anyone want to explain how to drive manual thoroughly?
05-28-2006, 10:19 PM
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anyone want to explain how to drive manual thoroughly?
lol dont judge me..a friend asked me to explain and its hard for me to explain, although i already told him some stuff..just seeing if anyone can explain it thoroughly and easily...from first gear and reverse..to power shift and launching.....any input is appreciated
05-29-2006, 01:41 AM
#2
There is no short answer to teach someone how to drive a manual properly.
The best thing to do is go out and practice, and if you have any problems or questions, ask someone who knows.
You have the internet just like I do. google.com is your friend.
The best thing to do is go out and practice, and if you have any problems or questions, ask someone who knows.
You have the internet just like I do. google.com is your friend.
05-29-2006, 02:10 AM
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Originally Posted by kourosH
lol dont judge me..a friend asked me to explain and its hard for me to explain, although i already told him some stuff..just seeing if anyone can explain it thoroughly and easily...from first gear and reverse..to power shift and launching.....any input is appreciated
I'd also recommend taking maybe 2 hours of driver's school, it's much less costly than a new clutch kit.
05-29-2006, 05:17 AM
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A website I used to work on my ability to drive manual was: http://www.standardshift.com/
There are some nice guys over there that are always helping people new to driving stick.
There are some nice guys over there that are always helping people new to driving stick.
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05-30-2006, 09:19 PM
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Originally Posted by kourosH
lol dont judge me..a friend asked me to explain and its hard for me to explain, although i already told him some stuff..just seeing if anyone can explain it thoroughly and easily...from first gear and reverse..to power shift and launching.....any input is appreciated
05-30-2006, 10:03 PM
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Someone sticky this..
Information taken from Standardshift.com
Starting the Car
Once you are in a comfortable seating position and are familiar with the location of the clutch and shift pattern, double-check to make sure the parking brake (lever just to the right of the driver's seat) is set and put the car into neutral by pushing down the clutch and putting the stick into neutral . You will be able to move the gearshift back in forth through its whole horizontal movement while you are in neutral, something you can notice in a couple of fairly recent VW commercials.
Push the clutch to the floor again, and start the car. Even though the engine will run in neutral, modern cars have a lockout disabling the ability to start the car unless the clutch is fully depressed. Once the car is started, let the clutch up slowly, just to make sure the car really isn't in gear.
Being on a flat surface, you can go ahead and release the parking brake at this point; there's no need to have your right foot on the brake like you normally would on the road. Now the fun begins, and opinions diverge!
Get Moving!
The method that has been most successful here at Standardshift has been the no-gas method. Not using the gas pedal at all while engaging the clutch in first gear seems to help people clue in more quickly to the friction point of the clutch, the all important point in which most of the engine power goes from idling freely to transferring through the transmission and then to the wheels. This varies from car to car. The friction point can be felt with the car starts moving, and engine RPMs drop usually along with the noise of the engine. This is also the point that many beginners let the clutch out too quickly, resulting in the engine lugging and the car bucking. Don't worry, at such a slow speed, no serious damage will occur to the car, just a nick to your pride.
Congratulations! You just did the toughest part of driving a manual, starting from a standing stop!
Practice this a few times until you can smoothly get the car moving without the car lugging and without touching the gas pedal.
Going Faster...
The next step is to add the gas pedal to the equation, allowing you to start from a stop at a normal rate of speed. Doing the same thing as you did before with your left foot on the clutch, when you start reaching the friction point, gently apply some gas will allow you to release the clutch more quickly until it is fully engaged. The faster you apply the gas, the faster you can release the clutch. To switch out of 1st into 2nd and to any higher gear, just hit the clutch and get smoothly on the gas as you release the clutch. You can let out the clutch very quickly in comparison to first gear, since the wheels are moving already. As for when to shift, most if not all car manuals give the recommended shift points. Most cars also have tachometers, revving within one thousand RPM to the redline and then quickly shifting into the next gear usually garners the best performance, while the best economy can be had by shifting at 3K RPM or 15 mph per gear. Best bet is to ask the individual helping you or asking others who drive the particular type of car in person or online as to what works best with your particular vehicle.
Parking Brake
A habit that one needs to get used to is always to set the parking brake when parking, especially on hills. Unlike automatics, there is no locked parking position with a manual transmission, only the internal friction of the non-running motor. Make sure you set the parking brake first and let up on the brakes to make sure it is engaged fully, then leave the gearshift in reverse or 1st.
Downshifting
You'll want to downshift when heading down a steep slope to reduce riding the brakes or when greater acceleration is needed. Downshifting is much like upshifting: off the gas, press the clutch and move to a lower gear and get back on the gas as you let out the clutch. Getting back on the gas quickly is important since downshifting and not touching the gas will slow the car down as the engine compression fights the turning of the wheels ,which is what you want while going down a hill but not when you need to pass somebody. If you are already revving high in your current gear, downshifting may spin the motor beyond its rev limit, and you might throw belts or worse, throw a rod or valve which means it would be time for a major overhaul or engine replacement.
Stopping
Downshifting without touching the brakes to stop is not recommended, the person behind you babbling on the phone might not notice you without your brake lights on, especially at night. You can stay in your current gear down to around 5-15 mph quite easily; at that point, put the car in neutral and use the brakes to come to a complete stop or you can downshift and apply the brakes as well. Downshifting into first is not recommended. For safety reasons, you shouldn't keep the gar in gear while waiting at a light. If a car hits you from behind, you foot will be off the clutch, which means your car would jump forward and possibly end up in the middle of an intersection.
Starting on a Hill
If there's one thing other than stalling the car in the middle of traffic that scares a newbie, it's starting from a stop on a hill. Make sure you are comfortable with flat terrain before attempting an incline, and it is best to start with a minimal slope that will allow the car to roll backwards slowly if in neutral. The key to learning how to start on a hill is the parking brake. It will allow you to remain in place and not roll backwards while you practice reaching the friction point quickly. And quickly is the key for starting on a hill to prevent rolling backwards. With the parking brake fully set, practice quickly releasing the clutch until the friction point is reached and then back off. Next, quickly reach the friction point and then partially release the parking brake as you give the car gas and release the clutch some more. The idea is to give the car just enough power to overcome the brake and gravity, which will allow you start smoothly without rolling back. As you get better, you will be able to reduce the amount and time that the parking brake is set, until you won't need it at all.
Advanced Techniques:
Double-Clutching
Truck transmissions don't have synchromesh gears which allow you to shift even if the input and output shafts are rotating at a different speed. For a truck, you need to match speed with what the engine and wheels are doing. Shifting for truckers is a two-step process. Hit the clutch and put the transmission in neutral. You then quickly tap the accelerator to match engine revs with what the wheels are doing, hit the clutch and put it in gear. You can use this method to see how smoothly you are shifting normally, and helps you learn how to rev match. The benefits of rev matching include smoother transitions between gears, especially on downshifts as well as reducing the wear and tear on the synchromesh gears themselves.
Heel-and-toe
Heel-and-toe: One of the great advantages of a manual is that you can anticipate a corner or hill and shift into the correct gear before slowing down or hitting the gas. In racing conditions, this happens very quickly, along with the need to brake hard and getting back on the gas very quickly. So quickly in fact, the sequence of pushing the clutch, shifting to a lower gear, braking, then getting back on the gas as you release the clutch is impossible. Even if you could, the weight transfer forward while quickly downshifting would probably upset the balance of the car. This is where heel-and-toeing comes it. It means that while you are braking you need to operate the clutch and the gas to rev match as you downshift, resulting in a smooth transition that doesn't unsettle the car and provides the right gear for acceleration out of the corner. Three pedals and two feet, hmmm... The way it is done is the left foot is used for the clutch, while the right foot spans both the brake and gas pedal, classically with toe on the brake and heel on the gas. This technique requires quite a bit of experience, and practicing how to double-clutch first would help.
Information taken from Standardshift.com
Starting the Car
Once you are in a comfortable seating position and are familiar with the location of the clutch and shift pattern, double-check to make sure the parking brake (lever just to the right of the driver's seat) is set and put the car into neutral by pushing down the clutch and putting the stick into neutral . You will be able to move the gearshift back in forth through its whole horizontal movement while you are in neutral, something you can notice in a couple of fairly recent VW commercials.
Push the clutch to the floor again, and start the car. Even though the engine will run in neutral, modern cars have a lockout disabling the ability to start the car unless the clutch is fully depressed. Once the car is started, let the clutch up slowly, just to make sure the car really isn't in gear.
Being on a flat surface, you can go ahead and release the parking brake at this point; there's no need to have your right foot on the brake like you normally would on the road. Now the fun begins, and opinions diverge!
Get Moving!
The method that has been most successful here at Standardshift has been the no-gas method. Not using the gas pedal at all while engaging the clutch in first gear seems to help people clue in more quickly to the friction point of the clutch, the all important point in which most of the engine power goes from idling freely to transferring through the transmission and then to the wheels. This varies from car to car. The friction point can be felt with the car starts moving, and engine RPMs drop usually along with the noise of the engine. This is also the point that many beginners let the clutch out too quickly, resulting in the engine lugging and the car bucking. Don't worry, at such a slow speed, no serious damage will occur to the car, just a nick to your pride.
Congratulations! You just did the toughest part of driving a manual, starting from a standing stop!
Practice this a few times until you can smoothly get the car moving without the car lugging and without touching the gas pedal.
Going Faster...
The next step is to add the gas pedal to the equation, allowing you to start from a stop at a normal rate of speed. Doing the same thing as you did before with your left foot on the clutch, when you start reaching the friction point, gently apply some gas will allow you to release the clutch more quickly until it is fully engaged. The faster you apply the gas, the faster you can release the clutch. To switch out of 1st into 2nd and to any higher gear, just hit the clutch and get smoothly on the gas as you release the clutch. You can let out the clutch very quickly in comparison to first gear, since the wheels are moving already. As for when to shift, most if not all car manuals give the recommended shift points. Most cars also have tachometers, revving within one thousand RPM to the redline and then quickly shifting into the next gear usually garners the best performance, while the best economy can be had by shifting at 3K RPM or 15 mph per gear. Best bet is to ask the individual helping you or asking others who drive the particular type of car in person or online as to what works best with your particular vehicle.
Parking Brake
A habit that one needs to get used to is always to set the parking brake when parking, especially on hills. Unlike automatics, there is no locked parking position with a manual transmission, only the internal friction of the non-running motor. Make sure you set the parking brake first and let up on the brakes to make sure it is engaged fully, then leave the gearshift in reverse or 1st.
Downshifting
You'll want to downshift when heading down a steep slope to reduce riding the brakes or when greater acceleration is needed. Downshifting is much like upshifting: off the gas, press the clutch and move to a lower gear and get back on the gas as you let out the clutch. Getting back on the gas quickly is important since downshifting and not touching the gas will slow the car down as the engine compression fights the turning of the wheels ,which is what you want while going down a hill but not when you need to pass somebody. If you are already revving high in your current gear, downshifting may spin the motor beyond its rev limit, and you might throw belts or worse, throw a rod or valve which means it would be time for a major overhaul or engine replacement.
Stopping
Downshifting without touching the brakes to stop is not recommended, the person behind you babbling on the phone might not notice you without your brake lights on, especially at night. You can stay in your current gear down to around 5-15 mph quite easily; at that point, put the car in neutral and use the brakes to come to a complete stop or you can downshift and apply the brakes as well. Downshifting into first is not recommended. For safety reasons, you shouldn't keep the gar in gear while waiting at a light. If a car hits you from behind, you foot will be off the clutch, which means your car would jump forward and possibly end up in the middle of an intersection.
Starting on a Hill
If there's one thing other than stalling the car in the middle of traffic that scares a newbie, it's starting from a stop on a hill. Make sure you are comfortable with flat terrain before attempting an incline, and it is best to start with a minimal slope that will allow the car to roll backwards slowly if in neutral. The key to learning how to start on a hill is the parking brake. It will allow you to remain in place and not roll backwards while you practice reaching the friction point quickly. And quickly is the key for starting on a hill to prevent rolling backwards. With the parking brake fully set, practice quickly releasing the clutch until the friction point is reached and then back off. Next, quickly reach the friction point and then partially release the parking brake as you give the car gas and release the clutch some more. The idea is to give the car just enough power to overcome the brake and gravity, which will allow you start smoothly without rolling back. As you get better, you will be able to reduce the amount and time that the parking brake is set, until you won't need it at all.
Advanced Techniques:
Double-Clutching
Truck transmissions don't have synchromesh gears which allow you to shift even if the input and output shafts are rotating at a different speed. For a truck, you need to match speed with what the engine and wheels are doing. Shifting for truckers is a two-step process. Hit the clutch and put the transmission in neutral. You then quickly tap the accelerator to match engine revs with what the wheels are doing, hit the clutch and put it in gear. You can use this method to see how smoothly you are shifting normally, and helps you learn how to rev match. The benefits of rev matching include smoother transitions between gears, especially on downshifts as well as reducing the wear and tear on the synchromesh gears themselves.
Heel-and-toe
Heel-and-toe: One of the great advantages of a manual is that you can anticipate a corner or hill and shift into the correct gear before slowing down or hitting the gas. In racing conditions, this happens very quickly, along with the need to brake hard and getting back on the gas very quickly. So quickly in fact, the sequence of pushing the clutch, shifting to a lower gear, braking, then getting back on the gas as you release the clutch is impossible. Even if you could, the weight transfer forward while quickly downshifting would probably upset the balance of the car. This is where heel-and-toeing comes it. It means that while you are braking you need to operate the clutch and the gas to rev match as you downshift, resulting in a smooth transition that doesn't unsettle the car and provides the right gear for acceleration out of the corner. Three pedals and two feet, hmmm... The way it is done is the left foot is used for the clutch, while the right foot spans both the brake and gas pedal, classically with toe on the brake and heel on the gas. This technique requires quite a bit of experience, and practicing how to double-clutch first would help.
05-30-2006, 10:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Ruining
Hey, just like riding an R1! I never knew that!
you dont even need to rev it that high to get 12 o'clock on that damn thing..thats gonna be my next bike!
05-31-2006, 07:15 PM
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Originally Posted by davidv
+1. This technical talk is frivolous. Get out there and drive.
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