Manual Driving Advice

[syasar]

So I have had my stick shift car for about 4 months now. I never knew how to drive stick till the day I bought the car, it was a dicely ride home.

Im still no expert nor even very good at it, I jerk the car often still stall form time to time. My passengers dont have a confortable drive with me. But i can drive around with not other problem then perhaps a jerky drive.

But seen I am still learning I would like to kill any bad habit that I might getting used to, im going to list things I do that feel im doing wrong, I dont want to do things that would burn my clutch.

1. When I am at a light specially if I am at the front. I wait till the light turn amber. I put the car in gear and hold the biting point and hold the brake, till the light goes green. I do this because Im scared of stalling and Im really slow when I coming out of a stop. Should I be practising letting the clutch out slowly at green and adding gas at the same time, im really slow at that or I spin out the wheels if the pressure is on i try to do it fast.

2. When Im at a left turn, right turn i told the clutch at the biting point and feather the brake inch foward, as I might have to turn really fast and again im afraid of stalling.

3. When I pull into a parking space, I push the clutch in completely and roll into the parking space, neutral whn Im in.

4. When I have to go really slow or driving reverse I use the biting point and feather with brake on and of to control speed. Like in stop and go traffic I let the cultch out to the biting point or let it out really slow all the way. I really only move when there i about a half a car length or a full length room in front of me. I never add any gas. And put it in neutral when im stopped.

5. The worst of all, on hill (there one near my house i alway have to wait on at a light). I get really worried that my car is gonna roll or stall. So I hold at the biting point and hold the brakes till it goes amber to green. The car always shake near stalling, give it gas usually help ease that and get be through it. I just might need more pratice on this one.

Alright so basically I worried about me holding the biting point to long for all these scenarios. I tend to use the binding point alot. I never rest my leg on the clutch while im driving or at a complete stop, i know that much. Given that im really slow, I tend to keep my foot on the clutch during i guess you can call transitions for what feels like an unessescary amount of time. So how can I improve, is there anything Im doing particular wrong and should stop doing. Also these are the things I think Im doing wrong, feel free to quiz me on things I might be doing wrong, that I dont even know about.

I have driven a automatic for a long time and there are some habit that you cant really translate when driving stick. So i been kinda hard judging right from wrong given I have had no one but youtube and the internet teaching me haha. Any help would be appericated.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

[2012mazda3hatch]

You just have to find that sweet spot where you can hold your spot in place without rolling back, or driving forward on a hill. That is your sweet spot, if you give it more gas and disengage the clutch later your RPM's will be higher, but I guess thas better than not giving it enough gas and stalling it. Just practice stayin in the same spot on a hill, giving it enough gas to not roll back but not too much to make t go forward.

[Derek195]

Take your time. Practice more when you have free time, a parking lot is good cause no traffic to honk at you. Just practice practice practice, you’ll get a hang of it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bpsmicro]

Experiment with, and perfect using the parking brake as your "Hill Hold". It takes a bit of practice to get right, but once you master it you can keep one foot on the clutch, one on the gas, and use your brake lever to hold you in place. That's how most of the automated "hill hold" options work.
Many veterans will tell you that brakes are a heck of a lot cheaper to service/repair/replace than clutches. :-)

Brad.

[gta_driver]

Don't be practicing so many clutch holds - you'll be burning out your clutch. You should only be engaging the clutch when you are ready to move - not waiting for the light to switch, not using it to prevent rolling backwards on a hill. The clutch should either be disengaged, or engaged, or in the process of either, never letting it sit in between prolongedly.

You can totally inch forward or reverse backwards using only the clutch, if you're careful, and practice doing this WITHOUT the use of the gas pedal, and do it until it is smooth. Practice in a parking lot. Then practice the same by adding a little bit of gas. If the vehicle is moving too fast, then don't let the clutch out fully - practice balancing good engine RPM speed (without revving too high), and use the clutch pedal to modulate how fast or slow your vehicle moves. Very useful when parallel parking in tight spaces.

When turning left and waiting at the intersection, the car should be in gear, but the clutch pedal depressed fully with your left foot. Your right foot is on the brake pedal. When it's time to move, you engage as you normally would - right foot to the gas pedal and left foot releases the clutch - practice until you can do this within 1 sec period and smoothly.

Uphill - once you're experienced enough, you won't need to use anything except the three pedals, but for now, keep using the handbrake. Do NOT ride the clutch. It's just a bad idea, and overall incorrect practice.

Those are some tips - it can take about a year of daily driving to start getting comfortable with the manual transmission, and actually more than that to get quite good at it in city traffic.

[Kiewan]

+1 don't ride the clutch/ hold the clutch on a hit. That back and forth motion is not good for the clutch.

+1 keep it in gear at a left turn with the clutch to the floor. You need to be in gear and ready to turn.

A good idea, even if it sounds funny is make sure you have good driving shoes.

[syasar]

Guys sorry for the late response, i dont get notification properly sometimes. Thanks for all the good tip, i take them all in when im driving.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

[SomeGuy]

4 months and you're still having trouble? It should only take a couple weeks to get comfortable and then a month or two to be decently smooth most of the time. Everyone I've ever known to learn manual has fit into that pattern.

You really need to drop all the bad habits and go drive with someone who knows how to drive manual to instruct you on what you should and shouldn't do. All those times holding the clutch at it's engagement point without letting out fully is not only wearing the clutch but also making you a worse driver. You need to have the muscle memory of the bite point that you can do it quickly without thinking.

[syasar]

4 months and you're still having trouble? It should only take a couple weeks to get comfortable and then a month or two to be decently smooth most of the time. Everyone I've ever known to learn manual has fit into that pattern.

You really need to drop all the bad habits and go drive with someone who knows how to drive manual to instruct you on what you should and shouldn't do. All those times holding the clutch at it's engagement point without letting out fully is not only wearing the clutch but also making you a worse driver. You need to have the muscle memory of the bite point that you can do it quickly without thinking.

Well to be fair, im not really having that much trouble getting around, i drive comfortable, at some i might let oit the culcth alittle early or get really close to stallinng form a head stop. However since I have absolutely no one to guide me, I didnt want to get confortable driving with bad habit. I had a feeling some of the things i was doing was bad. And I needed that to be validated and it has been. And yea it would be great if I had someone to show me, i have had to teach myself since I got the car it been diffcult. I just dont know anyone and some poeple I do know drive stick are very busy, like myself. I hopefully will get better and seek help if I can.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

[SomeGuy]

Where are you from? There are plenty of experienced manual drivers on this site that I'm sure would be happy to spend an hour helping you out.

[syasar]

Where are you from? There are plenty of experienced manual drivers on this site that I'm sure would be happy to spend an hour helping you out.

Im in mississauga.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

[Kiewan]

I'm in Toronto if you need any help. The Congress centre at 401&Dixon has a huge always empty parking lot if you want some tips.

[syasar]

I'm in Toronto if you need any help. The Congress centre at 401&Dixon has a huge always empty parking lot if you want some tips.

Thanks alot, i will hold you to that offer someday.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

[Flagrum_3]

@syasar -There's a shitload of videos on YouTube on standard vehicle driving tips, which could help you out. You need to learn the proper method before practicing or else you'll just get bad habits, such as holding the clutch on an upslope being one.


_3

[syasar]

@syasar -There's a shitload of videos on YouTube on standard vehicle driving tips, which could help you out. You need to learn the proper method before practicing or else you'll just get bad habits, such as holding the clutch on an upslope being one.


_3

Yea for sure, i literally watched all of them. It my ease of actually doing the proper method is what is lacking. Im not sure if everyone has understood me but when i said i held the cultch at a hill. I didnt mean that I held the clucth to hold me up on hill. I would use the brakes, the issue is balancing the cultch and gas in order for me to go smoothly. Im really slow when i say i hold the clucth at the biting point in mean i already so moving however I have trouble balancing the gas and the clucth to move smoothly, i think the handbrake method would be better to utilize, but i have yet to try it. There are very few hill in mississuga, this isnt something that happens all the time.

But rest assure im not using the clucth to hold myself up. I guess what I should be asking is weather or not I should be adding gas before I reach the biting point or do i start after biting point. Not just on hill but in general.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

[Flagrum_3]

Yea for sure, i literally watched all of them. It my ease of actually doing the proper method is what is lacking. Im not sure if everyone has understood me but when i said i held the cultch at a hill. I didnt mean that I held the clucth to hold me up on hill. I would use the brakes, the issue is balancing the cultch and gas in order for me to go smoothly. Im really slow when i say i hold the clucth at the biting point in mean i already so moving however I have trouble balancing the gas and the clucth to move smoothly, i think the handbrake method would be better to utilize, but i have yet to try it. There are very few hill in mississuga, this isnt something that happens all the time.

But rest assure im not using the clucth to hold myself up. I guess what I should be asking is weather or not I should be adding gas before I reach the biting point or do i start after biting point. Not just on hill but in general.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

I found the more you think about it, the worse you'll do...

If I'm on a steep incline, I'll blip the throttle just I start dropping the clutch, when it starts to launch/grab, I'll give it smooth throttle again. As you practice this you'll get smoother and faster to the point you don't even think about it anymore.


_3

[bpsmicro]

When you decide you want to take it to the next level, look around for AutoCross (aka Autoslalom) opportunities in the Toronto area. There are a couple of clubs that run events through the year (though the season's likely over for 2017). You don't want to try to be "competitive" early on, just observe, ride with some experienced drivers in their car, and you'll even find drivers willing to run shotgun when you drive; to offer pointers.
While I don't know for sure (I'm in Ottawa), one or more area clubs may even offer an AutoX school early in the summer.

Brad.

[rajin929]

A good idea, even if it sounds funny is make sure you have good driving shoes.

haha if I had a dollar for every time I almost walked into a formal event wearing a suit and running shoes.

[m_bisson]

You can totally inch forward or reverse backwards using only the clutch, if you're careful, and practice doing this WITHOUT the use of the gas pedal, and do it until it is smooth. Practice in a parking lot.

This is the best advice for learning the "feel" of the clutch.

If the parking lot is big enough, and empty, you can actually get all the way to 5th gear just by using the clutch. No gas pedal needed! I haven't tried it in a 6 speed, but you can probably get to 6th, as well.

[Milan96]

haha if I had a dollar for every time I almost walked into a formal event wearing a suit and running shoes.

Dress shoes + clutch = stall

[shift8]

Dress shoes + clutch = stall

Really? I guess it depends what kind of dress shoes you use. I have some SUPER thin dressy shoes that I use when driving around. They are pretty much just a thin flat piece of rubber that isn't much thicker than my socks. Great for feeling the pedals and heel-toe down shifting.

[S.F.W.]

Really? I guess it depends what kind of dress shoes you use. I have some SUPER thin dressy shoes that I use when driving around. They are pretty much just a thin flat piece of rubber that isn't much thicker than my socks. Great for feeling the pedals and heel-toe down shifting.

I think leather soles would slip, but rubber soles would be fine.

[shift8]

I think leather soles would slip, but rubber soles would be fine.

Maybe my idea of dress shoes isn't dressy enough but now I understand the original post heh

[syasar]

Lol guys my dress shoes have rubber, they are prob the easiest shoes to drive in tbh. I cant even continue practicing my motor just blew. Spun rod bearings

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

[gta_driver]

Leather soles on dress shoes are only slippery when you haven't worn them yet. As soon as you start walking, the smooth leather gets worn and rough.

In any case, the only time i had a problem with slippery pedals is when idiots at car detailing put armor all on the pedals to make them shiny.

Otherwise, I've driven with many varieties of shoes, even barefoot or in socks (when my brand new dress shoes were killing my feet at the end of the day).