1) Congrats on the new car
2) First gear has a synchro. You can engage 1st gear while you're moving, but it's advisable to grab 2nd instead.
3) Physical lockout mechanism confirmed. You cannot grab reverse while you're going any considerable speed forward. I forgot what the lockout speed is, but it's of no concern in a 5-6 shift.
4) Brake when you need to slow down, and clutch when you need to change gears. I know that sounds oversimplified, but try to learn about mechanical advantages, gearing and acceleration. There's no need to unhook the clutch to slow down. But as soon as you've slowed down too far to have a good mechanical advantage for the speed you're going if you want to accelerate again, you will want to
downshift. Also don't let your rev's get much below 2k when you're coming to a stop or things start to get jerky.

 

When I'm coming to a stop sign/cross road/light where I have to stop completely I just throw it into N and brake. I wouldn't just hold the clutch down the whole time until I stop while having it on 1st just waiting.

You'll get it. Even veterans of manuals still mess up every once in a while just don't slam into gears too quickly just yet while still getting used to it take your time don't wanna grind em too bad

 

Congrats on your new ride

 

1. I would not put the car in 1st gear if your slow rolling, put it into second gear. First gear is meant to get you going from a stop.

2. There is a lock out mechanism that won't allow you to go into reverse while going fforward.

3. If you are tapping your brakes to slow down you do not need to depress the clutch. If you are braking to a complete stop than depress the clutch all the way down or else you will stall.

Driving manual takes time and experience so just be patient.

 

This is all perfectly correct.

What's going to happen is you will have to stop really quick, say in a parking lot someone pulls out on front of you. And you will forget to press the clutch and you will stall
Used to happen to me all the time. Now it's instinct to press and and clutch at the same time.

The si is a super easy manual to drive. Light clutch. soon you won't have to think about it. And it will be butter smooth. It does take time for this to happen.

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Congratz on the new car! Just like some of the other posters said above, I usually start in 2nd rather than first if I am moving at all. Even if it's only 4 or 5 mph. First gear is mainly used just to get the car going from a stop. This car has been a blast to drive. At this same time it was challenging at first. I learned you cannot treat this car like a 5 speed manual corolla, the car I traded in for this one. The corolla best shifts at low RPM for fuel economy, this drive train shifts smoother at higher rpm. The SI feels like it wants to haul a$$ . Once again congratz!

 

I was a noob at one time and now that I have years of experience I can honestly say I love driving manual and I don't ever want to go back to daily driving an auto. You'll learn with enough time and practice just like anything else. It's a lot easier than it seems trust me. Anyway Congrats!


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Lots of great advice here.

Let me add that when shifting, I do not maintain a death-grip on the shift knob. Sort of guide it from gear to gear. When I shift from 1 to 2, and 3 to 4, I put my hand in front of the knob and guide it straight back. When I go from 2 to 3, and 4 to 5, I put turn my hand so my finger are pointing left, and push the shifter up and away from me. The gears sort of fine themselves.

I have found the shifter in the Civics to be shorter than most MTs I have driven. So of course, proceed carefully, and if this works for you then so much the better.

 

Always remember that you're just guiding the car into the gears, not jamming it, pushing it or slamming it, ever. Also, never rest your hand on the shifter. It is for shifting gears, not holding the weight of your arm. You'll wear out your shifter mechanism and have a floppy shifter in no time if you rest on the shifter.

Also, you shift into a gear and it "clunks," you didn't do it right.... try matching revs better or pick a more appropriate gear next time.

You'll know you are good at it when you can drive with a passenger who tells you that it's just as smooth as an automatic. You should be able to put a mug of hot coffee on your passenger's lap and not spill. If you practice for smoothness around town, then any aggressive driving you do will actually be a lot better/smoother/effective as well.

 

we were all noobs at one time or another, we didn't just come out of the womb knowing exactly how to do it. I know for sure that I didn't anyway, some people may just be freaks of nature lol

Anyway, its like the old saying goes "Practice makes perfect" Just keep doing man, I have said this before in other threads and ill say it here to you, the best way to learn is when you have to. I was thrown the keys to one years ago to be a DD, had to get it figured out quick. Its the best thing when its the only option you have.

It'll all come to you, and in a few months it'll be second nature and you'll wonder how you ever thought it could of been so hard. For me when I was getting the hang of having my first manual that I drove everyday was the rev-matching and trying to figure out what gear to be in, like is this a 2nd or a 3rd gear turn. You just have to judge off your speed. The great thing about the SI is that its got so much torque on the low end that if its a 2nd gear turn and you're still in 3rd, you have the power to still make it happen pretty fluidly. This is just something that will take time.

One thing at a time though, get those shifts smooth, a little slower on the clutch and a little less gas will stop the jerkiness. Just don't stay on the clutch to long, but make it a smooth release. You'll get it.

As far as slowing down is concerned, if its a stop light, clutch in, neutral, clutch out and roll with the brake in to come to a stop, if your just slowing down because of traffic, just see how fast your going before you start giving gas again, clutch in downshift to an appropriate gear and clutch out. This may work for you it may not, but for me to start getting the hang of what gear I'm suppose to be in, I watched my speed. I figured out that first was only meant to be from a stop, to get me rolling again, if I'm rolling its 2nd. So for instance, if I'm between 5-20MPH, I'm grabbing 2nd, 21-30, 3rd. 31-40, 4th, 41-50, 5th and above 50 its 6th, unless I need the speed to get around, then its a downshift to 5th, get going and back to 6th.

That'll maybe help you out for what gear to be in based on your speed until you start to get the feel and hang of everything. Like I said, I know it worked for me.

But, good luck, it takes time, like someone else said even veterans mess up. We're not all perfect. Its a learning curve, just keep practicing, trying new things, you'll get it, then you'll be like the rest of us, just kind of doing it brainlessly just because we know how the engine sounds where we're supposed to be.

 

After a while you should be able to easily tell what gear to be in simply by the speed you're going and how fast you intend to accelerate..... Obviously for maintaining speed you would go for a higher gear. To accelerate or pass, 1 or 2 gears lower than that. I'll also add that this car is NOT a typical manual.

This is a close-ratio manual with very low gear ratios and an engine with plenty of torque, so frankly, it's ridiculously easy to drive. Even my wife can drive it... She drove it on a dealership test drive and she only killed it once (as opposed to her usual dozens of times). Also, because of the low gears, 1st gear is basically for standing still only. If you're moving at all, 2nd gear is fine.

 

I hate to keep adding things, but I did want to caution you to be careful about shifting to a too low gear.... You're better to end up in too high of a gear than too low. The reason is that if you shift too low and your RPMs spike, you can mechanically overrev the engine and cause major damage.... Rev limit won't help you when you mechanically over-rev. This happens to people on some cars when doing the 3-4 shift and they somehow end up in 2 instead... say bye-bye to valves and such. So just be careful

 

If you plan on buying a brand new car and you don't know how to drive a manual I really suggest you learn on a used car first. Clutch replacement isn't all that cheap and learning to drive a manual car with 200HP isn't the best route to go IMHO.. Find an older Toyota Yaris or Tercel and drive it for a while. I learned on a really old Tercel and it was very forgiving. An older Civic will do too.. Easy to find gears and great clutch feel.

You do not need to push the clutch in when you are slowing down. I will admit I used to do this all the time. Just leave it in the gear you are in til your rpms dip down to 1500 or so and then push in the clutch and put the car in neutral while braking. When the car is stopped keep your foot on the brake. Press the clutch in and shift to first when you are ready to go. Besides, your Si will make some nice exhaust sounds while the rpms slow down.

Many people like to downshift to slow down, I do not.... downshifting puts unnecessary wear on your engine and clutch. I prefer to do most of my breaking with my... brakes!! Brake pads and rotors are easier to replace than engine parts (and cheaper), and they are designed to wear out.

 

If you have access to an older car, great. If not, you can learn without doing damage to your clutch. I learned on a 2004 G35, which is a hard car to drive (very stiff and unpredictable, somewhat fixed in later years). Revving to high and slipping the clutch too much will cause premature wear. Avoid this, and you will be fine. I got almost 90k miles out of my first clutch by being gentle with it.

Starting on an incline with be your biggest challenge, especially in a FWD car (weight shifts to the rear allowing for less traction). Find someplace with a hill and no traffic to practice hill starts. I used a school parking lot during the summer. This way, you can make several attempts and not be afraid to stall. Try not to peel out or slip your clutch. This will get you used to the timing and acceleration. It may help to first find a flat lot and try engaging first gear without accelerating. This will help you find the "engage point" of your clutch. Hill starts are much easier once you're comfortable with the engage point.

Good luck!!

 

90k is a pathetic life for a clutch. I expect 150k.

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That all depends on the car and the clutch. And, who knows how the first 30k were put on it? I didn't buy it new.



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Another tip: if you are at a complete stop, leave it in 1st and not in neutral as you never know if a car is charging at you from the rear, last thing you want to do is to look for 1st. Could save you from an accident.

Have fun and congrats on the purchase!

It takes years to perfect, take your time with the basics, then you can learn to heel toe and rev match and all the fun stuff.

 

Thanks to all of you your all extremely friendly and helpful! I drove around a lot more today to get some practice in real world situations like on a hill, then merging onto a highway, and in traffic, and I did pretty well. I got better at making the car not jerking or at least not as much and a lot of the time now it feels like an automatic when I shift. Any tips to make the car feel smoother between shifts? I'm getting the hang of it but some advice would be appreciated.

 

Practice (makes better - no one is perfect ).

 

Thanks everyone for your replies, I've gone 3 days without stalling so I guess that is good. I guess from hereon it is just practice to get better.