The one drill I had her do that really seemed to help was having her get the car moving from a dead stop without using the gas at all.
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Great drill, but how on earth do you do that with most of the current engines? I used to do this when we had oversquare, high torque at low rmp american style engines. Nowdays, with all the preference for higher rpm, VVT, and the torque curve not kicking in til 4000+ rmp, it is next to impossible, unless you are on a slight downhill. I know I couldn’t do it in my wike’s car, but her powerband doesn’t even start til 6000 rpm.
There is a little cheating involved. I have a VW and the engine control system seems to work pretty hard to maintain a minimum idle speed so if you are gentle enough and slow enough while easing the clutch out, the car will get moving without stalling but it is not really completely free of throttle input.
My mom’s method was to laugh hysterically until she couldn’t breathe. The she’d say “I can’t take it anymore” and kick me out of the driver’s seat. My boyfriend ended up teaching me to drive.
I can guarantee it was not in my dad’s shiny black sports car.
on the contrary, my dad made me drive around the block in his Porsche, in front of all my neighbors. No 16 yr old wants to stall something that pretty in front of someone, talk about motivation.
My dad did the same thing with his Porsche. He would also make me stop just before the top of a steep hill with a stop light. I learned very quickly how to use the clutch like it is an extension of my foot/toes. The mere fact that if I rolled too far back, I would damage somebody elses car, let alone his, would scare me to death. Fear can be a good teacher.
I learned to drive in an automatic, and then bought car that was stick (84 Rabbit). My dad test drove it for me and drove it home. Then I hopped in and drove off to a physio appt, much to his surprise. Frankly, it never dawned on me that it would be hard or require “learning”. I hit 3 uphill red lights that first day and never had any problems. A week later with all my friends crammed in the back, I stalled it 4x at the end of my driveway. 