How much RPM before letting go of the clutch?
 

I think Im gonna break this car. Starting from a complete stop and just a tad bit of gas puts the RPM gauge to 3k.

But I dont let go of the clutch fast though, I let go of it slowly to get a smooth start. But GG. Sometimes I get a real nice start without going over 1.5k RPM then sometimes its between 1.5k to 3k reving up the engine. :(

I gotta learn how to drive a stick shift again. I was pro at it 6 years ago :(

You'll have to feel it for yourself if your in the right rpm before u let go of the clutch. If your on a hill you'll have to give it more gas offcourse.

Normal start is less then 2,000 for me, but for everyone else, it's different.

Could be that you're used to cable throttle and now you're driving a drive-by-wire throttle. There is quite a difference. I'm still getting used to the difference.

I shift at 2.5k rpm for all gears. Theres also a function that blinks a little up arrow to tell you when to up-shift to maximize gas mileage. You could follow that to get an idea on where to shift.


This thread had some good tips for me That could possibly offer advice for you as well.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...light=practice

This makes me sad :(

lol, the concept of "hypermiling" and "BRZ" should never appear together

It sounds like you are applying too much gas too early. If you came from a lower power vehicle or a truck(you may need to add more on a hill), you may be used to having to add a fair amount of gas in order to start. On the BRZ you need virtually no gas until you are in the traction zone of the clutch.

For me I generally use this process:
0) From a stop I have both clutch and brake fully depressed
1) Start letting off the clutch
2) When about 1/2 way off the clutch starting to reach the traction zone, I release the brake and switch to hovering over the gas pedal
3) As the clutch grabs and starts to drag down the RPM start adding gas
4) Once the clutch is fully released add as much gas as needed

I only use the gas to pull up the rpms and prevent the car from stalling, this should allow you to keep a very low rpm until the clutch is fully let out. You can even fully release the clutch at sub 1000 rpm if everything goes good. With this method you will stall the car some while learning, but once you get it down it is really nice.

^^^ Will try doing that around the parking lot here hehe. I just got the car Monday, so I still havent had time to play with it. Less than 100 hwy miles.

Rev it to 6,200, turn the wheel to one side or another, hold trac off for like 6 seconds, release clutch quickly, countersteer slightlydue to rotation, and enjoy!

for OEM, it should have longer slip wear life than some aftermarket brand.

since one of the biggest problem with clutch wear is heat, and the bigger / thicker OEM clutch tend to be a good heat sink with the down side of higher heat retention.


aftermerket tend to be less heavy (less materal) and thinner to allow faster spin and clutch grab. but w/o the mass, the heat will quickly build up, which degrades the friction pads.

I've always shifted by ear/feel. The only time I would ever pay attention is when I am redlining.
I have a 98 Corolla as a daily that's a manual and there's no tach 0_o

I say try using your hearing, and the seat of your pants without looking at the tach. Concentrate on timing and the sound generated as you apply the gas. I think you'll find that you can better tune your motor skills on that process. Then, after a while you can do it by feel for the most part. It sounds like the tach may be a bit of a distraction.
Just another perspective...

Ugh, if getting better than 22-30 mpg on a car by starving an engine of fuel and air is important to someone then why not buy a Prius?

with the car parked and in neutral, practice revving to 1k. that should help you get some muscle memory to drive smoothly.

Starving an engine of fuel and air does not get you good mpg ;)
Prii do the opposite, they are almost always running throttle fully open.

So I stalled the car for the first time today. I was trying to park it in the garage very slowly because its a tight fit.... then it kept moving backwards lol. and I stalled :(

If I want some tires spinning then I rev all the way up 5k, release my foot off the clutch and just gun it! (this is after I hit 1000 miles though, break in period)

Pre-1000 miles, then I just go up to 4K.

Honestly don't feel bad about a stall. Stalling the car hurts nothing. I would rather be gentle on the clutch and stall the car than put extra wear by reving to high or sitting in the traction zone to long.

OP, I'll tell you how I thought my brother to drive stick. I'm assuming your only having issues with roll offs and not actual driving an shifting get past first.

Go to an empty parking lot , put car in gear and without any gas start letting go of the clutch slowly , now the first few time you may stall the car but soon you will learn we're exactly the clutch point is on your car. Once you get this smooth ,your muscle memory will know where it is and you will smooth out a roll out without clutch.
Once you have learned that then start adding gas to the equation, this will roll you out faster obviously .. Your leg will know when to let go off the clutch, practice rolling off with gas till you understand at what point you have gas engaged and clutch released to give you a smooth roll.

You will stall the car several times because you will be trying to hard, letting go of the clutch too fast an what not.
When you get this right a few times , go for a spin and try not to pay attention to what your doing and just drive , you will eventually get it . Blast your favorite song and sing along so your not paying attention to your driving .

But my brother learned in about 30 minutes how to smooth out a roll , both in first and reverse , we did uphill too but that took about an hour for him to learn and he still prefers the handbrake method when it's uphill.

I hope this helps .

lol you play starcraft?

I've driven nothing but manual since I was 9. Most, if not, all of them are inline 4's, the latest being an 09 TSX, which is extremely smooth and quiet. Not sure if it's normal, but if I try to launch the car at below 2k rpm, it makes this weird/loud noise, almost like the noise coming from buses. It seems like the boxer version of an engine "ping"... With my TSX, I can make the car start rolling (quietly)by just easing off the clutch no gas. With this car, I can, but it makes a weird noise. Is this normal? Sorry... this is my first boxer/d4s.

what's wrong with going over 1.5krpm? i go over that all the time when upshifting... this helps me keep up with the camry's at the redlights :burnrubber:

ALL OF IT!

i daily drove a stick for 4+ years and it took me a month or more to get used to this car. im usually somewhere between 1-1.5k rpm from a stop to get going. 1.5-2k rpm for a hill start. if its slow traffic or i actually watch the tach i can start under 1k.

Whoa you release the clutch from a stop at 3k?! That's when I upshift! It took me a month or two before I had consistent low RPM engagements on my first car. But it took me a year or two to master the intricacies like rev-match downshifting without looking at my tach. In the beginning you think a lot. You just need to keep practicing so that these motions currently done through thought become motions done subconsciously through muscle memory. Then you start to hone your "feel" by putting another level of conscious thought into what you're feeling and your skills keep escalating from there.

The clutch engagement point is high but, to me, it's perfect. Why? My daily driven SX4 has similar engagement so during my initial BRZ test drive I was already adapted. The sales rep was surprised how I was shifting so smoothly so quickly. Unlike my past cars where I'd have to mentally recall shift points when switching between cars, I'm able to shift both my current cars without thinking. :)

GG = good god, not good game there.

In Starcraft whoever says "gg" first is surrendering. Thus a lot of people use "GG" to mean something along the lines of "fml" (probably not the closest term, but you get the point).
:P

I'm usually revving to 2k from a start - anything less and there's no grunt. You can do a "perfect" release of the pedal and be at 1k rpm, but then not be able to accelerate bc you are working with 10hp.

Oh, and traction control - with everything full on, I slipped the clutch quickly at 3k rpm and laid a 20' strip of rubber without trying. Actually surprised me. I love how the traction control light only comes on when you're already mid-hoon, and not pre-hoon like many other cars. :D

ah misread it... I thought OP just meant what RPM he upshifts at, but missed part from a complete stop. thought the car was already in motion. in that case - yea im in the 1-1.5rpm range usually

Been driving manual over 23 years. With the BRZ I occasionally have the same thing as you with rpms higher than needed when starting from stop. I am over 2,500 miles on the BRZ so definitely used to it, but either my right foot isn't too accurate or the gas pedal is quite sensitive.

Or maybe my body gets confused since I still drive a 7.5 yr old C6 that used to be my daily driver before BRZ took over that role. Totally different cars, heavy clutch, long gas, rock crusher shifter, triple the torque, etc.

Anyway, I don't think you'll break anything. Clutches are built to take the friction from starting and shifting, just don't ride on the clutch pedal when not needing to shift.:happy0180:

I also noticed that I rev too much in first. Do I just have a heavy foot, or is the throttle pretty sensitive? I know how to drive manual, but this is my first manual DD, so I would still consider myself a n00b, and I really don't want to develop any bad habits right off the bat

If you aren't redlining it and dumping the clutch every time you take off, you're doing it wrong. :burnrubber:


I am totally joking btw.

this is my first manual.. the beginning I found myself overrevving to get it going from a stop in 1st.. lately (its been 1 month) i've been able to get going without revving too hard (almost no gas).. gas pedal is pretty sensitive though and it varies depending on what kind of shoe i'm wearing. lol

Hmm.. 1k at most usually, or 1,500 on bad starts.

I usually have the clutch completely released by 1,000 to 1,200 rpm from a stop. This gives me a pretty smooth start. I also typically shift between 3,000 and 3,500 rpm. This easily lets me keep up with traffic. I only shift higher depending on the situation or how much fun I want to have at the time. I have been driving a manual transmission for about 40 years. I have driven manuals in cars with very small engine cars (0.9 liter 3 cylinder) and cars with very large engine cars (6.6 to 7.0 liter 8 cylinder); Fiats, Datsuns, Mazdas, MGs, Triumphs, Volkswagens, Hondas, Acuras, Pontiacs, Chevrolets, Fords, etc.

Just hang in there, you will get the hang of a nice smooth start soon enough.

Good luck.

I try to take off from a start around 1,000-1,500. Although since it's a quiet engine, I've found that if I have the windows up and music on so I can't hear the engine, sometimes I get into the 2K range without realizing.

800-900 rpm for me. im gentle and if i mess up i accidentally hit 1000-1100.

Hmm... around 1500? (I'm not really paying attention, if the car feels OK it's fine) Higher on a ramp, or when I'm in a hurry :)

A good beginner's exercise against revving too hard is to get going (from a full stop) without touching the accelerator. Slowly, without stalling the engine, and not on a public road.
Do it few times and you'll have an idea about how much you should rev, and about the clutch engaging point.

geez im used to a 6 pluck and a 12lb flywheel lol, my last car i had to start from 2000 with very key amounts of throttle and clutch release, if you dont know manuals that well, you would have stalled it every time...

when trying, I can smooth start at around 1.5k. But if I missed it and already approach 3k, got to take it pass the torque dip, 4k upshift baby :D

If you're asking the Internet how to drive, then you should really be going to drivers school.