For those of you out there who drive stick, I've got a question for you. I've got the basics down now, and can drive around comfortably without getting so nervous that I stall 5 times at a light until it's red again.

My question is this: when I'm shifting into 1st and 2nd gear in my MCS, gradually easing my foot off the clutch results in a MUCH smoother ride than going for the 'foot off the clutch as quick as you can' technique. A friend of mine suggested that I'd get faster, until I needed no longer than about a second before letting off it.

Does this sound right? How long do you hold down the clutch when you're shifting? I don't want to wear it out early, so I try to keep my foot off it as much as possible (no riding the clutch when I'm not shifting and so on). But whenever I try to speed up releasing the clutch to shift faster, I either stall (1st) or it's a very jerky shift (higher gears).

Any thoughts? Advice?

 

6 out of the 7 cars I've ever owned have been manual transmission. And from my experiece, shifting while being easy on the clutch is a bit of an art to be mastered over time. First gear is always the most challenging... if something doesn't feel "right" then it probably isn't. Pay attention to your car, if that makes sense.

I'm always pretty easy on the clutch, and I have never had to replace a clutch. Having said all that, I still do, on various occasion stall when I'm not paying attention.

Not much help, but just my 2 cents. BTW - a second a shift sounds about right, but I've never payed that much quantitative attention to it, so I could be wrong.

 

I've been driving a stick since 1975. When I am autocrossing, or moving with a purpose, I'll have the clutch depressed, gear changed, and clutch out in about one second. It becomes such a fluid movement. It just takes time and practice, learning the individual quirk of your car.

Try not to shift with the revs too low. On average, upshift around 4000-5000 rpm, and downshift about 2000. That's not carved in stone.

Try not to "lug" the engine, by letting the revs drop too low for the gear you're in.

 

I've driven both cars and trucks with manual trans. My 1st car was a dodge colt. Good thing I learned on a used car...because I stalled every time at a stop. All I can say is ignore what most folks in line behind your stalled car are yelling at you and listen to the engine. I don't even look at the tach anymore. Soon enough, your body will respond to your engine's every sound. Practice, practice and more practice is the best norm. I've never had to replace a trans or clutch, so I must be doing something right. My MINI is a LOT different than my last manual (Mercedes). My MINI shifts tighter than the Mercedes and is more responsive to your touch...Plus, the extra power in the engine. When you start getting used to it's shift pattern...it's a gas, gas, gas!!!

 

If you have access to a large parking lot, that's a great place to practice.

 

Good idea! I also went down every country road. Took in a lot of scenery and got good practice while shifting for hills and curves. A lot of roads in the country are paved nowadays...not well, but paved.

 

As others have said - practice makes perfect for sure. When I bought my first car (an old '65 Mustang w/3pd) I couldn't even drive a stick and since no one I new at the time had one I could practice on, the Stang was it. Let me just say that clutch technology has come a long way in the last 40 years from the old mechanical clutch in that Mustang.

Now back to learning how to properly use the clutch. At first I was letting the clutch out very quickly for fear of wearing the clutch out prematurely. This led to some very herky jerky starts. The torque of the V8 helped to keep the stalling down, but I felt very uncomfortable at lights nevertheless. When I explained to my uncle the difficulty I was having, he gave me some very good advice. He told me ease the clutch out a little slower than you might think necessary so the engagement was very smooth. Then start quickening up the release, but pause slightly at the engagement point to keep things smooth.

It took a few days, but I soon found exactly where the engagement point was and how to pause just a bit at that point to keep the shift smooth. By the end of my second week driving the car, I was getting pretty comfortable in everyday driving and wasn't even too worried about hills either.

I guess the bottom line is to experiment a little till things start to feel right. You'll know it when you find it.

I'm far from claiming to be an expert, but FWIW, my 325iX now has 210k miles on the original clutch. I guess I must be doing something right.

 

be slow and gentle for 1-2 shift and make sure you give it a slight touch
of throttle to keep the flywheel's momentum at a steadily fall but not so
much that you hear the clutch slipping at the critical engagement
moment.

its not about how fast you can release the clutch for a smooth shift
while driving at normal speeds. a gentle engagement does not equal
a slip.

think of it as you're tossing a ball up in the air. you will gently grasp
the ball as it comes down matching the rate of the fall of the ball
with your arms and gradually lift your arms up again to toss the ball
up in the air. that's basically wat you're trying to do with your
flywheel. the flywheel is the ball. your arms the throttle.

you should be able to get a seamless shift on all the gears going up
or down the gates.

 

If your getting jerky, your road speed and RPMs are not matching.
The whole point of the clutch is to match them. If you shift perfectly, you would never feel it (No jerkiness).

It sound like you need to practice matching road speed and rpms

 

Yeah, I am getting much better at smooth shifts after less than a week of driving, so I think I'm getting better at matching speed and RPMs. I was kind of hoping that I would just get used to shifting at the right time, but I think for now I should just note at what RPM I shift most smoothly from gear A to gear B, and watch the tach more cloesly until it becomes second nature.

I've gotten really good at shifting in higher gears, it's just the lower gears I need to work on (1st -> 2nd, 2nd->3rd).

So is it OK for me to be holding in the clutch for a couple of seconds while shifting, or should I strive to push it in and let it out as quickly as possible?

 

This is one of the most insightful things I have read about driving a manual! Mind if I use it? Thanks!

 

After awhile, you want even think about it. It will just become an extension of your ear/hand/leg coordination ... Thats right ear. At first you can watch the tach but over time, you will be able to tell by hearing the rpms in your car.

No, do not keep the clutch in. Just put it in, shift, let it out. If the RPMs are close, it will all fell like butter. First will never be like that.

If you get good at it, you don't even need the clutch. You can go from 2 to 3 or 3 to 4 IF the RPMS and road speed are perfect but I would not recommend doing that cause then the gears will grind if your off.

First gear may will never be as smooth as the rest. Over time, the rest will become like butter

Also, at a light or in traffic stopped, do NOT have the clutch in. Let it out in neutral and it will last longer. When the light changes, clutch in, into first and gas.

Want to know how smooth you are ... have someone hold a glass of water filled to the brim on a flat board in the passenger seat. When your smooth, no drops.

 

go ahead. i think of many things when im driving manuals.
just make sure to quote kenchan@northamericanmotoring, ok?

 

I am also new in driving stick, but have tons of fun doing it!!
I have two questions, hope someone can give me some idea.

1) I usually shift from first to second gear at around 2500 and 3000, almost as soon as the car starts moving in 5 or 6 mph.
am I shifting too soon?

2) When I am in a traffic jam, like my car can go around 5 mph or slower and have to stop frequently, I usually press the clutch down, shift to first gear, step on gas, once the car start moving, I only release clutch to half way and continue to step on gas, the reason is if I fully release the clutch, my car will stall, it happens a few times.
Is it a right way to do it, or I should fully release the clutch and only hold it down when the car is about to stall?

Thanks in advance!!

 

According to some around here ( ) you should be shifting to second at or above 6500rpms. . . I usually get it up to 4k-6k depending on the urgency before shifting to second (even on a slower start). . . Shifting at 2500-3000 rpms will put second at about 1300 rpms, where the MINI is not happy at all.

As far a cruising in traffic, you should be able drive with the clutch all the way out in 1st with the rpms anywhere above 1000 with no stalling problems, but shifting down into 1st is pretty tricky since 1st is so touchy. Your doing the right thing by blipping the gas before letting the clutch out, cause remember, you should try to match the revs to your speed so it's a smooth transition.

But, a MINI's natural environment is not in traffic. . . so try an alternate route!

 

Traffic isn't bad in a stick once you get used to it.

It helps a lot to put the car in neutral (rather than holding in the clutch) when you're stopped in traffic.

 

Sometimes I dont fully release the clutch at low speed, like at 2 or 3 mph, the clutch is in the middle and the gas is also in the middle. I vary their position depends on the road condition, but both clutch and gas are never fully in or out. This could last for a few minutes. Am i doing it right?

 

You are a prospective member of the burnt out/destroyed clutch club.

 

You shouldn't have the clutch half-engaged for so long. This will prevent stalling, but will not make your clutch happy.

You might want to go to a quite street or an empty parking lot and practice coordinating the gas and clutch so you can move smoothly into first. It sounds to me as if you may be too slow on the gas. But the only way to learn is to practice -- you'll feel it when it's right.

 

hahaha... I know I am , I am trying to cancel my membership now!!

So, does it mean even at a very slow speed, once I am in first gear,
let the clutch out. Only clutch in when the car is about to stall?
How slow the car can go without stalling? 1 mph??

 

YES!!

 

When the revs drop below 1000. Decide what the situation requires. In stop and go traffic, I will often pop it into neutral until I see what the traffic is going to do.

 

Thanks for your advice!!
How about shifting from 1 to 2 at around 2500 and 3000? Is it
that bad? I dont feel anything wrong with the car, no jerking, no
loss power or speed?

 

Upshift around 4-5000.

 

Thanks you very much to all of you!! I really need to practice more on not clutch in so much (too afraid of the car will stall makes me do that!!)