The Next Step?

[Angelbroken]

So the past week of car practice have gone GREATLY. I can't even remember the last time I stalled - And I only had one moment when I came 'close' to stalling but didn't allow it to go that far.

Basically I'm pretty confident in traffic now - and I've even started driving it to work - which has a few nasty hills that still scare me a bit But I've practiced the "emergency brake" technique and am getting fairly good at it, considering I parallel park my car each night on a VERY steep street so I get a lot of "emergency brake" (when to release and when to raise it up) which parking each time I come home.

ANYWAY - I'm wondering whats the next step? Do I just keep driving and enjoy my car and everything 'fine tunes' with time? Or should I focus on specific things? (such as working on smoothing out my shifts from 1st - 2nd, or learning to "speed off" with hill launches rather then taking your time)

Thanks for all your support - I'm very happy I'm starting to enjoy my car more thanks to your guys!

So far my car only has 100 miles on it (From me) and I'm loving it! Next thing to do is to replace the CD Deck with a newer one so I can plug my iPod in. . And just for fun - Here is a picture of my two cars. My old, Automatic (the Beige Reliant) and my Honda Prelude =D I http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/9192 ... arsion.jpg

[theholycow]

That much improvement with only 100 miles experience? Wow!

Just keep driving and enjoy your car. As you drive you will identify the things you'd like to improve.

[tankinbeans]

I'd say keep driving your car and enjoying the ride. As the cow said, things will fall into place eventually. I can tell I'm getting better, but am not forcing the issue by focusing on "fixing stuff". When you start thinking, you start goofing up again. I more or less let my body make the adjustments with little braining going on.

I can't say I was that comfortable after 100 miles. I'd say that I really started getting less wonky when I rolled about 6000 miles.

[Shadow]

Just continue to refine your driving until you're completely satisfied with the way the car responds to your input. If ultra-smooth shifting is important to you, then work on your shifting until you (or your passengers) can't feel your shifts at all. If hill starts are an issue, work on them. The great thing about mastering a manual transmission is that you're essentially practicing every time you drive the car.

[Angelbroken]

Well, to be fair, every 100 of those miles were in stop and go, city driving - so literally every mile was a learning step for me LOL And I was VERY frustrated, almost to the point of regretting buying it, at times becuase of it. But now I think the "steep" part of the learning curve is over - the next thing I need to practice more is getting VERY comfortable with hills - Other then that, maybe smoothing out my 1st-2nd Shift?

I find my downshifts are EXTREMELY smooth. . Like when I'm in 3rd or 4th and come to a corner - I shift to 2nd, brake, then ease off the clutch and I go "Wow. . how was that smooth?". . I guess if I don't let my brain think, I perform a lot better But my upshifts from 1st to 2nd are still nothing wonderful. Usually it's 50/50 - Half the time its a smooth shift, half the time it jerks a bit. But I doubt its hurting the car at all - I hope anyway

[tankinbeans]

Well, to be fair, every 100 of those miles were in stop and go, city driving - so literally every mile was a learning step for me LOL And I was VERY frustrated, almost to the point of regretting buying it, at times becuase of it. But now I think the "steep" part of the learning curve is over - the next thing I need to practice more is getting VERY comfortable with hills - Other then that, maybe smoothing out my 1st-2nd Shift?

I find my downshifts are EXTREMELY smooth. . Like when I'm in 3rd or 4th and come to a corner - I shift to 2nd, brake, then ease off the clutch and I go "Wow. . how was that smooth?". . I guess if I don't let my brain think, I perform a lot better But my upshifts from 1st to 2nd are still nothing wonderful. Usually it's 50/50 - Half the time its a smooth shift, half the time it jerks a bit. But I doubt its hurting the car at all - I hope anyway

My upshifts are still nothing wonderful either. One thing I've found to work is to hold the clutch in for a fraction of a second to let the RPM come down upon completion of an upshift. It seems to prevent the car lurching quite so much, but every car varies so you'll have to play with it.

Enjoy your ride, what is it? I may have missed that part.

[Rope-Pusher]

Usually it's 50/50 - Half the time its a smooth shift, half the time it jerks a bit.

So half the time you're a bit of a jerk. Sounds like a couple other of the posters around here.
Yule phit riot inn.

[gizmo]

at this rate you'll be a pro in a jiffy ( jiffy = 10 milliseconds).

in all seriousness, i'm still making dumb mistakes. just today i tried to launch in neutral, which was a blessing, because the RPMs skyrocketed. none of my shifts are smooth, and the few that are -- they always catch me by surprise. but i really enjoy driving a manual, and my bad knee is really starting to put a damper on it. if i can't find a new knee, at 27, i'll probably have to get myself a slushy. either that, or i need to man up, and deal with the pain. thank goodness i drive a rice burner, god knows what a cable clutch would do to this knee.

just try to have fun with it. in the end, you'll look back, and laugh at silly it was to get flustered over the whole thing. but it does put things in perspective, for such a simple device, we humans sure have a hard time operating them.

[AHTOXA]

The next step is applying for a stig position.

Or just driving.

[Angelbroken]

Hm. . .well thanks guys - that really puts things into perspective on the progress I've been making - And I do love driving manual - The next step seems to be replacing my car's CD Deck with one thats iPod compatible

[potownrob]

next step: drive

[kayubassist]

I've only driven a manual car for 1 month now.
I think I am pretty comfortable with driving but still have trouble launching.
It's not whether I launch smoothly or not, but launching fast.
At a stop sign or red light, I start moving and it takes very long to reach the speed limit. People behind me get frustrated so that they pass me and give me the look.
If I just step on the gas hard, the rpm shoots up and I have to shift to 4th in a very short time and I can't do it that fast.
That's something I need to work on.

[tankinbeans]

I've only driven a manual car for 1 month now.
I think I am pretty comfortable with driving but still have trouble launching.
It's not whether I launch smoothly or not, but launching fast.
At a stop sign or red light, I start moving and it takes very long to reach the speed limit. People behind me get frustrated so that they pass me and give me the look.
If I just step on the gas hard, the rpm shoots up and I have to shift to 4th in a very short time and I can't do it that fast.
That's something I need to work on.

If they give you "the look" ignore them. People will get butt-hurt over anything. Don't let it bother you. Shoot for a good launch and then eventually you'll get comfortable with having all the power over your tq and hp. After all you control when your car shifts so you can ring it out if you'd like and get going rather quickly.

[theholycow]

At a stop sign or red light, I start moving and it takes very long to reach the speed limit. People behind me get frustrated so that they pass me and give me the look.
If I just step on the gas hard, the rpm shoots up and I have to shift to 4th in a very short time and I can't do it that fast.

So, it sounds like you're launching ok but you're not accelerating as fast as you like.

Why do you have difficulty shifting fast? What part is difficult?

If you want, you could skip-shift. Step on it hard, RPM and speed shoot up; instead of shifting to the next gear, skip one or two gears. That will avoid having to shift again too soon. You might want to wait until you're in 2nd before you step on it hard, as 1st may be too hyper.

However, here's what I would do (and, in fact, what I did do in my 2008 VW):
1st gear: Just get the car rolling. Immediately shift to 2nd.
2nd: Moderate throttle, shift into 3rd at ~15mph (your speed may vary).
3rd: Heavy throttle, shift into 4th at ~20mph (your speed may vary).
4th: Heavy throttle, shift into 5th at ~30mph (your speed may vary).
5th: Heavy throttle, wish I had a 6th.
I am good at shifting fast though...in the VW I could just slam the clutch pedal/dump the accelerator, flick the shifter quickly, and dump the clutch/slam the accelerator all in a quick moment.

[kayubassist]

I usually take it slow because I am constantly listening to the engine sound when I drive while reading the tachometer.
not quite used to shifting by the 'feel' of the car.

didn't mean to thread jack op
I hope you find tank's and cow's responses helpful too.