Starting in first gear

[H1 GT]

When you say "letting the clutch out," does that mean pushing the pedal up or down? WHen I took a manual transmission class the teacher didn't speak English and my Spanish isn't really good enough to have been able to piece that together.

Taking your foot off the pedal.

I'd recommend watching some youtube videos, there are a lot of tutorials!

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[larze123]

I... don't understand what that means. I guess I have to take more classes; hopefully find an English-speaking instructor.

Here i'll try to be more concise. So when you downshift, its the same as normal up-shifting in the sense that you push the clutch all the way to the ground, and then shift, and then you pull your foot off the clutch, doing it slower as you nearly take your foot off the clutch. This ensures a smooth shift, with little shaking of the car. When you downshift, you do the same steps, but when you take your foot off the clutch, you want to go even slower when you near the end of the pedal because it is prone to more intense shaking when you downshift.

 

[MELLOWYELLOW06]

Midnight. Empty Mall parking lot. Practice starting from a stop. You will thank me tomorrow.

Best advice.

 

[IndustryLeech]

Once you've mastered basic manual shifting look into heel-toe shifting.

 

[larze123]

Once you've mastered basic manual shifting look into heel-toe shifting.

Does that add any extra wear and tear on things like the clutch or brakes? I told my dad about it, and he said things like "no that's terrible, don't do that it isn't good for the car." Granted, that could be due to the fact that he is talking to me, his teenage son who just recently got a brand new car. If it does cause any extra wear and tear, I would rather not do it, as I have to be insanely responsible with my car.

 

[IndustryLeech]

Does that add any extra wear and tear on things like the clutch or brakes? I told my dad about it, and he said things like "no that's terrible, don't do that it isn't good for the car." Granted, that could be due to the fact that he is talking to me, his teenage son who just recently got a brand new car. If it does cause any extra wear and tear, I would rather not do it, as I have to be insanely responsible with my car.

It's mainly used on the track for rev-matching downshifts to keep the rear end from getting loose. It might wear the clutch a bit more, but I don't know for certain.

 

[souprmage]

On an incline, when you're not comfortable, use the parking brake. It allows you to forget about the brake pedal and focus on proper gas application and clutch. As the car starts to move and put pressure against the parking brake, slowly release the parking brake to get rolling. Although, I believe the car is supposed to have hill-assist, that keeps the brakes pressed for you for a brief period (up to 2 seconds) to provide the same function without you having to worry about releasing the parking brake. But I believe it only works when on a steep enough incline.

I've tried to see if this worked on my car, and so far I've always had it roll back on me, so I'm not entirely sure how steep it has to be before it kicks in or if it has to be enabled.

The parking brake technique always works. But like anything, it takes practice to get the timing right and not stall the car. But worse case is the car stalls, instead of your car rolling back into the car behind you. Definitely something you want to practice on a country road with a slight incline, or someone's driveway.

As for starting on 2nd, it's probably best not to do that as others have said. If you stall in 1st, you'll stall in 2nd more often. I can easily start in 2nd on a flat or slightly down hill slope, but if it's uphill I prefer not to place extra stress on the clutch. The problem I have with 1st is it's really easy to get the car jumping (with 3.73 gears) if you give a little too much throttle or release the clutch too fast. But that's a different topic.

 

[souprmage]

Does that add any extra wear and tear on things like the clutch or brakes? I told my dad about it, and he said things like "no that's terrible, don't do that it isn't good for the car." Granted, that could be due to the fact that he is talking to me, his teenage son who just recently got a brand new car. If it does cause any extra wear and tear, I would rather not do it, as I have to be insanely responsible with my car.

It's an advanced technique, to allow you to brake and shift at the same time with only 2 feet and 3 pedals. The blip on the throttle is to get the revs of the engine to match the gear you're going in to. If you don't, bad things can happen. Usually, the rear tires chirp and lose traction. Worst case, your rear end gears or drive shaft end up scattered all over the pavement.

But again, an advanced technique, and ignore it until you become a professional driver. ;)

Another thing to remember. Brakes are for braking, engine is for going. It's best not to use the engine to slow the car by downshifting. Slow first, then shift, unless you learn to blip so that the engine is already at the right rpm for the new gear. ie. you don't want to change the gear, let out the clutch and have the motor go VROOOOOM to try and catch up to your speed. Because after a while, it'll go VROOOO....KA'BLOOOIE.

 

[Horse]

Rev match when downshifting should be something every stick driver should learn (in my opinion at least). As the name suggests, it matches the flywheel speed with the wheel speed at the gear you are going to get in. This makes the gear shift smooth and hence actually reduces clutch wear (if done right, of course).

 

[Horse]

For heel-n-toe, most would say that it for track use. I just want to say that it is very useful and effective in city/highway driving as well.

 

[veeATE]

Any advice on downshifting ? I've also noticed when I do the car jerks sometimes

Don't worry haha my first MT car was my 15 GT too. I basically learned it over a weekend and honestly just keep on practicing because you will get better with experience.

When you downshift, you need to estimate what RPMs the car will be at - MATCH the RPM's with your engine speed to prevent the car from jerking.

Clutch all the way in, downshift, and with your foot still all the way down on the clutch give the car gas and estimate the RPMs, then in a gradual motion release your foot off the clutch. For the purposes of learning, keep in mind that it's better to over-rev it than to under-rev, just FYI. But eventually you will be able to match the RPMs exactly where they need to be without even thinking about it. You do have to complete this entire process relatively quick to execute it successfully though. Eventually, you'll get the hang of it and it will become second nature.

On an incline, when you're not comfortable, use the parking brake. It allows you to forget about the brake pedal and focus on proper gas application and clutch. As the car starts to move and put pressure against the parking brake, slowly release the parking brake to get rolling. Although, I believe the car is supposed to have hill-assist, that keeps the brakes pressed for you for a brief period (up to 2 seconds) to provide the same function without you having to worry about releasing the parking brake. But I believe it only works when on a steep enough incline.

Hill assist is extremely helpful, 2 seconds is more than enough to get going and not worry about hitting the car behind you. Honestly, if the hill you're on is not steep enough for Hill Assist to recognize it, then you should be able to get going without rolling back enough to hit the person behind you anyway, but I've yet to encounter a hill in which Hill Assist did not kick in...

 

[fionic]

Does that add any extra wear and tear on things like the clutch or brakes? I told my dad about it, and he said things like "no that's terrible, don't do that it isn't good for the car." Granted, that could be due to the fact that he is talking to me, his teenage son who just recently got a brand new car. If it does cause any extra wear and tear, I would rather not do it, as I have to be insanely responsible with my car.

he's completely wrong. rev-matching is NOT bad for the car. no extra wear. you should always rev-match when/if downshifting.

 

[larze123]

he's completely wrong. rev-matching is NOT bad for the car.

Ok perfect thanks for the tip. If i tell him that you guys verified the legitimacy, he will be ok. So you rev-match while the clutch is all the way in?

 

[veeATE]

Ok perfect thanks for the tip. If i tell him that you guys verified the legitimacy, he will be ok. So you rev-match while the clutch is all the way in?

Rev-matching is NOT bad for the car, quite the opposite actually...

Yes, rev match while the clutch is all the way in.

 

[fionic]

Another thing to remember. Brakes are for braking, engine is for going. It's best not to use the engine to slow the car by downshifting. Slow first, then shift, unless you learn to blip so that the engine is already at the right rpm for the new gear. ie

I can't disagree with this more.

Absolutely nothing wrong with rev-matching then using the engine to brake.

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