Things You'll Need:
- A car with manual transmission
- Large, empty, flat surface to practice
- At least 6-8 hours to practice
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Step 1
The basic idea is: Clutch + Shift + Gas + Repeat. But before you even try driving off somewhere, get a feel for using your left foot to press in the clutch and shifting gears with the car off. The clutch is different than the break or gas pedals because you have to press it all the way down before shifting, some want their left leg to straighten completely when the clutch is pressed in while others will still have their knees bent when the clutch is pressed in – adjust your seat accordingly.
With the car still off, leave your left foot on the clutch and practice shifting. Push the stick forward to the left for 1st, down to the left for 2nd, up for 3rd, down for 4th, up the right for 5th, down all the way right for Reverse, and to the middle for neutral – you should be able to wiggle the stick left and right freely while in neutral. You may find yourself accidentally shifting into 3rd instead of 1st or 2nd instead of 4th and visa versa at first so keep practicing until you can figure out what gear you're in without looking down. Always make sure the clutch is all the way in or you may accidentally grind the gears attempting to shift and it will make a horrible grinding noise when you're actually driving. -
Step 2
Find a large, empty, flat parking lot to practice in. Hills are you enemy right now as it will cause your car to roll backwards and forwards in neutral – something you won't be ready for yet. Press your clutch all the way in with your left food and start the car in neutral. Release the clutch and hold the break. When you're ready, put your left foot back on the clutch and shift into 1st gear. Slowly ease your left foot off the clutch while easing your right foot on the gas. When your left foot is completely off the clutch, you should be moving forward at roughly 5mph. Remember to both ease off the clutch and ease on the gas at the same time so that both feet are moving simultaneously. If you released the clutch too soon – you'll stall and need to re-start the engine. Too much gas and your car will shoot forward, engine revving. Release the gas, push the clutch back in, shift to neutral, brake and release the clutch. Now, repeat step 2 until you feel comfortable shifting in & out of 1st gear/driving at 5mph & stopping.
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Step 3
Congratulations, you have successfully achieved Clutch + Shift + Gas! All the other gears are much easier after you've mastered shifting into 1st. Once you're in 1st gear again, instead of shifting back into neutral, try shifting into 2nd gear now. You'll know when to shift when you can hear the engine getting louder and your RPMs (that dial on the far left next to the speedometer) going above 3000. Take your foot off the gas to avoid your engine revving, push the clutch all the way down, shift to 2nd, and again ease your left foot off the clutch as you ease your foot back on the gas. Again, take your foot off the clutch too son and you'll stall or too late or too much gas and you will shoot forward, engine revving. You should be able to take your foot off the clutch must faster without stalling in higher gears though. Start slowing down, shift back into 1st, then neutral and brake again. Repeat until you're comfortable shifting from 1st to 2nd/speeding up & slowing down/stopping.
Be careful when turning – you'll need to slow down for these so remember to break! If you slow down too much in 2nd you'll need to downshift back into 1st or else stall so push the clutch back in, shift to 1st, and ease off the clutch while easing back onto the gas and shift back up to 2nd when you need to speed up again. -
Step 4
Now it's time to take to the streets. You should be able to start and shift much faster now without stalling so it should be safe to try driving around wide empty streets. Shifting from 2nd to 3rd or 3rd to 4th is the same as shifting from 1st to 2nd so try it out. Shift up a gear when your engine gets too loud and you see your RPMs going above 3000. Shift back down a gear when your RPMs go below 1000 or you can feel the engine begin to stutter. To avoid burning out your clutch too soon, put your car in neutral at red lights and shift back into 1st when it's about to turn green. Don't panic if you stall on the streets, just click on your emergency lights, take a breath, and re-start your engine. Other cars will go around you while you ease your way back up to speed.
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Step 5
Try out freeways and hills out now. Just remember the Clutch + Shift + Gas basics and you'll be fine.
