New to the Stick...Advice?

[CanadianRocky]

Try this.

With the car in gear and the brake peddle depressed, let the clutch up slowly until you feel it just start to engage. then push it back in, do that several times and if you do it gentle enough you wont hurt the clutch or the brakes. The clutch on a 400 hp car is designed to take a certain amount of abuse. And if you do it carefully, you are not abusing it.

Once you have done it enough to get the feel for where the clutch engages do what is called a gentle friction start.

With a bit of pressure on the brake peddle, let the clutch up until you feel the clutch just start to engage, then let the brake peddle and the clutch peddle come up together. Then push the clutch back in and stop the car. Do it again and again until you can control the vehicle while it is starting.

Once you get that sorted out, go to a slight incline and do it again. This will enable you to be able to pull away from a complete stop without rolling backward.

Do that until you are comfortable doing it then go somewhere where the incline is a bit steeper.

Just remember that when you are at a light or stop sign and there is someone behind you, don't let them force you into doing something quickly. You drive your car, and let them drive theirs.

Just remember to do everything slowly, methodically and with care.

As said in a previous post, you are training your muscle memory.

Eventually you will be able to release the brake at a light and use the throttle and clutch to get you moving.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by Remnant

Ok so I used to rev my engine up to the RPM's I predicted the car would be at in the next gear so, clutch (rpm's dropped immediately to say 1000), rev up to say 2500 while up shifting and then release the clutch while holding the rpm's there. It always felt really smooth while doing so, I just assumed it wasn't bad for the clutch. true/false?

Depending on how fast the RPM fall on the car, you may have to feather the gas pedal a little to enter the gear at the correct RPM, or you may have to wait for the RPM to fall more for the smoothest shift.

If you let up the clutch pedal fast and the result is very smooth, then whatever you did with the gas pedal was right. If you have to let the clutch up slowly to absorb the difference and avoid jerking, then you either needed to give it more or less gas.

In my VW, there's never a need to give it any gas during shifts; besides the RPM falling somewhat slowly (but not intolerable), it has rev hang, a "feature" where it stays at whatever RPM it was after you let go of the gas pedal, often for 3 seconds. It annoys me because it never takes me 3 seconds to complete a shift and I have to smooth it with the clutch.

[Ghans64]

The best advice I got was from my husband who taught me how to drive stick, first slowly release the clutch until you find the spot where the car slowly moves itself forward..here is where you can apply the gas and not stall in first. He also told me that when you come to a complete stop at the red lights watch the lights so that when you see the lights starting to change you can make sure your ready to find the clutch point and go instead of getting nervous and stalling. Every car I have driven stick in from the WRX to the GTI to the S2000 has a different clutch point and feel to the clutch so it always takes me a few to find the new clutch point. I find it much easier to drive cars with higher torque for you do not have to rev as high within gears to get power like the S2000 which has too little torque for my liking. Good luck its frustrating at first but once you learn you can finally drive any car you like.

[illestdomer2005]

I learned to drive on a POS 1990 Honda Accord 5 spd that I STILL have to this very day -- but not for long -- and it was quite possibly the worst manual to learn on. This clutch is unforgiving. Period. I have driven it for 11 years now, and I still get crap from it in first gear. By comparison, I drove a Hyundai Genesis Coupe manual the other day, and even being unfamiliar with it, it was like butter from the start. All that's to say, I learned fairly quickly on one of the worst manual trannies out there, and the one you're getting is going to be light year's ahead of mine.

While I would love to get a stick on the Camaro, big city traffic has me really leaning towards the auto. I already have a nasty case of road rage, and I can't stand using my left foot 100 times to go one mile... Now, if I were to get an SS, that might be a different story

[CanadianRocky]

Now, if what you want is smooth up-shifting use this method.

Accerate only enough to give you enough power to accelerate in the next gear.

In other words, take it up to about 2000 rpm in first and up-shift, the rpm will drop when you disengage the clutch to say, 1500 rpm (this will depend on the split in the transmission) if the car will accelerate then you have choosen the right rpm in the previous gear. If not, then you need to go a bit higher.

As you climb in gears, the exit point of the rpm will have to be higher, as your transmission is a power multiplier and you will need to be higher in the torque when you release the clutch in the newer gear.

These numbers will NOT be correct, but it will give you an idea.

2000 rpm in first - 1500 rpm in second, then accelerate to 2250 in second - 1750 in third, then accelerate to 2500 in third - 2000 in fourth - then accelerate to 2750 in fourth - etc.

It is called Progressive shifting, in other words progressively increasing your shift points, which keeps you in the torque so you will be able to accelerate in the higher gear.

Progressive shifting will work in all transmissions, but the higher the torque of the engine, the better it works.

[McGruff]

I wouldn't suggest learning on your Camaro...you might stall a lot. I'd ask a friend to let you learn on their car. Buy them dinner or something.

[CanadianRocky]

Down shifting.

Use what is called a Set and Hold method.

Once you have established your splits in the transmission, say you are at 2000 rpm, take it out of gear, raise the rpm to the rpm you need in the lower gear, set the throttle, hold the throttle, put it into the lower gear and let the clutch out, but do not release the throttle. If you release the throttle while you are disengaging the clutch, it will have a jerky feeling to it.

So it might look like this.

in fourth gear you are at 2000 rpm, push the clutch in, raise the throttle to 2500 rpm, hold the throttle at 2500 rpm and shift down and then release the clutch. If the split is correct, and you hold the throttle steady, it will feel absolutely smooth and seamless.

The shift points will be different than the up shift points in the previous post about up shifting.

Always....ALWAYS.... use your clutch when shifting. Anyone who tells you otherwise, is not your friend.

Again, this type of shifting will work on all vehicles. It is also the most difficult part of learning to shift. You need to train your feet.

[CanadianRocky]

Just in case you are wondering where this comes from, I have taught over 600 people to drive this, or one just like it. And almost always there is a 53 ft trailer behind it, and a significant portion of it is in the mountains of British Columbia.

[CanadianRocky]

Now, should you be using your Camaro to do this. Well, that is up to you but my experience is that the higher the torque, the easier it is to learn to shift a standard. that is because the torque does the work, not your legs.

I have taught 19 year old girls to drive the 18 speed in my truck and it makes 1850 ft lbs of torque.

[theholycow]

If anyone really wants lessons, head over to http://www.standardshift.com which is a forum entirely about driving manual transmissions.

Originally Posted by CanadianRocky

Now, if what you want is smooth up-shifting use this method.

Accerate only enough to give you enough power to accelerate in the next gear.

In other words, take it up to about 2000 rpm in first and up-shift[...]

Good point. I didn't want to make it that complicated, I was just responding to the guy who asked if giving it some gas during an upshift is correct.

I actually practice your method, to an extreme in my normal daily driving. I shift out of 1st at about 1000rpm; then 2->3 at 1200; then 3->4 at 1400; then 4->5 at 1500. My little VW is no torque beast but it's decently torquey for an econobox and low-geared. I save a lot of gas, my shifts are very smooth, and I'm not holding up traffic.

I do wish for another 5 gears when I get to 5th before 30mph, though.

[CanadianRocky]

Originally Posted by theholycow

I save a lot of gas, my shifts are very smooth, and I'm not holding up traffic...........

Progressive shifing is the most economical way to get up to road speed.

[djsnoflake]

Yeah and watch out for competition mode it is weird and kinda intimidating. The manual does not explain it very well. I chickened out trying a launch. I was like, "I'm supposed to dump the clutch with the engine revving at 6000 RPMs? Umm, no thanks"

[SSOOCH]

When I bought my Z28 in 1994 (I was 18 and my first car was a Silverado Truck with a auto tran) my Sister had to drive it off of the lot because I couldn't drive a stick. I taught myself that day. I sold that in 1999 and have not drove a stick since. I'm also a little nervous, but I'm pretty sure it's like riding a bike.

[marxbrother]

I have never driven a car with manual tranny before myself. But I do have two motorcycles (07 V-Star 1300 & 99 V-Max) and they are obviously manual tranny machines.

Will I have a hard time adjusting or getting the hang of a manual on a car? I understand "feathering" of the clutch, downshifting, etc. But the clutch on most MCs is a wet sump and can be abused, how different are the car clutches? I am not really nervous as I will learn on a beater first before I get my 2SS, although the hills have me thinking.

Marxbrother