Finally learned how to drive a MT.. couple questions
#1
01-15-2012, 12:08 AM
Finally learned how to drive a MT.. couple questions
I've been driving this old accord lately and it's a lot easier than I ever thought it was.. I've driven it probably 200 miles and I haven't ground the gears at all (except for a TINY bit once when backing up) and have only stalled it twice.. I seem to have picked it up pretty much right away
Is it okay to use the clutch often? I don't ride the clutch, but I do like to wait at a light with the clutch in and in first.. I also use it quite a bit when turning corners (I am not quite use to shifting going around corners yet)
Does it hurt to be lazy and leave it up in 4th or 5th when I slow down to merge? If there's no traffic I seem to like to do that because of laziness- of course it doesn't accelerate very well that way but I am gentle with it.. seems okay?
Can I have any gear I want, whenever I want? I am pretty sure that is okay, right? Like if I am slowing down from 70 to merge and I clutch, go to say second and then let it back out as I'm going around the curve?
When I am taking off I seem to match clutch with gas pedal for a few seconds to shift nice and smooth... it sounds and feels fine, but is that damaging anything?
Also my biggest question is - why do I have to shift so soon from 1st? It seems like I am not going much over 10mph and I already need second... and seconds doesn't take me much over 20mph.... is that because the car has a tiny engine???
Thanks- sorry for the stupid questions- I am glad to finally have a man violation cleared up!! It is a big one, you know, not driving a MT!!
Is it okay to use the clutch often? I don't ride the clutch, but I do like to wait at a light with the clutch in and in first.. I also use it quite a bit when turning corners (I am not quite use to shifting going around corners yet)
Does it hurt to be lazy and leave it up in 4th or 5th when I slow down to merge? If there's no traffic I seem to like to do that because of laziness- of course it doesn't accelerate very well that way but I am gentle with it.. seems okay?
Can I have any gear I want, whenever I want? I am pretty sure that is okay, right? Like if I am slowing down from 70 to merge and I clutch, go to say second and then let it back out as I'm going around the curve?
When I am taking off I seem to match clutch with gas pedal for a few seconds to shift nice and smooth... it sounds and feels fine, but is that damaging anything?
Also my biggest question is - why do I have to shift so soon from 1st? It seems like I am not going much over 10mph and I already need second... and seconds doesn't take me much over 20mph.... is that because the car has a tiny engine???
Thanks- sorry for the stupid questions- I am glad to finally have a man violation cleared up!! It is a big one, you know, not driving a MT!!
#2
01-15-2012, 08:26 AM
Is it okay to use the clutch often? I don't ride the clutch, but I do like to wait at a light with the clutch in and in first.. I also use it quite a bit when turning corners (I am not quite use to shifting going around corners yet) I would try to use it less, like when your going down a hill throw it in neutral with the clutch out rather than holding the clutch in the whole time
Does it hurt to be lazy and leave it up in 4th or 5th when I slow down to merge? If there's no traffic I seem to like to do that because of laziness- of course it doesn't accelerate very well that way but I am gentle with it.. seems okay?You would have to be more specific with a slow speed, but as long as its not bogging too hard you should be ok.
Can I have any gear I want, whenever I want? I am pretty sure that is okay, right? Like if I am slowing down from 70 to merge and I clutch, go to say second and then let it back out as I'm going around the curve?70 is high for 2nd gear, I usually don't go above 3000rpm during normal driving.
When I am taking off I seem to match clutch with gas pedal for a few seconds to shift nice and smooth... it sounds and feels fine, but is that damaging anything? It sounds like you are doing this well, a lot of people get the misconception that you have to do it very fast and usually end up doing squealing the tires or stalling it
Also my biggest question is - why do I have to shift so soon from 1st? It seems like I am not going much over 10mph and I already need second... and seconds doesn't take me much over 20mph.... is that because the car has a tiny engine???Its just the gearing in the transmission, basically all cars have a very short first gear. You can start it in second if you wish.
Does it hurt to be lazy and leave it up in 4th or 5th when I slow down to merge? If there's no traffic I seem to like to do that because of laziness- of course it doesn't accelerate very well that way but I am gentle with it.. seems okay?You would have to be more specific with a slow speed, but as long as its not bogging too hard you should be ok.
Can I have any gear I want, whenever I want? I am pretty sure that is okay, right? Like if I am slowing down from 70 to merge and I clutch, go to say second and then let it back out as I'm going around the curve?70 is high for 2nd gear, I usually don't go above 3000rpm during normal driving.
When I am taking off I seem to match clutch with gas pedal for a few seconds to shift nice and smooth... it sounds and feels fine, but is that damaging anything? It sounds like you are doing this well, a lot of people get the misconception that you have to do it very fast and usually end up doing squealing the tires or stalling it
Also my biggest question is - why do I have to shift so soon from 1st? It seems like I am not going much over 10mph and I already need second... and seconds doesn't take me much over 20mph.... is that because the car has a tiny engine???Its just the gearing in the transmission, basically all cars have a very short first gear. You can start it in second if you wish.
#3
01-15-2012, 11:57 AM
When stopped for any period of time longer than waiting my turn at a stop sign, I like to shift to neutral and let out the clutch. This saves wear and tear on the throw-out bearing and also on my foot.
I typically down-shift to 2nd gear around corners, never 1st. There's hardly a time when I need to downshift to first gear and if I do I only do that when going very, very slow (< 5 mph).
I typically down-shift to 2nd gear around corners, never 1st. There's hardly a time when I need to downshift to first gear and if I do I only do that when going very, very slow (< 5 mph).
Last edited by 6-Speed; 01-15-2012 at 12:03 PM.
#4
01-15-2012, 02:24 PM
I wouldn't worry too much about the wear on the throw out bearing when waiting at a stop light or whatever. Honda is known for building probably the best clutch out there. We have a '91 accord wagon with 289,000 miles with the original clutch. We also taught two teenage drivers to drive a stick on this car. I , myself, wouldn't recommend starting off in 2nd gear. You will wear out the clutch plate doing that.
#5
01-15-2012, 03:15 PM
When stopped for any period of time longer than waiting my turn at a stop sign, I like to shift to neutral and let out the clutch. This saves wear and tear on the throw-out bearing and also on my foot.
I typically down-shift to 2nd gear around corners, never 1st. There's hardly a time when I need to downshift to first gear and if I do I only do that when going very, very slow (< 5 mph).
I typically down-shift to 2nd gear around corners, never 1st. There's hardly a time when I need to downshift to first gear and if I do I only do that when going very, very slow (< 5 mph).
Same here, I usually go down to second around corners when I downshift instead of going to neutral. Second seems to be about right for parking lots too.
When coming up to a light I'll often go for neutral and coast up to it and see if I can't end up still moving when it turns green to save gas
I definitely end up in neutral if I am going to be sitting at the light awhile too
#6
01-15-2012, 03:22 PM
Is it okay to use the clutch often? I don't ride the clutch, but I do like to wait at a light with the clutch in and in first.. I also use it quite a bit when turning corners (I am not quite use to shifting going around corners yet) I would try to use it less, like when your going down a hill throw it in neutral with the clutch out rather than holding the clutch in the whole time
When I'm going down a big hill I either pop it into neutral or use whatever gear will slow me down just a little so I think that's okay
Does it hurt to be lazy and leave it up in 4th or 5th when I slow down to merge? If there's no traffic I seem to like to do that because of laziness- of course it doesn't accelerate very well that way but I am gentle with it.. seems okay?You would have to be more specific with a slow speed, but as long as its not bogging too hard you should be ok.
It doesn't seem to be.. I'm talking about when I have to slow down to around 30 around a curve.. it just goes pretty slow when I get on the gas and I just let the speed come up nice and slow... hopefully that is okay?
Can I have any gear I want, whenever I want? I am pretty sure that is okay, right? Like if I am slowing down from 70 to merge and I clutch, go to say second and then let it back out as I'm going around the curve?70 is high for 2nd gear, I usually don't go above 3000rpm during normal driving.
I didn't say this right.. I don't think I would ever try to do 70 in 2nd... lol!! Like this I will be going 70 or so on the expressway and then I have to slow down and go around a hard curve to merge.. So I clutch and go to second but I don't let the clutch go until I'm down to maybe 30 or so?
When I am taking off I seem to match clutch with gas pedal for a few seconds to shift nice and smooth... it sounds and feels fine, but is that damaging anything? It sounds like you are doing this well, a lot of people get the misconception that you have to do it very fast and usually end up doing squealing the tires or stalling it
Yeah I shifted too fast a couple of times and made the tires chirp and I thought, damn, that can't be good for the car. When I get on the gas and the clutch evenly it sounds good to me but I didn't know if that was for sure a good sound..
Also my biggest question is - why do I have to shift so soon from 1st? It seems like I am not going much over 10mph and I already need second... and seconds doesn't take me much over 20mph.... is that because the car has a tiny engine???Its just the gearing in the transmission, basically all cars have a very short first gear. You can start it in second if you wish.
When I'm going down a big hill I either pop it into neutral or use whatever gear will slow me down just a little so I think that's okay
Does it hurt to be lazy and leave it up in 4th or 5th when I slow down to merge? If there's no traffic I seem to like to do that because of laziness- of course it doesn't accelerate very well that way but I am gentle with it.. seems okay?You would have to be more specific with a slow speed, but as long as its not bogging too hard you should be ok.
It doesn't seem to be.. I'm talking about when I have to slow down to around 30 around a curve.. it just goes pretty slow when I get on the gas and I just let the speed come up nice and slow... hopefully that is okay?
Can I have any gear I want, whenever I want? I am pretty sure that is okay, right? Like if I am slowing down from 70 to merge and I clutch, go to say second and then let it back out as I'm going around the curve?70 is high for 2nd gear, I usually don't go above 3000rpm during normal driving.
I didn't say this right.. I don't think I would ever try to do 70 in 2nd... lol!! Like this I will be going 70 or so on the expressway and then I have to slow down and go around a hard curve to merge.. So I clutch and go to second but I don't let the clutch go until I'm down to maybe 30 or so?
When I am taking off I seem to match clutch with gas pedal for a few seconds to shift nice and smooth... it sounds and feels fine, but is that damaging anything? It sounds like you are doing this well, a lot of people get the misconception that you have to do it very fast and usually end up doing squealing the tires or stalling it
Yeah I shifted too fast a couple of times and made the tires chirp and I thought, damn, that can't be good for the car. When I get on the gas and the clutch evenly it sounds good to me but I didn't know if that was for sure a good sound..
Also my biggest question is - why do I have to shift so soon from 1st? It seems like I am not going much over 10mph and I already need second... and seconds doesn't take me much over 20mph.... is that because the car has a tiny engine???Its just the gearing in the transmission, basically all cars have a very short first gear. You can start it in second if you wish.
Thanks!!!
#7
01-15-2012, 04:21 PM
I prefer to downshift while decelerating, ending up in 2nd gear when slowed down enough so that power can be quickly applied to the wheels if I need to accelerate for any reason.
Last edited by 6-Speed; 01-15-2012 at 04:24 PM.
#8
01-15-2012, 04:25 PM
It's easier to coast in neutral but I usually end up going for second if the light changes before I have to completely stop (If I'm still at say 10-20mph)
#9
01-18-2012, 01:03 PM
About 1st & 2nd being short gears, you'll learn to shift based on RPM not based on road speed. If (just for example) you were in a great big hurry to accelerate, you should allow the RPM to go higher which will give you better acceleration. (And use more fuel)
Lugging the engine at low RPM isn't all that good, but not as bad either. If you go less than maybe 1500 RPM, you already know there isn't much power there. OK, fine. But if you suddenly need the power, you have to quickly downshift which is OK too. If you keep it in a high gear & floor the gas, you get more uncomfortable vibration & not much acceleration.
I normally don't coast in neutral. I leave it in gear & don't press the clutch - just take my foot off the gas. I normally leave it in gear while waiting at a red light, but not always.
Don't ride the clutch pedal while driving. Step on the pedal when you need to, but never rest your foot on the pedal while driving.
Don't rest your hand on the shift lever. Touch it when you're shifting, then let go.
Lugging the engine at low RPM isn't all that good, but not as bad either. If you go less than maybe 1500 RPM, you already know there isn't much power there. OK, fine. But if you suddenly need the power, you have to quickly downshift which is OK too. If you keep it in a high gear & floor the gas, you get more uncomfortable vibration & not much acceleration.
I normally don't coast in neutral. I leave it in gear & don't press the clutch - just take my foot off the gas. I normally leave it in gear while waiting at a red light, but not always.
Don't ride the clutch pedal while driving. Step on the pedal when you need to, but never rest your foot on the pedal while driving.
Don't rest your hand on the shift lever. Touch it when you're shifting, then let go.
#10
01-19-2012, 04:51 AM
I definitely stay off of the clutch when I'm driving down the street .. I tend to like the highest gear that feels right (causes the rpm to be at a reasonable level where it's not lugging and I still have a little acceleration) which I feel is better for mileage....
She seems to be in a gear that lugs the engine (a little) most of the time.. I say that is bad for mileage, because, well, it's making it more difficult to move/slowing the car down
I also find when driving around town I tend to skip third fairly often.. I still haven't mashed a gear!! I'm impressed with myself. I still really hate taking off from a stop on a hill. Any big tricks to that? It doesn't feel like it's good for the car
The manual transmission isn't such a difficult thing as I thought it would be- but I never will see the reason for picking one over an auto
She seems to be in a gear that lugs the engine (a little) most of the time.. I say that is bad for mileage, because, well, it's making it more difficult to move/slowing the car down
I also find when driving around town I tend to skip third fairly often.. I still haven't mashed a gear!! I'm impressed with myself. I still really hate taking off from a stop on a hill. Any big tricks to that? It doesn't feel like it's good for the car
The manual transmission isn't such a difficult thing as I thought it would be- but I never will see the reason for picking one over an auto