Learning to Drive......
Thread Starter
New Member
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
Learning to Drive......
Ok, I have driven a manual tranny off and on since I was 16 (too long ago unfortunately). But, how does a guy teach his wife to drive the manual transmission on his 6 month-old $40k TT?
No, it is not an option. Yes, I must teach her. No, I am not brain-dead, etc.
Seriously, anyone know of a place that actually rents a car that has a manual transmission? If not, how many of you actually taught yourself to drive a manual with your TT? How long/how often and how bad did you smoke the clutch?
If no other "rental" options are out there, apart from the agonizing aspect of watching your beautiful car stall/over-rev/shutter and generally puke, could teaching someone to drive on a TT actually "hurt" the car in some way???
Thanks,
Dave
No, it is not an option. Yes, I must teach her. No, I am not brain-dead, etc.
Seriously, anyone know of a place that actually rents a car that has a manual transmission? If not, how many of you actually taught yourself to drive a manual with your TT? How long/how often and how bad did you smoke the clutch?
If no other "rental" options are out there, apart from the agonizing aspect of watching your beautiful car stall/over-rev/shutter and generally puke, could teaching someone to drive on a TT actually "hurt" the car in some way???
Thanks,
Dave
AudiWorld Super User
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,771
Likes: 0
Take a trip to Europe. Got lots of rental cars with manual transmissions. Although it might be
cheaper to borrow a friends Jeep or see if a dealer will let you borrow one for a day if you leave the TT there while gone.
Trending Topics
AudiWorld Super User
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,238
Likes: 1
Ugh, good luck
I taught my girlfriend to drive a manual on my TT. The "problem" with quattro is that it makes it almost impossible to spin the wheels, so when the engine is racing and the clutch pedal gets let out, all that power has to go somewhere... i.e. the clutch takes it.
She had (like most drivers new to a manual transmission) the instinct, when the car begins rolling back, to push the gas further, rather than get the clutch out quicker. We had three serious smokes, where the engine just racing before the clutch got out. Man, did it stink. She just needed to understand that when the car is rolling back, pushing the gas further will not get the car going any faster... You have to get the clutch out quickly.
She saw how nervous I was when she was learning, which in turn made her just as nervous, and therefore unable to learn calmly. So eventually, when I was sure she knew WHAT she had to do, but not yet how, I just gave in and let her go on her own with the car. She actually learned much quicker that way, without me breathing down her neck and cringing at every shift.
She had (like most drivers new to a manual transmission) the instinct, when the car begins rolling back, to push the gas further, rather than get the clutch out quicker. We had three serious smokes, where the engine just racing before the clutch got out. Man, did it stink. She just needed to understand that when the car is rolling back, pushing the gas further will not get the car going any faster... You have to get the clutch out quickly.
She saw how nervous I was when she was learning, which in turn made her just as nervous, and therefore unable to learn calmly. So eventually, when I was sure she knew WHAT she had to do, but not yet how, I just gave in and let her go on her own with the car. She actually learned much quicker that way, without me breathing down her neck and cringing at every shift.
AudiWorld Stories
Bringing Audi to Life for Audi Fans
10 Strangest Audi Designs That Actually Made Production
Joe Kucinski
2027 Audi Q7 and SQ7: Audi Upgraded EVERYTHING!
Michael S. Palmer
Audi Unveils Absurdly Cool New Supercar: 10 Things You Need to Know!
Verdad Gallardo
The Highs & Lows of Every Audi C-Class Generation
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Audis Ever Sold on Bring-A-Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Audi Features & Options We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
Audi Recreates Crazy-Looking Speed Record Breaker From 1935
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilder Recreates the 1995 Audi TTS Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Every Audi V10 Car Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
New Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 367
Likes: 0
FOOLPROOF: Use only clutch to get car moving.
Like everyone else, I recommend doing it on a rental or another crappy car. The TT doesn't have the smoothest stick, I recommend any Honda, you can shift a Civic with your pinky.
Go to an unused parking lot, and teach her to get the car moving WITHOUT using the gas. This will teach her the "engaging point" of the clutch. Just let out the clutch easily until the car starts to move. Hold it when it does start to move. Over and over, then eventually, let her release it more and more and apply some gas. This is definitely the foolproof way and is how I taught my finacee to drive a stick.
I do recommend an easy car, however, the high beltline and poor visibility of the TT won't instill confindence in a nervous student. I tried (unsuccessfully ) to teach her in a Supra, but when the Civic came along it was cake. Unfortunately she now can drive everything I buy
Go to an unused parking lot, and teach her to get the car moving WITHOUT using the gas. This will teach her the "engaging point" of the clutch. Just let out the clutch easily until the car starts to move. Hold it when it does start to move. Over and over, then eventually, let her release it more and more and apply some gas. This is definitely the foolproof way and is how I taught my finacee to drive a stick.
I do recommend an easy car, however, the high beltline and poor visibility of the TT won't instill confindence in a nervous student. I tried (unsuccessfully ) to teach her in a Supra, but when the Civic came along it was cake. Unfortunately she now can drive everything I buy
New Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 367
Likes: 0
Lesson #2 Hills: Go to a unused gas station....
or a closed business- somewhere there's a non-busy street and you pull UP into the parking lot. When I got my first manual, that's how I taught myself how to do hills at a stoplight. I spent an hour letting the car roll back, and without no worries about hitting anything, I taught myself to use the clutch on the hill and that its OK if the car rolls back a little.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
NvFlw
Pacific Northwest Discussion
0
Mar 23, 2004 06:28 PM
JZd
TT (Mk1) Discussion
40
Sep 23, 2003 08:57 AM