manual/stick shift

[x1UP]

Being a manual driver in NYC, it's honestly not that bad. It's become so natural for me now and this is my first manual car. 12K miles later and I wouldn't go back to an automatic again....unless I have a family later down the road.

[gled21]

Driving in PHX traffic stop and go is a bit annoying while driving stick. I drive without my shoes bc I like the feel of the car and my carpet is fine. I think the ends justify the means in this case, yes stick may be annoying in traffic but everywhere else its badass and fun.

[Fishbed77]

i live in NYC with b2b traffic all day. My job requires lots of traveling so most of time im stuck in traffic.. i got a hole in my carpet under the brake pedal..because thats where my foot is most of the time.

Personally I feet a Twin is just the wrong car for that application. You'll never get to experience its positive attributes, and come to loathe its compromises.

[HeartbeaT91]

I had a question. I'm also a new manual (1st manual is the BRZ i got a month ago), and the only time that makes me cringe nowadays is when I THINK I rev matched a downshift (ofcourse, USUALLY the 3 to 2 downshift. the gear ratio diff is so big.. ) but I didn't, and I let the clutch out too soon. The jerk just makes me cringe so hard... I should really slip it for a half second or so and let it out semi-slowly on those downshifts since I'm not rev matching enough - but until I can get it right, do you have any tips for me?

And.. am I fuuucking up my clutch by letting it out too fast without enough revs ?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by HeartbeaT91

I had a question. I'm also a new manual (1st manual is the BRZ i got a month ago), and the only time that makes me cringe nowadays is when I THINK I rev matched a downshift (ofcourse, USUALLY the 3 to 2 downshift. the gear ratio diff is so big.. ) but I didn't, and I let the clutch out too soon. The jerk just makes me cringe so hard... I should really slip it for a half second or so and let it out semi-slowly on those downshifts since I'm not rev matching enough - but until I can get it right, do you have any tips for me?

And.. am I fuuucking up my clutch by letting it out too fast without enough revs ?

Nope your clutch will be fine. I will give my usual advice for this sort of thing. Try not to over think it every time and don't worry if you screw up every now and then. Practice will fix all of that and one day you will realize you drove all the way someplace without even once thinking about a shift.

[extrashaky]

I lived in DC for four years.

I lived in NYC for 2.5 years.

I've driven fairly extensively in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Boston and a few more cities known for their traffic.

I would buy a manual in any of those cities EXCEPT New York. Rush hour on 395 into DC is bad, but it's nothing compared to some of the bridge and tunnel idiocy in NYC. And it's not because of any wear on the vehicle. It's because clutch/gas/brake/gas/brake/clutch/clutch/brake/gas/brake/clutch in that kind of traffic is infuriating. It's irritating in other cities to be sure, but not to the same level as in New York.

I also wouldn't buy a car I particularly liked in NYC. I would find a used medium-sized car or small SUV that would be fairly reliable and comfortable but that I wouldn't care all that much if a jackass cab driver traded paint with it and refused to stop. I would NOT buy a twin for regular use in NYC traffic.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by HeartbeaT91

I had a question. I'm also a new manual (1st manual is the BRZ i got a month ago), and the only time that makes me cringe nowadays is when I THINK I rev matched a downshift (ofcourse, USUALLY the 3 to 2 downshift. the gear ratio diff is so big.. ) but I didn't, and I let the clutch out too soon. The jerk just makes me cringe so hard... I should really slip it for a half second or so and let it out semi-slowly on those downshifts since I'm not rev matching enough - but until I can get it right, do you have any tips for me?

First tip: Don't worry about it.

Second tip: Don't try to match the revs exactly. I prefer to think of it as playing ring toss with the accelerator pedal. When you're downshifting, the revs of the transmission are coming down, and you just want to "toss" the revs of the engine up so they catch on the transmission input.

It's like jumping Mario onto one of those elevator things in the old Donkey Kong games. Nobody sat there thinking, "The elevator is coming down at 200 pixels per second, and Mario can jump up 300 pixels, so I need to jump when the elevator is exactly 100 pixels above him." You just practice it until you get the toss right, then do it by feel after that.

[Jfheisenberg]

how do you get a hole in your carpet because of your foot?? show pic.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Jfheisenberg

how do you get a hole in your carpet because of your foot??

If you dig your heel into the carpet and pivot your ankle to operate the pedals, it will wear a bald spot in the carpet.

Fortunately I don't have this problem, because I was taught to lift my legs to use the brake or clutch. But if you drive lazy, this can be the result.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Jfheisenberg

how do you get a hole in your carpet because of your foot?? show pic.

I do! Heavy work boots and a pile of miles = hole. I just put the rubber ones in there year round now.

[Jfheisenberg]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

If you dig your heel into the carpet and pivot your ankle to operate the pedals, it will wear a bald spot in the carpet.

Fortunately I don't have this problem, because I was taught to lift my legs to use the brake or clutch. But if you drive lazy, this can be the result.

mmmm i guess im going to have to check it out once i get home.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

If you dig your heel into the carpet and pivot your ankle to operate the pedals, it will wear a bald spot in the carpet.

Fortunately I don't have this problem, because I was taught to lift my legs to use the brake or clutch. But if you drive lazy, this can be the result.

Yep! When in the city or accelerating and slowing down a lot I tend to pick my leg up. On my 2 hour (each way) highway commutes I get lazy and just slide my foot back and forth and ended up with the bald spot.

[Lynxis]

Originally Posted by HeartbeaT91

I had a question. I'm also a new manual (1st manual is the BRZ i got a month ago), and the only time that makes me cringe nowadays is when I THINK I rev matched a downshift (ofcourse, USUALLY the 3 to 2 downshift. the gear ratio diff is so big.. ) but I didn't, and I let the clutch out too soon. The jerk just makes me cringe so hard... I should really slip it for a half second or so and let it out semi-slowly on those downshifts since I'm not rev matching enough - but until I can get it right, do you have any tips for me?

And.. am I fuuucking up my clutch by letting it out too fast without enough revs ?

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Nope your clutch will be fine. I will give my usual advice for this sort of thing. Try not to over think it every time and don't worry if you screw up every now and then. Practice will fix all of that and one day you will realize you drove all the way someplace without even once thinking about a shift.

Been driving manual for a little over 2 years now and I'm still far from satisfied with my shifting technique. Once in a while, I shift perfectly and it feels great when I know I did it right but it doesn't happen as often as I'd like. If I have to give any advice, learn not to rush the clutch which is the biggest problem I still have sometimes. You can always add throttle if you left the clutch out too long but if you try to bring the clutch out too quickly, there isn't anything you can do to stop it from jerking the car around.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Lynxis

Been driving manual for a little over 2 years now and I'm still far from satisfied with my shifting technique. Once in a while, I shift perfectly and it feels great when I know I did it right but it doesn't happen as often as I'd like. If I have to give any advice, learn not to rush the clutch which is the biggest problem I still have sometimes. You can always add throttle if you left the clutch out too long but if you try to bring the clutch out too quickly, there isn't anything you can do to stop it from jerking the car around.

Yep!
This is not a slam but an observation that I have made many times:


Movies (F&F), video games (pick one) and anime car drivers (again pick one) do all of their driving and especially shifting at levels that defy all reality. All shifts are done with a hammered down clutch, a shifter slammed into place with a death grip on the knob and then a clutch out that approaches the speed of light. Unfortunately all of these things are the complete opposite to how a MT should be driven but the reality does not make for great entertainment.
There is nothing wrong with taking half a second to let the clutch back out while rev matching especially while learning. Even the term "rev matching" seems to mess with people's heads since they think it is some weird and wonderful magical thing that will take skill to master. It isn't I assure you. It is simply getting the engine speed close to where it needs to be and if you take a moment longer to release the clutch while matching that speed that is just fine.
As I said above the other worst practice is this thing they do of grabbing that knob and manhandling the shifter through the gears. Don't grip your knob just caress it with a couple of fingers. The shifter knows where it goes next and if you are squeezing it and trying to push it around it will fight you. Two our three fingers or the palm of your hand just lightly pushing or pulling the shifter to the next gear will give you a faster shift and less clutch in time which will more than make up for the half second you may spend rev matching. Try it out and see if I am wrong!