Driving a Manual Transmission

[ET]

Hey All,
I am currently learning to drive a manual and having a bit of trouble getting shudder free and smooth gear changes, especially from standing starts!
If anyone has any tips it would be greatly appreciated by both car, parents and myself.
Cheers
ET

[Luke]

maybe a touch more accelerator, but not too much, and don't lift the clutch to quickly.

[Dec]

Keep the clutch in and a little more accelerator. Hold the accelerator steady and just slowly release the clutch...

If that fails...buy an automatic

[justloafing]

Sounds like Luke said it right. Just like surfing, practice practice and practice. Everyone should know how to drive a stick.

[Jimi]

1st thing: be very gentle with the clutch pedal.

It works the opposite to the other pedals, i.e. you push it in very quickly but release it very slowly.

2nd thing: Always listen to your engine rpm. Get a feel for when the engine is at a "normal" driving rpm, and when moving away from stationary, use a combination of clutch and accelerator to keep the engine close to that rpm. If you want to take off fast, use more accelerator, and come off the clutch quickly. If you want to take off smoothly, then gradually increase the accelerator as you come off the clutch gently.

3rd thing: practice. If you want to improve your clutch and accelerator control, then do hill starts, and practice taking off very slowly. This is harder than taking off fast.

Also, if you have trouble with rolling back on hills while you move your foot from the brake to the accelerator, use the park brake to hold the car on the slope. When you're ready to drive, just ease the park brake as you start moving forward.

[Real Pol]

Bit of revs and let the clutch out slow.

I had problems when I first drove an automatic. It had 5 different settings; 1, 2, D, P and R. I knew P was park and R was reverse, but in my "I've just been travelling for most of a day" state I couldn't work out which one you put it in to make it go forward. I decided "1" would be the obvious choice. 2 days later after zooming around LA on freeways going at 75mph I decided to ask a girl. I found out that 1 was similar to a manual first gear and used for quick take offs, (I just thought we'd hired a crap American car and thats why it was screaming at me).

Far too complicated!!

[tomcat360]

Hehe, 75 in first? I'm simply assuming you were redlining the engine Reaaallll healthy

I love manuals, although I have an auto (take what you can get!)

I started driving with a big ol' diesel (F-750s and stuff) so it was kinda a change going to a little car. With the big stuff you really only need to use the clutch starting in first, and then after that you can just bump it out into neutral, and then match your revs and get into the next gear. Or you can use the clutch.

[chickentendah]

If you practice enough on your manual tranny car, you'll feel confident in knowing where exactly the clutch "catches." Be sure to wear the same set of shoes each time when learning so as not to get confused. A half a centimeter difference of clutch pedal travel makes a big difference in some cars. You'll notice if you switch from shoes to sandals.

If you just practice in a FLAT parking lot, you can practice getting the car to creep every so slowly with ONLY the clutch pedal. There shouldn't be any shuddering if you're doing it just right. If you try to learn how to add in the gas without learning clutch pedal control properly, you'll only end up slipping and thus eating up more clutch disc than necessary. If the terrain has a substantial incline, then yes you'll definitely get shuddering when starting from a complete stop without adding some gas.

I would stay away from incline starts if you're not up to the task yet. A one second mistake could mean rear-ending the car behind you

[Stone Fox]

75mph in 1st gear.... ?

[RJD]

You should, on flat ground, be able to start off with no accelerator/gas with enough clutch control.

Treat the clutch gently for best response when starting off, use enough revs (but not to many, usualy 1500 is ok), adjust for conditions (less for staring downhill etc).

Remember on downshifting to match engine revs to speed for the gear. Do this by slowly lifting the clutch, or, heal/toe or blip the throttle a little.

Also when traveling very slowly, in 1st or 2nd, remember you can dip the clutch to do a 'rolling start' to make low speed acceleration smoother.

[Real Pol]

75mph in 1st gear.... ?

Maybe my speed got carried away in the story, it was a few years ago.

I was going so fast the speedo was pealing off the dashboard soapbox style (or boggy as we called them here).

Come to think of it, would this even reach the dizzy hights of 75mph!?!

[RJD]

75kph possibly...

[tomcat360]

Haha, nice vehicle.

I'd give it 35 in first max.