Well after 4 years of wanting a honda I finally got one. I just bought a 97 prelude sh and I suck at driving it. I've been driving for about 4 years now, but I've only ever had automatics. My parents haven't had a 5 speed since I've been alive so they're no help, my friends are all shady and never let me drive theirs so I never got a chance to learn. So my dad drives the car back from where we bought it, about 100 miles away and gives me a shot at it. By this time it's dark out and he has to work in the am so I didn't get a lot of practice. I didn't stall it the first time I tried but I did many times after. I know the general idea of a standard but I just need practice I guess. But to the real question...will learning to drive a manual hurt my car very much? I understand that I am doing some damage, but how much am I actually doing and will this affect my car very much? Like I said I really have no experience with a 5 speed and any help or helpful links would be appreciated.

 

Just keep trying to practice. After you have it down, change the tranny fluid.

 

Don't be down on yourself man, we've all been through this at one point. If you WANT to know how to drive stick, you can learn pretty easily. Some tips:

- Learn the car's "engagement zone"(?). It's when you slowly let go of the clutch and when your car is close to stalling.
- Do everything slowly. You'll get better and faster with more practice.
- If you really doubt your skills, give a little gas before you let go of the clutch at starts. Kinda foolproof.

 

no you wont less you ride the **** out of the clutch all the time.....I gave learner lessons all the time on my car....probably about 5 people learned to drive my car back in the day and I dont have a single slip still...and I beat the hell out of my clutch everyday too

 

Biggest thing is to take it slow, don't think you are going to be snapping off .2 second shifts and perfect rev matches right away. Take your time, get over the embarassment of stalling in public, shift like a granny, breathe deep and relax. You are gonna wear your clutch a bit more than a good stick driver, but as long as you take your time you will minimize wear and raise your comfort level. When you rush is when you accidentally slip the clutch upshifting into 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th gear and cause extra wear. When you rush is also when you pull it into 2nd gear when you want 4th and cause wear, or even serious damage. Congrats on breaking the chains of the slushbox....another one converted.

 

Thanks for the quick posts guys. When I wake up tomorrow I'm gonna give it another shot without my dad there, maybe that will help along with the fact that it will be light out and I won't have to worry so much about smashing my new car into a light post.

 

Find a flat, empty parking lot and practice there. Start with the car off. Just get the feel of letting the clutch out. You can also start to feel where the clutch actually starts to engage with the car off. Also, wearing a thin shoe helps. I always drive in Converse because I can feel everything. Once you think you're ready, start the car up and practice letting it out in gear without giving it gas. That way you can really tell where the clutch engages (you'll know because the engine will slow down since you're not giving it gas). Then start actually driving around. Get good at that before you start moving into traffic, especially hilly traffic

 

^Good points, I hate going from my workboots to my running shoes or my sandals. Definetely find a safe place to learn where you can drive without parents or friends in the car with you, they just add extra pressure. When I was learning I always felt I progressed 10x quicker without my parents in the car. Well my mom screaming and clinging to the dashboard was distracting too

 

turn your car on......press the clutch in and put in first. SLowly let go of the clutch and when the car begins to vibrate thats when its about to die. At this point you begin to add some gas...while your beginning to move slowly release the rest of the clutch and bam your car will be moving. First gear is the hardest..once teh car gets moving it will not stall but it will jerk if you do not shift smoothly.

some othe rthings you should know:
-whenever you have foot on clutch while car is moving that means its in neutral
-when you make turns, best is to turn in second gear

 

I've taught stick to 8 girls.. yes.. female drivers who do not know what the hell they are doing. And thats on a stock oem clutch with 95k on it. My clutch was messed up from the day I got my car but don't worry about yours being abused. Just take it easy.

Once you can putt around then learn how to powershift. I learned launching, powershifting, all that fun stuff when I still sucked at driving a stick.

 

not to be an ***, but why didnt you buy an automatic until you knew how to drive a stock shift?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by onefastrx7turbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">not to be an ***, but why didnt you buy an automatic until you knew how to drive a stock shift?</TD></TR></TABLE>

how is he ever going to learn then you ***.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by onefastrx7turbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">not to be an ***, but why didnt you buy an automatic until you knew how to drive a stock shift?</TD></TR></TABLE>

He already explained why he can't learn to drive manual, b/c he has no one that will let him drive their's. So how is buying an automatic going to help. The only way to learn is to go out and do it.

 

I think that the lude is one of the hardest cars to learn how to drive stick in mainly because it lacks torque. When I first learned how to drive stick, it was in a car with a 4 liter straight 6 engine (Jeep). There was almost no need to step on the gas to get the car moving. My transition from cars with lots of torque to the Prelude was difficult and it still is kind of awkward giving it lots of gas at launch.
A nice tip would be to rev the engine to around 2000rpm and slowly let off on the clutch and keep the engine revving around 2000rpm by giving it more gas. The hardest part is getting the car moving and once you've mastered that, all other gears are cake. good luck man.

 

Thanks a lot guys, I tried it again today by myself and I did much better. Gotta watch how I rev it, seems I rev too high when attempting to shift. Besides that and the fact that I stall when I become the least bit nervous I'd say I did good.

 

i have noticed that the preludes with manual transmissions and h series trannsmissions are more forgiving than a smaller displaced honda such as the b16 and the b18.

If i get close to stalling a 4th or a 5th I could let depress the clutch quick and it will idle normally again...whereas if I were to get close to stalling a shitvic...it would stall unforgivingly and surely.

&lt;---personal experience

 

Ha, I learned how to drive in a 1973 vw beetle with a slipping clutch...... it sucked sooooooo bad. My prelude is cake compared to that pos. lol........... It's pretty simple man, you'll learn. If you've ever ridden a 3 or 4 wheeler, it's similar when shifting into higher gears but just add the clutch in there and you have a task on your hands.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fish stick &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have noticed that the preludes with manual transmissions and h series trannsmissions are more forgiving than a smaller displaced honda such as the b16 and the b18.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's funny, as I find my 5th gen much harder to drive than any Civic I've driven, hands down. If I don't rpm match quite precisely, it's a nightmare of a jerk... with the civics, they lack power so you just go into gear and your inertia pulls the engine right away. Maybe my clutch is just aggressive?

OP: It only takes practice, don't worry about it. For the beginning avoid traffic lights on an uphill. Good luck.

 

Easiest car to drive has to be the DC5/EP3 hands down.

The prelude is actually pretty hard to drive, let alone learn on. I think driving the STI is easier.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RATED EG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Easiest car to drive has to be the DC5/EP3 hands down.

The prelude is actually pretty hard to drive, let alone learn on. I think driving the STI is easier. </TD></TR></TABLE>
you got to be kidding me. Subies have almost no gap between the brake and clutch pedals. If you try to step on the clutch, 70% of the time, you'll hit the brake too and you get a crappy jerk and most likely stall your car. The only people I know who have successfully gotten Subies to go are little asian girls with little asian feet.

Edit: sorry, I made that sound like an attack on you and your car. The STI is a fantastic car in terms of acceleration and handling, but I personally have trouble driving them along with a bunch of people I know.

 

tons of honda turned subaru drivers destroy wrx clutches when they switch over. because the engagement point is so different from their hondas. tis funny

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by liukangus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you got to be kidding me. Subies have almost no gap between the brake and clutch pedals. If you try to step on the clutch, 70% of the time, you'll hit the brake too and you get a crappy jerk and most likely stall your car. The only people I know who have successfully gotten Subies to go are little asian girls with little asian feet.

Edit: sorry, I made that sound like an attack on you and your car. The STI is a fantastic car in terms of acceleration and handling, but I personally have trouble driving them along with a bunch of people I know. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Lol. I'm by no means a "little" asian girl with little feet. I have never once hit the brake pedal when going for the clutch.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by soundbomber &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">tons of honda turned subaru drivers destroy wrx clutches when they switch over. because the engagement point is so different from their hondas. tis funny</TD></TR></TABLE>

I hated the engagement point on my bb6, maybe also because my clutch was slipping. I love the way the STI clutch feels, isn't too hard and it's so much easier to drive for me. I learned on a car that is really difficult to learn stick on so

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RATED EG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Easiest car to drive has to be the DC5/EP3 hands down.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I can vouch for that...that and the 5 speed chrysler pt cruiser...

 

I too am in the same boat, learning how to drive a stick. Ive driven my friends RSX-S (hes been teaching me) like 3 times... I find what the man said to be very true.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RATED EG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Easiest car to drive has to be the DC5/EP3 hands down.

The prelude is actually pretty hard to drive, let alone learn on. I think driving the STI is easier. </TD></TR></TABLE>

The RSX's release point in the clutch (or engagement point, w/e you wanna call it) is very easy to find... Im kinda used to that, and tonight I got to drive my uncles Prelude (Im buying in December) and the clutch feels alot different. But Im trying to learn. I guess Im lucky, as my friend has been more than willing to let me learn on his car, and to my uncle as well for tonights little lesson. My parents havent had a stick either, it feels good to break away from an auto tranny though... I feel, free!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by copeman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks a lot guys, I tried it again today by myself and I did much better. Gotta watch how I rev it, seems I rev too high when attempting to shift. Besides that and the fact that I stall when I become the least bit nervous I'd say I did good.</TD></TR></TABLE>

One thing that nobody really mentioned is that you have to be a lot more precise with the gas pedal when you drive a manual than when you drive an automatic. That is why you are revving to high. Be easy with the gas and it will come to you. I learned how to drive stick the same way you did...buy a manual car and drive it.