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Ah glad to hear more people are learning the old art! Anyways heres my advice as I drive a manual daily. To stop and turn in some place you can do one of two things: Engine brake(downshift a gear or two depending on speed) for example I will downshift from 3 to 2 and then finally to 1(if necessary) and make my turn. You can also simply put the transmission in neutral and use the brake as you would with an automatic car and then after you turn you can shift back into gear if necessary. Driving a stick is a very rewarding experience and with practice you will get it down pat!
PS: Every car/truck is different, driving a stick is truly all about feel and knowing what gear you are in. Gear ratios, rear axle(or front axle) gearing, clutch feel, clutch engagement, motor…all these are factors in how each individual car will drive. Just because you know one vehicle dont mean you will be a master of all stick shift vehicles.
So it’s better to downshift then and then go into your turn it sounds like you have more control that way.
In my experience yes, and it saves yer brake, however since you are new to a manual I would recommond you use the other “neutral method” and yer brakes. Reason I say this is because for a newbie, it can be a lot to remember to concentrate on what gear to be in(and possibly overev the engine as well in the process). When I first started drivin stick, I glided in neutral into parking spaces while using the brakes. If you downshift too soon you risk overreving and if you misshift because you are paying more attention to where you are going…your engine or transmission might not like it to say the least. Wait till it becomes second nature and practice practice practice!
I got married about 10 years ago and my wife brought an automatic transmission car to the union. My car was a stick and she was totally unable to drive it. We tried some lessons and they were a disaster. So, I traded her car for one with a manual transmission. Honey, if you want to get to the Mall there you go. Well, women have to shop.
Ten years later I am still trying to get her to shift into second and let out the cutch for a turn with no luck. But, she gets around OK in any manual transmission vehicle.
With vehicles going to CVT transmissions I’m thinking the transmission repair guy is about to go the route of the TV repairman. The important parts in these transmissions are more expensive than a new transmission. Manual transmissions and clutches are still economic to fix.
[quote=”barneyb” post=116764]With vehicles going to CVT transmissions I’m thinking the transmission repair guy is about to go the route of the TV repairman. The important parts in these transmissions are more expensive than a new transmission. Manual transmissions and clutches are still economic to fix.[/quote] Ah I agree. CVT’s… when they go out, usually take the entire unit with it. The shrapnel(usually from the belt) destroys the things beyond repair to the point where it is more economical to get a 2k-8k reman or new unit. Its planned obsolescence at its finest. However, while the conventional automatic may be eventually be replaced by the CVT, manual transmissions ain’t goin nowhere. Remember our friends in Europe and many other places in the world only drive stick.
I will recommend you not to “down shifting engine brake” for stopping or slowing down (at least for a while), I see so often overreving engine and clutch dragging… A clutch is way more expensive than break pads.
Engine breaking in the same gear is good (just removing foot from the pedal)
You also need to use engine break when you going down steep hills too.So for slowing down and restarting … brake ,press clutch, brake and reengage gear at the right speed you need, ADJUST engine rev, release clutch.
First homework, draw your transmission gears ratio, here my 5 speeds rpm on vertical, speed (km/h) on horizontal.
so at 70km/h I’m in 5 at 2000rpm and I need to pass in front of someone, I just change speed to 4 at 2500rpm or to 3 at 3200rpm
In the UK, where most cars are manuals, we are taught to slow down using the brakes in the gear we are in until the speed becomes too slow for that gear. At this point you should depress the clutch and continue braking until the car comes to a complete stop. Once stopped, engage the parking brake, THEN select neutral and release the clutch.
So basically, you maximise engine breaking for the gear you were in, but you don’t need to select a lower gear because that’s just unnecessary unless you need to accelerate again. Notice how this minimises the time spent coasting in neutral.
So that was stopping, for turning…
Similar story, say you are going down a main road and want to turn into a perpendicular road.
Slow down in the gear you are in, if you need a lower gear, press the clutch select lower gear and release the clutch BEFORE the turn. The emphasis here is that you drive through the turn, don’t coast through it.Say you were doing 30mph in 4th gear, you wanna turn into a small 20mph road. Slow down in 4th, just before the turn select 2nd and have the clutch up as you turn into the new road.
(obviously gearing and speed depends on your vehicle).Hope that makes sense. Coasting in neutral is considered very wrong here – you can fail your test for it and with good reason.
[quote=”Dizplay” post=117014]In the UK, where most cars are manuals, we are taught to slow down using the brakes in the gear we are in until the speed becomes too slow for that gear. At this point you should depress the clutch and continue braking until the car comes to a complete stop. Once stopped, engage the parking brake, THEN select neutral and release the clutch.
So basically, you maximise engine breaking for the gear you were in, but you don’t need to select a lower gear because that’s just unnecessary unless you need to accelerate again. Notice how this minimises the time spent coasting in neutral.
So that was stopping, for turning…
Similar story, say you are going down a main road and want to turn into a perpendicular road.
Slow down in the gear you are in, if you need a lower gear, press the clutch select lower gear and release the clutch BEFORE the turn. The emphasis here is that you drive through the turn, don’t coast through it.Say you were doing 30mph in 4th gear, you wanna turn into a small 20mph road. Slow down in 4th, just before the turn select 2nd and have the clutch up as you turn into the new road.
(obviously gearing and speed depends on your vehicle).Hope that makes sense. Coasting in neutral is considered very wrong here – you can fail your test for it and with good reason.[/quote] I wish more people here in the states drove manual. We would have a lot less irresponsible and distracted drivers that way. A lot of people here are too busy with a hamburger in one hand and a cellphone in the other to actually DRIVE.
Hmm, we have our fair share of bad drivers. I’m not so sure that driving manual makes drivers less distracted cos once driving manual becomes second nature then those distractions (hamburgers and cellphones!) can still apply.
I’ve never been behind the wheel of an automatic car, I would like to try one to see why its so popular in the USA, I think it suits your roads better although I’ve only ever visited California and Nevada.
[quote=”Dizplay” post=117021]Hmm, we have our fair share of bad drivers. I’m not so sure that driving manual makes drivers less distracted cos once driving manual becomes second nature then those distractions (hamburgers and cellphones!) can still apply.
I’ve never been behind the wheel of an automatic car, I would like to try one to see why its so popular in the USA, I think it suits your roads better although I’ve only ever visited California and Nevada.[/quote] I see. The reason I say it makes people less distracted is because you HAVE to have a hand free to shift if necessary and also, even if it is second nature to you you still need to be aware of what gear you are in and anticipate a problem sooner. Here in the states, the only reason I see an automatic being of benift is in heavy traffic. The fact of the matter is is that that heavy traffic is consolidated to the cities and some suburbs. The main reason people drive autos here is that they are LAZY although there are some valid excuses such as physical handicaps, the elderly, and the “learning curve” that some people here can’t seem to get. It’s really not all that difficult to drive a manual, the hardest thing to learn is starting off in first gear without bucking or stalling and getting started on a hill. It’s become a rather lost art here because people would rather play with their phone than shift gears. After all if you have the steering wheel in one hand and a phone in the other, you are all out of hands for a gearshift!
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