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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 109
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 109 |
The SVT's clutch is pretty robust, so no matter how much you think your wife will abuse it trying to learn, she really can't cause that much damage. She'll probably slip it quite a bit and maybe dump it at 3 or 4,000 RPMs, but nothing to terrible as to destroy the transmission, I would reckon. I would recommend trying to teach her with the Contour. She'll feel that she won't be ruining your brand new Subie, and will possibly be more relaxed about it. I'll also point out that Subaru does not warranty the clutch for what they term "abuse". Workmanship or parts failure, yes. But a burned-out clutch will be greeted very skeptically, especially in this class of cars. Check out the forums for the WRX and you'll see many tales of woe about burned-out clutches that aren't fixed under warranty. I'll also mention that getting top dollar for the SVT is kind of an oxymoron. These cars depreciate at horrendously steep rates. If you are going to trade the car in, they will barely look it at, just making sure it is fundamentally sound by driving it around the block and going by the lowest wholesale price in the Blue Book. Go to www.kbb.com and get a feel for how miserable an SVT's trade-in value is. Finally, it appears that your wife is not all that interested in learning, and might even be fearful about it. Having myself been married a long time, I can say that when your wife doesn't want to do it, then for heaven's sake, don't try to force her to. You might try the angle that she needs to learn in case there is some kind of emergency where she has to drive your manual transmission car. In that case, make sure she can get it in gear and understands the basic concept. I know that when I first tried to drive a manual car, it was terrifying. I obviously got over it and now relish it, but I can understand that some people find it difficult and uncomfortale. Good luck! Lee K 98 SVT, silver 03 Evo, red
Lee K
98 SVT Contour, silver (sold after 7 years and 100K miles)
03 Lancer Evolution, red
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,049
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,049 |
i think learning how to use the clutch is the main problem most peopel that learn have. second is gear selection judgement liek what gear to go into when cornering or slowing down. ive taught a few chics how to drive stick and a fewe of my buddies.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,163
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,163 |
The first MTX time afforded to me was by my uncle and what did I do got the MTX stuck in reverse and did a little smoking or burning of the MTX fluid. No damage done but still I did get the car rolling. Boy was it fun waht a great memory I still laugh about it today
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 466
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 466 |
my dad took me out for a drive when i was 15 and pulled over. i was like why are we stoping in the middle of nowhere. and he just said your going to drive. take it i was 15 and we were in a 99 corvette  any way after about 10 minutes we were off and i olny killed it a handful of times. then we pull up to a stop sign and the olny car i have seen the whole day pulls up and wouldn't u know it a cop! i freak out and kill it a dozen times before he pulls up next to us and finds out i am only learning and he is freaking the sh*t out of me so he takes off and since then i have driven stick and i love every minute of it
98 contour svt
#6473 of 6535
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 7,117
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 7,117 |
Originally posted by Dakmis:
it's a cop! i freak out and kill it a dozen times before he pulls up next to us and finds out i am only learning and he is freaking the sh*t out of me ...
Reminds me of when I took my driving test in a 5 speed VW Rabbit. Friggin' officer takes me to the STEEPEST hill in the area that is not paved & tells me to do a hill stop without spinning the wheels. I had to lift the hand brake with all my strength to get the car to hold on that hill, turned the car off as requested, then proceeded. I spun the wheels, naturally. That guy was a first class turd.
When we got back to the station, he started talkin' like he was failing me for the hill stop, so I asked him. "Your cruiser is an automatic. Let's see YOU do the hill stop with your car.". He grumbled a bit & passed me.
This post got hijacked long ago, so I hope there's no harm here. Good suggestion about "get the car rolling without using the gas pedal". Most people I taught did think of a clutch as an on/off switch. That technique teaches the concept with minimal impact on the car. 
Must be that jumbly-wumbly thing happening again.
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,100
Addicted CEG\'er
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Addicted CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,100 |
Originally posted by Dakmis:
I only killed it a handful of times. .... i freak out and kill it a dozen times....
Originally posted by Dakmis:
86 rx7 se/status:clutch broken
98 contour svt/status:in chicago
Are you SURE you learned all that well?
J/K
Ray
'99 CSVT - Silver #222/276
In a constant state of blow-off euphoria.
Originally posted by Kremitthefrog:
I like to wear dresses and use binoculars to watch grandmas across the street.
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 7,117
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
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Originally posted by Cruzn:
i cant tell you how many times i stalled it, before i got it going .. i mustve cut off at least a dozen cars, and rolled back and almost hit at least 6 people.. haha....
AaaaHaaa!!! So that was YOU!! @$$@#^&U^((%$%@@^%&!!!
Must be that jumbly-wumbly thing happening again.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 3,867
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Originally posted by SVT2059:
the way she likes to park nearest to the store - even if it means next to the cart return area.
Ain't that the truth.
Function before fashion.
'96 Contour SE
"Toss the Contour into a corner, and it's as easy to catch as a softball thrown by a preschooler." -Edmunds, 1998
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,395
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,395 |
Originally posted by SVT2059:
Anyway, here is my quandry...
I'm in the market for an STi or WRX this Feb, and I'd really like to get top dollar for my Contour SVT.
Gunna get rid of a Contour SVT?! Wow... and here I am wishing for a SVT while im stuck with a GL..... How good it must be to have money to spend....
And stick shift isnt too hard, the first car I Hadta drive with my permit was stick shift, I took off beautifully, tho, i prefer Automatic, makes life easy when tired
Former owner of a 1995 Ford Contour GL w/ 2.0L ATX
Proud owner of a 2005 Ford Taurus SE 3.0L V6 Vulcan
--Looking for Commodore stuff (Drives, Units, Amiga, games, etc)If anyone has any of this laying around and wants it gone, lemme know --
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,115
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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Tomorrow is the perfect day to teach her. Go to a mall parking lot and practice. Not her practice shifting, you practice keeping the smile on you face as she tries to put it into first, but forgets to put in the clutch.  Ain't marriage a wonderful 'thang? But seriously, she is not going to hurt your clutch/tranny by learning how to drive a standard. Think of how many hard shifts you have put them though and realize that she will not even come close to that amount of torque. Use it as a bonding moment to show her how much you trust her(and practice that smile, because she will grind them at some point)  .
"Eagles may soar high, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."
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