Avoiding Bad MT habbits

[astolt12]

Hey all,

I recently purchased a 2015 GT premium PP and am loving it. It's been a little while since i drove a MT but I wanted to post how I drive/shift to see if this group can help me improve the life of my MT and get away from any bad habbits before I have to buy new equipment. Not only will this be helpful to me, but I'm sure many others coming back into the MT realm with the S550.

Currently she has 900miles on her.

Starting Out
Apply enough gas so when the clutch finally engages RPM drops 200ish (generally i am at 1200rpm at clutch bite)

Sometimes i'll start out in second if I'm coming almost to a dead stop and traffic takes off (2-10mph).

Upshifting

I've never "race shifted" as i don't feel comfortable doing that anytime soon.

I generally shift around 3,000-4,500 depressing the clutch all the way to the floor grabbing the next gear and bringing the clutch out fast, but not dumping it. Generally the RPM stays within 500 of that previous gear

Occasionally the car will jerk slightly/thud as if it matching RPMs (not missing gears or chirping tires) is there something I am missing on this concept with the MT-82s such as rev matching on a upshift?

Hand position
1>2 - Hand on top favoring the right side pulling back and toward me.
2>3 - hand on top favoring left side pushing forward, stopping in nuetral briefly to line up for the 3rd gear slot straightly and engaging 3rd
3>4 - hand on top, slight favor to the left side pulling staight back.
4>5 - same as 2>3
5>6 same as 3>4

Downshifting
Generally if I see a redlight ahead I’ll just flip her into neutral then pull my foot off the clutch and glide to the light. At the light/stop sign it’ll remain in neutral foot depressed until I’m read to rock.

From there I may flirt with the engagement point depending on the line of cars/sceanario giving just enough gas to roll forward opting for neutral/clutch out as much as possible.

If needing to reduce gear I will “rev match” the next lower gear...This admittingly I am not too good at yet and find myself with the clutch in taking it about 3,000 to 4,000 in neutral and then engaging it into a lower gear. Is this correct? The car doesn’t lurch but I sometimes am 500-700rpm higher than I need to be for the lower gear.

Reverse
I back into an inclined driveway with a garage at the top. At first I didn’t like the clutch all the way out because it was a rocket. So I’ve been doing the same.
- Get to the engagement point with minimal gas, just to get the car rolling.
- Hit the incline and apply a little more gas (200-300rpm more) to ascend.
- Feather clutch around the engagement point up and into the garage.
- Once inside RPM drop to just enough to scoot her along backwards on a level surface.

Looking for any advice on these techniques and criticism on how to become a better, more proficient MT driver with the MT-82s.

Thanks in advance all!

Sponsored

 

[Schu]

my god...

 

[pinero61]

My Jesus...

 

[astolt12]

My Jesus...

I take it is because I wrote a novel on something this group sees as basic?

 

[stangdan26]

Astolt - you are way overthinking this. There is no way the scenario you laid out could apply across all different scenarios you may encounter. Drive it however you feel comfortable and avoid the true "no no's" such as hill holding with the clutch, leaving your foot rested on the clutch pedal while its engaged for extended periods (highway driving), and dumping the clutch on down shifts without rev matching.

I've had 5 MT mustangs and I've driven every one like a baby at times and like I was trying to beat a lap time on the 'ring. You can't plan it out like you wrote above.

I would challenge you to up your game, get familiar with the concept of rev matching and heel toe downshifts. Once you master that the driving experience is one you'll look forward to all day.

 

[astolt12]

Astolt - you are way overthinking this. There is no way the scenario you laid out could apply across all different scenarios you may encounter. Drive it however you feel comfortable and avoid the true "no no's" such as hill holding with the clutch, leaving your foot rested on the clutch pedal while its engaged for extended periods (highway driving), and dumping the clutch on down shifts without rev matching.

I've had 5 MT mustangs and I've driven every one like a baby at times and like I was trying to beat a lap time on the 'ring. You can't plan it out like you wrote above.

I would challenge you to up your game, get familiar with the concept of rev matching and heel toe downshifts. Once you master that the driving experience is one you'll look forward to all day.

Fair feedback. I tend to overthink things, its the engineer in me. I just would hate to have the transmission go on me for doing silly things early in the life of the car...especially after reading some of these horror stories on the forum.

I appreciate the input though. More open parking lots for me - need to just get away from technical and get it programed into my left leg as mechanical.

 

[Barrel]

Just...ok.

The trans really is meant to take a substantial amount of abuse. Ford doesn't expect you to be a race car driver with precision skills to operate this car.

When upshifting: give more time to let the revs drop before letting the clutch out. You need more seat time than 900 miles to get the hang and feel of it before you get it right. When you do, there will be no jerking of the car, it's just a smooth transition.

Rev-matching: see the above. You'll need more seat time to get the pedal depression right for the amount of throttle you'll need for any given gear/speed.

A lot of driving a manual is feeling. It's why I enjoy it so much. The car becomes an extension of you and your will, you just need seat time to get it right. Just like learning to crawl, walk, run. You need to learn when to shift, how fast, when to revmatch, how much throttle to give, and then change your behvior based on road conditions and traffic and then again if you change drive modes.

Driving a manual too mechanically will just result in frustration. You're human, there will be errors made, missed shifts, letting the clutch out too quickly or not quick enough, too much throttle, not enough throttle, etc.

Enjoy the experience and feel the feedback from the car. Modify your shifting to be comfortable, stable, repeatable, and safe.

 

[AndreG]

Forget those guys, I will reply to all your questions. I'm at work so give me a few minutes. No such thing as over thinking when it comes to driving.

 

[pinero61]

I take it is because I wrote a novel on something this group sees as basic?

Not really, just more of messing with you a bit.

In reality, you are over-thinking it a bit. Just give it some time, get used to it, and you won't even have a second thought about your OP.

 

[OppoLock]

Just get used to matching wheel speed to engine speed. Improve your clutch engagement by keeping slip time to a minimum without things being jerky.

Don't overthink it though... you'll just get better with practice like anything else. It'll come naturally the more you drive it. Don't think, just do.

 

[AndreG]

Starting out: Give the gas pedal tiny little jabs, if done right the revs will hover at 1k or slightly under, start letting out the clutch and make your small "jabs" just big enough to keep the revs still even though you are accelerating, by the time the revs match your speed you can just take your foot off the clutch. This should all happen before or around 1k. I can make a video of this if it sounds confusing.

Upshifting: If you a seeing the revs move AT ALL after you let go of the clutch, you need to time your shifts better. If they drop after letting the clutch out, then you need to give it less throttle, if the revs go up then you need more throttle before letting clutch out. Remember, even on upshifts the revs have to be matched. Just pay attention to what the needle does and adjust accordingly.

Hand position: 3-9, This does not change depending on the gear you are in. When you need to shift move the hand that is on 3.

downshifting: I don't ever go to neutral unless I'm in 2nd and coming to a stop, rev matching to 1st is not worth it. Any other gear is game. Usually I just go down the gears rev matching but not braking, once I'm ready to brake I'm slow enough to go into neutral. This takes practice so just rev match in different starting revs so you get used to how much more or less you have to stab the throttle depending on your speed/gear/revs

Reverse: Sounds about right, just don't feather the clutch for more than a few seconds, imagine how hot it is getting when you're doing that. I usually think of the heat it is producing and my balls hurt, so I stop feathering, I don't like when my balls hurt.

 

[GoBlues38]

Astolt - you are way overthinking this. .

^^ what he said ^^

its a car drive it. If you kill it, start the car and try again.

 

[BobbyV]

Beware the money shift!!!!

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21159

[ame]

 

[Chameleon]

Money shift. lol

 

[4point6grey]

Beware the money shift!!!!

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21159

Lmao I watched that like 10 times you gonna scare him lol

Sponsored