Need some stick shift driving tips

Blackmirror · 05-18-05, 09:58

I went to practice on my friends car. Only thing I have to practice on is getting the car moving without stalling in 1st gear. And the hardest for me right now is being on an incline with my left foot on clutch and right on brake. Then when I put my right foot on the gas the car will of course drift back. Sometimes I apply too much gas(maybe because I just paranoid) and let off the clutch too fast making the car buck or stall. Hate it when that happens. Can you give me some tips on driving on an incline?

awdirtdrifter · 05-18-05, 10:19

On inclines, some people use the parking brake while they try to get the right "mix" of gas and clutch. Then when you think you got it--you'll know--you disengage the parking brake. This is more of a safety thing, like on a steep incline or when you don't want to hit anything behind you. I don't use it myself except in extreme situations. While learning, I'd stick to flat lands...

Driving stick is just one of those things you just have to practice because all cars are different. Some have "grabby" clutches, while some are smooth and real easy to get right away. What kind of car were you practicing on?

Good luck!

General Lee · 05-18-05, 10:21

Let the clutch out slowly until you feel it start to grab. Then just give it a little gas. If you got a decent clutch, you should be able to SLOWLY let it out and the car will actually start to roll without giving it gas. (on a flat surface)

cuekaje · 05-18-05, 10:26

I said use the parking brake is a good method, altough it is very dificult to practice if your car is mercedez that have a foot parking brake.
Another method to learn is to try to learn how to make your vehicel stop by combining the foot pressure on your cluth pedal an accelerator pedal. You can now step on the gas and try to release the cluth pedal slowly until the car start to move. Once you have the feeling, it is very easy on will turn to be automatic to you

tdekany · 05-18-05, 10:27

another way is to kepp tapping (revving it just a bit) the gas pedal while you let the clutch out slowly.

MS22 · 05-18-05, 10:43

The best tip ever is to practice, practice, practice . . .
I am not a fan of the e-brake method, you must learn the right way. As stated earlier release the clutch slowly until you have a feel for where it cathces, quickly move from brake to gas but DO NOT romp the gas pedal, despress it slowly while releasing the clutch. I have taught quite a few people how to drive a stick but and the most important thing is that you not over think the whole process, you are trying too hard.
I learned the hard way, a 1989 Porsche Speedster - Porsche clutches are notoriously tricky and to teach me how to drive it my father parked on a slight incline, got in the passanger seat, gave me the keys and said "Drive, and dont ruin my clutch or burn my tires".

guapsnaman · 05-18-05, 10:58

Quote:

Originally posted by tdekany
another way is to kepp tapping (revving it just a bit) the gas pedal while you let the clutch out slowly.

That works perfectly....especially on incline if you have good foot control. But yes, practice is the best way to learn. Go do a few valet parking jobs and you'll learn, that's how I did.

Project "2" · 05-18-05, 11:25

Heel-toe to downshift.
Make sure you rev match before you let go the clutch.
hm.....
You will get it after a while.

Accumulator · 05-19-05, 09:19

Blackmirror- They're not BSing you, it really is all a matter of practice. The only "trick" is that you gotta practice doing the right thing.

You oughta get a book about this stuff. Explaining it is tricky, especially stuff like learning to match the revs/double clutch. It's best to learn this stuff from a good instructor, but you *can* learn it from a book (I did). Maybe Bondurant's book, available from Motorbooks International. Really is worth the money.

I'm with MS22- I too would avoid the e-brake thing, you don't need to do that and it will just delay your acquiring the skills you need.

Definitely practice on flat ground so you get the basics down. Doing it on inclines is just a matter of doing it faster (foot moving from brake to gas) and with greater control (tougher to get the "stall vs. bucking" thing right). Doing it under easy conditions (flat ground) will help you get a feel for what's going on. Try to *feel* the instant the clutch engages, feel how the little bit of gas you give it makes it all happen smoothly. It's all about being smooth.

Generla Lee- Yeah, *some* cars are pretty much foolproof and will let you engage the clutch with little or no gas, but I've only driven a few cars like that and I've only owned *two* of them that I can recall. And I've driven and owned a *lot* of different cars.

MS22- Heh heh, yeah, I too was basically told to "drive it and don't mess it up" with no real instruction

Cars with light flywheels can be a royal pain to drive smoothly, let alone to learn with.

Project "2"- Heh heh, hope we dont scare Blackmirror off with talk of such stuff

Yeah, it's only when you start doing things like heel & toe that you really take advantage of a manual's advantages.

I wouldn't rev match though, except maybe at first when still leaning. Or maybe on a track when things are happening fast, but most of the time (and always on the street) I'll double-clutch to save the synchros. Too many used manuals have worn out 2nd gear synchros, and double-clutching is becoming a lost art

Heel & toe double clutching is *driving*

Heh heh, I know some old-timers who think that having to double-clutch *up* shifts is no big deal

xfire · 05-19-05, 09:59

Put the car on a flat piece of land

put it into first

no foot on gas, just slowly let the clutch out and you should do well.

Please tell us what car you have, it will help
good luck

afterx · 05-19-05, 10:13

I thought this might be helpful
http://www.10w40.com/individual/100186.asp

Good luck!

Accumulator · 05-19-05, 10:13

Quote:

Originally posted by xfire
Put the car on a flat piece of land

put it into first

no foot on gas, just slowly let the clutch out and you should do well.

There must be more cars out there that will allow this than I would've expected. Do that in a Porsche, Audi, 'vette, Subie, or anything else I can think of, and you'll stall it dead as a doornail. But then I've pretty much only driven stick shift cars of a certain "personality". You *could* do it in my Kormann M3, but that thing idled at nearly 1,000 rpms. Ditto for one of my old MOPARS, but those two were race cars with license plates.