Manual transmission Fan Club and BS thread (All Generations Welcome)

Is there a Coles Notes version for the slow readers in the group?

 

Reminds me of me. I got a few lessons in my Mom's 1988 5-speed Volvo 740 when I was learning to drive in 2005, but not quite enough seat time to become proficient. My mom got rid of that car before I got my license because it needed too much work. Her new car was an automatic sadly, so I didn't have any manual cars to learn/practice in anymore. (Fortunately for her, the last few years she's back in a 6-speed Jetta).

My first car was automatic and I drove that until 2017 when I decided it was not worth repairing and I sought out my dream car ever since seeing The Italian Job, a manual transmission British Racing Green Mini Cooper.
The test drive was brutal haha. The sales guy handed me the key and said "go ahead" and let me loose on my own. I couldn't even get it out of the parking lot

I went back in and asked if he had any pointers and he simply said "Don't be afraid to give it some gas." So for the rest of the test drive I chirped the tires every time I left a stoplight/stopsign. I bought the car hoping I'd eventually get the hang of it, but it still took me a good 2-3 weeks before I wasn't stalling it every other stoplight. I also didn't have any manual transmission mentors around to help out since I had moved out of state.
Driving a manual is so much more enjoyable than being driven by an automatic though, so no regrets.

 

When you can drive a stick properly - you'll want to drive a stick...
Rachel Cosker is 'defective'. Her leg 'got sore' from the clutch! WTF!

I bet all the exercise she gets is with her thumbs on the phone...

 

It's great hearing the rise in sales of the manual transmission and hearing some stories about younger people enjoying driving a manual. I've taught a good amount of people how to drive one who otherwise doesn't have an opportunity to learn how to drive a manual. It does feel good when they got their own stick-shift car and enjoyed driving it.

I remembered bringing back used Mazda Miatas for a few people since they are very new at driving manual back then. Now they got the hang of it and love driving their cars.

 

I've converted 4 people to full-time manual driving. Lucky ducks.

It's a little sad that manuals are less and less common but the great thing is that the vehicles that still have it are the ones you'd want to get anyway. I think the younger crowd sees that

 

Holy cow!

There is enough interest to support this:

https://www.stickshiftdrivingacademy.com/stick-shift-driving-lesson-near-me

Like a dozen locations in SoCal.

 

See my post above

TLDR: younger crowds are buying more stick shifts and the sales are rising instead of falling.

 

Glad the younger generation is discovering the joys of the standard transmission. Back in my day, just after disembarking from the Ark, the price differential between the auto vs manual, made the manual the natural choice for the cash poor high school/college student or young married couple.

Puts a smile on my face every time I'm behind the wheel of my Tacoma! I just wished my 2nd car was a second generation BRZ instead of the Tahoe.

 

With it being lightweight, RWD, manual, and around $30k MSRP, several of my friends bought one/are on the waitlist for the GR86/BRZ. They really liked these cars when they drove one of them. It seems like a vast improvement over the first generation and I'm glad it's still an alternative to the Miata.

I'm curious in driving one too even though I wouldn't get rid of my S2000 for one.

 

I bought my MT Taco partly because I wanted to get one before automakers stopped producing them, and part because my 16 year old son really wanted to learn how to drive stick. It’s infinitely more interactive and fun, and makes it near impossible to screw around on your phone while driving. Glad to see other companies are upping MT production!

 

Precisely my thoughts as well. Though my boys are 7 and 5 so I got a 5MT and a 6MT. But then I made them nice so now I don’t trust the boys. Maybe they will grow up and be responsible somehow.

 

I drove a manual service vehicle in 1990's Toronto for a few years, mid 80's S10 2.5L 4 cylinder 5 speed. Overloaded to the max and driving around in traffic was a good learning program on clutch control. My dad had a late 70's C10 three on the tree, awesome once you got used to the loooong shift throws! I really don't care for the auto shifting in almost all vehicles since they starting making more than 4 speeds. Even my 2016 Silverado 2500hd wants to be in 6th gear when doing 25mph. I can't imagine that it is for "fuel savings" since it averages 12mpg empty. I must be getting old and grumpy. But I feel young and happy with a manual and hope the manual renaissance is actually a real thing and happening! It just may be. My 19 year old son intentionally sought out a manual vehicle for his first car while we didn't even have one in the family! He bought a 2010 Hyundai accent coupe 5 speed. Great little econobox, perfect to learn with. Incredibly easy to drive. To me, it's almost a bit "cool"- a manual 2 door hatchback, unlike the sedans that are all the rage now. The old guy is showing again! Way back in my days of youth a sedan was the last thing you'd be caught dead in, let alone owning! Maybe if you were using mom or dad's car you'd get a pass, but not without some teasing! Manuals are just plain cool, regardless if they are less efficient, ancient or whatever derogatory word you want to call them. Don't be jealous! Manuals are like a fun party and autos are like a boring meeting. Simple as that.

 

"Stick shifts now cool with the smart kids."

 

Been on the hunt for a better shift knob since I took delivery of my truck in October of 2022. The OEM shift knob just….sucks, I think.

1st, I went with the “retro” TRD Pro knob others here have shown. I liked the feel, but the light gray and white letters drove me nuts in my nearly all black interior. Ditched that idea.

Bought a knob from a dude on Etsy for $85. Anodized black aluminum. Well made, and looked good. However, the circular opening for the shift pattern legend was straight up sharp around the edges. I could’ve fixed that myself, but would’ve needed to be anodized again…and the thing is a full-on thermal sink. No bueno on that one.

Found the Tinkerers Design Ranger Series knob, and ordered it. Pricey to the point of uncomfortable, but it is very high quality. Buy once, cry once. It looked…ok…and felt decent, though very susceptible to temperature like the one from Etsy. After my wife scratched the hell out of it with her keys (most destructive woman I know, but that’s another conversation), I was again on the hunt.

At this point, I’ve ended up with an Audi R8 knob from Black Forest Industries. Again, painfully expensive, but looked good. So far, it feels and functions great, and looks like it belongs there. Had to source an adapter to go from M16x1.5 to M12x1.25 to get it mounted, which sucked. Eventually ended up with a purpose made part from OTB Gear (part number 3901) from Summit Racing. Also bought Shift Boot Retainer from a dude on Etsy, that worked as expected and looks good doing it.

Here’s a few pics of the current setup. Never thought I’d spend hundreds of dollars just to get a comfortable shift knob.

 

That’s a lot of knobs

 

Knobs...

 

I think I'm probably the only one who actually likes the stock knob. I swapped to the black/red TRD, and thought I liked it but after a while I was tired of it. I didn't like feeling the jam nut. I went back to stock and I'm happy with it and not changing again. Sure, the stocker doesn't look cool, but it also doesn't stand out, which I like. I also like how the boot ties into it. I didn't like the Etsy boot solutions, nor did I like the grommet solution. I didn't like the exposed shifter cane either.

 

^^ I'll keep an eye out for a rick knob for ya, it's better than the circ'd wiener stock knob without being terribly different, unless you like small knobs...