HELP DRIVING STICK
05-12-2007, 02:26 AM
#33
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bergen County, New Jersey
Posts: 477
RE: HELP DRIVING STICK
There are so many people here throwing out terms, engine breaking, rev matching, powershifting... it can be confusing when you first start driving stick, especially if you do not know what it is you are doing to the car.
How stuff works helps alot, figure out exactly what it is you are doing to the car when using a manual transmission and clutch: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htmHow manual transmission and what shifting does, http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htmfor what you are doing to the car when you push down on the clutch.
As to what everyone is mentioning, all of these techniques are used to prevent excessive wear and tear on your car and its parts. While all of them are well and good in their own right, it is moderation and learning WHEN to use each technique that comes with experience. Also remember, every car and every clutch is different. They catch at different times, different pressures, and different strengths. I remember when I went from the ford explorer 5 speed I learned how to drive stick on to my mustang, the clutch felt like it was grabbing me by the ***** and slamming me into the seat because it caught so hard in relation to the soft clutch I was used to. Now, its easy for me to slip it, and I know exactly where it catches.
Take your time, and learn your car. With a stick, you are truly driving and controlling the car, and it will tell you what it likes and what it does not like you to do. Listen to the car and what it says, and you can eventually drive it like you stole it whenever you want to, or make it so a passenger can not even tell you are shifting.
Also, I throw it into neutral about a quarter mile from a stoplight and coast. Try and shed as much speed as you can as far from a stoplight as you can, less wear and tear on your car, and if it goes green, you can just pop it right into gear and keep going. Usually by the time I get to the light, I can just use a light brake to stop, but if its a downslope I will engine break as well, to hold myself from speeding up. Rev matching people seem to be making it out to be huge, all it simply is is learning to press the gas as you are letting up on the clutch, it becomes one fluid motion of one leg down one leg up, and you dont even notice it. The worst is when you let off the clutch too fast, and your right leg is already hitting the gas, and you end up in neutral taching a 5k rev [:@]. It comes with experience, and if you love driving, it wont be long before it is second nature.
P.S- Do not shift a stock mustang transmission. I never powershift mine. What I do is let off and then floor it right as my clutch is going to catch, so my RPM's never drop too much. As you get good, it is the same as a powershift, but your RPM's arent jumping into the redline area shocking the entire transmission. Your car wont bog if you do it right, and its a quasi speed quasi granny shifting kinda thing, it happens so fast you are not completely letting up off the gas.
God, its so annoying trying to explain toa person how to shift. I can see it in my mind, but there just arent words for some of the processes. Learn to not think about it, just do. You will know what is right when the time comes, young padawan.
How stuff works helps alot, figure out exactly what it is you are doing to the car when using a manual transmission and clutch: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htmHow manual transmission and what shifting does, http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htmfor what you are doing to the car when you push down on the clutch.
As to what everyone is mentioning, all of these techniques are used to prevent excessive wear and tear on your car and its parts. While all of them are well and good in their own right, it is moderation and learning WHEN to use each technique that comes with experience. Also remember, every car and every clutch is different. They catch at different times, different pressures, and different strengths. I remember when I went from the ford explorer 5 speed I learned how to drive stick on to my mustang, the clutch felt like it was grabbing me by the ***** and slamming me into the seat because it caught so hard in relation to the soft clutch I was used to. Now, its easy for me to slip it, and I know exactly where it catches.
Take your time, and learn your car. With a stick, you are truly driving and controlling the car, and it will tell you what it likes and what it does not like you to do. Listen to the car and what it says, and you can eventually drive it like you stole it whenever you want to, or make it so a passenger can not even tell you are shifting.
Also, I throw it into neutral about a quarter mile from a stoplight and coast. Try and shed as much speed as you can as far from a stoplight as you can, less wear and tear on your car, and if it goes green, you can just pop it right into gear and keep going. Usually by the time I get to the light, I can just use a light brake to stop, but if its a downslope I will engine break as well, to hold myself from speeding up. Rev matching people seem to be making it out to be huge, all it simply is is learning to press the gas as you are letting up on the clutch, it becomes one fluid motion of one leg down one leg up, and you dont even notice it. The worst is when you let off the clutch too fast, and your right leg is already hitting the gas, and you end up in neutral taching a 5k rev [:@]. It comes with experience, and if you love driving, it wont be long before it is second nature.
P.S- Do not shift a stock mustang transmission. I never powershift mine. What I do is let off and then floor it right as my clutch is going to catch, so my RPM's never drop too much. As you get good, it is the same as a powershift, but your RPM's arent jumping into the redline area shocking the entire transmission. Your car wont bog if you do it right, and its a quasi speed quasi granny shifting kinda thing, it happens so fast you are not completely letting up off the gas.
God, its so annoying trying to explain toa person how to shift. I can see it in my mind, but there just arent words for some of the processes. Learn to not think about it, just do. You will know what is right when the time comes, young padawan.
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