Driving Stick | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Driving Stick

Some countries you have to get your license with MT
 
Turn off the stereo for the first 2-4 weeks.
You need to listen to the rpm's and you will know when to shift as well.
Don't look down at the shifter.
Do find an empty lot and practice braking and shifting etc...
Also do find a small hill (parking lot) and practice stopping uphill then driving off without rolling back.
That will teach you to balance the car. Use the parking brake to help you, as you move forward release the parking brake.

I think your car can drive by itself without stalling in 1st gear.
Try it in parking lot, lift your foot off the gas once you are moving forward in first. This is good for stop and go traffic.
Just keep your cool, it's a learning experience.
Try to master it in summer as in winter you will be very happy being able to stop or slow down without sliding by NOT applying brakes instead downshifting.

A good tip for rain or snow is to keep the car in a higher gear than normal as it will keep traction and not spin the wheels.
ALWAYS remember to stomp that clutch down and brake (foot off gas) in an emergency...practice that so your brain is programmed.
As you get better you will learn to downshift and brake at the same time for a decreased stopping distance.

Have fun! It's a good skill to have.
Wait until you swap vehicles in less than 2 hours from bike to auto car back to manual car...lol
 
Some countries you have to get your license with MT
I wish it was like that here. Too much laziness going on on the road. Almost got killed yesterday on my bike by an inattentive driver.

From what I've noticed so far, I pay way more attention to the road. I always have paid a lot of attention but I feel more engaged with MT. They should seriously bring that, or at least incorporate it intk to driving school here in Canada
 
1st to 2nd always tend to be the jerkier shift. 1st gear throttle will always seems very sensitive when you gas and ease off on gas since it's a short gear. So for a smooth shift, slowly ease off on gas before clutching in. After you clutch in, shift to 2nd, the slowly let the clutch out to engagement, then smoothly give it some gas.

Practice this in a parking lot, and pay attention to the RPMs dropping going from 1st to 2nd. The jerk will always come from the discrepancy of revs, ie if you shift at 4k at 1st, it'll probably drop to 3-3.5k rpm in 2nd, and if you shift to 2nd, it needs some time to watch those revs.

If you really need help, ask a friend who drives manual to come for a ride and see if you are doing anything wrong.
 
I wish it was like that here. Too much laziness going on on the road. Almost got killed yesterday on my bike by an inattentive driver.

From what I've noticed so far, I pay way more attention to the road. I always have paid a lot of attention but I feel more engaged with MT. They should seriously bring that, or at least incorporate it intk to driving school here in Canada
You have to use both hands & legs driving in the city
 
So I bought my first car last week and I've been having a little bit of trouble picking up stick on the car...

......

Any help on the matter by those who are veterans at stick would be greatly appreciated. If it makes any difference the car is a 2015 Scion FRS...


No it doesn't make any difference, you just wanted to brag about your new toy! JK :p

But seriously, I have a direct competitor of your car, with a little more oomph and if interested I could give you some pointers and show you some examples of the right way and the wrong way to learn MT and tame your engine easier.


Congrats and kudos for getting a car that you will actually drive, not just point and steer, lol.
 
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what I did to get used to the "sweet spot" on my clutch is just slowly let go of the clutch until you are at the brink of stalling the car and you will know where to engage the shifter when shifting only hard part is learning first gear once your moving shift is pretty easy. Its ok if you ride the clutch a little.
 
Slow and steady inputs. Don't dump anything. Apply throttle gently, disengage the clutch gently. As you get better these inputs will get faster.

While you're learning, you'll be slipping the clutch a lot more than an experienced driver would. That's just the nature of the learning curve.

Something I always tell newbies to practice, just to get the hang of clutch engagement, is going to a level lot and practicing getting the car rolling without adding throttle at all. Most cars will readily be able to do this if you slip the clutch slowly enough. Give it a shot, might give you better feel for the friction points.
x2. Once you figure out where the friction point is, that's where you apply the gas, just like a bike. It'll be easier to feel it in a flat empty lot. Practice practice practice!
 
In terms of time on the clutch/slipping -- Try to do it as little as possible. Honestly once you get the hang of it you'll be 'slipping' it for less than a second. For slow speed (traffic), I find it best to get the clutch to catch (which gets the car rolling) then putting it back to the floor if traffic is merely rolling forwards. For reserve, this is what I do 9 times out of 10 as you are right, if you full let off the clutch you'll likely be going much faster backwards than you'd like.

For 1st to 2nd, try short-shifting if you haven't already. Cars are geared differently than bikes, and in most I have driven 1st is solely there to get the car moving up to maybe 10-20km/h, then you can shift into 2nd. I find I do this on my bike too, as it just seems so wrong to hold 1st much higher than that or beyond say 3000-4000rpm. lol
 
The Scion FRS clutch needs to be broken in. Give it to me for a couple of weeks and I'll do that for you. JK.

Practice finding the engagement point without using the gas and work from there. You will need that on hill starts etc.

The engagement at 3/4 out seems a bit high but I've never driven the make. On a cable or directly activated clutch that could indicate an adjustment problem but I assume yours is hydraulic.
 
My first time learning to drive stick was sink or swim, going to Port Dover from Welland I mentioned to my friend he should teach me to drive stick. He immediately pulled over, got me in the driver seat, and made me drive the rest of the way. Thankfully picked it up fairly quickly
 
Just remember, when someone pulls up to you at a stoplight and wants to race you, put the shifter in "R" for racing.
 
Just remember, when someone pulls up to you at a stoplight and wants to race you, put the shifter in "R" for racing.

Toad in American Graffiti, not the wet sprocket.
 
So i'm starting to smooth out my inputs. Short shifting from first to second actually really helps a lot, thanks to the person who recommended that. Gotta get used to the sensitivity of this pedal. Not even 2 centimeters of input and i'm at 3k revs.
 
Go and practice hill starts. That will accomplish lots of things, you'll find and remember the friction point very quickly and more importantly, when it matters (line of traffic behind you) you won't stall on a grade.

I'm a Brit, we all take our tests in manual cars as there's not that many automatics about....hill starts were a quick way of making me learn the friction point and getting good muscle memory. Oh...and as for reverse being a weird gear...if you come across an incline that your car has difficulty going up, you can sometimes reverse up it instead. You have a bit more torque in reverse.
 
https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheManuals

OP, great choice of car. Great handling, and the stick just makes it that much more enjoyable.

all the best.

Oh, Save The Manuals.
That was a great Car and Driver series. I did not know they are selling merchandise.

I want a t-shirt!!!

image2
 
Slipping the clutch for 1 sec or 3 as somebody mentioned is nuts. When you're leanring maybe, but a sec. is a long time. But as you get familliar that's just excessive clutch wear
Shift speed can be as fast as the syncros can handle it, this can be different from car to car.
I've always hated the late clutch engagement point, either car or bike. VW's are typically engage late in the pedal travel.
But that's just a preference. Once you know where the clutch engages you need very little slip bike or car.
I find most beginners jerkyness comes from letting off the gas before the clutch is dis-enganed. This causes the inital jerk. Then they are early on the gas before the clutch is engaged, plus usually letting it out too quick which causes the 2nd jerk.
Fine tune the timing between those events and you will be much smoother.
 

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