I like to put my most commonly used advice in links in my sig, but our sig length limit is really short. So, here's my stuff.

Me: I'm from http://allOffTopic.com and I'd love to see you there. We have fun smileys and inappropriate content. What I look like

My car:
1980 Buick LeSabre Limited. My grandfather bought it brand new and I ended up with it 25 years/35,000 miles later.
Engine: 4.1L V6 - same as the classic Buick 3.8 but bored out (wiki, more info). Not the same as the GM corporate 3800. Evenfire, Quadrajet M4ME, originally rated 120HP@4000RPM and 200ft-lb@2000RPM but mine is pretty lame.
Transmission: Borg Warner/Tremec T5 5 speed manual from a 1986 Chevy S10 pickup.
Transmission installation: Project Christone slo Hackensteinberg


My previous car:
2008 Volkswagen Rabbit with all the drive-by-wire throttle craptasticness, rev hang, throttle lag, etc and all the numb grabby clutch horror you could ever want.

My truck:
2002 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 5.3l 4L60E 3.73 extended cab 6.5' bed

Lugging: It's not what you think and it's not happening in your car:
http://www.standardshift.com/forum/view ... 7&start=15

FAQs:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3812
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6552


Commonly misused terms - Gears: What's "low" and what's "high"?
Low = short = 1st or reverse = 4.3:1 = low MPH = high RPM
High = tall = 6th gear = 0.67:1 = high MPH = low RPM

Commonly misused terms - Difficulty starting:
Crank = turn over = electric starter spins the crankshaft = sounds like "RRRrrrr RRRrrrr RRRrrrr" or "fluh fluh fluh". This happens while you hold the key in the "Start" position and stops when you let go of the key.
Fire = fuel is burned at least once.
Run = engine idles for at least a second after it fires, burning fuel.

Sometimes-unclear terms - Clutch status:
Clutch pedal down = clutch disengaged = "clutch in" = clutch pedal floored
Clutch pedal up = clutch engaged = "clutch out" = released

Sometimes-unclear terms - Launch:
Launch = what you do after you stop at a stop sign = what you do when the light turns green = make the car begin moving
"Fast", "hard" or "race" launch = Rev engine way up and dump clutch so you can take off like a bat out of hell (possibly spinning your tires) (Note: This is not a how-to, just a terminology definition)
Rolling launch or rolling 2nd gear launch = Similar technique to a launch, but done when you're not stopped, often for the purpose of getting into 2nd during slow-moving traffic. Clutch pedal down, shift to gear, release clutch pedal the same way you do when launching, step on accelerator the same way you do when launching.


Overcoming difficulty with launching:
It may take a long time. With enough practice you will be able to move your clutch foot quickly through the areas where quick is acceptable, and (where necessary to move slowly) slower than you currently think you can.

I spent a long time not improving at all. Here's a few hurdles I had to get over before I was able to make progress:
1. Smooth continuous clutch movement: Bad idea. In actuality I had to slow or stop my foot through part of the clutch release.

2. Once the car is moving, my clutch foot's job is done: Bad idea. In actuality, there was still more slow/paused clutch foot time even though the car was moving.

3. Feathering the throttle by using just my toe: Bad idea. In actuality I had to plant my entire foot on the entire accelerator pedal. It differs by accelerator pedal design and position.

I recommend these exercises:
1. Go somewhere abandoned and practice no-gas launching. Keep your right foot flat on the floor and repatedly launch from a stop using only your clutch. This will train your clutch foot.

2. Go somewhere that people won't laugh at you for revving your engine. Keep your parking brake on and your shifter in neutral. Practice revving up to various target RPMs, watching your tachometer to confirm the result. Start with large increments, revving up to 1000, 1500, 2000, etc. When you're good at that, practice smaller increments; 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200 RPM. Mix it up; make flash cards and shuffle them, pick a card and without pausing rev to that RPM. This will train your accelerator foot.

If I had done those exercises in the beginning I would have gotten comfortable with launching a lot sooner than I did.

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1980 Buick LeSabre 4.1L 5MT

Put your car in your sig!

Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig

Will Rogers more than once said "I never meta-sig I didn't like!"

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'08 Jeep Liberty 6-Speed MT - "Last of the Mohicans"