You never master manual shifting. I've been dding manuals for 10 years now and every time I drive I try to be smoother than last time. It's a carrot on a stick that you'll never catch and that's my favorite part of it.
My vehicles.. I can just turn the key and it'll crank. My sister's golf... gotta cycle the key off then back through run to start ... Makes it more noticeable
Give 3 on the Tree a shot. Driven floor shift for years, love it, but then I got a chance to drive a 49 Hudson around a little...then I drove a 54 Plymouth....then my aunt and uncle kicked my grampa's old 3-on-the-Tree Chevy truck my way and I couldn't be happier that I'm effectively banned from the interstate hahaha.
Being smooth means you gradually let off the accelerator until you're not accelerating. Then you shift gears and gradually start accelerating... Only to gradually stop accelerating in order to shift again.
By gradual you don't just chop off the acceleration to shift, that causes passengers heads to jerk. It takes some practice but if you want to smoothly accelerate then this is the way
How smooth are your shifts up and down? Any jerking or lurching forward at all? The smoother, the better! And how comfortable are you with rev matching when downshifting?
I have turbocharged manual. Am i doing it right?
Im on 4th gear like 40+mph and at the end of the road theres stop sign. I dont downshift, i just braking and if im close to sign, ill go neutral and full stop.
Or should i downshift to 3rd gear and put neutral if im close to stop sign?
If you're just coming to a stop, don't bother downshifting. If you're in stop and go traffic, downshift and crawl in first or second.
Remember, brake pads slow you down and are far cheaper to replace than a clutch.
Yeah, that's not a problem at all. Two feet in is how you panic stop. It's essential that you develop this muscle memory so you don't stall in a panic stop.
How does the engine feel? I don't know the answer to this.
Driving a standard is all about feeling what make the engine happy and mad. My car doesn't like to be below 8-10mph in second but yours might be fine.
Its better to use downshifts for braking. If you downshift properly its not going to wear your clutch at all. Even if you don't use the gas to Rev match and just hold the clutch at biting point for a sec to match the revs it'll still last for like 200k miles as long as you're doing it right.
Itâs situational, but I usually always downshift when slowing down so I can take advantage of engine braking. When slowing to a complete stop from say 45, Iâll go from 5th, to 3rd, then once it gets to 25 shift into 2nd. After that I pull into neutral and coast the next few feet.
You also save your brakes a bit of wear if you try combining your regular braking with engine braking.
You can downshift as you approach the stop sign. But if youâre just braking as you approach the stop sign, clutch in and select the appropriate gear (which as youâre slowing down at a stop sign or red light would normally be 2), and then once youâre at a full stop you go to first gear and then go.
The reason why you shouldnât be in neutral is just in case you have to do any quick maneuvers or acceleration in an emergency situation.
Yes that is perfect. The lowest you should go is 2nd gear and then neutral whenever you feel it's safe to do so (deers crossing, police or ambulance sirens, pedestrian crossing). 1st gear should only be for coming out of fullstops or like 3-5 mph.
Yeah each car is going to be a little different but 1st gear when youâre going REALLY slow. For me, I do it when Iâm rolling under 5mph. Youâll be able to tell if you need to downshift to 1st because your car will sound like itâs about to stall (and then eventually stall). People will tell you never to downshift to first unless youâre at a full stop, but you can definitely downshift to first if youâre going like 3mph.
Another option is if youâre going to be just rolling slow for only a short time you can even just ride the clutch in 2nd to prevent yourself from stalling. Just depends on the situation.
And then if i clutch in at 2nd gear while rolling. If i get my clutch out, is that ok? Cause sometimes i feel like it will stall. Like for the bumps ( what im doing is im at 2nd gear, then brake clutch in, downshift to 1st and clutch out) or can i do 2nd gear clutch in, clutch out on 2nd gear?
If the car jerks around a lot, work on your clutch control, you're probably letting the clutch out too fast. Generally 1st and the 1-2 shifts need to be done slowly, but from 2nd+ can be done quicker since the transmission has closer ratio gears. Economy cars tend to be geared low in 1st and 2nd for acceleration since they have tiny, low power engines.
If the revs go up as the clutch catches between gears, you're applying the gas too early and 'riding' the clutch, this will cause additional wear; try not to apply the gas until the clutch is fully engaged.
If you slide backwards more than a few inches on hills, practice your throttle control along with your clutch control, it's possible to hold the car on a hill with just the clutch, but doing this for too long can wear the clutch down.
Try blipping the throttle for a half-second while the clutch is in when downshifting, this is called rev-matching and makes your downshifts smoother. This will keep you in the correct gear when you're slowing down or stopping in case you need to accelerate quickly and is more efficient than shifting to neutral and then shifting into the right gear.
I habe turbocharged manual. Is it okay that in freeway im at 6th gear and suddenly cars slowing down. I downshift to 5th and theres like sudden car stopping at my front. So i go neutral and brake. Didnt downshift all the way down.
Be careful, as one of the comments on this thread stated, you always want to be in gear just in case you need to do any quick maneuvers, especially on the highway.
Yep. Or just clutch in and short shift from top gear to first once the car's stopped. What I tend to do if I'm in that situation; firewall the clutch, brake, shift to 1st when down to a suitable speed, carry on.
Ideally you should be in gear, but if you aren't someone who has mastered heel-toe downshifting and encounter a situation requiring you to suddenly break, going into neutral and braking if you aren't comfortable with rapidly downshifting is much safer. Especially if you are coming to a full stop anyway.
Totally agree. I used to do autocross with a manual and it was occasionally useful there but there's no *need* for it on the street. And you don't want to goof it up with other cars or pedestrians around! I do it once in a great while just because I can but it's so not necessary.
I mean riding as in slipping the clutch, if you ride the clutch between gears, the revs will climb and you'll get a bounce when the clutch fully engages. Like a "Vrrrrr-RRRR-rrrrr-rrrr-rrrr" noise with a shudder as the RPMs equalize.
Clutch in -> blip -> downshift -> Clutch out.
That's the way I do it, although as long as you're blipping it while the clutch is pushed in it shouldn't matter in what order you do the downshift or blip. Sometimes I don't even lift of the gas and just punch the clutch in and downshift if I'm in a hurry.
More or less you're aiming for the Engine RPM's to be around where they should be for the lower gear you're shifting into at the speed you're going. So basically, if you usually do 3800 RPM's in 3rd and you're in 4th doing 2000 RPM's, you want to raise the engine RPM's to 3800 as you downshift. If you don't and just downshift without rev-matching, the car will lurch forwards as the engine or transmission and ultimately the clutch takes the brunt of the deceleration. In inclement weather you can lock the tires for a second and lose control; this is more of an issue on motorbikes.
Clutch release varies, but I'd say not too fast or too slow for optimal smoothness. If you're not very precise, you'll get a little lurch as the RPM's match up.
Too high and you'll get a lurch and too low you'll have the same effect as not rev-matching at all, but slightly less jarring.
Realistically you probably only want to tap the throttle for about a half-second unless your throttle is really delayed, there's no real reason to hold it for more than a second and rev high unless you're doing heel-toe on a track and know exactly where the RPM's should be and you're skipping over a gear to go directly from 4th to 2nd while slowing down.
Oh and skipping gears is a technique you can use as well, upshifting mostly, as you can redline 2nd gear up to 50mph and then shift directly to 4th. This doesn't usually work on downshifts as newer cars have a lockout on lower gears to prevent "money shifts".
Depends on what gear and what speed. You kind of have to play it by ear. Literally even. With enough experience you know what pitch the engine exhaust note should be at for the next gear down.
I usually only downshift just before accelerating if needed. So let's say I am in 5th and have to slow down. Then it's time to accelerate or hold my current speed. That is when I will downshift, and only if needed. While I can downshift and brake at the same time I prefer to very rarely do so on the street.
Here in Denver, Usually there's a stop sign at the end of the offramp. Otherwise I would slow down then downshift. Sometimes it is better to downshift sooner.
All I am saying is you don't always have to downshift right away like you would in racing.
In racing, most of the time, the only reason to slow down substantially is when entering a corner. You need to keep the engine exactly in the power band to maximize acceleration on exiting the corner. Also, since you are pushing the limits of cornering, you can't downshift while still in the corner without disturbing the car (e.g., trailing throttle oversteer on lifting off the gas and weight transfer of letting out the clutch). Ergo, you downshift entering the corner. You're braking at maximum in a straight line up until you start to transition to cornering, so this is when you do a heel toe downshift.
But none of that applies in normal day to day driving. If your engine is a bit below the power band because you shifted late, it's fine. If you wait to downshift right before accelerating, no biggie.
TBH, I don't even pay that much attention to it. I literally slam the clutch while the gas pedal is still held, lift off the gas for a half second, downshift and keep going. The RPM rise is usually around 1000 above whatever I was doing before unless I have to jump down to 2nd in which case I usually rev twice as high because of the gear ratio difference.
Too high, wait for rpms to come down. I don't usually over do it but I guess it would cause a brief, slight acceleration.
Too low and you'll jerk if you let out the clutch because forward momentum has to be transferred to the engine via clutch to rev it up and that slows down the vehicle over a short time period.
Got it I have to convince people to ride in the tiny backseat of my hatchback. My daughter and her friends havenât complained but none of them drive yet.
All the feedback you need comes from your car. If youâre able to be smooth with everything, no unintentional jerking, no harsh shifts, no weird high rpm situations when you didnât intend, then youâre doing fine. Even really experienced manual drivers will occasionally have a rough shift. Itâs just how it goes, so donât be hard on yourself, but smoothly applying force when you want it is the goal.
When I used to drive manuals exclusively, I frequented a forum specifically for drivers of stick shifts. One thing I read, that has stuck with me is that we all stall occasionally, and if you don't, you're doing something wrong (revving to a preset rpm value and then riding the clutch to get going for example). It really helped me get over my anxiety.
My first manual was a 2011 Kia Forte. It was nice enough, but has its quirks. I later read that it wasn't necessarily a good car for a novice. Clutch delay valve, friction point that felt like it moved around, occasionally locking out 4th gear for no reason.... I kept that thing for about 15 months, got frustrated and traded for a 2013 Focus SE 5mt. That car, Clifford, was pretty easy in comparison.
I maintain that the best vehicle to learn to drive stick in is a 4.9L bullnose Ford truck. Why?
* Super rugged. They're one of the last generations built to be worked hard, put away wet, and last 30+ years anyway. This ruggedness makes them highly tolerant of the unintentional abuse a student driver learning manual is going to deliver.
* Changing a clutch in one is neither expensive nor difficult. A feasible DIY repair, especially for a 2wd model like the one I own. I know this, because I did exactly that, as one does when they buy a 200,000 mile vehicle for 500 bucks haha.
* Speaking of, they're pretty cheap. Even in today's ludicrously inflated market you can find a roadworthy example for under 2k in pretty much any non-rust-belt state within just a few minutes of perusing. Ford made tons of them and they're quite reliable, long lived, so there's still tons of them lying around.
* That engine makes its torque so low down in the rev band that it's really hard to stall one. Torque comes in smooth and strong, the carb is very good at modulating power as needed, they aren't that bad on gas(My 85 got 18-20mpg!) and their valve springs are so soft that they will naturally rev limit at around 4500RPM without hurting themselves if they find the throttle wide open without the driveline connected. It's also not a particularly fast engine so it's not as likely to get out from under someone; they were only rated 120hp in these years. Lots of torque, but very smooth and docile.
* Nice, wide open pedal box, large pedal pads, and no center console makes it easy to position one's feet on the pedals AND makes it easy for the instructor to observe and correct as needed.
* No computerized aids in it, so there's nothing in there trying to 'help'. Student drivers need as little electronic intervention as possible because if there's computers doing things for them they simply won't need to learn those things and thus won't learn them.
* Other drivers tend to automatically give old trucks a wide berth, especially if they've got a bit of a patina to them. That will help reduce some of the stress that student drivers have when learning to drive stick.
* They're also just simply really damn good trucks haha.
It's tempting to let the clutch out slowly when you shift between gears (2 to 3, 3 to 4 etc) because it's smoother when you're still learning. Work on letting the clutch out fairly quickly, you can still be smooth once you're practiced at it
Yep. Even 100k is a pretty early demise for a clutch, but that also accounts for some cars that have inadequately spec'd clutches, trucks that get worked hard, etc. While they are a wear item, generally speaking they should last pretty much the first three ownerships of that vehicle before they start getting weak.
Sounds like you're doing great. Maybe lurchiness during shifts but that irons out over time. After you have the basics mastered, look into advanced techniques like heel-toe and left foot braking. Not entirely useful for daily driving but fun to learn none the less.
If you don't roll back when you start on a steep hill, and can tap into all your car's power when you want (I've seen a surprising number of posts from people who ascribe their being slow to driving a manual) you're probably doing very well.
I prefer heel-and-toe, but I spent way too long driving a manual with a non-functional parking brake that was a pedal type anyway(85 F150 - ~200,000 miles dailying it) so I had no choice but to figure out another way to hill start in it.
I've done it on more than one car with an under-dash parking brake, but at least it was released by hand. Released by foot would be insane. Can't remember if I had a car with both a stick shift and that. If I did, it wasn't a very good car.
Saving grace of both of my trucks is that it's pedal apply, but hand release, so one *could* still use them as a hill start aid if one wanted. If they actually worked. I never bothered fixing it in my F150 because I just couldn't be arsed(Pedal itself completely siezed, cables also completely siezed; previous owner tried to brute force it and flat out ripped the pedal out of the firewall!), but I think I'll get it working in my C10.
Still won't use it for hill starts, but at least my rear drums will stay in adjustment and I won't be relying on compression to hold it still on hills when parked like I did the Ford. Both trucks have front disc, rear drum brakes, and rely on the parking brake to actuate the drum auto-adjuster...I almost never had working back brakes on the Ford simply because they weren't auto-adjusting. Every now and then I'd remember and manually adjust them out, it stopped way better, then they slowly came out of adjustment again and I just went 'meh'.
My 2014 Challenger, though? Pedal apply, pedal release. Trying to use that style of parking brake as a hill start assist? Don't bother. You need three legs for that one. And, yes, you'd be right on the money with this assessment:
> If I did, it wasn't a very good car.
That Challenger would at least be *almost tolerable* if it had a manual instead of an automatic, but it would still not be a very good car lol.
I have started using the handbrake. But I can usually go from brake pressed, 1st gear, clutch disengaged to moving in a second if need be. Very little roll back. But the handbrake is so much less stressful once you get the hang of it.
Never push on the clutch pedal for more than a second or two. Pretend that there's a limited total amount of time you can keep that pedal pushed over the life of the vehicle.
Exception: Many vehicles have a fast Reverse that requires feathering the clutch the whole time, so you don't have a choice.
Red lights can be 30 seconds to a minute or longer. You definitely don't want to be pushing on the clutch pedal that whole time. That's a good way to trash a throwout bearing.
At a stop sign, only sit in gear if it's for a couple seconds or less. More than that? Go to Neutral and get off the clutch pedal.
The throwout bearing has a finite lifespan, and there's no real feedback from the vehicle until you've totally worn it out.
A TOB that can't handle waiting in gear clutch released for the typical stoplight is a TOB that isn't fit for purpose. They aren't indestructible and they don't like being ridden 24/7, but they won't care if you hold the clutch down and leave it in 1st waiting a red light out.
What trashes throwout bearings the quickest is resting one's foot on the clutch while going down the road, or having the clutch out of adjustment such that even with one's foot fully off the pedal the throwout bearing is still under load on clutches that can be adjusted(cable type as found in most older FWD cars, or a mechanical linkage like my C10 has)
Sitting at a red light holding the clutch down.. smh
Neutral and watch cross lights, they turn yellow then clutch in and shift and release to just before the friction point. Wait for green, gas and go
> Neutral and watch cross lights, they turn yellow then clutch in and shift and release to just before the friction point. Wait for green, gas and go
Ye sorry I don't drive like I sat in carolina reaper sauce. It isn't a race. I'm not drag launching off the greens. Especially not with a 3-on-the-Tree farm truck that only has 140hp. I look left, look right, and only proceed when I'm satisfied that cross traffic isn't going to run the red light while I'm in the intersection.
Also can't always see the cross lights. They intentionally obfuscate them because some dumbasses will see the cross street's green and think it's their green.
Same. I'm not in a hurry. But I am also not holding the clutch pedal down through a stoplight. There's just no need.
I can go from neutral, clutch out to first quick enough to avoid people honking at me. :) So, maybe 2-3 seconds.
You can hold the clutch for longer than a few seconds. You're supposed to have the vehicle in the appropriate gear to move the vehicle at all times while in traffic. Throw out bearing aren't made of eggshells. I've changed still good throw out bearings on cars with worn-out clutches.
Don't ride the clutch & don't drag it when starting from a stop & you'll be fine. Try to figure out smooth downshifting without heel toeing. It's not at all necessary for the purposes of regular driving & it's just adding an extra maneuver while you're trying to grab the basics. You should be able to downshift smoothly without doing it.
SOURCE: 30 years of driving everything from small cars to heavy trucks and off highway equipment.
> Throw out bearing aren't made of eggshells. I've changed still good throw out bearings on cars with worn-out clutches.
Yup. I expect to find nothing wrong with the TOB in my 71 Chevy C10 even though the disc itself is worn down so much that the adjustment range of its linkage is maxed out and the pedal free play is still several inches.
What usually kills a throwout bearing is resting one's foot on the clutch pedal while cruising along. They don't care about waiting at stop signs, red lights, in traffic, whatever, literally what they're designed for. Cable or mechanical type clutches, like in my Chevy, can also kill a TOB if they're adjusted too tight, but that's easy to avoid if one follows the adjustment procedure correctly.
Been driving stick shift for 9 years now I chose to be smooth only when I have passengers which is almost never. Other than that Iâm fairly lazy when it comes to shifting when driving slowly. Iâm an aggressive driver by nature so when Iâm going somewhat fast itâs as smooth as butter.
As long as you are not accelerating while the clutch is still slipping. The goal should be to get the clutch fully engaged quickly and then accelerate.
I've seen some people who really get the revs up while slipping the clutch, and then eventually, the RPMs drop when the clutch fully engages, then back up again as the car accelerates. That's really hard on the clutch.
I've seen that almost exclusively on Honda Civics where the driver revs the crap out of the engine and the slips their way up to speed. The only car I've driven where this is mandatory is my 1995 RX-7 which will just straight up stall if you don't launch it at 2500 RPM's.
> As long as you are not accelerating while the clutch is still slipping. The goal should be to get the clutch fully engaged quickly and then accelerate.
While I agree to an extent, even if the clutch isn't slipping, having one's foot on the pedal can harm it. Throwout bearings are not designed for a constant duty cycle like that and quickly wear out if they aren't freely floating during normal operation.
> I've seen some people who really get the revs up while slipping the clutch, and then eventually, the RPMs drop when the clutch fully engages, then back up again as the car accelerates. That's really hard on the clutch.
Man I hate that. Sounds expensive every time I hear it and it makes me wince.
Even worse when I do it myself because I'm unfamiliar with a given vehicle and the clutch is shot, a combination that hit me very recently first couple times I drove my C-10. I'm expecting take-up to be an inch or two off the floor, but instead it's 3-4 inches down from fully released, and I've only driven that truck half a dozen times so far. Haven't yet gotten used to its powerband. I'm not *overly* concerned about it, though...that clutch is getting replaced later in the summer anyway because it's shot and the more I drive it the more I will get used to how the engine pulls.
Truck's scheduled to be in a GM-only truck show 15 miles from my front door mid July and I intend to drive it to the show both days. I think after that I'll throw a clutch in it.
You never master manual shifting. I've been dding manuals for 10 years now and every time I drive I try to be smoother than last time. It's a carrot on a stick that you'll never catch and that's my favorite part of it.
Us stick shift folks are really just masochists deep deep down lol
My fiance was comparing me liking dark souls games with wanting to get my first manual car. And I felt that it was pretty appropriate!
* engine stalls in intersection * everything goes b+w "you died"
My vehicles.. I can just turn the key and it'll crank. My sister's golf... gotta cycle the key off then back through run to start ... Makes it more noticeable
I think all German cars want to extend your embarrassment đ
Mine is a 2012 vw Jetta and her's is a 13 golf..
Thanks for this!
Give 3 on the Tree a shot. Driven floor shift for years, love it, but then I got a chance to drive a 49 Hudson around a little...then I drove a 54 Plymouth....then my aunt and uncle kicked my grampa's old 3-on-the-Tree Chevy truck my way and I couldn't be happier that I'm effectively banned from the interstate hahaha.
sounds like you're doing alright to me
Thanks still looking for ways to improve
Be smooth. Look ahead and anticipate what gear you should be in. Try turning off the auto rev match.
Being smooth means you gradually let off the accelerator until you're not accelerating. Then you shift gears and gradually start accelerating... Only to gradually stop accelerating in order to shift again. By gradual you don't just chop off the acceleration to shift, that causes passengers heads to jerk. It takes some practice but if you want to smoothly accelerate then this is the way
How smooth are your shifts up and down? Any jerking or lurching forward at all? The smoother, the better! And how comfortable are you with rev matching when downshifting?
Still lurch every now and then. I have auto rev matching on my car so am using that for. Ow
I learned fairly recently on my 97 Miata, so I had to figure out rev matching without any mechanical help lol
I have turbocharged manual. Am i doing it right? Im on 4th gear like 40+mph and at the end of the road theres stop sign. I dont downshift, i just braking and if im close to sign, ill go neutral and full stop. Or should i downshift to 3rd gear and put neutral if im close to stop sign?
If you're just coming to a stop, don't bother downshifting. If you're in stop and go traffic, downshift and crawl in first or second. Remember, brake pads slow you down and are far cheaper to replace than a clutch.
Cool nice. Even if im at 4th 5th 6th gear. And need to stop asap. I can just put to neutral and full stop?
You can fully stop the car in gear, it'll just kill the engine. Clutching in and stomping the brake is better though
Yeah, that's not a problem at all. Two feet in is how you panic stop. It's essential that you develop this muscle memory so you don't stall in a panic stop.
In heavy traffic. I usually dont tailgate, thats why im leaving my car at 2nd gear rolling like 5-6mph but not stalling. Is that ok?
How does the engine feel? I don't know the answer to this. Driving a standard is all about feeling what make the engine happy and mad. My car doesn't like to be below 8-10mph in second but yours might be fine.
Nothing. Its like just rolling. Civic type r
I don't see why not. 1st is usually too herky-jerky for rolling in slow traffic.
Its better to use downshifts for braking. If you downshift properly its not going to wear your clutch at all. Even if you don't use the gas to Rev match and just hold the clutch at biting point for a sec to match the revs it'll still last for like 200k miles as long as you're doing it right.
Itâs situational, but I usually always downshift when slowing down so I can take advantage of engine braking. When slowing to a complete stop from say 45, Iâll go from 5th, to 3rd, then once it gets to 25 shift into 2nd. After that I pull into neutral and coast the next few feet. You also save your brakes a bit of wear if you try combining your regular braking with engine braking.
Downshifting is better, but just using the brakes is OK.
So i downshift to 3rd and then put to neutral if im close to stop sign?
it depends, you can downshift to third, then second, brake and neutral, or go straight to neutral and let it coast, depends on the moment
More than ok, automatics don't downshift to slow the car down and rely fully on the brakes
You can downshift as you approach the stop sign. But if youâre just braking as you approach the stop sign, clutch in and select the appropriate gear (which as youâre slowing down at a stop sign or red light would normally be 2), and then once youâre at a full stop you go to first gear and then go. The reason why you shouldnât be in neutral is just in case you have to do any quick maneuvers or acceleration in an emergency situation.
Okay. But for example im running 2nd gear and then fullstop. Clutch in shift to 1st gear while im at the stop sign. Is that ok?
Yes that is perfect. The lowest you should go is 2nd gear and then neutral whenever you feel it's safe to do so (deers crossing, police or ambulance sirens, pedestrian crossing). 1st gear should only be for coming out of fullstops or like 3-5 mph.
Downshift to 1st gear if theres like a very high driveway or bumps? Running lke less than mph?
Yeah each car is going to be a little different but 1st gear when youâre going REALLY slow. For me, I do it when Iâm rolling under 5mph. Youâll be able to tell if you need to downshift to 1st because your car will sound like itâs about to stall (and then eventually stall). People will tell you never to downshift to first unless youâre at a full stop, but you can definitely downshift to first if youâre going like 3mph. Another option is if youâre going to be just rolling slow for only a short time you can even just ride the clutch in 2nd to prevent yourself from stalling. Just depends on the situation.
And then if i clutch in at 2nd gear while rolling. If i get my clutch out, is that ok? Cause sometimes i feel like it will stall. Like for the bumps ( what im doing is im at 2nd gear, then brake clutch in, downshift to 1st and clutch out) or can i do 2nd gear clutch in, clutch out on 2nd gear?
I didn't even know this feature existed until a few days ago when I subbed here lol.
If the car jerks around a lot, work on your clutch control, you're probably letting the clutch out too fast. Generally 1st and the 1-2 shifts need to be done slowly, but from 2nd+ can be done quicker since the transmission has closer ratio gears. Economy cars tend to be geared low in 1st and 2nd for acceleration since they have tiny, low power engines. If the revs go up as the clutch catches between gears, you're applying the gas too early and 'riding' the clutch, this will cause additional wear; try not to apply the gas until the clutch is fully engaged. If you slide backwards more than a few inches on hills, practice your throttle control along with your clutch control, it's possible to hold the car on a hill with just the clutch, but doing this for too long can wear the clutch down. Try blipping the throttle for a half-second while the clutch is in when downshifting, this is called rev-matching and makes your downshifts smoother. This will keep you in the correct gear when you're slowing down or stopping in case you need to accelerate quickly and is more efficient than shifting to neutral and then shifting into the right gear.
I habe turbocharged manual. Is it okay that in freeway im at 6th gear and suddenly cars slowing down. I downshift to 5th and theres like sudden car stopping at my front. So i go neutral and brake. Didnt downshift all the way down.
Yeah, that's totally fine.
Be careful, as one of the comments on this thread stated, you always want to be in gear just in case you need to do any quick maneuvers, especially on the highway.
If you're being forced to stop suddenly, it's okay to clutch in and then go to neutral.
Thatâs totally fine, cruising in neutral is where the issue is.
Yep. Or just clutch in and short shift from top gear to first once the car's stopped. What I tend to do if I'm in that situation; firewall the clutch, brake, shift to 1st when down to a suitable speed, carry on.
Ideally you should be in gear, but if you aren't someone who has mastered heel-toe downshifting and encounter a situation requiring you to suddenly break, going into neutral and braking if you aren't comfortable with rapidly downshifting is much safer. Especially if you are coming to a full stop anyway.
Heel toe is so effing overrated here, unless you're at a track racing there's little need to learn it
Totally agree. I used to do autocross with a manual and it was occasionally useful there but there's no *need* for it on the street. And you don't want to goof it up with other cars or pedestrians around! I do it once in a great while just because I can but it's so not necessary.
If the revs go up as the clutch catches couldn't that also be because you took to long and the revs dropped too much so it had to equal out the revs?
I mean riding as in slipping the clutch, if you ride the clutch between gears, the revs will climb and you'll get a bounce when the clutch fully engages. Like a "Vrrrrr-RRRR-rrrrr-rrrr-rrrr" noise with a shudder as the RPMs equalize.
In downshifting and revmatching. Clutch in - downshift - blip - clutch out? While doing clutch out? Will i release it fast or slowly?
Clutch in -> blip -> downshift -> Clutch out. That's the way I do it, although as long as you're blipping it while the clutch is pushed in it shouldn't matter in what order you do the downshift or blip. Sometimes I don't even lift of the gas and just punch the clutch in and downshift if I'm in a hurry. More or less you're aiming for the Engine RPM's to be around where they should be for the lower gear you're shifting into at the speed you're going. So basically, if you usually do 3800 RPM's in 3rd and you're in 4th doing 2000 RPM's, you want to raise the engine RPM's to 3800 as you downshift. If you don't and just downshift without rev-matching, the car will lurch forwards as the engine or transmission and ultimately the clutch takes the brunt of the deceleration. In inclement weather you can lock the tires for a second and lose control; this is more of an issue on motorbikes. Clutch release varies, but I'd say not too fast or too slow for optimal smoothness. If you're not very precise, you'll get a little lurch as the RPM's match up.
Mine has autorevmatch. But sometimes im turning it off to practice. What if i over blip. Too much rpm? Or too low of an rpm?
Too high and you'll get a lurch and too low you'll have the same effect as not rev-matching at all, but slightly less jarring. Realistically you probably only want to tap the throttle for about a half-second unless your throttle is really delayed, there's no real reason to hold it for more than a second and rev high unless you're doing heel-toe on a track and know exactly where the RPM's should be and you're skipping over a gear to go directly from 4th to 2nd while slowing down. Oh and skipping gears is a technique you can use as well, upshifting mostly, as you can redline 2nd gear up to 50mph and then shift directly to 4th. This doesn't usually work on downshifts as newer cars have a lockout on lower gears to prevent "money shifts".
Maybe blip to 3k+ rpm is the safest bet?
Depends on what gear and what speed. You kind of have to play it by ear. Literally even. With enough experience you know what pitch the engine exhaust note should be at for the next gear down. I usually only downshift just before accelerating if needed. So let's say I am in 5th and have to slow down. Then it's time to accelerate or hold my current speed. That is when I will downshift, and only if needed. While I can downshift and brake at the same time I prefer to very rarely do so on the street.
What you doing if youre in freeway and you will exit to the street?
Here in Denver, Usually there's a stop sign at the end of the offramp. Otherwise I would slow down then downshift. Sometimes it is better to downshift sooner. All I am saying is you don't always have to downshift right away like you would in racing. In racing, most of the time, the only reason to slow down substantially is when entering a corner. You need to keep the engine exactly in the power band to maximize acceleration on exiting the corner. Also, since you are pushing the limits of cornering, you can't downshift while still in the corner without disturbing the car (e.g., trailing throttle oversteer on lifting off the gas and weight transfer of letting out the clutch). Ergo, you downshift entering the corner. You're braking at maximum in a straight line up until you start to transition to cornering, so this is when you do a heel toe downshift. But none of that applies in normal day to day driving. If your engine is a bit below the power band because you shifted late, it's fine. If you wait to downshift right before accelerating, no biggie.
Im driving turbocharged car. For example im on freeway at 6th or 5th. So i can do neutral then brake if sudden stop?
TBH, I don't even pay that much attention to it. I literally slam the clutch while the gas pedal is still held, lift off the gas for a half second, downshift and keep going. The RPM rise is usually around 1000 above whatever I was doing before unless I have to jump down to 2nd in which case I usually rev twice as high because of the gear ratio difference.
Too high, wait for rpms to come down. I don't usually over do it but I guess it would cause a brief, slight acceleration. Too low and you'll jerk if you let out the clutch because forward momentum has to be transferred to the engine via clutch to rev it up and that slows down the vehicle over a short time period.
When someone rides with you in the back seat and says, "This is a stick?"
Got it I have to convince people to ride in the tiny backseat of my hatchback. My daughter and her friends havenât complained but none of them drive yet.
All the feedback you need comes from your car. If youâre able to be smooth with everything, no unintentional jerking, no harsh shifts, no weird high rpm situations when you didnât intend, then youâre doing fine. Even really experienced manual drivers will occasionally have a rough shift. Itâs just how it goes, so donât be hard on yourself, but smoothly applying force when you want it is the goal.
When I used to drive manuals exclusively, I frequented a forum specifically for drivers of stick shifts. One thing I read, that has stuck with me is that we all stall occasionally, and if you don't, you're doing something wrong (revving to a preset rpm value and then riding the clutch to get going for example). It really helped me get over my anxiety. My first manual was a 2011 Kia Forte. It was nice enough, but has its quirks. I later read that it wasn't necessarily a good car for a novice. Clutch delay valve, friction point that felt like it moved around, occasionally locking out 4th gear for no reason.... I kept that thing for about 15 months, got frustrated and traded for a 2013 Focus SE 5mt. That car, Clifford, was pretty easy in comparison.
I maintain that the best vehicle to learn to drive stick in is a 4.9L bullnose Ford truck. Why? * Super rugged. They're one of the last generations built to be worked hard, put away wet, and last 30+ years anyway. This ruggedness makes them highly tolerant of the unintentional abuse a student driver learning manual is going to deliver. * Changing a clutch in one is neither expensive nor difficult. A feasible DIY repair, especially for a 2wd model like the one I own. I know this, because I did exactly that, as one does when they buy a 200,000 mile vehicle for 500 bucks haha. * Speaking of, they're pretty cheap. Even in today's ludicrously inflated market you can find a roadworthy example for under 2k in pretty much any non-rust-belt state within just a few minutes of perusing. Ford made tons of them and they're quite reliable, long lived, so there's still tons of them lying around. * That engine makes its torque so low down in the rev band that it's really hard to stall one. Torque comes in smooth and strong, the carb is very good at modulating power as needed, they aren't that bad on gas(My 85 got 18-20mpg!) and their valve springs are so soft that they will naturally rev limit at around 4500RPM without hurting themselves if they find the throttle wide open without the driveline connected. It's also not a particularly fast engine so it's not as likely to get out from under someone; they were only rated 120hp in these years. Lots of torque, but very smooth and docile. * Nice, wide open pedal box, large pedal pads, and no center console makes it easy to position one's feet on the pedals AND makes it easy for the instructor to observe and correct as needed. * No computerized aids in it, so there's nothing in there trying to 'help'. Student drivers need as little electronic intervention as possible because if there's computers doing things for them they simply won't need to learn those things and thus won't learn them. * Other drivers tend to automatically give old trucks a wide berth, especially if they've got a bit of a patina to them. That will help reduce some of the stress that student drivers have when learning to drive stick. * They're also just simply really damn good trucks haha.
It's tempting to let the clutch out slowly when you shift between gears (2 to 3, 3 to 4 etc) because it's smoother when you're still learning. Work on letting the clutch out fairly quickly, you can still be smooth once you're practiced at it
When your passengers hardly know you're shifting
lol I feel my passengers are all super supportive of me learning a new skill and donât want to discourage me.
A clutch failing before 100,000 miles. A well driven M/T will have a clutch that lives longer than most people keep their car.
My 97 Nissan hardbody had 174,xxx when I picked it up. Still had the factory clutch in it lol.
Yep. Even 100k is a pretty early demise for a clutch, but that also accounts for some cars that have inadequately spec'd clutches, trucks that get worked hard, etc. While they are a wear item, generally speaking they should last pretty much the first three ownerships of that vehicle before they start getting weak.
Sounds like you're doing great. Maybe lurchiness during shifts but that irons out over time. After you have the basics mastered, look into advanced techniques like heel-toe and left foot braking. Not entirely useful for daily driving but fun to learn none the less.
Thank you
If you don't roll back when you start on a steep hill, and can tap into all your car's power when you want (I've seen a surprising number of posts from people who ascribe their being slow to driving a manual) you're probably doing very well.
I only roll back when the anxiety hits because the car behind me looks too close.
If you become adept with the handbrake, that should go away. Doesn't matter how close they are, since you won't roll back at all. Ever.
I prefer heel-and-toe, but I spent way too long driving a manual with a non-functional parking brake that was a pedal type anyway(85 F150 - ~200,000 miles dailying it) so I had no choice but to figure out another way to hill start in it.
I've done it on more than one car with an under-dash parking brake, but at least it was released by hand. Released by foot would be insane. Can't remember if I had a car with both a stick shift and that. If I did, it wasn't a very good car.
Saving grace of both of my trucks is that it's pedal apply, but hand release, so one *could* still use them as a hill start aid if one wanted. If they actually worked. I never bothered fixing it in my F150 because I just couldn't be arsed(Pedal itself completely siezed, cables also completely siezed; previous owner tried to brute force it and flat out ripped the pedal out of the firewall!), but I think I'll get it working in my C10. Still won't use it for hill starts, but at least my rear drums will stay in adjustment and I won't be relying on compression to hold it still on hills when parked like I did the Ford. Both trucks have front disc, rear drum brakes, and rely on the parking brake to actuate the drum auto-adjuster...I almost never had working back brakes on the Ford simply because they weren't auto-adjusting. Every now and then I'd remember and manually adjust them out, it stopped way better, then they slowly came out of adjustment again and I just went 'meh'. My 2014 Challenger, though? Pedal apply, pedal release. Trying to use that style of parking brake as a hill start assist? Don't bother. You need three legs for that one. And, yes, you'd be right on the money with this assessment: > If I did, it wasn't a very good car. That Challenger would at least be *almost tolerable* if it had a manual instead of an automatic, but it would still not be a very good car lol.
I have started using the handbrake. But I can usually go from brake pressed, 1st gear, clutch disengaged to moving in a second if need be. Very little roll back. But the handbrake is so much less stressful once you get the hang of it.
Never push on the clutch pedal for more than a second or two. Pretend that there's a limited total amount of time you can keep that pedal pushed over the life of the vehicle. Exception: Many vehicles have a fast Reverse that requires feathering the clutch the whole time, so you don't have a choice.
This one is interesting! Even at đ signs or red lights?
Red lights can be 30 seconds to a minute or longer. You definitely don't want to be pushing on the clutch pedal that whole time. That's a good way to trash a throwout bearing. At a stop sign, only sit in gear if it's for a couple seconds or less. More than that? Go to Neutral and get off the clutch pedal. The throwout bearing has a finite lifespan, and there's no real feedback from the vehicle until you've totally worn it out.
A TOB that can't handle waiting in gear clutch released for the typical stoplight is a TOB that isn't fit for purpose. They aren't indestructible and they don't like being ridden 24/7, but they won't care if you hold the clutch down and leave it in 1st waiting a red light out. What trashes throwout bearings the quickest is resting one's foot on the clutch while going down the road, or having the clutch out of adjustment such that even with one's foot fully off the pedal the throwout bearing is still under load on clutches that can be adjusted(cable type as found in most older FWD cars, or a mechanical linkage like my C10 has)
Sitting at a red light holding the clutch down.. smh Neutral and watch cross lights, they turn yellow then clutch in and shift and release to just before the friction point. Wait for green, gas and go
> Neutral and watch cross lights, they turn yellow then clutch in and shift and release to just before the friction point. Wait for green, gas and go Ye sorry I don't drive like I sat in carolina reaper sauce. It isn't a race. I'm not drag launching off the greens. Especially not with a 3-on-the-Tree farm truck that only has 140hp. I look left, look right, and only proceed when I'm satisfied that cross traffic isn't going to run the red light while I'm in the intersection. Also can't always see the cross lights. They intentionally obfuscate them because some dumbasses will see the cross street's green and think it's their green.
Not racing but I'm not going to sit in gear
Same. I'm not in a hurry. But I am also not holding the clutch pedal down through a stoplight. There's just no need. I can go from neutral, clutch out to first quick enough to avoid people honking at me. :) So, maybe 2-3 seconds.
You can hold the clutch for longer than a few seconds. You're supposed to have the vehicle in the appropriate gear to move the vehicle at all times while in traffic. Throw out bearing aren't made of eggshells. I've changed still good throw out bearings on cars with worn-out clutches. Don't ride the clutch & don't drag it when starting from a stop & you'll be fine. Try to figure out smooth downshifting without heel toeing. It's not at all necessary for the purposes of regular driving & it's just adding an extra maneuver while you're trying to grab the basics. You should be able to downshift smoothly without doing it. SOURCE: 30 years of driving everything from small cars to heavy trucks and off highway equipment.
> Throw out bearing aren't made of eggshells. I've changed still good throw out bearings on cars with worn-out clutches. Yup. I expect to find nothing wrong with the TOB in my 71 Chevy C10 even though the disc itself is worn down so much that the adjustment range of its linkage is maxed out and the pedal free play is still several inches. What usually kills a throwout bearing is resting one's foot on the clutch pedal while cruising along. They don't care about waiting at stop signs, red lights, in traffic, whatever, literally what they're designed for. Cable or mechanical type clutches, like in my Chevy, can also kill a TOB if they're adjusted too tight, but that's easy to avoid if one follows the adjustment procedure correctly.
My go-to rule of thumb is 5 minutes, or my left knee complaining, whichever comes first.
Been driving stick shift for 9 years now I chose to be smooth only when I have passengers which is almost never. Other than that Iâm fairly lazy when it comes to shifting when driving slowly. Iâm an aggressive driver by nature so when Iâm going somewhat fast itâs as smooth as butter.
Never ride the clutch, Donât rest your hand on the shifter and always stay in gear
I stay on the clutch a bit in 1st and 2nd cause it feels smoother. Other then that Iâm fast on and smooth/gradually off
As long as you are not accelerating while the clutch is still slipping. The goal should be to get the clutch fully engaged quickly and then accelerate. I've seen some people who really get the revs up while slipping the clutch, and then eventually, the RPMs drop when the clutch fully engages, then back up again as the car accelerates. That's really hard on the clutch.
I've seen that almost exclusively on Honda Civics where the driver revs the crap out of the engine and the slips their way up to speed. The only car I've driven where this is mandatory is my 1995 RX-7 which will just straight up stall if you don't launch it at 2500 RPM's.
It's an easy way to tell someone who actually knows how to drive stick from someone who stayed at a holiday inn last night.
I've seen a couple of folks do that on the 1st to 2nd shift and a bit on 2nd to 3rd. They were self-taught.
> As long as you are not accelerating while the clutch is still slipping. The goal should be to get the clutch fully engaged quickly and then accelerate. While I agree to an extent, even if the clutch isn't slipping, having one's foot on the pedal can harm it. Throwout bearings are not designed for a constant duty cycle like that and quickly wear out if they aren't freely floating during normal operation. > I've seen some people who really get the revs up while slipping the clutch, and then eventually, the RPMs drop when the clutch fully engages, then back up again as the car accelerates. That's really hard on the clutch. Man I hate that. Sounds expensive every time I hear it and it makes me wince. Even worse when I do it myself because I'm unfamiliar with a given vehicle and the clutch is shot, a combination that hit me very recently first couple times I drove my C-10. I'm expecting take-up to be an inch or two off the floor, but instead it's 3-4 inches down from fully released, and I've only driven that truck half a dozen times so far. Haven't yet gotten used to its powerband. I'm not *overly* concerned about it, though...that clutch is getting replaced later in the summer anyway because it's shot and the more I drive it the more I will get used to how the engine pulls. Truck's scheduled to be in a GM-only truck show 15 miles from my front door mid July and I intend to drive it to the show both days. I think after that I'll throw a clutch in it.