First manual car - have some questions
Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 4:48 pm
Hi,
I purchased my first manual car 3 days ago and I've been learning how to drive manual ever since. I do not have anyone to teach me so I rely mostly on the guides and YouTube videos I find online, so naturally, I have a few questions to make sure I am doing it right.
Right now, I do the following when starting off:
1. Push clutch in (disengage?) all the way to the floor.
2. Put the car in first
3. Let go off the clutch (engange?) until it hits the biting point then I give it gas while I slowly release the clutch.
Downshifting:
1. Let go of gas
2. Push clutch all the way in
3. Change to the next lowest gear
4. Slowly release the clutch
When I do this, the downshift feels very rough and sort of jerks me forward as the car slows down, so I do not know if this is the correct way, and if I might be doing damage to the clutch/transmission?
Driving:
To go from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, etc... I do:
1. Let go of gas
2. Push the clutch all the way in
3. Change the gear
4. Let go of the clutch while giving it some gas
Would this be the correct way to change gears? I've read online to keep the foot on the gas while pressing down on the clutch to not let the RPMs drop and once the clutch is all the way down, let go of gas, change gear, and give it a bit a gas while letting go of the clutch. I am not sure whether this is the correct way or not?
In general, when upshifting, in order to not have any jerkiness, do you give gas while letting go of the clutch? Or is that bad?
When slowing down, should I downshift to the next lowest gear or only use my brakes to slow down and not downshift? I've heard that downshifting is not good for the clutch and transmission and to only downshift when I need to be in a lower gear to quickly accelerate?
When cruising say in 4th gear and you are approaching a red light, should you leave it in 4th gear and use the brakes to slow down and right before the car will stall, you put in neutral? Or should you slow down by downshifting and using the brakes?
Does it cause any damage to the clutch if you have the clutch pressed all the way down and leave the car in 1st gear at a stop light? I've read that you should leave the car in neutral and only change to first when you are ready to leave, otherwise it will cause wear and tear on your clutch to have it pressed all the way down, but I thought it is always best to have the car in gear in case you need to quickly move?
In bumper to bumper traffic, I sometimes ride the clutch I think but hope not. For example, in stop and go traffic that slowly creeps forward and comes to a stop every 5 feet or so, I have the car in 1st gear and I keep the clutch at the biting point and give it a bit of gas - around 1500RPM to slowly move forward a bit and once I have to stop I push the clutch all the way down and go on the brake, but I never get to fully release the clutch, I am always on it. I repeat this until we move fast enough to fully release the clutch. Is this the best way to drive in rush hour traffic or will this cause me to wear out my clutch very quickly?
How do I avoid causing damage to the clutch and transmission?
Thank you for all the help.
I purchased my first manual car 3 days ago and I've been learning how to drive manual ever since. I do not have anyone to teach me so I rely mostly on the guides and YouTube videos I find online, so naturally, I have a few questions to make sure I am doing it right.
Right now, I do the following when starting off:
1. Push clutch in (disengage?) all the way to the floor.
2. Put the car in first
3. Let go off the clutch (engange?) until it hits the biting point then I give it gas while I slowly release the clutch.
Downshifting:
1. Let go of gas
2. Push clutch all the way in
3. Change to the next lowest gear
4. Slowly release the clutch
When I do this, the downshift feels very rough and sort of jerks me forward as the car slows down, so I do not know if this is the correct way, and if I might be doing damage to the clutch/transmission?
Driving:
To go from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, etc... I do:
1. Let go of gas
2. Push the clutch all the way in
3. Change the gear
4. Let go of the clutch while giving it some gas
Would this be the correct way to change gears? I've read online to keep the foot on the gas while pressing down on the clutch to not let the RPMs drop and once the clutch is all the way down, let go of gas, change gear, and give it a bit a gas while letting go of the clutch. I am not sure whether this is the correct way or not?
In general, when upshifting, in order to not have any jerkiness, do you give gas while letting go of the clutch? Or is that bad?
When slowing down, should I downshift to the next lowest gear or only use my brakes to slow down and not downshift? I've heard that downshifting is not good for the clutch and transmission and to only downshift when I need to be in a lower gear to quickly accelerate?
When cruising say in 4th gear and you are approaching a red light, should you leave it in 4th gear and use the brakes to slow down and right before the car will stall, you put in neutral? Or should you slow down by downshifting and using the brakes?
Does it cause any damage to the clutch if you have the clutch pressed all the way down and leave the car in 1st gear at a stop light? I've read that you should leave the car in neutral and only change to first when you are ready to leave, otherwise it will cause wear and tear on your clutch to have it pressed all the way down, but I thought it is always best to have the car in gear in case you need to quickly move?
In bumper to bumper traffic, I sometimes ride the clutch I think but hope not. For example, in stop and go traffic that slowly creeps forward and comes to a stop every 5 feet or so, I have the car in 1st gear and I keep the clutch at the biting point and give it a bit of gas - around 1500RPM to slowly move forward a bit and once I have to stop I push the clutch all the way down and go on the brake, but I never get to fully release the clutch, I am always on it. I repeat this until we move fast enough to fully release the clutch. Is this the best way to drive in rush hour traffic or will this cause me to wear out my clutch very quickly?
How do I avoid causing damage to the clutch and transmission?
Thank you for all the help.