Would teaching a friend how to drive stick do extensive damage to my clutch? I really want him to learn, but I don't want to teach him on my car if the general consensus is that it will to considerable damage to the clutch. What do you guys think?

 

If he stalls it a couple of times, it's not a big deal.

I don't foresee you having any problems with a learner. Some bunny hopping and stalling will be normal.

Hell, even as a seasoned manual driver, I stall now and then when I am not paying attention in parking lots or what have you.

 

It might do more extensive damage to your sanity. By all means, try and find another vehicle to abuse. Teaching a novice on clutch operation can be both brutal and funny at the same time. Good luck and have fun.

 

I think he is smart enough not to ride it or slip it much. The biggest issue is going to be stalling on hills. I'll be watching his feet to make sure he doesn't develop the horrible habit of riding the clutch, but hopefully all goes well.

 

Yeah, when my bro taught me, he said the clutch is either in or out, don't use it to keep the car from rolling back.

Teach him a handbrake start on a hill. Very handy especially in steep underground parking lots.

 

Personally I would not do it. Very nice of you to teach a friend. Is he willing to eat the cost of a clutch as his possible tuition fee?

 

i heard that mini now includes one free clutch with your warranty... at least thats what they told me...

 

I taught both of my kids how to drive on cars with manuals - not how to drive manual after they could drive - they started from zero on a clutch. (they both thought the school driving test with an automatic was a joke)

Taught my son on a Miata - that car has 175,000 now, on the original clutch. He went on to drive our 02S and we sold that with a little shy of 100,000 on the clutch.

Daughter was taught 'tween two cars. A Honda Element and my 07S - the Element now has 110,000 on the original clutch. My 07 seems fine but is a youthful 32,000.

So . . . .

how good of a teacher are you?

 

"Working at the carwash"..... was a hit song when I learned to drive a stick, by pulling up the customer's cars at my first job, at a carwash making $1.60 an hour.

Didn't even have a driver's license. Really when you learn to get started, the rest is gravy. Take him to a big empty parking lot where he can't hit anything.

My Brother with his charished '69 Mach I Mustang was teaching my stepbrother, also in the late '70's..... And pulling up to the garage the learner forgets to push in the clutch.... Damaged the bumper and hood.

But then one of my Sons managed to hit my garage with me teaching same way with an auto.

Tried to teach the wife once in a parking lot, not much luck. Another dude there trying to teach his wife in a 1970 Chev truck with cap and boat on top. Looked like the front bumper was going to hit the ground for all the bouncing.....

 

I have taught several people to drive a manual. first things first, make him get the car to 1800-2000 rpm and have him hold it steady, teach him to listen to the car. that way he knows how much clutch to apply to get the car rolling without incident. the hardest thing to teach a new (gear grinder) is how to listen to its car talk to him. get that thru his head and he might become a good driver, umm , Oh yeah!! 1800-2000 rpms while in neutral. don't wanna try this while the car is moving

 

Dad taught me how to drive a manual back in '73 in the MG Midget we had at the time, and while I had the usual novice issues at first, I picked it up quickly and we never had any clutch problems with the car whatsoever. That car was very different from a modern MINI, naturally, but the gearbox in that Midget was known for a release bearing that didn't like to be abused, and it still survived the learning process. So the more sophisticated setup on the MINI should be okay.

I think that any clutch/gearbox can take a little abuse with no problems, so your teaching on a MINI depends mainly on how long you expect the clutch/box to be abused. If you suspect your "student" is going to learn quickly, then I wouldn't worry about it.

And yes, teach him handbrake starts on hills. That makes things considerably easier!

Best of luck,

Spridget

 

MANUAL IS NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN LEARN ON ONE OUTING I know from experience

I've gotten two lessons from two different friends, first was on a Kia with no tach, stalled that thing like crazy, second was a few days ago on my roommates Nissan Altima (90s era), stalled once because I forgot to hit the clutch when I hit the brakes, there were a few times I should've stalled the thing but it was a champ.

And now even though my MCS will not be a manual I am still determined to learn, gonna hit up Craigslist when I get home from school and find something for under a grand to drive around and get used to manual driving on flat Long Island.

 

The clutch on the mini is pretty forgiving. I was thinking of letting my wife learn on mine..........its just a thought

 

I learned stick on my MINI. I could drive motorcycles already but it was still nerve wracking to begin with. The best lesson I got from a pro driving instructor was when he made me get the car rolling by releasing the clutch slowly and letting it engage. He told me to think of the Gas and Clutch as separate operations: to not use them both at once. Let the clutch out very slowly, feel it catch, continue to slowly let up. Then when you are rolling and your foot is off the clutch and back on the dead pedal, give it some gas.

We even did this on the steepest hill in town, and after a few tries I was able to roll the car out with the clutch, not hold it steady and burning it, but creep forward on a steep incline with no gas. Stalled a few times but got it eventually.

It is very, very slow to begin with but this made me really get the feel of the friction point on the clutch and kept me from riding it, or over-revving and popping it. I found it extremely helpful. I still do this from a standstill if there is not an impatient driver behind me. This may help you guide your friend. Good luck!

 

I agree with dannyhavok, I've taught many a person to drive on the various manual trans vehicles I've had over the years. I always taught them the right ammount of 'clutch slip' (if you will) with NO THROTTLE. Then if their really getting it, try a second gear launch or two. (of course, the second gear launches were with an f150 and a 5.0 mustang, so the gearing supported it) Once they have that, it's easy.

On second thought, ignore the second gear launch in the mini.

 

Not a big deal. I taught my mother in my NSX, and my wife in my Lotus Elise. Now they are pros. Took about 45 minutes each

 

Haha I got my MINI before I even new how to drive it, my friend would take me out in his e30 so I could learn stick. We would try the mini every now and then haha I finally got it down. Now I'm a a pro haha

 

RENT a car or truck with manuel . Get all the insurance you can..
Find every hill in the area and let him go...Both of you on the rental form...

 

For what it's worth, I've launched the MINI in 2nd, although it wasn't on purpose. Forgot to downshift to 1st leaving a parking lot, stereo was loud, somehow got it rolling but felt gutless, and that's when I realized I was in the wrong gear.. Oops!

 

a most amusing diversion of opinion in this thread! I imagine the OP sorting through it.

I think the separation of clutch and throttle is a great tip

i taught my son in a large church parking lot, never more than 2,000 rpm

i think the Mini is a very friendly car to learn on - better than the Pinto I trained on in '71, and certainly my son didn't hurt the car at all

i get more clutch wear in an autocross than he put on it putting around and feeling his left foot control what was happening

finding a large lot, and doing things gently helps i think

once one gets the hang of just what the h*ll a clutch is and what effect it has on the proceedings, scaling it up from there is no big deal

but...

the student has a big effect on this - some folks get it, and some struggle

2 bits - you asked...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I taught my son how to drive a stick by going to a dealer and taking out a demo car. I taught my ex on a Viper. The easy thing about using a very high torque engine is that you don't even have to have your foot on the gas at all to pull away in first gear. It actually does make the process a little less frustrating at first. You can get the feel of the friction point w/o ever killing the engine and worry about other manuals later.

 

Another heard from...

We are all, I assume, car people. this makes feeling things, such as getting to "know your vehicle" perhaps more intuitive for us "gear-heads". If the OPs friend isn't of this persuasion, it may be bit more difficult than some of you have made it out to be. I tried to help a friend's son learn to drive a manual trans. He sort of got the basics down, and then figured his newly-found experience wasn't going to be used in the near future, so we all forgot about it.

This stick shift sort of stuff is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. One you really have it DOWN, I think it's like falling off a bicycle. You never really forget. If you just have the basics down, you may have to learn all over again.

Said before, but, my tuppence, only, and worth exactly what you paid...

 

if he really wants to learn i say he buys himself a manual car. I learned how to drive stick on my 05 mini. First day as i came out of the dealership my friend came with me to the dealership, i told him to take the care home for me and he said, NO its your car and you need to learn how to. so all he said was, let the clutch out just a bit as you do the car will start to move so then give it gas and go..... it was pretty simple.

 

Forgot to mention. I learned in the MINI I am currently driving.

Also, a good way to feel the clutch is to have it in first and let off the clutch so slowly until you're in gear without any gas. It takes some time, but you get the feel of the clutch. Then you start adding gas at the same time and work your way up.

 

Yes I learned in my car as well. I am skeptical about teaching him because I have blown through a clutch prematurely and am very clutch paranoid now and baby it. I taught myself how by just watching videos on youtube and trying to apply them. The most effective way for me was to take her to a hill and just find the point of partial engagement.