Good beginner stick shift?
 

I'm 21, and I've only owned slushes my whole my life. I've decided it's time to grow a pair, fork over a little cash, and buy a shitbox to learn on. Any recommendations for what to look for and what to stay away from? I'm not looking for a dependable daily driver, I'm looking for a POS that I can grind some gears on while I'm learning.

Get an old pickup, nothing better to learn on than a heavy clutch and a slow release.

Re: Good beginner stick shift?
 

Mazda b2000 early 90s ford escort 80s-90s Chevy pickups are probably the overall easiest standard shift vehicle to drive period.

Re: Good beginner stick shift?
 

It's not something that should take so long that you've got to buy a car specifically dedicated to learning. You should be able to pick it up quickly. I taught my teenage sister in an hour. Everyone that I've let drive my car says that they really like the clutch feel and that it's easy to drive. I think that what they're really feeling is the light weight of the car. The lighter the car the easier it is to get moving and that's one of the hardest things when you're first learning and trying to work out the pedal balance. Get a Miata.

Re: Good beginner stick shift?
 

+1

i had never driven stick when i bought my first car when i was 16, handed the guy the 1200$ for the s10 pick up and asked if he'd give me a 5 minute lesson, i drove it home 45 mins.

Re: Good beginner stick shift?
 

Get a friend with a shitbox car to teach you. Either that or find a rental company that rents out manuals and have a friend teach you. Most rental companies have moved away from renting out manuals but you might be able to find one that still does it. Burn up their clutch learning, not yours or a friend's.

Re: Good beginner stick shift?
 

xbox is yo friend

You might be joking, but I have actually been playing Forza and stuff in a full racing sim with haptic steering, clutch and stick. Its what really made me interested in learning it for real. I would imagine a real car is quite a bit different than the sim... Lol

Thanks so far guys!

Re: Good beginner stick shift?
 

they make great lil simulator items and I was not kidding.
itd be good and ya wont have to grind.
that said, an hour on a big parking lot will get ya there. its just a training of the mind...

Re: Good beginner stick shift?
 

You can't feel the weight and movement in a sim. I played sims for years and still looked like a fool the first time I tried driving standard in a parking lot. It's good for learning the basics of how the process works, but theory and practice are really different. Having a good teacher who can really explain things and remembers how it felt when they first started driving will help a lot.