How to Drive a Car with Manual Transmission

Whenever you first sit on a driving seat with a manual transmission, you will have difficulty in managing the transmission. It needs a lot of practice and time before you become used to it. Driving with a manual transmission needs a little bit of hard work than driving an automatic transmission, where you need not to worry about changing the gears. But you can become master of driving with the manual transmission as well. What you need is a little effort, practice and commitment.

Directions

• You need to start by having a fair idea about the three pedals on the floor board at the driver’s side. Clutch, brake and gas pedal is the sequence in all the vehicles from left to right.

• To have the fair idea about the position of the gears, you can take help from the diagram given on the top of the gearshift stick. You will notice that 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th gears are on the top and 2^nd, 4^th and the Reverse gears are at the bottom. The crossbar of a three legged H is neutral state.
• Always start at the open place with flat surface. Make sure that the car is on handbrake when parked. Being an amateur, it is better for you to move the gear to the neutral by pressing the clutch pedal, before starting the engine.
• Switch the engine on. Press the clutch pedal and put the car into 1^st gear. With the right foot press the brake and release the parking brake. Once you are ready to move, release the brake.
• Now slowly release the clutch pedal and at the same time slowly pre4ss the gas pedal. You will notice the gear will begin to move slowly.
• Once the car reaches to 3,000 rpm, release the gas pedal, press down the clutch and shift the car into 2^nd gear by moving the gearshift straight down. Move the gearshift down until it will not go any further. Again, release the clutch pedal slowly and at the same time press the gas pedal.
• You need to practice all the gears in the same way for quite a time so that you don’t feel any hesitancy while shifting the gears.
• Downshift is also done in the similar fashion. When you want to decrease the speed or want to stop the car, gradually slows the car. Press the clutch and move the shift one gear down at a time. Release the clutch and brake and mildly press the gas.
• Keep moving the gears down in a similar way until you reach at the 2^nd gear. Apply the brakes and just before the car begins to halt, press the clutch and put the car in to 1^st gear. Then put it neutral and apply the parking brake.
• Same process will go for the reverse gear as you go for the 1^st gear. But one important point here to note is that the reverse gear engages more quickly than the 1^st gear. So make sure that you have a good control on your clutch and gas pedal.