ok well i have been driving for half a year and I got a 2009 Cobalt ss. My other car was not a stick and i am horrible at driving a stick. I either kill it or i burn out? any one got any tips for me on how to just make everything smoother.

 

I'll trade ya cars

 

how long have you been driving stick?

just ease off the clutch, and practice... "kill" means you let the clutch out too fast or didn't gas enough, and "burn out" means you let the clutch out too fast or gassed too much. so, either way, don't let the clutch out too fast! and when in doubt, just push the clutch back in. you'll get the hang of it.

 

the way i was tought... go to a parking lot... and by this i mean as slow as you can let off the clutch you will actually feel the car pull forward... then slowly gas untill your moving.. we've all been down the street of learning it just takes practice. good luck

 

just practice and drive bro. Things will get better. I promise.

 

just keep at it, youll get it, dont listen to these A-holes, (i ment one hole)they probably have autos.

 

who is being an A hole? besides vmango. we all gave him feed back and advice.

 

are you f'n kidding me... ive never owned an auto

thank you S Snake

 

my mistake, A hole. (singular, not plural)

sorry, typo

 

it will really pull you forward a couple of inches... honest

ok i was like what the hell
all love brought back to ya

 

usually, there are tons of A holes!!!

 

The hardest part really is training your foot to slowly let the clutch out... it's pretty hard at first. Much easier on a bike (hand)!

 

read before ya post, otherwise when nice helpful people are helping you make yourself look bad. We were all helping him out and encouraging him.

Yeah, that was my problem. I hated hills at first, now...I just enjoy driving so much. I may go do it now.

 

I learned and drove a stick shift with a 87 celica GT back in high school, so i noticed one major difference with that manual than this one: the clutch spring is really "springy" like it wants to bounce back when you let pressure off the clutch really fast. I mean this could be because obviously the 87 has had a few miles on it(200K approx). So is it normal for this to be this springy? It took me awhile to get used to this... or is it because the car is just new and needs to be worn in more?

 

Yeah its normal. its a brand new clutch and brand new car.

 

I've heard it's easier to learn stick on an older car...I didn't have that option, though. I bought my '06 ss/sc never having driven stick before. I think the best thing you can do is go to an empty parking lot, and learn how to get the car moving without using the throttle. This will help you find the clutch's engagement point, and once you have that down, it's all cake from there.

 

when i started at the dealership i work at, i didnt know how, i learned on an 06 wrangler rubicon that had a sticker of 31k. those things dont even need gas, you let the clutch out slow and it just pulls you,

I-6 FTW

 

wow, all my friends think this car is easy to drive
i've taught 5 or 6 people to drive stick on my car, and it only got stalled once

I would recommend going into an empty parking lot with no distractions, and just practice
try getting the car to go into first with just pushing the clutch in and out slowly, this should help you get a feel for the engagement point

 

How bad is it for my cay when i kill it?

 

A stall is easier on your car than a tire squeal, for the most part. The harder the stall, the worse it is obviously, but it's pretty much harmless. Just embarrassing if you do it in traffic.

 

Not really bad for your car. Don't worry too much if you stall in traffic, because chances are the people honking at you would stall the car a billion times themselves.

 

Yes this is also a hard part about driving stick, trying not to worry about the traffic you're holding up or the angry bicyclists waiting for you to make a right turn. Just watch out for left turns

 

just do wat i did. i was in the place as u, same problem. i almost sold my car until my uncle told me to do this: just go to a parking lot where ever, then take ur foot off the gas dont touch it. just put ur other foot on the clutch and the other on the ground. and let the clutch out so slowly that the car moves without using the gas. then when u get that down rev the engine up to about 2-3k and slowly let the clutch out. and practice practice practice thats wat i did took me a month to get it down

 

Practice, Practice, & Practice. We were all in the same postion you are in. We all had to learn, and maybe for some it didn't take as long as others to learn, but all had to learn at some point or another. I think even after some years of driving manuals, people still really don't know how to drive sticks.

This advice was already given but I'll second it. Find the clutch's "sweet spot" and learn how to feel it. You can do it by just going in a parking lot or just down your street. just in slow increments without even putting your right foot on the gas let the clutch out until you can start to feel the car roll. Once you learn and know where that point is it'll make driving your car a lot easier...

 

That's definitely the way to do it. Once you understand and get a feel of where your clutch engages then it will become much easier and smoother. Every manual car is different in the way the clutch feels.