How to change gears in a manual car
How to change gear is important if you want to learn how to drive a manual car smoothly. The two hardest parts of learning to drive a manual car compared to an automatic will be clutch control and changing gears. In this video we look at how to change up gear as well as how to change down gear in a manual car. We will show you how to use the palming method. The palming method is a reliable way of changing gears especially if you’re prone to making mistakes when changing. Although you won’t be penalised on your UK practical driving test for not using the palming method when changing gears, it’s still a good habit to get into as less mistakes will happen.
When learning to drive a manual car you will have a driving lesson on how to change gear. Hopefully these gear changing tips will make it easier to drive a manual car.
Firstly, get familiar with where the gears are by remembering the diagram on top of the gear lever. When changing gears you’ll have to do it without looking down at the gear lever.
The gear lever is spring loaded which means that it always springs to neutral which is just under 3rd gear and above 4th. You’ll need to remember this as you’ll either be pushing against the spring or letting it spring itself depending on which gear is needed.
How to change up gear: Once you’ve speeded up, as you release the accelerator, press down the clutch, change up gears, clutch up gently and back on the accelerator.
How to change down gear: Once you’ve slowed down, either use slight acceleration or footbrake, clutch down, change down gears and then clutch up gently (unless stopping and then clutch down).
Watching our video on changing gear in a manual car will hopefully help you understand how to position your hand correctly on the gear lever and make less mistakes and change gear smoothly in a manual car.
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If you’re learning to drive then make sure that you get professional help from a fully qualified driving instructor. This video is NOT an alternative to professional driving lessons and is only a rough guide. This video was filmed in the UK. Laws and rules in your country may vary. Videos aren’t a substitute for real life driving experience in a safe environment. While World Driving aims to provide accurate and up to date information we cannot guarantee at any time that all the information is up to date and accurate. World Driving cannot accept liability for misleading or inaccurate information or omissions in information given to us by external information providers. This includes, but is not by way of limitation:
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