"Denver Is Stuck In The 90s" (denver80222)
12/12/2014 at 06:27 • Filed to: Manuel, veronica
2
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"Denver Is Stuck In The 90s" (denver80222)
12/12/2014 at 06:27 • Filed to: Manuel, veronica | 2
| 32 |
I have a feeling that I'm going to blue my clutch by the time I get manual driving down pat. I have a tendency to ride the clutch as I shift. I am aware of this habit and am trying very hard to counter it. I drove 40+ miles yesterday and while I was trying very hard not to ride the clutch, I caught myself doing it a couple times. I find myself falling back into that habit on long drives (over 30 minutes). Any Idea how to fix that problem quicker? I really don't wanna have to do ANOTHER clutch replacement. My truck is 21 years old and has already gone through 2 clutch assemblies. Not while I had her, but still.
PS- I am so happy to have my license. Its so nice to be able to hop in a car and drive somewhere whenever I want. Plus I drive a manual, thats always nice. By the way, I only got my temporary license yesterday at 4:30 PM (MDT), since then I have driven close to 50 miles and gone through a quarter tank of gas. My MPGs still aren't good (10mpg), but as my manual driving improves so does my gas mileage.
Noah - Now with more boost.
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 06:34 |
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I'm sure you'll figure it out man! It takes a while to know a new MT well. For now, just concentrate on the exact position at which the clutch engages, and try to figure out exactly how much throttle you need to smoothly transition between gears. You will find the sweet spot and it doing so will eventually become a matter of muscle memory rather than concentration. Also... congrats on that license!!
djmt1
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 06:36 |
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I ended up watching a lot of Fast and Furious films before I took my first lessons as a result I developed the habit of shifting gears way too much, literally any opportunity I had. So if you are learning to drive a manual and are worried about things like missing gears or clutch riding that would be my advice since who wouldn't want to be like Vin Diesel.
E. Julius
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 06:37 |
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Nice to see a new driver on here that's not bombing down public roads at 100+ mph and complaining about their brand new car. You'll get it in no time at all. It probably took me about 8 hours of stick time before I stopped dumping the clutch at every shift.
Leon711
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 06:40 |
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stick at it man, soon you'll change gear like a brit.
(not being able to drive a manual in the UK is inadvisable, people will think you buggered yourself with a vacuum cleaner and as a result became mental challenged)
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> djmt1
12/12/2014 at 06:41 |
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When I only had about 2 hours of Manual driving under my belt (I'm at about 5 hours now), I accidentally tried to go from 3rd to reverse. Whoops. I dont skip gears anymore (well, I really only did that once at night), but last night while getting on the highway I was paying too much attention to changing lanes that I didnt realize that while I was trying to upshift from 4th to 5th, I really downshifted from 4th to 3rd. I wasnt watching my shifts, made sense why I couldnt go above 55. But first lets marvel at the fact that my truck will do 55 in 3rd gear.
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> E. Julius
12/12/2014 at 06:43 |
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I'm at about 5 hours now. I know I'll get there, I was just hoping there was a way to do it quicker so I destroy my clutch just a little bit less
The Tunnel
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 06:44 |
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I dont understand how do you ride the clutch between gear changes? besides the only way you will really do damage to a clutch riding the clutch at a stop on a hill. It will even start smelling bad. Like in stead of being braking at a full stop, to be constantly riding the clutch so your car wont go backwards the hill.
I see many taxi drivers do it here. when Hillstarts, it helps a learning driver to hold the hand brake, once you are going to move and release it once your car starts moving forward, but i see your truck's got 4 pedals, so foot e brake wont work for that.
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E. Julius
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 06:45 |
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It's a shame your car doesn't have a dead pedal, that helped me a lot with not riding the clutch.
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> The Tunnel
12/12/2014 at 06:45 |
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I meant riding the accelerator and clutch at the same time.
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> E. Julius
12/12/2014 at 06:47 |
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I could probably fab something up if I really wanted to
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The Tunnel
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 06:47 |
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The easy fast way to get hang of it for me was to practice on an empty parking lot, starting, changing gears, then brake, and do multiple times until you get the hang of it, well that was, for me at least, 15-20 min, and i was decent. The same goes for hillstarts, on a steep street practice multiple times repeatedly to get the hang of it, and trying diferent things with your feet.
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> The Tunnel
12/12/2014 at 06:49 |
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I think I need to start driving in only flat soled shoes until I get the hang of it. I guarantee the small heel on my boots arent doing me any favors
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The Tunnel
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 06:51 |
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ah ok, now i get it, well its not good but it isnt catastrophic on the clutch. Try making a habit of resting your left foot on the dead pedal, if you dont have one, on the floor then. Its not track day, so you dont need your foot to be always near the clutch.
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> The Tunnel
12/12/2014 at 06:52 |
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Yes, I need to remove my left foot from the vicinity of the clutch while Im driving. Im thinking of installing some sort of peg on my floor
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The Tunnel
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 06:53 |
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try it, It could help, you feel a lot more the pedal on some vans than with some boots. When i change the shoes im using, it feels odd changing a sole that is thicker or thinner .
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 07:23 |
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Lead is supposed to be fixed to your right foot, not the left.
shop-teacher
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 07:30 |
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You'll be fine, and so will your clutch. You should've seen all the horrible things I did to that beater Subaru I bought to learn stick on, it survived.
Congrats on the license!
davedave1111
> The Tunnel
12/12/2014 at 07:31 |
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"besides the only way you will really do damage to a clutch riding the clutch at a stop on a hill."
Just resting your foot on the clutch pedal between shifts can cause the throwout bearing to suffer greatly excessive wear, killing the clutch. Definitely something to avoid.
jkm7680
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 07:39 |
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Just keep practicing, and remind yourself to take the foot off. There's a learning curve, making mistakes is just fine. We all make them, and always will. Even the veteran manual drivers.
Another tip is to not wear chukka boots while driving, wear something light. Like running shoes where you can feel where your feet are placed more. That helped me as I usually rest of foot right above the clutch pedal instead of using the dead pedal.
I can't feel my foot if it's resting on the clutch with Jordans on, but with running shoes I can feel when I'm above the clutch or on it.
Svend
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 07:45 |
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Keep your clutch foot on the rest unless your about to change gears or covering the clutch in preparation of braking. You will soon get it down and will become second natural. As for changing gears, practice in the car finding the gears ie, while stationary, put the gear shift into first, now tap it back (out of gear) then gently tap it left and back (into second gear), now tap it forward out of second gear then right slightly then forward into third and so on. Getting to know how much to throw the gearshift without a firm hold will build up muscle memory to finding the correct gear without even thinking about it. The last thing you want to do is accidentally drop it from fifth to first or any gear into reverse while still traveling forward.
The thing is to practice while at the same time not think too hard about what it is your doing. It's like learning to dance, don't look at your feet.
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 07:46 |
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I am going on my second month now of learning manual. Something that helped me a lot inadvertently was getting stuck in stop and go traffic on the NJ turnpike for a good half hour or so. Up to that point I generally avoided traffic because I was bad at first gear shifts and felt like I was burning the clutch too much. But being forced to deal with it and practice just to get to my destination was quite a learning experience. Not everyone likes to be "under the gun" but that really helped me get accustomed to clutch-gas balance.
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> jkm7680
12/12/2014 at 07:50 |
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I'm thinking of keeping a pair of slip on chuck Taylor's in my truck. I have a pair I rarely wear lying around somewhere. That way if I forget to not wear boots, I have a backup plan
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The Tunnel
> davedave1111
12/12/2014 at 07:50 |
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I said that riding the clutch on a hill will really do damage "wear" the clutch in no time.
Now where did i say that resting your foot on the clutch is ok? I just told him that there are worse things that can be done to a clutch... he doesnt need to worry about the "damage" he thinks he already did ( in his 5 hours of driving) for doing so, and he's already saying he will stop.
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/12/2014 at 07:52 |
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I go to school downtown and I'm driving to school on Monday. My class gets out during rush hour. So there's that.
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jkm7680
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 07:53 |
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That's a good idea.
Once you get used to foot position, you can definitely go back to boots though.
Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 07:59 |
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I passed my driving test wednesday, but I still have to wait 15 days on my license.
I learned to drive manual since my first driving lesson. After seeing many people on the internet struggle with it, I'm happy that driving manual is still the standard here.
Something I always wondered, isn't it dangerous that people are learning to drive manual on public roads with no real or proffesional supervisor with 2 sets of pedals?
Congratulations on learning to drive manual so soon, you will get there.
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
12/12/2014 at 08:05 |
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Dangerous? Possibly. I dont know how dangerous it is but it's sure damn scary
youshiftem
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 09:24 |
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Wire up a buzzer inline with the clutch safety switch, whenever pressure is on the pedal it will buzz at you.
http://www.digikey.ca/product-search…
Only $3.00, a lot less than a clutch.
twochevrons
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/12/2014 at 09:32 |
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It's all just something that comes with time and practice. As you get a feel for it, you'll find yourself needing to slip the clutch less and less. There's absolutely no need to press the clutch in slowly when changing gears; just stomp it to the floor. As you engage the clutch after you shift, the clutch has to slip to take up any difference in rotational speed between the engine and the gearbox/wheels. If there's any significant difference, you'll end up either having to ride the clutch and accelerator to get the speeds matched up, or end up with a jerky shift.
The trick is, get the engine speed about right before engaging the clutch. When upshifting, you can normally accomplish this just by 'pacing' your shifts – the revs will die down as you change gears, and if you time it right, they'll be spot-on correct for the next gear just as you engage the clutch. For downshifting, the goal is to try and get the revs up before you start engaging the clutch, and as the clutch starts to bite, gradually lift off the throttle to keep the revs constant. The closer you match the revs, the more abruptly you can engage the clutch.
The 'right' engine speed is entirely dependent on your vehicle's gear ratios, and how fast you are going. With each car, it's slightly different, and the only way to really learn is with trial and error. Having a tachometer helps with this, to give some kind of visual indication of the relationship between engine speed and road speed in each gear, but it's certainly possible to do it by ear, too. It's all rather like learning to ride a bicycle. It takes coordination, dexterity, and loads of practice, but once you've got it down, it's an entirely subconscious skill that never really leaves you. When I was learning to drive, it really helped that my father sat me down and gave me a thorough lesson on how a manual transmission and clutch actually works. Being able to visualise what was going on as I changed gears helped me to understand what goes on, and how to get it 'right.'
Some reading for you (if you haven't already):
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.h…
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm
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davedave1111
> The Tunnel
12/12/2014 at 10:53 |
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Maybe you meant something different by riding the clutch to what I understood? Driving along with your foot resting on the clutch pedal is riding the clutch, where I come from.
MarquetteLa
> Svend
12/12/2014 at 11:11 |
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Just a quick reminder for folks: if you're going to practice moving the shifter around while the car is stationary, make sure the car is on so that the transmission is being lubricated properly. :)
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The Tunnel
> davedave1111
12/14/2014 at 23:28 |
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Yeah probably a misunderstanding.