Learning to Drive a Stick

[BrandonVA]

So I sold my frickin escape which had neverending mechanical issues and had horrible gas mileage. Ended up with a 2006 toyota corolla le with 95,000 miles...and it's a stick. Now, I have been driving it a couple weeks and I never stall it but I have a lot of work to do on my technique.

Was wondering if you guys could help me shift smoother. When I try to take off real quick onto a busy road it is tough. I either start off really slow and end up with a bunch of cars tailgating me or I somehow peel out. Should I let off the clutch slower? Give it less gas?

I'm actually pretty okay at downshifting but I would like to learn to upshift quicker and smoother so I can keep up with traffic. When changing up a a gear, do you keep your foot on the gas a little bit while pressing in the clutch? Or do you always completely let off the gas when clutching to upshift? I noticed it seems smoother if I give it a tiny bit of gas while I'm on the clutch during an upshift.

Any other advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Red91]

All I can tell you is you'll eventually get the hang of it. Anyone can tell you how, but only you can get the feel.

 

[NHGUY]

Every car feels different.No 2 drive alike.

 

[eljefino]

Do you have a tach?

The nice thing about modern, injected cars is they have "idle speed control" and, within reason, if you slip the clutch the computer will give it a little extra gas to keep the revs from dipping.

It's worth practicing in a parking lot, just taking off with the clutch, slowly, and no gas. Get a feel for how slow it can go at idle speed; this will be handy creeping in traffic etc.

What I generally do is get the first 1 or 2 MPH by slipping the clutch then I dump it (slide foot off the pedal) with my foot lightly on the gas. There might be a little lurch but as long as I'm rolling it won't stall. There's enough spring in the motor mounts and little springs in the clutch plate itself that this isn't too jarring. They also, on many cars, put dampeners in the clutch hydraulics.

My reaction time (and likely yours) is too slow to give it a bunch of extra gas when it's making like it's going to stall. The best reaction to a near-stall is to depress the clutch a wee bit and then try again. As long as you're rolling around 2 mph you won't stall it in 1st or reverse.

 

[BrandonVA]

yes I have a tach. I just can't really start off that slow when I have to turn on a road where people are going about 60. and its not an onramp. Just have to gun it to get going.


well i don't ever stall. it just is really jerky or i rev it up too high and peel out. i think i got a feel for the clutch point. I guess I just have to do it faster.

 

[eljefino]

It shouldn't be that jerky. Is your throttle body dirty? That was an issue with my wife's saturn-- the driver had to tap the gas to free up the throttle blade and it wasn't smooth just off-idle.

 

[OneEyeJack]

As Michelle Pfeiffer the Catwoman in Batman Returns would say, Practice makes purrrrrrrrfect".

 

[01rangerxl]

All you can really do is keep driving it. The more comfortable you are with the car, the more refined your technique will get.

Go out and drive on some more rural roads where there isn't as much traffic. Get comfortable with driving the car in general.

After a while it will become second nature.

 

[BigCahuna]

To get used to the feel of the clutch, go to an empty parking lot and practice taking off without touching the gas. Just slowly release the clutch until you really get the feel of it. Then taking off using the gas, puts it all in perspective.,,

 

[bdcardinal]

Maybe try bleeding the clutch line. When I learned stick I took the car to an empty parking lot behind a row of stores where their loading docks were. Started from one end and practiced starting the whole length. The truckers were watching me all weird when I started, but ended up getting thumbs up from them when they realized what I was doing and I was getting it.

 

[AandPDan]

If it's "jerky" you're lugging the engine, slip the clutch just a bit more.

It's all by feel and like has been said, no two cars are the same.

You will get used to it in time.

I've only owned one automatic in my life, hated it. I dread the day I need to find another vehicle.

 

[gregoron]

You'll have to find and get used to the clutch's bite point. As soon as you know where that is, you can rev up your engine up to 1,500 or 2,000 rpm to get off the blocks quickly. Once the car starts moving, release the clutch slowly and fully then mash on the accelerator paying attention to traction. First gear is goes by quickly like a second or two, so get ready for 2nd gear right away. With second gear, no need to rev up, just step on clutch at the same time easing off the gas. Shift to 2nd, release clutch at the same time stepping on the gas. Hang on to second until 3k to 4k if you want to go quick.

Keep practicing.

Another tip. If you're stopped on an incline, use your parking brake to keep the car rolling backwards, then release the ebrakes when you get the car moving in 1st gear.

PS. I'd watch some YouTube videos if you're into visual learning.

 

[suspiciousmind]

Try getting to second sooner. You really only need to be barely moving to make your shift. The car's much more forgiving in the higher gears. The quicker you move through them, the easier it'll be.

Backing out of the throttle in first is causing the jerking. When you lift off the throttle, you're unloading the tension in the driveline and loading to the opposite side of the gears. Try not to do that!

Either stay on the throttle or shift into second.

 

[Chris142]

Don't need much gas to get moving.sounds like your revving it too much. Dont need much more than idle.say 1200rpm max.practice taking off with no gas.

 

[barkingspider]

Practice practice practice. U will find the smooth spots when shifting eventually. I taught my 18 yr old daughter and within a 3-4 weeks, she was good at it. That corolla will save u a lot on gas and will last a very long time.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: BrandonVA
When changing up a a gear, do you keep your foot on the gas a little bit while pressing in the clutch? Or do you always completely let off the gas when clutching to upshift?


You still let off the gas when you upshift, but you let the clutch out much quicker than you do when pulling away from a stop. Both your feet are moving much quicker on an upshift.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Don't need much gas to get moving.sounds like your revving it too much. Dont need much more than idle.say 1200rpm max.practice taking off with no gas.


depends on the car.. and if you are going uphill or not

 

[eljefino]

If upshifting is bugging you, try this.

Put about 2-3 lbs of pressure on the shifter towards neutral. For the 2nd to 3rd shift you'll also use the shifter's natural tendency to spring into the 3-4 gate.

Anyway, apply that pressure first then lift the gas & stomp the clutch. When the clutch disengages the shifter will just fall into neutral. Don't stop now, your clutch foot is near or at the floor, keep going into your next gear. Once you feel it in the next gear, dump off the clutch. This should happen so fast your engine/ flywheel won't dip all the way to idle, and should be making at least the RPMs needed for the next gear. It could even be going faster, so the clutch release should kick the car forward slightly.

What's happening is that when power (or engine braking) is being applied, your transmission's gears have a force holding them meshing together. Once your clutch is far enough down there's no power going through there, the gears "fall loose" and, consequently, the clutch is also far enough down that you can engage the next gear up without grinding or damage.

 

[BrandonVA]

I think the engine was kind if boggy due to old spark plugs. I changed them today and the engine seems much stronger and idles much smoother. If i put pressure on the stick towards neutral without pressing the clutch it wont shift? Just want to make sure i dont grind any gears.

 

[eljefino]

If you get it "just right" it'll pop into neutral without the clutch. However it's harder yet to slide it into the next gear without the clutch, and not something you should try to do.

However, the couple lbs of weight on the stick helps automate part of the process and speed it up and take some mental clock cycles away that you can use for other driving stuff.