Learning manual on the 86

[MuseChaser]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Yep!
1964 Karmann Ghia.
Only 4 speeds.
40HP and 60 torque.
0 to 60 in about an afternoon.
Top speed 70MPH.
Fun as hell!

LOL.. yep. I learned to drive manual on a 1960-something VW bus. Talk about lack of power and transmission slop. Still, I LOVED that car.

Barry

[jasonojordan]

Rev match a little. With how light the fly wheel is it is fairly forgiving on this. Just lightly tap the gas right before you down shift then let the clutch out smoothly. Best advice I can give for starting out on hill starts is use the parking brake. Set it then its more or less just like taking off like normal but as you ease the clutch out also ease of the hand brake and away you will go without worry about rolling back into anyone.

[Mad1723]

Originally Posted by emishor86

Whats people's opinion on learning downshifting/rev matching on FRS/86? Is it fairly difficult? The throttle seems sensitive but the gearbox is smooth

Once you get the hang of the transmission, it's smooth sailing.

Learning to blip-shift was fairly straightforward, the hardest part is learning the amount of throttle required. It takes a bit of getting used to, every car is slightly different (with mods it can change too). I got a Cusco pedal to make it a bit easier at the track too.

[Summerwolf]

I would concentrate on normal operation before learning to rev match / blip downshift. Just take your time with it.


I always tell people it is a smooth progression. You let out clutch and add same amount of gas slowly. That was the easiest way to get people to learn. I always had them feel the engagement point of the clutch without gas before hand though.... Without someone teaching you, it can be a little challenging. My dad taught me in a day and by the end of day three I was able to get around without much issue in my first manual vehicle. Just take your time and have fun.

[eFRS]

As stated by everyone else, take it day by day, light by light, learn at your own pace and enjoy the ride.

Like yourself, this is my first manual car as well. No prior experience, just a bunch of youtube videos. lol Though only driving the FR-S on the weekends, I'm slowly getting the hand of it.

[mdm]

Yup, patience and practice. In my first 2 or 3 lessons of driver's ed the instructor took me to an empty back road. And there I started, changed gears up to 2nd or 3rd, stopped, started, and again, and again, and again.

[DrifterD]

I am in the same boat as you, ive only ever had auto cars. The 86 will be my first manual car and i just think with repetition it won't be much of a problem.

[Ashikabi]

Riding the clutch for a few seconds won't hurt it. It's the only way to hill start without the hand brake

[mazeroni]

I drove an automatic for about 7 years before I got a manual. Took 6 months to change my mindset. Took another 12 months for things to truly click.

My biggest mistake: Reading well-intentioned comments on the internet about the right way to do things. The moment you think too much about it you end up getting a great big whiff of roasting clutch.

I think it is 70% muscle memory and 30% feeling when the wheels and powertrain are in sync.

I had a bad week last week. At every stop I was revving it up over 2k and riding the clutch until 10 mph. I awkwardly jerked into 2nd and 3rd. I couldn't get my feet to do what logic and reason was telling me. This week, I don't think I have gone over 800 rpm or not gotten off the clutch under 5 mph. My shifts were like butter.

There are good weeks and bad weeks. C'est la vie!

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by mazeroni

I drove an automatic for about 7 years before I got a manual. Took 6 months to change my mindset. Took another 12 months for things to truly click.

My biggest mistake: Reading well-intentioned comments on the internet about the right way to do things. The moment you think too much about it you end up getting a great big whiff of roasting clutch.

I think it is 70% muscle memory and 30% feeling when the wheels and powertrain are in sync.

I had a bad week last week. At every stop I was revving it up over 2k and riding the clutch until 10 mph. I awkwardly jerked into 2nd and 3rd. I couldn't get my feet to do what logic and reason was telling me. This week, I don't think I have gone over 800 rpm or not gotten off the clutch under 5 mph. My shifts were like butter.

There are good weeks and bad weeks. C'est la vie!

Best comment on manuals ever right there^^^^
Guys will give you all sorts of "tips" but they mean nothing in print since the whole operation is so tactile.
Not to mention that everybody's style is different. I read what some guys here do and think "WTF why?" all the time.

[Summerwolf]

^ Handbrake on a hill start comes immediately to mind.


OP, stay away from the "how do I drive a manual" threads.

[Ashikabi]

What wolf said, stay away, just learn by feel. If you feel you're doing it wrong, experiment

[xFury]

I learned how to drive my first manual car with my FRS. But it was a bit easier since I knew how to ride a motorcycle.

I had one of my friend thought me since he was riding along. I knew the basic stuff, but wasn't good at hills. What we did was we went and found a commercial area that had a hilly area (It was empty) and practiced clutch control and gas control on it. We started at a slightly steep hill and went to more steep hill.

Burning clutch is gonna be normal since we're still learning. I had a parking lot area hill where it was really steep to get up and its always busy, so imagine how that was, I could smell the burnt clutch for a few mins even tho it was for a few seconds lol.

But take your time, don't rush it, and don't think about stalling. Keep watching different videos on YT and read about it to learn more about the car and manual. I'm still iffy on the gear changes, but I'm getting a lot more used to it, so I'm like you, my main issue right now is steep hill area, but I got the idea on how to do it, but still not smooth and my gear change is not smooth all the time. For those hill, you can use the e-brake method too.

[Veloist]

I agree with comment saying that there are good weeks and bad weeks and I especially think it's true for beginners. I've only been driving stick for 3 years and I feel that way.

That's part of what makes stick so fun in this car--it's like you have so much control and the car needs very precise engagement so you never know when your shift is gonna be precise or 80% precise. Thus, it really keeps you engaged.