Down side to manual trans

Trying to drive with a sprained clutch ankle.

Ooooh been there. When i was in high school. Luckily it was a diesel pickup, so it had more than enough torque to get moving without pressing the gas pedal. But still, clutching with your right foot is pretty awkward.

I've heard if you're really good, you can drive a manual without using the clutch at all.

Edit: Here's the how-to: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/how-to-drive-a-stick-without-a-clutch

There is no down side. Hand in your man card.

I once had to drive a standard trans van, three on the tree, with a broken foot in Boston traffic. It got so painful at one point I started pushing the clutch in with my arm. Can feel your pain, hope you heal quickly.

Although I'm a manual trans kinda guy---- it's always nice to have an auto in the fleet in case of injury.

My wife tried to DD a manual Mazda 3S. Rush-hour stop and go caused her mental anguish AND a persistent foot problem that didn't go away until she traded the Mazda on an automatic Accord V6.

Had surgery on my right hip three years ago. Technically wasn't supposed to drive for 6 weeks, but started driving within a few days. Downside is that I had to drive auto, because I needed my left foot for braking, right for gas. Sucked.

Try a collapsed disc and surgery. It makes two pedals very very welcome.

Driving a manual trans in DC traffic led to me needing a partial miniscus repair in my left knee. Seriously.

I had a broken left foot when I had my galant vr4. I got to a pain level that I couldnt take so I took a crutch apart and placed it next to my left foot and depressed the clutch using that with my left hand lol. It sucked because it was a really heavy ACT clutch. NEVER AGAIN!

I broke my shoulder in a motorcycle crash last year. I managed to one-hand drive the Abarth, but it was hurty and uncomfortable and probably not super safe. In three years, I never put as many miles on the Jaguar as I did when my shoulder was broken!

Late 80's, driving a manual F-150 w/ a hernia my gut would pop out like a 'clutch pedal depressed indicator'. Tried driving a week after surgery, they were right... wait 2-3 weeks.

After 50 knee pain ain't fun either, makes you wonder if you'll ever drive a manual again. All better now after 'scope surgery.

All part of the aging process and paying for sins of yoof I 'spose.

Really.....REALLY!!! When I was a Kid one of my Friends Lost his Right LEG In a car wreck, Yes It was A VW Bug But He Drove Every Where, It was years Before He Got A Prosthiec Replacement.

You can upshift and downshift without the clutch (it'll go in to gear on the downshift much faster, as I recall) - modulate the throttle or just pull/put in gear as the car allows.

Hopefully that will minimize discomfort to use the clutch only when starting.

Last spring I had a driving instructor at an HPDE from the NJ BMW club. Great guy with an incredible amount of craft. And an artificial left leg, driving my 1979 3-series coupe with a near-dead set of synchros. He attributed his skill to "centuries of experience."

OldGray320i wrote: You can upshift and downshift without the clutch (it'll go in to gear on the downshift much faster, as I recall) - modulate the throttle or just pull/put in gear as the car allows. Hopefully that will minimize discomfort to use the clutch only when starting.

Stop and go rush hour traffic.

Having just now (after two solid weeks) getting real control over my right arm, I'm quite pleased that I now drive an automatic to work. It hurt a lot to shift that thing.

The injury made me want a push button start, too.

True story. I was 16 had just bought my first car, a 1995 Nissan Sentra GXE, and went skiing with a couple friends. I took a bad spill and tore my ACL, MCL and PCL. I had to explain to one of them how to drive me home so I could get my parents to drive me to the hospital. Couldn't drive the car for nearly six months afterwards.

If an arm or a leg hurt, I just unzip my pants and use other resources to hit the gas/brake/clutch or shift gears...

penultimeta wrote: Driving a manual trans in DC traffic led to me needing a partial miniscus repair in my left knee. Seriously.

I'll have to ask my doctor about this since I'm definitely at risk.

Tarsal tunnel makes driving an automatic even suck some days. I miss driving a manual some days, but overall i dont mind an auto.

300 miles driven today, most of that time spent in traffic. You couldn't pay me to DD a manual. I certainly wouldn't want to drive one with a sprained ankle.

Anecdotal story: My grandmother once had to drive herself to the hospital with a broken clutch ankle. This was in her 3 on a tree 1970 Chevelle. No wimpy hydraulic clutch in those. She was 78 at the time. She also drove herself to the hospital with a dislocated shoulder, after being electrocuted by her hedge trimmer and falling down. So all of you can turn in your "man" cards. She was stronger than any of us.

I drove myself to the hospital with a dislocated right shoulder. Shifting with your left hand takes practice

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

OldGray320i wrote: You can upshift and downshift without the clutch (it'll go in to gear on the downshift much faster, as I recall) - modulate the throttle or just pull/put in gear as the car allows. Hopefully that will minimize discomfort to use the clutch only when starting.

Stop and go rush hour traffic.

Depends on how well you can manage flow, but nothing would be perfect in such a scenario. One can get most cars rolling in first gear without using the throttle on a flat or downhill surface, so "right foot clutching" might work in a pinch.

But the whole thing just ends at the 78 year old grandmother with a broken ankle driving the Chevelle 3/tree car.

Where do I return my man card, because there's no way I'm topping that.