Starting in first gear

[Twenty15]

Bring the RPMs up to 4000 and let up on the clutch. You won't stall. Promise.

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[Keyser_Soze]

Hey guys this is my first manual transmission car. I've never driven one before this. Basically I watched a couple YouTube videos before I got my 15gt. I think I've been doing pretty decent. But now and then I have difficulty starting in first from a complete stop and I stall, which is pretty embarrassing. Is there any tips or advice you guys can give me? I'd really appreciate it.

You just need to feel/memorize where the clutch 'bites', which is at the top 30% of travel, give or take. Parking lot, shift to first, let clutch out slooooowly to start a roll about 20-40 times. Practice doing it a little quicker every 10 times. Then practice adding gas gradually as it bites.

Remember, if you ever start to stall, push the clutch all the way down immediately, lifting off the other pedals. This will allow you to 'restart' the process.

 

[Ferdelance]

My driving instructor always told me: 1st gear is only used to drive away from a full stop. All other low speeds while still rolling 2nd gear is what to use.

that was the same my driving instructor told me and from my experience I have to say it's true.

 

[Potrillo]

Those socks! :shocked:

 

[Potrillo]

OP, take it easy and relax a little. Learning to drive stick on a brand new, 400 lb/ft motor is daunting prospect. On one hand, the torque will allow for starting in higher gears or allow you to lug the motor a bit, on the other, 400 lb/ft of torque. :clap2:

It has been years since I drove a manual and I am getting better day by day. My shifts are getting much smoother as I learn the car and the car wears into itself.

On my car, pressing the pedal all the way down is excessive. The clutch disengages early in the range which also means that it engages late in the range. So basically, it quickly separates the motor from the transmission and then takes longer to reconnect them as I release the pedal.
It also means you can't be sloppy in releasing the pedal.

I am quite certain my last truck had the clutch engaged/disengaged much later in the range so I could sloppily release the pedal after the clutch was engaged and the truck was in gear. I am working on breaking that (bad?) habit. I can understand why a performance vehicle would have the clutch operated early in the range. It is more rapid and efficient. I am having to adjust to what is probably a much more correct way of shifting.

As far as which gear to start in, yes, you can start in 2nd. I don't recommend trying if you have the "Snow/Wet" mode engaged. The throttle response is too tame and I didn't adjust for it. The result was that I stalled. I still start in 1st for the most part. On the tollway or in traffic, if I am rolling at all, I alternate between 1st and 2nd with it really depending on my mood, the traffic around me and if I just left it in one gear or another.

In time, this will all become second nature. You are having to think through it now. Soon, you will be approaching that corner, shifting down in to second as you leave the speed steady only to rail on it as you past the apex and shifting up as you come out. Then you will look down at your speedo and say "Oh crap, 90 in 4th. I should probably ease up before the popo tell me to."

 

[Roman]

Hmm, you learn something new every day. I learned to drive stick in the early 90's on an '81 Ford Fairmont wagon that we called the Grey Ghost....on account of it's grey color.

Anyway, it had no tach, so I learned to shift by sound and feel. To this day, I never rev match when downshifting, I sort of intuitively know when to downshift without getting that massive forward lurch and sky high rpms. I didn't even know rev matching was a thing until this thread.

When I was a beginner, we had an long inclined driveway. I learned to go from full stop to 1st while negotiating the backward roll. I also lived in the country so there were no shortage of back roads in the valley to practice on.

I can't remember the clutch sticking point in that old Fairmont. I remember the clutch in my Probe GT was like warm oatmeal while the clutch in my 01 Mustang GT was much stiffer. If I recall, both had a catching point near the top of release.

To the OP, my advice is to find a quiet parking lot at night or a flat country road with plenty of view of any oncoming traffic, and practice finding the catching point with the clutch. Release very slowly and find that point where you feel it grab and want to move the car. You'll also notice a dip in rpms and the engine noise. Once you find it, try applying a bit of gas at the catching point. If you let the clutch out slowly and stall, you need more gas. If you let the clutch out slowly and hear the engine screaming and burn lots of rubber, you need less gas. If you let the clutch out too quickly, you'll lurch and jerk. You can help find that sweet spot by listening to the engine, watching the tach or both. Also, don't be too hard on yourself. We've all been there. And you're learning on a much more sophisticated and powerful car than some of us learned on.

 

[Horse]

For double-clutch heel-toe, I like the following video. Pay attention to the footwork.

[ame]

 

[Lagometer]

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

You probably won't be the only one out there, either, lol.

 

[Phlyguy]

that was the same my driving instructor told me and from my experience I have to say it's true.

Great advice from folks here on this forum. This is just my humble opinion (take it with a grain of salt) but first and foremost, your physical comfort while in the cockpit (driver's seat) is paramount. Everything from the adjustment of your rear and side mirrors, steering column, seat height and depth, lumbar adjustment, to the actual placement of your feet/heel on the floormat and clutch pedal and accelerator pedal (gas pedal) position both builds confidence and reduces fatique (and being new to a manual G/B, you're going to experience muscle fatigue in your legs from the thighs down and probably your right wrist due to anxiety alone so it's best to get comfortable beforehand). Become intimately familiar with the cockpit and without starting the vehicle, adjust everything until you can physically close your eyes and "feel" everything without stressing your extremities or feeling stress or tenseness in your arms or legs. Once you are statically "comfortable" in the cockpit, it's time to begin the lessons the folks here suggested. Happy trails!

 

[erne75]

Hey guys this is my first manual transmission car. I've never driven one before this. Basically I watched a couple YouTube videos before I got my 15gt. I think I've been doing pretty decent. But now and then I have difficulty starting in first from a complete stop and I stall, which is pretty embarrassing. Is there any tips or advice you guys can give me? I'd really appreciate it.

This is part of the learning process. Dont be embarrased. Practice makes it perfect.

First thing you need to determine is the engagement point for your clutch. This is the point where your clutch starts "kissing" the flywheel. This is the point where if you let the pedal rise a little bit more without giving gas you stall. Well, dont do that! At that point start giving it gas but try to not go over 1200 rpms. With practice you would be able to start moving with less than 1000 rpms. Being a mechanical inclined mind it helped me visualize in my mind what is going on.

I guess you are at a point where red lights at steep inclines are the bane of your existence...You now have "Hill Assist" to help you with that!

 

[erne75]

For double-clutch heel-toe, I like the following video. Pay attention to the footwork.

It was this video (or one very similar) that "taught" me how to rev match. Rev matching his down shifts is what that drivers is doing.

Double clutching is not needed with our synchronized gears. When you Double clutch (needed with unsynchronized gears) you first clutch in and move the shifter to neutral, release the clutch. Rev match using the accelerator if downshifting or let the engine rpms fall if upshifting. Clutch in, change gear, release clutch...Doing this really quick without missing a beat is way more difficult that simple Rev Matching your downshifts...

 

[MagneticXV]

what rpm should i try and stay on ?
and am i correct that 1st gear is only for 1-10mph
2nd gear up to 25mph
3rd up to 35mph
4th 50mph

 

[Tubalkayne]

what rpm should i try and stay on ?
and am i correct that 1st gear is only for 1-10mph
2nd gear up to 25mph
3rd up to 35mph
4th 50mph

:doh:

you can get to 80-85 in second gear alone. 1st has a short range of 1-10 mph The rest of them have a very wide range, you can cruise at 40 mph in 6th gear if you want but you'll need to down shift to accelerate.

 

[Tubalkayne]

that was the same my driving instructor told me and from my experience I have to say it's true.

I have scientifically proven this as my wife now has whiplash :lol:

 

[fionic]

what rpm should i try and stay on ?
and am i correct that 1st gear is only for 1-10mph
2nd gear up to 25mph
3rd up to 35mph
4th 50mph

whatever you feel like. the higher the rpm, the more gas you'll use (but it's a lot more fun).

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