Bought a Bullitt, never driven manual before. Looking for advice, question in body

[cerbomark]

you won t break the car, you ll learn before then.

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[Hoofer]

Congratulations! Hope you enjoy your Bullitt!

More votes for:
1) Practice, practice, practice.
2) Buy both, the Steeda Spring with the Perch.
3) Don’t focus entirely on the clutch. It’s both clutch and gas pedal simultaneously.

 

[cth777]

you won t break the car, you ll learn before then.

Plus anything I break from bad shifting is replaceable I guess.

Congratulations! Hope you enjoy your Bullitt!

More votes for:
1) Practice, practice, practice.
2) Buy both, the Steeda Spring with the Perch.
3) Don’t focus entirely on the clutch. It’s both clutch and gas pedal simultaneously.

thanks! Gotta go get more practice in. Ordered the spring and perch

 

[Weyland-Yutani]

Yeah, just drive it and you’ll have it sorted without thinking about it much. These cars are pretty easy as manuals. (A) they have enough balls to not stall easily and (B) there’s hill assist and whatever-its-called where it gives a little tip-in throttle when you release the clutch.

The spring swap? I did, but honestly it just changes the “feel” rather than improving it. Hydraulic clutches just are what they are.

Also… pretty car! Enjoy.

 

[BigR4444]

Ordered the spring and perch

Nice... Hopefully you're a gymnast or a contortionist... it will help with the installation.

 

[NGOT8R]

Nice... Hopefully you're a gymnast or a contortionist... it will help with the installation.

Or pull the driver’s seat, lol.

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

What everyone said.

Do the spring.

I also found the best way to teach is to let the clutch out till you feel the car start to move a little and then give it gas.

manual driving is honestly one day bucking and stalling in a parking lot then

your just doing it.

takes some time. I did my trial by fire when I was 16 on a Toyota Tercel and went from there.

 

[noac]

Congrats on your purchase….respect for learning how to drive manual. I bought an 82 GT out of trailer park in 1993 and taught myself. Car had a tree limb that fell on the roof, black 15” mesh wheels, LTH with super 10’s dumped. When my mom saw it, heard me coming first, she burst into tears. I had just turned 18.

 

[V8Platty]

I think you need to develop a proper feel for the clutch before you start doing anything else. It needs to become second nature so you can then concentrate on developing a proper feel for the accelerator. That Steeda part is a good upgrade, but why not develop some clutch finesse first.

Here's how I've taught every person to either drive a manual or improve their skills on a manual.

Find that large open lot. Pick a spot where you can drive forward quite a ways. From a stop, put the car in first. Do not touch the accelerator while doing these exercises. Slowly let the clutch out until you feel the first hint of bite. Then push the clutch back in. Repeat this a few times. As you progress, you'll notice you are letting the clutch out a bit quicker and hitting that bite point. And you'll notice the bite point starts to feel more consistent.

Once you are happy with that - and not after 2 or 3 tries, but a dozen or more at least, move on to the next part.

Repeat what you have been doing, but when you hit the beginning of the clutch bite, continue slowly releasing the clutch pedal while you get a feel for the drivetrain engaging and the RPMs beginning to drop, allow for some clutch slip here. You are going to begin to move the car forward, and then, after you have a little forward movement, continue to smoothly release the clutch until your foot is off the clutch and the car is idling forward while in 1st gear.

At this time, also get in the habit of FOOT OFF THE CLUTCH except when actively in use. Do not rest your foot on the clutch. That's what your dead pedal - far left - is for. Plant your left foot there when it isn't busy clutching!

You will likely stall the car the first few times. Then, you will likely stop stalling, but begin allowing too much clutch slip for too long before full engagement. With low RPMs and low torque loading, this should not damage anything on your car. Of course, if you slip the clutch for more than a few seconds you will begin to heat things up. Pause for a few minutes and then get back to it.

And keep in mind, this is not a perfectly linear pedal release motion. At least not yet. There will be a degree of modulation required.

At some point, you will be able to consistently let off the clutch, engage with a little slippage, begin moving the car, and then let off completely in a nearly linear fashion.

Once you've got that down, you can begin to feed in a little throttle when the clutch begins to engage. Go slow at first and try to limit slippage. Once power is involved, very little slippage should be allowed. Remember - feather or slip the clutch at low RPM's, full engagement when building RPMs.

See if this learning exercise helps .

 

[First Stang]

Congrats on your purchase. Left leg muscles will eventually develop muscle memory. Keep driving it. You are well on our way.

 

[MontiCristo]

Good evening all

So, I’ve wanted to switch from my auto to a manual for a while. Finally found a nice Bullitt that had what I wanted, bought it yesterday. Never drove a stick before.

got it home fine, most of it was on the highway.

now we arrive to my problem. I really struggle releasing the clutch to the bite point consistently in any sort of timely fashion. It feels like the bite point is so high, and the pedal stiffness changes right before it. So the pedal accelerates right through the bite point and I lurch or stall. I can get going smoothly by very very slowly releasing the clutch but that’s not practical driving with other cars.

Am I crazy and this is just how all clutches are? Any tips on getting a consistent clutch release?

Also, pic for pic tax! Haha



really appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

Pepper up the gas pedal while moving through the bite point. This is a good learning trick

 

[RacerPaul]

Very nice car, congratulations Charlie
This is all very good advice
I personally would rent a car with a manual, and go out and practice all day
I've driven manuals since I was 16, and for the most part, they do all feel a little different
I installed the Steeda spring and perch in my car, easy two and a half minute job, made a huge difference
Now my wife and friends who are not used to manuals can drive the car with ease

 

[NGOT8R]

Very nice car, congratulations Charlie
This is all very good advice
I personally would rent a car with a manual, and go out and practice all day
I've driven manuals since I was 16, and for the most part, they do all feel a little different
I installed the Steeda spring and perch in my car, easy two and a half minute job, made a huge difference
Now my wife and friends who are not used to manuals can drive the car with ease

Great advice on the rental car for practicing, because if the OP burns up his clutch, it’s gonna be expensive to replace it. However, if it comes to that, I would recommend buying a better than factory clutch for the replacement.

 

[cth777]

Very nice car, congratulations Charlie
This is all very good advice
I personally would rent a car with a manual, and go out and practice all day
I've driven manuals since I was 16, and for the most part, they do all feel a little different
I installed the Steeda spring and perch in my car, easy two and a half minute job, made a huge difference
Now my wife and friends who are not used to manuals can drive the car with ease

Thanks, Paul!

Rental car is an interesting idea. I wonder if rental companies even rent out standards?

I guess I could try Turo but I’d feel bad for the host!

I was under the impression that I probably wouldn’t be doing much damage to the car by slipping the clutch at low speed, going slowly into first gear etc

 

[geep81]

Hmmm. The clutch travel just feels so not smooth, it’s hard for me to control it finely. More practice I guess

I think your leg has to practice as well for it to feel right, it's not just a clutch thing but a muscle thing too.

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