Tips & Tricks of Car Driving

Tips & Tricks of Car Driving

A short primer on the very basics on driving manual: I've taught a few friends on my car, and following the the steps below have been pretty effective. If you've been driving a bit, #2 is probably one of the most important points.

0. Learn a little bit of theory of why gasoline cars have gears, what a clutch does, etc. Basics [a lot of gross simplifications here]:

When you drive a car the engine is always spinning and giving power. But sometimes you need to disconnect the engine from the wheels: This is what the clutch does. When you push the clutch to the floor, you "clutch in" and disconnect the engine from wheels. You do this when you are stopped or are changing gears for example. If the engine is directly connected when you're stopped, you will stall.

1. Learn the shift pattern. Different for every car. Practice moving around all the gears. Don't force the shifter, this causes unnecessary wear and makes it easy to misshift. Why do we need gears? Look at your tachometer. Gasoline engines usually run from 600rpm to 6000rpm or so. At 1500-3000rpm you probably have your most efficient range for everyday acceleration and cruising. At 4500-6000rpm you make the most power but use a lot of gas, so when you're getting on the highway or accelerating rapidly you want to be here.

If there was only one gear, we could not control the engine RPM - it would be directly tied to our road speed. So that's why we usually have 5 or 6 gears to play with. In general, a good rule is to shift up every 10MPH or around 2500RPM in regular driving (lower for big engines, higher if you want better acceleration).

2. Learn clutch control and the friction point. Start with the no gas method (where you start the vehicle by slowly letting out the clutch in first gear without touching the gas pedal)

The clutch has a friction point where it first starts to connect engine with wheels, and every car behaves differently. A great exercise is to put the car in 1st gear with no gas, hold down the clutch. Then slowly release the clutch until you feel the car vibrate/start to move. This is the friction point.

The key is to not get excited when the car first starts moving and let go really quickly. If you do that it will probably stall. When you let go of the clutch, after you feel the car start moving do it much slower. Try to remember where it starts to catch, and get used to modulating it around this point. So basically a clutch has a 'dead zone' at the top and bottom where it doesn't do anything, and then the area where it actually connects. Move the clutch smoothly in the middle area and you will avoid stalling.

3. More advanced theory and techniques. Learn when to choose gears, how to accelerate effectively. Learn rev matching and double clutching.
3a. Slowing down in straight line - You can stay in any given gear when slowing down, however if your RPMs are too low and you want to speed up again, you want to downshift. Clutch in, move the shifter to the new gear

3b. Slowing down for turns - One of the most common situations, 10-15MPH turns require 2nd gear usually, faster large-radius turns 3rd gear. Do your braking and shifting before the turn.

3c. Slowing to a stop - Shift into neutral or clutch in around 10-20mph. Don't worry about the people who say it's bad to coast in neutral, if you're about to stop it hardly makes a difference, and you will be getting basically 0 acceleration at 15mph in high gear.

3d. Shift points: Eddie Xue's answer to How should I shift my manual transmission in order to maximize gas mileage?

In general: Choose the highest gear that allows you to drive smoothly without lugging or struggling the engine. During acceleration, shift early, as soon as you can accelerate well in the next gear - a decent estimate is every 10MPH or around 2200-2700RPM for a 4 cylinder car. Don't be afraid to use a little more gas pedal at lower RPMs. In a V6/V8 shifting at 2000RPM is fine - an automatic V6 Camry I drove would shift at about 2K in casual acceleration.

You can cruise comfortably on flat ground at 1500-2000RPM on a 4 cylinder, or even lower in a V6 or V8. You may have to downshift to get some meaningful acceleration, but that's the point of having a manual, no? Even in my torqueless Honda 2.2 liter 40MPH in 5th gear is no problem and requires only a very light touch on the gas pedal.

Also keep the engine in gear while braking to a stop, until you get close to idle speed / 1000RPM. This way the deceleration fuel cut-off means you're using 0 gas vs. a small amount to idle the engine.

Rarely, you may have to downshift while cruising - say going up a hill. If you're struggling to keep speed with 50-75% throttle then yes downshift, it is probably more efficient.

You may want to skip gears on the way up depending on your transmission especially if you have a close-ratio 6-speed.

For those concerned about lugging - lugging does not happen when you drive at 1200RPM in top gear on flat ground. Lugging also depends on load, and almost always requires near idle speed - just because the engine struggles doesn't mean it's lugging either (accelerating from 1200RPM would cause it to struggle, but not lug in 99% of situations). Try going below idle speed in gear and flooring - this is when you hear lugging (you'll hear a knocking sound). Actually don't try it, look for a Youtube video instead.

Thermodynamically, shifting earlier and pushing the accelerator harder on gasoline cars ("short shifting") can improve gas mileage by reducing throttling losses because air has a larger opening and less turbulence - go on some hypermiling forums to learn their magic. However this can be pretty annoying and slow in real life, so by simply accelerating smoothly and shifting early you can get most of the gains.

4. Avoid bad habits. Don't ride the clutch, avoid always holding the shifter.

Here's a great resource and a forum I used to frequent, with a beginner's FAQ. The people there are pretty friendly if you ask them about manual transmissions or cars in general. Be prepared to hear them rag on slushbox drivers though :p

http://standardshift.com/faq/
http://standardshift.com/forum/

There's also a few good videos on Youtube, but a lot of them frankly suck or are inaccurate.

Reasonably accurate, with a great footbox view for showing footwork. (Stalling isn't very harmful for your car, you shouldn't stare at the tachometer too much, you don't need to shift down when stopping, and he shifts pretty high, but it's good overall).

Some bad habits in this video: Don't hold the shifter all the time, don't rev so high, don't stare at the tachometer. shift by feel and sound.

Your feet are usually synchronized. Your clutch foot and throttle foot are usually opposite of each other (one pressing and one released), and your clutch foot and brake foot are usually same as each other (both pressing or both released).

Press the clutch fast and deep, but release slowly. No need to rush! Too fast might stall the engine and will wear out the clutch faster. When in doubt, press and hold, regardless of gear position.

The gear shifter is default to the centre/middle, in neutral, and it is always in between gear 3 and 4:

This means that to go to any gear, yank the gear shifter loose so it goes automatically to neutral, and then you can go left up for 1, left down for 2, just up for 3, *all the way left* then up for reverse... etc. It is easier to change gears without looking at the shifter than typing without looking at the keyboard.

You might have been taught to change gears at certain speeds (e.g. go to 2 if you are between 20 and 30 km/h) and/or shift at certain engine speeds (e.g. 3000 RPM). Nice initial guidelines, but not scalable.

Try to accustomze yourself to the sounds of the engine and feel of the clutch at certain engine speeds. If it gets loud, you should probably shift up. If it starts rumbling like a bass and you feel strong vibrations, you should probably shift down, or go to neutral.

If you are facing up a hill and driving from rest (0 km/h), use the e-brake (hand brake) so you can take your time with initiating on first gear.

If you wait for more than 5 seconds on neutral, don't leave your foot on the clutch and gears set to 1. Make it a habit of shifting to neutral and releasing the clutch instead. Not recommended for beginners though!

For a car in motion, it is very rare to go back down to 1st gear (exception might be on a steep hill). So for low speed maneuvers, lowest gear is 2. Navigate roundabouts on gear 2 for most vehicles.

For extra acceleration, for example on the Autobahn, drop down 2 gears, e.g. from 5 to 3 when requiring an overtake. This is of course related to the speed and elevation changes of the road...

If you stall the engine on a public road, until you get into the habit of quickly restarting the engine and being on your way, the courtesy is to activate emergency blinkers.

Parking facing up a hill: leave gearbox in 1st gear.
Parking facing down a hill: leave gearbox in reverse.
Remember to use the e-brake at all times.
Wheel positions: same as any car.

You need to pay attention because if you dont use your gearbox as an additional "lock", your car only has two points of failure (the e-brake and wheel position), whereas a car with automat transmission has three (the parking pin when set to P position).

Tips & Tricks of Car Driving

When I was taught how to drive a manual, it was all wrong. I was told to rev the engine first, then let off the clutch gradually… by my father, who was a very uptight person. He would react if I jerked the car, and then I would stall it.

There is a much easier way.

The hardest thing to do with a manual is to start from a stop. Uphill is harder, obviously. Shifting gears when driving is pretty easy and doesn't require much coordination. The goal is to isolate the new skills rather than trying to teach the newbie all of the compound motions together.

·         Be relaxed, and get a relaxed person to teach you! There is nothing more important than this.

·         Start in an empty parking lot.

·         To practice moving the car, don't use the gas pedal. At all. Only use the clutch.

·         Comprehend what the clutch does. When it is out, the transmission is engaged, so the engine is connected to the wheels. When it is in, it is disconnected. When you are slipping the clutch, you are using some of the engine torque to move the car but not so much that the engine stops from going too slowly.

·         When you are practicing, learn the reflex to put the clutch to the floor and brake to a stop, while holding the clutch in.

·         Only use first gear at first. Get the car moving and stop. Focus on when the clutch catches and how it feels different. Practice pressing the clutch in when you feel the car bucking

·         At first, only use the gas pedal when the clutch is out and the car is rolling. Just as you got a feel for the clutch, get a feel for the much more direct response you get from the gas pedal.

·         Once you are starting to get a feel for this, you are ready to use the gas a bit when starting from a stop. Now you can take off quicker, and you have a real feel for where the clutch starts slipping, so it is much easier than it is trying to use the gas first. Cars with manuals usually have a more sensitive/responsive gas pedal response so you need a bit of retraining.

·         Once you can consistently start the car and stop it, and drive around slowly and relatively smoothly in first gear, then you can practice upshifts. Accelerate to 10-15mph or so and shift to second, and then practice stopping from there - press clutch and brake in and start again in first gear.

·         Next, get the car to some empty, flat side streets. Practice driving around. This will require higher gears than second, but is the easiest part of learning to drive a manual.

·         Next, find a hill where there are no cars around at all, and practice starting on it. Use the emergency brake on the car, and let off the clutch a bit until it tugs. Then get on the gas gently and release the parking brake. Practice until you can get the car up the hill consistently without stalling.

·         Do not drive in traffic until you can consistently get the car moving and can deal with the level of hills you are facing on your route.

If you learn this way it will be as smooth an experience as possible. The goal is to isolate the most difficult things. If you are having trouble with a skill, go back and practice the components of that skill individually.

Lastly, you learn when you're not doing the thing you're trying to learn. If you take a break for a day or two and go back to practicing, you will probably find that your skills improved in that time. This is particularly helpful if you're having trouble with something.

First thing's first, make sure you're in a place with enough space to drive off, such as an empty parking lot, as you will be stalling the car a couple times and rolling forwards. I also highly recommend having a buddy who knows how to drive a manual car show you how to drive one and give critique on the spot.
When you first sit down at the driver's seat, check where all your controls are. Adjust your seat so that your left food is on the clutch (the left-most pedal) and your right foot has easy access to the other two pedals (brake in the middle, and gas on the right). Make sure you can easily reach the shifter and that nothing is obstructing between the steering wheel and the shifter (and around the shifter).

Familiarize yourself with the shifter. There usually tends to be a diagram on top of the knob with where each gear is. In general, top left is first, bottom left is second, center top is third, center bottom is fourth, and right top is fifth. Some cars have a sixth gear, and thus would be in the bottom right. With the handbrake on, step down on the clutch all the way and get a feel to how the shifter feels, as you'll be shifting around while in motion and there will be no time to look down. Find where the reverse is on the car, which sometimes involves on pressing down on the shifter and moving all the way to the left and up or down, pulling on some kind of shifter behind the knob and pulling it to the other side, or moving it into the position where the sixth gear would be. It's different in a lot of cars. Just make sure you know where it is to avoid shifting into it on accident.

A few key points:

·         Make sure you can step down on the clutch all the way, that is, your pedal is all the way to the metal and cannot go further. Get this motion engraved into your muscle memory as you'll be pressing it down a lot to change gears and to start your car.

·         Make sure you've memorized your gear shifter. There will be no time to look down and remember where each gear is once you're in motion.

·         Make sure there's nothing in the way for your shifter and for your arm to reach from the steering wheel to the shifter.

Familiarized yourself with the car? READY TO DRIVE? Let's move on.

To start the car: Check to see if your car is in gear and/or has the handbrake on. That is, check to see if your shifter is shifter to a gear or not. You can check by looking down and seeing if it's in an obvious direction, and if you can move the shifter left and right freely. If you can move it sideways, that means your car is in neutral. Otherwise, you're in the gear that your shifter is in. The handbrake is usually next to the shifter and is just a lever with a button at the end that is pulled up. If you're either in gear or have the handbrake on, step on the clutch all the way down and turn the key. You'll hear the car starting and eventually the engine will start running. If you're in gear, make sure you do not let go of the clutch until you've at least shifted to neutral and pressed down on the brake with your right foot. Release the handbrake, and you're now ready to roll.
Note: if you accidentally let go of the clutch while in gear, you will stall your car. This is usually followed with a very unpleasant smell of burnt clutch, so be ready to roll down your windows to get fresh air.

To start moving: I first generally test out how sensitive the gas pedal is. Press down gently on the gas and look at your tachometer to see how sensitive it is. Exercise pressing down on gas with the handbrake on and try to get a steady low RPM rolling (usually 1500-2000). Once you've gotten used to the gas pedal, press down on the clutch all the way and shift into first (make sure your handbrake is off!). Very gently, press on the gas with your right foot and slowly and smoothly start de-pressing the clutch. Your left and right feet should be going in opposite directions, with left going up and right going down. You should start feeling the car moving and hopefully start moving. In this step, you may stall the car, and that's OK! You're only beginning to learn, and you'll get a very unpleasant jolt and smell in the car; this is why you're in an empty parking lot with plenty of space. Arguably, the hardest thing in driving a manual car is the ritual of beginning the moving, as there is so much room for error, as even seasoned drivers sometimes accidentally drop the clutch too soon and stall the car at a stop light. Just practice pressing and releasing the pedals as smoothly and slowly as possible. Now, once you're moving, it's time to start shifting!

To shift the gears: Press down on the clutch all the way, shift to the next gear, and smoothly release the clutch, just like starting to move. This will take practice in learning the pressing down on the clutch motion and how to make it as smooth as possible. You'll need to also understand when to shift your car: from first, I generally shift immediately to second once I'm moving, as the first gear is generally reserved for starting the movement. When shifting, general rule of thumb is to not go into the higher RPMs (such as beyond 4500) and to press and release your clutch as smooth as possible.

Once you're coming to a stop (such as at a stop sign, light, or just parking), you can press down on the clutch, put the car in neutral, and then apply the brakes. Make sure that if you're not in motion, you do not release the clutch if your car is in gear.

When parking and turning the car off, there are two ways of making sure you secure your car from rolling off on its own:

·         Pull on the handbrake, put the car in neutral, and turn off. This is the most secure way of ensuring your car does not roll off on its own (and is not able to be pushed).

·         Put the car in gear (either to first or second), and turn off. You don't have to put the handbrake on, but this is generally like putting an automatic car into Park. You'll feel a little movement if you're on a slight incline, but your car shouldn't be moving. If it is, or if you feel a bit sketched out by the possibility of it accidentally moving, pull the handbrake up.

That's it! Once you've practiced driving a stick more, you'll be able to perfect your shifting and make driving even smoother than it is on an automatic.

Have an assistant drive the car to a large empty level parking lot. Park it in a place where no obstacles will present themselves. Turn off all distractions, especially music and your phone.

Practice depressing the clutch and shifting, then releasing the clutch smoothly. Then practice moving your right foot (for most of the world.from brake to gas at the same time as you depress the clutch, shit the transmission and release the clutch. When you have figured out the motions and can do them easily understanding the impacts of each movement continue to the next paragraph.

I prefer to start the engine in neutral, so first, put the transmission/gearbox in neutral. With the parking brake on, depress the clutch (or not), turn the ignition.

Select first gear, let the clutch out slowly. When the engine starts to slow down, press the clutch back in. Do this several times until you have a sense of how far you need to release the clutch before the transmission will be engaged.

Then apply the foot brake, release the parking brake, depress the clutch, shift into first gear, release the clutch in the same manner as above. Move the gas brake foot from brake to gas. When the engine starts to slow and the car starts to roll, depress the clutch and the brake. Stop the car. Repeat until comfortable. Then when releasing the clutch, allow engine to slow more, then apply a little gas. continue to release the clutch. Then depress the clutch, brake, stop, shift back into neutral and repeat until comfortable. Then continue until the clutch is completely released with only a little added throttle. Repeat until comfortable. Then after going from stopped to moving in first gear is easy, continue in first and shift to second. When slowing, shift into neutral, stop and start over.

After this skill is easy, from stopped to first to second gear to third, then back to second then back to first and then stopped. When completely comfortable, find an area where there is a hill but not traffic (preferably an empty parking lot). Practice starting off from the hill using the parking/emergency brake.

With these skills you can try very easy traffic.

good luck