Manual transmission

[RouteAbel]

So you are saying I can slowly let the clutch out all the way (I know what you mean by bite and it start creeping but...) and then give it gas? I stall when I try that. If no gas, no go.


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I can confirm. When I let out my clutch in 1st gear with no throttle the car moves as at creep and does not stall.

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[PonyGrrrl]

So you are saying I can slowly let the clutch out all the way (I know what you mean by bite and it start creeping but...) and then give it gas? I stall when I try that. If no gas, no go.


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Then you're not letting the clutch out easy enough.


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[whysoblu]

Wow. I need to try this. Thanks guys! I'll report back. I'm new to this and learning myself.


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[GT Pony]

Need to give a little gas at the same time as the clutch is becoming engaged. That's the right way to do it so you can engage the clutch quickly and not allow it to slip too much. If you try to engage the clutch with no gas at the same time, you'll have to slip the clutch more to prevent engine stalling. It's a "coordination dance" between clutch pedal and gas pedal.

 

[fionic]

So you are saying I can slowly let the clutch out all the way (I know what you mean by bite and it start creeping but...) and then give it gas? I stall when I try that. If no gas, no go.


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you're doing something wrong.

I can leave my foot completely off the gas, then slowly let the clutch out. The car will start moving forward and you keep slowly letting the clutch out til you're in 1 and moving forward. No throttle necessary.

I'm not saying this should be a normal way of driving. Just a method of practicing clutch engagement.

 

[ManBearPig]

Buying a beater to learn on is a really, really good idea. That said.....3 of my 4 cars are standards and it takes some effort to be able to drive each smoothly after being in the last. Every car/truck will have a different pedal feel and different "Rythm" required to drive smoothly. Once you get the hang of it, it's probably best to avoid switching between it and another standard trans equipped car.

 

[Stormtrooper5.0]

Yes watch all the videos you can on how to drive a stick because we don't want you ruining your clutch and transmission. Best thing to do if find someone who has a manual and ask if you can practice just for a few hours on the car.

Other than that the Mustang is a pretty easy feel when shifting. The clutch pedal is a bit low so that may be an issue (even tall people reported the same annoyance). I've driven a Mazdaspeed3 and that has a very violent shifting feel.
Key things to remember though:
1) Do not ride the clutch.
2) Don't slip the clutch
3) If you smell something... you are doing bad things... stop immediately, take a breath, drink a mountain dew, and be good manual transmission
4) This ain't automatic, there is a process to everything...braking, turning, accelerating. Remember that now...you are using all feet and all hands.

Once you get it down you will love it as it brings a whole new perspective to your driving experience. You will learn to truly appreciate your car as now you are in total control of it. You will also feel cool because not a lot of folks know how to drive a MT. You may even impress the chicks as well, and that’s very cool.

 

[dogiebitt]

1. Accept that you will probably put 10000 miles of wear on your clutch in the first 1000 miles of ownership.
2. Have the sales guy take you to a nearby empty parking lot and show you how to do it. Then you get behind the wheel and learn to creep in first gear, then shift to second. (3rd and up is easy... its the 1-2-3 that's challenging).
3. Like others have said, if you slowly let out on the clutch without touching the gas (and without pressing brake at all) it will slowly engage and creep forward. Biggest mistake here is to not all of the sudden let off the clutch all the way once you feel it start creeping. When you feel it engage, keep up the same momentum of letting out on the clutch like you were doing. If you let off slow-slow-slow-engage-suddenly liftoff pedal, you'll jerk and stall. Keep it smooth.
4. Shifting 1 to 2 can be jerky. The clutch assist spring makes the clutch feel very artificial (can't feel engagement point very well because as you're letting out on the clutch, it wants to let up very fast towards the top of the pedal travel). For now, easiest way not to jerk when doing the 1-2 is in first, go up to 3000 RPM then clutch-in, shift, then >clutch-out and slowly ease onto gas< at same time. Reason for going to 3000 is by the time you clutch in and shift, RPMs will have dropped to about 2000 which is where 2nd won't jerk too much. Any lower than 2000 and you'll probably feel a little jerking (ok at first, while you're getting the feel for it, but bad for clutch in long run).
5. Biggest thing is, don't get nervous. Being nervous will make you mess up more which will make you more nervous.

I bought my car with about 30-45 minutes of practice in a manual 2 years prior, and then drove it home over 2 hours away. Stalled it about 15 times at one intersection (right hand turn lane at a light at rush hour traffic). Ignore everyone around you, focus on what you need to do, and do it.

Oh and then find a huge parking lot, and practice after 10 or 11 pm for a few hours every night until you get it. Force yourself to take the car out when traffic is light to learn. I got the car on August 24th... it now has 1990 miles on it and it's been 10 weeks. I feel like I can comfortably drive it without frying my clutch.

 

[ForTehNguyen]

I don't get how people are saying let the foot completely off the clutch in first and then give it gas. As someone learning how to drive manual on a '15 GT (me), if you don't give it any gas before letting go of the clutch completely, it will stall.


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i can let off the clutch lightly in 1st with zero throttle, it revs to 1k and creeps along in traffic

because V8

 

[Lowrider]

You have enough time to go to a driving school and learn how to drive a manual...as much as you are nervous now, I would not risk driving it off the lot as your first encounter. Better safe than sorry. And also if you do start driving it, use normal mode or snow mode for a smooth power and less aggressive behavior that you will encounter in sport mode.

 

[LETHAL]

Make sure you know which is 1st and which is 3rd. They are close and it is very easy to be in third on take off.

 

[GT Pony]

Make sure you know which is 1st and which is 3rd. They are close and it is very easy to be in third on take off.

Speaking of that, if it was me I'd sit in the parking lot for30 minutes just playing with the shifter to get familiar with the gates and the centering spring.

Don't want to do a 5th to 2nd mis-shift at highway speeds ... probably will blow the clutch up as a few here have done.

 

[jasonstang]

Speaking of that, if it was me I'd sit in the parking lot for30 minutes just playing with the shifter to get familiar with the gates and the centering spring.

Don't want to do a 5th to 2nd mis-shift at highway speeds ... probably will blow the clutch up as a few here have done.

Or say bye bye to the engine.
Don't be this guy.
[ame]

 

[ManBearPig]

Speaking of that, if it was me I'd sit in the parking lot for30 minutes just playing with the shifter to get familiar with the gates and the centering spring.

Don't want to do a 5th to 2nd mis-shift at highway speeds ... probably will blow the clutch up as a few here have done.

This. The GT shift pattern is a little bit (major understatement) tighter than that of my F350 that I'm used to....I've tried to take off in 3rd a time or two, as well as accidentally upshifting 1-2-3-4-5-4.

 

[Norm Peterson]

. . . Now the clutch is not just a switch, it has the ability to gradually let force being transmitted to the transmission for occasions like moving the car from standing still.
Now before you get on the road, feel the biting point on the pedal.

That right there is it in a nutshell. Especially in the beginning, it's all about 'feel'.

And when you do give it some gas in the lower gears, think "squeezed, not stomped". Even though peak torque occurs at much higher revs than you'll be using in the beginning, there's plenty available from only a little above idle to get going smoothly.

EFI systems have been incorporating "stall-saver" algorithms since the beginning (so that suddenly increased alternator and/or A/C loads don't kill the engine at a stop light). Maybe this is the "creep mode" that people have mentioned earlier.

Start the engine, press the clutch, put in 1st gear. Slowly let out the clutch until you can hear the engine vibration and the car wanting to move. Press down the clutch again, and slowly let out again a couple of times to get the feel. Next step is slowly let out the clutch till the car starts to move, keep it there and until you can feel the car is not getting any faster, let out the clutch completely without stalling the car. This allow you to feel when it's fully engaged.

This is exactly what my son had his oldest daughter do when she was learning how to drive stick. I should perhaps mention that the first car she ever in her life drove was almost certainly a manual transmission car. I know this because her earliest driving coaches would have been either my son or myself, and we'd have been using one or another of my cars.


Norm

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