Suggest proper techniques for driving a stick....

[ivj]

I'm 19 and I finally sold my first car (which was an automatic Camry) and my friend lended me his old ford truck (I haven't even had the chance to find out what the model is) with a stick shift til I find a new car.

I gotta say the experience of having never driven a stick before and driving for 1 hour back to my house was almost as exhilirating as learning how to snowboard.

Now one of the reasons I wanted a stick shift was because there was so much room for improvement and learning about how to be more gas efficient, more gentle on your car, or how to take a perfect turn...

I've been reading up some material on the internet and some of the stuff they say just sounds like a load of BS... For instance,

"when coming to a stop light, downshift the gears one by one and let the engine do the braking for you - you don't want to wear out your brake pads"

WTF?!?!?! And I want to wear out my clutch and tranny? I can replace my brakes with my eyes closed. For instance when I know I have to come to a stop, I just put it in neutrual, and break using BREAKS. I mean compression breaking on a long hill is a great idea, but why all the needless BS at every stop light?

Also many websites say that 3rd gear is right for driving in cities (35 mph)... Wtf happened to fuel economy? My city driving has only 3 gears: 1, 2, and 5th. Am I wrong?

Also about going uphill - "you gotta select the approporiate gear - usually 1 less than what you'd need to be driving on a flat surface"... WTF? Where's fuel economy and thermodynamic efficiancy which manual gives you and automatic doesn't? I put it in the highest gear I can and FLOOR it - most hills I can take at 5th or 4th, rarely using 3rd. Am I not correct here?

Also the whole "downshift before a turn and gently let out the clutch during the turn"... What are we fking drifting here? I stay in the same gear I was before the turn.

Any advice or corrections would be welcome.

[bluevp00]

Well I'll give you advice from my own experience from driving a stick for about a year and a half.

Downshifting - I wouldn't really get in the habit of doing this too much, but it does come in handy sometimes. It does put some stress on your engine & gearbox. However, doing it occassionally, such as in city traffic at lower speeds it alright. Of course, downshifting to acellerate (pass) is necessary.

Gear selection - the basic rule is to use the highest gear possible without making the engine sputter & die out. So for about 35 mph, I always use 4th gear, maybe 5th if I'm just coasting at a constant speed. Bottom line: test out all the gear and see what gear is best for any given situation.

Hills - flooring it up a hill will waste gas. Gradually increase your speed before the hill and keep the same pressure on the acellerator the whole way up. You don't really have to downshift.

Turns - as I'm braking i put it in neutral before the turn, and while turning shift to 2nd & let the clutch out around the apex & acellerate.

[nikita7]

Well I pretty much drive my mazda right now...because its more fun. In the city I don't go further than 4th or just coast in neutral after 2.

I do downshift on the freeway when getting off, I also always downshift right before the turn, I always turn in 2 gear while in the city. Lower gear offers you more control and you can get out of the turn faster.

As far as braking goes, I let car stay in gear until I am at 10MPH, than I shift into neutral.

I live in san francisco, so I pretty much always use gears to maintain speed on the hills. Mostly I would descend in the second gear. While going up I need to be in 3rd gear or below, since the car is not exactly a torque monster.

[beef_bourito]

as for the downshifting for a stop light, you're right in that you don't want to wear out your clutch so instead of just downshifting, try double clutching and rev matching. for this you shift into neutral, let go of the clutch, give a bit of gas to match the revs to what they would be if you were in the gear you want to be in, then push the clutch, shift and let out. this might put a bit more stress on the engine, you waste a tiny bit of gas when bliping the throttle, but you don't wear your clutch or brakes.

the right gear? well with my accord i try to keep the revs around 2k. for each car it's different but you generally want to be in the highest gear possible. there is an exception though, you will need to give it more gas to keep the same speed in a higher gear. if i'm going 40km/h and shift into fifth, it'll be able to do it without dying but i'll have to really give it gas. this is an extreme example but you get the point. try and find where your car stops accelerating quickly ( i mean find the lowest revs where the car will accelerate quickly) i found that mine won't really accelerate worth crap until 2k or more so stick it in third gear at a speed that'll keep it at 1000rpm, floor it, see when it picks up. that's the rev that you want to keep your car around, it's probably better to have it a little over than a little under. there's a thread somewhere in the engineering/technical forum that i'll try to find where curtis gives a realy good explanation.

[turtlecrxsi]

Downshifting all the time is unnecessary. If you practice occasionally it may help when you're in an emergency situation...

Never ride the clutch... ie. When slowing down or taking turns, avoid putting your foot on the clutch. Some cars can come to almost a complete stop without it... mine can.

Also, about saving fuel. If you are in a substantially hilly area, sometimes you can get away with coasting in neutral. However, this only works on long downgrades because it's actually more efficient to just leave it in gear and drive smoothly than to put in gear and gas, take out of gear and coast, put in gear and gas, etc...

Another thing, riding around in high gears at super slow speeds isn't the best thing for your car. They're called high gears for a reason. Having to downshift to make power is something only Honda owners should be in the habit of... LOL Try keeping your engine speeds and gear selection in harmony.
GL

[my99cavy]

Maybe this will help heres a vid that introducing you to driving stick and there is also more vids on there about it. http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...50458635442242

[beef_bourito]

Originally Posted by turtlecrxsi

Having to downshift to make power is something only Honda owners should be in the habit of...

hence why I downshift alot lol.

[nikita7]

I do not like the message in your sig 99cavy. I have a moped and I bought it to drive around town because parking in San Francisco is a total bitch. I see a lot of women ... and men riding around on mopeds and scooters. I would reconsider your sig message.

[my99cavy]

Originally Posted by nikita7

I do not like the message in your sig 99cavy. I have a moped and I bought it to drive around town because parking in San Francisco is a total bitch. I see a lot of women ... and men riding around on mopeds and scooters. I would reconsider your sig message.

aww cry about it then. No I'm not changing it because...

A)I think its hilarious
B)It was a mod that said it so....

[nikita7]

Well. Than I hope you know what they say about cavy drivers with blue interiors and fart cans.

They are white boys who couldn't buy a civic so they settled for cavy to emulate Paul Walker.

[my99cavy]

Originally Posted by nikita7

Well. Than I hope you know what they say about cavy drivers with blue interiors and fart cans.

They are white boys who couldn't buy a civic so they settled for cavy to emulate Paul Walker.

As a matter of fact I had a civic also so try again. I'm not gonna get into it with you so have a good one.

[ivj]

AAAA you bastards hijacked my thread. I will sue!