Newbie Manual Driving Help Needed

[FReSh]

It sounds like a lot of people slip the clutch a pretty considerable amount when taking off quicker than normal. I would suggest not focusing on exactly how you are applying the clutch, but to focus more on the accelerator and to let the clutch out smoothly and consistently (at a constant rate). You may stall it a few times learning this, but once you get used to using the accelerator to keep the car from stalling as you engage the clutch, you can then control how fast you take off by how fast you let out the clutch. The sooner the clutch is fully engaged, the quicker you have taken off and can apply more accelerator.

[Gen]

I always feel like the first 0-10% of the pedal travel feels dead. Then 10-20% feels like you're at 80% of full throttle. It's strange.

[fatherfork]

For those of you who do not like the clutch engagement point and have not already adjusted the pedal, check out this thread: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8040

[subwaynm]

No worries you'll get it; most new things take a little getting used to but before long it's hard to imagine that you haven't been doing whatever for ever. ;-)

[amaciose]

This was my first manual as well, and the exercise that helped me the most was driving around a parking lot without the gas pedal.

Slowly let off the clutch until the idle power gets the car moving. I did this for about an hour the first day I got it. After that, you have the clutch control in muscle memory, and all you have to do is add the gas.

Getting going from a stop, I let off the clutch until it's just about to hit that bite point and then I jump off the brake onto the gas. Stops from rolling backwards on hills too.

[cycleboy]

I drove German and Japanese manuals for the first 13yrs I was driving, then went to an auto for ~14yrs, then to the 6MT FR-S.

It did take a little getting used to again. I have stalled it a few times when not paying attention.

A few things I do or have noticed:

1. Things will break in and loosen up a bit with some miles on the clutch/tranny. Mine at 11K feels much easier to start from a stop and go up hills from a stop than when new.
2. The electronic throttle is a bit weird as it sometimes feels like it doesn't get the go into the motor right away. This still catches me off guard a tiny bit from time to time.
3. In reverse out of my inclined driveway, I let the clutch out briefly to get the car enough speed to back out and then put the clutch back in and roll back from there. If I need a little more oomph, I can do the same thing again.
4. There is no need to rev it up to 2K and beyond to start out unless you want to. On flat ground at a dead stop, I can take off without revving above idle until the gear starts to engage and car is moving.

[_______]

Originally Posted by Jaywest717

This is my first car with a manual transmission and I've been driving it everyday for almost a month now. I've been researching on various websites and practicing various techniques, but I have some questions (and comments) which are specific to this car and I feel you guys could best help answer them (I'm still new at this, so I hope this makes sense.):

I still feel like I am starting way too slow from a stop light or a stop sign. The first couple of seconds, I'm moving like a turtle and then suddenly I'm accelerating quickly, but those first seconds are too slow. I'm not asking this because I want to race someone, but because of something much more important. In locations where I have to turn into a lane with a lot of fast-moving traffic, I am waiting for quite some time for a wide opening before pulling into said traffic (something I didn't have to do with an automatic), because I am too slow at launch and don't want to get rear-ended. How high can I rev the engine before engaging first gear to ensure a smooth, but faster launch with this car?

Also, does going in reverse feel too sensitive to anyone else? It's the only gear in which I'm still either stalling or suddenly flying in reverse. I actually scuffed up the bottom (underbar?) part of my car on a curb from trying to reverse while on a incline. ...I've avoided parallel parking on an incline going downhill for this very reason...but it would be nice if I could master this as well.

Thanks.

In terms of standstill starts this car is quite tricky because the engagement is point is really high. I know in my old RSX once I inched the clutch pedal off the clutch is already engaging and the car is moving. The key for this car at least for me to get smooth and relatively fast starts is to let off the clutch pedal by half an inch first and then rev it to 2,000 all in a smooth manner. In terms of revving it higher for a faster launch you just have to remember that most of the time it never be smooth, thats just the way it is.

In terms of reverse gear, yes when you release the clutch with a little gas it will zoom in to reverse. That was one of the more surprising aspects about the transmission when I bought this car. Do the seesaw action with clutch and gas for a smoother reverse.

I feel that this car is quite tricky to learn for first time manual drivers so dont fret it takes time to get used to. I drove manual for 6 years before this one and it took me like 2 months to really get comfortable though Im still struggling to get smoother 1st to 2nd gear shifts.

[Turbo95eg6]

Hang in there young grasshopper… In time it will feel second nature, and you will never doubt picking the manual.

[PSORngr]

I think I've only gotten off the clutch completely in reverse twice in the five months I've owned the car. As long as you don't rev like crazy I don't see it hurting the clutch much (unless you are backing up for a long distance for whatever reason). It goes too fast to safely pull into (or out of) parking spots fully disengaged.

[daiheadjai]

The clutch on this car is definitely not the easiest to handle.
But I've found the key is your clutch work - as long as you commit the clutch engagement point to muscle memory, you should be able to start quickly.

I'm not a fan of revving the engine up over 2,000rpm to get the car going - to me, that seems like excessive/slip wear for the clutch, and if you can get the engagement point, you shouldn't need it.

[daiheadjai]

Originally Posted by Suberman

On small engined cars at least, reverse has always been the lowest gear in the transmission. This is because you don't want to drive quickly in reverse.

These cars suffer from three faults that make learning to drive a manual version tricky: the clutch bite point (friction zone) is too high up in the pedal travel, the clutch pedal height is too high off the floor (half an inch or more higher than the brake pedal which is just weird) and the tip in or initial throttle travel is unnecessarily rapid.

The first two issues can be corrected by adjusting the pedal height and bite point about one half inch closer to the floor of the car.

The throttle travel issue cannot be fixed unless Subaru releases a software update for the electronic throttle which isn't going to happen.

North Americans like aggressive throttle tip in. It makes a car feel more powerful than it really is. Almost all American built cars suffer from this fault. Many imports also do in order to satisfy this market demand. It's weird but that's just the way it is.

Most experienced manual transmission drivers stall this car repeatedly until they get used to these faults. I had my dealership adjust the clutch pedal and it is better. However, it is still absurdly easy to stall this car, even for an expert.

I briefly considered purchasing an electronic throttle controller that would sharpen the DBW (i.e. the Apexi unit).
Anyone have thoughts on those?
How about lightweight crank pulleys (which should sharpen response as well)?

This is my first manual DBW car, and that was a big difference (previous cars were much more linear in how the throttle and clutch behaved)

[trekkie]

Drive more.

Seriously, that's the best way to do it.

Go find a park without a lot of kids in it, especially this time of year in the states it's too cold so that should be easy. The roads are <15 MPH and usually easy/no hills.

You want to find your grab point. this is when the clutch plates come back together. you just have to practice getting up to and engaging, and then get off it in a smooth motion. Come to a stop, do it again.

2K RPM seems high to me saw that said a couple times, but I don't drive the FR-S that much at the moment as I don't have one. You can also find your sweet spot with practice.

That's why these cars are fun in my view. You 'feel' your way through things. Revving the motor slightly, releasing the clutch slowly, grabbing and letting it engage.

You don't want to be at the 'clutch halfway in/out' point more than a second or two, longer you're burning and slower you're gonna get whiplash with the surging that happens.

You can ride with someone telling you what to do, I guess it depends on how you learn to me it wasn't all that helpful, you just feel your way through things.

[Minhtyfresh]

Originally Posted by trekkie

Go find a park without a lot of kids in it, especially this time of year in the states it's too cold so that should be easy. The roads are <15 MPH and usually easy/no hills.

First read through looked like "Go find a park with a lot of kids in it"

Lol.

[Manic]

Hey man, I'm in the same boat as you. I picked my car up around mid October, and I'm still getting used to it. Granted, I had very limited experience with manual transmissions, I still recognized how odd the clutch is on this car.

Like others have stated, I found giving it a little more revs, up to around 2k mark makes launching a bit more consistent and smoother. Shifts between 1st and 2nd still feel a little jerky to me, but after riding with a couple friends in their M/T cars, I guess it's just normal.

A bit of a tip, one thing you could try is finding an empty parking lot, and driving around it in reverse. Make sure you're properly looking behind you, not just using the mirrors. Practice stopping and starting, all while in reverse. My dad made me do this to teach me to feel/hear the clutch and the throttle without having the tach to tell me what my RPM was at. It was a huge pain in the ass, but after an hour or so of that, I felt a lot more confident. Plus, it helps with your reversing problems too.

Also, while I haven't doen it yet, I'd definitely look into the clutch adjustment DIY. I want to do it, I just haven't had the motivation to contort my body so I can reach under there. Back problems and all.