Any first time manual drivers here?

[StickThatClutch]

When I first started out driving stick, I was too focused on looking at the tach and rpm's and trying to hold the level of rpm's that I thought would result in a clean start. That resulted in me not paying attention to the clutch operation and either letting it out too fast and lurching or just stalling altogether. Once I was able to break the habit of always concentrating on the tach, everything got smoother and I stalled a lot less.

Give yourself a week or two to feel out the car, where the clutch catches, and how the car reacts to throttle input as you release the clutch - you'll start realizing that the car will get away with just a bit of revs if you operate the clutch smoothly. My problem was way too many revs in the beginning. You'll be a pro in no time.

Drive safe.

[Sully]

Originally Posted by whaap

For those of you that 'blip' the throttle when down shifting and would like to step up to the next level, try this: Blipping the throttle suggests taking a stab at the throttle as you down shift and is sort-of-a hit and miss method of doing it. Instead, as you down shift, anticipate where the rpm's will want to be when you release the clutch. Coordinate your left foot and right foot so when your clutch engages your right foot has gently brought the rpm's up to where they will want to be. It doesn't take long to develope this into a habit. Things will go much smoother and you won't sound like a hot dog on a motorcycle blipping his way up to a stop light.

Listen, I'm trying to be a boi racer here.

[Laika]

Originally Posted by whaap

For those of you that 'blip' the throttle when down shifting and would like to step up to the next level, try this: Blipping the throttle suggests taking a stab at the throttle as you down shift and is sort-of-a hit and miss method of doing it. Instead, as you down shift, anticipate where the rpm's will want to be when you release the clutch. Coordinate your left foot and right foot so when your clutch engages your right foot has gently brought the rpm's up to where they will want to be. It doesn't take long to develope this into a habit. Things will go much smoother and you won't sound like a hot dog on a motorcycle blipping his way up to a stop light.

Follow whaap's advice exactly if you're new. Your mental tolerances of where the rev's should be will become smaller and smaller the more acclimated you get to the car. Eventually you'll be measuring the rev's based on sound and no dash reading.

In fact, don't ever "randomly" jab the throttle and go on your way. Take note of how off you were and adjust accordingly. Also take mental note of how much effort you put into your jab. Developing the mental memory is the key to improving your ability to drive a standard in the smoothest and gentlest way possible.


I have to note though, the way I do it, I always clutch it into neutral, match revs and then press the clutch again to go into gear. I've tried doing it where I just downshift into the gear leaving the clutch disengaged as I rev-match and then engage the clutch but that's been pretty difficult for me.

[shirker]

Originally Posted by kALMIGHTY

I can keep the car still on an uphill with just the clutch and accelerator and without any brakes.

Are you saying you're capable of doing that, or you do it on a regular basis? I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to ride the clutch like that, it'll cause a lot of premature wear and tear on your tranny's disc and flywheel when you leave the clutch partially engaged/disengaged.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong?

[whaap]

Originally Posted by shirker

Are you saying you're capable of doing that, or you do it on a regular basis? I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to ride the clutch like that, it'll cause a lot of premature wear and tear on your tranny's disc and flywheel when you leave the clutch partially engaged/disengaged.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong?

100% correct. It won't be long before you would be buying a new clutch. Don't ever set in one place and hold your place by engaging and disengaging the clutch. Hold the brake till you're ready to go and then, if necessary, use the emergency brake in co-ordination with your clutch and throttle to get going.

While we're on the topic, one more point to make. A tach is a neat instrument. Don't rely on it too much. Your interest in reading your tach should not be such that you're a traffic hazard like people texting on their phones. It won't take long before you will be able to feel/hear where your revs are and you will know whether to down shift or up shift without having to rely on your tachometer. Like everything else, it just takes practice.

[Suberman]

Does the BRZ have Subaru's hill holder feature like its other models? I've not tried mine.

Oh and for those unfamiliar with other cars with proper clutch feel this a Subaru clutch is awful. You can get used to it but it is still the worst clutch I've ever used, and that's saying something since I drove a 1982 Alfa Romeo GTV6 fitted with a double plate clutch at the transaxle which was far from smooth.

Actually, one worse clutch was on a Lotus Élan I test drove with a competition clutch mated to a stage 1 engine with lumpy cams. That was pretty abrupt.

And for the guy who doesn't want to hit the floor with the clutch pedal every shift, no you do not need to it's just a handy way of ensuring the clutch is disengaged. If you can tell where it disengages without hitting the floor go for it. How you would know for sure is beyond me, I can't feel anything through this clutch pedal, its truly awful.

[Ozzman]

No it does not. I've driven cars with that feature and I don't like it, It really messes with me, mainly because I'm used to driving cars without such a feature.

[bcj]

And no, the 86 clutch isn't craptastic.
You just put your feet on backward this morning.

[RacerX]

Yea my buddy's 2013 Focus ST has hill assist. I wouldn't object to the BRZ having it but it's a good feeling that you can drive without driver aides.

I don't find I'm relying on the tach at all. It's mostly the sound of the engine. My car only has about 140 miles on it so is it bad to always be shifting between 3-4k for city diving? I find it a little difficult to be smooth if I try and shift between 2-3k. And I have to force myself not to let it rev out so much. Also when shifting into first must the car be at a standstill, or is it okay to be rolling at 2-4mph? I know not to force it into gear if I feel resistance.

I only have maybe 2 hours experience driving the car and probably only 20 minutes of that is city driving, the rest is neighborhoods. My Father came with me to buy the car and he drove it home. I drove my BMW 328i back since I didn't trade it in.

[kALMIGHTY]

Originally Posted by shirker

Are you saying you're capable of doing that, or you do it on a regular basis? I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to ride the clutch like that, it'll cause a lot of premature wear and tear on your tranny's disc and flywheel when you leave the clutch partially engaged/disengaged.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong?

Capable of doing it. I'd hate to put that stress on my brand new car's transmission by doing it regularly.

The only problem sometimes, especially for beginners, is that now that most people are used to driving autos, other people aren't courteous enough to leave much space behind you at a red light, even if it's uphill because they don't expect the car in front of them to roll back under any circumstance. So with cars standing so close to you on a hill, it can be nerve-wracking for a beginner manual driver because they're not sure if they'll be able to let go of the brake and "catch" the car with the clutch before they end up hitting the car behind them.

What I usually do to avoid that is when I'm stopping at a red light on a hill. I stop my car and let the car slowly roll back on its own a bit and that usually scares the driver behind me and gets them to stop early and give my car more space. That way I don't have to be nervous and I have plenty of time to let go of the brake and catch my car without using the e-brake, even though my reaction time has greatly improved and I barely let my car move an inch before I catch it.

[PSORngr]

Originally Posted by kALMIGHTY

What I usually do to avoid that is when I'm stopping at a red light on a hill. I stop my car and let the car slowly roll back on its own a bit and that usually scares the driver behind me and gets them to stop early and give my car more space. That way I don't have to be nervous and I have plenty of time to let go of the brake and catch my car without using the e-brake, even though my reaction time has greatly improved and I barely let my car move an inch before I catch it.

I do this too. Every so often the next car still doesn't get it though. This is my first manual since I first started driving. So I had about two months of experience 8 years ago. On my drive back from the dealership I had one of the people that didn't "understand" my roll back when I saw him coming up behind me. I got a little bit spooked then and ended up peeling out a bit on start up. Needless to say, he got the hint then and stayed the hell back....

[davidchoi]

I learned on a '02 miata and I got the hang of it in a few days. I found my BRZ a lot easier to shift but that's because my miata is running on its stock clutch after 11 years.

[SWPinATL]

I also bought the BRZ as my first manual car. I have driven friends manual cars a few times throughout the years but nothing like a daily driver.

I had a horrid time on my test drive, stalling everywhere, because I went on lunch break and had boots on! Learned that lesson quickly!

Overall, this car has been a dream to learn on. The clutch is so easy and as soon as I learned the catch point, hills haven't been a problem. Still working on the little things like rev-matching for proper shifting.

[dotdotdotPaul]

My BRZ is my first manual transmission. I haven't driven it all that much over the first 6 months (still under 700 miles), because although I commute to work every day, traffic can be nasty and I was really stressed out about work anyway -- and the thought of being stalled out in rush hour traffic and not able to recover was enough to keep me from doing it. Over the past few weeks, with a new job in hand, I've been a lot less stressed and have been finally putting on the miles and getting some more confidence.

I stalled it out a lot starting out. I drove it around the office parking lot when I first got it, practicing (the office lot was huge and most of the companies had left anyway, so it was very vacant -- and the parking garage had a really nice wide ramp that was great for practicing hill starts). I've revved it a lot recently (trying very hard to stay under the 4k RPM mark as recommended for the first 1000 miles) to get it going in 1st gear from a stop, because having stalled it several times trying to "be gentle", I kinda swung in the other direction. I'm trying to settle somewhere in the middle, and getting better at it.

Getting a smooth start and transition to 2nd is still about 50/50 for me. I *can* do it (I know this because I've done it) but sometimes I just don't get it right, and I'm not always entirely sure why. Going up through 3rd to 6th and back down again I've gotten pretty good at. I'm not heel-toe-ing yet, but I've gotten pretty okay now getting RPMs "close enough" when downshifting.

I can't stop making weird faces when trying to clutch & shift, though. Like the wiring between my left foot and right hand goes through my mouth. You'd think I was trying to shift with my tongue... :P

...Paul