Manual trans first time driver impressions (hatchback sport) (pics)

[herox]

You know, glad you mentioned heel toe cause i cannot get it down. its just too hard for me. i know its not a must to learn but it sure is a good feeling once learned. Can you please share how you do this with the big space between the brake and gas.

The Acuity pedal re-locator makes heel and toe a lot easier on our car.

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[justasimpleman]

You don’t need to use brake hold while on an incline, the car is equipped with hill start assist, which if you have your foot on the clutch and brake, it gives you a second or two to get yourself into gear, and start moving before it rolls back.

 

[Gruber]

Not sure why you are trying to heel/toe before even getting the basics down pat. There really is no reason for it during normal driving. Same thing with trying to rev match which is what I think you are trying to do with heel/toe. I would concentrate on clutch engagement, shift points, etc first and then start the more advanced stuff. And slipping the clutch going into 2nd under power is going to kill your clutch in no time, especially since it is not broken in yet. Give yourself more space for cars in front of you and you’ll find yourself shifting less.

Very good advice.
It really amazes me how the "heel-toe" term always comes up (every single time) when discussing learning manual shifting at the beginner preschool level.
I didn't even know what heel-toe was an I didn't want to know before I learned to shift smoothly, quickly and automatically (subconsciously) without any tricks and techniques. It took me years.

Anyone who is concerned about annoying other drivers, starting too slow from lights, downshifting (when and how), being in a wrong gear, lots of slippage when starting in the 1st or shifting to 2nd, stalling, entering traffic, taking off uphill, taking the eyes off the road to look at their stick, is totally not ready for any heel-toes, rev matching and rev hang.

You don't need any of these things to drive a MT quickly and confidently while talking on the phone (not recommended) without paying any attention to shifting. You need to be self critical and see whether you can make the car do what you want quickly and with the right engine sound. Many people convince themselves they can shift OK while the truth is they can't.
Once you are as good as any old manual city bus or taxi driver, you will want to try more advanced things, but even then, you don't even need to read about it. When the time came, I invented my rev matching and hill-toes myself.

 

[VarmintCong]

Not sure why you are trying to heel/toe before even getting the basics down pat. There really is no reason for it during normal driving. Same thing with trying to rev match which is what I think you are trying to do with heel/toe. I would concentrate on clutch engagement, shift points, etc first and then start the more advanced stuff. And slipping the clutch going into 2nd under power is going to kill your clutch in no time, especially since it is not broken in yet. Give yourself more space for cars in front of you and you’ll find yourself shifting less.

I agree. The reason you heel and toe is if you're braking hard say, before entering a corner, you can't take your foot off the brake to blip the throttle, so you have to use your heel or side of foot to blip the gas. There's not really any need to do it cause the car in front of you slowed to 60 mph. It's also hard to do if you're doing light braking.

I used to do it on track days, don't do it in normal driving.

 

[Wh1SL3R]

When your rpm gets down to about 2000 or so, foot off the gas, press the clutch in, shift to 3rd, let clutch out and then foot on the gas or coast if you still need to slow. If you get down to 2000 again...

Agree with Gotch. This is the simplest way to learn how to drive with both feet. Don't worry about blipping the throttle to match your revs in normal driving. You're not adding loads of unnecessary wear to the clutch - it'll be fine. Save your brakes and do some simple engine braking to keep yourself in gear and ready to go.

Heel/toe, rev-matching, double clutching - these are all advanced techniques that only show advantages during tracking/extremely spirited driving and have no place in a mundane commute. Get the basics down until it becomes muscle memory - practice practice practice!

 

[geeeek]

Geez, I mention heel toe as a reference to my driving ability and some of you are getting a little preachy. I'm well aware that simply learning how to drive is all I need to do rather than learning named movements. I realize that some new drivers might go straight for the heel toe before getting good at regular shifting, but honestly I'm a little sad that that's your takeaway from my thread lol

 

[Wh1SL3R]

Forks of the Credit is a great little run, though! Especially if you catch it before they install the speed bumps for the summer. Lots of fun corners.

 

[quakaroaks]

Geez, I mention heel toe as a reference to my driving ability and some of you are getting a little preachy. I'm well aware that simply learning how to drive is all I need to do rather than learning named movements. I realize that some new drivers might go straight for the heel toe before getting good at regular shifting, but honestly I'm a little sad that that's your takeaway from my thread lol

Congrats on your new first stick shift! I got my first one a month ago.

Before I got my manual car, I follow "Drive Manual" on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9vvzqgfupUvAT-_ATPtr4Q

He has very detailed and patient explanations in driving stick shift in city and highway driving.

When I had my automatic car, I did a lot of image training driving in traffic, imitating clutch control and hand movements on the shifter.

I encourage for you to drive around your neighborhood at night or even early weekend mornings. I also journal in a notebook of all the difficult situations and driving interactions I had with the car.

Give yourself time and patience.

Hope this helps. Drive safe and have fun learning!

 

[crxFITcivicBOY]

Agree with Gotch. This is the simplest way to learn how to drive with both feet. Don't worry about blipping the throttle to match your revs in normal driving. You're not adding loads of unnecessary wear to the clutch - it'll be fine. Save your brakes and do some simple engine braking to keep yourself in gear and ready to go.

Heel/toe, rev-matching, double clutching - these are all advanced techniques that only show advantages during tracking/extremely spirited driving and have no place in a mundane commute. Get the basics down until it becomes muscle memory - practice practice practice!

I would say that although one can not “rev-match” while downshifting, it’s honestly felt harder to try to do that, than it is to get used to blipping the throttle. I’m not talking heel-toe: just brake, clutch in, blip throttle, clutch out. When I was first learning, I struggled because I focused too much on getting it exact and the shift took forever. Too. Now I just blip by feel, and worst case put a little too much and just catch the RPMs on the way down.. same as you are doing OP.

To the OP, sounds like you’re gonna have a great time with the car. I love driving it to and from work.

I’m a year into the car, and still try to not let it bother me that the automatics behind me are getting mad about my slow 1-2 shift lol.

With regards to knowing what gear to be in when slowing down a lot on the highway: I would suggest focusing on just a couple of gears. Memorize 2nd and 4th for example for a range of speeds. OP, you’re comfortable getting into 15-20 in 2nd. Now find the gear and rpm you would be comfortable with to cover the rest of the gap until 40mph. That way when slowing down hard on the highway you can at least get yourself smoothly into a gear while moving, then worry about going up/down into the right one (for cruising, deceleration or acceleration) afterwards.

 

[REBELXSi]

I'm all for people learning to drive a manual these days with how quickly they're fading but boy do you guys make it seem complicated lol

 

[DoubleDown]

I'm all for people learning to drive a manual these days with how quickly they're fading but boy do you guys make it seem complicated lol

Just wait for the next chapter..

Chapter 4: Heel-Toe
1. An introduction to Heel-Toe
1a. What is heel-toe?
1b. When to use it?
1c. Mastering the art.

2. Methods to Heel-Toe
2a - Heel-Toe Downshift
2b - Heel-Toe to a Stop
2,c - Heel-Toe into a Turn

Stay tuned folks!

 

[LMFK7]

I would say that although one can not “rev-match” while downshifting, it’s honestly felt harder to try to do that, than it is to get used to blipping the throttle. I’m not talking heel-toe: just brake, clutch in, blip throttle, clutch out. When I was first learning, I struggled because I focused too much on getting it exact and the shift took forever. Too. Now I just blip by feel, and worst case put a little too much and just catch the RPMs on the way down.. same as you are doing OP.

To the OP, sounds like you’re gonna have a great time with the car. I love driving it to and from work.

I’m a year into the car, and still try to not let it bother me that the automatics behind me are getting mad about my slow 1-2 shift lol.

I had the same issue last year when I bought mine. I used to shift to 2nd after 2,500 rpm and it was too slow. So now i shift 3k+ when launching out of traffic light/stop sign. then i would go on about back to 2,500 once i get going.

 

[crxFITcivicBOY]

I had the same issue last year when I bought mine. I used to shift to 2nd after 2,500 rpm and it was too slow. So now i shift 3k+ when launching out of traffic light/stop sign. then i would go on about back to 2,500 once i get going.

Honestly, I find that when I start out quick, it’s worse... cuz the cars will keep pace behind me. Now I just never look in the rear view

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