Clutch...

A few weeks ago I had my first real experience driving a manual transmission car. My uncle who was visiting has an 03 Pontiac Vibe 5 speed...Shifting was/is no problem for me, but getting from a complete stop to low speeds (neighborhood driving, or in traffic) without dumping the clutch at 3500 RPM or more was harder for me. I tried sllooowwwllly letting the clutch out on a flat road, but the car sorta jerked forward and stalled...tried bringing the rev's up a little bit (1500 or so RPM) and slowly letting the clutch out, and the car would jerk forward, jerk forward, jerk forward, then stall. Eventually I got the knack of bringing the revs higher up (2500 RPM or more :-/ ), and letting the clutch out like half way, having the car smoothly move forward, and then letting it out completly. Worked fine, was able to take stop signs, red lights, bumper to bumper traffic (on an upward slope!), make 3 point turns, etc. fine.... my only concern/question is, will doing that damage the clutch? letting it sorta start to grab, and still leaving the rev's up before letting it completly out?
Thanks

BTW, after a few hours of driving around in the mini-city i live in, I was able to get it going that same way but lower revs...but still above 1500.

well, the point is to minimize the amount of slip while engaging the clutch, while having a smooth release, without the car jerking.

Rubix said it well, spend as little time on the clutch as possible, just enough to achieve a smooth transition into motion. Don't feel you have to drop the clutch every time you start moving, but the less time the clutch is slipping the less wear it will incur.

but it wont kill the clutch if i wait a second before fully releasing it, will it?
I'm probably just too worried about it, i'll eventually get the hang of it i guess....lol
Thanks

The clutch disc is a wear surface sandwiched between the pressure plate and flywheel. Engaging the clutch causes friction. Friction causes heat. Too much heat will burn the lining off the clutch disc and also distort the surface of the pressure plate and flywheel, or worse. The idea behind engaging the clutch is to not slip it unnecessarily, but not so fast an engagment that your neck snaps back. The worse thing that some people do with abusing the clutch is slipping the clutch while they maintain their position on a hill: That's what brakes are for. Always remember that anytime your clutch is slipping, a great amount of heat is being generate. Keep that slipping to a minimum.

you should be ok. just try not to ride on it too much and as you drive more you will get the hang of it. i had the same problems when i started driving the manuals.

however, going up a hill, you might have to ride the clutch a little to prevent the tires from slipping.

racing is a different story, which is not good for the clutch no matter what.

To whoever said this: "Never "ride" a clutch. Shift to a lower gear."

You don't make any sense. What gear is lower than 1st gear? You can't tell me you don't allow the clutch to slip when you start going up hill from a stop unless you use the e-brake method.

In case you don't know what "riding the clutch" aka slipping, means, it means that you're holding the clutch at the friction point in order to slowly transfer the power to the wheels in order to prevent bogging.

If you've got another definition, I'd like to see it.

You need to go very slow if you you need to adjust the speed with the clutch, idle on first gear don't give much speed.

Try this; place the car in a hill going up and use the hand brake so the car is stationary. Put in first gear and use the clutch and throttle and when you disengage the hand brake the car should still be stationary and the engine speed at idle or just above. Then try to start slowly, but don't use any higher engine speeds, just slightly above idle.

During downshifts when I use the brake I sometimes use my left foot for the clutch while using the right for both the brake and throttle (left side on the brake and right side on the throttle). Doing this one can brake while downshift and match the engine speed for when the clutch is engaged.

When going to first gear I often double clutch, that makes it easier to go to that gear when the speed is a little higher.

What is double-clutching? You want to give me a definition? Thanks.

believe its pushing the clutch in, pulling the transmission out of gear (into neutral), letting the clutch out, pushing the clutch back in, then shifting into the correct gear....

Yup, that's it. When you let the clutch out the first time in neutral, the transmission gears speed-up so that when you let the clutch out the second time after completing your shift, the gears are already up to speed. Double clutching is usually done in transmissions that don't have sychronizer rings to speed up the spinning of the gears. Old WW-II army trucks were like that, and also the early pre-1959 Saabs automobiles had the "crash box" too. I remember Saab drivers who didn't know how to double clutch destroy their gear boxes. You could tell when they were shifting into 2nd, 3th, and 4th gears. It was CRASH...CRASH...and CRASH. I would wince hearing the crashing noise and thinking what was happening to the gears!

In modern trucks, the only time you would use the clutch is starting off from a dead stop. Normally, you'd ease the clutch all the way out at idle, and then step on the throttle. Of course on a hill you'd have to use some throttle too to get going. Once you get rolling, you would simply time your shifting while listening to the RPM's and not use the clutch. On a 15 speed transmission, you have a switch for underdrive, drive, and overdrive in combination with a 5 speed transmission. In normal highway driving you'd use "drive 7th" and work your way up the gears. Any lower gears would be used slowly moving around a parking area or construction site. The clutch would come up in drive 7th and never be used again until you came to a complete stop. On a long gear-down, your left foot would be on the air brake pedal, and your right foot on the throttle. You would lightly ride the brakes while using the throttle to speed the engine for the next down-shift. The only problem with this system is that some drivers don't have that natural ability to shift a truck transmission. Of course, those are the guys who don't know which end of a screwdrive to use either, and have no mechanical ability!

I hope this answers the question.

Ok so i guess i'm not gonna ever be driving a truck like that, LOL
sounds hard to get used to....haha

Yeah...gives you a different perspective of how truck drivers shift gears now, right? To compound matters, there are three different type transmissions in large trucks. Each one requires a different technique. Me..I mostly drive truck cranes, but occasionally have to drive a tractor trailer flatbed to haul counterweights and boom sections. Occasionally I'll get into a different truck, look at the gear shifter and wonder, "now how does this one shift?"