Got BRZ, new to manual, have a few questions!

[blacksky]

Hey guys, I bought a BRZ 6MT a week ago but the thing is I am not a very good manual driver. I was hoping I can get some advice on how I can drive it better.

1) When I am in 1st/2nd in the parking lot, sometimes I have to go snail speed < 5mph and the cars starts to chug (I know it's not getting enough gas but sometimes I can't go any faster), how do I prevent this from happening?

2) When I take a corner, say I am in 4th, and I downshift to 2nd, is it okay if I hold the clutch in while I am turning? And accelerate out of the turn?

3) Can I release clutch a bit faster after 1st gear?

4) Is there an easy way to rev match? Right now I do: clutch in, change gear, rev match, slowly let clutch out + maintain gas.

[HachiEnam]

Originally Posted by blacksky

Hey guys, I bought a BRZ 6MT a week ago but the thing is I am not a very good manual driver. I was hoping I can get some advice on how I can drive it better.

1) When I am in 1st/2nd in the parking lot, sometimes I have to go snail speed < 5mph and the cars starts to chug (I know it's not getting enough gas but sometimes I can't go any faster), how do I prevent this from happening?

2) When I take a corner, say I am in 4th, and I downshift to 2nd, is it okay if I hold the clutch in while I am turning? And accelerate out of the turn?

3) Can I release clutch a bit faster after 1st gear?

4) Is there an easy way to rev match? Right now I do: clutch in, change gear, rev match, slowly let clutch out + maintain gas.

I'm no way an expert, but here are my inputs,

1) Don't chug. I normally just drive above 5 mph. If I'm going under I just clutch in and coast then gas it again if needed. (Someone chime in if what I am doing is wrong)

2) If you mean clutch in all the way and not burning it then it is okay. That is what I did when I was learning stick. Normally it is better to downshift before a turn, that way you can avoid an accident.

3) Yeah at higher gears the clutch grips quicker. It takes some getting used to.

4) Yeah that's good. I rev match while changing gears. Only hard part about rev matching is knowing how much throttle to use. But again it takes time to get used to it. Do not let your clutch out too slowly though, you will burn the clutch. Normally at higher rpms your clutch burns faster and grabs quicker.


Don't be discouraged. Just keep practicing haha. When I got my car over a year ago I regretted getting a manual, but now I'm never going back

[BigRuss]

After driving a manual for 20 years and legally for the past 10 the BRZ is not the best to learn on.
To answer the questions, 1. Stay in first in the parking lot... Ease in the clutch when it starts to bog Down and bring the revs back up.
2. Don't clutch in during the curve, change before or after the curve.
3. You can but be careful not to drag the clutch
4. Pretty much how you've been doing it

[HachiEnam]

Also, when I was learning how to rev match I would slowly raise my rpm but pushing the throttle lightly. Don't do this haha. It was distracting cause I'd catch myself staring at the tach. Best thing to do is just blip the throttle.

[asdf]

Originally Posted by blacksky

Hey guys, I bought a BRZ 6MT a week ago but the thing is I am not a very good manual driver. I was hoping I can get some advice on how I can drive it better.

1) When I am in 1st/2nd in the parking lot, sometimes I have to go snail speed < 5mph and the cars starts to chug (I know it's not getting enough gas but sometimes I can't go any faster), how do I prevent this from happening?

2) When I take a corner, say I am in 4th, and I downshift to 2nd, is it okay if I hold the clutch in while I am turning? And accelerate out of the turn?

3) Can I release clutch a bit faster after 1st gear?

4) Is there an easy way to rev match? Right now I do: clutch in, change gear, rev match, slowly let clutch out + maintain gas.

1 use the clutch
2 practice finishing your shifts down before the corner while you're still going straight
3 yes
4 gas while clutch is in and shift at the same time. Clutch in-> shift/gas blip simultaneously->clutch out

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by blacksky

Hey guys, I bought a BRZ 6MT a week ago but the thing is I am not a very good manual driver. I was hoping I can get some advice on how I can drive it better.

1) When I am in 1st/2nd in the parking lot, sometimes I have to go snail speed < 5mph and the cars starts to chug (I know it's not getting enough gas but sometimes I can't go any faster), how do I prevent this from happening?

2) When I take a corner, say I am in 4th, and I downshift to 2nd, is it okay if I hold the clutch in while I am turning? And accelerate out of the turn?

3) Can I release clutch a bit faster after 1st gear?

4) Is there an easy way to rev match? Right now I do: clutch in, change gear, rev match, slowly let clutch out + maintain gas.

1. That's called "lugging the engine." It's not good for it because it starves the top end for oil. When you can't go fast enough to keep your RPM up above 1000, just push in the clutch and coast. Engage the clutch and give it gas as necessary to keep moving, but don't lug it.

2. You'll have better control of the car if you set up your speed for the turn before you enter it so that you don't have to downshift.

3. I have no idea what that means.

4. Don't overthink it. First, you only need to rev match on downshifts. Second, you don't have to match the RPM exactly. You just need to blip the throttle up so that it's in the neighborhood of where it will be when the clutch is engaged, so that you're not using the clutch to pull the engine up to speed. If you try to hold the RPM at the level you think you need, you'll miss every time because the car will slow down too much while you're trying to find it.

It may help to think of it as using the gas pedal to toss the RPMs up to catch them on the clutch when you downshift, like tossing a ring onto a hook. As you do it, you'll get better at tossing them to the right spot. You'll miss and buck the car while you're learning, but one day it will just click for you.

[perryair]

Originally Posted by blacksky

Hey guys, I bought a BRZ 6MT a week ago but the thing is I am not a very good manual driver. I was hoping I can get some advice on how I can drive it better.

1) When I am in 1st/2nd in the parking lot, sometimes I have to go snail speed < 5mph and the cars starts to chug (I know it's not getting enough gas but sometimes I can't go any faster), how do I prevent this from happening?

2) When I take a corner, say I am in 4th, and I downshift to 2nd, is it okay if I hold the clutch in while I am turning? And accelerate out of the turn?

3) Can I release clutch a bit faster after 1st gear?

4) Is there an easy way to rev match? Right now I do: clutch in, change gear, rev match, slowly let clutch out + maintain gas.

1. 5mph is first gear territory. only. and if you need to go super slow, push back down on the clutch and slowly let it out then hold it partially engaged while you finish going very slow. I do this for speed bumps.

2. it's a rare corner that you're taking at speed that you need to down shift to second. go one gear at a time when you down shift and do it fast so you can get your hand back on the wheel to help you turn.

3. if you dump the clutch in 1 2 or 3 you'll either chirp/spin if your rpms are high or chug/bog into gear if rpms are low. releasing the clutch moderately and giving gas through the release helps you settle into gear smoothly.

4. do yourself a favor and don't bother even thinking of rev matching. if you change gears fast, the kinetic energy of the flywheel and driveshaft will naturally keep the rpms high for you, as long as you're quick about your shift.

best of luck to ya, manual is a lot more thinking but a lot more rewarding then pointing and shooting an auto.

[sukumizu]

1) Just clutch in when you're going at super slow speeds and give it a bit more gas then clutch back in to maintain your slow speed.
2) Like someone already mentioned, it's better to downshift before the turn or even during the turn. It's safer than coasting the entire corner in neutral.
3) Yup. It's gonna take a bit of time til you get a good feel for it though. I spent my first few weeks jerking throughout all the gears lol.
4) Before you go into rev matching I suggest building up a solid foundation of day to day driving first. I tried to learn before I got a good grasp of driving stick and that resulted in inhaling a lot of burnt clutch fumes and in one situation, causing a pretty bad wheel lockup on the road lol. You've got the basic procedure down though. Start at slower speeds (30 -> 20 mph) before you try going balls deep with it on the freeway.

[ashtray]

You want to downshift before a turn. Don't shift in the middle of a turn in general bc you can upset the balance of the car. This is more noticeable at higher rpms. If you're going 45mph on a main road and take a turn on to a side road at say 20mph, you can shift from 4th to 2nd, but probably be in neutral or coasting in 4th at low rpm while on the brakes. So slow down using brakes before a turn, engage the lower gear (say 2nd), then turn the wheel. Foot should be off the clutch before you start turning the wheel.

Think of those as beginner instructions. As you learn the car and shifting better you can do whatever you want bc you know how the car will react. For now try keeping the shifting from interfering with car control.

In higher gears, I typically don't feather the clutch back in. That's how you burn it. To shift, just pedal in, move shifter, pedal out. Right foot and left foot moving in opposite directions. You don't need to feather it like engaging first gear. You might find rev matching upshifts helps smooth things out a LOT. In this case, the speed at which you move the shifter will control a lot. Shift too slowly and your rpms will drop too much. Say you're going from 3rd gear at 4k rpm to 4th gear which would be at about 3k rpm. You want to shift in the time it takes for the rpms to drop 1k rpm. Don't rush it but also don't take 3 seconds to change gears.

This car isn't easy to drive smoothly. 25 years of driving stick and I've just learned to live with 50% of my shifts in this car are not smooth. My previous cars I could shift near flawlessly rev matching up and downshifts - a passenger would not even feel the shifts. This car is like my first month of driving all over again.

[Alltezza]

Originally Posted by blacksky

Hey guys, I bought a BRZ 6MT a week ago but the thing is I am not a very good manual driver. I was hoping I can get some advice on how I can drive it better.

1) When I am in 1st/2nd in the parking lot, sometimes I have to go snail speed < 5mph and the cars starts to chug (I know it's not getting enough gas but sometimes I can't go any faster), how do I prevent this from happening?

2) When I take a corner, say I am in 4th, and I downshift to 2nd, is it okay if I hold the clutch in while I am turning? And accelerate out of the turn?

3) Can I release clutch a bit faster after 1st gear?

4) Is there an easy way to rev match? Right now I do: clutch in, change gear, rev match, slowly let clutch out + maintain gas.

Lol the BRZ/FRS is not the best car to learn it on, not only is the clutch soft as a damn sponge the catching/grab point is pretty damn high too.

1. Don't be afraid to go more than 5 mph and if you absolutely can't go any faster than 5 mph just step on the clutch if you're about to stall or slow down past 5mph and just balance out your gas and clutch again, basically just go.

2.No it is not okay to hold the clutch in, youre gonna wear your clutch out. Not immediately but if you keep that habit up for a longer period of time your clutch is gonna just wear out faster. I'd say just downshift to 3rd or what I usually do is just go into neutral and just turn the corner and if you're going too slow then I would put it into gear usually 2nd or 3rd.

3. Yes you can, it took me a long time to get used to it just don't DROP the clutch or else you'll either spin the wheels or launch your car.

4. Don't worry about rev matching yet lol

The advice I gave you may not be the best advice because what works for me may not work for you, so yeah pick whatever you feel the most comfortable with and go for it. Congrats on getting the manual by the way, at least you didnt get the automatic transmission I have a lot of respect for you.

[rookie]

Originally Posted by blacksky

Hey guys, I bought a BRZ 6MT a week ago but the thing is I am not a very good manual driver. I was hoping I can get some advice on how I can drive it better.

1) When I am in 1st/2nd in the parking lot, sometimes I have to go snail speed < 5mph and the cars starts to chug (I know it's not getting enough gas but sometimes I can't go any faster), how do I prevent this from happening?

2) When I take a corner, say I am in 4th, and I downshift to 2nd, is it okay if I hold the clutch in while I am turning? And accelerate out of the turn?

3) Can I release clutch a bit faster after 1st gear?

4) Is there an easy way to rev match? Right now I do: clutch in, change gear, rev match, slowly let clutch out + maintain gas.

1. Stay in first or clutch to cruise

2. Ideally you want to have power during the turn, if clutch is depressed, you don't have access to more power during the turn. Maybe you're using the clutch during the turn because you're braking at certain points through the turn. You want to brake before the curve and apply a little power through the curve/turn. Learn how to heel toe brake (probably overkill for street driving but I do it sometimes to practice). This technique allows you to brake and downshift at the same time so by the time you're in the corner, you're in the right gear (off the clutch) and have power to push through the corner.

3. Yes

4. That works fine.

[Vincenttam]

Originally Posted by blacksky

Hey guys, I bought a BRZ 6MT a week ago but the thing is I am not a very good manual driver. I was hoping I can get some advice on how I can drive it better.

1) When I am in 1st/2nd in the parking lot, sometimes I have to go snail speed < 5mph and the cars starts to chug (I know it's not getting enough gas but sometimes I can't go any faster), how do I prevent this from happening?

2) When I take a corner, say I am in 4th, and I downshift to 2nd, is it okay if I hold the clutch in while I am turning? And accelerate out of the turn?

3) Can I release clutch a bit faster after 1st gear?

4) Is there an easy way to rev match? Right now I do: clutch in, change gear, rev match, slowly let clutch out + maintain gas.

1) ive noticed it takes as low as 5mph until first gear is fully engagedwithout gas. The chugging or jolting and lost of power is caused by being in a too high gear for the speed. I used to use second alot in parkinh lots but than going on. Decline felt horrendous (clanking in the tranny, no power, shaking,) just stay in first. First gear has the most torque.

2) You can and it wont do any damage to the car but when your car is in nuetral, youre gforce and momentum is going to be really off. I honestly stay in third and sometimes drop to second. Your also going to be in >1k rpm in neutral. I like staying in around 4k, plus the handling is much better in gear and in a higher rpm.

3) the higher gear your in the quicker and more forgiving the gear catch point is.

4) After your more familier with the gear ratios you can do it quicker. When i feel like speed racer mode i, stomp the clutch down, and right away i stomp the gas down + down shifting at the same time. It should take a third of a second at most. Best practicing from 6th to 5th at 50 mph. Hope this helps!!

[chaoskaze]

If you are chugging in 1st @ 5 that just mean you aren't smooth enough with gas/clutch. Key is to maintain throttle @ a small even pace.

After 2nd gear you can just release. But it's about how fast u shift in different gears. Last thing is when u rev match @ lower gears remember to give it lots gas. Stock flywheel falls really fast @ low gear.