So you think you can drive a stick shift?

[guitar man]

This is cool, it's a 1962 Peterbilt with a 5 spd main and 3 spd auxilliary transmissions....non synchronized of course. :evilgrin:

old school truck driving at its best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a8SNT3uy-4

[DS1]

1. no clutch?

is he short-shifting or can I just not see his left foot?

[AlCzervik]

3. i didn't see a clutch either.

[guitar man]

7. he's just using it for starts and stops

clutchless for the rest...

[AlCzervik]

9. thats would be weird but i'm sure you'd get used to it.

[guitar man]

11. it's actually easier

especially with something like that Cummins he's driving that takes all day to let go of its rpms. With non-synchro transmissions, you don't just push in the clutch and change gears anyway, you have to catch it at the point where engine/transmission speeds match anyway. So you can either double-clutch or shift clutchless. I think clutchless is by far the most popular way these days.

[guitar man]

4. he's floating them

he's not using the clutch, he's floating them, probably easier on that setup than trying to double-clutch it.

[MrScorpio]

2. I could never drive a stick

God keep making automatics, I'll keep driving them

[AlCzervik]

5. you should learn, when the zombies rise that might be your only way out of town.

don't worry they'll always make automatics, my problem is find cars i like that still have a manual transmission.

[EOTE]

16. Hopefully there will always be a place for conventional trannies.

Many car companies are having a manual renaissance. Lincoln had the now defunct Lincoln LS which had a six speed available with the V6. I had a V8 auto, but now really regret not getting the V6 manual. I'd probably still have that car now if I did. Cadillac has the CTS which offers a very nice 6 speed. On the CTS-V, it's the only transmission offered (and you get 400hp to boot, 500+ in the new model). Of course, the bulk of the Germans still offer manuals in their cars, even some very slick manu-matics like the DSG in newer VWs and Audis. It seems though that few cars are built for the automotive purists now. I love the BMW 3 series, but I can't afford anything but a very used one. As soon as a car company makes a relatively light weight, rear wheel drive car with a decent amount of power and a manual transmission and does so for a decent price, they'll have my money as a consumer. Light weight, RWD and a manual transmission. Pretty much all you need for a really fun car.

[AlCzervik]

17. i have a vw now, i always a beetle and i found the one i wanted and it was the only manual

on the lot. When this one goes to my daughter i'm thinking of getting a mini cooper s.

[EOTE]

34. I've got a VW too.

It's an '01 GTi with the 1.8T. APR 93 octane chip, intake, light weight flywheel and Spec Stage 3 clutch. I've almost got 100k on it and it's still going strong. VWs make fun little rides.

[guitar man]

18. I agree

when I went looking for a pickup truck a while back, I had 3 requirements. Crank up windows, rubber floor mats (no carpet) and a manual transmission. I like my trucks nice and simple...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. I tried....

And nearly killed the clutch in my family's minivan in the process.

[redqueen]

8. A normal stick shift, yeah... that thing, hell no.

[guitar man]

10. that's just two...

..."normal" stick shifts...:hide:

[Xithras]

22. Yep, it's all about learning the pattern. n/t

[Eurobabe]

12. Stick driver since 16

and I can power shift, no clutch.

:woohoo:

[guitar man]

13. yeah

but did you watch the video? :evilgrin:

[Eurobabe]

14. How many friggin gears does that truck have

shifting that looks like an exercise in futility!

I stick with my 6 ganger.

[guitar man]

15. 15 forward

...3 reverse. It's set up like this:

Main box (round knob in the vid)

5-1-3
--2-4-R

Auxilliary (red handle)
--3
1-2

You put the main in first, aux in first to start. Shift the aux 1-2-3, then the main to second, aux 1-2-3 and so on. Every 4th shift is both sticks. He was skipping a few gears, he was probably bobtailing or lightly loaded.

You can even shift backing up, main in reverse and aux 1-2-3. I remember my dad doing that in his old '53 KW when I was a kid.

[DS1]

19. cool!

now I know how to do it in case I'm ever being chased by liquid metal terminator!

:bounce:

[AnneD]

20. Sounds cool....

I had not been driving long when a good friend taught me how to drive stick. I have automatics but I love stick shifts. Zombies will be eating my dust. Funniest thing that happened to me while in a stickshift....getting chased by a pissed off moose at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage. I know how to hustle with a stick shift.

[Xithras]

23. Even with a load on you wouldn't normally use all gears.

Unless you were heading up a grade or your load was right at the limit (or over it if you know where the scales are), it's pretty unusual to hit all of the gears. They're there if you need them, but I think I only ever used 8 of the 13 in the truck I used to occasionally drive.

[guitar man]

26. you probably would in that truck

that old 62 Pete he's driving is from before the days of turbos, it may be naturally aspirated, or have an old lp gear driven blower. Either way, it's not going to make the kind of power that modern trucks do, so when you're loaded, you'd probably want to use most if not all of those gears unless you're starting out downhill.

[Xithras]

30. A non-turbo diesel.

Yikes. Didn't even think about that.

[guitar man]

32. yep, no turbo

I was reading through his comments and I think he said it was like a NT-280 cummins. That's an antique for sure. Dad's 53 KW had a 290 Cummins with a gear driven blower.....he had it turned up quite a bit, it would make flames from the stacks :evilgrin:

[Xithras]

21. Sticks are even dying out in the trucking industry.

One of my uncles is a truck driver and can drive an old crash-box like that. I never learned those, but I did have my CDL for a while and can handle a 10-13 speed with my eyes closed. I used to co-drive on OTR hauls when I was younger...it was fun and the extra money was nice every now and then. Unfortunately I couldn't take a week off work for a run once I got a "real job", so I eventually let it lapse.

Still, when I bought my new Subaru Forester a bit over a year ago, it became the first automatic transmission vehicle I've ever owned. I still catch myself reaching for the stick every now and then when I'm passing or dropping down a grade. I really miss having the control of a stick, but my wife absolutely cannot drive a stick...and not being able to swap cars was a regular headache.

As to my subject title, a buddy of mine is a dispatcher and former driver for a large local trucking company, and he's mentioned that they're buying all automatics now. The new generation of truck drivers has never been exposed to sticks in their life, and having only sticks was proving to be a serious problem with recruitment. All of the major truck builders offer automatic transmissions, and all of the major trucking companies are buying them. In another 15-20 years sticks like these will be museum pieces.

[guitar man]

24. I know

I saw a truck running down the road the other day that had a recruiting ad for drivers on the back touting that all their trucks are automatics. doesn't make much sense to me, as far as I know, the stick shifts will beat them to death fuel mileage wise, unless I'm missing something.

I learned on a 5 speed with a 2 speed rear in an old Diamond Reo dump I drove in HS. I have driven 8ll, 9, 10, 13 and for a short time I drove an old B model Mack dump with twin sticks (ugh). The old school truckers are surely a dying breed.

[Xithras]

28. Very sad, and it typically costs the truckers money.

The company he works for pays on percentage, so the increased fuel costs of the automatics come straight back out of the drivers pockets. He said that all of the older experienced drivers demand sticks to keep fuel costs down and margins higher...so there's more money in their pockets. The difference can be as much as $20-$30 per load on some long haul runs, and even the short haul guys take home an extra few bucks a day for driving a stick.

Even though the money difference is well known, most of the younger guys still refuse to learn. They're intimidated by it or something.

My driving was limited to an '89 Peterbilt with a 13 speed and a '93 Freightliner with a 10 speed, so I'm a bit of a softie myself. I never drove anything that didn't have air ride and pneumatic shifting, so I guess I'm not really one who should be waxing fondly about "the good old days" ;)

[guitar man]

31. well, me either

my dad was the old ironbutt that drove a non air-conditioned 53 KW "bubblenose" with the twin sticks from the midwest to LA and back all the time. Most of my drive time has been in air conditioned, air ride, pneumatic range selection single stick transmission trucks. The old B model Mack dump being the exception, and I didn't drive it very long.

But automatics....sheesh...

[madrchsod]

25. i used to float through the gears in my 93-96 saabs

full time free-wheel did the trick. i had a 544 volvo three speed that i had to double clutch cause the sycros` were gone..puts the fun into driving

[WritingIsMyReligion]

27. No, actually.

I've not yet tried, and I'm rather afraid to. :D

What's funny though is that among my fellow teenagers, sticks are all the friggin' rage. Everyone seems to drive a manual, which confuses the hell out of me. :D

[AlCzervik]

29. if get a chance you should learn, it's really not difficult and you don't have to be

very coordinated--believe me. In the 24 years i've been driving i've only had one automatic and i'll keep driving manuals until i'm no longer physically able to.

[pink-o]

33. I won't give up my 93 Tercel for a better car

...cuz I love my stick shift. The last time I drove a friend's car, I almost put us thru the window when I tried to clutch down the brake with my left foot!

I lived in Europe for 5 years and rarely drove (why bother, when there're such fab trains and public transpo?) but when I did, good luck finding an automatic. So driving stick was essential. And it feels like real driving, you're in the zone.

[Mugu]

35. I have owned very few automatics in my life.

Have always enjoyed stirring the gearbox. I now own a car with an automatic that I inherited from my dad, but my pickup is a stick. The manual transmission certainly limits the number of people that want to borrow my truck.

I heard a story a while back about a car jacker that the police captured with no problem because he was unable to drive a stick. Everything has an upside.

Regards, Mugu

[Thirtieschild]

36. Stick shift was all there was when I learned to drive

Three-speed then, never mastered four-speed or five-speed, have driven automatic since we bought a Ford Country Sedan station wagon in 1967. Awful car but we drove it for 21 years.

[TorchTheWitch]

37. I always hated automatic transmissions

I learned to drive on a stick shift and always drove one until a few years ago when I had no other choice but to get the car that had the auto trans. I still hate it. And I'm STILL going for that clutch that isn't there.

[RebelOne]

38. I have tried many times to drive a stick shift

and I just can't. I have a problem with the clutch. Gas, brakes and clutch -- just too many pedals to handle.

[Rob H.]

39. Learned how to drive in an automatic, but

all my cars have been stick shifts. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, either--my first car was a used '82 Honda Prelude (loved that car!) that my parents brought home on a Friday afternoon. I drove it all weekend and on Monday drove it 45 minutes across town to go to college. Sure, that first weekend I killed it a more than a few times and popped the clutch and peeled out once by accident, but it was worth it. :)

One thing that made the transition easier, imo, was that I already knew the basics, like keeping the car in the lane, checking my mirrors, signaling, etc., so I wasn't having to learn to shift along with all of that.

[Inchworm]

40. I love it!

I rode in a truck set up like that when I was young and remember the feeling. Fun stuff!

My dad was a driver, and I drove for him under the table on hotloads.

Thanks for the memory!

:yourock: