Any tips for learning to drive manual?

[pyroza]

So yeah, I've finally gotten around to learning how to drive manual. I've been doing it for a few days but I still stall often, which is pretty embarrassing if there's lots of cars around :(. Everything else I'm fine with, it's just the initial start that screws me up

Any tips or is it just a thing where you keep doing it until you get the hang of it?

[drtoohotty1]

go to a big parking lot late at night best place to learn clutch control without an audience, thats how i learned.

[anarchy]

I'm no pro but I found the problem was for me was that I was too scared to gas it, thinking it was going to bolt forward. But that's really not the case with a manual car.

Just give it some gas and slowly release the clutch. It might rev the engine if you're still in neutral but as you do it more you'll get more comfortable releasing the clutch sooner and get a feel for when to do so.

[Kloubek]

It's not that hard, but finding the correct gas and clutch combo can be difficult on some cars.

Don't be afraid to stall a car while practicing. It sucks on the road with cars around you, but as drtoo suggested, an empty parking lot is a great place to try it out.

When letting out the clutch, start by taking about 2 seconds between your foot to the floor, and completely off. Remember to compensate for gas, but keep your RPMs no more than halfway to the redline if you want a smooth launch. As I'm sure you've discovered, as the clutch starts to catch, you need more gas to compensate to keep from stalling. Don't gun it, but try to keep your rpms higher than your instincts might tell you are appropriate for barely moving.

Good luck!

[Jlude]

I remember trying to take off in second gear and the car bunny hoppin', at an intersection with my dad in the passenger seat laughing at me.

I'd say first learn the engage/disengage point of the clutch, then get used to the gas, watch the revs (if you have a tach) and listen to the engine. It's all about practice.

You WILL stall the car. Hell, I stalled mine just a couple weeks ago!

[adidas]

Id suggest wearing thin thin shoes! I wore pumas and they were great for learning to drive manual in! You really do feel a difference! Also take ur time and practice alot! All we can do is give u tips but ur the only one that can go out there and try it over and over and over again!

[yue]

practice, practice and practice. stalling on the road can lead to you being rear ended because most automatic drivers don't look at your car before braking. they look for your brake lights.

you obviously haven't gotten the muscle memory for the friction point so i would suggest relearning that. engage the clutch, let go slowly until you start moving forward without adding gas.

[pf0sh0]

A good way when you first start off in first gear is to not use the gas. It is easier to let go of the clutch slowly and find the catch point THEN give it some gas. That is how I tell first time manual transmission drivers to do it. I find it easier to explain how to use the one pedal, then making someone understand how to find a blanace between gas and clutch.

[Kennyredline]

Originally posted by pyroza
So yeah, I've finally gotten around to learning how to drive manual. I've been doing it for a few days but I still stall often, which is pretty embarrassing if there's lots of cars around :(. Everything else I'm fine with, it's just the initial start that screws me up

Any tips or is it just a thing where you keep doing it until you get the hang of it?
Ya, stay away from brown women and residential areas!!!!

[topmade]

If you're already driving around you shouldn't be too bad. From stops, just make sure to give it lots of gas and you won't stall. If you are on a hill, use the parking brake. Don't compare yourself to others because they probably have a lot more experience then you and can do smooth starts. As you get more experience you will know where the sweet spot is and it will come naturally to you.

[97'Scort]

Watch "Canada's Worst Driver" and don't do ANYTHING they do :)

[yue]

Originally posted by Kennyredline

Ya, stay away from brown women and residential areas!!!!
:rofl: yes, do not be like those idiots who teach/learn in residentials

[Jlude]

Originally posted by adidas
Id suggest wearing thin thin shoes! I wore pumas and they were great for learning to drive manual in! You really do feel a difference! Also take ur time and practice alot! All we can do is give u tips but ur the only one that can go out there and try it over and over and over again!

This will help too!

[integra_xsi]

when youre on a hill, use the brake. Start to release the clutch a little bit. while still stepping on the brake. As you release the cluth u will feel friction. At that point u wont role back becaue the friction of the clutch wants to move forward. Then you can take your foot off the brake. and step on the gas.

[James]

Always remember if you start the car in gear, have your foot on the clutch!.....I've heard you may end up on your front lawn if yo don't! ;) ....teaching myself how to drive standard not knowing a thing was interesting:rofl: ...empty parking lots at night are the way to go

[yue]

Originally posted by James
Always remember if you start the car in gear, have your foot on the clutch!.....I've heard you may end up on your front lawn if yo don't! ;)
that won't happen, your car will lurch forward and then stall

[Destinova403]

just keep trying... dont give up... and be patient with the drivers who honk at you when you stall at a light.

[pf0sh0]

Originally posted by Destinova403
just keep trying... dont give up... and be patient with the drivers who honk at you when you stall at a light.

give those jerks the bird! :thumbsup:

[That.Guy.S30]

Originally posted by yue

that won't happen, your car will lurch forward and then stall

very true. itll buck and die.. then comes the embarassment.

[Redlined_8000]

Great thread guys. Ive driven manual quads before but not a car. That taking off from a hill post is what i was looking for. :)

[That.Guy.S30]

^ well u can always hold the ebrake as well. and release as u feel a lil pul.

[HuyNh_SI]

Originally posted by pf0sh0
A good way when you first start off in first gear is to not use the gas. It is easier to let go of the clutch slowly and find the catch point THEN give it some gas. That is how I tell first time manual transmission drivers to do it. I find it easier to explain how to use the one pedal, then making someone understand how to find a blanace between gas and clutch.
+1
FIND YOUR FRICTION POINT! PUT IT INTO GEAR , THAN SLOWLY RELEASE YOUR CLUTCH UNTIL YOU FEEL YOUR CAR PULL OR IDLE... than apply gas and slowly let go of the rest of your clutch!

[Idratherbsidewayz]

The first thing I like to do is tell people how it works. If your clutch is engaged (pushed down), the motor is disconnected from the transmission/driveshaft. As you release the clutch you will hit a point commonly known as a friction point. This is when the engine and the transmission/driveshaft are being mated by the clutch's friction plate and the engine's flywheel. (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch1.htm)

Obviously this mating part has to be done smoothly, or else the torque will be transferred too fast and your car will stall.

Here are the steps to properly learning how to drive stick.

1st Step:

Go on a flat empty road/empty parking lot. Clutch in, engage 1st. Keep your right foot planted on the floor. Slowly release the clutch pedal until you feel it catch. Immediately after push the clutch pedal back in. Redo this a few times until you are comfortable in knowing where the car's friction point begins.

2nd Step:

Again, make sure you are on a flat surface. Clutch in, engage 1st. This time slowly let the clutch out until you hit the familiar friction point and then VERY slowly go through it. The car will begin to go forward and at this point you might stall. Also if your clutch is on it's way out it won't be able to grip enough to get your car moving forward. Get a feel for how fast you can go over the friction point.

3rd Step:

Once you are fully comfortable with the clutch and friction point lets introduce the gas pedal.

First you have to understand that you should NEVER be pinning the gas as the clutch is going over the friction point. This is how clutches get damaged. The friction plate thats on the clutch is at that time rubbing the flywheel with not enough pressure to clamp. You will smell it when this happens as the clutch quickly overheats from friction and begins to smoke.

It's not the end of the world though, there is a happy medium. With the clutch in and 1st gear engaged, rev the engine to about 1500 RPM. Your goal will be to keep the RPM's constant while you slowly (but not too slowly, you'll figure out the balance) let the clutch go over it's friction point. You'll find that as soon as the friction point is hit the RPM's will drop. The key is to figure out how much gas is necessary and the timing to maintain that constant RPM. Eventually you'll be able to do it quite quickly.

Once you are out of the friction point, your car is in gear and you can practice rolling around (If you've never driven this is a good way to get accustomed to how a car feels). Press the gas a little and feel how the car responds.

REMEMBER: Whenever you feel that anything is going wrong as you're practicing or the car is about to stall press the clutch in. Practice this A LOT. It should be automatic that whenever anything happens you press the clutch down. This will make sure you stall a lot less and it's a good habit to pick up. Of course don't forget to brake as well as clutch in. If you're going to choose either one, braking is most important haha.

Last Step:

Uphill starts. This was the worst part of learning. On my 2nd day, my mom took me (on a residential side street with little to no traffic) to a decently inclined hill. I feel that the one I practiced on was too extreme and I had a kind of trial by fire, so you can choose a smaller incline.

Even though you have your starting down, you'll find uphill starts a bitch. If you wanted to do it without the handbrake you run the risk of damaging your clutch as a much higher initial constant RPM is needed to get going.

So heres the trick. Handbrake up, foot off the brake. Engage clutch, 1st gear. Keep your RPM a little higher than when it was on flat and as soon as you feel the car catching, slowly let the handbrake down. You'll have to get the timing right, and it will most likely take a few try's.



Hope this helps, good luck!!

[Billy2K]

I guess this would be my first post on beyond :poosie: :clap:

I'm also new to driving standard. I've been at it for about 2.5 weeks now. The first week and a half were brutal. I'm doing a lot better since then. Going up hill from a stop is fun now.

The only thing I can add to the posts above would be to practice rev'n your engine and holding it @ 1.5 - 2 when you're stopped. It'll make your starts smoother.

Your gas foot needs to be more sensitive to the gas petal.

And take your time when releasing the clutch. After a while you'll become quicker at it when you get to know your car better.

[KuruptEX]

the way i taught myself is keep your foot down on the clutch
and slowly apply gas match it about 200rpm its like revving your engine but your keeping it at a certain rpm while your right foot is balancing the gas slowly let go of the clutch
not right away but slowly and your car will start moving
trust me your gonna stall left right and center but best way to learn manual is by teaching yourself...

also at any point you think your gonna stall push down the clutch

[Jason Lange]

key is not to stall...:D

[speeed]

PRACTICE and get to know your car better. every car's friction point/clutch feels different.

[Kloubek]

Wow Idratherbsidewayz. That is the best explaination I've EVER seen on how to drive a standard. OP: do exactly what he says.:)

I remember my second car, and my first standard. It was the Supra in my Avatar actually. I bought it, and had to have a friend drive it home for me because the owner parked it on a hill and I was scared. He took me into a parking lot for 10 minutes, and I never stalled it again. (Ok, that might be SLIGHTLY untrue... I really can't remember, but I figure I might have stalled it one or more two times after that.) :)

[funkedelic2]

I learnt to drive on one of the shittiest cars ever. It was an 84 celica. The car was just in horrible shape, it was so hard to turn and shift.. but after i tried driving a newer car, it was so easy!

Practice a lot, lots of the posts above me had a lot of good advice. parking lots or an empty long road at night will help you improve on your shifting.

If you are on hills just try to even out the clutch/gas, without stalling. You will feel like you are going to stall and hit the cars behind you, so i recommend you try this where there are no cars first but it should help you get more familiar with your cars clutch.

[James]

Originally posted by yue

that won't happen, your car will lurch forward and then stall

parked at the curb, i lurched enough to slightly roll forward onto the grass, just a rookie mistake i remembered making



Originally posted by Thi_Thi Subs


very true. itll buck and die.. then comes the embarassment.

exactly
:facepalm:

[toastgremlin]

You can actually get some practice with an FWD rolling backward from using speed bumps in a parking lot (if you can't find a driveway or similar), but it's not quite the same.

Downshifting is also a good skill for you to learn, but don't worry about that yet until you can smoothly accelerate and stop. Once you get that, making smooth downshifts and cornering is easier. The key word is "smooth." Relax and it becomes a lot easier.

Eventually you should also be able to tell when you're about to stall and correct for it.

[Tik-Tok]

Well, asides from the above suggestions, the only thing left is, Gas brake honk, gas brake honk, honk honk punch, gas gas gas.

Can be applied to both manual, and automatic transmission.

[InLoveWitRSX]

Don't be afraid to ride the clutch when your JUST starting out.. alot of people fail to start off because they are scared of riding it and thats why they stall. So once you hit that friction point put a little bit more gas then usual just to get you going and you will slowly learn to smoothen out on the starts in the future. (Just make sure you don't ride the clutch after you are used to driving manual/your car or else youre going to say bye to your clutch)

[2EFNFAST]

I'd say best advice is do NOT learn on a high torque vehicle.

The reason I say this is that you can very easily develop some bad habits, because power let's you get away with almost anything.

For example, I learned on my Z06. When starting, all I do is take my foot off the clutch and it rolls forward on its own, even on the steepest of hills. No matching revs or throttling or whatever the proper technique is, I just take my foot off the clutch and it rolls without studdering, stalling, etc... etc...

Unfortunately that technique doesn't work so well on smaller engines, as I've learned :)

[max_boost]

Originally posted by speeed
PRACTICE and get to know your car better. every car's friction point/clutch feels different.

:Werd:

Some cars are a bit easier to drive than others.

And yep, we talking about practice, practice man, practice. How silly is that? Yeah I know, PRACTICE :D

Practice makes perfect. It is brutal for the first bit :rofl:

It's one of those things that once you get it, it all clicks in! Like an epiphany, yeah uh huh! I get it. LOL

[anonymous_j]

from a stop, it's almost impossible to stall if you just keep giving it a lot of gas.

[Idratherbsidewayz]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Wow Idratherbsidewayz. That is the best explaination I've EVER seen on how to drive a standard. OP: do exactly what he says.:)

Thanks, I should have been writing an essay on Carbon Fiber's future developments but this seemed like less of a pain in the ass.

[Moe Man]

Originally posted by pf0sh0
A good way when you first start off in first gear is to not use the gas. It is easier to let go of the clutch slowly and find the catch point THEN give it some gas. That is how I tell first time manual transmission drivers to do it. I find it easier to explain how to use the one pedal, then making someone understand how to find a blanace between gas and clutch.

do this first, really the big mistake that most new drivers do is not keep their heal on the floor mat. your ankle is more accurate and much more stability than your leg. so keep your heal on the floor and just move your ankle to release the clutch.

[zipdoa]

Originally posted by drtoohotty1
go to a big parking lot late at night best place to learn clutch control without an audience, thats how i learned.

Don't go to a strip mall. Tried that once, COPS gave us a real hard time saying we were 'street racing'. We were trying to teach a friend of ours to drive her 5-speed prelude, and even though NONE of us were in the car with her, they were rude and asked for ID's, and simply went up to her with big smiles and asked her about to car and what she was doing. They didn't even ask for her drivers liscense...

anyway. go out to the bearspaw church parking lot or something.

[ricosuave]

when I was 17, I stalled my first manual car on my first day with it for 45 consecutive lights... LOL It was a touchy mofo

[dugie]

Good thread! I'm also going learn how to drive a manual and thread is informative. Is there anything i should know not do to reduce the risk of damaging my car? i want to know what bad for the clutch, tranny, ect... before it becomes habit!:dunno:

[yue]

don't ride the clutch and stay in the appropriate gear (this depends on the car)

[whiskas]

Learn the shift points for your car, this will help immensely when you rev match.

I still bust a nut in my pants when I nail a perfect rev match, it just feels so right.

[Ichigo]

Originally posted by pf0sh0
A good way when you first start off in first gear is to not use the gas. It is easier to let go of the clutch slowly and find the catch point THEN give it some gas. That is how I tell first time manual transmission drivers to do it. I find it easier to explain how to use the one pedal, then making someone understand how to find a blanace between gas and clutch.

^^ yep yep
Start off with the clutch only in the parkinglot. It'll get you used to the engagement point and you'll figure out what will move the car and what will stall the car.

Goodluck.

[pyroza]

I think I'm getting the hang of it! Went around the block a few times and only stalled once. I'm learning the friction point thing by driving up and down my driveway (it's pretty long, so I can learn it while in reverse as well)

Thanks for the tips! :)

[dugie]

Alright so i can drive fine:clap:. but now when i try to downshift my car does a jerky motion any tips to solve this? maybe i'm downshifting improperly.

1) ease off gas
2) break
3)clutch in
4) down shift
5) ease off clutch
6) gas or redo step 1-5 for another gear down.

[Zero102]

Thats precisely whats wrong, in between 3 and 4 you are missing
3a) clutch out
3b) stab gas pedal
3c) stab clutch
3d) release to light pressure on gas to slow how fast the revs are dropping
4) shift to lower gear
5) clutch out with revs matched

[whiskas]

Originally posted by dugie
Alright so i can drive fine:clap:. but now when i try to downshift my car does a jerky motion any tips to solve this? maybe i'm downshifting improperly.

1) ease off gas
2) break
3)clutch in
4) down shift
5) ease off clutch
6) gas or redo step 1-5 for another gear down.

You have to rev match the downshifts if you want them to be smooth.

2)There's a difference between brake and break.
3)clutch in
4)Blip the throttle so that engine RPMs = the rpms they are at in the gear you are downshifting into at the speed you are going.
4) down shift
5) ease off clutch or if you are confident in your rev matching skills you can just dump the clutch.

If you do a perfect rev match the shifter will slide in by itself, first time it happened I thought something was broken because it honestly feels like the shifter isn't even connected to the tranny, it's that smooth. It puts less stress on your synchros and doesn't cause any jerking motion.

[James]

Originally posted by max_boost


:Werd:

Some cars are a bit easier to drive than others.

And yep, we talking about practice, practice man, practice. How silly is that? Yeah I know, PRACTICE :D


Nice Iverson Reference! lol

[89s1]

Originally posted by Zero102
Thats precisely whats wrong, in between 3 and 4 you are missing
3a) clutch out
3b) stab gas pedal
3c) stab clutch
3d) release to light pressure on gas to slow how fast the revs are dropping
4) shift to lower gear
5) clutch out with revs matched

Unless you're in the fast and the furious you dont need to double clutch every time you shift your fucking car.... who are you, dominic torreto? :facepalm:

Unless the tranny is fucked and you need to do it to keep things from grinding its just extra work.

[dugie]

Originally posted by whiskas


You have to rev match the downshifts if you want them to be smooth.

2)There's a difference between brake and break.
3)clutch in
4)Blip the throttle so that engine RPMs = the rpms they are at in the gear you are downshifting into at the speed you are going.
4) down shift
5) ease off clutch or if you are confident in your rev matching skills you can just dump the clutch.

If you do a perfect rev match the shifter will slide in by itself, first time it happened I thought something was broken because it honestly feels like the shifter isn't even connected to the tranny, it's that smooth. It puts less stress on your synchros and doesn't cause any jerking motion.

wow so i been trying this and holy HUGE difference =) thank you :thumbsup:

[2EFNFAST]

What would happen if you're driving along and say you downshifted from 3 to 2 with no rev matching and no clutch? I.e., you just jammed the shifter from 3-2. Would it grind and refuse to go in?

I guess same question with the upshift - what happens if you don't use the clutch and just shifted from 2->3?

Not about to try either on my own cars to sate my curiousity, thanks :rofl:

[Grogador]

It grinds, one of the most horrid noises a vehicle can make... Never pushed hard enough to see if it would go in like that. If you rev match perfectly, then you could skip the clutch ;)

[pyroza]

Wow, I just drove my mom's boyfriend's truck home (designated driver, lol) and it seemed so much easier because the clutch was extremely forgiving. Much easier than my Audi, that's for sure.

[rp_guy]

Originally posted by 2EFNFAST
What would happen if you're driving along and say you downshifted from 3 to 2 with no rev matching and no clutch? I.e., you just jammed the shifter from 3-2. Would it grind and refuse to go in?

I guess same question with the upshift - what happens if you don't use the clutch and just shifted from 2->3?

Not about to try either on my own cars to sate my curiousity, thanks :rofl:


it'd be extremely hard to get out and into gear, not to mention the grinding and possibility of an overrev (but you can do that with the clutch anyway)


Originally posted by 89s1


Unless you're in the fast and the furious you dont need to double clutch every time you shift your fucking car.... who are you, dominic torreto? :facepalm:

Unless the tranny is fucked and you need to do it to keep things from grinding its just extra work.

on a downshift? why not? it's worth the 1 second of you pressing the clutch down an extra 2 times if you prolong the life of the synchros

[Zero102]

Originally posted by 89s1


Unless you're in the fast and the furious you dont need to double clutch every time you shift your fucking car.... who are you, dominic torreto? :facepalm:

Unless the tranny is fucked and you need to do it to keep things from grinding its just extra work.


No, I'm just a guy who doesn't use his clutch as his brakes. Each system in a car has its purpose, and using your clutch to scrub off engine speed is retarded. On my car, brakes cost ~$500 and take about 2 hours to change. A clutch costs $900 and takes 16-25 hours to change (depending on how many snags you hit while you are in there). Pretty damn good reason to use the brakes, and to drive in a way that prolongs th clutch's life. Double clutching when down shifting prevents a significant amount of wear on a clutch. The clutch in my 951 has ~10000km on it, including about 50-60 events at race city (Secret street / open lapping), and when I had it out after all of this driving, the part numbers on the friction disc were still readable.
Properly driven, a clutch should last in excess of 200,000km.

Once properly mastered, the actual chain of events goes a lot like that. With the revs matched there is no point in spending a long time on the clutch pedal letting it back out, and as soon as you push the clutch in, the input shaft of the transmission begins losing speed very quickly. To make the transition as smooth as possible it is imperative to actuate the clutch quickly.

[Canmorite]

I always downshift through the gears to dump speed when safe to do so.

[pdm111]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
Well, asides from the above suggestions, the only thing left is, Gas brake honk, gas brake honk, honk honk punch, gas gas gas.

Can be applied to both manual, and automatic transmission.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: good old simpsons

when you're stopped on a hill and you see a car coming up behind you, let the car roll back a little. most of the time they'll give you more room

[Idratherbsidewayz]

Originally posted by Zero102
Double clutching when down shifting prevents a significant amount of wear on a clutch.

No.

Double clutching when down shifting on a vehicle equipped with syncros is a waste of energy. You are doing the job twice and that is completely unnecessary.

Revmatching on a downshift will do the same thing as you've been doing all these years. The clutch won't be affected because you won't be using its friction plate to bring the tranny rpm up to speed.

So DON'T double clutch on a syncroed vehicle, its stupid. Also, engine braking has nothing to do with the clutch. However, people use their clutches as brakes which is improper (When you don't revmatch this happens).

Always revmatch!

[Canmorite]

Originally posted by Idratherbsidewayz

However, people use their clutches as brakes which is improper (When you don't revmatch this happens).

Always revmatch!

The important aspect of using your clutch as a brake, always revmatch. :thumbsup: