Lets learn to drive manual! Save my clutch Season 1

[BRZfan]

"Heel on the floor" is my preferred technique. -- less leg fatigue, ability to more precisely 'feather' the clutch action quickly and smoothly and just being aware to release foot from pedal when not needed.

If someone does not understand the idiosyncrasies of using a manual shifting transmission, they would be better off going with an automatic. Manuals are a dying breed, manual car enthusiasts still in the market or not.

Originally Posted by extrashaky

This is why I continue to adamantly oppose clutching with your heel on the floor, because people who do that tend to also rest the ball of the foot on the pedal between shifts. It's not something that kills your clutch in 10K miles, but bad habits can easily make the difference between a 60K mile clutch and a 200K mile clutch.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by BRZfan

less leg fatigue...

Only because that's what you're accustomed to. I drive my BRZ for hours for my job without any significant leg fatigue, but that's because I'm used to clutching this way.

[billwot]

I'm a member of the MR2 forum, Miata forum, 350 Z forum, (among others) and now here. And everytime a "how to drive a manual" thread is posted,, I just shake my head. Folks that didn't grow up driving manual trannies seem to think its some complex, exotic procedure, that is defined by a long list of "rules", and that if you don't follow the "rules" your tranny will immediately be reduced to several pounds of ground steel and bronze, all lying in the bottom of the gearbox.

Just to establish my bona fides, I have been driving manual trannies for about 60 years...3 spd, 4 spd, 5 spd, 6 spd, column shifters, floor shifters, toe-shifted bikes.

Here's how to drive a manual tranny:

1) Step on the clutch
2) Select a gear
3) Release the clutch while applying throttle.

That's it...3 steps!

Now about all those "rules" (don't rest your hand on the shifter (that's a really silly one!) do/don't double clutch, do/don't downshift, do/don't rev match, do/don't coast in neutral, do/don't coast in gear, etc, etc, etc.

During my 60 years with manual trannies, I have abused many of them in ways most of you can't even begin to imagine...and I have never broken one! And I'm talking about some boxes that go back to the '30s.

And the only clutch I have ever replaced was in my '30 Model A with a 283 small block hooked to a '39 Lincoln gearbox. I used to break the tires loose on my dad's '54 V8 Dodge pickup, pulling off in 2nd gear. And it still had the original clutch when he finally sold it in 1980. I once took his '59 Volvo 544 to the dragstrip. I made about 6-8 runs launching by revving to 4500, then sliding my foot off the clutch. He finally sold that Volvo when it had 180K and the original clutch and gearbox.

Modern, fully synchronized gearboxes are almost indestructible. Not really sure what you have to do to actually break one, or wear it out.

One more thing...while I know all the questions and "advice" here is well intentioned. you need to know you will never learn to drive a stick reading a book, or from the internet of a video. The only way you will learn to drive a stick is sitting in the driver's seat. I taught my wife to drive a stick when she was 40 years old. And I taught my 4 daughters to drive manuals...one in a Midget, 2 in 914s, and 1 in my MR2 turbo. But all I actually taught any of them was the 3 basics above, then I gave them the keys and told them to start driving.

Enjoy your 6 spd manual trannies! They will almost certainly become extinct.

[BRZfan]

Enuf already. DRIVE dem cars. Stop talkin', start walkin'...

[cywinr]

I've been practising all on my own after reading and watching videos.

But today my uncle showed me that once you get rolling with first gear, you can immediately shift into second without fully shifting into first. Basically ride the clutch a little bit in first, and shift straight into second. Does anybody else do this? It's made it much easier for a smooth start.

[AznKirby]

I don't think there should be any reason to not fully engage first gear.
I'm guessing it's a smoother start because that "jerk" motion in second gear isn't as big as in first when you engage too fast.

[BRZfan]

Doesn't make sense.

Originally Posted by cywinr

I've been practising all on my own after reading and watching videos.

.....once you get rolling with first gear .....without fully shifting into first.

[cywinr]

Originally Posted by BRZfan

Doesn't make sense.

I mean without fully engaging the clutch. The shifter is in n first.

[Porsche]

Originally Posted by cywinr

I mean without fully engaging the clutch. The shifter is in n first.

Of course, I understood that. And your "solution" is actually clever, a good example of thinking outside the box. I don't see any harm in it, per se.

However...

Aren't you avoiding the real issue, here?

I would encourage you to develop the proper skills to be a competent driver, not employ techniques to try and mask your lack of these necessary skills.

What do you think?

You know, you can carry a calculator around with you all the time ... but you really should still learn your multiplication tables, don't you think?

Besides, there are some real drawbacks to your "masking technique," even if it doesn't harm your car.

You can learn this. I know it's hard at first. In fact, I can tell you that this is one of the most difficult cars to first learn on; getting it down really smooth is much harder than on our Mazdaspeed3 or our S2000, which seem so easy when I hop in them after driving our BRZ.

You can do it, kiddo. I know you can.

(I'm older than your dad. That's why I talk as I do. Try not to hold it against me, okay? )

[RacerX]

Originally Posted by cywinr

I've been practising all on my own after reading and watching videos.

But today my uncle showed me that once you get rolling with first gear, you can immediately shift into second without fully shifting into first. Basically ride the clutch a little bit in first, and shift straight into second. Does anybody else do this? It's made it much easier for a smooth start.

There is technically no reason you shouldn't do this, as long as you keep the RPMs low so you're not burning the clutch. It's easy to cause too much slipping if you're not off the clutch completely.

BUT, I think you'll find that isn't the best technique for this car. The engine does not produce very much torque below 1800RPM. So if you're shifting into second early at only 3-4mph you'll see that the car won't accelerate very fast. The engine also shudders if you load it too much below 1600rpm.

The gear ratio gap between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd is larger than the rest. So if you rev to 2500-3000rpm in 1st, you really need to allow time for the engine speed to fall so you can engage 2nd at the right engine speed. Try to "catch" the engine speed as its coming down with the clutch. Let it out about 1/3rd of the way (just bearly past the catch point) and hold it there for just a moment while the clutch forces the engine speed to match the tranny speed. Watch the odometer as you do this. It should fall about ~1000rpm or so. If it's going down to far and then jumping back up as you let the clutch out, you're shifting too slowly. If it's jerking down abruptly, you're shifting too fast. It's all about timing and smooth/slow clutch action.

[R_]

Originally Posted by RacerX

The gear ratio gap between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd is larger than the rest. So if you rev to 2500-3000rpm in 1st, you really need to allow time for the engine speed to fall so you can engage 2nd at the right engine speed. Try to "catch" the engine speed as its coming down with the clutch. Let it out about 1/3rd of the way (just bearly past the catch point) and hold it there for just a moment while the clutch forces the engine speed to match the tranny speed. Watch the odometer as you do this. It should fall about ~1000rpm or so. If it's going down to far and then jumping back up as you let the clutch out, you're shifting too slowly. If it's jerking down abruptly, you're shifting too fast. It's all about timing and smooth/slow clutch action.

I find the first to second shift tricky to get smooth. None of the other shifts seem to give me problem. This shift also seems to be less smooth upon just starting the car up and driving away. I also have some troubles rev matching from 3 to 2 - can rarely rev the rpms to the correct amount it seems. I only have about 1000 kms of manual driving too so definitely still adjusting!

[AznKirby]

^ That just means more practice. No big deal!

[RacerX]

Yeah, 2nd gear is always a pain when the tranny is cold.

I was the same way, smooth in all except for 2nd. It's a low torquey gear. You have to be extra smooth and controlled with your clutch. You'll get better as you gain the right muscle memory in your foot. Sometimes half clutching or feathering helps (although it can be a bad habit if you do it too much). Let the clutch out about halfway and hold it there for just a sec as the tranny/engine speeds match. Then release it completely. That also helps when you're driving slowly over speedbumps, gutters, or parking.

[R_]

Great, I will continue to practice.

Why do people say not to rest your hand on the shift lever, yet one can buy specifically weighted shift knobs? Doesn't the extra weight cause the same problem as the resting hand?