Lets learn to drive manual! Save my clutch Season 1

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by calidus

I think I just lugged my engine for the first time I ended up going <5mph and <1k rmps in 3rd. Can you guys please tell me the appropriate action to do in the following situation:

I was 45mph in the left hand lane in 5th gear, I down shifted into 4th and got into the turn lane. I was slowing down expecting to come to a complete stop, I pressed the clutch to the floor and shifted into neutral. Now I am going like 3mph in neutral and someone makes a right hand turn giving me an opportunity to make my turn. So shifted into 3rd and made my turn, bad idea it felt like I had ovals for wheels.

Should I have skipped 3rd and gone into 1st or 2nd? Should I have gone through my gears all the way down to 1st? Should I have double clutched?

You should've gone to 2nd. That's what I do when that happens to me. That, or 1st. I'd go into 2nd first, and if that's not low enough, then drop it into first.

If you're in 4th, going down to 1st will take too long (the synchros will have a lot of slowing down to do to match up and lock in, so you'll be pressing the gate hard), but 4th to 2nd to 1st is much faster and easier on your synchros.

[sato]

Most of the time, my current car wouldn't allow me to shift into first at sub 5mph speeds. I'd just slip into 2nd and slip the clutch a little bit.

Sent from my C6906 using Tapatalk

[chas3wba0]

Originally Posted by calidus

I think I just lugged my engine for the first time I ended up going <5mph and <1k rmps in 3rd. Can you guys please tell me the appropriate action to do in the following situation:

I was 45mph in the left hand lane in 5th gear, I down shifted into 4th and got into the turn lane. I was slowing down expecting to come to a complete stop, I pressed the clutch to the floor and shifted into neutral. Now I am going like 3mph in neutral and someone makes a right hand turn giving me an opportunity to make my turn. So shifted into 3rd and made my turn, bad idea it felt like I had ovals for wheels.

Should I have skipped 3rd and gone into 1st or 2nd? Should I have gone through my gears all the way down to 1st? Should I have double clutched?

You can skip to 2nd no problem. Double clutch if you like (let out clutch in neutral and then clutch in to go to 2nd w/ a little rev match). It will become second nature as you gain more experience

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by chas3wba0

You can skip to 2nd no problem. Double clutch if you like (let out clutch in neutral and then clutch in to go to 2nd w/ a little rev match). It will become second nature as you gain more experience

No need to double clutch. The car will drop to 2nd pretty easily once the transmission has warmed up. It'll do so even easier with a bit of heel/toe rev match if you're downshifting b/c of rapidly dropping speeds.

[Jyn]

First off, thank you to everyone that's providing great info in this thread. It's helped me a lot so far.

Second, to get to my question, is pressing the clutch all the way in bad when shifting through the gears? I sit fairly close to the wheel since I'm a pretty small person, and it's usually easier for me to just depress the clutch fully (or at least 80%). I've done some shifts at the engagement point (40% or whatever), but just wanted to know if one technique is better than the other. I'd like to learn the correct way to do things.

[Ec1990]

Originally Posted by Jyn

First off, thank you to everyone that's providing great info in this thread. It's helped me a lot so far.

Second, to get to my question, is pressing the clutch all the way in bad when shifting through the gears? I sit fairly close to the wheel since I'm a pretty small person, and it's usually easier for me to just depress the clutch fully (or at least 80%). I've done some shifts at the engagement point (40% or whatever), but just wanted to know if one technique is better than the other. I'd like to learn the correct way to do things.

It's better to fully depress the clutch then only slightly which can cause accidental slipping or gear grinding if you let off too early.

[chas3wba0]

Originally Posted by SirBrass

No need to double clutch. The car will drop to 2nd pretty easily once the transmission has warmed up. It'll do so even easier with a bit of heel/toe rev match if you're downshifting b/c of rapidly dropping speeds.

Yea I normally don't unless there's a little delay before I will get on the gas again or, like you said, the tranny is still cold. A tiny blip is all it really needs to keep it smooth

[AznKirby]

Originally Posted by Jyn

First off, thank you to everyone that's providing great info in this thread. It's helped me a lot so far.

Second, to get to my question, is pressing the clutch all the way in bad when shifting through the gears? I sit fairly close to the wheel since I'm a pretty small person, and it's usually easier for me to just depress the clutch fully (or at least 80%). I've done some shifts at the engagement point (40% or whatever), but just wanted to know if one technique is better than the other. I'd like to learn the correct way to do things.

The clutch pedal should only have 2 positions: fully down, or fully up
(And a little percentage of the time at the engaging position)

I know a few people rest their left foot on the clutch pedal at a red light. Don't do it!

[Jyn]

Awesome, thanks for the response, y'all. One more question: when coasting/driving slow through parking lots, etc., is it ok to coast or brake without pressing the clutch? I notice when I coast in 2nd in parking lots, the engine noise is unsteady and kinda bucking. Using some clutch keeps the car coasting steady, but it seems wrong in principle to be riding the clutch like that.

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by AznKirby

The clutch pedal should only have 2 positions: fully down, or fully up
(And a little percentage of the time at the engaging position)

I know a few people rest their left foot on the clutch pedal at a red light. Don't do it!

There's a reason it's a pedal, not a switch. There's a need for controlled slip: smooth downshifts, backing up, starting from a stop. The only time you don't need controlled slip is upshifting, or aggressive downshifting (like when you're racing). Now, proper heel-toe, and rev-matching should eliminate the need for excessive clutch slipping when downshifting, but you still need some in order to be smooth. The clutch is a wear part intended to allow for some slip that would otherwise cause drivetrain lash, which only harms the non-wear parts in a transmission that do slip (synchros) as part of their function.

But yes, NEVER have foot-to-pedal contact unless you are actively using that pedal. That does for brakes and gas as well.

[AznKirby]

Originally Posted by SirBrass

There's a reason it's a pedal, not a switch. There's a need for controlled slip: smooth downshifts, backing up, starting from a stop. The only time you don't need controlled slip is upshifting, or aggressive downshifting (like when you're racing). Now, proper heel-toe, and rev-matching should eliminate the need for excessive clutch slipping when downshifting, but you still need some in order to be smooth. The clutch is a wear part intended to allow for some slip that would otherwise cause drivetrain lash, which only harms the non-wear parts in a transmission that do slip (synchros) as part of their function.

But yes, NEVER have foot-to-pedal contact unless you are actively using that pedal. That does for brakes and gas as well.

That's true - but I try to not leave my left foot on the clutch for too long.
When I downshift, I always rev-match. No need to hold the clutch for that long.

It may be important to note that I didn't mean to just let go of the clutch really fast!

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by AznKirby

That's true - but I try to not leave my left foot on the clutch for too long.
When I downshift, I always rev-match. No need to hold the clutch for that long.

It may be important to note that I didn't mean to just let go of the clutch really fast!

Indeed. Note what I said about rev-matching to avoid excessive slipping. I think you and I are talking about avoiding the same thing.

There's need for slip, that's why the clutch pedal allows for a range of clutch engagement movement, instead of the pedal simply flicking a solenoid which controls the slave cylinder to either have the clutch at full disengagement or full engagement.

[kberkel]

Cool thread. Took me a few hours to get a good feel of the clutch on this car.

The clutch in my SVT was heavy.. and there was a definite "engagement point" where it was almost "on or off." It was all I was used to.

Then I drove my buddy's Escort.. and that clutch had almost no engagement point. You could practically side step the clutch and not have a problem moving along.

I feel like the BRZ is a little bit in between. It's soft and forgiving and if you let off too fast it won't make the car buck back and forth in 1st or 2nd.

--

This thread is packed full of advice, I'm just browsing now

[chas3wba0]

Originally Posted by kberkel

Cool thread. Took me a few hours to get a good feel of the clutch on this car.

The clutch in my SVT was heavy.. and there was a definite "engagement point" where it was almost "on or off." It was all I was used to.

Then I drove my buddy's Escort.. and that clutch had almost no engagement point. You could practically side step the clutch and not have a problem moving along.

I feel like the BRZ is a little bit in between. It's soft and forgiving and if you let off too fast it won't make the car buck back and forth in 1st or 2nd.

--

This thread is packed full of advice, I'm just browsing now

Oh this car definitely bucks in 2nd if I don't let off with extra care =__=