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It seems like it should be rather simple, but you would be surprised at how few people know how to drive a stick shift… even some of those who drive one every single day.

For those of you who choose not to drive a stick shift for fear of learning, you really should take the time to learn. There are many reasons that make driving a manual transmission useful, such as:

• Better gas mileage
• Emergency situations
• Overseas traveling (many foreign vehicles are manual)
• Just about every “fun” sports car!

While we are not going to go through the mundane steps of how to push in the clutch, push on the gas, etc. We are going to go over a few of the important fundamentals of driving a stick successfully.

A burning clutch is neither a good smelling or cheap part to replace once you have mistreated it and worn it out. Here are four important things you should know about driving a manual transmission properly.

1. Never shift gears while driving over railroad tracks or a pothole- This is something that not everybody knows, but the jarring of a bump while changing gears can be very traumatic on a manual transmission. It is better to wait to change gears once the road is clear.
2. Never hold yourself on a hill using the combination of the gas and clutch- This will burn up a clutch in no time if you do this often enough. A clutch is happiest when it is all the way pressed in, or all the way out! This is often used by a beginner who is afraid of rolling back when starting out on a hill from a standstill. Learning to maneuver a hill with enough speed takes practice, but if you ever find yourself in this position as a new driver, here is what you can do.
   1. Apply your emergency/parking brake while you are waiting on the hill. This will give the new manual driver a chance to maneuver the gears without worrying about rolling backwards. Once the car is in gear and the clutch is engaged, you will feel the car pulling forward. This is when you gently slide the parking brake off and the vehicle will be on its merry way. Whatever you do, don’t panic if you find yourself in this situation!
3. Don’t drive for extended periods with the clutch partially pressed, or your foot resting on the clutch pedal- Once again, the clutch is happiest all the way in or all the way out. Sure, you will have to transition from this when you are starting from a standstill, but you want to make this transition as quickly as possible. It is common for the new manual driver to “ride the clutch” (keeping it partially pushed in to control the vehicle speed), but they need to learn that there are better ways to do this, such as using the brake.
4. To save on brakes, some people down shift to slow their vehicle on corners and hills- To do this properly and with the least amount of jerkiness, it is a good idea to “rev match”. This simply refers to allowing the engine rpm’s to match the speed of the car before engaging the transmission. Instead of simply putting the clutch in and sliding the stick into the next lower gear, the driver is instructed to “blip” the gas pedal before letting the clutch out all the way. With the increased rpm of the engine with the blip, the engine will match the speed of the vehicle and gradually slow down as the rpm drops. Otherwise, the lower gear will force the engine to speed up to catch up with the lower gear and will abruptly jerk the car to a quick slow down.

Manuals transmissions are quickly becoming an extinct animal in the United States, but that doesn’t mean that you will never be faced with one. Do yourself a favor and learn how to drive a stick (the right way)…

Many drivers clam that you have better control and feel of the road when using a manual as compared to an automatic… so you just might find that you like it better anyway!