Question for seasoned stick shift drivers

[Red Rocker]

Originally Posted by jakemaxx

if there is someone on my bumper i put it in reverse so they see the lights

[attymf]

You should not be in gear with the clutch pressed to the floor at a light. You should be in neutral with your foot on the floor.

[bballr4567]

Rev matching is by far the most advanced thing youll have to learn yet the most fun when you master it. Its a blast to rev match when going around a turn or just doing it when you slow down.

As others have said, its much easier on you and the car to leave the car in neutral at stop lights. Just be prepared to go when it turns green.

[PsyDoc]

Originally Posted by badkarma

And your throw out bearing will thank you for it.

Wait a minute. In general, doesn't the throw out bearing typically last longer than the clutch plates themselves? Does anyone have any real firm data showing that, all things equal, depressing the clutch wears out the throw out bearing significantly sooner than otherwise would be the case? I do know that being in neutral is being "nicest" to the tranny.

[badkarma]

Yeah, some real data would be cool. I've just been told for years by people and mechanics that it will wear the bearing quicker. One of them being my uncle who has rebuilt more transmissions than I could count.

I've also been told to sit at a light with the clutch in and in gear, because if someone hits you and knocks you arse out, it'll stall and not roll into the intersection.

decisions, decisions lol

[Soccer Mom]

[QUOTE=tommygun6644;640048]Hey guys,

As of 6/11/09, I became the proud owner of a 2SS/RS IBM Camaro w/ Sunroof and Manual Transmission.

It is my first stick shift car, and I've come a long way in terms of driving it between the 11th and now. I had to have a friend drive it home for me

1. As you could probably guess, steep hills are a toughy for a new stick driver (me, anyways). And idiots where I live get right on my ass when I'm on a hill at a stop light or something.

I am sooo glad I'm not the only one. When I read your post I was LMAO cuz I was thinkin the same things. I had never driven a stick until the test drive when my dealer took me out. talk about embarrassing! Its been 3 weeks a few killer hills (which I had never even noticed before) and a little whip lash but I think I'm gonna make it. thanks for askin stuff I was to embarrassed too!

[zekefreak]

When I taught my wife how to drive a stick many years ago in my 78 Z28, she did what most people do - give it gas, start to release the clutch, back off the gas, and do the bronco-bucking, head whiplash thing with the occasional stall. I told her not to let off the gas but to give it more gas so it won't buck. So at the next stop sign she begins to pull out, does the head snap and gives it more gas................. alot more gas. She lit up the tires for about 3 seconds then shifted to 2nd. Then she asked me "Was that better?" And I said "At least you didn't stall it!" She's much better now.

[Haloman1346]

Originally Posted by badkarma

Yeah, some real data would be cool. I've just been told for years by people and mechanics that it will wear the bearing quicker. One of them being my uncle who has rebuilt more transmissions than I could count.

I've also been told to sit at a light with the clutch in and in gear, because if someone hits you and knocks you arse out, it'll stall and not roll into the intersection.

decisions, decisions lol

You know ive always kept my clutch in and put in in first gear at lights because thats how I was taught.

I never thought about being rear-ended and not in a gear....LOL that would suck rolling out into a intersection.

[Doc]

Lots of advice here lol; hope you aren't confused.

For practical reasons, mostly cost and replacing parts, put the car in neutral when you're stopped at a light. If you can see the lights for the other direction which you almost always can, when those lights turn yellow, push in the clutch and put the trans in 1st so you're ready when your light turns green.

When slowing down, downshift if you're going to continue on without stopping. NEVER put the car in neutral if you intend to keep going because you'll have no power if you need to make a sudden emergency move, it's easy to panic and suddenly have a hard time getting the trans in the proper gear under those sudden unexpected conditions. It's a safety thing; sometimes it's not worth trying to save a few bucks; safety first.

Only put the car in neutral if you're coming to a complete stop. As others have pointed out, brake pads are cheaper and easier to replace than clutches. Downshifting can help though if you need to make a sudden emergency stop as that will aid in slowing down the car.

When you're not shifting, rest your foot on the "dead pedal" to the left of the clutch; do not drive around with your foot resting on the clutch pedal. Only put your foot on the clutch pedal when you need to shift or are about to shift.

On a hill or incline, you can momentarily hold your car in place by pressing and holding in the emergency brake release button, and pulling and holding the emergency brake handle up while letting out the clutch to get the car in motion. Release the emergency brake the moment you start moving forward. Never be afraid to use this technique if the situation makes it the best solution; you've got nothing to "prove" to anybody, it's about safety and not hitting something with your car.

You don't need to double clutch. That's an old technique back in the days when transmissions either didn't have synchros, or if they did they weren't good enough to properly mesh the gears when downshifting while slowing down. In essence it was you doing the synchronizing manually by letting out the clutch with the trans in neutral to spin the gears up to the speed you're going to shift into, then quickly clutching it again and shifting it into gear while they're spinning at that speed. The new transmissions are far far better than those days so unless you're racing or performance driving and want to take some of the stress off the transmission, don't worry about double clutching.

[Croatcamaro2010]

when your coming to a stop light put the car in neutral and let it coast, it saves on brake and clutch also it helps you learn what gear to go into at what speed, as well as finding a comfortable rpm level to keep it in if you just hold down the clutch it burns it out, when on a hill or pulling out of a parking spot on a hill use your ebrake, no problem with that

[Road_Warrior85]

I have driven stick shift more than a few times throughout my life.... I ride a Harley 15,000 miles per year.... So shifting gears is nothing new to me... it is just a matter of learning the feel for each clutch.

I must say though... The Camaro really screwed me up.

I have never driven a manual tranny car where the clutch pedal "kicks back" at you when you get to the friction zone.
Granted I have never driven something with this much motor, but I was not ready for that. It has taken me a couple days to get used to, but I still catch myself letting the pedal pop back and I stall out because I wasn't prepared for it.

[maxdmax]

Guys I live in an area of some major mountains. There are places where you can't pull out relying just on timing. I have to say that for racing the Camaro's brake and gas petals are not setup well at all to do heal and toe driving. I wear a size 10 shoe and while it is not the easiest car I have done this on, you can use the heal and toe with a Camaro for pulling out without a issue. I do this all the time "0" roll back. Sorry I am old school and wont use the e-brake.

[V1c1ous]

Its all about " muscle memory ". Like when you tie your shoes. When you first learned, you had to think through every step. Now I bet ( most of you ) tie your shoes with out thinking about it. I've driven trucks, cars, and bikes. each machine is different as far as the memory part, but the basics are all the same. Once you get the muscle memory, you wont even think about it. Most important, the absolute lowest rpm to get your vehicle moving, and no gas, till clutch ( pedal) is all the way out.

[Kelster]

Originally Posted by PsyDoc

Wait a minute. In general, doesn't the throw out bearing typically last longer than the clutch plates themselves? Does anyone have any real firm data showing that, all things equal, depressing the clutch wears out the throw out bearing significantly sooner than otherwise would be the case? I do know that being in neutral is being "nicest" to the tranny.

It doesn't really matter. Clutch kits come with a new T/O bearing and are replaced with the clutch. But it would be embarassing to have to do a clutch job just for a worn out T/O bearing.

And for that matter, if the T/O bearing gets that worn out, then the engagement tabs on the clutch are going to be shot too.