Learn How to Drive Stick in Charlotte, North Carolina

 

Our driving school has many solutions for you in your local area if you've always planned to have a manual driving lesson. No matter if your existing car is a 4-speed, 5-speed, or 6-speed manual vehicle, manual transmission driving is an excellent skill to learn. Since they offer you all the area you want to have to practice with the gear shift and shifter, parking lots are great options for manual lessons. Here's a list of parking lots to help you raise your driving capabilities as a new driver and learn how to drive a stick shift vehicle in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

Find a Manual Transmission Instructor Nearby

 

Use the map above to find a stick shift instructor near you

 

Learn To Drive Stick Near Me

Whitehall Corporate Center, 3600 Arco Corporate Dr #205, Charlotte, NC 28273

 

Whitehall Corporate Center is located 0.7 mi from Olympic High School via Whitehall Park Dr.

How To Drive A Manual Truck For Beginners at Whitehall Corporate Center

When you're more in tune with the placement of the steering wheel, pedals, and gear lever, it's time to learn to drive a manual vehicle in 1st gear. Now, it's likely going to be very challenging for new drivers of stick shift cars, especially if they've only driven automatic transmission cars before. Actually, you're most likely going to have the car stall a few times while you're still learning to shift and drive in 1st gear. Don't worry if it happens once, or even a number of times until you get it down pat. You and your car engine will be fine. You might feel like you're being yanked around, but that's fine - stick shift vehicles can take it. They're much more sturdy and robust than you can expect. Now, when taking manual driving lessons, this is how a driving instructor or driving course teacher will teach you how to get a stick shift car into first gear. Before flipping the ignition on, be sure you have the gear lever in neutral position and your feet in the correct spot - right foot on the brake pedal and left foot on the floor. Next, start your car and press on the clutch completely to the floor with your left foot. Make sure that the emergency brake is disengaged. With the parking brake disengaged, you can start stepping on the gas slowly, until you reach an RPM of 1500. Hold still on the accelerator pedal with your right foot when you reach 1500 RPMs. Then, carefully and over a seven-second period, take your left foot off the clutch. Be sure you carry this out as steadily and as gradually as you can manage. When the clutch is engaged and you have the wheels on your manual car moving, you'll know you've succeeded in doing this effectively. When your left foot is completely off from the clutch, begin pushing down on the accelerator so you gain speed in the vehicle. At that point, when the engine is at around 2500-300 RPMs, you can begin decelerating the manual transmission car. To decelerate, step on the clutch pedal with your left foot until it's down on the floor. Afterwards, get your foot off of the gas pedal and begin pressing down on the brakes. Important note: you should ALWAYS press on the clutch pedal first with your left foot prior to pressing on the brake pedal with your right foot. When the brake is completely down to the floor, you have brought the manual vehicle at a total stop. Once stopped, slide the gear shifter with your right foot to put it in to neutral position, then crank up the emergency brake. You can now bring your feet off of the clutch and brake pedals when you're securely parked.

Forest Lawn West Cemetery, 4601 Freedom Dr, Charlotte, NC 28208

 

Forest Lawn West Cemetery is located 1.5 mi from Tuckaseegee Recreation Center via Freedom Dr.

Learning Upshifting at Forest Lawn West Cemetery

Now that we've talked about the first gear section of your stick shift lesson, the subsequent obvious step is to learn how to shift up and down among higher gears. Don't stress, upshifting is easier to learn, as you'll simply be taking what you studied on getting a car to first gear and adding in a couple of steps to shift up to one more gear level. Now, like always, locate the most extensive area in the parking lot you can find. You should have at minimum 500-1000 feet for your practice area. Then, as soon as you have the manual vehicle going while you're in 1st gear, you should soon be at about 2500 RPMs. Push down on the clutch while also easing your right foot off from the gas pedal to come go back down to 1500 on the RPMs when you hit that speed. In reality, you might even wish to coast with the car in neutral on the manual gearbox so you can practice the movements in a slow manner. Then when you're at a nice and steady 1500 RPMs, put your hand on the gear stick and slide the shifter from 1st to 2nd gear. Afterwards, cautiously bring your left foot off the clutch. Once the clutch engages, start pressing down on the accelerator pedal with your right foot till you arrive at an RPM of 2500-3000 RPMs. Do not forget that this is your first time getting a manual transmission car into first gear, and you will possibly hear some strange noises come form the engine. It's also going to get louder occasionally, and that's totally okay.

Central Church, 5301 Sardis Rd, Charlotte, NC 28270

 

Central Church is located 0.9 mi from Providence Day School via Sardis Rd

Learning Downshifting at Central Church

Upon understanding how to upshift, we're going to take everything we studied and revert all of that to learn downshifting. Like with each new component in manual transmission driving lessons, you need to have an extended strip of paved area to practice in so you get the room and, consequently, the opportunity to work through every step properly. For example, you'll find yourself in lots of situations where you're in second gear and want to shift down one or two gears until you bring the manual car to a full stop. There are two ways to do this: you may prefer to downshift one gear at a time, from 2nd to first, from 1st to a stop; or you might just shift the gear lever in neutral and coast until you reach a total stop. Simply for the sake of learning how to do the fundamentals of driving manual transmission vehicles, we'll guide you through how to downshift from second gear to a complete stop. When you have the car rolling in 2nd gear, push down the clutch with your left foot while also releasing the gas pedal with your right foot until you reach 1500 RPMs. When you achieve a nice and steady 1500 RPMs, slide the manual shift down to first gear. Once you've changed gears, raise your left foot off of the clutch pedal and start pushing down on the brakes. Now, you might note the engine revving a little above 1500 RPMs. You may even hear some weird sounds from the engine, but don't worry; that's simply the engine and drivetrain not getting in sync yet. After that, when you've stepped on the brake pedal with your right foot and your RPMs come back down to 1500, you can repeat the clutch work routine. Push down on the clutch pedal with your left foot to release the clutch, then carefully press on the brake with your right foot to bring the stick shift car to a full stop. When you're at a stop, shift the gear lever to neutral , then you can pull up the emergency brake.

Independence High School, 1967 Patriot Dr, Charlotte, NC 28227

 

Independence High School is located 1.2 mi from Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park via Wilson Grove Rd.

Learning Reversing at Independence High School

You've now studied the fundamentals in your manual driving lessons, including switching the ignition on and operating the gas, brake, and clutch pedals in a stick shift vehicle. And considering you're more comfortable with handling the manual shift and driving a car at varied lower and higher speeds, we're moving on to help you through reversing a manual transmission car. We'll start by switching the vehicle engine on, looking for the most wide-ranging paved area you have in the parking lot, and driving the vehicle to one end of that stretch. As soon as you've gotten there, move the gear shifter from 1st gear to reverse gear and cautiously drive your car backward until you reach where you first started. To do this procedure, move the manual shift in neutral, step on the brakes and clutch pedal. Then when you've shifted the gear shifter from "1" to "R", move your right foot from the brake and back to the gas pedal. While working on that, carefully lift your foot off of the clutch over a 7-sec period to let the clutch engage properly. Once you've completed that, move your right foot to the accelerator and begin stepping on the gas to pick up more speed. Now this can become a bit of a friction point for new drivers like you, particularly if you've exclusively worked with automatic transmission vehicles before. You might even take up more time than you expect, but that's fine - feel free to go as low a speed as you're at ease with till you're good with picking up more speed.

Simons Charlotte Outlet Mall, 5404 New Fashion Way, Charlotte, NC 28278

 

Simons Charlotte Outlet Mall is located 0.6 mi from Steele Creek Church of Charlotte - Berewick Campus via Dixie River Rd.

Learning Parking at Simons Charlotte Outlet Mall

Car parking is presently rather hard to learn as it stands, but it's much more tricky to master parallel parking and driving backwards into a parking spot of your selection. Back-in parking is what we call the last mentioned. This is how you ordinarily do back-in parking: first, you drive your manual vehicle forward until you're approximately an entire car's size in front of the parking space, signify your intention with your blinker and ensure the area is empty behind you. After making certain that the road is clear to back your car into, press the clutch then slide the manual shift to reverse gear. Be sure to press down the clutch pedal completely to the floor while you haven't started your back-in yet. Indeed, for safety's sake, have the brake and clutch pedals all the way to the floor to start off. Then, gently bring your left foot off the clutch up until the clutch catches - frequently when the sound from the engine switches up and you feel the back of the car raising up a bit. Now, when you're ready, move your right foot off the brake and maneuver the clutch and brake pedals to begin backing into the parking space. Because you're driving in reverse gear, make sure not to exceed a few MPH. Then, if you're not content with how the car is parked after this first attempt, feel free to do all the little changes you need to do till you're satisfied with how the manual car is stationed. Now, let's carry on to how to parallel park while steering a stick shift vehicle. First, don't forget to activate your blinker to gesture a right turn. Then, drive the car onward until you're two or three feet beyond the parking space and parallel to the vehicle in front of it. Then make sure to assess traffic behind and around you by taking a look at your surroundings, and checking your mirrors and backup camera. Now, start by pressing on the brake and clutch until they get to the floor. Then, make sure your wheels are in line by straightening the wheel. After that, carefully bring your left foot from the clutch until you reach the bite point. When the clutch catches (bite point), you'll feel the rear of the vehicle lift up a little and you'll notice a shift in the noises coming from the engine. You then gradually take your right foot off of the brakes to get your car's wheels moving. When you begin to move, retain careful control on the clutch and brake pedals so the car goes at a leisurely and sure speed. Keep an eye on your mirrors, and when your back bumper is around two to three feet behind the bumper of the car beside you, turn your wheel to the left. After that, once your rear bumper on the right is about a couple of feet from the curb, turn the steering wheel totally to the right. Continue a slow pace with the manual car with your feet closely pressed on the brake and clutch until you bring the stick shift vehicle to a full stop.

Book Stick Shift Driving Lessons Today

 

As you can see, having manual transmission lessons consumes some time, dedication, and practice to really get great at all aspects of stick shift driving. Don't be discouraged by the activity at hand, as there is a huge learning curve that can take place when getting used to a manual transmission vehicle. So go out and check out those driving lessons today, regardless of your present experience or skill, our driving instructors are here to help you. Call Stick Shift Driving academy today for more information if you are interested in learning how to drive a stick shift vehicle near you in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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