e30 stickshift for learning?

[Stanley Rockafella]

Just don't start in 3rd, or Rev it to 4k to start off.

Lol, on my stock 86 325es the shifter bushings were so bad when i lent my car to the GF (who used to drive farm trucks) she always started off in third, thinking it was first.

Never stalled once

[TobyB]

how to use first gear with no gas

how to use first gear with gas

add:
How to use first gear with wheelspin
How to use reverse backwards up a hill

and extra credit:

How to use first gear uphill on a gravel road
WITHOUT wheelspin!

And then there's always trailing throttle oversteer...

t

[roguetoaster]

Course #1318, ten years later, heel/toe downshift...

Graduation exam, create 100' of 11s with a stock M10 powered E30 with an open diff running Hoosier slicks.

[TimKninja]

i converted my first e30 from automatic to manual and then learned on it. good times

[Das Delfin]

I let my friend drive my car when I first got it and he too thought that third gear was first

the bmw is the hardest car to stall of any I've driven so I would say yes, it's easy to learn on.

also you don't always need to take lessons to learn how to do something

[Mk7 E30]

So I just finished my 5 hour lesson, learned way more then I thought I would.

Here is my thoughts, I guess I'm good but not good enough yet. I can do all the basics. Yes I made a few errors and corrected them so and so. I've gotten used to my driving automatic's habit by not reading traffic which is one of my problems I realized. It seems I am bit to slow at the clutch grabbing friction point, so by the time the light turns green I am already behind. The question is when I come to a stop light, how to do I properly read when the light is going to turn green?

[UlrichFennec]

Watch the flow of traffic. That's all it is. It eventually becomes muscle memory after going an intersection enough times. It's just a matter of watching traffic and planning ahead.

[DrJosh]

It really varies by intersection. Some go in a circular pattern, some are traffic based. You don't really need to anticipate the green light. You'll soon be quick enough with the clutch that you won't really start any slower than the automatic next to you even without really focusing on traffic patterns.

Just get your muscle memory down and the rest will follow. Don't feel rushed, 30 seconds can feel like an eternity when you're in the front of the row at a light, but you aren't going to ruin anyone's day by slowly getting your shit together.

[stonea]

Just keep practicing, after a while it'll all be second nature to you and it will seem you're feet work faster than you can think.

[itsonlygeorge]

It took me 2 hrs to learn, a week to not stall out, and about a month to feel comfortable. After 3 months it was no problem pretty much anywhere. Now I can double clutch and heel-toe and I am getting better at combining the the two. Engine braking is fun, and sometimes necessary when driving aggressively.

I'm glad you realize that you need to change your driving habits to be more aware of how you need to control the car in traffic, I wish more people would learn to drive manual as I am convinced that people in the US can't drive for shit because their auto-tragic slush box does it for them... poorly. Hell I know people who couldn't parallel park in the city to save their life, and I do it with out power steering like a champ.

+1 to you for learning

[estoguy]

There should be no issue learning stick on an E30.

I started driving stick when I was 12 - my dad was a cool guy... I was 13 and driving on US-2, among other highways in Canada. For most people I've taught, the hardest part to teach is that first gear take off. RogueToaster has the right idea... I've used a similar style, and it works.

[dnguyen1963]

Here is a little simple trick for first time stick shift driver when stopping on a hill. The common problem is that the car starts to roll backward when the brakes are let off. To help with this problem, pull the handbrake on to stop the car from moving backward (not too hard, just a few clicks) then release it when you get the car moving.

[slothonaleash]

You'll be merging and shifting with one hand, eating a Chipotle burrito in the other in no time!

[ELVA164]

You'll be merging and shifting with one hand, eating a Chipotle burrito in the other in no time!

I'm happy you don't live near me.

[Das Delfin]

You'll be merging and shifting with one hand, eating a Chipotle burrito in the other in no time!

I need two hands, a table and a chair to eat a chipotle burrito...