when i was practicing holding it on a hill i was doing it perfectly right but i could smell that clutch burning. im still going to practice a bit on hills im just concerned if i could possibly blow out the clutch.

 

When I was learning, I went to a large empty parking lot and just practiced starting off in 1st and 2nd. You get the feel of that friction point and then it just becomes natural.

If you are ever on a hill with someone behind you and you are worried...you can always pull the parking brake just a bit to catch you from rolling and as you find that friction point, release the brake so you can go forward--it takes some practice but works well. I do it even to this day if I'm driving someone's car I'm unfamiliar with on a hill...and I've been driving a stick for 10 years.

 

Just give it enough time and it will all feel like second nature to you. The manual tranny in my CRX Si had a good feel to it. Honda did a good job of engineering it. I miss driving with a manual tranny and telling the gearbox what to do. Although
my motorcycle is still equipped with one. I like it, especially since there's less things to distract you on a motorcycle. I don't even have a radio to worry about on the thing. Although I've always wondered what it would be like to drive a motorcycle with an automatic tranny?

 

i wouldn't worry about blowing the clutch out. after a while it will all be second nature and you wont think of it anymore.

you planning on any mods?

 

The suggestion to use the handbrake is a good one. In Europe, they use their handbrake all the time in those situations. That is what it is for! Not merely as a parking brake. They drive mostly manuals over there and during your driving test, if you DON'T use the handbrake when you need it, you get points deducted.

Don't panic, you can manage, just practice on gentle hills.

 

Studebaker came out with a device that would allow the brake to remain engaged on a hill after you removed your foot off of the pedal and the clutch pedal is down...... The same 1936 design " hill holder" is being used today by Subaru.

 

Studebaker was ahead of its time in many ways.

 

just concentrate on first gear. after you got that down - the rest is cake.

 

thanks for all the replies. ive been driving around now no problem. still a little rough sometimes and its still not second nature but im sure it will be eventually. and at score score04w im definitely planning on some mods. i cannot stand the hub caps i have so some rims and tires, tints and maybe a rear spoiler are in mind. any good websites you would recommend?

 

Thought I was the only one who was using the handbrake this way, good to know I got company

The concern I hear from most newbie stick-shift drivers is that using the "handbrake hill holder" complicates things... Well, better to learn it the right way and have some sort of fail-safe, than slip backward when fudging the clutch release and smash into someone else's front end

I still do the handbrake hill-holder technique BTW and I've been driving manual gearboxes for 10 years. I'm sort of a rarity as most new drivers here nowadays prefer automatics...you'd be hard-pressed to buy a car with a manual gearbox here these days.

 

Lawlz, if you did it "perfectly right" then you would not have smelled the clutch burning. First step to solving a problem is admitting that you have one ;-)

 

Here on the other side of the "pond" we seldom drive automatic, almost everybody drive with stick and when we get our car license it is with stick drive. So it is a bit funny to see people struggling to go from automatic to stick for me
But I can understand the problem. There is a few new items you suddenly have to pay attention to while driving...
And as everyone here said: it comes with practice, practice and practice.

When I bought my Jazz in '07 that has CVT (Automatic gears) I was afraid that switching between my work-car that had stick drive and private-car that has automatic should be a problem.

After driving the Jazz from the dealer for the first time, I was in love with the CVT and totaly got a hang of it after going through two roundabouts with traffic. Next day I was driving the stick-shift and was stalling the engine at the first intersection I got in, but after that there was no problem shifting between those two cars...

The tip with the hand brake when doing a hill start is a very good one. I even do this when my work-car has much load and starting in a hill. It gives you much more control.

 

This is the safest and most effective way of getting used to manual on a hill. By using the handbrake as a back up system, you're able to gather confidence in not smashing someone else's front end whilst you're trying to find the "sweet" spot of your the clutch. You also will save your foot muscle from cramping if the Traffic light takes 5 minutes to go to green ( like one near my place).

The hills near where i live at are really steep! I mean like it goes up about 60 meters in less then a km. It was great practice for me for hill practicing, there was a traffic light that was turning right on that damn steep hill, and God knows how many times i stalled there when i was practicing. Luckily i ALWAYS had my handbreak on. Otherwise i wudve probably smashed into about 15 odd or so front end of the car behind me.

Not saying this is only for when you practice, it's also a handy trick on driving when you're waiting on a long trafficlight on a hill as i've mentioned before. I still do this often, because of the amount of hills and traffic lights here in my area.

In here u also get deducted in the driving practical test if you don't put the handbreak whilst waiting for a sign or lights on a hill. If your car move back even a quarter of an inch they wont tolerate it. They want total safety and that means no cars gliding backwards in highways.

Hope this helps and yea it'll take time to get used to but driving manual has its perks. Not having a go at AT drivers, but driving manual is so much fun! You'll never get tired of driving manual (except if you're in a country like Indonesia, where you need to stop and reclutch about ever second or so, Literally.

 

Hmmm - I thought all the hills in Australia went down.

 

+2 on the handbrake for the hill stop. very useful tool and heck of a lot cheaper to replace than a clutch I'm 35, been driving manuals for 20 years and still use that tactic sometimes

 

Lol well of there's a hill going down there must be a hill going up right? What do you mean by the hills are only going down.. If so that wouldn't be a hill.. It'd be a slide or something hahaha

 

That's funny!

 

That's the way my mom taught me to drive 32 years ago. Seriously, I have to admit, she was a pretty good driver, and I learned a lot of really good tips & tricks from her.

 

No

The side-of-the-slide near the bottom....
Turn-around

 

Now you know my kids learned to drive a stick on a pickup truck. That clutch is a lot more resistant to slippage.
Rent or borrow one if you casn.