How To Drive A Manual Car

Driving a manual car is something that every youngster wants to learn at some point in their life, as real driving in all European countries is manual vehicles.

A manual car is a car with a manual transmission, that is, it is a car whose gearbox is used manually, indicating the driver which gear the car should take when driving.

A manual car is slightly more complex to drive than an automatic car, since we must indicate at all times what gear we must put in and how we must do it. However, many people do not know how to drive a manual gear car.

In Spain, you learn to drive a manual car in a driving school, where they teach you how to engage the gears and how to drive a car of this type correctly. However, in other countries like the United States this is not the case, since most of the vehicles there are automatic transmissions.

Driving a manual car is a difficult task for these people, since they are not used to driving this type of car and only know how to drive automatic transmission cars. However, they can really learn to do it if they pay enough attention.

Manual gear cars are not that complicated to drive, since in fact in Europe almost all cars are like this and people drive them without problems when it comes to putting the gears. We just have to master the clutch and we must master the gear change with synchronization.

Whether you want to learn to drive for the first time to get your license or if you want to learn to drive a European car while you are American, you are in luck, since we are going to learn to drive a car of this type step by step.

Instructions for driving a manual car

1. Starting the car: First of all, we must learn to start the car, since starting an automatic car is not the same as starting a manual car. The way to start it normally is through the ignition key, that is, we have to turn the key to the indicated place and hold it for a couple of seconds to start the car. When we do, we will notice how the engine has started and therefore, we already have the car started and we can start driving. If we have a diesel car, do not start directly and wait a couple of minutes until it warms up, something that will be indicated by a light on the odometer. In this way, the engine will catch heat and its components will last much longer.
2. Clutch and shifter: The key in a manual car with the car’s clutch and gearshift. The clutch is a special pedal that marks the fact that there is no gear engaged and the gear lever indicates which gear the car is in. Gears are like stretches of car revs and speed. It must be taken into account that the higher the speed, the more gears and that this must be synchronized so as not to overheat the revving car. This is done with the car’s rev gauge, which if it’s too low the car will flood and if it’s too high the engine will blow up.  If we have the car drowned, we are going to have problems and the car is going to stall, that is, it will stop dead and turn off the engine. If we overrev, we are going to break the engine and lead to a breakdown of the fat ones, of those to go to the workshop. Every time you change gear, you have to step on the clutch and stop accelerating, because if we accelerate at the same time that the clutch is fully, we could break the engine.
3. Put first and start: The most difficult gear to put is the first, because if we do not put it correctly, the car is going to stall and if we accelerate too much, the car will rev up.  The first thing after starting is to fully depress the clutch and release the handbrake, which prevents the car from moving out of place. Once the clutch is fully engaged, we are going to put first, following the guide of the lever, that is, throwing it forward. Once you’ve done that, don’t throttle and don’t release the clutch either, but release it halfway. Once you release it halfway, release little by little and start accelerating very smoothly, almost without touching the pedal. Once you’ve started accelerating and the clutch is already about three-quarters of the way through, the car will start to pull out. Now just keep accelerating smoothly and keep releasing the pedal, thus making the car come out by itself. Of course,
4. Put second and drive: The first gear is to start and little else, so once you have left, you must put the second. When you’ve picked up some speed, ease up on the accelerator, squeeze in the clutch, engage second gear, release the clutch halfway, and slowly accelerate back up. The movements have to be smooth and always release little by little, so that the car does not stall and without accelerating too much so that the engine does not suffer. Remember that whenever the car starts and leaves the parking lot, you have to put second, since first gear is only for starting and you drive from second gear.
5. Reduce, advance and circulate: Now we have already done the most difficult thing, which is to start and exit. Now we have to learn to drive, that is, learn to put the gears, learn to reduce and above all, learn to drive through the race and learn to drive safely and correctly. First of all, we need to pay attention to the rev wheel, which will mark us when we should change gear. It can also be done by ear, but requires some practice. When the car is revved up, we must put the next gear, something that is done in the same way as when putting second. When driving, it is always advisable to drive in high gear, since they are undoubtedly safer and use much less fuel. Reduce must be done when we are going to slow down so the car does not get stuck. The way to do this is to squeeze in the clutch and downshift corresponding to the speed.
6. Stopping: In manual cars you have to be careful when stopping, since the car could stall. The car only admits zero speed when it is in neutral, so we must do this. If we are going to reduce, while you press the brake, press the clutch and after this, go reducing little by little. If the clutch is depressed, the car will not stall, so when it is stopped, put it in neutral and it will not stall. If you are at a traffic light, you can keep first gear on, as long as the clutch is depressed so that the car does not stall. To boot, do the same as in the boot step and that’s it, no problem.