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.