[coolbreeze]

I start school within a few weeks and have no stick shift experience yet. A friend of mine last night said he knows someone that has a rig which has a straight 7 transmission, who would be willing to help me out some before I start training.
Would this be an acceptable type of transmission to at least get some experience on?
I ask this because awhile back I was told from people here that learning standard on a car or small truck is NOT a good idea as the shifting is alot different on a big rig. Is a straight 7 that much different than a 10 speed transmission? (This is the type of transmission the schools trucks have)

Thanks in advance.

[Rawlco]

A straight 7 will be VERY different from a ten speed. It will be better to let the driving school teach you from scratch.

[Midnight Flyer]

Originally Posted by Rawlco

A straight 7 will be VERY different from a ten speed. It will be better to let the driving school teach you from scratch.

Ten-four on letting the driving school teach you! Just be patient with yourself, listen to your instructors, and practice, practice, practice! Don't expect to learn shifting in one day. In a big rig you have to double clutch as big truck transmissions don't have synchronizers in them and you shift by engine RPMs and sounds and watching your tachometer. After learning and practice it'll become second nature to you. :rock:

[ben45750]

If you can shift a 7 speed a 10 speed will be easy. I started in a 13 speed, then went to a 10 speed. At Conway we have 7 speeds in our Sterling's, much harder shifting them than a 10 speed. The gears are way far apart and the a bigger gap in the rpm's (have to shift much slower) I would take him up on it so you can learn the basics on how to shift a non synchronized transmission.

[bentstrider]

As for me, upshifting seems to be no problem.
It's when it comes to slowing down that I seem to have the most trouble.
I'm about to start driving again myself after only getting about a month of driving in to begin with, two years ago.
I heard from some drivers I've talked to that you're supposed to;
1)Let off of the the accelerator, disengage clutch from flywheel, then shift from high gear to neutral.
2)Quickly tap the accelerator, wait for RPM to slightly drop, engage clutch with flywheel, then shift to lower gear.
3)Repeat this step until you're at the gear level you desire.

I also heard that when you tap the break to slow down, you should also use this step, along with "quick shifting" to even lower gears due to a quicker deceleration.
But, I'm not trying to be an expert.
Just a Jedi that didn't finish OTR training and want to return to complete the task in its entirety.
Not to mention gear grind pi$$es me of hard time!!!

[yeti]

You have no shifting experience at all???? Go find someone with a standard shift car or pickup and learn to shift that FIRST!!!!!! If you can't use a clutch in a car your not going to be able to do it in a truck.

Doesn't matter if its a 5 sp, 10, 7 13 , 15 or a set of sticks, you best have some idea how to operate a standard trannie before you take on a truck.

[jamesinge]

7 speed is not syncro either.
Shigting a 7 speed same thing as any other big rig without a splitter.

[JPat000]

If you can't use a clutch in a car your not going to be able to do it in a truck.

I disagree. If all you've driven is an automatic, it's easier to learn double-clutch. I hear people who've driven a standard have a tendency to wear out the clutch/transmission of a truck because they always want to push in clutch, then switch to gear, usually bypassing neutral.

It's not a huge difference, but I'd say if all you've driven is an automatic, you'll pick up the double-clutch faster, as you won't be used to hitting the clutch just once.[/quote]

[fastereddie]

It's all about consistency and timing. Try using 1500 as an upshift point and 1000 as a downshift point. A new driver will watch the tach until they become familiar with the engine sound at various rpms.
On level ground an upshift will cause about a 400-500 rpm drop. When about to shift to a higher gear @1500 as you let up on fuel pedal and pull lever to neutral, rpms drop about 400 (2 seconds)..at that point pull lever to higher gear(using fingertips helps you to 'feel gears'). Get used to a 1 and 2 rhythm.(1 to pull out of gear, 2 to put into gear)
Downhill shifts are at a lower rpm and done slightly quicker because truck is not losing gear speed as fast.
Uphill shifts are done at a higher rpm because of the greater truck speed loss between shifts and the shifts are done slightly slower.

Downshifting -brake and watch tach approach 1000..pull lever to neutral.blip pedal to increase engine speed 500-600..move(fingertip pressure) lever to the next lower position and it will fall into place at 1400-1500 rpm. There is a 1and 2 rhythm involved in this as well.
Downshifting downhill is done at a quicker pace.
Downshifting uphill is done slower.
Also memorize the range of road speeds at 1000 to 1500 rpm in all the gears so you can find a gear when a missed shift occurs. Example: You quickly brake and slow to 25 mph and you're in 8th...you should have memorized 25 mph = 5th @ 1500...blip pedal to 1600 and put into 5th.(these rpms and speeds are different based on how your truck is specd.)
Once you become used to the truck you can tell your speed without the speedo.

You can also treat a syncro tranny like a non-syncro and shift without clutch..timing, listening, feel shifter with fingertips.

To all the experienced drivers..comments/corrections to the above is welcomed.

[yeti]

[quote="coolbreeze"]I start school within a few weeks and have no stick shift experience yet.

forget all this gear this and splitter that crap. Gears, ratios, splits, and patterns have no meaning whatsoever based on the question. He cannot drive a stick at all!!!! Put him on a hill in a car at a red light and you might as well go home for lunch cause he is still gonna be on that hill at supper time! :?

At least learn to drive a stick well in a 4 wheeler. You don't perform heart surgery before you know what a heart is, least I hope not. :shock: If you can't take a standard shift car, on a steep hill, and start off smoothly from a full stop, no hopping, no stalling, no roll back, you will be better off learning to drive that then worrying about all that other Bologna.

Start at the beginning. Master the basics, everything else will be much easier if you do it in that manner. Don't worry whether the pattern of a 7 speed is different from that of a 10 speed if you can't make an old 3 speed on the column go.

I just can't imagine worrying about anything else until you have the basics down cold. A baby doesen't take its first steps in the Boston Marathon, you shouldn't try to learn to drive a stick in anything much larger than a pickup.