Originally Posted by bionicdriver
I mean this car is not a normal 5 speed passenger car its a sports car and to think that i didnt know how to drive a stick shift and drove it over 700 miles from tulsa to nashville without an accident is a start lol but im trying to catch where the gears reaches its rpms smoothly and not jerk the car both via downshifting and upshifting but like you said practice practice practice ill take all of your tips generously and report back in about a week or 2
Come to the Spring Dragon Meet in onana(near Knoxville TN).
There will be plenty of people to teach you the fine points of stick shifting up and down.
Oledoc2U is spot on. Using the engine to slow you down is fine and places no strain on the systems.
As to your wifes instructor, it was enough for them just to teach a newbie how to drive. But the aggressive driving that a good stick shifter can bring to bear is not standard training for a license.
Just have fun.
roadster with a stick
"the way is should be"