Hey guys! Now, before I go on, I just want to let you guys know that I have read all the articles out there about driving manual...watched all the instructional videos on how to drive shift...
I understand the concept of it, yet there are so many gaps I don't understand. So, I'll just list all my questions. I hoep you guys can help me out
>> I'm going to assume your not trolling and just answer in the hopes that its honest curiosity.
Let’s say you’re driving at smoothly on 5th gear, hmm around 50ish MPH. What happens if you let go of the gas-pedal as well as the clutch pedal?
>> The car slows down. If it gets slow enough it will buck or stall.
Let’s say you’re driving smoothly on 4th gear and you want to come to a stop at a red-light ahead. Do you simply press the clutch in, shift to neutral, and push the brake (with clutch dis-engaged)? I don’t exactly get the concept of “stopping” in stick-shift.
>> You press on the brake (With your right foot!) so you've let off the gas. Push the clutch in when the RPM's on the tach drop below 1500.
Keep the clutch pressed in till you get to a stop hold the clutch and brake shift to first in preparation to go when the light turns green. What happens if you try to stop the car ONLY using brakes?
>> You will kill the engine when the car get slow enough, its hard on the clutch and drive train. You need to hit the clutch Before you get stopped to allow the engine to keep idling.
Let’s say the car is off. Can you simply just shift the gears around without harming the car? What happens if you shift the gears without the clutch-pedal pressed in? (while car is still off)
>> As long as your not jerking the lever hard it won't hurt anything.
By pushing in the clutch it allows the input shaft to rotate a bit which will allow the synchros to mate and not force past each other causing un-needed wear. Let’s say you’re going at a decently fast speed, around 5th gear. What happens if you press in the clutch-pedal and shift to neutral? Would that over-rev the car?
>> The car revs relative to throttle position. If you pushed in the clutch and did not let off the gas yes you'll over rev youll only over-rev if you downshift to a gear thats too low for the speed your going. The feel for this takes practice. Let’s say you’re driving around 5th gear at a pretty decent speed. What would happen if you press in the clutch-pedal and suddenly shift to 3rd gear?
>> Depending on speed you'll have no problem or you'll blow the motor its relative to the cars ACTUAL speed vs the gear you go into. Let’s say you go into your car, press the clutch-pedal, and turn your car ON. The parking brake is still engaged. Is it OKAY to let go of the clutch pedal? (because if the car is on, and you suddenly let go of the clutch, won’t that stall the car?)
>> Yes it will stall if its NOT in neutral. Always ease the clutch out in case you've messed up and left it in gear. Lets say you started the car and you’re ready to go. You press the clutch IN, and the car is in 1st gear. What happens if you simply let go of the clutch SLOWLY, without even touching the gas pedal?
>> If your are really good at feathering the clutch and you are on say a smooth level or downhill road the car will start moving relative to engine idle speed. I understand “riding-the-clutch” means you’re wearing out the clutch, but I still just don’t understand the concept of it is. I want to understand what this is so I can avoid it.
>> NEVER let your foot rest on the clutch pedal after your moving always remove it completely from the pedal. Otherwise it willl wear out the throwout bearing and maybe the clutch. With all these questions asked, hopefully you’ll still answer this one haha. I read all the articles and watched many videos, but I still don’t get the process of stopping. Let’s say you’re cruising at 50mph on 5th gear. Now, I want to stop. What EXACTLY do I do?? People talk about stopping using the transmission or something, idk... someone please direct me in the right direction
Using the transmission/engine to slow the car:
Lift off the gas let the car slow till the tach is < 2000 rpm, push in the clutch and switch to to 4th gear, let the clutch out smoothly engine RPM should go to about 3200. Let the car continue to slow and as you drop under 2000rpm push clutch again and switch to 3rd gear. Repeat this until your in first gear. Push in the clutch and press on the brake to finish stopping.
However on a BMW I usually just downshift to 4th and push on the brake, when the tack hits 2000 I push in the clutch and stop
with the brakes. Clutches and transmissions are EXPENSIVE, brakes are relatively cheap.
Google "how stuff works" and search for clutch and transmission. If you have no mechanical background to understand how the transmission works.
Dave