Shifting Gears
Monday, February 8, 2010 at 6:40PM While in graduate school I had the opportunity to do a few week-long workshops with high school students. I researched combustion in an engine lab at Penn State, so for the said workshops I'd have a group of 6-10 girls learn about the internal combustion engine (ICE), specifically spark-ignited (gasoline) engines, set up an experiment, run it, analyze the data, and present the results (this was a part of an annual summer camp sponsored by Women in Science and Engineering called WISE Camp, so many groups of students presented their project's findings at an end-of-camp assembly).
The opportunity to work with high school-aged females on a topic that is typically male-dominated was really fun!! I was always proud at how empowered the girls felt when they learned about combustion and realized they had potential to understand it just as well as (if not better than) any guy could! And while talking to these young girls about everything from combustion to college to life, it occurred to me just how limiting our socialization, as females, can be. This realization isn't profound, of course. However, having been involved with automotive related projects and careers since I was 19 years old puts me in a "not-typical" category of women. And I simply wanted to be able to bring some more girls over to my side!!!
One of the things I devised was a list of "10 things all women should be able to do" related to cars. Here it is:
- Change your engine oil
- Drive a manual trans
- Change a flat tire
- Avoid getting duped at the service station
- Shop for a car without getting the run around
- Know how to top off your fluids
- Change fuses
- Jump start
- Change wiper blades
- Change your air filter
I've already blogged about changing a flat tire. I'll dedicate the next 9 blogs (including this one) to the remaining items on this list!
So now the question becomes, what is your preference for shifting gears? Can you drive a car with a manual transmission (stick shift), or do you prefer an automatic trans? I always offer that you never know when you may end up in a predicament where it would be useful for you to be able to drive a manual (i.e. taking your drunk friend home from the bar in their car).

Here are a few tips for those of you who want to learn to drive a stick:
- Find a car with a manual trans. Probably good to get a patient friend to spend a few hours with you some Sunday afternoon :)
- Find a nice, flat, empty parking lot - this will be the best place to start your education.
- Take as much time as you need! Spend some time getting used the clutch. Push in the clutch (engage it) and put it into first gear, slowly let the clutch out (disengage the clutch) until the car barely inches forward, and then push the clutch back in until the car moves backwards slightly. Do it over and over again. Notice the point on the tachometer (the RPM meter in the dash) where the engine RPM's decrease slightly as you let the clutch out - this shows that you've disengaged the clutch, and that you can give it some gas and go!
- Practice! Once you've grown comfortable with the clutch, take a drive around the parking lot. Practice driving, stopping, shifting from neutral to 1st and to 2nd if you have enough space to get your speed up a bit. Once you understand how it works and can manipulate the trans, it's truly just a matter of learning a new habit. Your feet and right hand have to learn a new routine in order to respond smoothly.
- After you're good and comfortable, the next step is to take a drive on a not-so-busy street. Side streets in a downtown (not during rush hour) is a good place to start.
- Hills are the next best thing to practice, but only once you've gained some confidence in stop and go situations. The most important thing to remember is that when you disengage the clutch (when you push it in), your gears are not engaged (you are essentially in neutral). When on a hill, keep your right foot on the break, and your left foot on the clutch. Make sure you're in first gear. Watch the tachometer, and let the clutch out slowly until you see the RPM's drop slightly. At that point, give it some gas, and be generous!!
A few things to remember as you become accustomed to driving a stick:
- Don't panic! Stalling, while frustrating, is no big deal. Just put your foot on the brake, start the car again (in modern cars you have to remove the key from the ignition before you can start the engine again).
- When in doubt, push in the clutch!!
- If you get confused about which gear you're in, just put it back into neutral and select the appropriate gear.
- Downshifting takes some time to get used to, especially in terms of when to downshift. So just practice until you get good. You'll learn the vehicle and typically become accustomed to the sound of the engine as a cue.
If you'd like to know what's so great about a manual trans, check out this article at Edmund's.
If you end up getting behind the wheel of a car with a manual trans, let me know how you do!






