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It would be a chore to learn while visiting. Just have your boyfriend drive you around and maybe rent a car for a lobger trip.
I personally find it stressful driving in foreign countries.
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Submitted 11 months ago by distance@sh.itjust.works to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Comments
Grimy@lemmy.world 11 months ago
NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 11 months ago
The clutch biting point is the main trick - particularly on a hill start. In an automatic you can hear the gear shifts so that’s your timing.
southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
It’s easy tbh.
There’s a learning curve, but if you can walk while pulling something out of your pocket, you meet the minimum coordination test.
If you have a tachometer, it’s a little easier to learn when to shift, but it isn’t necessary at all, just a nicety.
No bullshit, I learned in a day, and was able to drive without grinding gears in maybe a week. Taught many people over the decades since. A day of practice that includes hills is all it takes to get the basics down.
When you first drive a different car, it may take a few miles to get a feel for the clutch and shifter throw, but that’s about it.
It seems way harder than it actually is, assuming you have full limb mobility. If you don’t, it can be a good bit harder.
When you first try it, just remember to get the clutch pedal all the way in before shifting, and you won’t have trouble in that regard. Letting the clutch out in sync with the gas is where coordination comes in, so test any new vehicle in an empty parking lot or other open space that’s flat, so you can get a feel for that safely. Once you have that feel, it’s easy peasy again.
At this point, I don’t even pay attention to shifting. It just happens without thinking about it as the vibration reaches the right level.
Hell, in my old car, I had taught dozens of people how to drive stick, and it got to 200k miles with the original clutch in it. That’s how easy it can be to learn.
bdonvr@thelemmy.club 11 months ago
It’s not toooooo hard. But you will need a good little bit to get the feel for it.
And I don’t know how hilly Romania is but the first time your stall out on an incline you will feel embarrassed and likely honked at. And it will be all the harder to recover cause now you’re stressed about it.
x00z@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Well not to be an ass, but why would you drive yourself around? I have the feeling your boyfriend and his family wouldn’t mind driving you around for a bit. And in Europe you don’t generally need a car to get around.
Anyways. Driving manual is not too hard. Just don’t let the stalls bother you. Other drivers don’t really mind either if you stall and waste a bit of time, so just relax. And to be honest; I would actually take the chance to learn it while you can if I were you. Seems like you have a good opportunity here.
banshee@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Driving a manual is pretty easy, but it depends on how you handle failure. The learning process requires making a few mistakes while you become familiar with a clutch and shifting gears.
Also, I think it’s much easier to learn if you know what the parts are doing. Watch some videos on how it all works and what different RPMs sound like.
NeryK@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
Driving manual is not particularly complicated, but it will require you to focus a lot of attention on it at first. Since you also have to cope with with differences in driving regulations, this will put you and your passengers more at risk than necessary.
It takes time (~tens of hours) to build the muscle memory so that it becomes natural. For a vacation in the short term, you should go ahead with your plan to rent an automatic.
applemao@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Nah, I daily all manuals.
My best recommendation outside of trying a friend’s car, try driving one in a sim racing or racing game! That’ll give you an idea. Games like the long drive or even motortown have clutch simulation. You can even do it with a keyboard, but even a cheap wheel is good to practice with. Even with a 2 pedal wheel, you can bind the brake to the clutch and practice that way.
Psythik@lemm.ee 11 months ago
The easiest way to learn manual is to focus on one pedal at a time. Learn how to get the car moving using just the clutch pedal alone.
Seriously, don’t even touch the gas until you can accomplish this. Have someone in the passenger seat to operate the handbrake so that you don’t even have to worry about the brake pedal. Just operate the clutch and nothing else. If you can manage to get going from one pedal without stalling, you’re already 90% of the way there.
The next step is learning when to shift, but that comes naturally with practice. Eventually you’ll become in-tune with the sounds the engine is making, and then knowing when to shift becomes second nature.
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 11 months ago
Yea, I think this is kind of “the way” to teach manual. It really focuses on getting a feel for a clutch and the non-linearity of friction in it.
Libra@lemmy.ml 11 months ago
Depends on your definition of ‘difficult’. I can pull a motherboard and replace it, I can hand-edit the Windows registry to do some shit most people aren’t even aware is possible, etc. Are those things difficult? No, because I know how to do them. They are complex and technical and require a fair bit of knowledge and understanding to not screw it up though. Everything is difficult until you learn how to do it, then it’s not. Might be better to ask how hard it is to learn? Cause I can’t drive at all so I’m guessing it’s somewhere between multiplication tables and organic chemistry but that’s probably not helpful. :P
XnxCuX@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Lol I hope you’re a quick learner, though getting thrown on the street with a “good luck” does kick the lessons into overdrive.
rmuk@feddit.uk 11 months ago
It’s easy. Just read the manual.
Two2Tango@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
I had a friend learn how to drive a manual for a trip to Italy. It took maybe 2 20 minute sessions before she was comfortable with it. When she got there the driving was fine but the honking freaked her out 😂
Graphy@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Driving a manual is easy if you already know how to drive. I got my lesson from a dude who sold me my first manual. You’ll fuck up a bit but you won’t break anything.
Take the automatic if you’re worried and just enjoy your vacation
52fighters@lemmy.sdf.org 11 months ago
I’m teaching my 15 year old how to drive and we drive a manual transmission. She’s doing just a well as her three older siblings that learned on automatics.
Montagge@lemmy.zip 11 months ago
It’s not hard. It’s just a pain in the ass.
HubertManne@piefed.social 11 months ago
In a small modern car its not super bad but will never be as easy as automatic. Getting used to using your left foot is annoying though. I had to use an old boat without power steering and quite when I was young and got my license on a friends automatic later in life. Im someone who hates driving in general though.
phoenixz@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
Nah, takes you 15 minutes to learn, and just a few weeks of practice to make it perfectly smooth
DarkCloud@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Of you had four to six months to learn and practice you might be ready enough, if your trip is sooner I wouldn’t recommend it.
Do you have a friend who can dedicate long two hour session to it? If so you might get it in ten hours or so of practice… But they’d have to be a good teacher (be able to teach you how/when the flywheel is taking up the momentum).
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 11 months ago
You can learn to drive stick in 20 minutes with the right teaching approach.
I learned in about 10 minutes, with my brother teaching me… Not exactly the teacher of choice. And these were cars without tachometers or hydraulic clutches.
The key is learning how the clutch engages, where it’s “catch point” is. Using the “No throttle” method, people pick it up, fast.
Plus with cars today you don’t have to rely on downshifting to slow down - Brakes are just that advanced now (though you still want to brake in short cycles for long downhills to prevent overheating).
OhmsLawn@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 11 months ago
Meh, you’re not going to hurt a modern manual with a learner. They’re not even likely to hurt the clutch.
Internals if a transmission are primarily made of 3 materials: brass, aluminum, and *hardened steel".
Aluminum is for shift forks, I can’t even imagine a way to break one.
Brass is for synchros, which can be worn by grinding - which isn’t really easy to make happen anymore, plus but it’s not like you’re gonna sit there and hold it while it’s grinding, you’ll release it quickly. The last car I remember having grinding issues was because they didn’t use a synchro for second gear so you got a short little growl if you didn’t shift “just so”. Last time I drove that car it had 250k on the odometer.
I’ve seen dragsters miss-shift on 1960’s gearboxes that weren’t built for 450hp/500lb torque, and they’ve survived it fine (I’ve also seen them fail the same way). A new driver in today’s cars just can’t do that kind of damage unless it’s intentional - and that would take some time.
bstix@feddit.dk 11 months ago
Driving manual is not difficult, but unlike the opposite scenario, it’s not something you can learn with only short instructions.
It does take time to develop the motor skills in order do it without thinking about it. The practice wlll take maybe an afternoon or two if you do nothing else. I’d advise you to do it over more than one day to allow yourself to sleep on it and come back at it
Once you’ve learned it, you’ll never think about it again though.
neidu3@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
No, but it takes some practice doing it seem effortless. With a lesson you’ll learn the basics, and the rest is just practice over a day or two.
If you’re driving automatic correctly, your left foot should be available, and the only thing different with your feet is that your left foot now needs to handle the clutch. This means during (some of the) braking or other times when you want to disengage the drivetrain.
After a little while you get a feel for listening to the RPM, and you begin to shift gear automatically based on the engine sound, or any planned changes in speed/torque.
Oh, and it’s worth noting that most cars are somewhat different when it comes to clutching: Some have the car equivalent of a hair trigger, others are much more lenient. If you’ve gotten used to one car, trying out a different one might be useful.
illi@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Since they say they will be giving you a quick lesson… might be allright. It will most likely need some time to get used to it but you might be fine. See how the quick lesson goes? They might show you around the neighborhood for you to then drive around yourself and get used to it a bit.
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I would recommend practicing on a truck at first. The clutch is beefier and can take the punishment of a newbie, and you’ll get more of an idea of how the clutch feels when it engages.
x00z@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Trucks don’t have too much to do with it. It’s completely different per car in general. I’ve driven in cars that are almost impossible to stall.
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 11 months ago
Hondas (90s) have been the easiet manual to get moving I’ve ever seen. You practically can’t stall them.
And I disagree with the truck - those can make learning harder. One of the hardest I’ve ever driven was a Ford from the 90’s. Heavy as hell clutch that was too small, terrible gear ratios so starting off was a bitch, with big gaps between the gears.
But I’ve also driven old trucks with granny gears - an extra-low gear below first for getting moving with a heavy load. Those you just let off the clutch and the truck moves at a walking pace.
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 11 months ago
It’s less the stalling and more that the clutch is heavy duty and can take the abuse of a learner grinding it a lot more.
hildegarde@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 months ago
Its not hard to learn but it does take time to become confortable with it. I recommend renting a car. Driving manual car for the first time with the added stress of driving in a different county is a recipe for disaster. By all means try it. Take up the offer of that lesson, but its unwise to have to rely on a manual car for transport when you’ve never driven one before.
But also make sure you actually need a car. The US is built with fully car dependent infrastructure, so americans are taught their whole lives to just assume they always need a car. That isn’t the case everywhere, and might not be where you’re going. Be sure to check.
OhmsLawn@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Unless you’re OK with looking foolish in front of your boyfriend’s dad, I would rent an automatic. You also have the possibility of damaging the clutch if you’re not careful.
That said, it shouldn’t take more than an afternoon to get the hang of it, so, either way.
x00z@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Looking foolish? It’s Romania. The only foolish thing to do is to not try.
solrize@lemmy.ml 11 months ago
It takes a bit of practice. A few minutes of instruction can show you how it works, but then you will want to actually practice (maybe an hour or so) on some quiet roads before driving in traffic.
scott@lemmy.org 11 months ago
How confident are you driving an automatic? If you’re comfortable, it shouldn’t be too big of a deal. If you already struggle to navigate traffic, adding more controls will make that worse.
distance@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
[deleted]scott@lemmy.org 11 months ago
You’ll probably never want to go back lol
theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Takes a bit of practice to get the feel for it but it’s not too hard. 90% of the learning curve is just getting the car rolling from a dead stop without stalling
Dropper_Post@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Manual is for the big boys
x00z@lemmy.world 11 months ago
We men just love touching shafts.
xavier666@lemm.ee 11 months ago
I had almost no driving experience. And I learnt driving a manual in 10 lessons (30 min each). So depending on how much time you have, you can think about learning. Do mind that it will be frustrating initially.