To those who learnt auto driving before stick

[Tcoat]

Expert from Wikipedea
Balancing the clutch[edit]

Normally, when a vehicle is stationary on an uphill slope it is necessary to use the handbrake in conjunction with clutch control to prevent the vehicle from rolling backwards when pulling away. However, in situations where the vehicle must be stopped briefly, for example in slow moving traffic, the clutch can be used to balance the uphill force from the engine with the downhill force of gravity. The benefit of this is that there is no need for the hand- or foot-brake, and the driver can pull away more quickly, and sometimes even the accelerator is used with the partially engaged clutch as the clutch alone cannot 'handle' such a steep incline and instead the engine would just stall. Using this option will wear out the clutch more quickly however in some steep inclines with stop-start moving traffic, it is the easiest option as using the handbrake would be time consuming

THIS IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF RIDING THE CLUTCH!!!!!!!!
Contrary to popular belief Wikipedia is NOT written by experts and is filled with misinformation.
I am pretty sure that clutches in "third world countries" wear out prematurely from such abuse just like everyplace else.

New standard drivers DO NOT DO THIS or you will regret it (regardless of where you are from).

That is the end of this debate for me. If somebody else wishs to take up the fight you are welcome to it.

[tahdizzle]

Everyone here is saying the same thing. Going about how to do it has different approaches.

Learning the friction point is key in manual transmission.

Some guys are saying do it on a hill. They probably mean a low grade hill. Like 5% or less. They are not talking about a 30% grade hill.

These clutch in or clutch out opinions are just opinions and based on very conservative driving styles.

I know plenty of people who slip clutches when they are going to launch the car. As dumping the clutch puts tremendous load on various parts.

In everyday driving you will not be launching at 5k rpm, BUT it doesn't mean that the technique cannot transfer over and benefit you in every-day driving.

Everyone has a way the were taught to drive manual. Some of the ideas posted on this thread are very old school and not up to date on current technology.

Anyways, long story short, No one here has given bad information.

[Xti]

Every one drives Manual transmission differently. Just one same principal applied.

Any Jerking, and slipping will ruins either the clutch, or the whole drive-train.

The best Manual-driver = will always get in the correct gear (RPM in the torque band) and rev-match correctly (No jerking, minimal slippage) for the best longivity of the whole car

[DavidBob]

As long as you understand the concept of driving a manual (when to shift up and when to down shift) and you have the willingness/want to learn, you'll be fine. Practice makes perfect! Just get in and drive and dont be so technical about it.

[xxBrun0xx]

I bought a car with a manual without knowing how to drive one. Had to drive it 400 miles to my summer internship 5 days later. I'd say about an hour around town before I was comfortable with it. Took about 6 months to properly rev-match every shift, though.

If you're thinking about a manual 86, pulling the spring out lowering the clutch will make it infinitely easier to drive.

[Xti]

I can see teaching people to drive stick-shift correctly to becomes a private side job.

[Tcoat]

Any reputable driving school will be able to offer a reasonably low cost session to teach you the basics. Be worth every penny if it saves you even one clutch repair.


Yes there are times when slipping/dumping the clutch is appropriate (been know to do it myself a time or a thousand) but you should be at a level that you KNOW what you are doing and what stresses you are putting on your car before you start actually doing it. To learn from the beginning that riding the clutch is the right/only way will get costly fast. The changes in OEM stock clutch face technology over the last 30 years is almost nil so many are not driving with the top level gear.

[Atticus808]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

BAD BAD IDEA! Clutch in or clutch out never ever clutch part way. If everybody does this I am going to buy stock in the company that build the replacement parts.

you mean just for the hill right?

cause when i reverse or inch forward i play with the clutch

[Tcoat]

Mostly ya. Talking about anytime you have the clutch just touching enough to stop rolling or just barely moving under power. Parts are still spinning down there and getting hot FAST. You don't soon forget your first burnt out clutch believe me!

[Atticus808]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Mostly ya. Talking about anytime you have the clutch just touching enough to stop rolling or just barely moving under power. Parts are still spinning down there and getting hot FAST. You don't soon forget your first burnt out clutch believe me!

lol
i've never owned a MT car, always driven other peoples.
my biggest fear before was to burn the clutch, after i finally got the engagement points and knowing i can feather the clutch without causing damage, i was ok

[l0aded]

To get 100% comfortable it took me a full month. And by 100% comfortable I mean I didn't even think about shifting anymore.

[DarkSunrise]

Lots of discussion here. I'll just add, don't over-think it. If you slip your clutch a couple of times while learning, it's not a problem. Just don't make it a habit. Clutches aren't that fragile, and it's better to give too much gas than to stall out.

I taught two different girls how to drive stick on my old car. The car smelled like burnt clutch for a few days afterwards, but it was fine. I sold the car with the original clutch at 80k miles and the clutch was still going strong.

[continuecrushing]

if you go wot, you can just bounce off the limiter(its there for a reason) and let the clutch in/out depending on what you want to do, you can choose
A)to roll backward(push clutch in)
B)stay in one spot(let clutch out a little bit)
or C) do an awesome burnout up the whole hill(quickly release clutch)

There will be a little bit more wear on the clutch, but the sound of your exhaust and the puffy smoke filled burnouts will be worth it.

Plus, if anyone says anything, just inform them that you are learning to driving with a clutch, and (stupid)people on the forums said to try this.

[Pinoywhiz]

You can start by reading this article on Oppositelock.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/how...ion-1466331076

Once you got the basics down, the most important thing is practice all what you have learned. By practicing it will also help you build more confidence on driving manual and learn on how to drive the car smoothly. Driving manual is not something that you get better over night it takes time and lots of practice.