Advice on driving my new clutch?

Question

Yesterday, my mom came into work (yeah, I work at an dealership...don't kill me) and signed for me 2007 Pontiac G5 (it's s**y). Before I got the car, I asked my dad if he thought I was capable of driving stick; he basically told me not to pass up on a car I love just because it's stick. Anyway, last night we were practicing, and let me just tell ya, I SUCK at getting out of first!! Let me list my problems here (there's a lot):

- I think if I let off the gas, I'm going to stall.

-I think if I hit the brake, I'm going to stall.

-I push the shifter stupidly hard and always ******* throw it in fifth; not third.

-FIRST GEAR (you know what I'm talking about, advice?).

-I know I can stop in any gear if I have the clutch in, but I'm horrified of FIRST GEAR!!

-Can I hit the gas with the clutch in?? (like, when getting out of first, when the clutch is halfway out?).

Any advice would be fabulous because last night all I could think is "OMFG every time I stall, I'm ruining my car!"

Answer 1

This is a lot easier if I'm there in the car.  I've taught a few people how to drive a stick, including a guy who bought the last HO carbureted Mustang on the lot, had it delivered, and THEN asked me if I could teach him a clutch.

Get in the car.  Set the parking brake firmly.  Start the engine.

Be sure the gearshift is in Neutral.  Now just practice using the clutch.  Notice that as you come up with the clutch pedal, you can hear when it engages.  The engine tone will change just a tiny bit, you may be able to feel it through the pedal.  Learn just where that point is in the pedal's travel, because that's where the clutch is starting to engage.  

Okay, having gotten comfortable with that, now try putting it in First and easing the clutch out until the engine starts to slow down a little.  Just a littlle.  Put the clutch back in and do it again.  Keep practicing.  This is lots easier to do with a bigger engine, since the engine's own rotating inertia will keep it turning longer before it starts to drag down into the stall zone.  The engine in your G5 doesn't have as much rotating mass as the one in my truck, even though they're about the same size, so you're going to have to develop a little finesse with your left foot.  The rewards are worth it, though.

Driving a stick is a little like playing piano - you have to use both feet and both hands.  In an auto, all you ever needed was the steering and one foot, now you're coordinating steering, clutch, right foot and shifting all together.

Remember this: when the gas is IN, the clutch is OUT, and the transition for them both happens together.

Stalling: if the car is already moving and you let off the gas, it won't stall.  At really low speeds like 5mph and you put it in 5th, it'll stall then, but from about 15mph in any gear (except Reverse) it won't stall.

Braking: clutch in or neutral and you won't stall.  Approaching a stop from cruising velocity, I:

-Clutch

-Shift to neutral

-Brake to a stop.

These things can happen very quickly once you've gotten a little practice.  If the line begins moving before I get there, you can always shift into a gear from neutral.

Can you hit the gas with the clutch in?  You mean partway in: yes.  As the engine begins to load up but the clutch hasn't completely grabbed, you can start to add gas to keep the engine revs up.  

At your practice site, do this:

Get first gear, begin to let the clutch up.  The engine will start to load and slow down a bit.

Add gas to keep the engine up.

More clutch out

More gas.  Ideally what you want is to begin adding gas at the moment the clutch begins to grab, so you'll have to practice feeling where that is, first.  With my kids we practice getting the car moving at idle, feathering the clutch without adding gas to get the car moving just at idle - that develops clutch control.  

You don't need to modulate the clutch nearly as much when engaging the higher gears, but it's still good practice to try to match engine revs to tranny revs.  All the drivetrain parts will thank you.

Skipping third: you're not the only one.  This will take some rehearsal.  Sitting in the driveway, just feel the shifter for a while.  The detents should hold it in neutral right in front of third, so if you just let the shifter go to its resting position, it should drop right into third with no trouble.  I have sometimes even released my shifter, very briefly, so I don't accidentally push it beyond the gate for third.  You're going to have to slow down your shift a bit to allow this to happen.

Make your way to a large parking lot that is empty, like a shopping mall early on a Sunday morning, and spend some time practicing coordinating both hands and both feet.  What it takes is practice, practice, practice.

Remember: stomp the clutch, then the brake.  You can brake at any time - in a battle of brakes vs. engine the brakes will win, so you can always stop even without declutching, but to prevent stalling get in the habit of clutch, then brake.  It's all your left foot has to do.

Answer 2

First of all

         CALM DOWN!

Second- if you didn't learn to drive in a stick shift, then why don't you take some lessons in one? this will help your confidence & this is what yo need. You already know how to drive, you just need a couple of lessons to get the feel of a stick.

GL

Answer 3

1. Your car won't stall if you let off the gas. In fact, find a long parking lot, put it into first, get the car moving, and just let go of the pedals. You'll cruise forward at a very slow pace.

2. When you're going to use your brake, just declutch. It's stressful to the entire powertrain trying to brake with the motor attached.

3. sit with the car turned off and go through the gears. 10 or 20 times, just go through the gears from 1st to 5th. It's about muscle memory. Once you start driving, it'll very quickly become something that's automatic.

4. Find a parking lot, come to a dead stop. let out the clutch until the motor starts struggling, and press the gas just enough to bring the RPMs back where they were. When you're completely moving and your foot is off the cluch, stop and start again. Do this 20 times at least, in a row. Just sit there and get a feeling for the clutch. You'll have to do it sooner or later. Don't worry about stalling the car. You're not going to hurt it by stalling it a few times. If my 23 year old Bronco II(The vehicle I learned to drive in) can handle me learning to drive stick and stalling it a million times (and it's carbeurated, so it's just a suck and it'll stall when it's cold no matter how nice you treat it), your brand new car can handle a couple stalls.

5. First gear is another thing all about muscle memory. Dedicate a couple days to it, and your body will just remember how to engage the clutch and get your new car moving.

6. You can hit the gas while the clutch is at any point. One thing to be careful of, don't let the clutch slip unless you have to. The more power you apply while the clutch is slipping, the less life you'll get out of your clutch. This isn't a problem while you're learning, but it IS a problem if you get into bad habits.

Anyway, have fun with it. You're about to learn an awesome new skill, and your car will be that much more difficult to steal because not everyone knows how to drive stick.

The only problem may be, you won't want to drive automatics anymore.

Answer 4

it's ok it happens to everyone just be patient it takes building allot of sensitivity in your feet that you've never used before. The best advice I can give you is lift the clutch slow and I mean so slow it kills you to wait that long just to go and when you feel the engine start to bog down or the car starts to roll give it the tinyest amount of gas an continue to let up on the clutch slowly as h**l and if you need give it a little gas I'm talkin about 1500 rpms max before the clutch is fully engaged and you are in gear. Now when you shift to second and so on don't use pressure on the stick let the car guide you smoothly into each gear there isn't much lateral movement needed on your part while shifting except for reverse and 5th on some cars.  For each gear take it to  around 3k rpms and than just repeat the process of slowly lifting  the clutch untill you can feel and hear everything naturally and can instinctively drive a manual car and than you can release the clutch as fast as you want because you will know how much gas and how fast to do everythng without thinking.  Good luck don't get discouraged I used to stall and buck and now I can drive annything with no problem like anything worth doing it just about practice practice practice. Good luck I hope I helped