Stick Shift!

[LillDev!l]

So is gear 1 considered neutral?
And what about down-shifting?

Neutral is in the middle, when its not in any gear (between the 1/2, 3/4 and 5/6 or 5/reverse, depending on the car basicly).
1 is just a startup gear, you can shift to two basicly at any time while the car is moving.

If you slow down from 70 to 50 for example, you can shift back to 3 at 55-60, it'll slow down a bit more on the engine.
If you stop for a traffic light or whatever you can just kick in the clutch and break down gradualy, its also possible to manualy shift down gear by gear, but there's just no need for that ^^

[wootpops]

wow i didn't know this was so complicated for some.

just ride the clutch and shift when your car goes WWWHOOOOOOOOOO really loud.

[takolin]

Not many people ride in an automatic in Belgium.
And if you do your riding exam in an automatic, you can't drive a manual one.

[XMoshe]

Wrote some huge ass reply but servers decided to go in maintenance so fck it, ain't going to type that again.

Also, @XMoshe: why wait 3k rpm? I usually switch gears at 2k, most 2.5k with my to-be Renault Clio (yeh, I still don't have a driving license, but I can legally drive with my dad sittin' beside me).

My parents told me that for this car, the car I had my lessons in was 2-2.5k to shift up.

So is gear 1 considered neutral?
And what about down-shifting?

Neutral is like Free in an automatic car. It means none of the gears is connected to the transmission which means you don't have to keep your foot on the clutch pedal. First gear is only used to get moving, I always go to 2nd gear ASAP cuz I hate driving in first, if you want you could even get moving in the 2nd gear, you just have to keep your clutch at the hook up point for a bit longer.

I'm taught to go to 3 at 50, 2 at 30 and 1 at 10. Turns in 2nd gear (tight turns ofc, when you get flaw turns don't bother shifting down lol). If you leave or enter the highway for instance you can also skip a gear, while entering you can get to speed in 3rd gear and then go to the 5th instantly instead of going 3->4->5. It's better cuz you accelerate faster in 3rd gear and seeing as you don't have an unlimited lane to get to speed =p Same when you leave the highway, just slow down enough to go from 5 to 3 at once, saves time and you can concentrate on the road better.

[Majorharper]

Wrote some huge ass reply but servers decided to go in maintenance so fck it, ain't going to type that again.

Also, @XMoshe: why wait 3k rpm? I usually switch gears at 2k, most 2.5k with my to-be Renault Clio (yeh, I still don't have a driving license, but I can legally drive with my dad sittin' beside me).

My parents told me that for this car, the car I had my lessons in was 2-2.5k to shift up.

So is gear 1 considered neutral?
And what about down-shifting?

Neutral is like Free in an automatic car. It means none of the gears is connected to the transmission which means you don't have to keep your foot on the clutch pedal. First gear is only used to get moving, I always go to 2nd gear ASAP cuz I hate driving in first, if you want you could even get moving in the 2nd gear, you just have to keep your clutch at the hook up point for a bit longer.

I'm taught to go to 3 at 50, 2 at 30 and 1 at 10. Turns in 2nd gear (tight turns ofc, when you get flaw turns don't bother shifting down lol). If you leave or enter the highway for instance you can also skip a gear, while entering you can get to speed in 3rd gear and then go to the 5th instantly instead of going 3->4->5. It's better cuz you accelerate faster in 3rd gear and seeing as you don't have an unlimited lane to get to speed =p Same when you leave the highway, just slow down enough to go from 5 to 3 at once, saves time and you can concentrate on the road better.

Try to limit that, even though in the previous posts i was joking about when I shift gears and stuff, I know that skipping a gear isnt neccessarily a good thing. Simple example ( dont worry this wont happen to your car ) when you shift gears on your bike too quickly, the chain could fall off... Well on a car going from 3 -> 5 isnt good either, the engine, at no matter what speed your going will have more difficulty...

If you have a hard time concentrating on the road while shifting gear, its time to think about going automatic.. When you drive manual you shouldnt even concentrate on the gears, it should be an automatism, according to the sound of your engine.

[XMoshe]

No matter how long you drive, having to take your hand of the wheel and shift, it reduces your concentration. Sure most of the times it doesn't matter but I'm just saying

And about skipping a gear, that's the the instructor told me...He didn't say you have to do it everytime you can just that it's possible when you need the extra power.

[Majorharper]

No matter how long you drive, having to take your hand of the wheel and shift, it reduces your concentration. Sure most of the times it doesn't matter but I'm just saying

And about skipping a gear, that's the the instructor told me...He didn't say you have to do it everytime you can just that it's possible when you need the extra power.

One hand on steering wheel one hand on shifter, problem fixed

[XMoshe]

No matter how long you drive, having to take your hand of the wheel and shift, it reduces your concentration. Sure most of the times it doesn't matter but I'm just saying

And about skipping a gear, that's the the instructor told me...He didn't say you have to do it everytime you can just that it's possible when you need the extra power.

One hand on steering wheel one hand on shifter, problem fixed

Nevermind lol...

[fckerr]

wow i didn't know this was so complicated for some.

just ride the clutch and shift when your car goes WWWHOOOOOOOOOO really loud.

Exactly.
I've tried my dads 4x4 and it felt good. With manual u can feel the car

[Gaigemasta]

another quick question, say I stop at a red light, I keep it in 1st gear, do i press lightly the gas first before i let go of the clutch?

[wootpops]

for all the new stick drivers just go to a parking lot and practice getting going, find your friction point practice. Then head to roads and practice shifting at the right time.

[_Equal_]

FEEL teh clutch, be the engine

Seriously, where you shift is going to depend on the car, a tach is nice but it's not required. I had a Corolla with a light clutch and a truck with a heavy one. So the distance you let the pedal out before the clutch engages is a lot more on the "heavy" pedal - tighter clutch.

http://pages.interlog.com/~css/manualprimer.htm

On my truck with a V8, you could shift quicker and at lower rpm's than in my 4-cylinder Corolla without the engine lugging, because its torque was better - i.e. it makes more torque at lower RPM's so it'll take off easily at 1000 rpm where the 4 would start to lug heavily around 800 rpm.

Anyone who's driven a motorcycle has the same experience only reversed, a smaller motor has better HP output at higher rpm. My old bike would redline at 7500 rpm

[Evil_Venom]

I drive a stick Honda Accord and an automatic Ford F-150 and the stick is by far more fun to drive. I don't get bored or distracted while driving the stick as much as with the truck.

wow i didn't know this was so complicated for some.

just ride the clutch and shift when your car goes WWWHOOOOOOOOOO really loud.

Riding the clutch is bad. It wears it down so much faster and replacing the clutch can be rather inconvenient especially when it breaks while your driving.

[Mr_Pubes]

The next step after being comfortable with starting on flat surfaces is to try starting on inclines. Once you get comfortable with starting on inclines then you pretty much have mastered stick.