Hi everyone.New here.I just got my '98 Prelude 5pd and I was curious to know how long it took you guys to master a 5spd the very first time driving one.I have driven a total of 4 1/2 hrs so far in 3 days and this is the first time ever that I have driven a 5spd.How long do u think I will become a better 5 spd driver?I need to change gears more smooth and I have stalled while at a light quite a few times since I got my lesson in driving Wed.
I'm a quick learner.I was able to get a motorcycle endorsement/license after 10hrs of riding in 2 days.Its just crazy how its seems easier to ride a bike and how driving seems so much harder.Am I the only person who thinks so!
So give me some embrassing stories to enlighten me ...right now I feel kinda bad that heck why can't I do any better right this moment.

 

practice makes perfect

 

YUP...practice....especially on hills b/c you don't want to be rolling back into someone at a red light.

 

Sweet man.... welcome to the world of manual tranny's. you'll never go back.

Doug

 

it takes about a month to become confortable at lights and stuff...i got my 92 si 4 months ago and its second nature now for me

 

well it dose not take that long , use the hand break on hills so u dont role back , but dont use it to much cause u will **** it up. over all just practice taking off and changing gears , downshifts too good luck...

 

I've been driving 5 spd for about 3 yrs now, I shift really quick, but I wouldn't consider myself a master...Eveytime I drive, I feel like I learn something new, and am that much more comfortable with my friction point. So just keep at it, you'll love it...I hate driving A/T's now, when I do, i still hold the A/T shifter, and my left foot searches futily for my clutch, I'm sure I'm not the only one
-kevin

 

yeah when i drive a/t's i always look for the clutch to put her in neurtal when coming to a red light

 

it took me about 2 weeks for me to not to stall as much as the first day. you gotta learn how to balance the clutch/gas. before you start releasing the clutch make sure you give the car enough gas and hold it there. release between 1k-2k on the tach. for a smooth launch. like stated above, pratice and get to know your car. feel out your clutch. if it still doesn't work, just floor the gas every time you release the clutch. i guarantee you won't stall. just make sure there's no car in front of you tho.

 

i was once told to smoke a joint before learning to drive. i dunno

btw: is it just me or are preludes hard to drive?


[Modified by sick boy, 3:29 PM 3/8/2003]

 

i dont know any tips.. just practive. ive been driving 5spd since i was 15, never owned a automatic so its 2nd nature to me. 8 years of driving a 5spd will do that i guess. just practice, itll become 2nd nature. granted ive stalled a few times... **** happens.

 

AAAAHAHAHA, did somone on here tell you that?

 

Maybe you find preludes hard to drive because you are a pothead!
Lamest advice ever!!!

 

took me a week... 1 and half hour a day, in an empty parking lot, till i was confident enough to drive on the streets

 

My driving experience consisted of playing daytona 500 at the arcades... Then, one day my parents left town when I was 15 and told me to use my dads truck for work but not to get pulled over... Well... Coming out of the local park where I work there is a huge hill.... Needless to say 15 minutes later and I was home free... My dads truck has a wierd clutch... Its so weird anyone could drive it without ever hopping peeling out or stalling.... That was all I needed... Then, I wnet a bought a wrangler the next week... Drove it home... Havent had any real problems since... The wrangler took about 10 miles to be able to drive proficiently... That made the last 35 miles of the trip easy... Since then life has been easy...

 

it onli takes a few days to get good enuf to go fast and take the highway....to become a master i suppose could take up to two months.....depends what u take as a "masteR"...took my buddy probably 5 months to get good enuf to drift, do 360 and stuff....but as a previous post said......practice makes perfect .....g/l!!!

 

i say if you cant start the car rolling... ride the **** out of the clutch... youll get it eventually!!!!

a few drinks wouldnt hurt either nah, im just playing.

 

I agree... i have been driving 5-speed a long time and i always seem like i try something new when im messing around....its fun though. Yeah ebrake on hill if your nervous, practice starts in like a parking lot, luckily the prelude clutch feels alot better than most other imports i have driven....it seem like you can feel the grab alot more(maybe its just my car i dunno.....guys?!?) ever time i am in an auto now i jam the brake with my left foot searching for a clutch, i feel so dumb like i dont know how to drive an auto...HA HA HA

 

Thanks guys, I knew I needed to keep practicing, but it helps coming from you guys. I'll keep working on it.I see I get better each day and I'm glad.
slverlude

 

i had this same problem a while back, got my first stick (besides the first car i ever got from my dad when i was 13 cuz i drove it for maybe 2 hours total). well let me tell ya, a month and a half later, i haven't had this much fun in my entire life, everyone told me "5 speeds rule", "5 speeds are faster" , "jump in, drive it around it's not that hard to drive" and i was scared that i would kill it, all my friends drive a 5 speed so i theoretically had the know how. but still had never done it. so i bought my new lude, had my dad drive it to my house. and it was parked in the garage for a day. and i sat and pondered, when will i get the courage to drive it, and the next day, i was extremely bored and needed to get out of my house and my only option was to reverse it out of the garage and into the street, so one way or another i had to learn to drive to get out of my hosue, so i jump in, gave it some gas and slowly eased out of the clutch.....and to my amazement, i drove it for 30 minutes that day and had the time of my life. since i first got it i've killed it 4 times, so don't feel bad if you kill it, it takes practice, take it out, drive it for an hour and you'll be good in no time, just try not to think as much as you drive. i noticed that whenever i think about missing a shift, or think aobut killing it, i get a little iffy and don't drive very well, good luck to ya and keep shiftin

 

it is easier to ride a motorcycle, most people have better control over their hands than their feet. My recommendation to you is to go out and have a good time, before you know it you wont even be thinking about shifting.

 

it is easier to ride a motorcycle,most people have better control over their hands than their feet . I agree with you on that...I knew someone would feel the same way .I thought after the first day of driving man this seems hard, but practice makes for a better driver.Yeah, I just need to drive and not think about what I need to do.

 

Just try not to think as much as you drive. I noticed that whenever I think about missing a shift, or think about killing it, i get a little iffy and don't drive very well.
stockludesi...I see what u mean, as soon as I start thinking about what to do or worry about killing it I mess myself up and kill it or don't change gears smoothly.So thats what I'm not doing think about it and it does help alot

 

oh yeah, and if for some reason, you feel very iffy, and you aren't comfortable with a smooth transission into 1st, just rev her up to like 2.5k and dump the clutch, you won't kill it i promise

 

I learned to drive stick when I was 16 in a Miata that my parents won for a weekend in a school auction. My mom picked me up after work and I learned by driving around the Kroger I had worked at a few time w/o stalling it Well I still stall my lude once in a while when I try to make the engine barely rev and thinking about it too much when starting out, or when I'm stoned I'll stall it on occasion. I guess just try to be a smooth operator. It's fun learning anyway!