Driving a manual transmission car...

[rizzle]

Originally Posted by tobii3

oh man Riz...

A 71 Ford 300 with three on the tree...Now THAT brings back memories!

I think my grandfather's was a 73 or 74 Chevy. As it got later in its years we'd be driving that thing down some old country roads and about every couple of miles it would slip out of third and start making this grinding noise. Of course Grandaddy never worried about getting it fixed, you'd just slam it back in gear and keep on trucking.

[Col. Kurtz]

Try double-clutching it like an old school bus. The engine probably needs some more time to slow down the rpms before you engage the higher gear....

Worth exactly what you paid for it....

[BUCASmoker]

Originally Posted by Col. Kurtz

Try double-clutching it like an old school bus. The engine probably needs some more time to slow down the rpms before you engage the higher gear....

Worth exactly what you paid for it....

I dont really know what it feels like to drive an old school bus.

Can you explain double clutching? Is that popping it in N, letting off the clutch, then shifting?

[kgoings]

You may be shifting out of 1st gear either too early or too late. When your in second gear, figure out what speed second begins to grab. When you feel your at the lower end of second gear note the speed, and try changing gears from 1st to 2nd at that speed.

My Dad taught me to drive in a manual, I never drove an automatic till I was in the Military. You get to know the RPM's of the car and where the power is.

On that note, my friend let me drive both of his Ferrari's OMG! I thought I was going to blow the engines! Those things are meant to be driving at really high RPM's (compared to 'normal' cars) That was an experience.

[AAlmeter]

Originally Posted by BUCASmoker

I dont really know what it feels like to drive an old school bus.

Can you explain double clutching? Is that popping it in N, letting off the clutch, then shifting?

Yeah pretty much, not really necessary for a car with synched gears (think of the scene where Nick Cage and Angelina Jolie are stealing the car in the driveway...thats what they were talking about).

Like everyone said, play with it and get to know when your clutch is grabbing. To put it simply, as you let the clutch out, a spinning thing is coming into contact with a non-spinning thing (in 1st from a stop) that has a lot of resistance. If you don't do it smoothly, all hell breaks loose and it really stirs up your breakfast. Done correctly, you're fine. The key is to play around and teach your muscles the proper pressure. You need the right engine speed combined with the proper speed of release, and all of this is based on the particular car and the grade.

Sounds confusing, but it really is just a matter of practice. Like others have said, getting the car fully engaged in first without the use of the throttle is a great way to learn how your clutch operates. Get that down, add some throttle, and you'll be good to go in no time.

As far as double clutching, it can certainly be done, and you can even shift gears without the use of the clutch by properly syncing speeds, but I think for most, learning to control the left foot is far more difficult than the right foot since we're all so used to driving with the right foot. Try coming to a gentle stop with your left foot (especially for MT drivers) and you'll see what I mean.

[SeanGAR]

The clutch in different vehicles need different finesse to be super smooth. Then again, I don't worry too much about smoothness, I shift at 4000-5000 rpm and whip my foot down and off really fast. In first gear I know where the friction point is and balance the clutch and gas to make smooth starts. Riding the clutch will result in a premature eclutchulation. You don't want that.

Your 6 speed gearbox in the TSX is close range. That means you use the gears more to get final drive ratio than if you had a 5 speed. This is good for power, assuming you drive it right, but also means you're busier.

I find I'm smoother in my Civic clutch (wire) than my wife's Legacy (hydraulic). Each car takes a bit of practice to get it right. I haven't changed the clutch in my Civic yet (325.6K), so something must be going right.

I'd not be inclined to double clutch a car that has synchromesh (pretty much everything in the last 50 years). I'd pay more attention to your shift RPM and clutch friction point. The RPM for peak torque and HP are related to where you should shift.

[Col. Kurtz]

Originally Posted by BUCASmoker

I dont really know what it feels like to drive an old school bus.

Can you explain double clutching? Is that popping it in N, letting off the clutch, then shifting?

That's it, and no today's synchro trans don't need it, but it gives the engine time to catch up with the next gear and road speed. This is a good way to get the feel, then you can just shift normally. No hurries between shifts.

I learned to drive a manual on a truck older than Tobii. It was a 1947 Chevy 3100 straight six with three on the column. Ran 62mph in second and 57 in third That was at the coast before farm kids needed permits and driver's licenses

I wish my car ran as smooth as that old truck.....

[Mugen910]

yeah diff car diff feel...

I saw cover your RPMs and learn to feel the car. Then you'll start to learn when to shift and what it feels like to do it smoothly.

[themoneycollector]

As other have said, it just takes practice. I also don't condone learning MT on a nice car, I would use a beater for that. But with that said, some tidbits of advice.

1. Practice rev-matching when you are downshifting into the lower gears
2. Use the full-range of the clutch, be nice & steady from the very bottom all the way to the top.
3. Don't be afraid to let the car stall. Just stay calm, start up again and try another time (even if cars are honking at you to get going). The worst things you can do to your tranny and clutch are dump the clutch out of fear, or over-rev the engine while slipping the clutch.

[BUCASmoker]

Originally Posted by themoneycollector

As other have said, it just takes practice. I also don't condone learning MT on a nice car, I would use a beater for that. But with that said, some tidbits of advice.

1. Practice rev-matching when you are downshifting into the lower gears
2. Use the full-range of the clutch, be nice & steady from the very bottom all the way to the top.
3. Don't be afraid to let the car stall. Just stay calm, start up again and try another time (even if cars are honking at you to get going). The worst things you can do to your tranny and clutch are dump the clutch out of fear, or over-rev the engine while slipping the clutch.

I've done #3 a few times

[BlackDog]

Originally Posted by BUCASmoker

So I just recently (late April) purchased my first car with a manual transmission...

I'm the other way around. After driving for 31 years the Ford Escape I drive now is my first automatic. If I had it to do over again, I'd go with the manual. Much more control over the car with a manual, especially in snow. I learned to drive on an 8 speed Ford dump truck. Lots of entertainment value there for onlookers. that thing could buck like a bronco. I think I hit my mouth on the steering wheel.

As the others said, practice is your friend. Watching the tach is fine, but listening to the enginbe is better. You'll get to know instinctively when the revs are right to make a smooth gear change.

[shilala]

Sounds to me like you're running in first too long before getting to second, then slapping second before the rpm's back down enough.
A lot of guys have said "listen to the car".
My brother once taught a deaf kid how to drive the dump truck simply by feeling the motor through the stick. He could drive that old dump flawlessly.
Ya just gotta feel the machine and let it tell you what to do, just like any machine.

[Silound]

Hmmm, I learned how to drive stick on a tractor older than 90% of the people on this forum....a 1937 International Harvester Farmall Model A

[Col. Kurtz]

Originally Posted by Silound

Hmmm, I learned how to drive stick on a tractor older than 90% of the people on this forum....a 1937 International Harvester Farmall Model A

Very cool. I'm looking at a 1954 Super A while smoking a DPG Blue. Still work that tractor almost every day in the summer. And no, I'm not the original owner....

[Silound]

Ours is original to us, but far from original in build Also I made a typo up there, I think ours is a '47 not a '37...I'm pretty sure the A series wasn't started until 1939. It's hard to tell now though due to the age and number of rebuilds it's been through.

My grandfather purchased it new, but in 1982 it was severely damaged in a barn fire and rebuilt the following year from the ground up. Several things aren't original to the tractor, but were added in later years models like field lights, an alternator (as opposed to the original generator), and a battery starter. I don't know how much of the tractor is even original

[Tripp]

I've never driven a Jetto or TSX, but doesnt a TSX have heftier engine? I'd imagine a car with significant HP difference would be a little squirrelier on the power transfer

Being in the UK the vast majority of cars here are manuals anyway and that's how we all learn to drive really. The problem for us is driving automatics..we hear the engine note go up and go to change gear, slamming the left foot into the brake pedal like we would a clutch...man that makes for fun driving!!

The trick to driving automatics for us is to simply NEVER use the left foot..easier said than done after years of clutch driving.

You've had good advice so far so I won't offer any, other than to say try doing hill starts. You can't allow the car to slip backwards even an inch in your test or you fail here.

[BUCASmoker]

According to a TSX forum that I post on, part of the problem has to do with the fact that the TSX has a drive-by-wire config, where the amount of fuel flowing to the engine is controlled by a computer, rather than a mechanical connection from the throttle to the engine.

According to the posters on there, Honda/Acura didn't really get the fuel injection right, where when you let off the throttle completely, it shuts off the fuel injectors and when you get back on it, it takes a second to turn them on again, and it isn't smooth. They recommended slightly riding the throttle when you shift, so that the fuel injectors never really close.

[cbsmokin]

Originally Posted by BUCASmoker

According to a TSX forum that I post on, part of the problem has to do with the fact that the TSX has a drive-by-wire config, where the amount of fuel flowing to the engine is controlled by a computer, rather than a mechanical connection from the throttle to the engine.

According to the posters on there, Honda/Acura didn't really get the fuel injection right, where when you let off the throttle completely, it shuts off the fuel injectors and when you get back on it, it takes a second to turn them on again, and it isn't smooth. They recommended slightly riding the throttle when you shift, so that the fuel injectors never really close.

When upshifting or downshifting, rarely if ever, am I 100% off the throttle. You have to use the gas to bring up the rpm for the lower or higher gear. All cars vary a little bit. If you were smooth in the Jetta then you are probably doing just fine. 1 st to 2nd in my car is usually not that smooth compared to all others up to 6. The gears are just winding a lot faster and delivering a lot more torque.

Good for you for driving stick. I do it every day because it's fun. My kids will have to learn or I wont let them drive. Driving a manual transmission makes you feel your car and you will know when something is wrong.