Ladies...help my wife get comfortable driving stick-shift

[chuyler1]

Ok, boyz if you are under 5'5" you can help too...but I certainly hope you can't answer all my Q's (you'll see why if you read on)...

Here's the deal, I want to trade in my wife's 2000 corolla and give her my 2003 P5 so I can buy a new MS6. The two cars are basically worth the same but the P5 is in better cosmetic condition and it is a little more spacious. The problem is my wife has never owned a stick shift and the P5 is a stick.

She can get around OK in my car but she is very nervous about it and stalls whenever someone gets on her ass. I'm sure she will get better with practice but her big problem after driving the car for a full day is leg, knee, and back pain. She is 5'5" but has somewhat short legs.

First thing she can't figure out is seat position. I had her put the front height adustment at the lowest setting and the rear height adjustment at the highest level. The back rest is tilted back a little. Does that sound correct?

Next we moved the seat forward so her wrist sits on the top of the steering wheel. In this position, she can't even get the clutch to the floor even when hyper extending her leg and tippie-toeing. So we moved it forward...but by the time it gets somewhat comfortable for her legs she is right on top of the steering wheel. I can't figure out how to get her comfortable.

She also can't figure out where to put her foot on the clutch and how to rest her leg with the clutch all the way in. I told her I use the ball of my foot but when she does that it is like sending a chilling pain from her foot to her but and her back begins to hurt. She is a little more comfortable using the arch of her foot but then she can't fully depress the clutch to the floor.

She is also worried about wearing high heals and what not...something I have no input for whatsoever.

So ladies, can you please describe how you get comfortable in a stick-shift car?

How tall are you and where do you set the seat height/position/angle?

Where do you place your foot on the clutch?

Do your knees bow outward or are they straight?

Can you drive with heals and how do you do it?

Thanks a milliion!!!!

 

[ZoomZoomH]

*paging Cindy/aka Rush*

i think she's shorter than your wife

 

[ZoomZoomH]

that said, i think your wife has enough physical discomfort that your P5 is NOT suitable for her, and she needs the auto Corolla to be comfortable, and most importantly, SAFE, when driving a car

or, if you want, you can try this set of adjustment procedures, in order of importance:

1. adjust seat height level. your wife should NOT be sitting tilted towards the steering wheel, that puts undue stress on her thighs and knees. the seat should be completely level, and in her case, probably at its lowest position.

2. adjust seat distance. after the seat height is adjusted you should adjust the seat distance so that she can use the arch of her foot to comfortably push the pedal to the floor. should not be tip-toeing at all.

3. steering wheel adjustment. adjust so that when hands are at the 3-9 o'clock position, it is just below her shoulder level.

4. seat back adjustment. this is the tricky one since after the seat distance adjustment she may be sitting really close to the steering wheel, and this is the only way that you can create a little bit of distance between the wheel and her chest. tilt it back a little bit so that when she reaches for the 12 o'clock position on the wheel, her shoulder blade comes off the the seatback. that way when she leans back, she can still comfortably reach the 9-3 position and get some spacing between her chest and the steering wheel

let me know how it goes

 

[susamafone]

im only 5'7 and i have no problem reaching the peddles. im back some. my mom is really short, and i think she puts it all the way forward. your wife must have some really short legs.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

maybe she's nervous driving the P5 because its "your" car and she doesnt want to mess it up. Im sure she would learn quickly and become more comfortable if she had no other option

 

[DeadGeneration]

I tend to drive like a cowboy with my heels in and my toes out. ride the pony

 

[Crazee D]

Tell her this is her last chance to "put her foot down"...hehe

 

[chuyler1]

That's why she is driving it this week. Once she gets over the fear of driving it (I think we're about 24 hours from that) it will just be driving comfort.

I can only imagine she has short legs. I was there by her side when she was adjusting the seat. I couldn't get her to push the pedal to the floor w/o the steering wheel being almost at her chest. She could tilt the back of the seat back to account for this but her knees were bumping against the dash. I dunno...I am so comfortable in the car I don't know why we can't get her comfortable in it too.

 

[ZoomZoomH]

She could tilt the back of the seat back to account for this but her knees were bumping against the dash. I dunno...I am so comfortable in the car I don't know why we can't get her comfortable in it too.

lower her seat height, to the lowest point (for both front and back), see if that helps

 

[chuyler1]

Ever used one of these?

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

I dont see how she would need all that mess...the seating for the P5 vs a camry cant be all that different. You just might have to play w/ everything to get it right.

 

[16902]

Hmmm, my mom has driven mine before and she is 5'3" and my wife has and she is 5'6". Only thing I can say is let her keep playing with it 'til it works.

 

[chuyler1]

seat is lower in the corolla...I have to drive it like a cowboy...or that guy on the simpsons with his knees up in the air that Nelson laughs at "This is the largest car that I could afford..."

 

[pasadena_commut]

I couldn't get her to push the pedal to the floor w/o the steering wheel being almost at her chest. She could tilt the back of the seat back to account for this but her knees were bumping against the dash.

Go measure the height of the Corolla seat from the car floor, and the distance from the front of the seat to the pedals. Then adjust the P5 seat until those parameters match. For kicks you might also want to drop a plumb line from the bottom of the steering wheel on the Corolla to the floor and measure the distance from that to the pedals. Ditto for the P5. I'd be quite surprised if there is more than an inch difference. Unless maybe you have a Corolla with a telescoping steering column (did they make such a thing) and it's all the way forward.

My wife is only 5'2, has relatively short legs, and she has no problem driving our P5. Of course, it's an automatic, so no real need to push any pedal to the floor.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

lol im 6'2" and I fit in both just fine

seat is lower in the corolla...I have to drive it like a cowboy...or that guy on the simpsons with his knees up in the air that Nelson laughs at "This is the largest car that I could afford..."

 

[BadKarma]

I've let the girlfriend borrow my P5 (auto) before, and she's 5'3". Had to move the seat almost all the way forward, but she was fairly comfortable in it she said.

 

[ChopstickHero]

my GF is like 5'2" and has no problems reaching the pedals in my MSP. sure, she can't drive my car very well, but she never really complained about not being able to reach the pedals. her seat position was pretty much all the way forward with a slight recline (so she's not right up against the steering wheel). She can still reach the shifter just fine.

 

[ZoomZoomH]

remember, they had to design this car so little japanese ladies (like 5'2" - 5'5" range) can drive in it comfortably lol

 

[chuyler1]

All good points. I'll tell Amanda about the "little japanese ladies" bit.

2000 corolla is different from later years. The new ones sit much higher up. If I go from one to the other there is a noticable difference but then again, I am comparing with seat positions in the farthest notch back.

My wife has no problem reaching the gas pedal in the P5, it is just that extra 1-3" of pushing the clutch to the floor that she can't do. Partly because she's not used to it and partly because she apparently has short legs. She doesn't look awkward in the car...she just says it hurts. I can only imagine that she is doing something wrong because she is a perfecly healthy woman who does yoga almost every day.

 

[Purrfectangel]

she shouldn't need to push the clutch to the floor except to start.

I'm 5'9" and 6' in my heels and I wear a zillion different height shoes and s*** and it's always an adjustment.

She needs to have her knees in a relaxed position, not 90 degrees just slightly bent. This is important for lengthy driving especially.

As for the back of the seat I have mine at about 110-120 degree angle, again 90 degrees is bad, the spine is curved so tilt is good, now mines farther back because I'm tall so her's obviously wouldn't be that far back but how I measure it is, adjust the seat forward to comfortable knee gap and clutch just reaches the floor, then extend arm out with the car in 5th or overdrive and you should have it almost extended but have a comfortable bend to put it in that gear. The first thing I learned was how to drive it comfortable because I used to sit upright as well.

Two, she needs to become comfortable being able to steer with one hand, or is she the white knuckle type? Cause I'm pretty sure you mentioned that she drives at 10 and 2. Take her to an empty parking lot and set up cones.

Most important thing in a stick shift aside from being comfortable is you have to be relaxed.

Also there's different types of driving and I actually pick up my foot to shift but some do heel toe, that's simply a preference, I adopted the pick up to gas and brake because of all my different shoes, this way my driving habits are all the same except for how hard/soft I rev the engine.

Hope this helps

Oh and someone posted pedal extensions, not a must but if she can't get comfortable they are worth looking into and reasonably easy to intall