Enterprise and Budget (not sure about Budget, but Ent. def.) allow drivers under 25 to rent, as a secondary driver. I think the fee is usually about $10
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Is it worth it to drive a stick? (Where can you rent a car to learn how?)
- Thread starter Luigi239
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WHAT? Automatic transmissions have other forward gears than just "D."
- Modern technology has advanced the "slushbox" to higher levels for sure, but there are still plenty of cars that can take advantage of a relatively modern manual gearbox, particularly vehicles that make the most useable power and torque when revved high, typically multi-valve DOHC engines.
- The best vehicle to learn to shift for yourself is a truck or a diesel. Gobs of low end torque make getting started in first gear a snap. Just like learning to ride a motorcycle on a low to the ground V-twin "thumper" versus a rev-happy sport bike, the low speed torque will develop your confidence faster.
- It's much easier to "bump start" a manual car that has a dead battery.
I believe with Enterprise, if you're under 21 they won't let you rent, 21-25 they charge a fee. Doesn't matter as in the US they don't rent out manuals. With good reason, I'm sure they would be replacing the clutches on them every other week.
my first car is an 89 mustang LX 5.0 with an automatic once i buy another car im getting a manual because it is a good skill to know
Just go to the junkyard, get yourself a T-5, the driveshaft and the pedal setup out of any Fox Mustang. You can probably do it for under $300 and a weekend under the car. Cheap and easy, then you'll have a proper trans
It is absolutely worth it to learn how to drive a stick and you might even have some fun. I get so bored driving an automatic now after owning multiple 5 speeds. It is practical to know how to drive one even if you don't own one because you never know when you might be in a situation that you may need to drive a manual.
Benefits of driving a manual include: better gas milage, more control over your car, fun spirited driving, and it can be something fun to teach a woman
My advice find a friend that has a beater and learn on the. Or just buy a cheap running one. I got my first one for $100. Best of luck.
Benefits of driving a manual include: better gas milage, more control over your car, fun spirited driving, and it can be something fun to teach a woman
My advice find a friend that has a beater and learn on the. Or just buy a cheap running one. I got my first one for $100. Best of luck.
This is an old wives tale. I don't really know where it started. If the jetta is calling you, then get it. Find a jetta forum, much like you have with macs, and you will be set. Next, you will find the hook up on parts and you will e able to buy/sell parts to others with the same car.
I speak from expierence. I have driven german cars for quite some time. My cars are reliable and no more expensive to keep up than domestic cars.
A car is a pretty big deal, at least to me. It requires maintenance. Get on a plan. Heck, make a spreadsheet and keep up with it. Read your owner's manual.
Which jetta is it? The 4,5,6 cylinder? Civics are all over the place.
Think different.
They are, as with all of the Japanese car's I've driven. My BMW is not so easy as with all the German sticks I've driven with the exception of Volkswagen which are pretty easy. As our mechanic says "It's pretty much on or off with that one," (BMW) and he's absolutely right. It could practically be actuated with a toggle switch.
My dad and one of my friends have Mazdas and they're dead simple.
True
However, if you clutch is on the way out, engine braking will accelerate the wear as it can't maintain that lock
I do find it hard to believe semi's get 400k out of a clutch though
Your typical gas engine will not be able to produce nearly the engine baking torque as it will forward torque. If it is slipping while engine braking then it will have been slipping under acceleration for some time already and the clutch should have already been replaced anyway.
Most truck drivers don't use the clutch to shift between gears, just when starting/stopping. My uncle just had his engine rebuilt at 760k and had them replace the clutch and turbo while they were at it. His clutch brake(stops the clutch from spinning so you can put it in gear when at a stop) was completely worn but he still had some life on the rest of the clutch, not much, but still some and it wasn't slipping.
Everything on a truck is made to last a long, long time. The trucking companies expect the trucks to last for a few years without anything more than tires and fluids. When you are putting 120k+ a year on the truck the miles add up fast. Heck, my truck had brand new tires on it when I got it and the steers are being replaced today with 151k on them, the drives still have about half their life left.
I love driving stick shift. It's definitely a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. (There may be a few hairy moments when you're first learning...but it's fun when you look back on those moments. ) 100% worth it. My current car is an auto, but I'm hoping my next one is a stick, it's just less boring to drive.
) 100% worth it. My current car is an auto, but I'm hoping my next one is a stick, it's just less boring to drive. 
That's a little unfair - while the principles may be the same, utilization between a truck and a car isn't the same.
I do agree with you in general.
Sure, but you can shift without the clutch in your car too, if you know what you are doing.
I've done it in all but one of my cars with no problems.
So uh, with all this talk about braking, engine braking, clutches etc....
Anybody want to fill me in on how (and what) engine braking is?
All I know is it's super loud, and it puts the wear on the engine instead of the brakes.
Want to explain how to shift gears in a manual? I thought it was like release gas, press clutch, shift, release clutch, press gas.
Anybody want to fill me in on how (and what) engine braking is?
All I know is it's super loud, and it puts the wear on the engine instead of the brakes.
Want to explain how to shift gears in a manual? I thought it was like release gas, press clutch, shift, release clutch, press gas.
Manual is certainly something to learn because you never know when you are going to need it. But getting a manual where I live is suicide because the traffic is so bad any time of the day. Having to constantly shift in and out over and over in stop and go sucks really badly.
A good alternative is to get a newer car that either has a manualmatic or a manual sport shift mode. The car I'm looking at now is an XG350L with a manual shift mode. After you put the car in drive, you push the stick over to the right and can manually shift the car to override the automatic's fuzzy logic. This is great for those hilly areas or when you are making quick turns, and for the bad weather - that is what traction control is for though...
As seen in the image above.
A good alternative is to get a newer car that either has a manualmatic or a manual sport shift mode. The car I'm looking at now is an XG350L with a manual shift mode. After you put the car in drive, you push the stick over to the right and can manually shift the car to override the automatic's fuzzy logic. This is great for those hilly areas or when you are making quick turns, and for the bad weather - that is what traction control is for though...
As seen in the image above.
engine breaking
basically its using your cars gearing/transmission to assist in breaking
say you are going down a hill at 40 mph at say 2.5k rpm. to engine break, youd shift down a gear or 2 and the rpm's will spike up to say 4k rpm. if you are not applying any throttle, the engine is going to effectively slow down the car
hope that kind of helps
semis use a special form of engine breaking known as jake breaking
i love the sound of jake breaks though lol
Engine braking is actually using the car's transmission to stop the car. The low gear keeps the car from going fast because of it's gear ratio compared to the engine. So in some cases it actually slows the engine down as well. But it's the transmission that does all the work. That's why (in cars that let you) with an automatic some people put the car in first or second gear when going down a hill rather than keeping it in drive.
With a manual this process is much easier and you have more control. The car doesn't see the hill like you can so it doesn't shift accordingly. A good way automatics could fix this is by utilizing sensors for tilt in the transmission - but it wouldn't see the hills coming but it would prevent odd shifts in the middle of the hill where you lose most of your power.
Trucks engine brakes are much more powerful and some even have a Jake Brake - that is why engine brakes are restricted in some areas because they are so loud - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT4sHf1gYLI .
Interesting. Are Jake Brakes use primarily while going down hills? And I have never used other gears in my automatic except while going down hill, are there any other reasons to switch gears?
if the brakes dont work, heres what you have to resort to for a semi
this is off i70, my old stomping grounds lol
Sure, but you can shift without the clutch in your car too, if you know what you are doing.
Yeah, I do this (or rather, used to do this) in rev match shifting when I did some rally. It's still not how I drive when I do drive a manual. Or maybe I'm just getting old.
Incidentally, I've never been a big LHD vs RHD superiority kind of guy but this is the one case for me where LHD is clearly superior to RHD. It's much easier to bang those gears into slot if you're pushing away than pulling in for some reason. I don't think its a matter of what I'm used to, either b/c I'm usually driving manuals in RHD and usually autos in LHD.
if the brakes dont work, heres what you have to resort to for a semi
this is off i70, my old stomping grounds lol
hah, yeah, there's a guy about 20 miles from here whose driveway used to be an ad hoc version of that on a hilly county road. He finally didn't bother fixing his shed the last time it got used, so now the final backstop is a bunch of spruce trees...
Okay, so all of the guides on how to shift in manuals say, when downshifting go one gear at a time. What happens if you go from 5-3 or 5-2 or something?
the more comfortable you get driving a stick, you will know what gears can hanlde what speeds
if you downshift to a gear but are going way too fast for the gear, you could really ef up your engine
i personally dont downshift one by one, i will go to neutral, use my brakes and then when i need throttle, engage the appropriate gear, unless i want to engine brake of course
if the brakes dont work, heres what you have to resort to for a semi
this is off i70, my old stomping grounds lol
I always wonder how often a trucker has to use one of those. I never seen one after it has been used most of the time they seem pretty over grown.
The reason Jake brakes are used on diesels is because very few diesels have a throttle plate in the intake system, the throttle is controlled by when and how much fuel is injected into the cylinder. Almost every gas engine on the market has a throttle plate of some form. When you close that throttle plate(lift off the throttle pedal) it create a vacuum in the engine that is very hard to overcome. I believe BMW has some engines without throttle plates.
The reason Jake brakes are so loud is because they open the exhaust valve at the top of the compression stroke and release all the pressure. That high pressure suddenly escaping is the noise. The valve closes as the piston is going down on what would normally be the power stroke, instead of creating power is it creating a vacuum and that is what does the actual braking.
Some smaller diesels have an exhaust brake that is essentially a throttle plate in the exhaust, these are very quiet but not as effective as a Jake brake.
The reason Jake brakes are so loud is because they open the exhaust valve at the top of the compression stroke and release all the pressure. That high pressure suddenly escaping is the noise. The valve closes as the piston is going down on what would normally be the power stroke, instead of creating power is it creating a vacuum and that is what does the actual braking.
Some smaller diesels have an exhaust brake that is essentially a throttle plate in the exhaust, these are very quiet but not as effective as a Jake brake.